You won't believe this!

Is it any wonder that Christianity is rapidly declining in England and Europe, with "leaders" like this?

Archbishop says nativity 'a legend'

By Sophie Borland
Last Updated: 1:25pm GMT 20/12/2007

The Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men was nothing but a 'legend'.

Dr Rowan Williams has claimed there was little evidence that the Magi even existed and there was certainly nothing to prove there were three of them or that they were kings.

He said the only reference to the wise men from the East was in Matthew's gospel and the details were very vague.

Dr Williams said: "Matthew's gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that's all we're really told. It works quite well as legend."

The Archbishop went on to dispel other details of the Christmas story, adding that there were probably no asses or oxen in the stable.

He argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, flanked by shepherds and wise men, were misleading. As for the scenes that depicted snow falling in Bethlehem, the Archbishop said the chance of this was "very unlikely".

In a final blow to the traditional nativity story, Dr Williams concluded that Jesus was probably not born in December at all. He said: "Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival."

His comments came during an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live with Simon Mayo yesterday. Later on in the show, the Archbishop was challenged by fellow guest Ricky Gervais, the comedian, about the credibility of the Christmas story.

Gervais told Dr Williams he was concerned about "brainwashing" of children who are sent to faith schools at an early age, comparing teaching that God exists to belief in Father Christmas.

Dr Williams said faith schools expose children to the full range of human experience and values and he did not believe they indoctrinated people.

From the Telegraph of London.

Too Horrible for Words!

Update:

The Washington Post, in this AP story, reports:

Saudi King Pardons Rape Victim

By ABDULLAH SHIHRI
The Associated Press
Monday, December 17, 2007; 11:27 AM

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- A gang-rape victim who was sentenced to six months in prison and 200 lashes for being alone with a man not related to her was pardoned by the Saudi king after the case sparked rare criticism from the United States, the kingdom's top ally.

Outrage over the sentence prompted unusually strong comments from President Bush, who said that if the same thing had happened to one of his daughters, he would be "angry" at a government that didn't protect the victim. The White House called the sentence "outrageous."

In past weeks, Saudi officials have bristled at the criticism of what they consider an internal affair _ but also appeared wary of hurting their image in the United States.

Bush's National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the White House thinks the Saudi king "he made the right decision" by pardoning the woman.

With the pardon, King Abdullah appeared to be aiming at relieving the pressure from the United States without being seen to criticize Saudi Arabia's conservative legal system, a stronghold of powerful clerics adhering to the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

Justice Minister Abdullah bin Mohammed al-Sheik said the pardon reported by Saudi media Monday does not mean the king doubted the country's judges, but that he was acting in the "interests of the people."

- - - -

Emphasis added.

------------------------------------

Original post:

Breitbart.com has published this article:

Saudi punishes gang rape victim with 200 lashes
Nov 15 10:51 AM US/Eastern

A court in the ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia is punishing a female victim of gang rape with 200 lashes and six months in jail, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
....

Read the rest of the article here.

This is Islamic Sharia law.

Notice the use of the term "ultra-conservative" in the article. This is part of a campaign to equate conservative Christians and conservative Muslims.

What the two groups share is that each believes in the fundamental truths of their religion. However, the behavior and actions that result could not be more different.

The Devil Is In the Details

Mea culpa.

Special Report: The Devil Is In the Details
Time for a Reality Check
In Defense of the Faith
Friday, December 07, 2007
Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor

The new NIE consensus opinion that Iran abandoned its active quest to build nuclear weapons four years ago, whether accurate or not, brings back to the forefront of discussion the two main principles of accurately understanding Bible prophecy.

The first is the scholar’s adage warning of the dangers in interpreting Bible prophecy by the light of current events, instead of the other way around.

We’ll discuss that in greater detail in a moment.

The second is summarized by the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans; “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” (Romans 3:4)

Bible prophecy tells us what to expect, but not exactly what to look for. That is an important distinction. God accomplishes His will according to His plan, not ours.

For example, for centuries, students of Bible prophecy knew to expect the existence of a physical nation called “Israel” but they didn’t know what to look for until it happened.

God tells us the “end from the beginning, and from the ancient times the things that are not yet done,” (Isaiah 46:10) but He doesn’t always reveal the exact mechanism by which He intends to accomplish it.

For a better example, let’s use Hal Lindsey’s 1969 book, “The Late, Great Planet Earth.” If these ARE the last days, as Hal argued in 1969, then from the Bible Hal knew he could expect three specific geopolitical events -- events that no secular analyst could possibly have predicted at the time.

First, there must be the development of a single, European super state that would eventually attain superpower status.

In 1969, the idea of Europe unification was decades away, if ever. But since Bible prophecy demanded the existence of a revived Roman Empire, if these were the last days, a European super state would have to come into existence.

But the Bible didn’t give details of how that would come about – only that it would, so in 1969, that was all Hal had to work with.

Second, the Bible makes no mention of a vast, Soviet superpower overshadowing Europe, but rather, the other way around. If these were indeed the last days, Hal argued, then the Soviet Union must decrease so that revived Rome could increase.

Third, since there is no reference to the existence of a Western superpower resembling the United States overshadowing revived Rome, somehow, America must decrease so that revived Rome could increase.

Hal couldn't know the exact details of how it would all happen -- only that they must happen-- if these are indeed the last days.

In 1969, at the height of the Cold War, the most likely scenario to accomplish these three events was a war between the United States and Russia that would leave Europe intact to pick up the pieces.

That scenario was perfectly consistent with both probability and Bible prophecy, but it turned out to be the wrong one.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Berlin Wall came down, and Europe reunified, critics were quick to call Hal a ‘false prophet’ because he got some of the details of ‘how’ wrong.

To this day, that is still the first criticism leveled at him. In so doing, the critics missed the ‘what’ part, which he got right -- and more importantly, its significance.

The point Hal was making in 1969 was this: IF this is the generation that will see the return of Christ, those three things would happen. None existed in 1969 -- but in 2007, two of them are history, and the third, the decline of the US as a global superpower, is already well advanced.

Does that mean Hal Lindsey is a prophet? No. Prophecy comes from the Bible. Hal merely cited examples that demonstrated that global current events were all trending in the Bible’s predicted direction. They still are.

What it proves is that this is the generation that will see the return of Christ.

From his vantage point forty years ago, Hal Lindsey (and everyone else in 1969) might have been wrong on a few details of how things would come together, but history continues to prove him 100% right on what the Bible said would develop as a result.

The point, than as now, was this: “If this IS the generation of His return, somehow, some way, God will bring about the predicted end results." Beyond that, the best any human can do is take the Bible's predicted results and work backwards to try and figure out how.

Everybody was so busy nit-picking Hal’s details back then that they missed the point the book was written to make. Many still do.

The point was, and is, that the prophetic time clock has begun the final countdown.

Among the list of old sayings that become 'old sayings' because they are universally true is "the devil is in the details." Once one makes their stand on their interpretation of the details, rather than the Bible's Big Picture, one becomes most vulnerable to his attack.

Every year, somebody stakes their reputation on their interpretation of the details, calculating using various formulas, the exact date of the Rapture. Others will argue all day regarding their interpretation of the timing of the Rapture. What gets lost in it all the hubbub and argument is the Rapture itself.

Or those who will argue all day that they know the identity of the antichrist. They are interpreting the Bible to fit current events. It is the Bible that is infallible -- current events are only current until things change.

The devil is in the details.

When it comes to Iran, the Bible says that Persia participates in a subordinate leadership role as part of the larger Gog-Magog alliance. That alliance, for reasons not entirely clear, eventually embarks on a surprise invasion of Israel at a time when Israel is “dwelling at peace” as a “land of unwalled villages.”

When events began to suggest an impending war between Israel and Iran, it was tempting to look for ways to make that war fit into Ezekiel’s scenario.

In addition, we have the developing trends that are moving Russia rapidly back into the arms of a new authoritarian dictatorship to consider. Coupled with Russia’s traditional ties with the same nations Ezekiel predicted will eventually be part of the Gog-Magog alliance, it is easy to speculate on how God will bring about His will.

But no matter what, in order for Persia to participate in an invasion of Israel, it is clear that Persia and Israel must both be there at the time, precluding an imminent Iranian-Israeli nuclear war.

As to the imminence of the Gog-Magog invasion, Israel is not a land of unwalled villages and it is not dwelling at peace.

I’ve tried to be careful, but I know I’ve succumbed to the temptation to mold current events to fit Bible prophecy -- especially when it comes to connecting the current Iranian crisis .

The fact of the matter is neither I nor anyone else has a crystal ball or some secret spiritual knowledge not available to anyone willing to crack a Bible and do a little research.

The best anyone can honestly offer is an educated guess on the details -- guided by prayer and based on the Bible's certain foreknowledge of the outcome – but neither the source of that foreknowledge nor the predicted outcome are a secret.

It’s all right there in the pages of Scripture.

Bible prophecy wasn’t given to this generation for the purpose of amazing our friends by playing The Amazing Kreskin.

That was never the point.

Prophecy was given to this generation to impart a sense of urgency to the lost, and to provide evidences for the Church that, no matter how confusing things look at any given moment, the ultimate outcome is assured.

That is the ultimate reason for the study of Bible prophecy. To credibly articulate the lateness of the hour, demonstrate the certainty of the judgment to follow, and share the good news that God has made Provision for our pardon.

Even if the exact path sometimes seems murky, the outline of the predicted destination grows clearer with each changing event.

And it is the destination that is important, not so much the details of how God intends to get us there. We are to watch for the signs of His return and to shout the warning.

Regarding pet interpretations and nit-picking details, well, God has made provision for that, too.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:6-7)

From Omegaletter.com.

I know that I have said it repeatedly, but Jack makes the point very well: No one knows God's timetable.

But sometimes the temptation to think otherwise, to think that I know what is about to happen, is too much to resist.

Israelis hit Syrian ‘nuclear bomb plant’

Last month the story broke that in September Israel had bombed and destroyed a target within Syria, a fact which Syria initially denied. Gradually, more and more information has surfaced about what really happened:

1. Israel bombed a location in Syria.
2. Russia's best air defense system, just sold to and installed in Syria, failed to even detect the presence of Israeli jets.
3. In spite of what could be trumpeted as an "act of aggression" by Israel, all of the nations in the area have attempted to pretend that the attack did not happen.
4. The Syrians have completely cleaned up the site of the installation that was bombed, leaving no trace behind.
5. Early reports claimed that the site was a nuclear reactor under construction. This evolved into several other things, including an installation for producing "dirty" bombs.
   

Yesterday, The London Sunday Times (timesonline.com) published this report:

Israelis hit Syrian ‘nuclear bomb plant’
Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv and Michael Sheridan in Seoul

ISRAEL’S top-secret air raid on Syria in September destroyed a bomb factory assembling warheads fuelled by North Korean plutonium, a leading Israeli nuclear expert has told The Sunday Times.

Professor Uzi Even of Tel Aviv University was one of the founders of the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona, the source of the Jewish state’s undeclared nuclear arsenal.

“I suspect that it was a plant for processing plutonium, namely, a factory for assembling the bomb,” he said. “I think the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] transferred to Syria weapons-grade plutonium in raw form, that is nuggets of easily transported metal in protective cans. I think the shaping and casting of the plutonium was supposed to be in Syria.”

All governments concerned - even the regime in Damascus - have tried to maintain complete secrecy about the raid.

They apparently fear that forcing a confrontation on the issue could spark a war between Israel and Syria, end the Middle East peace talks and wreck America’s extremely complex negotiations to disarm North Korea of its nuclear weapons.

The political stakes could hardly be higher. Plutonium is the element which fuelled the American atomic bomb that destroyed the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Critics in the United States say proof that North Korea supplied such nuclear weapons material to Syria, a state technically at war with Israel, would shatter congressional confidence in the Bush administration’s diplomatic policy.

From beneath the veil of military censorship, western commentators have formed a consensus that the target was a nuclear reactor under construction.

But Even said that purely from scientific observation, he had reached a different conclusion - that it was a nuclear bomb factory, posing a more immediate danger to Israel. He said that satellite photos of the site, taken before the Israeli strike on September 6, showed no sign of the cooling towers and chimneys characteristic of nuclear reactors.

Syria’s haste after the attack to bury the site under tons of soil suggested that hundreds of square yards were contaminated and there were fears of radiation, the professor added.

Since then the Syrians have sealed up the location, levelled the site and diverted curious journalists to a place that had not been attacked by Israel.

The professor’s theory fits with authoritative technical evidence about North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. The North Koreans are able to produce weapons-grade plutonium, which is electro-refined, alloyed and cast into shapes ready to be machined to fit into a warhead, according to a team of distinguished American nuclear weapons scientists who visited the country’s laboratories.

....

Read the rest here.

My post last month, Syria has been testing missiles with chemical warheads, spoke of other attempts by Syria to prepare for all-out war with Israel, and pointed to Isaiah 17 as a warning to the leadership in Damascus.

This article in timesonline.com also calls to mind something called The Sampson Option, which is widely rumored to be official Israeli policy. According to these rumors (which I fully believe), if Israel believes that it is about to be overrun and utterly destroyed they will launch nuclear missles at the capitals of all of their Arab and Islamic enemies in the region. They will take their enemies with them, just as Sampson did in the Bible when he pulled his enemies' temple down on all of their heads.

Ezekiel 38 and 39 speak of a coming war of Russia and the Arab Islamic nations against Israel. Isaiah 17 speaks of the utter destruction of Damascus, capital of Syria. Experts disagree about the exact timing of these events, whether they occur together or not and whether they occur before or after the Rapture and before or during the Tribulation. All agree that they will occur during the End Times. Since we are clearly in the End Times, the fulfillment of these prophesies must take place soon. Events like those discussed above only confirm that the stage is set.

In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus commanded us "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." The time is short. Redouble your efforts before it is too late.

Syria has been testing missiles with chemical warheads

The Jerusalem Post reported on Sept. 18, 2007, that Syria was attempting to test a chemical warhead on a missile earlier this year.

'Dozens died in Syria-Iran missile test'
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 18, 2007

Proof of cooperation between Iran and Syria in the proliferation and development of weapons of mass destruction was brought to light Monday in Jane's Defence Weekly, which reported that dozens of Iranian engineers and 15 Syrian officers were killed in a July 23 accident in Syria.

According to the report, cited by Channel 10, the joint Syrian-Iranian team was attempting to mount a chemical warhead on a Scud missile when the explosion occurred, spreading lethal chemical agents, including sarin nerve gas.

Reports of the accident were circulated at the time; however, no details were released by the Syrian government, and there were no hints of an Iranian connection.

The report comes on the heels of criticism leveled by the Syrians at the United States, accusing it of spreading "false" claims of Syrian nuclear activity and cooperation with North Korea to excuse an alleged Israeli air incursion over the country this month.

According to globalsecurity.org, Syria is not a signatory of either the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), - an international agreement banning the production, stockpiling or use of chemical weapons - or the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Syria began developing chemical weapons in 1973, just before the Yom Kipper War. Globalsecurity.org cites the country as having one of the most advanced chemical weapons programs in the Middle East.

Given the Jews' experience with the Holocaust, it is my belief that any attack on Israel with chemical or biological weapons will be met by a nuclear response. Remember Isaiah 17:1:

An oracle concerning Damascus.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.

This has never yet taken place.

A 200-year-0ld lesson on 9/11

I've known for a while that Chuck Norris is a Christian, but I did not realize how articulate and knowledgeable he is. In his article on WorldNetDaily, he gives an excellent summary of America's earliest wars, the Barbary Wars, and their relevance to today's struggle against the Islamo-Fascists.

A 200-year-old lesson on 9/11
By Chuck Norris on www.worldnetdaily.com
Posted: September 10, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

With the 6th anniversary of 9/11 among us, as well as the imminent report on the status of the war from Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, America continues to face the fallout and frontlines of the war on terror.

Despite debates over the success of surges and the truths behind 9/11, one of the most significant deliberations remains how many Americans are still in denial about the depth and breadth of extremists' hatred for our nation, liberties and way of life. Do people really think ceasing a war in Iraq will quench their fire to destroy our country?

Radical Muslims' guile existed far before 9/11, and it will be there far after an Iraqi war. In fact, it was apparent from the beginning of our nation, as seen in the Barbary Powers Conflict, a confrontation between the five Barbary nations (Tripoli, Turkey, Tunis, Algiers and Morocco) and what they considered the "Christian nations" (England, Denmark, France, Spain and the new United States).

Though I am not a historian or a military strategist, I believe now is a good time to recall this 200 year-old lesson on extremist Muslim-American relations.

The tower of terror in the treaty of Tripoli

While the United States was mopping up from the Revolutionary War, it was also squaring off against largely Muslim pirates and countries in the Mediterranean. These sea bandits cruised the coastlines stealing cargo, destroying villages and enslaving millions of Africans and hundreds of thousands of Christian Europeans and Americans.

Because America was a newborn nation with relatively little naval defense, its merchant ships were exceptionally vulnerable to attack in and out of the Great Sea. America's rebellion against Britain severed its protection by the Royal Navy. And while France helped some during the war, the U.S. was on its own as of about 1783. As a result, its cargo and seamen were captured, and our country's leaders were forced to negotiate with the Mediterranean Muslim contingency.

In 1784, envoys began to be dispatched to secure peace and passage from the Barbary Powers. Treaties were made. Tributes and ransoms were paid. Our cargo and captives were freed. And our ships traveled safely. Over the next decade and a half, millions of dollars were given to these radicals – estimated at 20 percent of America's income in 1800. (Despite that men like Thomas Jefferson argued vehemently against paying ransoms and tribute – he believed the only road to resolve would be "through the medium of war.")

America's first four presidents (Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison) all dealt with this East-West conflict of powers, though to varying degrees. Though numerous negotiations and treaties were made, including "the Treaty of Tripoli" in 1796-7, Tripoli (in present Libya) still declared war against the U.S. in 1801. It is sometimes called America's first official war as a new nation.

So, shortly after his inauguration, President Jefferson declared America would spend "millions for defense but not one [more] cent for tribute." As a result, he deployed Marines and warships to the region, which eventually led to the surrender of Tripoli in 1805. It would take another decade, however, to completely defeat the pirates.

----

Click here to read the rest of Chuck Norris' excellent article.

The bottom line is this: the Islamo-Fascists don't hate us because of Iraq, or Afghanistan, or anything we've ever done. They hate us because we are not Muslim, and this has been true for as long as there has been a USA to hate. In the early 1800s we beat them militarily and they pretty much left us alone for the next 150 years or so out of fear of the consequences of attacking us. We need to teach them that lesson once again.

Ezekiel's War May Be About to Begin

In The Raw Story, Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane have published a piece summarizing a study which essentially says that the US Military is capable, on very short notice, of launching a massive attack against Iran.

Study: US preparing 'massive' military attack against Iran
Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane
Published: Tuesday August 28, 2007

The United States has the capacity for and may be prepared to launch without warning a massive assault on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities, as well as government buildings and infrastructure, using long-range bombers and missiles, according to a new analysis.

The paper, "Considering a war with Iran: A discussion paper on WMD in the Middle East" – written by well-respected British scholar and arms expert Dr. Dan Plesch, Director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, and Martin Butcher, a former Director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) and former adviser to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament – was exclusively provided to RAW STORY late Friday under embargo.

"We wrote the report partly as we were surprised that this sort of quite elementary analysis had not been produced by the many well resourced Institutes in the United States," wrote Plesch in an email to Raw Story on Tuesday.

Plesch and Butcher examine "what the military option might involve if it were picked up off the table and put into action" and conclude that based on open source analysis and their own assessments, the US has prepared its military for a "massive" attack against Iran, requiring little contingency planning and without a ground invasion.

The study concludes that the US has made military preparations to destroy Iran’s WMD, nuclear energy, regime, armed forces, state apparatus and economic infrastructure within days if not hours of President George W. Bush giving the order. The US is not publicising the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely. The US retains the option of avoiding war, but using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.

* Any attack is likely to be on a massive multi-front scale but avoiding a ground invasion. Attacks focused on WMD facilities would leave Iran too many retaliatory options, leave President Bush open to the charge of using too little force and leave the regime intact.

* US bombers and long range missiles are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours.

* US ground, air and marine forces already in the Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan can devastate Iranian forces, the regime and the state at short notice.

* Some form of low level US and possibly UK military action as well as armed popular resistance appear underway inside the Iranian provinces or ethnic areas of the Azeri, Balujistan, Kurdistan and Khuzestan. Iran was unable to prevent sabotage of its offshore-to-shore crude oil pipelines in 2005.

* Nuclear weapons are ready, but most unlikely, to be used by the US, the UK and Israel. The human, political and environmental effects would be devastating, while their military value is limited.

* Israel is determined to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons yet has the conventional military capability only to wound Iran’s WMD programmes.

* The attitude of the UK is uncertain, with the Brown government and public opinion opposed psychologically to more war, yet, were Brown to support an attack he would probably carry a vote in Parliament. The UK is adamant that Iran must not acquire the bomb.

* The US is not publicising the scale of these preparations to deter Iran, tending to make confrontation more likely. The US retains the option of avoiding war, but using its forces as part of an overall strategy of shaping Iran’s actions.

When asked why the paper seems to indicate a certainty of Iranian WMD, Plesch made clear that "our paper is not, repeat not, about what Iran actually has or not." Yet, he added that "Iran certainly has missiles and probably some chemical capability."

Most significantly, Plesch and Butcher dispute conventional wisdom that any US attack on Iran would be confined to its nuclear sites. Instead, they foresee a "full-spectrum approach," designed to either instigate an overthrow of the government or reduce Iran to the status of "a weak or failed state." Although they acknowledge potential risks and impediments that might deter the Bush administration from carrying out such a massive attack, they also emphasize that the administration's National Security Strategy includes as a major goal the elimination of Iran as a regional power.
....

Read the whole thing.

Iran and Russia have had a mutual defense treaty for some time. Last year, Syria joined this treaty. If the US and/or Israel attack Iran, especially with the kind of massive strike envisioned in this article, Russia may find itself drawn into the conflict to honor this treaty, even if it is reluctant to do so.

“And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet….” Ezekiel 38:4-5

In Ezekiel 38 and 39, the prophet is clearly describing a nuclear war between Israel and a confederation headed by Russia (Magog) and including Iran (Persia) and all of the Muslim Arab countries of North Africa (with the exception of Iraq).

"For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord." Ezekiel 38:19-23 (emphasis mine)

Ezekiel 39:11-16 describes the surviving Jews decontaminating a large area where the bodies of the fallen from Russian Confederation armies lie. The procedure described fits well with cleansing an area contaminated with nuclear, chemical, or biological agents.

Scripture is not clear whether Ezekiel's War takes place before or after the Rapture. Tim Lehay and Joel Rosenberg believe that it occurs before the Rapture, Hal Lindsey thinks it is part of the Great Tribulation.

Whichever belief is correct, this will be a horrifying time to be alive, even for followers of Christ. How much so for those who do not know Him? You owe it to your family and loved ones to try to lead them to Christ before this war happens.

Ezekiel's War Draws Near

The prospects for the fulfillment of Ezekiel's War continue to increase. Even European countries such as France see the necessity to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power. Ynetnews.com reports:

France's Sarkozy raises prospect of Iran airstrikes

In his first major foreign policy speech, French president says diplomatic push by world's powers to rein in Tehran's nuclear program is only alternative to 'Iranian bomb or bombing of Iran'

Reuters
Published: 08.27.07, 19:45 / Israel News

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Monday a diplomatic push by the world's powers to rein in Tehran's nuclear program was the only alternative to "an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran."
_

Sarkozy said a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable and that major powers should continue their policy of incrementally increasing sanctions against Tehran while being open to talks if Iran suspended nuclear activities.

"This initiative is the only one that can enable us to escape an alternative that I say is catastrophic: the Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran," he said, adding that it was the worst crisis currently facing the world.

The Europeans have already thoroughly demonstrated the futility of trying to negotiate with those who believe it their duty to their god to bring about their version of the Tribulation. Failure of negotiations will certainly bring catastrophe. At that point there will be no good alternative, and nuclear war will be virtually inevitable.

Pray for your friends and loved ones who have not already accepted Jesus into their hearts. His time is at hand.

Why is the USA not mentioned in the end times prophesies?

Many of us have speculated about why the world's current super-power (the USA) does not seem to be involved in the events of the end times. Several possibilities have been put forth, including:

1. An EMF pulse-bomb destroying all electrical and electronic systems in the US. (Yes, that could happen!)
2. Nuclear attack by a foreign power, such as China.
3. Collapse of our Republic, perhaps due to foreign invasion (the border and illegal immigration problem carried to the extreme).
4. Collapse of our economy.

There was an article in telegraph.co.uk today that relates to item 4.

China threatens 'nuclear option' of dollar sales

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Last Updated: 9:54am BST 08/08/2007

The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasuries if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

Two officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning - for the first time - that Beijing may use its $1.33 trillion (£658bn) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress.

Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.

Described as China's "nuclear option" in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels.

more ....

The bottom line is that China owns so much of our US Treasury notes that they could attack our economy by dumping them, that is, placing them all on the market to drive the price down into the basement. This could cause the value of the dollar to collapse, destroy the bond market, and drive the US economy into a severe depression.

I've been reading warnings about this for some time, but this is the first I've seen of a Chinese government official acknowledging that they might attack us in this fashion.

Kidnapping brings unwanted attention to Afghan Christians

UPDATE: Today, August 28, 2007, The Associated Press (in the Charlotte Observer) reports:

Taliban agree to free S. Korean hostages
AMIR SHAH
Associated Press Writer

GHAZNI, Afghanistan --
The Taliban agreed Tuesday to free 19 South Korean church volunteers held hostage since July after the government in Seoul pledged to end all missionary work and keep a promise to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

The South Korean government has agreed to cease all missionary work. However, these church volunteers were not missionaries, they were doing aid work. (S. Korea had already said they were withdrawing their troops by the end of the year.)

Of course, this capitulation makes it a certainty that the Taliban will kidnap more hostages. If a strategy works....

UPDATE: The Associated Press reports that at least one of the hostages has been brutally murdered:

Korean hostage killed by Taliban

By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 25, 4:19 PM ET

Afghan police discovered the bullet-riddled body of a South Korean hostage Wednesday as the Taliban released eight other captives who were taken to a U.S. military base, officials said.

Because of a recent spike in kidnappings — including an attempt against a Danish citizen Wednesday — police announced foreigners were no longer allowed to leave the Afghan capital without their permission.

The male South Korean victim was found with 10 bullet holes in his head, chest and stomach in the Mushaki area of Qarabagh district in Ghazni province, the region where 23 South Koreans were kidnapped last week, said Abdul Rahman, a police officer.

A police official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation, said militants told him the hostage was sick and couldn't walk and was therefore shot.

More....

This hostage, reported to be a male pastor, is now a martyr for Christ. Shed no tears for him. Remember, Jesus will reward him for this with a crown following the rapture, but pray for his family.


Original Posting: The following article is from The Independent, a British newspaper (thanks to Michelle Malkin for bringing this article to my attention):

Kidnapping brings unwanted attention to Afghan Christians
By Chris Sands in Mazar-e-Sharif
Published: 24 July 2007

The kidnapping of South Korean church volunteers by the Taliban has sparked vigils in Seoul, and shone the spotlight on Afghanistan's small, underground Christian community.

In Mazar-e-Sharif, home to one of Islam's most revered shrines, Ahmedi, 33, says he would be killed instantly if his faith were exposed. In this staunchly traditional society, conversion from Islam remains reviled by many Afghans - and by government officials.

"If the war had not happened, if the Americans and foreigners had not come to Afghanistan, we would not have this freedom and we would not have this office," says Ahmedi, who was fearful of giving his full name.

The "office" is a community centre set up by a Christian charity, and Ahmedi is one of 100 or so Christians living in the northern city.

Rumours abound here that many aid organisations are used as a cover by foreigners to indoctrinate people into Christianity. And in Ahmedi's case, there is an element of truth - he converted from Shia Islam three years ago after meeting an American evangelical. Now his wife and four children are also Christian, and he is the priest of a local church. He has even helped convert other Afghans.

The 23 South Koreans were kidnapped last week at gunpoint from a bus in Ghazni province, and belong to the Saemmul Church in Bundang, which says they are working as volunteer nurses and English teachers.

However, boasts from some evangelical church leaders in South Korea about unofficially sending missionaries to Afghanistan has muddied the water between Christian volunteers doing humanitarian work, and those whose primary mission is to seek converts overseas.

In Mazer-e-Sharif, a recent convert called Abdullah recalled how his family reacted when he revealed his change of faith. "When I received Jesus, I went to my house and I didn't say prayers any more like other Muslims," he said. "One night my father asked me to get up and pray, but I told him I can't. He asked me why, and I told him I was a Christian. He started to fight with me."

Abdullah's parents have come to accept his religion, but his oldest brother continues to ostracise him, and most other people do not even know he has converted. "If I go out and say I am a Christian they will curse me, hit me and kill me," he said, matter of factly.

Last year Abdul Rahman, a Christian convert, was arrested by police and threatened with the death penalty until the Italian government offered him asylum. His case is cited by many Afghans as evidence that President Hamid Karzai is a puppet of foreign powers.

Mazar-e-Sharif is home to the shrine of Hazrat Ali, a cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohamed. According to Ahmedi, there are also two large churches and a number of smaller ones in the city, all hidden inside houses and offices.

Meanwhile, a group of foreign missionaries continues to work in the area and in other northern provinces. Taliban militants say the South Korea church volunteers are in good health, but they have threatened to kill them unless Seoul withdraws its troops from Afghanistan and the Afghan government releases Taliban prisoners. Yesterday the deadline for their lives was again extended.

Despite the dangers they face, Afghan Christians refuse to give in to the fear that they will be found out. "If I am afraid I will never receive Jesus," said Abdullah.

Where is the outrage over this kidnapping and threatened execution of these 23 South Korean missionaries in the mainstream media? Even Fox News is barely covering this story.

It is encouraging, though, that the Gospel can win converts to Jesus even in the face of severe persecution. Pray for these missionaries, and all of the brave souls preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Islamic lands.

The Samson Option

Hal Lindsey and I share the same concerns about the Middle East. He obviously has access to much better intelligence sources than I, and articulates his concerns very well. Here is his latest, from The Hal Lindsey Report:

The Samson Option

Last week, WorldNetDaily reported a stunning admission from a Syrian official. He said that Syria had "learned from the Hezbollah experience last summer and we can have hundreds of missiles hitting Tel Aviv that will overwhelm Israel's anti-missile batteries."

He claimed Syria has "proof" Israel is also readying for a war. "We hear about special Israeli trainings to take Damascus. We see that Israel is re-establishing bases of the Israeli army in the Golan that are unusual and not needed except for war. We believe the Israeli government has an interest in confronting Syria to rehabilitate its image of losing to Hezbollah."

The WorldNetDaily report also says that Damascus believes newly-installed Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, a former prime minister, "wants to prove he is a military expert." This information is perfectly in line with the official statements made by both Bashar Assad and Mushen Bilal to several major Arab newspapers.

Furthermore, London's Daily Telegraph reported June 25 that Tehran was establishing a missile defense shield for Syria. Iran is also preparing to ship sophisticated military hardware, including "dozens of medium-range Shahab-3 and Russian-made Scud-C missiles, together with Scud-B missiles."

Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D surface-to-surface missiles that have a range of about 250 miles. This puts virtually all of Israel's population centers within range. Analysts say the planned Iranian arms shipment to Syria may be coordinated with the delivery of advanced Russian fighter jets.

Syria is also known to be producing non-conventional warheads, including those containing VX gas for delivery via the new longer range and more accurate Scuds. All Israel's cities are within range of these missiles. Most of them can be reached in less than three minutes. Syria is gambling that Israel's performance in the Hezbollah war of June 2006 means that it has seen all Israel has to offer.

Apparently, Bashar Assad now believes Israel can be beaten. Assad is miscalculating. In the event Syria launches a gas attack on Israel, it's a virtual certainty that Damascus would be instantly obliterated by Israeli nuclear weapons.

The thought of being gassed evokes a visceral response among Israel's Holocaust survivors and their descendants that Damascus wildly underestimates. Israel has more than 400 nuclear weapons in hidden silos in various places within its borders, as well as at least two submarines in the Mediterranean that are launch capable. And you can be certain that in the event of a massive WMD attack by the Syrians, Israel will respond in kind.

There are two particular codes used by Israeli Defense Forces when planning worst-case scenario responses. One is called the "Masada Option." Masada was an ancient fortress taken by the Romans following a three-year siege. Just before they were overrun, the defending Jews committed suicide rather than be captured.

The other code term, "The Samson Option," refers to Samson, who said just before he pulled down the house of the Philistines on himself – and them – "Let me die with the Philistines." Judges 16:30 records it this way: "Then Samson said, 'Let me die with the Philistines!' And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life."

That's pretty clear imagery. Israel will not just meekly fade away into destruction. And it certainly won't die alone, even if it has to destroy itself in the process of nuking the Middle East.

I once encountered Ariel Sharon in the Knesset in the late 1970s. I asked him if Israel still had a Masada Option. He boldly announced, "No longer 'Masada Option' – now 'Samson Option.'"

Moshe Dayan and Golda Meir almost used that "Option" in the first days of the Yom Kippur War, when it appeared they were going to be overrun. Dayan gave the code for its use when he told Prime Minister Meir, "Arm the doomsday weapons, the Third Temple is about to fall."

War with Syria threatens to bring all nations of the Middle East into direct conflict with Israel – even the supposedly moderate state of Jordan. Jordan has never recovered from the defeats it suffered at the hands of the Israelis, particularly in 1967, in which it lost both the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

All of these events may well be setting up a prophecy that I have pondered for over 40 years. Isaiah predicts a catastrophic end to Damascus that I do not believe is part of the final war of Armageddon. It appears to be a regional conflict that will occur shortly before the anti-Christ is unveiled.

Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth. It has never been destroyed despite being besieged and captured many times in history. Its existence reaches back to the dawn of history.

Yet Isaiah predicts in a series of oracles concerning ‘the last days’ that Damascus will suddenly be obliterated and cease being a city forever. Over 2700 years ago, Isaiah foresaw this terrible event, “An oracle concerning Damascus: ‘See, DAMASCUS will no longer be a CITY but will become a heap of ruins.’” (Isa. 17:1 NIV)

Isaiah makes two statements about the destruction Damascus that indicates an instantaneous event. First, Isaiah says, “The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim, and royal power from Damascus …” (17:3) This refers to Damascus, which is in part of land allotted to Ephraim. The Hebrew word “disappear” used in this context means a sudden, total annihilation.

Isaiah’s second description of Damascus’ destruction predicts, “In he evening, sudden terror! Before morning, they are gone! This is the portion of those who loot us (Israel), the lot of those who plunder us.” The great city of Damascus will “disappear” in a night. And it is the Israelites who will do this.

Another important part of this prophecy is that it will occur at a time when some calamity hits Israel, “In that day the glory of Jacob will fade; the fat of his body will waste away.” (Isa. 4) This indicates some kind of terrible, physical attack.

Here is where I believe all of this could be headed. Israel is going to be hit with WMDs from Syria that will kill a great number of Israelis. Israel will immediately implement the “Samson Option” against Damascus – totally obliterating it. This will cause the Muslim nations to back off out of fear of also being hit. It will also throw the world into a state of such fear that it will set them up for the anti-Christ’s arrival with a superhuman plan for peace and freedom from war. With his satanic powers, he will convince the world that the only hope is a one-world government under his leadership.

According to my sources, there are fully armed Israeli aircraft sitting on the runway of Jezreel Valley IDF base with pilots in the cockpits on 24 hour alert. Normally, these aircraft are stored under ground. These planes can be over Damascus in 180 seconds from take off.

Syria is playing a very dangerous game, and is being urged on by Iran. If just one-missile hits Israel with the deadly VX gas, the ‘Samson Option’ will be instantly implemented.

Never in history have any of these events occurred. More than that, at no time in recorded history were any of these things even possible. But Israel can now fulfill these prophecies with the nuclear weapons it possess.

Never before have all the causative factors of this event been present at the same moment in history.

But today, they are the only logical conclusion if current events continue along their current path. It's a terrifying scenario, but to those who trust that these signs point to the imminent return of Christ for His Church, it is, nonetheless, an exciting time to be alive.

I emphasize his last sentence.

Old Testament figure named on 2600-year-old tablet

This is one more instance of the Bible being proven historically accurate:

Old Testament figure named on 2600-year-old tablet

By Dalya Alberge in London

July 12, 2007 01:00am
Article from: The Australian

THE British Museum yesterday hailed a discovery within a clay tablet in its collection as a breakthrough for biblical archeology - proof of the accuracy of the Old Testament.

The cuneiform inscription in a tablet dating from 595BC has been deciphered for the first time - revealing a reference to an official at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, that proves the historical existence of a figure mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.

It is rare evidence in a non-biblical source of a real person, other than kings, featured in the Bible.

The tablet names a Babylonian officer called Nebo-Sarsekim who, according to Jeremiah 39 was present in 587BC when Nebuchadnezzar "marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it".

The cuneiform inscription records how Nebo-Sarsekim lavished a gift of gold on the Temple of Esangila in the fabled city of Babylon, where, at least in folk tradition, Nebuchadnezzar is credited with building the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

British Museum staff are excited by the discovery.

Irving Finkel, assistant keeper in the Department of the Middle East, said: "A mundane commercial transaction takes its place as a primary witness to one of the turning points in Old Testament history.

"This is a tablet that deserves to be famous."
....

Read the rest of the article here.

Why Jesus folded the linen cloth after His resurrection

The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.

The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin. Is that important? You'd better believe it! Is that significant? Absolutely!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.

Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table.

For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm done". But if the master got up from the table, folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because the servant knew that the folded napkin meant, "I'm not finished yet." The folded napkin meant, "I'm coming back!"

He is Coming Back!

My mom sent this to me. I don't know the original source. - Ron

Vichy America

From The Omega Letter, posted on The Hal Lindsey Report:

Jack Kinsella - Commentary - 06/14
The Omega Letter

Vichy America

In July, 1940, following France's military defeat at the hands of the Nazis, Marshal Phillippe Petain, a hero of the 1st World War, dissolved the existing "L`etat Republique" (the French Republic) and announced its replacement with "L`etat Francais" (the French State). "L`etat Francais" was better known by its nickname, "Vichy France" named for Vichy, the city in central France where Petain headquartered his government.

The French government itself refused to surrender to the Nazis, so Petain sought a separate armistice with Hitler on France's behalf. Hitler, fearing the French would fight on through its colonies in North Africa, agreed to the armistice.

Petain pledged to cooperate with the Germans, relieving Hitler of the burden of maintaining an occupation force to administer French territory. This allowed Hitler to take the war to Great Britain while tying up a minimum of troops.

Petain agreed to make 'tribute' payments to Germany in the amount of 20 million Reichmarks per day, reduce his military to an "Armistice Army" of 100,000 troops, close the borders and surrender anyone over to the Germans that they demanded, particularly French Jews.

The Vichy government agreed to allow Germany to classify the remaining 1.2 million French military as POW's who were promptly imprisoned in Nazi POW camps.

France was then divided into two zones; "Occupied France" and collaborationist Vichy France. In Vichy France, Democratic liberties and guarantees were immediately suspended, as was freedom of speech and opinion.

As soon as it had been established, Pétain's government took measures against the so-called "undesirables": Jews, métèques (immigrants), Freemasons, Communists, gypsies, homosexuals, and anybody else the Germans declared to be anti-Nazi activists.

Jews were registered at local police stations, and officially excluded from government jobs, the armed forces, entertainment, arts, media, and certain professional roles (teachers, lawyers, doctors of medicine, etc.)

The Vichy government collaborated in rounding up and deporting 76,000 Jews, of whom only 2,500 survived the war. In total, more than 90,000 Jews died under the Vichy regime.

During the Cold War, a number of European states, faced with nuclear annihilation by the Soviets, chose, as did the Vichy French, collaboration over defeat. One of the most prominent was Finland, whose large Communist party membership resulted in the establishment of a "Communist Vichy."

Finland's regime made Soviet occupation unnecessary, preserving, like Vichy France, the illusion of national independence. Finland's relationship with the Soviets became known as "Finlandization" and became the model for Soviet domination efforts world-wide.

During the Cold War, the big fear was that eventually, facing nuclear annihilation, American 'peaceniks' would become the majority, preaching a new era of peace and friendship instead of the belligerent and dangerous Cold War policy of 'containment.'

A Finlandization of America could have been accomplished by using the media to advance the careers of politicians dedicated to socialism instead of the evil capitalist system that created such disparity between the rich and the poor.

This process was well underway by the mid 1970's following the resignation of Richard Nixon and the subsequent abandonment of South Vietnam to the Communist north.

Oddly enough, we have Jimmy Carter to thank for putting an end to US Finlandization. His inept economic policies, coupled with his cowardly reaction to the seizure of the US Embassy in Iran, handed the White House to Ronald Reagan.

Reagan, who understood that 'might makes right' reversed the trend, and in the process, defeated the Soviet Union.

In the 1990's, Bill Clinton revived and re-legitimized the 'peacenik' movement of the 1970's. It took the full decade of the 1990's to squander Reagan's 'peace dividend', but by the time he left office in 2001, America had come full circle.

The administration, weakened and divided by Election 2000, was too preoccupied with domestic infighting to adequately respond to the 9/11 attacks.

Constant and unrelenting attacks domestic attacks against the Bush administration by the 'peaceniks' on the Left left little time to unite the nation against the threat posed by radical Islam.

The socialist mantra equating national security issues with anti-Islamic racism found resonance among those who felt they had been robbed of an electoral victory in 2000.

The net result has been America's metamorphosis from Finlandization to Islamization.

Most of the Bush presidency has been focused on appeasing the peacenik element, with the net result being a mirror image of the political situation of the 1970's.

The administration, trying to balance the threat from without against the threat from within, adopted a policy of appeasing Islam by pronouncing it a 'religion of peace and love hijacked by a few terrorists'.

It embarked on a policy of appeasing the Left by diluting elements of the Patriot Act, refusing to crack down on domestic radical Islam to stave off charges of 'racism' and 'racial profiling' and conducting a half-hearted war aimed at maintaining the status quo rather than victory in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The half-hearted efforts convinced many Americans that the Clinton years were indeed the 'good old days' and handed the 'peaceniks' one political victory after another.

With the loss of the Congress to the peaceniks in 2006, and the probable loss of the White House to 1970's radicals like Hillary Clinton in '08, America is poised for an American Vichy solution to the war with the Islamic world.

According to a new book by former CIA Director George Tenet, in 2002, Russian president Vladimir Putin confirmed that rumor that Russia could not account for all its nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Soviets in 1991.

He also confirmed that from late 2002 to spring 2003, Ayman al Zawahiri had been negotiating with Chechen rebels for the purchase of at least three Russian nuclear suitcases.

In his book, "Brotherhood of Terror" in 2002, author Paul Williams claimed that al-Qaeda had purchased as many as twenty Russian suitcase nukes from members of the Chechen mafia.

"After the devices were obtained, they were placed in the hands of Arab nuclear scientists who, federal sources say, 'were probably trained at American universities,'" says Williams. al-Qaeda came up with a way of hot-wiring the bombs to the bodies of would-be martyrs, according to the book.

Williams also says al-Qaeda obtained chemical weapons from North Korea and Iraq.

Williams says the FBI confirmed to him that Saddam Hussein provided bin Laden with a "gift" of anthrax spores.

The FBI has picked up 'chatter' that suggests that al-Qaeda's nuclear arsenal could be much larger than even Williams or Tenet suggest.

One intelligence source told me yesterday that it could also include battlefield tactical nukes purchased in the early 90's from renegade Russian officers -- tactical warheads large enough to level a city the size of Los Angeles.

This new information is given added crediblity, when one recalls that, in the early 1990's many Russian generals had taken to selling their medals at Russian flea markets in order to buy food.

In the years prior to 9/11, al-Qaeda had a war chest of more that $300 million and the freedom to spend it without interference.

The problem for al-Qaeda until now, has been finding a way to get these warheads into the United States.

Thanks to the Venezuela/Damascus/Tehran air corridor, al-Qaeda now has the ability to bring them to the Western hemisphere. The recent decision to open the US to the Mexican trucking industry also provides them with the means to deliver them.

A lead-lined tanker truck could easily smuggle a nuclear warhead across the Mexican border and drive it to any city in America.

Islam's goal is not to kill every American. It is to force America to submit to Islam. A nuclear attack against selected American cities would give America one of two choices.

Fight on, or negotiate a Vichy-style 'armistice'.

Much of the American Left is already advocating a Vichy solution to the Iraq war -- the same 'peace with honor' solution that ended the Vietnam War -- by abandoning South Vietnam to the Communist North.

Thanks to the popular imposition of 'political correctness' Vichy-like suspension of democratic liberties, free speech and freedom of opinion are already well-entrenched in the American psyche.

Try expressing the 'wrong' opinions on topics like gay rights, global warming, Islam, or advancing pro-Christian, pro-life, or pro-American opinions and watch the reaction from the Left.

Opinions are one step away from being criminalized now -- and in some cases, are already grounds for arrest and prosecution.

America is at a crossroads. It is but one more attack away from adopting one of two courses. Either Vichy America, or Occupied America.

It depends on whether America chooses the preferred course of the 'peaceniks' or the 'neo-cons'. Sadly, I can only conclude that neither choice bodes well for America's future.

(This helps to explain my ongoing insomnia).

But it does suggest an answer to the question, "Where is America in Bible prophecy?"

(Frankly, I would prefer to leave that question unanswered. I would sleep better at night if I did.)

Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss.

(Emphasis added)

We must defeat the radical, anti-war left in the 2008 elections, or we may indeed find out why America doesn't seem to be mentioned in the End Times prophecies.

Persecution of Christians in Iraq

From www.frontpagemag.com:

Assault on Assyrian Christians
By Paul Isaac
International Herald Tribune | May 9, 2007

A militant Islamic group in Iraq recently issued a fatwa, or religious edict, to the Assyrian Christian residents of the Baghdad suburb of Dora: Convert to Islam within 24 hours, or face death. At the same time, Muslim neighbors were instructed, over the loudspeakers of local mosques, to confiscate the property of Christians and enforce the edict.

The response was as swift: The majority of Assyrians remaining in Dora immediately gathered whatever they could carry and fled the city.

Iraq's Assyrian Christians know quite well that these latest threats are not empty promises. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, over 25 churches across Iraq have been bombed, in highly symbolic and coordinated manners. The Islamic group claiming responsibility for the bombing of four churches in August 2004 issued a warning. "To the people of the crosses: Return to your senses and be aware that God's soldiers are ready for you. You wanted a crusade and these are its results."

Several priests have been abducted and beheaded, one in apparent retribution for the pope's public musings about Muhammed and the nature of Islam in October 2006. In March, two elderly nuns were reportedly stabbed to death in Kirkuk. Several Christian women have been beheaded or doused with chemicals for failing to wear the veil. And last October a 14-year-old Assyrian boy was crucified near Mosul.

For the Islamists, the violence has certainly had the desired effect: The massive exodus of Assyrian Christians from Iraq. The UN High Commission for Refugees estimates that as many as a third of the 1.8 million refugees now outside Iraq are Christian.

A similar percentage of the 1.6 million internally displaced within Iraq are likely Christian, many of whom have fled Baghdad, Basra and Mosul to the relatively stable Northern Iraq. The Catholic Bishop of Baghdad, Andreos Abouna, recently stated that as many as half of Iraqi Christians, perhaps half a million people, have fled the country since the 2003 invasion.

Assyrian Christians, the indigenous people of Iraq, the inheritors of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization and the world's earliest converts to Christianity, are at risk of being completely eradicated from their homeland.

In a case of tragic irony, the "liberating" international forces have done nothing to protect Iraq's Christians. Not wishing to admit the catastrophic security failure nor be seen as intervening on a religious basis, U.S. officials have simply stood aside and watched. The State Department's recent offering of 7,000 visas for refugees is not only woefully inadequate but will merely encourage the flight of Assyrians from Iraq.

The United States has been complicit with the destruction of an entire people and should be held liable for the rectification of this misfortune.

Many Assyrians have pled for the establishment of an autonomous region for Christians in Iraq. This zone would likely be situated around the Nineveh Plains, the Assyrians' ancestral homeland, where Christians still comprise the majority. Sargis Aghajan, the finance minister for the Kurdistan Regional Government and himself an Assyrian, has called for autonomy in the Nineveh Plains. He also has financed the construction of thousands of homes in the area and to the north, to prevent those Assyrians fleeing Baghdad and elsewhere from leaving the country altogether.

In March, I joined 1,200 Assyrian intellectuals and civic leaders, both from the diaspora and around Iraq, in attending a conference in Erbil which formalized Iraqi Christians' demand for autonomy. An autonomous region for Assyrians will convince those remaining in Iraq that their faith, language and way of life has a future in Iraq and persuade many of those who have fled to return.

The Bush administration and its Iraqi allies should support this development and ensure its realization. The fate of an entire people lies in the balance.

"And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." Mark 13:13

Another False Christ

"Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray." Luke 13:6

Crowd Packs Amphitheater For Man Claiming He's Jesus Christ Reincarnated
Christians Protest Event In Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A controversial religious figure who claims he is Jesus Christ incarnate with a following of millions with "666" tattoos on their bodies, filled an amphitheater in Orlando this weekend, and promised joy, peace and prosperity.

Orlando police officers stood guard around the Lake Eola amphitheater as Dr. Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, 61, arrived in the city Saturday.

Miranda, who has been banned from three countries, told Local 6 News cameras and a cheering crowd that he was Jesus Christ reincarnated.

His followers believe that Miranda's life and his teachings replace those of Jesus of Nazareth, Local 6's Jamie Guirola said.

"They believe that Jesus is going to come from the sky," Juan Sanchez said. "But, that is not the way he is going to come."

"He is here?" Guirola said.

"He is here." Sanchez said.

Miranda said millions of people worldwide have tattooed their bodies with "666" in recognition that the second-coming of Christ has taken place, according to the report.

"I have it proudly on my hand," a believer told Local 6's Jamie Guirola. "It is easier when they shake my hand. It is easier for them to ask. I am very proud to show it is a sign of love."

A group of Christians protested the event, calling the following a cult. Police also removed two people from the amphitheater.

"We are just questioning their faith and their '666' tattoos," a protestor told Local 6. "We just want to learn more so we can relate more between being a Christian and believing in this and who the true Jesus is."

Miranda said he is known as God in at least 30 countries.

Local 6 reported that he was born in Puerto Rico and admits to being a recovering heroin addict. He also spent times in prison on drug and petty theft charges.

Miranda is the founder of the Miami-based Growing in Grace Ministry.

A sign of the times.

Climate change hits Mars

It would seem that maybe "global warming" may not be caused by man, after all. Maybe God has more to do with it?

Climate change hits Mars-News-UK-TimesOnline:
From The Sunday Times
April 29, 2007

Climate change hits Mars

Mars is being hit by rapid climate change and it is happening so fast that the red planet could lose its southern ice cap, writes Jonathan Leake.

Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period.

Since there is no known life on Mars it suggests rapid changes in planetary climates could be natural phenomena.

The mechanism at work on Mars appears, however, to be different from that on Earth. One of the researchers, Lori Fenton, believes variations in radiation and temperature across the surface of the Red Planet are generating strong winds.

In a paper published in the journal Nature, she suggests that such winds can stir up giant dust storms, trapping heat and raising the planet’s temperature.

Fenton’s team unearthed heat maps of the Martian surface from Nasa’s Viking mission in the 1970s and compared them with maps gathered more than two decades later by Mars Global Surveyor. They found there had been widespread changes, with some areas becoming darker.

When a surface darkens it absorbs more heat, eventually radiating that heat back to warm the thin Martian atmosphere: lighter surfaces have the opposite effect.

How Middle Eastern Leftist View the US Left

Follow the link to read the whole story from www.frontpagemag.com. You will be amazed! I know I was!

Betrayed
By Amir Taheri
The New York Post | April 11, 2007

While elements of the Left in the United States and Europe are calling on Western democracies to abandon Afghanistan and Iraq to the Taliban and al Qaeda and surrender to the Khomeinists in Iran, new alliances are emerging against the jihadists in the region.

In much of the Middle East, most notably Afghanistan and Iraq, the Left is part of these new alliances.

* In Iraq, two rival Communist parties, along with Social Democrats and other center-left groups, supported the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and continue to play a significant role in the new pluralist system. They are resolutely opposed to a premature withdrawal of American and allied forces, as demanded by the U.S. Congress.

* In Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party is at the heart of the democratic movement to against the Islamic Republic's attempt to dominate the country through its Hezbollah surrogates. The Lebanese democratic movement includes other parties of the Left, notably the Socialist Salvation Movement (Inqadh) and the Movement of the Democratic Left.

* In Iran, virtually the whole of the Left rejects President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-Americanism and calls for normalization of ties with the United States. The recently created independent trade-union movement is emerging as a vocal challenger to Khomeinism.
....

Russia: U.S. still preparing cruise missile strike on Iran

Background
As background, read Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39. These Scriptures speak of the destruction of Damascus, and a major nuclear war involving Russia, Persia (Iran), and most of Islamic North Africa (with the notable exception of Iraq).

Iran and Russia have had a mutual defense treaty for some time. In March of 2006 Syria joined this treaty.

Israel has been surrounded by enemies since it’s beginning. Israel is widely believed to have around 250 nuclear weapons. Part of Israel’s military/political planning is said to be “The Sampson Option.” This doomsday option says that if Israel is about to be over-run and destroyed, or if Israel is attacked with WMD, Israel will respond with a nuclear strike against the capitals of all of it’s enemies.

Current Events
Let’s say that Israel or the US attacks Iran in an attempt to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Iran could, and probably would, invoke the mutual defense treaty. They might also attempt to respond with missile based weapons of mass destruction, possibly including nuclear weapons acquired on the black market. Russia and Syria could be forced to retaliate, quite possibly drawing in other Muslim states in the area.

This could fulfill Ezekiel 38:4-5, referring to Russia: “And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet….” The phrase “put hooks into your jaws” specifically means being compelled to do something, possibly against your immediate wishes.

If one of these states causes Israel to invoke the Sampson Option, Israel could nuke Tehran, Damascus, and other capitals. This could fulfill Isaiah 17:1 about Syria: “Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins.”

What brings this to mind now is a story on worldtribune.com:

Russia: U.S. still preparing cruise missile strike on Iran

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, April 11, 2007

MOSCOW — The United States is planning to launch a war with Iran with a salvo of cruise missiles against military and other strategic facilities, a Russian official said.

A leading Russian analyst close to the government of President Vladimir Putin said the Bush administration has been preparing a major air strike against Iran. The analyst said the Iranian release of 15 British Marines abducted in early April has hampered but not canceled U.S. attack plans.

"Preparations to strike Iran's strategic facilities continue," Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems, said. "Three major groups of U.S. forces are still in the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Altogether, they have up to 450 cruise missiles on alert."

[On Tuesday, the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat daily quoted French military sources that assessed a U.S. strike on Iran in 2007. The sources said Iran could be making a major mistake in underestimating U.S. intentions and capabilities.]

The assessment was the latest by government-financed Russian military analysts that warned of a U.S. war against Iran. Over the last two weeks, some analysts have raised the prospect of a U.S. air strike over the next few weeks.

"Combat nuclear weapons may be used for bombing," Ivashov said. "This will result in radioactive contamination of the Iranian territory, which could possibly spread to neighboring countries."

On April 8, Ivashov, who heads a government think tank, told the Interfax-AVN news agency that the U.S. Navy would be the lead service in the military campaign against Iran. He said the attack would begin with a salvo of advanced cruise missiles.

"Military operations against Teheran will begin with the launch of at least two unexpected strikes using Tomahawk cruise missiles and air power in order to disable Iran's air defense capabilities," Ivashov said.

The general said the U.S. military plans to employ up to 150 fighter-jets in the two air strikes on Iran. In the first stage, he said, the United States would destroy Iran's air defense umbrella, including the new Russian-origin TOR-M1 mobile surface-to-air missile systems.

Ivashov said the U.S. campaign would target command centers, air defense batteries, naval vessels and air bases. In the second stage, the general said, the U.S. military would target Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Nuclear facilities may be secondary targets," Ivashov said. "According to expert assessments, at least 20 such facilities need to be destroyed in order to stop Iran's nuclear program."

Ivashov said Iran could respond by firing the Shihab-3E intermediate-range missile toward Israel. He said this could result in Israeli nuclear retaliation.

"If Iran strikes back at Israel with missiles, Tel Aviv is likely to use nuclear weapons on Iran," Ivashov said. "Development of the situation would undermine stability not only in the Middle East, but also in the entire world."

This is not the first report I have read coming out of Russia about the US preparing for a strike against Iran. While one must always wonder why Putin would allow such a story to be printed, nevertheless it sounds plausible. I have also recently read that a third nuclear aircraft carrier battle group has sailed for the Persian Gulf area. Three carrier battle groups is an awesome military force.

I should point out that I thought a similar scenario might play out last summer, during the Israel/Hezbollah war. It didn't. I was wrong then, I could also be wrong now. Only God knows when Ezekiel's war will happen.

However, the timing may be right this summer. The third carrier battle group will be in position. President Bush believes that the Iranian nuclear program is a clear and present danger to the US. Allowing Iran to become a nuclear power would be catastrophic for the US and Western civilization. Mr. Bush probably also believes that none of the Democratic presidential candidates would be up to the challenge, if elected (I agree). Next year is a presidential election year, and as early as the campaign has gotten into gear this time it would be very hard to launch such an attach any later than early fall.

My guess is that this attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and military will probably happen this summer.

The Single Most Critical Event of the 20th Century

Do you know what the single most critical event of the 20th Century was? Writing on The Omega Letter, Jack Kinsella makes a strong case that the assassination of Franz and Sophie Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip, which precipitated World War I, was that event. This assassination triggered a sequence of events that has set the stage for the return of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and unlocked the Books of Revelation and Daniel. Read it, you will be fascinated!

Lessons From History
In Defense of the Faith
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor

I've always been a keen student of history, as far back as I can remember. Even before I understood the logic of the question, "how can you know where you are going if you don't know where you have been?", the history of man has fascinated me.

I would learn some new historical fact that would explain the reason for some contemporary situation and, bingo! The lights would come on and it would all make sense.

I was always fascinated with the way all the tiny details had to fit together exactly, and what a difference a single change could make to the Big Picture as it exists today.

What if Gavrilo Princip had not shot Franz and Sophie Ferdinand to death on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo?

(Who? I'm glad you asked.)

Gavrilo Princip was a member of a Serbian nationalist terrorist squad. Franz Ferdinand was the Archduke of Austria, Prince Imperial of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

His assassination precipitated the Austria declaration of war that triggered the First World War.

What if Princip was captured or killed before he could do the deed that ultimately killed more than thirty-eight million people? That single event forever changed the course of history, brought down empires, and freed the Holy Land from centuries of Islamic rule.

So, what if Gavrilo Princip missed? What if his weapon misfired? Jerusalem would have remained a minor city in minor province of the Islamic Ottoman Empire. The modern map of the Middle East would not exist. Germany would have no need of a Jew-hating rabble rouser demanding vengeance for its defeat in a war that didn't take place.

A single act by a single person on a single day that essentially created modern history. Who could have predicted such a thing? Yet had this one thing not happened, the world as we know it would not exist.
....

Read the rest here.

British team grows human heart valve from stem cells

And these are adult stem cells!

British team grows human heart valve from stem cells

Tissue for transplants could be available within three years if trials are successful

Alok Jha, science correspondent
Monday April 2, 2007
The Guardian

A British research team led by the world's leading heart surgeon has grown part of a human heart from stem cells for the first time. If animal trials scheduled for later this year prove successful, replacement tissue could be used in transplants for the hundreds of thousands of people suffering from heart disease within three years.

Sir Magdi Yacoub, a professor of cardiac surgery at Imperial College London, has worked on ways to tackle the shortage of donated hearts for transplant for more than a decade. His team at the heart science centre at Harefield hospital have grown tissue that works in the same way as the valves in human hearts, a significant step towards the goal of growing whole replacement hearts from stem cells.
...
By using chemical and physical nudges, the scientists first coaxed stem cells extracted from bone marrow to grow into heart valve cells. By placing these cells into scaffolds made of collagen, Dr Chester and his colleague Patricia Taylor then grew small 3cm-wide discs of heart valve tissue. Later this year, that tissue will be implanted into animals - probably sheep or pigs - and monitored to see how well it works as part of a circulatory system.

If that trial works well, Prof Yacoub is optimistic that the replacement heart tissue, which can be grown into the shape of a human heart valve using specially-designed collagen scaffolds, could be used in patients within three to five years.

How does this relate to the End Times? Daniel 12:4: “But thou, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

This work is definitely increasing knowledge. See, not all prophesy fulfillment related to the End Times is terrible to contemplate!

Why should we care about the Jews?

Much of this web site talks about the Jews. Why should we care about the Jews? Many people either don’t like a Jew they have known, or don’t like Jews in general. Jews are hated around the world.

Why should we care?

There are many, many answers to that question. I could talk about:

1. The Jews recorded and preserved the Word of God. We owe them a tremendous debt just for this alone!
2. Jesus Christ is a descendant of Abraham and King David.
3. Jesus was Himself a Jewish rabbi.
4. Every Apostle was a Jew.
5. Almost every Christian on the day of Pentecost was a Jew.
6. Almost all of the earliest Church were Jews.
7. EVERYTHING about the events leading to Christ’s return, the Tribulation, has to do with the Jews!

These are all true, and are good reasons, but I’ll show you the best reason. It is also the easiest way I know to have God bless you. (Or to call down God’s curse upon yourself!)

That reason is God’s very first promise to Abram, before God renamed him Abraham. Genesis 12:3 says: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” This is an unconditional, irrevocable promise, and upon this promise rests the entire history of Israel, the Jews, and the New Testament.

God does not require us to love every Jew, they are just people like anyone else. BUT if you dishonor or curse “the Jews,” even in your own mind, you will have invoked God’s curse upon yourself! A simple “G*d damn Jews” will bring down God’s curse upon your head!

On the other hand, God has promised a blessing to you if you do something to bless Abram (Abraham) and his covenant descendants, the Jews!

Be very, very careful about what you allow yourself to think and believe about the Jews! Your immortal soul and how you will spend eternity depends on it!