Posted in ahmadinejad, iran, khamenei, nuclear, tribulation

Has Iran become a nuclear nation?

Matt Drudge had a headline under a compelling graphic yesterday afternoon.

I am a child of the cold war, born in 1960 and raised in my formative years with Sputnik at my back and the ‘sending a man to the moon and returning him safely to earth’ to my front. The 70s and 80s are still vivid in my memory of the Russkies, Reds, Commies that were neck and neck militarily with the US and someday might even invade. And nukes. Goodness, the nukes we all worried about.

In the 90s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a new generation was raised without the Red boogeyman as a political specter. We all went on to “greener” pastures, literally, with worrying about the environment and global warming and population control. The Bomb was so passe.

But in 2007 when the Russians started to make a surprise comeback, those of us who were old enough to remember the Cold War, Iron Curtain, East Germany, Berlin Wall, and the military buildup, collectively shuddered. The bomb is back. Oh, boy, is it back.

In God’s economy, the bomb never went away. But more on that in a minute.

Yesterday Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (above, right) and Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei (left) revealed that they already have the bomb. This may be true. It may not be true. We will see. But the point is, they want it and one way or another. Iran is going to wind up possessing a bomb, if they don’t already. Here is the news article-

Ahmadinejad: Iran already a nuclear state, but has no intention of launching attack on Israel
“Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that while Iran is already a nuclear state, it has no intention of attacking Israel. Ahmadinejad was interviewed on the eve of his visit to Cairo, where he will attend the 12th Islamic Summit Conference, due to open there on Wednesday. … Ahmadinejad said the world must now treat Iran as a nuclear country. “They want Iran to go back to what it was in the past, but they won’t succeed. They assume we’ll give in to pressure; such thoughts are misguided. We’re already an industrial and nuclear country, a country that has conquered space.”

Wait, back that up- a ‘nuclear country’? Well, maybe they mean nuclear power. Like, electricity.

Maybe so, maybe not so. The interview went on-

“Mentioning the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran, Ahmadinejad said that while it might be easy to launch missiles or attack using fighter jets, Iran’s response and defense capability were important in this context.”

Ahmadinejad is being cagy, perhaps to save face in recovering from the terrible loss of the Fordow nuclear processing plant, sabotaged two weeks ago. Maybe Ahmadinejad is telling the truth.

Is there a biblical take on nuclear war?

Yes, and no. The bible does not explicitly mention nuclear missiles in the Tribulation, of course. But it is my opinion, nuclear exchanges will take place. I will offer scriptures on why I think so and leave it to you as to whether the future portends nuclear war, or not.

Zechariah 14:12 tells of the time when Jesus returns. His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and the mount will split during a major earthquake and make a huge valley. At that time, the armies of satan will be surrounding and attacking Jerusalem. Jesus’s return stops it. He says, “And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.” (Zechariah 14:12-15).

The ‘plague’ could be an actual plague like the one that attacked Herod when worms ate him and he died. But the description here sounds much more like hat happens to flesh during a nuclear blast. I looked it up. The eyes, tongue, lungs, internal organs etc literally melt.

Revelation 6:14 speaks of a great earthquake and other signs happening: stars disappear and the sky recedes like a scroll. In my research about what happens when a nuclear blast detonates, I learned that there is a shock wave that travels in the air. The shock wave travels at supersonic speed, as well as the wave that travels upward, carrying the dirt, ground, and debris with it. A vacuum immediately around the blast occurs during this time. It is like the atmosphere rolls up and then rolls back.

In the aftermath of Gog Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39, there is a scene which is explicitly described. Ezekiel 39:11-16 has it:

“On that day I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the sea. It will block the travelers, for there Gog and all his multitude will be buried. It will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog. For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them, and it will bring them renown on the day that I show my glory, declares the Lord God. They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make their search. And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. (Hamonahe is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.”

The specifications for cleanup are similar to a bio-hazard protocol which would be instituted after a nuclear blast. In addition, the name “Hamon Gog” means “multitude of Gog.” In the Hebrew it bespeaks of a multitude, multitude. A LOT of bodies. And we see that there are so many it takes 7 months to bury them and an entire valley has to be set aside for the mass graves. It seems that nuclear blasts would be one kind of weapon to cause such massive casualties.

In Isaiah 17:1 the oracle states that Damascus will cease to be a city. Instead it will be heap of ruins. Even during the London Blitz of 1940 by Germany with conventional weapons, the city was not reduced to a heap of ruins. And Hitler tried his best. 348 German bombers escorted by 617 fighters blasted London for 12 hours. However, a nuclear blast could reduce a city to rubble…

In Revelation 6:8, Death and Hades ride out on a pale horse. A quarter of the earth’s people are killed and after that in Revelation 9:15 another third of the world is killed. As a matter of fact, so many die during the 7 years that Jesus said no flesh would be saved if He does not cut short the time. (Matthew 24:22).

Now, God does not need me to make a case for Him. He could move His hand and that many people would succumb to death at any moment. But it seems that with so many nuclear weapons still in the hands of man, the high level of deaths during this prophesied time of total war, and the verses which seem to indicate nukes are used given the effects recorded in Isaiah, Revelation, Zechariah and Ezekiel, that it seems logical to conclude that nuclear weapons are launched at some point.

The blessing is that the believer will not be here to endure any of that. Jesus Christ is not going to put His bride thought nuclear winter and radiation fallout. We will be take up to be with Him where He is- in the place He has prepared for us, (John 14:3) New Jerusalem

So Iran claims to have the bomb. Well…the Tribulation will be a time when man’s inclinations of evil will be a time when nukes will most likely be used. What do you think?

Posted in fordo, iran, kahlili, nuclear

Iran’s nuclear bomb program complete, says source

I’ve mentioned before that anonymous sources plus news media outlets that are not as solid as I’d like make for two strikes. The news below comes from World Net Daily and Reza Kahlili, who claims that Iran has finished making the Bomb.

Iran’s nuclear bomb program complete
“Iran successfully has built a nuclear bomb with the help of Russia and North Korea and has enough weapons-grade uranium and plutonium for more, according to a source in the Revolutionary Guards intelligence unit. The source, who has access to Iran’s nuclear program, said the Islamic regime is working out of seven nuclear sites, most unknown to the IAEA, and that its nuclear bomb program is complete.”

But that news above is supported by other news from 6 weeks ago in various news outlets that Iran was close to finishing a bomb. Here is one of those news articles:

From 6 weeks ago, the UK Daily Mail reported: Is Iran working on a nuclear bomb?
–Leaked graph shows computer testing for weapon three times as powerful as Hiroshima blast
–A leaked diagram suggests that Iranian scientists have run computer simulations for a weapon
–Meanwhile, satellite images from North Korea suggest that the nation could be about to test long range ballistic missiles
“Scientists in Iran could be producing a nuclear weapon three times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima during the Second World War, according to a leaked diagram. The diagram, which suggests that experts have run computer simulations for the weapon, was released by an unnamed country which is opposed to Iran’s atomic programme and wishes to boost its view that it should be brought to a halt before a weapon can be produced.”

News of which is further buttressed by this from YNet in Israel from a few weeks earlier than that, in November:

Iran confirms completing centrifuges installation in Fordo
“Iran admitted to completing the installation of centrifuges in the underground Fordo nuclear site. Following a Wednesday cabinet meeting in Tehran, the Head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Agency Fereydoun Abbasi said the Iranians were perfecting their nuclear abilities as planned, Iranian media reported. Western diplomats reported last week that Tehran appears to have nearly finished installing centrifuges in Fordo, a move that brings the Islamic Republic closer to building a nuclear bomb, though according to reports, the new centrifuges have yet to be activated.”

Whether the centrifuges have been started or not is a matter of speculation. Confirmable reports from Iran are hard to get.

Iran is intent on getting the bomb. They are intent because they want to wipe Israel from the map. They want to wipe Israel because this will prove to the Final Imam that they are serious about fulfilling their religious duty to cause chaos and wipe out Islam’s enemies. This would be their gift to Imam and entice his return. They will not stop making the bomb and they will not hesitate to use it. They are unswervingly dedicated to this cause.

Some have suggested that Zechariah 14:12 illustrates what happens to the body when the person is standing at ground zero. The death toll described in the Ezekiel 38-39 war indicates weapons of mass destruction may be the cause of the huge numbers of dead, possibly nuclear weapons. The resulting burial and cleansing regime described in 39:14-17 also indicates what happens after nuclear wars.

We will see.

Posted in iran, isfahan, nuclear

Has there been a nuclear accident at Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site?

The BBC and Washington Beacon report tonight that 1.5 million Iranians have been told to evacuate an area near Isfahan via a government-issued edict. The Beacon reports

“Iranian officials have instructed residents of Isfahan to leave the city, renewing concerns that a nearby nuclear site could be leaking radioactive material. An edict issued Wednesday by Iranian authorities orders Isfahan’s one-and-a-half million people to leave the city “because pollution has now reached emergency levels,” the BBC reported. However, outside observers suspect that the evacuation order may corroborate previous reports indicating that a uranium enrichment facility near Isfahan had been leaking radioactive material. Tehran went to great lengths in December to deny these reports, telling state-run media outlets that “the rumors about leaking and contamination at Isfahan’s [Uranium Conversion Facility] are not true at all.”

… “Mass evacuations suggest a far more serious problem,” [Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq] Rubin explained. “There are two possibilities here: There is a radiation leak and the regime is lying or there is really bad pollution and no one believes the regime’s explanations.”

Please stay tuned to developments in the Middle East. I’ll update if/when conformed items become available.

Posted in bushehr, iran, israel, nuclear, un

UN Resolution calling for Israeli nuclear transparency passes handily

Israel is the only nuclear power in the immediate region (further away, India Pakistan, of course, possess nukes). Israel has always maintained a political a military stance of “nuclear ambiguity.” They do not deny they have them nor do they admit it. The nation has not signed any pacts, like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, for example. It is a well-known secret that Israel has nukes. They just don’t talk about it. And until this week, no one else has very much, either.

All that changed when Hamas and the Palestinian Authority gained what they perceive to be an upper hand, when the UN voted them a state. Note the following article comes from Iran’s state press, for what that’s worth.

UN resolution calls for Israeli nuclear transparency
“The UN passes a resolution, calling on the Israeli regime to quickly open its nuclear program to inspection and join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) “without further delay.” The 193-member UN General Assembly on Monday passed the resolution 174 to six with six abstentions, urging Tel Aviv to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to have access to its nuclear facilities. Only the US, Canada, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau voted against the resolution that reflects international concern about suspicious Israeli nuclear activities. Israel, the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, is widely known to have between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads. The Israeli regime rejects all the regulatory international nuclear agreements — the NPT in particular — and refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspections.”

Canada’s Globe & Mail also reported on the UN Resolution-
“Canada was on the losing side of the vote Monday as the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Monday calling on Israel to quickly open its nuclear program for inspection and backing a high-level conference to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East which was just cancelled.”

Now, the UN passes Resolutions against Israel practically every day, so this one is not major news in the same sense that the PA Statehood was major news. But added to the cadre of news articles coming fast and furious against Israel, it is telling that once again, the news is about Israel, Israel, Israel. Just as Zechariah 12 said it would be in the last days. Note how the world’s attention is increasingly shifting to Israel in the news, and staying there.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Arutz Sheva reports the US is sending more drones to spy on Iran’s nuke plant. “US intelligence agencies have significantly stepped up spying operations on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor prompted by concerns about the security of weapons-grade plutonium there, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.”

Which Iran promptly says it captured.

Iran says captures U.S. drone in its airspace
“Iran captured a U.S. intelligence-gathering drone that entered its airspace over the Gulf, its armed forces said on Tuesday, the latest in a recent succession of alleged U.S. violations of Iranian territory.”

I guess we place this in the ‘wars and rumors of wars’ department. Doesn’t it feel like the world is on a hamster wheel sometimes? The wheel is going faster and faster though. It feels like it it reaching its capacity. I’m grateful to our Holy and compassionate Jesus that He will remove us soon, in His timing, to be blessedly at peace with Him forever in His kingdom. No matter what happens to you today, it is nothing that you and the Lord can’t handle. Not with the assured future you have if you are in Christ. He is our all in all. Rest in Him, because–

“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)

And if you are in Him, He will hold you together, too.

Posted in europe central bank, iran, nuclear, palestinian state, prophecy, third temple

Palestinian statehood vote set, one European bank, Iran nukes and more

I flabbergasted at the number of news articles that have direct prophetic implications. I really am. Look at these:

ECB lawyers say yes to single banking system
“European Central Bank lawyers have today said that a single bank supervisory system can be set up without changes to European Union treaties. Some countries, notably Germany and Sweden, have questioned whether EU law allows the ECB to take up supervisory tasks and whether there would be a conflict with its monetary policy role. European Central Bank lawyers have today said that a single bank supervisory system can be set up without changes to European Union treaties.-The leaders of EU member states agreed at their summit on 28-29 June that the ECB should supervise all of the eurozone’s 6,000 banks and urged the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to fast-track the necessary legislation so that the new system could start being implemented on 1 January.”

So they laid the infrastructure for a one-Europe banking system to begin in a few weeks. Now all they need is someone to oversee it. Oops, that is the next story!

ECB Lays Out Timetable for Single Euro-Area Bank Supervision
“European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi told a banking conference on Friday the creation of a single supervisor was essential to creating a fiscal union and breaking the negative relationship between government indebtedness and wobbly banks that has been dragging down the European economy. “The single supervisory mechanism should also strengthen the European market,” Draghi said, adding that all EU member states, even those outside the euro zone should be able to participate.”

We know by the time Revelation 13 comes into fulfillment that the antichrist will have solidified his hold on the world to the point where his proposal to institute a mark on each person’s forehead or hand in order to participate in the economy will take place.

The Tribulation is only 7 years long (Daniel 9:27). A lot happens in that time period. The Tribulation will not be a time to set things up, but a time for immediate fulfillment. The setting up is taking place now. When the rapture happens then the other plans the Lord has for all those left behind will be ready to come to fulfillment quickly. It is like the electrician laying the wires and making the connections and all it needs to the Master electrician to flip the switch the get the electricity running.

So this news of a one-banking system in the very area the antichrist is prophesied to emerge from is very, very interesting. And the plans for a one-banking supervisor to oversee it all is even more interesting.

————————

Iran: Nuclear enrichment advances with “intensity”
Iran will step up its uranium enrichment program by sharply increasing the number of centrifuges used to make nuclear fuel, a senior official said Wednesday, in direct defiance of Western demands. The statement by Iran’s nuclear chief, Fereidoun Abbasi, is likely to escalate tensions. The West suspects Iran’s nuclear program could be headed toward weapons production and has imposed punishing sanctions to try to persuade Tehran to stop enrichment.”

Iran’s entire leadership, from Ayatollah Khameini and other ayatollahs, to the Revolutionary Guard, to Ahmadinejad, intend with every fiber of their being to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. This is their highest religious duty. The want to erase the Jew from the world and in so doing cause a religious jihad that will bring chaos. This allegedly proves to Muhammad that they are serious about their faith, and it prepares the way for him to ‘return’ to earth and conclude the job of ridding the world of Jews and Christians and any other non-Muslim. The peace process and economic sanctions fail with them because they do not want peace.

Jesus said immediately prior to His coming there will be wars and rumors of wars. (Matthew 24:6). Revelation 6:3-4 shows the second seal being opened and when it is peace is taken from the earth. War is coming.

I don’t want to be alarmist. But the bible says what it says. I want to bring two verses to your attention and let you study and pray and see what they may mean. The first is Zechariah 14:12–

“And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.”

This is something that happens when people stand at ground zero under a thermonuclear bomb.

Second verse is Ezekiel 39:14-16,

“They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly and bury those travelers remaining on the face of the land, so as to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make their search. 15And when these travel through the land and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon-gog. 16(Hamonah is also the name of the city.) Thus shall they cleanse the land.”

Hamonah means multitude. This is the process people use in biohazard cleanup situations. The verse is referring to the conclusion of the Gog Magog war, in which Iran participates, a war that occurs when Israel is unsuspecting and at peace. God uses this war to bring Israel back to Him.

Iran will continue on their path of destruction via nuclear war.

——————–
Politics is active in Israel. With the call by Netanyahu for early elections, the pre-election primaries are running. Hardliners and conservatives are winning spots on the Knesset, particularly one guy who is hot for the Third Temple.

Building the third temple
This is just the beginning,’ says Feiglin. ‘Eventually, we will build the temple and fulfill our purpose in this land’; veteran Begin could lose his seat, Meridor almost certainly will
“Members of the governing Likud party on Monday selected a strongly right-wing slate of candidates for the January 22 Knesset elections, elevating hardliners and relegating moderates.”

Any temple talk, and I mean any, riles the Muslims. The Jews are not allowed to stop walking, to rock, to bow, to carry religious items, to sing, or to chant, if they are even allowed on the Temple Mount. Violations of these rules are immediately and harshly dealt with. So the elevation of a hardliner to the Knesset who is talking of reclaiming the Temple Mount – Al Aqsa to the Muslims – has gotten the Muslims’ attention, big time. Rhe following is their response to Feiglin’s promise for a Third Temple-

Muslims Claim Netanyahu Plans to Build ‘False’ Holy Temple
Netanyahu’s latest building plan for Jerusalem is none other than for the Third Temple, claims Al Aqsa Foundation.
“Al Aqsa officials warn that the “new Likud” is planning to build a “false” Third Holy Temple and divide the Muslim compound. Muslim paranoia of Jews on the Temple Mount had reached panic stages even before this week’s Likud primaries that placed Jewish Leadership faction leader Moshe Feiglin in a ranking that assures his election to the Knesset in January. Arab world media constantly report of Jewish “invasions” of the Temple Mount every time Jews try to ascend the holy site. Israeli authorities enforce the Muslim Waqf policy that forbids Jews to pray there or carry prayer books or other holy articles with them. Worst of all, the Foundation claims that the election results show that Prime Minister Netanyahu soon will announce plans for building the Third Temple, which it describes as “false,” in line with increasingly popular Muslim ideology that the First and Second Temples never existed.”

At the mid point of the Tribulation, the sacrifices at the Temple will be stopped by the antichrist. Stopping them means they must have started at some point. When God is successful in bringing the Jews back to Himself at the conclusion of the Gog Magog war, (Ez 38-39) it is assumed that the peace treaty which comes after that war (

or another war, anyway) will include a provision for the Jews to re-build their temple. Daniel 9:27 says so. (also Matthew 24:15).

The talk of conservative Jews, Third Temples, skirmishes at the Mount….all feed into Daniel 9’s prophecy.

——————–
Palestinians Predict Historic UN Vote on Statehood
“The Palestinians predicted a historic U.N. vote recognizing their statehood this week, praising important new support from France on Tuesday and likely backing from other European nations seen as critical to enhancing their international standing. … The General Assembly vote to raise the Palestinians’ status from a U.N. observer to a nonmember observer state is scheduled for Thursday … Unlike the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly and the resolution is virtually certain of approval. The 193-member world body is dominated by countries sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and the resolution only requires a majority vote for approval. The U.N. recognition of their statehood would elevate the Palestinians to the same status as the Vatican, another nonmember observer state. … The U.N. recognition, however, would add weight Palestinian claims for a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem…”

I wonder how the US will vote. Whether it will be an abstention or a no…or a yes. Joel 3:2 has bearing here–

For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.”

Joel Rosenberg said of this prophecy,

“International pressure on Israel to carve up the Holy Land like a Thanksgiving turkey continues to build … Nearly every world leader — and certainly every American president since the Six Day War — has demanded Israel give up significant amounts of territory within Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights in order to create a sovereign Palestinian state and make peace with Syria, but never this much territory [as the] Obama plan would… “Historically, we know that the nations have repeated divided the Land of Israel. Prophetically, we know they will continue to do so until the Day of the Lord comes.”

Woe be unto them. Rosenberg said of the Palestinian State vote:

“On Thursday, the Palestinian leadership will ask the United Nations General Assembly to vote on a resolution that will give them enhanced international legal status, not quite a full sovereign state, but very close. The resolution is expected to pass decisively. France, Russia, China and most nations of the world have indicated they will vote “yes” on the resolution. That’s right, the world is poised to say yes to a sovereign Palestinian state despite the fact that Palestinians in Gaza just committed more than 3,000 war crimes last week.”

“–The Bible doesn’t speak precisely to the issue of whether a sovereign Palestinian state will be created or not.
“–That said, I tend to believe the geopolitical and prophetic evidence suggests there will probably be a Palestinian state in the not-too-distant future.
“–International pressure on Israel to cut a deal, divide the Land, and create a Palestinian state is overwhelming, relentless, and intensifying.
“–However, the Bible strongly warns the nations not to divide the Land of Israel and states that all nations who do so will face God’s judgment.”
“–Let us continue to pray for the Prince of Peace — Jesus the Messiah — to draw more and more people in the epicenter to Himself. This is the only true and lasting hope for peace.”

More at link

Keep watching events unfold, even while keeping an eye on the eastern sky!

Posted in attack, iran, russia, submarine

Netanyahu: ‘by the time my term is over, Iran will not have a nuclear weapons program.

Netanyahu: I Will Attack Iran Alone if Necessary
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promises that by the time his term is over, Iran will not have a nuclear weapons program.

“Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu promised on Monday that by the time his term as Prime Minister is over, Iran will not have a nuclear weapons program.

Speaking to Channel 2, Netanyahu said that if it is necessary, he will lead an independent Israeli attack against Iran, even without the support of the United States.

“When former Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel, was it with the consent of the Americans? When former Prime Minister Menachem Begin bombed the Iraqi nuclear reactor, was that with the consent of the Americans?” asked Netanyahu.

“If there someone here who, as Prime Minister of Israel, cannot act on things that are fundamental to the State, to its future and to its security and depends only on approval of others, he does not deserve to lead,” said Netanyahu.

“When we didn’t have a state, when we didn’t have an army, and when someone threatened to destroy us and then actually annihilated us, we went and pleaded with others,” he said. “Today we don’t plead, we prepare.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr Netanyahu does not strike me as a Prime Minister who makes idle threats. Those were strong and sobering words, especially in light of the conflagration prophesied to occur in the last days involving most every middle Eastern nation. And Russia. (Zech 12-14, Isaiah 17 and 19; Psalm 83, Obadiah 3)

Speaking of Russia, I’d mentioned before that a Russian sub had been discovered patrolling for quite a period of time in the Gulf of Mexico, off Louisiana. Now they were discovered 200 miles off Kings Bay GA. Kings Bay is a US submarine base. Here is the story–

Russian attack sub detected near East Coast
A Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine cruised within 200 miles of the East Coast recently in the latest sign Russia is continuing to flex its naval and aerial power against the United States, defense officials said.

The submarine was identified by its NATO designation as a Russian Sierra-2 class submarine believed to be based with Russia’s Northern Fleet. It was the first time that class of Russian submarine had been detected near a U.S. coast, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of anti-submarine warfare efforts.

One defense official said the submarine was believed to have been conducting anti-submarine warfare efforts against U.S. ballistic and cruise missile submarines based at Kings Bay, Georgia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If it feels like the jackals are surrounding the wounded gazelle, it is because they are.

Posted in end time, iran, middle east, prophecy, temple mount

Did you know that Jews are not allowed to pray on the Temple Mount? And other news

An Op-Ed piece in the Israeli National News (Arutz Sheva) newspaper today just tore me up. I’ve been reading over the years of the incremental chipping away at Israel’s right to her holy and historic sites. Today there was an Opinion Editorial (Op-Ed) lamenting this sad fact.

Has Israel Lost the Temple Mount Race?
Op-ed:Olympic races don’t mean a thing, but the race for the control the Temple Mount is one that we must win. By Giulio Meotti
“A Palestinian flag is now flying on the Temple Mount, the most holy site on earth, where the First and Second Temples stood and the Holy of Holies was. Piece after piece of Eretz Israel is becoming a symbol of Arab nationalistic achievements. Several months ago, the Palestinian Rehabilitation Committee raised the UNESCO flag next to the Palestinian flag in front of Hevron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs. A Palestinian flag on the Temple Mount not only makes the Jewish people psychologically weaker, it looks as though Islam won the race in climbing to the top of the most sacred mountain. It’s an implicit recognition of Muslim hegemony.”

He’s right.

Then I read this about a young man:

Youth Arrested for Prostrating Self on Temple Mount
“A 21-year-old resident of the Judean Jewish community of Kiryat Arba was detained for questioning, Tuesday morning, after he prostrated himself on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The action violates guidelines for non-Muslim visitors to the holy site, who are not allowed to do anything that resembles praying.”

There are rules that no one may stop walking on the Mount, or fold hands or whisper or bow. Once, a woman was arrested for putting her head on a bench. You cannot bring a bible. You cannot bring anything with Hebrew lettering on it, even a newspaper. If you break some of these rules you will be summarily arrested. Others, you will be detained and your item confiscated. Sad!! It will be so great when all believers are in the presence of Holy God and we can pray all we want.

The Lebanon Daily Star is usually pretty interesting. I read Arutz Sheva and the Jerusalem Post, the Jordan Times, and Turkey’s Hurriyet News to get my dose of news from epicenter mainstream sources, and whatever the King of the dictator in power at the moment has allowed into print. The Lebanon Daily Star has an interesting feature: Photos of the Day. They offer a different perspective than the similar feature at the Boston Globe does. For example, here is one of yesterday’s photos:


An Afghan man stands near the window of a tea house in downtown Kabul. AFP PHOTO/ Roberto SCHMIDT

Or this one from today

A riotpoliceman reacts after he was hit by a petrol bomb thrown by protesters during a nationwide general strike in Athens. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

The Greek and Spain economic situation is terrible. People are dumpster diving in Spain in increasing numbers just to find some food so they can stay alive.

Spain Recoils, as Its Hungry Forage Trash Bins for a Next Meal
“On a recent evening, a hip-looking young woman was sorting through a stack of crates outside a fruit and vegetable store here in the working-class neighborhood of Vallecas as it shut down for the night. Getty Images The European Union (EU) flag, left, flies alongside the Spanish national flag. At first glance, she looked as if she might be a store employee. But no. The young woman was looking through the day’s trash for her next meal. Already, she had found a dozen aging potatoes she deemed edible and loaded them onto a luggage cart parked nearby. “When you don’t have enough money,” she said, declining to give her name, “this is what there is.”

It is a gripping, sobering, and heartbreaking article. This is so especially because the real hunger hasn’t even started yet. (Revelation 6:6; Matthew 24:7)

Also in the Daily Star is this news article:

Tehran unveils drone capable of reaching Israel
“Iranian military leaders gave details Tuesday of a new long-range drone and test-fired four anti-ship missiles in a prelude to upcoming naval war games planned in an apparent response to U.S.-led warship drills in the Persian Gulf. The show of Iranian military readiness and its latest tool – a domestically made drone capable of reaching Israel and most of the Middle East…”

Hmmm. This bodes ill. Today Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised an appropriate response to Iran Prime Minister Ahmadinejad’s speech a the UN where as usual he promised to wipe Israel from the map.

Netanyahu promises fitting response
“Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left hours after the end of Yom Kippur Wednesday night for New York to address the United Nations where he pledged to give a fitting response to Iran’s desire to “sentence us to death.” In an unusual letter to the Israeli public before leaving for the US, Netanyahu wrote that history showed that those who desired to wipe the Jewish people “off the map” failed, while the Jewish people persevered and overcame all obstacles. Netanyahu – referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the UN on Wednesday – said that while “we prayed to be inscribed in the Book of Life, a platform was given to a dictatorial regime in Iran that strives, at every opportunity, to sentence us to death.”

Poetic words. History shows that Netanyahu is right. The bible as history book shows time and again that when God wants Israel to be an immovable rock, He makes Israel an immovable rock. (Zechariah 12:3).

Turkey used to be fairly secular. Over the past ten years or so it has turned into a Muslim state. Now, there are complaints that high school children are being forced to attend imam hatip schools. These are schools which focus not only on secular curriculum but teach conservative Islam theology. If you want to be an Imam you graduate from one of these schools. They call them Muslim preacher schools.

Students forced to enroll in religious schools in Istanbul
“Students living in Istanbul’s European-side district of Sultangazi who failed to earn good enough marks to enter the advanced Anatolian High School system or a vocational school have been enrolled in the religious imam-hatip schools without their knowledge, daily Hürriyet reported. Nearly 3,000 students were prevented from enrolling the Anatolian and vocational schools following the entrance tests, and most of those were subsequently enrolled in religious imam-hatip schools against their wishes.”

Parents are quoted as saying their child had checked off vocational school but the child wound up in the religious school instead, despite there being plenty of openings and the preference being having been made clear.

Meanwhile in Jordan there is concern that there is not enough Arabic content on the internet.

Gov’t to form council on Arabic web content’
“The government said on Wednesday that it will establish a consultative council to increase Arabic content on the Internet. The council will include representatives of the public sector, private content development companies, academia, publishers, lenders and investment funds, a source at the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said. “Our objective is to help look into ways to increase Arabic content to serve Internet users not only in Jordan but across the Arab world,” the source told The Jordan Times.”

People are nuts. The smallest thing will set them off. In NYC, two businessmen fight over a taxi. The scuffle began on the street with chest bumping and shoving, then one guy raced to the taxi with the other guy close on his heels, then the two shoved their way into the open passenger door, with one man briefly putting the other in a chokehold. One man entered the cab victorious and the other slammed the door very hard as the taxi prepared to speed away.

The newscaster said that though people argue over cabs all the time in the big city, you don’t often see this:

I can’t imagine how difficult it is living in proximity to many millions of people who are off their rockers in sin and haven’t been saved. With sin rising the way it is a city would be the last place I would want to spend any time at all.

Though tragedy finds us here in the country, too. Sadly a few weeks ago, in a nearby county, a student took his own life at school. It shocked us all that a youth would end his life, (he died a day later in hospital) and in such a public and dramatic way, too. Now I read another story today of a youth killing himself in a public school. This one was in Oklahoma. And he was 13 years old.

Police: Student shoots self at Stillwater school
“STILLWATER, Okla. — A 13-year-old student shot and killed himself in a hallway at an Oklahoma junior high school before classes began Wednesday, police said, terrifying teenagers who feared a gunman was on the loose.”

Oh, our precious babies!!

So the end will be soon but not yet. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week. Soon- for believers will be taken out of the way before the Tribulation begins. (Isaiah 26:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 3:10). But not yet.

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” (Matthew 24:6.)

Have you ever considered that one evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in regeneration is the very fact we look forward to the final ‘regeneration’ at the end of the age? (Matt. 19:28). “By His resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ became the ‘firstborn among many brethren.’ In the new birth, we are born again into the family of God, and the new light of the world to come begins to irradiate our lives. We yet live in ‘this present evil world’ (Gal. 1:4), but we live the life of the world to come because it has already come in the indwelling presence of God’s Spirit, the Spirit of God’s new and proper Man, Jesus Christ. The Spirit’s indwelling, renewing presence imparts a new direction, even trajectory, to our lives.” [more here]

Pastor Steve Lawson preached on the signs of the end of the age in a sermon called “Get Ready!” He said toward the end of his portion on the signs themselves,

“There will be forerunners who will announce His coming. And they are one of the signs that are mentioned throughout the entirety of this chapter. And Jesus says, ‘When you see these signs being fulfilled, we are to recognize and know that He is near, right at the door. The picture here is of Christ, arising from His throne in heaven, and approaching a door that would lead from heaven to the earth…He has arisen from His throne and His hand is on the door, ready to open the door and burst upon the stage of human history. Jesus says ‘when you see these signs increasing as leaves on a tree do suddenly appear on a tree in spring and grow and increasing fashion, when you see these signs growing in fullness, know that the judge is standing right at the door….Is it wrong to look at world events and try to estimate where we are in God’s prophetic calendar? The answer is no. Or He would never have told us what are these signs to look for. It would be a total denial of what Jesus said to not have one hand on the bible looking into the scripture and the other eye looking around at the world to see what is going on.”

So keep looking up, He is right at the door!

Posted in iran, islam, prophecy

Iran pulls Quds back to "neighboring states", sinkhole still getting bigger, global blasphemy law

Some news for you at this week’s end. Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Our home is in heaven, and what a day that will be! Meanwhile, there’s kids to feed and a dog to walk!

Iran’s Supreme Guide orders Quds Force to focus on neighboring states: source
“Iran’s Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei gave his instructions to the country’s Revolutionary Guard, and all its affiliated units, especially the Quds Force, to stop their activities worldwide, especially in Africa and Latin America, and to focus on the neighboring countries, Al Arabiya reported on Friday, citing a source at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. The Quds Force, an elite special operations unit, is an arm of the Guard that is active abroad. The Quds Force is tasked with carrying out operations outside Iran — official and clandestine. It has several thousand members, and it is especially active in the Middle East, according to Western analysts. The source, who talked to Al Arabiya on the condition of anonymity, explained that the Supreme Guide fears a possible military strike against Tehran by Israel, on the one hand; and the grave financial effects of the international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, especially regarding the funds provided to the Revolutionary Guard and its affiliated units.”

Deep-focus quakes at Fiji:

Two quakes occurred at Fiji that were of the deep-focus variety. Deep focus quakes are earthquakes that occur at depths where they should not be able to occur. Geologists didn’t even know deep-focus quakes existed until 1922 until HH Turner of Oxford England provided evidence that they do indeed occur. Confirmation came in 1931. It was only in the lifetime of a person in one generation that seismology was turned upside down with the evidence that quakes are occurring “in diverse places,” lol.

I’ve written about deep-focus quakes before, when several happened in quick succession in the Philippines in 2010. I’d quoted then from a scientific article:

“Geophysicists are really not certain what causes the very deep quakes, because at 640 kilometers rocks are so hot that they flow rather than snap under geological stresses. The more common, shallow earthquakes are generally created when rocks snap and fracture.” (source)

Wikipedia explains the depth levels,

The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at the ring of fire in depths not exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than 70 km are classified as ‘shallow-focus’ earthquakes, while those with a focal-depth between 70 and 300 km are commonly termed ‘mid-focus’ or ‘intermediate-depth’ earthquakes. Deep-focus earthquakes may occur at much greater depths (ranging from 300 up to 700 kilometers).

Here is the quake data-
Friday: magnitude 4.7, South of the Fiji Islands, 572.0 km deep
Thursday: magnitude 5.7, 35km ESE of Ndoi Island, Fiji 544.2 km deep

The sinkhole in Louisiana is still percolating and expanding. Concerned residents met last night. The emergency has been going on for four months.

Assumption group still seeks answers
“PIERRE PART — Residents and evacuees along with environmental groups and others worried about a large sinkhole, tremors and natural gas releases in the Bayou Corne area detailed on Thursday their concerns about the emergency dating four months with the appearance of mysterious bubbles in waterways.”

The movie “Innocence of Muslims” sparked violent protests his week all over the world. The subsequent publication by French media of Muhammad cartoons fueled it. Did you know that for several years now, Muslims have been pushing for a Global Blasphemy Law? Well it died (again) last year but the notion has again been revived.

The Muslim News has the story:

Saudi Arabia: World Islamic body pushes global blasphemy law
The world Islamic body signaled on Wednesday that it will revive long-standing attempts to make insults against religions an international criminal offense. The bid follows uproar across the Muslim world over a crude Internet video clip filmed in the United States and cartoons in a French satirical magazine that lampoon the Prophet Mohammad. But it appears unlikely to win acceptance from Western countries determined to resist restrictions on freedom of speech and already concerned about the repressive effect of blasphemy laws in Muslim countries such as Pakistan. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said the international community should “come out of hiding from behind the excuse of freedom of expression”, a reference to Western arguments against a universal blasphemy law that the OIC has sought for over a decade. He said the “deliberate, motivated and systematic abuse of this freedom” were a danger to global security and stability.”

A crazy thing is happening now in a small town of Haren in the Netherlands. A 16-year old girl organized a party, posted the invites to Facebook, but forgot to turn it to private. Thousands showed up to her party and a riot ensued. At least 20 people are hospitalized and riot police had to be called in from all environs to quell the violence. Even the journalists covering the riot were in turn attacked by the attackers. It still isn’t under control, the Haren mayor says. More here, and it is a really weird story.

A man has ended up in a tiger’s den in the Bronx Zoo. He had jumped the zoo’s monorail ride. No one knows why he jumped. He got his leg eaten off for his troubles.

People are acting C-R-A-Z-Y! Really! I don’t want to do a ‘back in my day’ kind of speech, but man, back in my day…people didn’t riot when they turn up uninvited to some teenager’s party, jump off a zoo ride and hurl themselves at a tiger, and riot when a cartoon is published. I never thought I’d say it but the 1960s are starting to look tame compared to all this.

Here are some recommended essays:

Ask for Tolerance
“If you’re placed in a situation where you suspect your convictions will be labeled intolerant, bigoted, narrow-minded, and judgmental, turn the tables. When someone asks for your personal views about a moral issue—homosexuality, for example—preface your remarks with a question…”

Weird Stuff People Do on Facebook By : Jordan Hall
Have you done any of them that are listed? LOL, I have.

Kittehs!

Interview: Photographer of World’s Cutest Kitten

Because who doesn’t need a cute kitten picture at the end of a long week?!

Posted in emp, iran, israel, NAM, nuclear

Will Israel launch an EMP over Iran? And what is NAM, anyway?

What a week! Can I just say that I work with the nicest and most thoughtful and fun bunch of people, ever? Thank you everyone for your kindness over the week, to me and others. I am a lucky gal.

Someone is praying for me. I can feel it. I am a blessed gal. Thank you prayer warrior, whoever you are!

I drove to work this morning under a brightening late summer sky, fog laying gently on the low fields, the grass glistening brightly on the higher hummocks. The cows were grazing and the sky was pink. I really wanted to get out and take photos, but the route to work has no shoulders along the road’s edge and it would have been dangerous to stop. I think that was best in the long run. That way, I had to stay in my car and simply…enjoy.

Our God bequeathed peace to us through Christ. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27).

Here is the news. As you read it, let your heart not be troubled. His peace He bequeathed us.

Khamenei: Time for new world order
“The world,” Khamenei said, “Is in transition towards a new international order and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) can and should play a new role.”

Khamenei is Iran’s highest Muslim cleric, the Supreme Leader of Iran. He is a Twelver Shi’a marja. He had also served as the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran from 1981 to 1989. In 2010, Forbes selected him 26th in the list of ‘World’s Most Powerful People’. So do not think for a moment that he is an out of date, tottering old guy in some backward, desert sands Third World nation. He is not only powerful, he is the real leader of a nation that has a heavy prophetic role to play in the last days, as per Ezekiel 38-39 regarding ‘Persia’.

Now, you might have heard of the Non-Aligned Movement Khamenei mentioned. Here is what it’s about, according to Wikipedia.

“The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members and 17 observer countries. “The national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics”. The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations’ members and contain 55% of the world population. Membership is particularly concentrated in countries considered to be developing or part of the Third World. The current chair is Chair is…wait for it… Iran, and the Secretary-General is Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Iran took over from Egypt at the NAM summit concluding today, and will hold the chairmanship through 2015.

At the NAM summit, attendance at the highest level included 27 presidents, 2 kings and emirs, 7 prime ministers, 9 vice presidents, 2 parliament spokesmen and 5 special envoys. It is not something to sneeze at. While American citizens are squabbling over Clint Eastwood’s speech and picking on Honey Boo Boo, 120 nations got together and talked about a new world order.

The NAM is pretty funny considering that Iran is prophesied to ally with (by then) the world’s only superpower- Russia, and with Turkey, which has the world’s second largest army in NATO with 402,000 personnel, for the purpose of attacking Israel in the prophesied Gog-Magog war.

The Official motto of the NAM is below. Nice use of the Dove. It goes with NAM’s motto:

“Lasting peace through joint global governance”

Hmmm, sounds like something an antichrist would say.

Remember the earthquake swarm down in southern California, central portion of Imperial Valley at the Salton Sea? That last weekend there were 100 quakes in the same day, some reaching 4 and 5 point magnitudes? Well the town that is in the middle of the swarm and is most affected, declared an emergency.

Brawley quake swarm, declares emergency
“The southern California town of Brawley has taken the unusual step of declaring a state of emergency after a swarm of earthquakes rattled nearly 20 mobile homes off their blocks and forced a slaughterhouse to close, the mayor said on Wednesday. It is uncommon for quake-hardy California cities to declare emergencies due to tremors, but Brawley mayor George Nava said the earthquake swarm is a unique case because it has lasted for days and caused millions of dollars in damage. The cluster of relatively small quakes, which are caused by water and other fluids moving around in the Earth’s crust, began on Saturday evening and climaxed the next day with a 5.5 temblor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.”

Hurricane Isaac, New Orleans gays decadence festival, is it chance?
“The arrival of Hurricane Isaac exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina blasted New Orleans has some people wondering if there’s more to it than random chance, and suggesting the popular homosexual festival Southern Decadence may be part of a judgment from God. “A hurricane hitting a celebration of decadence … twice in seven years. What are the odds?” asks Robin Cox, a lifelong Gulf Coast resident. “Does it seem God has it in for New Orleans?” adds Mary Starkey. “Just contemplating why this has happened twice in seven years at exact same time of year.”

And…the inevitable mocking ensues-
God Too Lazy To Destroy New Orleans Homosexualistas A Second Time

I don’t recommend you read the article. It is lowest, rankest blasphemy. The author obviously does not believe 2 Peter 2:6, “and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;” … then the Lord knows “to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.” (2 Peter 2:6, 9b-10).

Praise the Lord, though, that people are making connections between these “coincidences.” As in this next article, regarding the 7.6 quake that struck today off the Philippines.

“A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippines’ eastern coast late Friday, killing one person in a house collapse, knocking out power in several towns and spurring panic about a tsunami that ended up generating only tiny waves. … “It was very strong. My house was making sounds,” Bemruel Noel, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, said in a telephone interview from Tacloban city on the eastern coast of Leyte island, where the quake set off a small stampede of residents. “You talk to God with an earthquake that strong,” he said.”

Yes, talk to God, and in that talk, repent!

In last week’s Hal Lindsey Report, Hal made a comment that he thinks Israel may indeed use an electro-magnetic pulse to wipe out Iran’s nuclear program. Hal said it was a way to bloodlessly solve the problem, and prophetically it keeps Iran in the game to ally with Russia to come back at Israel in the Ezekiel 38-39 war. I thought that was a sharp assessment and a good guess as to what may happen soon. And it would be soon, Iran’s nuclear program is far along and the top officials are serious about using a nuke to wipe out Israel. Now here is other expert analysis that indicates the same, that it seems that Israel may be getting ready to launch an EMP (which is a nuclear missile detonated 100 feet in the atmosphere, instantly wiping out all electricity, chips, computers, and solid state appliances.)

Report: Possible EMP Strike on Iran?
U.S. sees signs Israel could use nuclear EMP attack against Iran
“U.S. intelligence agencies recently reported growing concerns that Israel will conduct a strike on Iran using a high-altitude nuclear burst aimed at disrupting all electronics in the country. The intelligence worries were triggered by recent publication of an article in the Israeli press suggesting the Jewish state should carry out an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, attack. U.S. officials said the article likely reflects official Israeli government thinking about a possible preemptive response to Iran’s expected emergence as a nuclear weapons state in the near future. Asked about the EMP report, an Israeli government spokesman declined to comment. A U.S. intelligence community spokesman also declined comment. A U.S. official said the article in question appeared Aug. 6 in the news outlet Israel National News. The article stated that an Israeli nuclear burst over Iran could “send Iran back to the Stone Age.”

That has an interesting ring to it, sending them back to the Stone Age. It should be noted that when Ezekiel spoke of God putting bits in the horses and bringing them out, ‘all your army your horses and horsemen’ that it could actually be literal horses, if an EMP has been launched and all computer chips are wiped dead.

It should also be noted that Russia went with older, vacuum tube (valve) based equipment because it is generally much less vulnerable to EMP than newer solid state equipment. Soviet Cold War–era military aircraft often had avionics based on vacuum tubes due to both limitations in Soviet solid-state capabilities and a belief that the vacuum-tube gear would survive better. Hmmm.

In this 2006 article, a Russian WWII tank was pulled from a lake, and the people recovering the piece of old equipment were surprised to find that despite it being at a lake bottom for 56 years, there was no rust and all systems (except the engine) in working condition.

Or how about the 2010 UK Telegraph article that revealed that 200 abandoned Russian tanks were found in a a forest, compete with everything except the keys? “There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned,” an unnamed reporter on the video says. “If you need one, come and get it.” Locals in a nearby village said the tanks had been sitting there for almost four months covered in snow. The armoured vehicles were identified as a mixture of T-80 and T-72 battle tanks, the workhorses of the Russian army. “We were shocked,” Pavel L, a local, told Russian media. “It is like you can sit behind the wheel, start up the engine and drive off and nobody would notice!”

Do a google search for “tank graveyard” and you’ll be shocked at how many of these old vehicles are laying around, many of them useful after an EMP. Alternately, it could be that the next war will be a Stone Age war, with shields and swords and horses. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the bind that Israel is in with respect to imminent obliteration and her desire to both save her nation yet refrain from much bloodshed. An EMP over Iran would do it. It doesn’t take much imagination after that to see that Iran would make good on her threats to come after Great Satan if Little Satan acts up, and an EMP launched from an anchored cargo ship over the US would send us back to the Stone Age, too. And then it’s on like Donkey Kong.

The Free Beacon article I’d linked to above isn’t the only media outlet wondering if Israel will launch an EMP. The New English Review wondered the same thing 8 months ago when Israel launched a Jericho missile capable of reaching Iran.

“The Jericho III ICBM equipped with a nuclear warhead provides Israel with a powerful deterrent against a nuclear Iran. It gives Israel a credible Electronic Magnetic Pulse (EMP) capability to loft a low kiloton yield warhead to an apogee over Iran that upon detonation would destroy the country’s industrial infrastructure, frying motherboards of hundreds of thousands of computers, disabling telecommunications, transportation and industrial systems. Doubtless an Israeli EMP attack would cause thousands of whirling centrifuges enriching uranium at the Natanz cascade hall and the Bushehr nuclear plant producing plutonium to be shut down. It might spare Iran’s vital oil and natural gas producing region in the Gulf. It would free Iran’s restive people from the nuclear nightmare of the Mullahs. If the EMP apogee was low enough, then according to Timmerman, it would largely spare Iran’s agrarian rural areas and the country’s bread basket.”

Something to consider. I hadn’t really thought about the kind of wars Jesus prophesied would come (Matthew 24:6). Einstein said, “I do not know what weapons World War III will be fought with, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

Back to the Stone Age, indeed.

As terrible as it is, war has its time. It is written in Ecclesiastes 3:8 “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”

I’m looking forward to the time of peace. We believers already have spiritual peace, with Jesus, because through repentance and His blood, we believers are no longer in rebellion with God. The earthly wars will continue to come, and then will be a great time of peace, for 1000 years. Then, “And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Hallelujah!

Posted in ahmadinejad, Hal Lindsey, iran, muslim, prophecy

Iran is getting closer to the bomb and closer to attempting to wipe Israel from the earth

I enjoy Hal Lindsey’s video report each week. He brings a credibility and a gravitas to the prophetic issues that I find refreshing. He also has away of synthesizing various news reports into a picture that no one else reports and is always illuminating. In short, he’s knowledgeable.

This week was particularly so. I found that the first segment, the 17 minutes he spent bringing us up to date on the Iran-Israel situation, was FULL of interesting insights. I won’t steal his thunder but I’ll mention only one thing that struck me.

The ‘hate Israel-wipe them out’ rhetoric from Iran is rising to a more obvious and frequent level than even Hitler’s was just prior to the Holocaust. More on that in the video. It occurred to me though as Lindsey was describing the diaspora, that the LORD has brought about a see-saw situation.

Prior to 1947, the Jews were dispersed all over the world, while Muslims were fewer in number than they are today and were concentrated in the Middle East. It would have been impossible to “wipe out the nation of Israel” (Psalm 83:4) because the Jews were embedded in nations all around the world and to wipe them out they’d have to start a war or a pogrom in every nation. Sure, there were pogroms and holocausts which attempted to do that very thing, but if Hitler had succeeded in wiping out the Jews in Germany, there were still Jews in the US, Australia, Russia, Norway, etc.

Now the situation is turned around. The Jews are concentrated in Israel and more are pouring in every day. The Muslims are concentrated in the Middle East of course, but their numbers are growing exponentially all around the world. Muslims are in the US in great numbers (just ask the Dearborn MI neighbors), France, Africa, China, Russia, and the Balkans among other places.

When Iran’s President Ahmadinejad says they can wipe out Israel with one storm, when the Ayatollahs say they will wipe the cancerous tumor that is Israel from the world and wipe out the Jews, when they say they long for even one nuclear bomb to drop on Israel, they have a better shot at fulfilling their hateful rhetoric now more than at any time previously.

Except that The Holy God of Israel is the protector of His people the Jews and they will never be wiped from the earth. All Israel will be saved, the remnant will acknowledge Jesus and be blessed with national salvation at the end of the Tribulation. (Zechariah 8:13; Zechariah 12:10; Isaiah 45:17).

However, the situation is dire and getting darker by the day. The stream of messages even in just this month regarding the Muslims’ intent to wipe out the Jews and the nation of Israel are serious and should be taken seriously. God did not include Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39 in the bible for no reason.

Please do watch the first 17 minutes of this week’s Hal Lindsey Report, it is heavy with prophetic insights. Lindsey makes a guess about what Israel’s intention may be in how to deal with Iran, and I think Lindsey is completely right about it. You’ll understand if you watch. The second segment deals with the terrible times and God’s promises, which is also a comfort.