Category: iran

Posted in enemy, iran, neighbor, uss stennis

Stennis rescues Iranian fishermen aboard pirated vessel

Posted on by elizabethprata

This week, in wonderful news and an unintended demonstration of US Military capabilities and intent, the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier stationed as part of the Fifth Fleet at Bahrain, came to the rescue of an Iranian fishing vessel which had been overcome by Somalian pirates. The pirates had been using the Iranian fishing vessel as a mother ship to stage further piracy and for sea-borne support of their operations. The Stennis steamed in, rescued the 13 ship’s crew, got the pirates, distributed food and water to fishermen and pirates alike and secured that patch of sea for safety’s sake. Just days before, the USS Stennis had been harassed by Iranian navy in the Strait of Hormuz during Iran’s war games, and telling them to stay OUT of the shipping lanes, which in fact is a de facto declaration of war

On the USS Stennis Facebook page, “We are ready hope that America sleeps well tonight knowing we’ve got the watch”–RDML Faller USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Strike Group Commander

“This was an opportunity to help hostages in need—had no bearing on nationality”–CDR Ellinger, Commanding Officer USS KIDD (DDG-100)

The NY Times wrote:
“ABOARD THE FISHING VESSEL AL MULAHI, in the Gulf of Oman — Senior Iranian military officials this week bluntly warned an American aircraft carrier that it would confront the “full force” of the Iranian military if it tried to re-enter the Persian Gulf. On Friday, Fazel Ur Rehman, a 28-year-old Iranian fisherman, had a warmer greeting for the carrier task force.“It is like you were sent by God,” said Mr. Rehman, huddled under a blanket in this vessel’s stern. “Every night we prayed for God to rescue us. And now you are here.” In a naval action that mixed diplomacy, drama and Middle Eastern politics, the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis broke up a high-seas pirate attack on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, then sailors from an American destroyer boarded the pirates’ mother ship and freed 13 Iranian hostages who had been held captive there for more than a month. The rapidly unfolding events began Thursday morning when the pirates attacked a Bahamian-flagged ship, the motor vessel Sunshine, unaware that the Stennis was steaming less than eight miles away. It ended Friday with the tables fully turned. The captured Somali pirates, 15 in all, were brought aboard the U.S.S. Kidd, an American destroyer traveling with the Stennis. They were then shuttled by helicopter to the aircraft carrier and locked up in its brig.”

Go Navy!

I can’t wait for the day when we are all truly brothers. When there are no enemies, and when THE enemy is banished forever. When we can all unite hands and hearts irrespective of nationality, praising the glory of God purely. Back in 1979 Iran in effect declared war on us when they captured people from a diplomatic ground, supposed to be internationally neutral and any peoples on it free from arrest, violating centuries old principles. According to diplomatic and military definitions, they are an enemy of the US.

In Luke 10:25 -28, we read, “And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”

The lawyer was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. But then the Lawyer went on, going from testing to justifying, “But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?””

Jesus answered with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans, people who lived in adjacent Samaria, were hated by Jews. This hatred was longstanding. The Samaritans were descendants of the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh and was part of the northern kingdom of Israel. The southern kingdom of Judah was to the south. The northern Samaritans were conquered by Assyria, most carried off, those who remained intermarried with the pagans and also began worshiping the foreigners’ idols. The southern Jews hated the northerners for not being full blooded Jews and for opposing their own repatriation when Judah was later carried off and then years later tried to re-settle the lands. The Jewish saying, “With whom you have no dealings” refers to the Samaritans. In other words, they are driven to hatred by ethnic and racial barriers. Jesus was saying that it isn’t the unknown enemy whose individual face you don’t see who is easy to hate, but the ones near to us who look and act different. But they all are our neighbors.

Acts of kindness, doing good to those who curse you, giving the enemy the very shirt from your back, is a demonstration of God through us.

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44)

“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:” (Proverbs 25:21)

I’m not naive. I know that war exists and we are asked by the government or by self-defense to protect our land or property or persons from invading enemies who want to do us harm. But the remarks after the incident was made public, that the Navy is there to protect one and all irrespective of race of ethnicity, the Iranian government’s rare extension of thanks were all remarked upon. Imagine how much MORE it would be remarked upon if we were to show the love of our neighbor or our enemy, if it was at the behest of God and not the US Government. It is an unusual thing to love an enemy, to give him food and water, to help him in a moment of need. People notice.

In the end of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asked, “So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Jesus said to go and do likewise.

Jesus said to love our neighbor, and to love those who persecute us. I know it’s easy to generalize about the bad actors in the last days and the upcoming Tribulation. “They flew planes into OUR buildings!” They kill fellow Christians!” But when the Navy sailors got on board the Iranian fishing vessel, we were all brothers. Not necessarily brothers in Christ, but neighbors. We saw the faces of the young fishermen, we hugged, we rejoiced in release from harm’s way. We restored husbands to families and sons to mothers. In looking at the wounded man on the road to Samaria, the Samaritan saw simply an individual person in need, not a faceless, hated enemy. He gave him water to drink and food and brought him to safety.

When the crafty Lawyer said “Who is my neighbor?” seeking an excuse not to love someone, Jesus, in effect, turned it around and asked, “Who is your enemy?” Who can we legitimately identify as a person NOT to love?
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Posted in american decline, iran, libya

Friday This and That

Posted on by elizabethprata

It’s been a long week, for me and I’m sure many others. I’m looking forward to this weekend and also next weekend: we have a four day Fall break. I’ve already completed my domestic tasks tonight so tomorrow I have more free time. I’ll make apple crisp and some veggie soup. Maybe some homemade bread.

Focusing on the timeless domestic satisfying tasks helps me stay relaxed as the news gets darker and  more potent. I also love to listen to good, strong sermons.

I heard a very good sermon tonight from Don Green at Grace Community Church (John MacArthur’s church.) It is on “Marriage and Singleness“. He began his sermon with a definition of marriage: “A God ordained institution in which a man and a woman covenant with one another to live as husband and wife in an exclusive monogamous relationship for the remainder of their earthly lives together.”

I was listening to another sermon, and I’m sorry I don’t remember this one’s origins, but I heard the following and immediately wrote it down: “We’ve gone from Norman Rockwell’s America to Hugh Hefner’s America.” Boy, ain’t that the truth.

That reminds me of the verse from Luke 17:29-30, ‘As it was in the days of Lot, even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed’…

America in decline is all the rage this week. An article in the UK’s Financial Times stated, “America must manage its decline“.

A movie is making the rounds, “Agenda: Grinding America Down“. “When Idaho legislator Curtis Bowers wrote a “Letter to the Editor” about the drastic changes in America’s culture, it became the feature story on the evening news, people protested at the capitol, and for weeks the local newspapers were filled with responses. He realized then that he’d hit on something. Ask almost anyone and you will hear, “Communism is dead! The Berlin wall came down.” But although the word “communism” has fallen out of favor, Marxism continues to have a powerful influence upon our nation, as this new film quickly reveals. Join Bowers for a fascinating look at the people and groups that have successfully targeted America’s morality and freedom in their effort to grind America down.”

Watching the interesting 6-minute trailer for the film, I was reminded of Naomi Wolf’s assertion in 2007 that we are all on the way to Fascism, in her treatise “Fascist America, in 10 easy steps.” I wrote about it at the time, and was roundly criticized. Now we can see that the ten steps are fulfilled.

Dimitry Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse, has been saying the same for lots longer. His perennial favorite article, written in Dec. 2006: “Closing the ‘Collapse Gap’: the USSR was better prepared for collapse than the US.” He said it again on October 9, here. Dmitry Orlov (born 1962) is an engineer and a writer on subjects related to “potential economic, ecological and political decline and collapse in the United States,” something he has called “permanent crisis”. Orlov believes collapse will be the result of huge military budgets, government deficits, an unresponsive political system and declining oil production. (source). His perspective is interesting because he is from the old Soviet Union, and writes extensively on how the Soviets were so much better prepared to handle a collapse than the Americans, and why.

A strong quake at Kermedec Islands struck today, 7.4. Another strong quake struck at Japan today, a 6.1. (USGS). Erki Klemetti at Eruptions blog noted a quake swarm at Mauna Kea in Hawaii.

The nations listed in prophecy are alive in the headlines. Libya’s Gaddafi was killed this week and Russia is claiming that the kill breached International Law. Both nations are Gog Magog coalition partners.

Syria is claiming that any Mid East war will begin at Tel Aviv, which, according to Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17, may well happen in that way. Most scholars believe that Psalm 83 is a parked intercessory prayer for a war that has not happened yet. Isaiah 17 prophesies the overnight destruction of Damascus, Syria, and both of these likely precede the Ezekiel Gog Magog war. Psalm 83 includes Syria, Gog Magog includes Russia, Turkey, Iran, Israel, Libya and others.

Speaking of Iran, it seems they have enough bomb making materials to make 4 nukes. They are so close that they are moving their nuke stuff to bunkers to better protect it. If they get their stuff into bunkers, a strike by US or Israel will be all the more difficult.

He is the Light! No matter the news, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalms 27:1) Salvation is eternal, and it is secure.

I love to think of the Lord as the Light. He is so bright, so light, and His glory is bright forever. “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” (Psalms 36:9). I believe we shall see that Light soon.

Maranatha!
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Posted in cumbre vieja, el hierro, end of days, iran, prophecy, volcano

Friday This and That

Posted on by elizabethprata

Confused about prophetic end time events? This 7-part video series, 10 min each, is scripturally accurate and enlightening. Prepare to be educated AND convicted. “The End Time“

Earthquakes this week, 6.1 mag in Russia far east // 6.7 in Papua New Guinea as per United States Geological survey. All eyes are on the volcano at El Hierro, though, which presents a more interesting seismic dilemma. As Professor Erik Klemetti said on his eruptions blog in the essay “Update on the Submarine Eruptions at El Hierro” he wrote that it was “the first eruption in the Canaries in 40 years and the first at El Hierro in possibly 2500 years. After months of preamble, it now looks like two eruptions occurred, both submarine, in depths of a few hundred meters.” What makes this especially interesting is that the island is near the other island in the Canaries chain, La Palma, on which is the infamous Cumbre Vieja volcano. These subsea eruptions are really interesting because of the geologic forecast at nearby Cumbre Vieja. Cumbre Vieja is currently the most volcanically active of the Canary Isles. During the 1949 eruption, three vents—Duraznero, San Juan and Hoyo Negro—opened and lava was erupted. Also during the eruption two earthquakes occurred with epicentres near Jedey. Following the earthquakes a fracture approximately two and half kilometres long, about 1/10 of the exposed length of the Cumbre Vieja, opened and parts of the western half of the Cumbre Vieja ridge moved about 1 metre sideways and 2 metres downwards towards the Atlantic Ocean. (source)

Several geologists have hypothesized that during an eruption at Cumbre Vieja at some future time, the western half of the Cumbre Vieja will catastrophically fail in a massive gravitational landslide and enter the Atlantic Ocean, generating a ‘mega-tsunami’ wiping out the eastern seaboard of the US. A BBC documentary called End Day and a Time Magazine article both followed up on the hypothesis.

With the volcanic eruptions and the seismic activity at the adjacent island, and the attendant rare subsea quakes this week at Bermuda and Iceland, interest in the Cumbre Vieja mega-tsunami hypothesis have picked up again. From a biblical point of view, I personally find this interesting because at some point the judgments will include a quake so bad that all the islands flee away. (Rev 16:20). More specifically, in Revelation 8:8-9 we are told this will happen: “The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.” A lava-flowing volcanic eruption at Cumbre Vieja could fit that description of a ‘mountain, all ablaze’, sliding into the sea, causing a third of the ships to sink in the resultant mega-tsunami.

In still other volcanic news, Iceland Volcano Katla Sparks Fears of Travel Chaos. Remember last year the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted and Russian, European and American air travel ground to a  halt? Well, Katla is worse.

The news reports this week that there is only one Jewish person left in Afghanistan, according to the US State Department.

Science thinks it has figured out a computer program to tell us who wrote the Torah. And it ain’t Moses. “Ghostwriting the Torah.”

Iran and the US broke off diplomatic relations after the revolution of 1979 and currently talk minimally between the mediator of Pakistan. However, the recent plot by the Iranian Quds Guard fomented in Mexico to assassinate the Saudi ambassador on US soil was revealed this week. It is a dangerous escalation of the tensions in the Middle East and here on our own soil, and so the US Administration considers it an act of terrorism. The two nations took the unusual step this week of meeting to talk about it face to face. Remember, Iran is a major military aggressor in attacking Israel in the last days as Ezekiel 38-39 show.

The economic outlook isn’t much better as we closed on the fourth quarter. Bloomberg is reporting that more than dozen banks may get downgraded. UBS AG, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc had long-term issuer default grades cut by Fitch Ratings, which put more than a dozen other lenders on watch negative as part of a global review. revelation 13:1`5-17 shows that at the time of the tribulation the economy is completely revamped and managed by one person: the antichrist.

This was a very thought provoking essay on “How Steve Jobs and Christ defeated death and preached the gospel.“

Want some good news? As a girl was finishing top placement in her spelling bee, her soldier dad walks in, surprising her from Afghanistan. Heartwarming. With video.

Like cats? Here is a short video of funny cats in water.

Like earth’s beauty in reverence to our Creator? See 60 stunning satellite photos of the earth.

Have a good weekend everyone. I hope you find yourself a good and solid bible believing church to attend, and there, can praise the Savior with all joy.

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Posted in iran, nuclear, quake swarm

Finishing my random dribs and drabs

Posted on by elizabethprata

Remember this week I posted about a mystery bubble cloud that freaked out the Beijing people who had witnessed it? It turns out a similar cloud had occurred over Hawaii in March and it started making the rounds on the internet in June. The astronomical observatory atop Mauna Kea caught it.

Some have proposed that it is atmospheric effect from an intercontinental ballistic missile’s fuel ejection. Others, that it is the remnant of a failing satellite crashing to earth. Who knows? That would make a lot of missiles being launched, though, if you ask me.

Did you know that there is an earthquake swarm going in in West Bohemia? It is at the German-Czech border and “the activity started in the evening of 23 August and is almost continuous till now. Almost 10,000 events were recorded in total up to now.  Already six Mgt 3.0 events and hundreds of Mgt 2.0 events occurred. To see location of epicenters visit the page “Map of actual earthquakes“.

And there is also a swarm going on in the Canary Islands, by the way, where the piece of land is hanging by a thread and if it slides into the sea the resulting tsunami could wipe out the east coast. I am not making this up, nor is it a conspiracy. It happened before. El Hierro reports, “The volcanic activity, principally at the convergence of the three ridges, resulted in the continual expansion of the island. A mere 50,000 years ago, as a result of seismic tremors which produced massive landslides, a giant piece of the island cracked off, crashed down into the ocean and scattered along the seabed. This landslide of more than 300km3 gave rise to the impressive amphitheatre of the El Golfo valley and at the same time caused a tsunami that most likely rose over 100 metres high and probably reached as far as the American coast.”

Maybe this is one of the ways that the prophecy “And all the islands flee away” will come true. (Rev 6:14; Rev 16:20)

620 Earthquakes Recorded On El Hierro In The Canary Islands
“The Canary Islands Government has said it is monitoring an earthquake swarm on the small island of El Hierro where in excess of 620 tremors of low magnitude have been recorded in the past week. Earthquakes, measuring between 1 and 3 on the Richter Scale, continued on Monday and more have been registered again on Tuesday. The majority of earthquakes are being recorded at a depth of between 5km and 15 km. The Ministry of Economy, Finance and Government Security Canary has convened the first ever meeting of the Steering Committee and Volcanic Monitoring, reflected in the Specific Plan Protection Civil and Emergency for Volcanic Risk, given what it described “the significant increase in seismic activity”. A statement (translated from Spanish) issued following the meeting outlined: “This committee met (Friday) at the headquarters of the Directorate General Security and Emergency Tenerife, established after the assessment of information gathered from seismic and volcanological last July 17 by the National Geographic Institute (IGN) and Volcanological Institute of the Canary Islands, the situation is total normal for the green light for the information population, activating mechanisms for monitoring and oversight needed to coordinate the actions of self civil population and information contained in the Plan.” “According to data provided by the seismic monitoring station IGN’s located in Valverde, one can conclude that from the noon on July 17 there has been a significant increase of low magnitude seismic activity in the municipality of Border of the island of El Hierro.”

Huge waves are hitting the coast of California. This happens a lot, lol. What makes this series of storm waves from New Zealand unusual is that the waves are in the top ten percent of wave heights for his particular kind of weather system. “Collins said southern hemisphere storms routinely produced waves in California, but this latest one was in the top 10 percent of known waves.”

One surfer has already been killed. This news article shows a map of where the most dangerous waves and rip tides are occurring.

In ominous news, “Iran’s nuclear plant connects to electric grid, the country says“.
Iran says its Bushehr nuclear power plant is now online, making it the first Middle Eastern country to produce commercial electricity from atomic reactors. … “The announcement comes just two days after an IAEA report said Iran continues to defy U.N. resolutions aimed at curbing its nuclear program and cited increasing concerns it may be developing nuclear weapons.”

So Iran is finally nuclear. Not good.
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Posted in ahmadinejad, gog magog, iran, prophecy

Men of destiny, men of prophecy

Posted on by elizabethprata

The Gog Magog battle looms before us. This is the battle that Ezekiel prophesied in Ez 38-39. If you read Ezekiel 36-48, it is largely chronological. Book 36 begins with the New Covenant, (Ez 36:26-28). Then it skips ahead 1900 years where in the next two chapters he describes a horrendous battle of an evil alliance attacking Israel. It is such a surprise to Israel that they are caught off guard and almost succumb. At the last moment, God steps in–

“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:22-23).

Just in case we’re not sure that all will know that it is the LORD winning the battle, He repeats His promise in verse Ez 39:6-7- “And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.”

And again in Ez 39:21-22- “And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.”

The rest of Ezekiel 39 is consumed with graphic descriptions of the carnage and the cleanup. The burials will take 7 months to complete, and the fuel from downed war materiel take 7 years to burn. That is one of the major reasons scholars think the Gog-Magog battle occurs at the outset of the Tribulation, or just prior, because the Tribulation period is 7 years. There has to be seven years left in which to burn the fuel. Also, the LORD makes Himself known to the Israelites and they renew their covenant with Him. They begin clamoring for their Temple, which we know is built at some point because 3 1/2 years later the antichrist stands in the Temple and calls himself God and stops the Jews’ sacrifices.

Ezekiel goes on in books 40-48 with glorious descriptions of the Millennium Kingdom.

In this battle, Persia (Iran) is one of the lead attackers, along with Russia. America is not listed in prophecy, but the US was raised up in might and we have used that might to cause a tipping of the balance in the Muslim world through ten years of invasions. These invasions are leading to the final set-up of the players and the circumstances that will be in place when the Gog-Magog battle begins.

That said, I found it interesting that recently a top aide of Russia’s President Putin said that he thinks Putin was sent by God at this moment in time to fulfill a pre-ordained prophetic destiny. Secondly, in March of this year, an inside documentary was made by the closest associates of Iran’s Ayatollah but smuggled out from the East. The documentary revealed that both the Ayatollah of Iran and President Ahmadinejad personally feel that they are specific players in the prophetic destiny of Iran. And finally, it has long been known that President George Bush felt strongly that his invasion of Iraq was an order from God that would directly lead to impacts on Israel. In a sense, they are all correct. Read the quotes:

PUTIN
“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was sent to Russia by God to help his country during one of its most turbulent times, the Kremlin’s chief political strategist said on Friday in rare public remarks. “I honestly believe that Putin is a person who was sent to Russia by fate and by the Lord at a difficult time for Russia,” Vladislav Surkov, a staunch Putin supporter and one of Russia’s most powerful men, was quoted by Interfax news agency as telling state-run Chechen TV. “(Putin was) preordained by fate to preserve our peoples,” said Surkov, who is also the Kremlin’s first deputy chief of staff.”

AHMADINEJAD
“The purpose of the film is to make the case that Iran is prophetically destined to lead the war against Islam’s enemies, which is as a prelude to the appearance of the Hidden Imam, also called the Mahdi, who brings the final victory for Islam and reigns over the whole world. It uses current events to argue that “the final chapter has begun” and the Mahdi’s arrival is imminent. Most disturbingly, it teaches that Khamenei, Ahmadinejad and Nasrallah are the individuals prophesied to make this happen. President Ahmadinejad is an End Times character named Shoeib-Ebne Saleh, the film states. He is appointed as the commander-in-chief by Seyed Khorasani (Ayatollah Khamenei). The speaker in the film says that this individual will “move” 72 months [6 years] prior to the arrival of the Mahdi and will lead the recapturing of Jerusalem on “the threshold of the Coming.”

In Muslim end time theology, the Mahdi is strikingly similar to the Christian antichrist. So it makes sense that Iran’s leaders feel not only prophetically destined but the timing is also nearly a mirror match for the timing of the Gog-Magog battle.

BUSH
“George Bush has claimed he was on a mission from God when he launched the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a senior Palestinian politician in an interview to be broadcast by the BBC later this month. Bush revealed the extent of his religious fervour when he met a Palestinian delegation during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egpytian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, four months after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. One of the delegates, Nabil Shaath, who was Palestinian foreign minister at the time, said: “President Bush said to all of us: ‘I am driven with a mission from God’. God would tell me, ‘George go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan’. And I did. And then God would tell me ‘George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq’. And I did.” Mr Bush went on: “And now, again, I feel God’s words coming to me, ‘Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East’. And, by God, I’m gonna do it.”

The LORD sets up kings and he takes down kings. (Dan 2:21). He uses all men for His purposes, whether they are saved or not. He uses people for His global purpose, and He uses people individually to prepare us. God uses negative circumstances for His outcomes. He doesn’t need to make a positive circumstance every time. There are many examples of this in the bible. God has been actively working in the lives of all people on the planet to prepare for the culmination of His promises to Israel and the end of the age. I believe we can see it in hindsight over the last ten years with the rise of Russia, Iran, and the invasions of the US into the Middle east. What do you think?

Note: Terry James has a good essay this week about one of the other major Gog-Magog players, and their drawing-in toward prophetic destiny: Turkey.
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Posted in 12th imam, iran, prophecy

Forget the rapture May 21, it’s now the Mahdi June 5

Posted on by elizabethprata

Verrrry interesting article about what is happening in Iran, spiritually. I’ve reported before that there had been a rift between President Ahmadinajad and Supreme Leader Khamenei. I suspected that the rift began with the accidental release to the West of a documentary film outlining Iran’s deeply-held eschatological (end time) beliefs. Of those beliefs, one analyst wrote, “The Shia Muslim Iranians view the current events in the Middle East as confirmation that their end time eschatology is correct. This confirmation is fueling their fervor and inciting them to further the final events to prepare for the arrival of their ‘Mahdi’. As we know from the bible, the true events will include terrible wars, including Psalm 83 war and Gog-Magog- the latter of which the bible says Iran plays the major role. The purpose of the film is to make the case that Iran is prophetically destined to lead the war against Islam’s enemies, which is as a prelude to the appearance of the Hidden Imam, also called the Mahdi, who brings the final victory for Islam and reigns over the whole world. It uses current events to argue that “the final chapter has begun” and the Mahdi’s arrival is imminent”, and the documentary they produced goes on to explain how and why. I wrote more about the documentary here and here.

Then in the last few weeks we have not heard about the rift between the President and the Supreme Leader, until today. and again the news has to do with their eschatalogical beliefs in the final days. Remember, Iran is a theocracy, and the Supreme Leader is supposed to be the final word on all matters, including and especially religious. The author of this piece is ‘Reza Kahlili’, the nom de plume for the CIA-infiltrated agent who was the person to obtain and release the Iranian documentary “The Coming is Near” to the west and has been analyzing and reporting on the fallout ever since. The article below is more fallout, with ominous prophetic indications.

Ahmadinejad’s Team Expects Arrival of 12th Imam … on June 5
“Increasing tensions between Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad intensified when hardline clerics exerted pressure on Ahmadinejad to obey the supreme leader as the ultimate authority. Those tensions were exacerbated with the arrest of over 25 of Ahmadinejad’s associates and loyalists, along with a high-level member of his inner circle. Supporters of the supreme leader are referring to Ahmadinejad’s group as “The Deviant Movement.” This “group” has announced that within the upcoming weeks a monumental event will turn the tide to their advantage. Based on a report from Iran’s Ayandeh, one of the officials within “The Deviant Movement” has informed his confidants that certain sources close to the “Mahdi’s Emergence Movement” have stated that an important event will soon change the course of operations to Ahmadinejad’s favor. According to interpretations offered by Ahmadinejad’s team, a high-ranking member of the Islamic Republic will meet with a climactic incident. This in turn will build up to the announcement of the “covert emergence” of the Twelfth Imam (or Mahdi) in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Hardliners critical of Ahmadinejad maintain that his team believes a covert emergence will commence on the 14th of Khordaad (June 5) in Medina, setting the stage for the announcement of the actual emergence in the next few years.”

“Certain accounts have chronicled that prior to the official emergence of the Mahdi, he will appear covertly in Medina, and during a period of one to three years he will lay the foundations for the actual announcement of his appearance. The Deviant Movement states that: “At the time of the covert emergence, his regent (i.e., the supreme leader) will be deposed from his position.” Previously, Ali Mottahari — a pro-supreme leader member of the Islamic Parliament — criticized Ahmadinejad:”

Ahmadinejad believes that the covert emergence has, in fact, occurred. Therefore, he acts like he no longer needs the supreme leader and that he can disobey him, as he is taking his orders directly from the Mahdi himself.

There is more at the headline link. Kahlili ends with this: “Since Ahmadinejad’s ascent to power, talk of the emergence of the Mahdi has increased. A number of hardliners, who are installed within the halls of the presidency, are attempting to utilize the Iranian and global situation to demonstrate the signs of the emergence of the Mahdi and to prove that the Rapture is imminent. As I revealed recently, a secret Iranian documentary, The Coming is Upon Us, details the last condition for the reappearance as the destruction of Israel and the conquest of Jerusalem by Ahmadinejad. He has been portrayed as the mythical figure in centuries-old Hadiths, Shoeib-ebne Saleh, the Islamic commander who attacks Israel in the End of Times and creates the needed circumstances for the reappearance of the Shiite messiah, the 12th Imam Mahdi. The question is: Will the rifts in the Iranian leadership push Ahmadinejad and his team to draw Israel into an unwanted war to prove that he is that mythical figure and to facilitate the Rapture?”

We know from prophecy that Iran will play  a major role in fomenting attacks against Jerusalem and Israel at large in the very last days. We know that the Arab world, with Obama behind them, are enemies of Israel who have sworn to wipe them off the map. “See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.” With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against you—” Psalm 83:2-5, a prophetic Psalm of the future, and that future is now.

Has there ever been a time when nations in a frenzy talked so much of the imminence of the Lord’s arrival? Has there ever been a time when the prophetic pieces were lining up so closely? Has there ever been a time when millions eagerly looked forward as much as they do now to the appearance of their particular deity of worship? No. Now is the time. And time is running out. Therefore “for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION “–” 2 Corinthians 6:2

Now. Turn to Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sins, now. Forget rapture May 21. Forget Mahdi June 5. Today is the day of your salvation!

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Posted in cryptozoology, end time, iran, roc, weird bird

Weird bird carcass found in Iran: Roc?

Posted on by elizabethprata

File this under “weird”. Even the Iranian journalists posting this story used ‘weird’ in the headline–

“The dead body of a strange dinosaur-like bird has been reportedly found near the city of Meshginshahr in the northwestern Iranian province of Ardebil. The locals found the feathered bipedal creature, which seemed to have died a few days ago, near a remote village of Meshginshahr, IRNA reported on Sunday. A team of officials of Iran’s Environment Protection Organization (EPO) were dispatched to the region to investigate whether the reports were true. One of the villagers has reportedly hidden the carcass and the EPO team is trying to find it. The team has managed to obtain a photo of the creature taken by one of the locals. The team has also found evidence that confirmed the locals’ claims the bird lived in a cave near the village. The creature has a reptilian skull with long canine teeth and large molars. It has small wing bones like those of flightless birds. The avifauna of Iran includes a total of 527 species, none of which are similar to the found creature; however, the discovery needs ornithologists to verify the claims. Scientists believe that fossil evidence demonstrates birds and dinosaurs shared many features such as hollow bones, gastrolith in the digestive system, nest-building and brooding behaviors.”

Below is an Iranian news spot about the ‘find.’

Could be a hoax, as always, caveat emptor! But Iran certainly seems to be taking it seriously. Remember, the mythological creature the Roc was the mythological bird beast of Persia. The roc is featured in 1001 Arabian Nights and in Sinbad’s adventures. A roc or rukh (from the Arabic and Persian rokh, asserted by Louis Charles Casartellito be an abbreviated form of Persian simurgh) is an enormous legendary bird of prey, often said to be white. [Wikipedia] Roc is allegedly a gigantic winged bird like a peacock, with the head of a dog, and the claws of a lion.

In the 13th century, Marco Polo stated “It was for all the world like an eagle, but one indeed of enormous size; so big in fact that its quills were twelve paces long and thick in proportion. And it is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its talons and carry him high into the air and drop him so that he is smashed to pieces; having so killed him, the bird swoops down on him and eats him at leisure”. Marco Polo explicitly distinguishes the bird from a griffin, another mythological bird. The Roc is to the Persians a messenger and sign of the divine, fertility and purification. It alights on a person to indicate god’s approval of that person to be king and the representation of the divine on earth.

The bird in the photo if it is a roc (lol) would have to be a baby. Just food for fun thoughts tonight!
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Posted in ahmadinejad, end of days. prophecy, gog magog, iran, resign

Are Ahmadinejad’s days numbered? Reportedly asked to resign

Posted on by elizabethprata

An Examiner article states that Arab TV has reported that the Iran’s Supreme Leader Khameini has asked President Ahmadinejad of Iran to step down. If true, it indicates a tightening of the strife that has burst onto the surface between the two over the last two weeks. I’d reported that Ahmadinejad was sulking for 8 days, after he had asked his chief to resign and that request was immediately vetoed by the Supreme Leader. Ahmadinejad did not like being vetoed and immediately went underground, dispensing with his public duties, canceling a trip to Qom, declining to make any speeches, and being absent from the Parliament.

Ahmadinejad’s absence from parliament was promptly decried by the Ministers, and 219 of the 290 wrote a letter to Ahmadinejad asking him to return to duties and cease his work-boycott and his unwillingness to submit to the Supreme Leader. No go.

Now there are rumors that Arab TV has reported last night that the President has been asked to step aside. Normally I wait to publish something like this on my blog, except that the rumor was picked up and reported by BNO Twitter News, the most reliable and fastest news outlet on the web.

In addition, in a strange piece yesterday I’d read in The Guardian (UK), Ahmadinejad’s closest allies were accused of practicing sorcery and communicating with unknown worlds, and arrested. It was reported:
“Ahmadinejad allies charged with sorcery”
Iranian power struggle between president and supreme leader sees arrests and claims of undue influence of chief of staff
Photo: “Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who is described as ‘the actual president of Iran’ by allies of the country’s supreme leader.”
“Close allies of Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been accused of using supernatural powers to further his policies amid an increasingly bitter power struggle between him and the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Several people said to be close to the president and his chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested in recent days and charged with being “magicians” and invoking djinns (spirits).”

If Ahmadinejad resigns, you can bet that he will be replaced with someone even more fanatical. Iran (Persia in  he bible) is prophesied to be an aggressor in the very last of the last days, sparking a war that trips the world over to the Tribulation. (Ezekiel 38-39). Stay tuned. If this much is made public coming from the tightly controlled and secretive Iranian nation, then more will surface and soon either Ahmadinejad’s resignation or the refutation of his resignation will be reported also. I am staking my opinion toward the resignation. I think Ahmadinejad’s days are numbered.
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Posted in ahmadinejad, iran

Ahmadinejad may resign

Posted on by elizabethprata

In an interesting story yesterday, it seems that Iran’s President Ahmadinejad has displeased the clerics (who really rule the nation) and especially has displeased Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. In the story I published yesterday, it was stated that Ahmadinead may be fighting for his political life, and that the word “impeachment” has already been flung around. It was also stated that Ahmadinejad will be speaking in public in a few days. Read that update here.

In a story published by Haaretz today, it was stated that the speech Ahmadinejad is rumored to be making soon will in fact be a resignation speech.

Iran cleric warns Ahmadinejad not to overestimate his power
“The controversy started earlier this month after Ahmadinejad dismissed his intelligence chief Heydar Moslehi but faced a veto by Khamenei, who insisted that Moslehi should stay in his post. Ahmadinejad has not yet reacted to the issue and for more than week has avoided any public appearance and reportedly has not attended the weekly cabinet session. There are even rumors that Ahmadinejad is at his home in eastern Tehran and no longer at the presidential office and plans to resign.”

For all the prophetic reasons that I mentioned yesterday, watching Iran ALWAYS bears astute attention. That nation is forecast to be a major end time player, and seeing this week’s shake-up at the top holds high interest for all watchmen. Stay tuned!

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Posted in ahmadinejad, end of days. prophecy, end time, gog magog, iran, last days

There’s a rift between Iran’s President Ahmadinejad and the Ayatollah; rumors swirl that Ahmadinejad will be out soon

Posted on by elizabethprata

Some significant news is occurring in Iran that’s not getting a lot of play in Western reporting media. Iran’s President is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Khamenei. Here is how one Iranian blogger described the role of the President:

‘Seyyed Ahmad Alam al-Hoda, the Imam of Friday Prayers in Mashhad, said, “All the officials, ministers, Majles deputies, judiciary chief, and the president who want to serve the nation must obey the orders of the Supreme Leader. If they do not do so, their position has no legitimacy, even if people have elected them.” He continued, “When people elect the president, their votes are just a bunch of zeroes. What gives meaning to the zeroes is the Supreme Leader’s certification of the vote. Assembly of Experts member Seyyed Ali Akbar Gharebaghi compared the current situation to the one involving Abolhassan Bani Sadr, the Islamic Republic’s first president, who was impeached in June 1981 after he clashed with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. “The most efficient model of governance is one with the Supreme Leader,” said Gharebaghi. “Bani Sadr thought that because he had 12 million votes, he could oppose the Imam [Khomeini]. His problem was that he did not understand what it meant to oppose the Imam. He thought that the people voted for him, but did not know that without the Supreme Leader he had no legitimacy.”

So the news is, there appears to be a problem between the Supreme Leader and their hand-picked puppet, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran’s president and supreme leader in rift over minister’s reinstatement
MPs call for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to be impeached after his refusal to back Khamenei’s judgment
“A rift is emerging between Iran’s president and its supreme leader, prompting several members of the parliament to call for the impeachment of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has not been seen in public for days. Ahmadinejad has refused to appear at the presidential palace since Friday in what is being seen as a reaction to Ayatollah Khamenei’s reinstating of a minister he initially “asked to resign”. Under pressure from Ahmadinejad the intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, a close ally of the supreme leader, stepped down on 17 April but was reinstated when Khamenei asked him in a letter to stay. The president has not publicly shown his support for that decision and on Wednesday he refused for the second time to chair a cabinet meeting in which Moslehi was present. Ahmadinejad also reportedly cancelled an official visit to the holy city of Qom prompting reactions among conservatives that “the president was sulking”. On Tuesday, Parliament News, a website run by Iranian MPs reported that “the plan to impeach Ahmadinejad has begun” in the parliament, with 12 MPs asking for him to be summoned before them.”

Is Ahmadinejad fighting for his political life?

‘Absent’ Ahmadinejad to address nation next week: media
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has not appeared in public for more than a week, is to make a televised address to the nation within days, local media reported Thursday, citing an official. “Ahmadinejad will speak to the nation next week, and his comments are going to please the friends of the revolution and despair the enemies of the regime,” several newspapers reported the vice-president in charge of parliamentary affairs, Mohammad Reza Mir-Tajedini, as saying.

Wow. Trouble in paradise? I guess so.

In relation to prophecy, Iranian politics always bears watching because Iran is forecast to be a terrible aggressor in the last days. The major event tripping the world into tribulation is Iran’s attack against Israel, joined by allies Turkey, Russia, Libya, Northern Africa, Armenia, and others. Iran attacks Israel in a surprise that almost devastates Israel and it looks like it will be destroyed it forever. It would be destroyed except that at the last second God Himself supernaturally saves the nation. (Ezekiel 38-39.) The world sees clearly that God saved Israel and Israel realizes this too. “I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”’ (Ez 38:22b-23) Israel returns to covenant with God at that time. (Ez 39:7) Once she returns to Covenant, it means the warnings are over and the Tribulation has begun (Daniel 9:24-27). The church will be gone, ending the Church Age and re-starting Daniel’s prophetic clock for the last 7 years to conclude the long-paused Age of Law.

Mahmoud Ahmadinajad’s belligerence toward Israel is unparalleled. However, if he is not performing to expectations in some way, then the Supreme Leaders will have no issue with removing him and installing another puppet. In fact, some reports dribbling in claim that impeachment has already begun, as the UK Guardian article above reports.

Any time an unbalanced and megalomaniacal nation in the middle of the geographic region that is undergoing revolutions and overthrows, and is prophesied to be a catalyst for the worst wars the world has ever seen, you pay attention when they are reported to be having internal leadership problems! Grand Ayatollah Khomenei, the founder of the Islamic Republic, is quoted as saying that he had three goals for Iran: 1. Overthrowing the Shah; 2. Establishing an Islamic State; 3. Creating the situation for the return of the last Imam. The third goal’s situation for the last Imam’s return includes a world with no Israel.

It is very interesting indeed that Ahmadinejad has not been seen and that there are rumors of a new President appearing imminently. As with so many of the entrenched leaders in the Middle East this year, it seems that Ahmadinejad is not immune from a fall from power. But the question is, if Ahmadinejad is out, will the next President be even worse for Israel?
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