Posted in economy, european union, eurozone, prophecy

International alarm grows over fate of Europe’s failing economy

I had written last night that Greece was said to be defaulting. However, those reports were almost immediately retracted. I wrote that no matter if the default is now or later, it will come, given the numbers. The level of debt Greece is staggering under cannot be borne much longer. Nor can Italy’s, Spain’s, or even the US’s debt be borne by those nations much longer for that matter.

This Jefferies report quoted in Zerohedge lays it out clearly on how and why the European economic failure will be just as bad if not worse than the one the US suffered in 2008. Jefferies is a full-service securities and investment banking firm serving companies and their investors globally, not some pajama blogger or fringe guy who thinks he has a handle of geo-political economics. This is the real deal. In the report, Jefferies lays out the European end game.

“The bottom line is that it looks like a Lehman like event is about to be unleashed on Europe WITHOUT an effective TARP like structure fully in place. Now maybe, just maybe, they can do what the US did and build one on the fly – wiping out a few institutions and then using an expanded EFSF/Eurobond structure to prevent systemic collapse. But politically that is increasingly feeling like a long shot. Rather it looks like we will get 17 TARPs – one for each country. That is going to require a US style socialization of each banking system – with many WAMUs, Wachovias, AIGs and IndyMacs along the way. The road map for Europe is still 2008 in the US, with the end game a country by country socialization of their commercial banks. The fact is that the Germans are NOT going to pay for pan European structure to recap French and Italian banks – even though it is probably a more cost effective solution for both the German banks and taxpayers.”

It is a very good report. Even I understood it, and math and economics is not my strong point.

British economics reporter Ambrose Evans-Pritchard wrote about Germany’s and Greece’s mutually assured destruction. Pritchard is another guy I like to read. He is sound. He wrote,

Germany and Greece flirt with mutual assured destruction
Bild Zeitung populism has prevailed. Germany is pushing Greece towards a hard default, risking the uncontrollable chain reaction so long feared by markets.
“Whoever thinks that Greece is an easy scapegoat, will find that this eventually turns against them, against the hard core of the eurozone,” said Greek finance minister Evangelos Venizelos. Greece can, if provoked, pull the pin on the European banking system and inflict huge damage on Germany itself, and Greece has certainly been provoked.”

In the wake of all this economic news from Europe, Moody’s downgraded France’s largest banks today.

“Moody’s Investors Service downgraded two of France’s biggest banks Wednesday, Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, citing their exposure to the Greek economy and the fragile state of bank financing markets. It kept a third, BNP Paribas, under review … France brushed off concerns about its biggest banks Wednesday, insisting that it had no plans to nationalize any of them despite a credit rating downgrade linked to their exposure to the limping Greek economy.”

The Polish Finance Minister warned that Europe was about to collapse, though his comments engendered a firestorm under which he ‘clarified’ and partially retracted. He said,

“While speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski warned that Europe was in grave danger of collapsing if the euro zone debt crisis was not resolved rapidly. Europe must be saved at all costs, he added. Anxieties regarding the euro zone debt crisis have been mounting this week. Many judge US Treasury Timothy Geithner’s announcement that he will attend a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Wroclaw this Friday as yet another sign of the seriousness of the situation. “We should not deceive ourselves, if the euro falls apart, then Europe will not survive the shock for long,” said Mr Rostowski during his speech on Wednesday. … Also speaking in the European Parliament on Wednesday, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso also underlined that Europe’s future was at stake. “We are facing the biggest crisis of this generation,” said Mr Barroso. “It’s a struggle for the political future of Europe, for European integration as a whole,” he added.”

It IS a struggle to hold things together when all the forces of evil, history, and prophecy are tearing them asunder. The final empire that reforms out of this crisis and emerges in the last days will fall apart, as well. This is foretold in Daniel 2.

Wayne Blank wrote, “In the Bible study Daniel’s Statue we looked at the curious prophetic symbol found in the book of Daniel. The vision of the statue was given by God to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in a dream. The dream was interpreted by the prophet Daniel. The statue was a composite, made up of different materials to represent the successive human empires that ruled the land of the Bible and beyond. With the starting point of the Babylonian “head of gold” plainly stated to us by Daniel, Bible History and secular history both provide us with the other pieces of the puzzle that fit perfectly: after the Babylonian empire came the Persian empire (the chest and arms of silver); then the Greek empire (belly and thighs of bronze); and finally the Roman empire (the legs of iron). The legs of iron terminated in the feet which were composed of a mixture of iron and baked clay. Daniel provides us with a fascinating description of the “feet.” The iron in the feet is described as a group of different peoples (nations) that despite their differences in language and culture, come together for a short time to fulfill an important stage in God’s plan. The “baked clay” in the feet is the necessary binding agent that holds the pieces of iron together. A common religion, led by a popular, and eventually great miracle-performing leader, is thought to be the baked clay.”

We do not know what the exact catalyst will be for the last Empire to emerge, nor are we told exactly when,  but we do know that it will happen. Will Europe collapse all the way, only for the antichrist to arise from the chaotic smoke of the falling empire? Will Europe hang on and the antichrist appear at the right moment to offer a solution so that it will not fall? Either way, the pieces are in the air and it is both exciting and unnerving to watch them play out their final arc in the face of bible truth.
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Posted in 9/11, bible jesus, evil, prophecy

9/11

I was in my newspaper office. Tuesday is a big paper day, we go to print Wednesday morning. I rented the office from my friend who lived a big farmhouse, and she called me from her living room. I thought it was unusual that she phoned, being just a few feet away from me in the same building. But her voice evaporated all other thoughts. She said quietly but with fervor, “COME HERE NOW”.

The first plane had just hit the twin tower in NY. We watched with eyes open, breathing shallowly, standing with arms numbly at our sides…until the second plane hit at 9:03. Our eyes locked together, and we knew without saying a word that this was an attack. We also knew that nothing would ever be the same. We watched until another plane hit the Pentagon 34 minutes later. It felt like the world was coming to an end. It really did. We thought the world was ending. A knot was in my stomach and coherent thoughts refused to form in my head. We got our purses and the first thing we did was walk across the street to the hardware store and we bought the biggest flag they had. We went back to the office and put it up. Then we went to the bank to get money. Cash was going to be important if the electricity went out or we were ordered to evacuate. We didn’t know what was coming next and we wanted to be prepared. It could have been a nuke coming next, for all we knew. At the bank, they had the TV on in the break room with the door open and the volume up so customers could hear what was going on. A fourth plane had just gone down in PA. We saw the smoking crater. We knew that plane was part of whatever was happening.

We resolved that our freedom was under attack. Running a newspaper which reported the news and offered a platform for the people to speak their thoughts on any political or civic matter freely, we decided our most patriotic thing we could do to support the Constitution that day was to get the paper out. The terrorists were not going to stop the presses. They were not going to stop freedom from ringing out. And that is what we did.

Churches were full that Sunday, though a bit less full the following Sunday. By about four slim weeks, churches were back to their spotty attendance. Why is this? Why do people fly planes into buildings and kill others? Why is there murder? Why is there war? Why are there conflicts at every level? Because man is inherently wicked. Our hearts are evil above all things, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). Because man is basically evil. If we didn’t have laws and limits we would be killing each other at every moment.

Jesus is the hope we have to become good. Not on our own merits. We do not become good through our own efforts. No, “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good–except God alone.” It is not a popular thing to say, that we are not good, but we are not. [Click on the link for John MacArthur’s sermon the Sunday after 9/11/01 as he takes us through a biblical understanding of death, terrorism, and the Middle East]

I thank Jesus that He poured out His life so that we may live…and become righteous. “It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Even at that, our fleshly lives on earth are a struggle, a struggle against sin and growth in righteousness. I long for the day when flesh shall be glorified and sin shall be banished.

So people are evil, and we struggle against our nature. We want what we want and we sometimes terrorize or go to war to get it. Such will be the way, until the end. The end that comes before the beginning!

In the meantime, as we watch the death throes of this old world (which means the birth of the Glorious World!)…we mourn but also we love our nation America.

The song you are about to listen to is from a Las Vegas Diamond Rio concert. They received an immediate resounding standing ovation, and continue to do so every time they perform it!

Here in America, In God We STILL Trust:

The photo below has a wonderful story behind it. Please click on the link to read about the “Photo of eagle on Fort Snelling gravestone touches hearts, goes viral”

Minneapolis Star-Tribune story of the photo here

On the day of 9/11 there were people trapped above the strike zones who thought it would be preferable to hurl themselves out the shattered windows of the twin towers rather than burn to death. One photo in particular caught the world’s attention. It is called “Falling Man” and it seems that his graceful swan dive plummet was poignant in the extreme. Here is the back-story of that photo.

Five months after 9/11 the Superbowl came along, just as it always does. The Superbowl is noted for artful, funny, or avante garde commercial debuts, due to the high viewership of the game. Budweiser showed a commercial called “Respect” and showed it only once, then until now. Thanks to Youtube, the ad has resurfaced. It is sure to bring a tear to your eye. We remember American greatness, American products, American ways.

Jesus will return in glory with His glorified saints. He will institute new nations and new cities populated by sinless resurrected chosen ones. There will be no more war because our hearts will be made right with Him. There will be no more terror because we will want nothing, having been given it all by our Savior. If you bow low to the Savior, He will lift you up high. Please do it soon.
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Posted in jesus, prophecy

Atheists are gonna get religion

They’re going to get religion, and in a big way, too. Soon and very soon, after the rapture, the Antichrist is going to come forward, and the whole world will follow him. (Rev 13:3).

The. Whole. World. Christians won’t be fooled, of course, the ones left behind and converted to the Truth post-rapture. The Light will have opened their minds and they will have full faith in Jesus.

But the rest of the world whose minds are now and will still be blinded by satan (2 Cor 4:4), whose minds are closed, and who have the spirit of antichrist in them (1 John 4:3), they will follow the Beast. They will worship. They will be agog, mouths open, astonished at his seeming power, and they will cave. Atheists too, cave right in like big poofy marshmallows. All the supercilious, condescending reasoning they put forth as their foundation for refusing to believe they ever do anything wrong, that is, sin, will fall away at the first false miracle the Beast fools them with.

There is a reason they will follow the Beast. Because Jesus convicts us of our sins, people who are not saved writhe against this conviction. Here is what the bible says about it:

“And this is the condemnation: Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19-20).

The world, including atheists, will follow the beast because their minds are already blinded and in witnessing a few false miracles (2 Thess 2:9) they will have their “proof.” They will have their “evidence.” And best of all, this (false) messiah will not convict anyone of their sins. He will not even mention sins! It will be a sin-free, do as you please, go for it kind of religion. The Beast will even blaspheme God (Rev 13:5) and that will tickle the people even more. ‘Now here’s a god we can get behind!’ they will say.

So who is this Beast that they will follow?

He is known as the Antichrist, but he has many more names than that. As I mentioned, Beast is one (Rev 11:7), and it is one that is used more frequently in the bible than any other. About thirty times in Revelation the antichrist is called the Beast. It is nomenclature that is in Revelation for a reason. It is evocative of the thorough nature of the man. The synonyms for beast which is defined as crude, savage person, is “animal, beast, cannibal, creature, critter, degenerate, devil, fiend, lout, monster, ogre, ruffian, sadist, savage, swine, wild animal.” Pretty well sums up the guy.

And make no mistake, the antichrist is a man. One person. Other names he is called, from the Old Testament are Man of Perdition, The Lawless One, The Assyrian, and many other names. (2 Thess 2:8, Isaiah 10:5; 12 etc).

The attributes of the antichrist are of interest as much as his many names. Foremost, the coming antichrist will be proud. The world hates the meek, the humble, and they will exalt the antichrist for his proud words. The antichrist will exalt himself even more. (Dan 11:36; 2 Thess 2:3-4). He will speak great things and swelling flatteries. The people will buy it. Rev. 13:5,6; Dan. 7:8,25). So he will be proud and a blasphemer, his name suggests he will be vicious and brutal. He will also be skilled in flattery, ambiguous speech, and in intrigue (Dan 8:23).

All this is coming. Of the people who fall for his lies, they will be thrown in the lake of fire in the end, where the worm does not die and they will be looked upon with contempt by one and all. (Dan 12:2; Rev 14:11).

But you can have hope! You can always have hope in the glorious light. God’s good guidance is Light itself. “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). In Him there is no darkness at all! (1 John 1:5). Do you wonder why you’re never satisfied, despite having a good job, a good hobby, good children, good everything? You wonder why you still feel empty? That emptiness is where Jesus wants to fill you with His Light, waiting to pierce the blind darkness of your mind and blast away the heavy crust of sin that imprisons you. Admit you are a sinner and ask Him to forgive them. Make Him your LORD. He is the Dove, not the Beast. His yoke is gentle. (Mt 11:30). “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 1:29)
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Posted in end time, israel, prophecy, turkey

"Turkey is No Longer a Friend of Israel" Says President of Turkey

Well. My previous post on Israel and Turkey became outdated almost immediately, like, in three minutes. I had mentioned that Turkish-Israeli relationship was deteriorating fast. A series of moves an comments over the last four days by Turkey indicated that their relationship was headed south. We know that the bible says in the end the two will be enemies. Turkey joins with other countries to attack Israel in the Gog-Magog battle. Ezekiel 38-39)

Now, Euronews reports the President of Turkey saying that his nation and Israel “are no longer friends.” This Euronews interview began with the contextual comment that “Turkey is transforming and developing economic and diplomatic relations with its neighbors, prompting many to talk of an axis shift. The Turkish President sat down for a candid interview with Euronews as to where the country might be heading next.”

The President emphasizes that he is leading his nation toward opening up relations with many, instead of being a dead end, Turkey is now more of a crossroads. Except, that is, Israel, I note. Turkey withdrew diplomats from Israel and has adopted a harsh stance in the last few days, In this interview, the President flatly admits that any friendship between Turkey and Israel is over. So the crossroads does not extend to Jerusalem, apparently.

When the interviewer asks the Turkish President about the Gaza Flotilla incident with Israel last year, he admitted that the incident irrevocably harmed their relationship. This admission comes at about 4:16. The interviewer follows up with the question, “Is Turkey’s friendship with Israel over?” and the President says, “Absolutely. Israel has lost the friendship of Turkey and of Turkish citizens.”

Here is the video if you want to watch yourself. It is interesting. The interviewer goes on with asking Turkey about Iran’s nuclear activity.

Turkey has the second largest military in NATO, after the US. Israel is not part of NATO. Things are lining up, folks.
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Posted in bible jesus, end of days, end time, prophecy

What is ‘the end time,’ exactly?

Here are a few random things I’ve been meaning to get to. First, some definitions.

I was writing the Prophecy Newsletter yesterday and explaining what the ‘end time’ is, and it occurred to me that it might be good to put on here too. The term comes from, in part, Matthew 24:1-8, when the Disciples asked Christ about the end of the age. They were sitting on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem at the time so Jesus’s answer, one of the longest He delivered anywhere in the New Testament, is called The Olivet Discourse. The NASB’s header to the beginning of His answer is:

Signs of Christ’s Return

“Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

So when the disciples came to Jesus when they were on the Mount of Olives, they asked him three things; when will You come, what will be the signs of Your coming, and what will be the signs of the end of the age? If Jesus’s answer in Matthew 24 was to be ONLY the time of the Tribulation, He would not have included the sign of the Temple being thrown down, something that happened about 40 years later. Matthew Henry commentary explains, “The prophecy first respects events near at hand, the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish church and state, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ’s kingdom in the world; but it also looks to the general judgment; and toward the close, points more particularly to the latter.” This is because the end time is technically the time between His first coming (Ascension) and the Second Coming (Return). The prophecy as Henry says points particularly to the latter period because that is what birth pangs do. A woman does not feel the pangs throughout her entire pregnancy, but at the end when the birth is about to occur and gestation is over.

Now, there is “Day of the LORD” spoken of in the bible (1st use, Isaiah 2:12). Depending on the translation, it is mentioned between 23 and 27 times throughout the Old and New Testaments. Barnes Notes explains, “The Day of the Lord” is any day in which He avengeth sin, any day of Judgment.” However, all of human history is hurtling toward one particular Day of the Lord, the LAST DAY! God has judged many times in the past, in discrete moments, such as the earth swallowing Korah (Numbers 16:30-31), and in wide-open moments such as the Flood which swallowed the whole earth (Gen 7:6). But the Day of the LORD spoken of by the prophets in most cases refers to a 7-year period of judgment in which God will judge sin. It is also known as the Time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7). We get the word ‘Tribulation’ from Matthew 24:29-“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

There is also referred to the time of ‘distress.’ It’s from Daniel 12:1, the angel tells Daniel, “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

There will come a moment when the LORD dissolves the world and heaven (2 Peter 3:10) and makes a new one (Rev 21:1, Isaiah 66:22).

So the end time is a long period of devolving creation that meets the time of tribulation and ends with the one moment the LORD dissolves the world and makes a new one. In very rough, general terms.

Since Jesus likened the time to a woman in birth pangs it is instructive to look closely at His analogy. The gestational period is long, but we can see by the baby bump outside the mother just how things are progressing. When the signs indicate that the gestation period is nearing the end, we expect other signs, such as the baby moving lower, and the water breaking. The actual birth begins when the labor pangs grow in intensity and frequency, but no birth can be timed exactly. Some women are in labor for a day, others for three days. So at all phases of the gestation, labor, and birth, we can see the signs but  not know the lengths of the periods it will take to complete. Even the last day, His Second Coming, will not be a day known in advance, but a day that no one knows the day nor hour. Only the general imminence.

As we see the signs grown in intensity and frequency, we wait for the water to break, which in my opinion, is the rapture. The sudden bursting-in of the LORD into this world and physically removing His church will be a dramatic moment in which all earth’s inhabitants will know something extraordinary has happened. After that, the events described in so many of our Old Testament and New Testament books will again alert the populace that something supernatural is happening. It will all happen faster and faster until the dramatic moment when the lights go out (Mt 24:29), and after an unknown period (Mt 24:36), likely a very short period, HE COMES to judge the earth.

So that’s the end time. Are you ready?
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Posted in bible jesus, prophecy, psalm 83

If Syria’s regime fails, what happens to its chemical weapons?

The bible prophesies that a certain battle will occur and that prophecy has not been fulfilled. It is parked intercessory prayer for Israel’s victory in a battle against her neighbors, and it is in Psalm 83. We know that it has not occurred yet because the specific line-up of nations participating in the war has never happened.

In this battle, Israel is soundly vanquishing attacking enemies Palestinians, Syrians, Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese, and various terrorist organizations, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Al-Qaeda. The victory Israel execute is firm, these nations and organizations do not rise again.

People who watch the prophecies and know the bible wonder what it will take for Israel to go into a battle such as the one described in Psalm 83. Would she be defending herself after a heinous attack Would she be executing  pre-emptive attack because of imminent threats Would it be a retaliation for an accumulated drip-drip of constant rocket and terrorist attacks unknown. But we watch and we notice what is happening int he Middle east from the vantage point of knowing the end and living it in the present. Some things are happening in the Middle East that have me concerned.

Syrian unrest raises fears about chemical arsenal
“The Middle Eastern state with the dangerous chemicals was not Libya, whose modest stockpile was thrust into the spotlight last week because of fighting there. It was Syria, another violence-torn Arab state whose advanced weapons are drawing new concern as the country drifts toward an uncertain future. A sudden collapse of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could mean a breakdown in controls over the country’s weapons, U.S. officials and weapons experts said in interviews. But while Libya’s chemical arsenal consists of unwieldy canisters filled mostly with mustard gas, the World War I-era blistering agent, Syria possesses some of the deadliest chemicals ever to be weaponized, dispersed in thousands of artillery shells and warheads that are easy to transport.”

Dr. Jill Dekker is a consultant to the NATO Defense Establishment in bio-warfare and counter terrorism. Dr. Dekker is also a member of the board of advisors of the Intelligence Summit. She gave an interview to the New English Review in December 2007. In it, she said,

“Contrary to how the US State Department and other agencies tend to downplay the sophistication of the Syrian biological and nuclear programs, they are very advanced. Syria has always had the most advanced chemical weapons program in the Middle East. The US and other western agencies have in a sense been distracted by this, but their biological programs and the “concept of use” are robust. Syria’s biological weapons capability today is closely tied to the former and current Soviet and Russian programs respectively, the DPRK, Iran and the former Iraq regime. A major concern is their strategic concept of use – which has gone from one of ‘special weapons’ to incorporation into their ‘conventional arsenal.’ That is a significant shift and one that seems to have eluded the US. The Syrians run their biological programs out of the Syrian Scientific Research Council (SSRC) in Damascus.”

“They have separate wings for separate pathogens. They also have a number of programs running in Aleppo. The Syrians are 100% committed to deniable operations as their modus operandi. Biological weapons, particularly those which might occur naturally, are the ultimate in deniability, for example, their cryptosporidium program for force reduction. The Wednesday Report noted a few years ago that in terms of the Syrian anthrax program, Syria has extensive expertise in the industrial cultivation of germs and viruses for the civilian production of anthrax (and smallpox) vaccines. It also noted that Russian experts, contracted by Syria, are apparently helping them to cultivate a highly virulent anthrax germ for installation in missile warheads. Their pharmaceutical infrastructure is fully integrated with their defense structure. Syrians cannot reach parity with US and Israeli conventional weapons. However, they view their bio-chemical arsenal as part of a normal weapons program. This is a huge shift in thinking by the Syrian military. It means they condone the use of biological pathogens as ‘offensive’ weapons. NATO and the United States should be very concerned about that re-designation.”

We know that in Isaiah 17 the prophecy says Damascus will be destroyed. The prophecy does not say when or how, just that the city and its area will be razed and unfit for human habitation.

Israel knows that Damascus is a center for bio-warfare. Israel knows that the regime handling these deadly weapons at their abutting border is fighting for its life, gasping even today. How far will Israel demonstrate restraint in the face of these threats? This week an opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post proposed that Israel should intervene in Syria.
“There is no question Israel will have to deal with a post-Assad Syria, so why not start that process now? For those who support Israel, perhaps the most ironclad principle of our diplomatic posture is non-intervention in the Arab Spring. Unless there is an active Arab attempt to drag Israel into conflict to deflect popular internal dissent – as Bashar Assad attempted on the Golan to protest Naksa Day in June – conventional wisdom has Israel withdrawn to the periphery. The argument, of course, is that a provoked Israeli response is just the tonic embattled Arab despots need to deflect attention to the old Zionist monster under the bed and stir up Iranian and leftist critiques of Israel. Further, a desperate Assad (or even post-Mubarak Egypt) might escalate to non-conventional weapons in a bid to retain power: the massive Israeli retaliation would end internal uprisings. These high-risk scenarios cultivate a conservative Israeli mindset according to which the Devil one knows is better than the Devil one doesn’t.”

More at link. The devil indeed…

Is Israel rousing herself? Today, Israel sent two warships to the Egyptian border.
“Military sources tell AP Israeli Navy sent additional warships to maritime border with Egypt following intelligence indicating viable terror threat. Meanwhile, Iran set to send 15th fleet to area as well as ‘to thwart pirate activity’. The Israeli Navy (INF) has decided to boost its presence and patrols near Israel’s maritime border with Egypt due to a viable terror threat in the area. Israeli security sources told the Associated Press on Tuesday that two additional warships have been dispatched to Israel’s Red Sea border with Egypt. Another source stressed that the operation was routine, telling Reuters that “two naval craft have been sent to the Red Sea. This is not unusual.”

Sure. Sure it isn’t. Keep your eyes on Israel and the Psalm 83 nations. We know the end. At some point, the flashpoint will be reached.
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Posted in end of days, end time, hurricane irene, judgment, prophecy, warnings

The costs from Hurricane Irene are outweighed by the cost of not repenting

That natural disasters are on the rise is unquestionable. The data is the data and the facts are the facts. The debate is not whether they are increasing, but is over the cause of the increase. Some people say that these disasters are increasing because of changes in the magnetosphere, which, they say, caused the aflockalypse of bird deaths at the beginning of this year. Others say the cause is from government conspiracies such as HAARP, or High Frequency Active Auroral research Program which purposely disturbs a segment of our ionosphere and measures the effects. HAARP really exists but conspiracy theorists posit that it is being used for dark purposes. Others say it is global warming, such as the author of this first article. But whatever the cause (and it is GOD) the effects are real.

In this article by Bill McKibben, he attributes the recent increase of disasters to global warming but in his article he totes up the effects, which are devastating:

“Remember—this year has already seen more billion-dollar weather-related disasters than any year in U.S. history. Last year was the warmest ever recorded on planet Earth. Arctic sea ice is near all-time record lows. Record floods from Pakistan to Queensland to the Mississippi basin; record drought from the steppes of Russia to the plains of Texas. Just about the only trauma we haven’t had are hurricanes plowing into the U.S., but that’s just luck—last year was a big storm year, but they all veered out to sea. This year we’re already on letter I—which in a normal year we don’t get to until well into October.”

But then Irene hit.

In an incredible decision, all Mass Transit in NY City was closed in advance of Hurricane Irene, costing millions. There were no flights Sunday at the 5 NY-area airports; 9000 flights were canceled, and the George Washington Bridge lower level was closed in both directions. Amazing. What an incredible shut-down for our largest city. But that was not the worst of it. Upstate NY and Vermont were hammered.

Hurricane Irene flood damage stuns inland areas
“Brattleboro, Vt. — Rippling creeks became deadly deluges. Bridges collapsed into roiling waves. Dry streets turned into fast-rising lakes, closing in around stunned towns. While Irene – first a hurricane and then a tropical storm – unleashed its initial share of damage along the sandy shores of the Eastern Seaboard, by Monday its greatest impact was felt far from the coastline, in places such as landlocked Vermont and the bucolic mountains of upstate New York. Even so, more than 48 hours after Irene made landfall early Saturday, about 4.5 million people remained without power in 13 states from North Carolina to Maine. The death toll jumped to at least 40, according to the Associated Press, and some rivers had yet to crest.”

“Hundreds remained stranded in communities cut off by washed-out roads, including at least 2,500 residents of remote Hatteras Island in North Carolina, where severed utility lines also left them without power. The only access to the island was via a ferry limited to emergency use. Police in suburban Parsippany, N.J., had to rescue dozens of people who became trapped in two hotels Monday when a nearby lake spilled over its banks and sent enough water into the streets and hotel parking lots to swallow vehicles. Evacuees included guests who had fled to the hotels after heeding advice to evacuate their homes in advance of Irene.”

The economic cost of the advanced protection and evacuations, the lost revenue from closed businesses, and the cleanup afterwards is incalculable.

Joel Rosenberg wrote a good piece this week titled “This was a wake up call: American East Coast shaken by Hurricane Irene.” Joel write in part–

“This was a wake up call. At its peak, Hurricane Irene was the size of the State of Texas. Had it remained a Category 3 storm — or even increased in intensity — it could have created the greatest natural disaster catastrophe in the history of the United States. Fortunately, that’s not what happened. The storm is now over, and even as the clean up begins, critics are saying it was hyped up and “overblown” by government officials and weather forecasters. But did the experts really badly “misjudge” Irene, or did God hear people’s prayers and have mercy on us by weakening the storm faster than the experts had predicted? I think both are true. I am grateful to the Lord for His grace and mercy on us. I am also grateful to the forecasters and the government leaders who warned us as best they could and took decisive action to put public safety first. As I have written about several times in recent months, the Lord is shaking us, trying to wake us up and get us to focused back on Him and on His Word. We need to recommit ourselves to prayer, fasting and reading the Bible and get our hearts right with the Lord. For Bible prophecy tells us that far greater storms are coming as we steadily approach the Day of the Lord.”

And another storm has formed. She is on the same track as Irene. Her name is Katia… I’ll repeat Joel’s good advice: “We need to recommit ourselves to prayer, fasting and reading the Bible and get our hearts right with the Lord. For Bible prophecy tells us that far greater storms are coming as we steadily approach the Day of the Lord.”

Posted in bible jesus, day of rage, peace, prophecy

Arab Spring in America?

Did you know that there is a planned “Day of Rage’ here in the US? It is planned for September 17 and targets Wall Street, but sister cities are planning their Day of Rage also. The point is supposed to be a protest against despots, dictators and cronyism in the White House, Congress, and Wall Street. Here is what the Arab Business and Banking journal Zawya wrote about it:

“Arab Spring-style protests are apparently being planned in the United States as the richest country in the world teeters on the edge of a ‘lesser depression’. Things are so bad in the U.S. that disenchanted, non-partisan citizens are planning to occupy Wall Street reportedly on September 17, according to media reports and vent their fury at Wall Street banks and policymakers.”

“The “U.S. Day Of Rage” echoes the massive protests undertaken by citizens in various Middle East countries to demonstrate against despots, dictators and cronyism in the Arab world. Similar to many Arab Spring movements, the organisers are leveraging social media website to gain some traction. Nearly 4,800 people ‘like’ the main US Day Of Rage Facebook page and it has nearly 6,000 Twitter followers. According to its social media feeds, it is planning peaceful civil disobedience across many American cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Idaho, Oklahoma and Hawaii, among others.”

“While the movement may well fizzle out, it does point to an extreme reaction to the complete and utter disappointment of American citizens with their governments especially as they watched in horror the debt debacle, the subsequent Standard & Poor’s downgrade and the ‘correction’ in American stock markets wiping out trillions of dollars in a matter of weeks.”

“U.S. President Barack Obama’s approval ratings have fallen to an average of 43% (including a personal low of 39% in one survey) while Congress’s collective approval rating slumped to an average of 17% (dipping to 13% in one Gallup poll, a record low).”

The website for Day of Rage says that they plan ‘civil disobedience.’ I fail to see how something called a day of rage is supposed to put enough of the brakes on so that people are only civilly disobedient and not marauding mobsters yanking people out of cars at the state fair or razing a convenience store, things which have already happened in abundance without a prompting of a Day of Rage.

Matthew 24:7 says that in the Tribulation “nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.” The word ‘nation’ in this context is the Greek word ‘ethnos’ which means people group sharing a similar culture. In other words, civil unrest. It means that there will be black against white, poor against rich, young against old performing violence against each other within the same country. These kinds of protests and violence are things the US has already experienced. The young mobs mobbing stores where older owners stand by helpless…blacks yanking whites out of cars and beating them senseless, and the poor protesting against the rich Wall Street bankster types are all things that we see already. During the Tribulation this kind of violence will get worse. Kingdom against kingdom, means for example, Lebanon fights Israel, but ethnos against ethnos is a worse kind of violence for it means your neighbor could turn on you and you may never even know why.

With food prices shooting up and unemployment rampant, the general mood in the US is tenuous at best. Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse blog wrote a recent piece titled: “16 Statistics Which Prove That The American People Are Absolutely Seething With Anger“. He wrote another piece titled “10 Signs That Economic Riots And Civil Unrest Inside The United States Are Now More Likely Than Ever.” What I like about his pieces are that he uses credible sources and presents exactly what the title says. After reading the facts, you believe exactly that unrest is coming and that people are seething with anger. What are the chances that the Day of Rage will be peaceful, with polite folks engaging in civil disobedience with no harm done? Low. Very low.

The organizers of the Day of Rage say they will engage in civil disobedience, but the fact is that people are already at tinderbox temper. It would not take much to trip them over to mob mentality. As Bonnie Tyler sang in her song “Total Eclipse of the Heart,”, ‘We’re living in a powder keg and giving off sparks’.

I prefer the Day of Prayer to the Day of Rage. I pray that the light of Jesus will shine in the eyes of all who live in darkness. When you see the Light, you know that a perfect government is coming. It will be one filled with perfect justice, perfect peace. The government will make war no more, and all the citizens will be engaged in productive works. Their relaxation times will be saturated with harmony in worship of Jesus, songs, and pleasant conversations where there will be no gossip, agendas, or misunderstandings. In the New Jerusalem there will be no days of rage but only peace.

Proverbs 19:3 shows us that their rage comes from within their heart and it is against the Lord. “A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the LORD.”

Proverbs 29:11 – “Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.”

The calm in the end always leads back to peace, IF there is reconciliation with Jesus. Apart from Him a person is in rebellion, that is why they rage. It is the underlying reason. But it need not be so. A person need not have a day of rage, nor an eternity of rage:

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,” (Ephesians 2:14-15)

Now isn’t that much better than a day of rage?
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Posted in bible jesus, china, demons, prophecy

A Tale of Two UFOs: China and Moscow

A commenter asked me on yesterday’s blog entry if I knew about the UFO over China’s airport. I responded that I did, and that I had written about it when it occurred last year. But then another  person alerted me to the fact that this was a new UFO incident over China’s airport that happened yesterday, not last year. WOW!

I was intrigued by the last year China UFO event over the airport because air traffic controllers had spotted the ‘craft’, or the ‘thing’, whatever it was. ATC’s are trained sky spotters. They are official. They are official enough that the airport was closed, because they feared incoming airplanes would collide with the UFO. In addition, the UFO was showing up on radar.

So when Anonymous said that another incident had occurred, I read up on it. Fox News reports,

UFO Spotted Over Chinese Airport
Published August 18, 2011
“Planes were dramatically diverted away from a major Chinese airport after reports of a UFO circling a runway, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday. The mysterious object was spotted Wednesday afternoon floating high above Jiangbei International Airport in the city of Chongqing, an important aviation hub for southwestern for southwestern China. Worried officials diverted several flights to other airports before it disappeared about 50 minutes later and air traffic was allowed to return to normal. The Chongqing government has not offered any explanation for the UFO, Shanghai Daily said. However, skeptical airport workers believe it was a sky lantern or a large balloon, the newspaper said.Wednesday’s scare mirrors an incident in July last year when Xiaoshan airport in the eastern city of Hangzhou was closed after baffled air traffic controllers spotted a UFO on their radar screens. The object vanished but footage of a strange glowing orb streaking across the night sky was posted on YouTube, sparking global interest in the supposed close encounter.”

Here is a photo that accompanied the news article:

The instant I saw that photo I remembered another incident. Get a load of this:

Mystery UFO halo over Moscow
Published: 11 Oct 2009
“THIS glowing halo in clouds over Moscow looks like an Independence Day style alien attack. The astonishing ring was spotted over the city and captured on video by stunned locals. It has been described as a “true mystery” by a UFO expert. cores of supernatural enthusiasts have been gripped by the astonishing footage and speculated it could be an ALIEN MOTHERSHIP. The sighting in the clouds is reminiscent of scenes from the 1996 Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day.”

The picture just above is a still from a Youtube video of the incident over Moscow last year. You can click on the ‘Mystery UFO’ link and see a photo of it at the UK Sun. Are the Moscow UFO and yesterday’s China UFO the same photo? Are they the same UFO? Are the demons THAT close to showing themselves? What is going on?

The world we see is not the only world there is. There is another world that is close, but hidden behind the veil that God put up. Sometimes in the bible, He lifts the veil between His world and ours and allows us to glimpse His glorious home. In one example, Elijah in 2 Kings 2:11 was taken up to heaven by a chariot of fire.

In 2 Kings 6:16, Elisha was prophesying over the war with Aram, and when Elisha’s servant admitted fear because of the enemy multitudes that had gathered around them, Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened. The servant saw the multitudes upon multitudes from God who were gathered in chariots and horses, ready to fight for God and defeat Aram’s forces.

In Luke 2 on that cold and starry night, when the veil lifted the shepherds saw the heavenly host. As Stephen was dying from his stoning by the angry mob, he looked up and saw the heavens parted, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56).

God’s world is real, and it is so close to us. It is only as far away as a thin curtain being lifted. It would not take much more rebellion for the demons to punch through and show themselves. They follow satan who is already god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). In other words, they already roam up and down upon this world seeking whom they may devour. (Job 1:7;  1 Peter 5:8). Are they hovering even now, ready to come through the veil and show themselves?

At some point, they WILL irrupt. (Rev 9:2-3). Whether they choose to appear as angels of light (2 Cor 11:14-15) or as terrible demons screaming in the holy places (Luke 4:33), they will return. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that the times just before the end (during the Tribulation) will be as the Days of Noah, and we know from Genesis 6:5-6 that the Days of Noah were totally evil with men thinking evil thoughts continually.

Christians need not fear. Demons, or UFOs, or whatever you want to call them, are not greater than He who is in us. When they do eventually appear, when the veil is lifted and more and more supernatural things begin to take place, as Revelation 6, Matthew 24, and Daniel 2, 7, 11 show, His children will be in heaven. We will be enjoying our awards ceremony and marriage supper. You can be part of THAT supernatural event, by repenting. Please do so soon. It seems that the veil is already starting to be lifted…
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Posted in one world government, prophecy

One step closer to One World Government?

The United States is not the only nation struggling with the economy and teetering on the edge of (or plummeting into, depending on your perspective) a depression. The European Union of nations are also struggling mightily. Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Italy are all plummeting fast, and France is teetering. Even strong Germany’s economy has slowed. This last bit of information seemed to shake the normally staid Prime Minister Angela Merkel.

As a result of currency woes, economy struggles, and unrest, the two European nations France and Germany agreed to meet. They came up with an idea. They proposed this idea. The idea is:

Sarkozy, Merkel Plan ‘Collective Govt’
“France and Germany have proposed “collective economic government” for the eurozone after European investors sought reassurance from the two countries’ leaders. Details of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plan remains unclear, reports Reuters. It was revealed after the pair met in Paris for talks on the issue, with markets anxious for signs they have a plan to restore stability in the region. The meeting comes as new figures show Germany’s economy has lost its “dynamism” and has all but stalled in recent months, putting further pressure on the eurozone. The quarterly GDP growth figure of only 0.1% was way below expectations and is significantly lower than the 1.3% growth recorded in the previous three months…”

France & Germany: Save euro with one EU government
“The leaders of France and Germany tonight called on Eurozone nations to form a “collective government” to save the struggling currency. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel put forward the radical plan to balance the budgets of the 17 nations that use the crisis-hit single currency.”

The book of Daniel 2and 7 and Revelation 13 tell us that the final world government and its final evil ruler rises from a reformed European empire. We know that in the Tribulation, the antichrist will rule over ten nations. (Daniel 7:24-25; Rev 17:12-13). That the European Union has reformed is an amazing prophetic fulfillment. After all Rome collapsed in the early 400s. That the European Union leaders as it exists today is proposing an even closer relationship under one government seems to be the final movement toward the reformation of a kingdom prophesied to give rise to the world’s most evil dictator.

How close are we? Pretty durn close, if you ask me.
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