Monday, August 31, 2009

Wall Street Journal Warning: Israel Will Attack Iran

Mark HitchcockBy Mark Hitchcock

The United States has consistently said that it will not allow Iran to cross the nuclear finish line. President Bush made this crystal clear as has Secretary Clinton and President Obama. However, the recent efforts of the Obama administration don’t appear to be even close to getting Iran to back down. Yet, all the world knows that if diplomatic efforts fail Israel will have no other choice but to strike Iran’s nuclear megaplex. The question is — will Israel wait? How long will they wait? And what will be the domino effects in the region from an Israeli attack?

The Wall Street Journal issued a strong warning on August 31, 2009 for the Obama administration and the world concerning Iran’s nuclear pursuits and Israel’s response. Here are a few excerpts from the Wall Street Journal article:

US and Israeli military officials we’ve spoken to are confident an Israeli strike could deal a significant blow to Iran’s programs, even if some elements would survive. The longer Israel waits, however, the more steps Iran can take to protect its installations.

They can also see that the West lacks the will to do anything, as the Obama Administration continues to plead for Tehran to negotiate even as Iran holds show trials of opposition leaders and journalists for saying the recent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was fraudulent. The irony is that the weaker the West and UN appear, the more probable an Israeli attack becomes.

The consequences of an Israeli attack are impossible to predict, but there is no doubt they would implicate US interests throughout the Middle East. Short of an Islamist revolution in Pakistan, an Israeli strike on Iran would be the most dangerous foreign policy issue President Obama could face.

In recent days, the Administration has begun taking a harder line against Tehran… but unless Obama gets serious, and soon, about stopping Iran from getting a bomb, he’ll be forced to deal with the consequences of Israel acting in its own defense.
While no one knows what will happen if Israel takes out Iran’s nuclear facilities, it would destabilize the entire region, create a firestorm and possibly lead to a regional war against Israel. Hezbollah, Iran’s surrogate, could launch an offensive against Israel from the north, and Hamas might begin an all-out rocket barrage from the west. Even Syria could be called upon to get involved. The U.S. and its allies have numerous strong incentives to keep Iran from getting the bomb, but an Israeli attack against Iran and the repercussions from such an attack, should rank high on any list.

Aside from the obvious geopolitical ramifications of an Israeli raid on Iran’s nuclear megaplex, an act of aggression of this magnitude could have a far reaching impact on the stage setting for the end times events predicted in Ezekiel 38. If Israel were to hit Iran, and widespread violence were to erupt in the region, it’s easy to see how the peace treaty of Daniel 9:27 could be the only viable solution. Also, any Israeli attack on Iran would intensify the already venomous hatred that the mullah regime in Iran harbors against Israel and fuel the desire for revenge. One could easily envision Iran, with the help of Russia, staging the kind of retaliatory attack against Israel that is predicted in Ezekiel 38.

Related Links

Israeli President Suggests Obama Putting Too Much Focus on Settlement Freeze - FOX News
Sanctions Won't Work Against Iran - Wall Street Journal (John Bolton)
Ahmadinejad Plans U.N. Visit - Washington Post
Is new Russian triumvirate a threat? - WorldNetDaily
2012, the Bible, and the End of the World - Mark Hitchcock (Book)


Former Israeli Prime Minister Indicted

Joel C. RosenbergBy Joel C. Rosenberg

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has been indicted on “multiple corruption charges including fraud, breach of trust, falsifying corporate records, receiving illicit benefits and tax evasion.” The indictment of a former premier is “a first of its kind,” reports Ynet.

According to the Washington Post:

“Prosecutors alleged that Olmert, as mayor of Jerusalem in the 1990s and later as trade minister, profited from a double-billing scheme in which he charged charities and the government for trips and expenses already paid by other organizations. About $90,000 collected for trips — often to the United States and sponsored by major Jewish groups — was allegedly accumulated in his account at a travel agency and then used for personal vacations and other expenses, according to the indictment. His former office manager, Shula Zaken, 52, also was indicted in the case. The 61-page indictment includes charges related to Olmert’s acceptance of as much as $150,000 from New York businessman Morris Talansky — funds that Talansky testified last summer were meant for Olmert’s political campaigns but that he believed were used for personal purposes.”

Related Links

Will Ehud Olmert become Israel’s Richard Nixon? - Christian Science Monitor
Yes to outrage - Jerusalem Post
Olmert's corruption trial is an Israeli first - Brisbane Times
Inside the Revolution: How the Followers of Jihad, Jefferson & Jesus Are Battling to Dominate... - Joel C. Rosenberg (Book)


Obama: "We Are God's Partners in Matters of Life and Death"

Terry JamesBy Terry James

The Supreme Court was allowed by Congress in 1963 — the majorities within those bodies foolishly thought — to keep God from mixing within the business of the government of the United States and the public it is supposed to serve. Keeping God out of anything, of course, was not and is not possible. Remember the constant refrain that church must be separate from state? The public schools of America were the most central victim of the decisions made then. From those rulings flowing from that time has resulted all of this nation's moral decline, in my view.

The same political party, which at that time had the majority and produced the legislation to ram through Congress the anti-God laws, thus making God illegal, now — with an even more powerful majority — is demanding other nation-destroying changes be instituted. This, even though a growing majority of the American citizenry declares through even the Democrats' own polls that they want no part of, for example, the death-dealing healthcare dictatorship the Democrat president is trying to force on them.

Senator Ted Kennedy is dead, and all stops are being pulled out of the drive to, in the late senator's name, ram through Mr. Obama's proposed privacy-eliminating healthcare system that is based upon a potentially catastrophic, socialistic national healthcare Kennedy championed until his dying day last week. One key part at the center of the controversy revolves around giving the government God-like decision-making power to dictate who receives expensive treatment that might save and/or prolong life. This, if enacted as currently presented in Obama's healthcare plan, apparently would give an unelected government panel appointed by the president authority to approve who can and cannot receive the treatments.

The healthcare plan, as proposed, would have, for example, a provision that requires senior citizens in the plan to have counseling at certain annual intervals. That counseling would involve advising the senior citizens that they should consider whether their poor quality of life is worth prolonging. The ones being counseled, according to those who have studied the matter, would be told to sign a statement that they agree to not avail themselves of the system of possibly life-saving medicines and technologies. Then, the panel would do the decision making for them. They would make the decision to simply make life comfortable for the senior who might have a terminal disease. The government panel would forbid payment for the person in question if he or she didn't meet their criteria for extending life. The senior would be given pain medications, but not the life-saving surgery, medicine, or other costly treatments that would be otherwise forthcoming.

These proposed panels have been chidingly accused of being "death panels" — i.e., the methodology is not far from being similar to the Hitler ideas on euthanasia during the height of the Nazi regime in the 1930s.

Anyone remember the futuristic movie, "Soylent Green"?

President Obama has in his own words declared himself to be the equal of God in his perceived right to dictate in this life/death decision making. Using the royal "we," he announced:

"We are God's partners in matters of life and death."
The comment was seemingly made in reference to his government being responsible for making decisions necessary to see to it that all people are not ill served because of foolishly wasting resources to save a few who are going to die anyway. He, in effect, equates the royal "we" to the God of heaven, with regard to the right to determine who is permitted to live and die. One political analysis site presents the following:
A reader points out that President Obama's call with the rabbis today — as recorded in Rabbi Jack Moline's and other clerics' Twitter feeds — freights health care reform with a great deal of religious meaning, and veers into the blend of policy and faith that outraged liberals in the last administration. “We are God's partners in matters of life and death,” Obama said, according to Moline (paging Sarah Palin...), quoting from the Rosh Hashanah prayer that says that in the holiday period, it is decided “who shall live and who shall die.” The president ended the call by wishing the rabbis “shanah tovah,” or happy new year—in reference to the High Holidays a month from now... (Ben Smith, “We are God's partners in matters of life and death,” POLITICO.com, http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0809/.....).
America's slide toward being a death culture began in earnest with the John F. Kennedy administration in 1963, when the Supreme Court tried to throw God out of the nation's governance. Arriving at the fruition of that deliberate departure from the Lord's influence seems imminent. Therefore, I, for one, can only express incredulity over the current president, with his invoking the name of JFK's just-deceased brother, now claiming God Almighty as an equal partner in planning to write into law his right to hold the power of life and death over this nation's citizenry.

Is it this president who has said about abortion and who determines when life comes in the birth process: "That's above my pay-grade to know."

Now his words lead many of us to infer that he thinks himself to have attained that stratospheric level of deserved remuneration. He says, "We are God's partners in matters of life and death." Now, I guess, God — as his partner — will be back in favor with the anti-God forces in Washington, D.C. and their enablers, the mainstream news and entertainment media.

Paul the apostle wrote under divine inspiration:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers...Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" (2 Timothy 3:1-2, 5).
Fallen man, like their father, the devil (Jesus' words, not mine — read John 8:44) seeks to push God aside, then usurp His authority. Much of America's political leadership is currently aspiring to such power and authority. That this matter has risen to the top of news is yet more accumulating evidence that this generation must be very near the terminus of the age. Since God's wrath hangs over this planet of rebels like the proverbial sword of Damocles, the rapture must be very near.

Related Links

Key Republican: GOP would repeal health bill if they win in 2010 - The Hill
Health Bill Breaches IRS Privacy - NewsMax.com
Obama Faces Calls to Grab Health Care Reins From Congress - FOX News
Obama Approval Rating at New Low (46%) - Rasmussen Reports
Dirty secret No. 4 in Obamacare - WorldNetDaily (Chuck Norris)
The American Apocalypse: Is the United States in Bible Prophecy? - Terry James (Book)


End Time Wars - #5-6 Heaven and the Saints

David ReaganBy David Reagan

The Bible describes nine separate end time wars. We have looked at the first two of these conflicts — the War of Extermination based on Psalm 83 and the First War of Gog-Magog based on Ezekiel 38-39. The next two end time wars we addressed in the sequence definitely take place in the Tribulation — the Conventional and the Nuclear Wars of the Tribulation.

The fifth end time war takes place in the heavens, while the sixth is waged on Earth by the Antichrist against the Jews and the Tribulation believers in Jesus Christ.

5) The War in the Heavens — Revelation 12

The next end time war is totally different in nature from all the rest. It is a supernatural one that will occur in the heavens in the middle of the Tribulation. It is most likely prompted by an attempt of Satan to once again take the throne of God.

Satan and his angels are opposed in this war by Michael and his angels. Michael is an archangel who is pictured in the Hebrew Scriptures as the commander-in-chief of the armies of God (Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1). Michael and his angels prevail in this war, and Satan is cast down to earth. His access to God's throne is cut off (Revelation 12:9-10).

When this happens, Satan realizes that his time is short because he knows Bible prophecy (Revelation 12:12). In his rage, Satan decides to destroy the Jewish people, and this decision leads to the next war.

6) The War Against the Jews and the Saints — Revelation 12

Satan hates the Jews with a passion for several reasons:

  1. They are the Chosen People of God.
  2. God used them to provide the Scriptures to the world.
  3. It was through them that the Messiah came.
  4. God has promised that He will bring a great remnant of them to faith in His Son at the end of the Tribulation.
There is going to be another holocaust during the latter half of the Tribulation. When Satan is cast down to earth, he will possess the Antichrist (Revelation 13:2) and inspire him to annihilate all the Jews. This is the reason that Jesus referred to the last half of the Tribulation as "the great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21) — not because this half will be worse than the first half, but because the wrath of Satan will be focused on the Jews.

Some of the Jews of Israel will flee to a place in the "wilderness" where they will be supernaturally protected by God (Revelation 12:13-14). Many believe this hiding place will be the ancient city of Petra, located inside a box canyon in modern Jordan. There is good reason for this assumption because Daniel 11:41 says the Antichrist will be prevented from conquering Jordan when it is part of an end time rebellion.

But Zechariah 13:8 indicates that two-thirds of the Jewish people will be killed by the Antichrist during this time, and Revelation 12:17 says the Antichrist will also war against the "offspring" of Israel — namely, those "who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus." I believe this is a reference to all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the Tribulation, both Jews and Gentiles.

It is no wonder that Revelation 7:9-14 pictures a great multitude of martyrs in Heaven, so great that it cannot be counted. They are identified as "the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14).

So the Antichrist will be very successful in his war against the Jews and the Saints, but he will fail in his ultimate goal of annihilating all the Jews. For we are told repeatedly throughout the Scriptures that a great remnant of the Jews will live to the end of the Tribulation at which time they will receive Yeshua as their Messiah. (See: Isaiah 10:20-23; Zechariah 12:10; Romans 9:27-28; and Romans 11:25-26.)

In the fifth installment of this "End Time Wars" series, we will look at the seventh and eighth wars in the end times sequence — both the Middle East Campaign of the Antichrist and we'll finally address the Battle of Armageddon.



The Christian Brown Shirts

Jim FletcherBy Jim Fletcher

In the not-too-distant-past, I received an email from a ministry leader who took exception to something I had written. This person indicated that he was severing our friendship (we were never friends), and his ire was raised because he doesn’t like my views on Israel.

That’s my loose interpretation.

The problem for him is that I don’t care what he thinks. If European Christians hadn’t embraced the anti-Semitic views of various scholars, politicians, and members of the clergy, the Holocaust wouldn’t have happened.

I will say this clearly: I do have a problem with Christians who don’t like Jews or Israel. That’s a general statement, but there’s plenty of evidence that tons of Christians — a growing number of evangelicals — have a bone to pick with Jews.

Often, it centers around the fact that relatively large numbers of Jews don’t respond well to evangelism, to the Gospel message. Of course, if it weren’t tragic, my phrase “large numbers of Jews” would be comical. Most of them were stuffed into ovens in Christian Europe a mere 60 years ago.

The majority of Christians are ignorant of the fact that persecution of Jews — by Christians and “Christian” nations — has been the worst possible calling card for evangelists who are out to convert Jews. Take Martin Luther, for example.

The leader of the Reformation started out friendly to the Jews. Then he tried to convert them. When they didn’t respond well, he turned on them. Luther’s comments about Jews later in his life sound like a transcript from a Nazi rally. Germany had 400 years to ingest Luther’s Jew-hatred.

You can guess the rest.

As I’ve said before, one’s spiritual heritage leaves an indelible stamp. For example, if I grew up in the Word of Faith movement, I’d tend to believe it’s valid. If I grew up Lutheran, the chances are good that I wouldn’t be pro Israel.

It’s just the way things are.

But where Israel is concerned (and by extension, Bible prophecy), there is a growing hostility coming from the Christians. This week, a famous American Christian, former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, announced that in order to advance the “peace process,” Israel would have to work with Hamas. As in, Hamas that wants to wipe Israel off the map.

Although they aren’t in the mainstream, there are quite a few Christian leaders who are now working with Sabeel, the radical Palestinian organization in Israel that demonizes the Jewish state. American Christian colleges are populated by professors who decry “the occupation,” and minimize Arab terrorism. Institutions like Fuller and Wheaton come to mind.

What I find particularly disturbing is the widespread indifference, or outright dislike of Jews and Israel in the American church. This is exactly the path Germany found herself on only decades ago.

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they began implementing all sorts of evil policies to control the state. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. The one group most demonized, of course, was the Jews.

A fascinating fact about this era centers around the Nazis’ attempts to sanitize the Hebrews from Scripture. Now, of course, we know how absurd this is. The Savior of the world is a Jew. The Bible was written by Jews, about Jews.

Still, the Jews had plenty of willing executioners.

In an extraordinary book, The Holocaust and the Christian World, we learn that “Seventh Day Adventists offered an immediate public statement of nationalism and support for the Party. They implemented changes to remove the language of the Hebrew Scriptures from their liturgy.”

Amazing! They had company.

In the so-called German Christian movement, pro-Nazi Christians “embraced Nazism and tried to Nazify Christianity by suppressing the Old Testament, revising liturgics and hymns, and promoting Jesus as an Aryan hero who embodied the idea of the new Germany.” Further, it is noted that “Centuries of Christian anti-Jewish teachings served as a precursor to Nazi anti-Semitism.” Two-thirds of the German population was Protestant, and they served the killing machine that wiped-out European Jewry.

This systematic effort to marginalize the Jews, within Christendom, was diabolical and deadly effective. Hear again from the authors of The Holocaust and the Christian World:

“The negation of Jewish existence, which the Christian churches had symbolized in their liturgy and doctrines, their sermons and teaching materials helped to produce an endless series of persecutions and pogroms.”
It is interesting that just as America has followed England’s lead by allowing Darwinian philosophy to put deep roots into society (British churches are virtually museums today), so too is America following the wider European path of presenting the Jews as “Other.” The American church is contributing to this in a big way.

There are very influential forces in Christendom that don’t like Jews, and they don’t like Israel. They do not say this publicly, of course. But they are the spiritual heirs to the thugs who bludgeoned Jews in the streets of Germany, on their way to transport trains.

I would encourage you to pay close attention to pastors, ministries, and evangelists, and notice their stance on Israel. That will telegraph in a big way where their hearts are.

If your church would like to hear apologetics teaching that speaks to these and many other issues, contact us at Prophecy Matters; we’d love to conduct a seminar for you, emphasizing the whole counsel of God.

He loves the Jews.

Related Links

American Jewish Group Blasts WCC Head for Israel Comment - Christian Post
Anti-Semitic Christians assail New York Jews - Israel Today
It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine): How to stop worrying and learn to love these End Times - Jim Fletcher (Book)


Why Must Everything Change?

Jan MarkellBy Jan Markell

The false teachings among some prominent church leaders have no end nor does the race to unify all religions. My thanks to Mark Tooley of the Institute for Religion and Democracy, World Net Daily, and author Joel Richardson for some background here. Fasten your seat belt because now we have Christians observing Ramadan. This goes miles beyond Muslim-Christian dialogue, which is bad enough. This is actually giving respectability to those who killed 3,000 innocent Americans who are even more on our mind in this season of 9/11. Once again, I have to ask, where is the outrage?

Emergent Church leader Brian McLaren is fasting during the Islamic Ramadan but is he fasting so that Muslims would come to salvation in Jesus Christ alone? And Tooley asks,

"Would McLaren organize a similar fast on behalf of persecuted Christians and other victims of radical Islam? Or would that be too culturally confrontational for the post-modern evangelical who has shunned his conservative past and prefers creating common ground that creates alliances for the Left?"
McLaren says on his blog:
"Ramadan is the Muslim holy month of fasting for spiritual renewal and purification. It commemorates the month during which Muslims believe Mohammed received the Quran through divine revelation, and it calls Muslims to self-control, sacrificial generosity, and solidarity with the poor, diligent reading of the Quran and intensified prayer."
He continues,
"But as Christians, we want to come close to our Muslim neighbors and to share this important part of life with them."
Here we go honoring Islam again, just as they did in 2007 and 2008 with "A Common Word Between Us and You." Today's bunch of short-on-discernment leaders now observing Ramadan prove my point: Slippery slopes go only one way - down - and never turn around. And please tell me as an evangelical, what is it we will learn from Islam?

McLaren states,
"We, as Christians, humbly seek to join Muslims in this observance of Ramadan as a God-honoring expression of peace, fellowship, and neighborliness. Each of us will have at least one Muslim friend who will serve as our partner in the fast. These friends welcome us in the same spirit of peace, fellowship, and neighborliness."
None of that counts for eternity, Brian.

It stretches credulity to watch the religious Left continue to forge unholy alliances with some who are sworn enemies of the gospel and who are burning down Christian villages around the world and cutting off the heads of other Christians. And they will continue to do the same until they hear and respond to the "good news" of Jesus Christ, which is not the purpose of the Christian Ramadan effort! Yet an underlying motive with all such efforts is to declare the God of Christianity and the god of Islam as the same. If you get nothing else, remember that when such words come out of the pulpit in your church and renounce it!

Some are asking if we don't have a virtual endorsement of Islam by liberal Christianity today with a few evangelicals thrown in for good measure. Signers say, "Peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians stand as one of the central challenges of this century." If you hear one of them say this, challenge them with, "No, saving the lost while there is time is the central challenge and that won't happen by joining with Muslims during Ramadan." Author Joel Richardson, who has been on my radio program "Understanding the Times" on several occasions, asks the right question: "Is such an 'observance' actually tantamount to an endorsement of Islam?"

As this is written, a young former Muslim girl named Rifqa has fled her home in America, going to another state, fearing the Islamic practice of "honor killing." Her parents, she fears, want to kill her for becoming a Christian. Will Brian McLaren and those following him in this outrage confront Muslim leaders about this? Does McLaren share the "common good" of honor killings? Of course he doesn't, but by keeping quiet, he doesn't improve this deplorable situation.

In McLaren's recent book, "Everything Must Change," he suggests that evangelicals must turn Left to be relevant and atone for past myopia. Many of us are grieved that churches have taken his advice, and the advice of other church leaders with skewed ideas or theology and have thus destroyed evangelicalism as we once knew it.

But it's not just all about unity! McLaren believes that evangelical support for Israel is an obstacle to interfaith harmony. While largely unwilling to criticize radical Islam by name, he has condemned the "terrible, deadly, distorted, yet popular theologies associated with Christian Zionism that create bigotry and prejudice against Muslims." He urged Christian Zionists to bravely abandon their prejudice, just as white segregationists had to shed theirs 50 years ago.

Mark Tooley concludes appropriately by saying,
"McLaren's interfaith ritual just further evinces the Left's chronic misunderstanding that all cultural and international conflict can be remedied through apologies, folk songs, Western guilt, and flamboyant sentimentality."
That "old-time religion" we once loved is evaporating because guys like Brian McLaren and his Emergent buddies have convinced people that "everything must change."

The one-world religion is literally on the horizon. Look over a fence and you will see it approaching.

Related Links

Interfaith Solidarity During Ramadan - Washington Post
'Christians' celebrating Ramadan? - WorldNetDaily
In Defense of Muslim Convert to Christianity - Arutz Sheva
The Emergent Church - Undefining Christianity - Bob DeWaay (Book)
The Jesus You Can't Ignore: What You Must Learn from the Bold Confrontations of Christ - John MacArthur (Book)


The Dope Lobby Gains Momentum

Todd StrandbergBy Todd Strandberg

It was just last month that I wrote an article on the growing trend towards the legalization of drugs like marijuana. Several major developments have caused me to return to this subject.

Last week, Mexico decriminalized small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. The reason cited was the government's grueling battle against drug traffickers. Mexican jails are overflowing with people who have been caught using drugs.

Under the new guidelines, the maximum amount of marijuana for "personal use" is five grams — the equivalent of about four joints. The limit is a half gram for cocaine, the equivalent of about four "lines." For other drugs, the limits are fifty milligrams of heroin, forty milligrams of methamphetamine, and 0.015 milligrams for LSD.

Tens of thousands of American college students flock to Cancun and Acapulco each year to party at beachside discos offering wet T-shirt contests and all-you-can-drink deals. The obvious fear is that Mexico could now also become a destination for drug-fueled carousing.

Just four days after Mexico's decision, Argentina’s Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish adults for private marijuana use, a big step toward decriminalizing the drug. The ruling is based on the “privacy clause” of Argentina’s constitution — private pot use doesn’t “offend public order or morality.” Brazil and Ecuador are in lockstep to follow them.

Here in the U.S., our existing drug laws continue to be chipped away. Denver's marijuana policy review panel just sent a letter to the presiding judge of Denver County Court urging a $1 fine as penalty for possession of marijuana of less than an ounce. The current fine stands at $111. One of the panel members is Mason Tvert, the executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, which has pushed decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.

In my research for this article, I saw a poll in The Denver Post that asked, "Do you support decriminalizing marijuana?" Years ago, these types of polls would only get about 30 percent of the respondents who are for decriminalization. In this poll, 68 percent of the readers were for legalizing pot.

Much of the effort to weaken drug laws has been carried out under the name of “medical marijuana.” Pro-pot groups argue that it helps relieve suffering. Marijuana's painkilling properties are being called into question by new research that suggests that pot can amplify and prolong pain rather than relieve it. A study published in the current issue of Science suggests prescribing marijuana for pain relief may be counterproductive. The active ingredients in pot can interfere with the body's mechanisms to stop pain signals from reaching the brain.

I doubt this revelation will have any negative impact on the medical marijuana bandwagon. It is just as much of a Trojan horse as the people who argued for the virtues of hemp fiber in the making of cloth products.

If the war on drugs were not going bad enough, someone has devised an easier formula for methamphetamine — one of the world's most addictive drugs. Only a few years ago, making meth required an elaborate lab with cans of flammable liquids and hundreds of pills of the decongestant pseudoephedrine. The process gave off foul odors, sometimes sparked explosions, and was very hard to conceal. The new "shake-and-bake" method can be made anywhere and only requires a relatively small number of pills — an amount easily obtained under even the toughest anti-meth laws.

I am absolutely amazed at how our drug laws are melting away. The lack of opposition is the most stunning part. The mindset of our current U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske is good example. His reaction to Mexico and Argentina’s change of their drug laws was to take a “wait-and-see” attitude. He even said that President Obama has too much on his plate to “touch drug policy right now.”

People send me books and charts all the time about when they think the rapture and the tribulation are going to start. I don't see any need to bother with their predictions. All I need to do is look at the moral clock to know how late it is. The uninhibited slide towards liberal drug policies is proof enough that we are quickly headed for judgment from God. Once substances like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin become decriminalized, the added weight of sin will seal the world's fate.

Related Links


Mexico and Argentina move towards decriminalising drugs - guardian.co.uk
Latin America Weighs Less Punitive Path to Curb Drug Use - New York Times
Argentina rules on marijuana use - BBC News
Drug Abuse - Probe Ministries (Kerby Anderson)
What does the Bible say about doing drugs? - GotQuestions.org


Sunday, August 30, 2009

Iran Stonewalling IAEA About Possible Military Dimensions

Chris SchangBy Chris Schang

In a news article the other day the IAEA accused the Iranian government of "stonewalling" the international community on it's nuclear program and there are serious concerns about the military "weapons" aspect of the program. To many of us who have been following Bible prophecy, it is nothing new to us that Iran is seeking to develop both a civilian AND military nuclear weapons program. In fact, many of us will recall Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map" as a result of their anti-semitic hatred towards Israel. There is no doubt that if the Iranians obtain a military nuclear weapons program that they will use it to try to destroy Israel.

In a Jerusalem Post news article the IAEA officials were quoted as saying that Iran has yet to clarify all aspects of their nuclear program. The news article reported:

But on Friday, IAEA officials said Iran was stonewalling the agency about "possible military dimensions" to its suspect nuclear program, urging the regime to clarify the mysterious role of a foreign explosives expert and shed light on other issues. In its latest report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it has pressed the Islamic Republic to clarify its uranium enrichment activities and reassure the world that it's not trying to build an atomic weapon. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and geared solely toward generating electricity. The United States and key allies contend the country is covertly trying to build an atomic weapon.
Iran for their part has declared that the IAEA report has cleared them of any wrongdoing and shows that their nuclear program is simply for "peaceful" means as they have claimed all along. Iran for their part stated:
Iran said a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Friday had confirmed its nuclear program was peaceful and vowed to resist political pressure to change it, Reuters reported on Saturday. "The report emphasized ... that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful," Iran's envoy to IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh reportedly told the Fars news agency on Saturday. "It shows Iran has continued its cooperation with the agency ... but at the same time will not accept any political pressure to take measures beyond its legal commitments," he said.
The IAEA for it's part also noted that Iran had been producing enriched materials at a much slower rate than they had previously been doing. But despite this the IAEA reports that Iran still has not stopped their enrichment activities as demanded by the international community. The IAEA reports:
Ahead of September 2 six-power talks on Iran - and a key meeting of the IAEA's 35-nation board a week after that - the IAEA acknowledged that Tehran has been producing nuclear fuel at a slower rate and has allowed UN inspectors broader access to its main nuclear complex in the southern city of Natanz. But the Vienna-based agency delivered a blunt assessment: "Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities."
Further:
"There remains a number of outstanding issues which give rise to concerns and which need to be clarified to exclude the existence of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program," said the text, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. It said the IAEA "does not consider that Iran has adequately addressed the substance of the issues, having focused instead on the style and form ... and providing limited answers and simple denials." The report raised the specter of harsher international sanctions against Iran for not answering lingering questions about its nuclear activities.
Israel for their part has accused the IAEA of hiding incriminating evidence against Iran. In a Jerusalem Post article:
Despite the publication of a critical report on Iran's nuclear program, senior Israeli diplomatic officials are accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency of "hiding critical information on Iran's nuclear progress," the Foreign Ministry said Saturday. IAEA officials said Iran was stonewalling the agency about "possible military dimensions" to its program. In the report, the IAEA said it has pressed Iran to clarify its uranium enrichment activities and reassure the world that it's not trying to build an atomic weapon.
The Israeli's are further quoted as saying:
"The IAEA is the only body recognized by the international community that can prevent the games of deception being played by Iran as it works to build nuclear weapons," a senior Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post Saturday. While Israeli officials would not give details about the information the IAEA was allegedly hiding, "we're talking about information that would be far more incriminating for Iran," the official said. "The 35 member states of the IAEA can't let [the organization] get away with hiding critical information on the dangers of the Iranian program," the official added.
The article went on to say that the IAEA has admitted that Iran is producing enrichment material at a slower rate and that there has been little to nothing done about the Iranian nuclear situation. US President Obama is reported to have given the Iranians an ultimatum of suspending enrichment activities or face further sanctions. To me, this "ultimatum" is simply a form of appeasement to the mullahs in Iran. The international community has been placing sanctions on Iran for years with little to no effect. Iran is skirting the sanctions and has more than enough "friends" to help them trade essential materials and items. Previous articles have even said that EU countries are still trading with Iran despite the UN Security Council sanctions. Talk about "toothless" sanctions.

As for the Israeli claims that the IAEA is holding back incriminating evidence against Iran, I believe that is probably the case. The IAEA director ElBaradei has expressed his political views before and has taken a lax stance on the Iranian nuclear situation. In the past the US tried to have ElBaradei removed from the IAEA but was unsuccessful in making that happen. There could be several reasons for the IAEA to withhold evidence against Iran. One reason could be that the international community is simply afraid of confronting Iran and the potential backlash that could occur for doing so. Iran has in the past threatened to attack Western interests in the Middle East as well as block the strategic Straits of Hormuz should their nuclear program be attacked militarily. Another possible reason is that IAEA director ElBaradei is simply being a good "Islamic" citizen and placing his allegiance towards the Islamic cause. As we know Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran have made significant strides in their nuclear programs under the watch of ElBaradei. It is my opinion that ElBaradei's lax stance towards his job has made him a threat to the world as he will not perform his duties as IAEA director and strongly confront the rogue states who are trying to obtain nuclear weapons for evil purposes. ElBaradei, it should be noted, is an Egyptian who is married to an Iranian wife. To me, ElBaradei has a natural conflict of interest in the current situation with Iran and should be removed from his position. History has shown that ElBaradei is at best a failure at his duty and/or at worse an enabler for evil regimes around the world in their desire to obtain the ultimate weapons of mass destruction.

As we can see things continue to "boil" in the Middle East. The lid is about to fall off the pot from the tension in the region. With the diplomatic stalemate on the Iranian issue it is my opinion that eventually Israel will be forced to act. They are on the front lines of the "war on terror" and that includes not only the terrorist proxies on their borders but the main source of state sponsored terrorism - Iran.

Let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and that the Lord's perfect plan for the redemption of mankind take place according to his perfect will. The God of Israel, he neither sleeps nor slumbers, is surely not surprised by what is happening on the earth. Let that ease our minds and let us take refuge in the Lord. Let us continue to watch the situation in the Middle East and spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. Until next time, keep looking up, your redemption is drawing nigh.

Related Links

Israel Says IAEA Withheld Information on Iran Nuclear Program - Bloomberg
Iran accuses Israel of psych warfare - UPI
Israel Launches Air Strike in Gaza - VOA News
Northern Storm Rising: Russia, Iran, and the Emerging End-Times Military Coalition Against Israel - Ron Rhodes (Book)


Saturday, August 29, 2009

2012 … The End of the World?

Jack KelleyBy Jack Kelley
GraceThruFaith.com

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea” (Luke 21:25).

The year 2012 is lining up as a uniquely pivotal year in many respects. Aside from the fact that some futurists are predicting world wide food and job riots by then, and the two most powerful thrones on Earth (US and UN) will be up for election, there is a never before seen confluence of signs in the heavens due to arrive then. In case you’ve been visiting another planet for the past couple of years, here they are.

Mayan Calendar Ends. Dec. 21, 2012

By way of introduction, somehow the Mayans knew that the Sun travels in an orbit through the galaxy just like the planets of our solar system travel in an orbit around the Sun. They calculated that it requires 26,625 of our years for the Sun to complete one circle, called a galactic day. The Mayans divided this day into 5 cycles of 5125 years each. According to their calendar the current cycle, which is the 5th, will end on the day we know as Dec. 21, 2012, the winter solstice.

The Mayan Calendar does not necessarily predict the world will end on that day, as some think, but they did believe that the Sun, having reached the exact center of the galaxy, would receive and emit a powerful surge of light from this alignment and would reverse its polarity. This would cause a great cosmic event on Earth and result in the end of life as we know it. Below are some modern confirmations that will demonstrate how startlingly accurate the Mayans were. They lend more credibility to the view that the influence of the Nephilim with their supernatural knowledge might have been much more widespread than previously thought. Hints of their meddling can be seen world wide.

According to the Mayans, the effect of all this will depend on our reaction to it. If, as a civilization, we try to cling to our current ways we’ll suffer chaos and destruction. But if we change to become united in one positive consciousness and stop fighting each other and poisoning our environment we’ll enter our Golden Age. Sounds straight out of the New Age, doesn’t it?

Magnetic Polar Reversal, Earth and Sun Combined. 2012

I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place (Rev. 6:12-14).
Over the past few years the magnetic North pole has been drifting across Canada and is headed for Siberia. Also, the Earth’s magnetic field has weakened noticeably when compared to its strength when scientists began measuring it in 1845. Based on these findings, some scientists are now convinced that a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles is underway. They’re predicting that in 2012 the magnetic field will be at its weakest and a polar reversal could suddenly and dramatically take place with the North pole having the polarity of the South pole and vice versa.

In 2012 the Sun will also experience a polar reversal producing radiation emissions at their strongest levels in 50 years. Although the Sun’s magnetic poles reverse every eleven years, in the memory of man the Earth has never experienced such an event. While no one can predict the outcome of this double shift, it could produce massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions of a magnitude that could actually cause a measurable continental shift.

A study by the National Academy of Sciences released in early 2009 indicated that a “solar storm” like this could also cause catastrophic damage to the power grid and other communications as well, knocking out satellites, phones, and computers. They confirmed that the 2012 event would be more severe than others we’ve experienced in the past.

If this reversal caused the magnetic field around Earth to collapse, the effect would be even more severe. According to some projections, the electromagnetic energy released from the sun during a polar reversal could cause Earth’s upper atmosphere to “erupt in flames” if our magnetic field isn’t there to deflect it. Was John referring to this in saying the sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up? No one knows. We can only imagine what a sudden reversal of magnetic poles would do to life on Earth. Predictions range all the way from a temporary increase in the frequency and severity of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes to a worldwide disaster of “Biblical proportions.”

Galactic Alignment. Sun at the Center of the Milky Way. Dec. 21, 2012
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake (Rev. 8:5).

The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs (Psalm 114:4).
In December 2012 the Sun will reach the exact center of the Milky Way Galaxy, as the Mayans predicted, with all the planets lined up in their orbits behind it, like little chicks behind their mother. Some scientists believe this will amplify the Sun’s gravitational pull on Earth causing increased instability in its inner core. They say the increased gravitational pull combined with increased radiation from the twin polar reversals will heat the Earth’s molten core and cause it to spin faster. This could result in anything from more frequent and more powerful earthquakes to volcanic eruptions, great tsunamis and even displacement of the Earth’s crust.

Planet X Returns to the Solar System. 2012
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.

The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water- the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter (Rev. 8:8-11).
Planet X has been the subject of much debate among scientists, both as to its actual existence and its name. Some refer to Planet X as Nibiru, a large planet listed in 5000 year old Sumerian tablets, but missing from the Solar system today. Others say it’s Rahab, the ancient seat of Satan, hinted at in Job 9:13 & 26:12, Psalm 87:4 & 89:10, and in Isaiah 30:7 & 51:9. Those who advocate for its existence say it’s been privately tracked by NASA since the 1980’s and both the New York Times and the Washington Post have speculated about its appearance in the sky. Documented naked eye sightings from the Southern Hemisphere are also claimed.

The name Rahab appears in the Old Testament a total of 11 times. Five times it refers to the Rahab of Jericho who hid the 2 spies, was the mother of Boaz, and appears in the Lord’s genealogy. The other six times, listed above, it does not. Some believe these other references are to a planet that was once part of our Solar system and that Satan and his followers inhabited along with Earth and Mars. These people disagree as to whether it was originally our 5th or 6th planet, but supposedly these three planets were judged at the time of Satan’s rebellion in the gap between Genesis 1 :1 & 1:2 . They also disagree as to whether it was completely destroyed leaving only the asteroid belt as a memorial, or was sent spinning out into the far reaches of the universe, or some combination of the two. Proponents of the partial destruction theory say that the remnant of the planet Rahab can now be seen again, and that God will use it to effect some of the judgments of Revelation.

To many, this idea of Satan’s Kingdom planet re-entering our solar system is wild conjecture. After all, they say, it was developed out of a study combining the apocryphal Book of Enoch with the application of ELS (Equi-distant Letter Sequencing), commonly known as the Bible Codes. But if we’re as close to the end as I think we are, it won’t be long until we know whether the Rahab theories are truth or fiction. For what it’s worth, some believe Nostradamus predicted a comet/planet coming in 2012.

In any case, whether you call it X, or Nibiru, or Rahab, there are some serious people who believe it’s headed our way and will at least come dangerously close to Earth in 2012, showering us with the asteroids it has captured and causing great damage on Earth.

What’s the Point?

The short answer to the title question is, “No. 2012 will not bring the end of the world.” But without attempting to tie these predicted events to specific prophecies, I think it’s interesting to see how similar the Biblical descriptions of end times judgments are to the scientific view of possible coming events. Due to the nearness of 2012, I only used verses from Revelation that describe judgments during the first half of Daniel’s 70th Week , before the Great Tribulation even begins. After that it gets much worse very quickly.
See, the day of the LORD is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger - to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty, in the day of his burning anger (Isaiah 13:9-13).
So what will the 2012 disasters accomplish? I believe that God will use these and other End Times judgments to begin putting the Earth back into the condition it was when He gave it to Adam. Remember, Jesus called the Millennium the time of restoration of all things (Matt. 19:28) and Paul said the whole creation has been groaning in anticipation of being liberated from the bondage it was subjected to. (Romans 8:20-21). And at the beginning of the Millennium God will proclaim, “I am making everything new” (Rev. 21:5).

Since the creation, mountains have been pushed up and valleys made lower to contain the enormous amounts of water generated in the Great Flood. The protective water vapor canopy that permitted long life spans in pre-flood times collapsed at the time of the Flood. Earth’s land mass has been pushed apart to form the current continents and islands, the Earth’s orbit has been extended by 5 ¼ days, and its axis tilted by 23.44 degrees. All this and more will have to be fixed in order for Earth to once again be the paradise it was created to be.

You and I will view all of this from the mezzanine during our time of repose with the Lord. On Earth it will be the beginning of the most terrible time known to man.

Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD ? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light-pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? (Amos 5:18-20)

You can almost hear the Footsteps of the Messiah.


Related Links
2012 Magnetic Polar Reversal - GraceThruFaith.com
More Magnetic Polar Reversal - GraceThruFaith.com
Planet Rahab - GraceThruFaith.com
Extreme Weather - GraceThruFaith.com
Events Preceding The Rapture - GraceThruFaith.com
2012, the Bible, and the End of the World - Mark Hitchcock (Book)

 




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