Iranian Election Chaos Continues; Obama and Possible Plans to Take Jerusalem from Israel

By Chris Schang

In this edition of the Rapture Report we will look at the current news headlines coming out of the Middle East. Recent reports coming out of Iran show that the ruling regime is continuing to crack down on the opposition groups. As we reported in the last Rapture Report there were articles that stated that 70 "academics" had suddenly disappeared as part of the ruling regime's crackdown. However, an article today from the Israel National News reports that news filtering out of Iran claims that now "hundreds" of opposition opponents have disappeared and that they were either arrested or executed. A human rights group based in Paris also says that about 2,000 people have been arrested so far. Describing the events since the elections the article reports:

Millions of Ahmadinejad's opponents took to the streets to protest the election results, which they said were rigged, but the Iranian military and police forces apparently have taken extreme measures to silence demonstrators. Following a media blackout and a brief victory by opponents who used Twitter to reveal police violence, reports have filtered out that hundreds of opponents have "disappeared," either executed or imprisoned. The Paris-based Federation of Human Rights has alleged that at least 2,000 people have been arrested. Associated Press reported Wednesday that the authorities banned one newspaper that denounced the government as "illegitimate."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has also recently reported saying that US President Obama has "removed his mask" as it concerned dealing with Iran. Ahmadinejad was reported in the same Israel National News article as saying:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told Iranians that U.S. President Barack Obama has "removed his mask" and has revealed "the real face of the American people." He charged that President Obama offered to negotiate with Iran but has not kept true to his word.

As many of us here in the US know, Obama has definitely "removed his mask" and the sight is pretty scary from a Biblical standpoint. It is becoming clear that Obama has taken a decidedly "pro-islamic" position on US policy in the Middle East. Obama has called for complete settlement freezes in the West Bank. Imagine a foreign president demanding that the US stop building in any of the 50 United States! What nerve Obama and the international community have for telling Israel not to build in Israel. This is absolutely incredible and contradictory.

In more disturbing news, it was reported today that an "Obama think tank" has stated that Israel should cede Jerusalem's sovereignty over to an independent authority. Previous proposals of such a plan involved an independent authority that was made up of mostly islamic countries. That is absolutely insane and would probably result in a situation like the one Israel is in where the islamic Wafq dictates when the Jews can visit the Temple Mount area. The Israel National News article stated:

A think tank which is arguably the most influential in Washington is proposing an "interim" neutral administration to govern Jerusalem instead of Israel. The Center for American Progress (CAP), headquartered just three blocks from the White House in Washington, is regarded as one of the most influential think tanks in the city, if not the most influential. "CAP has been an incubator for liberal thought and helped build the [Democratic party] platform that triumphed in the 2008 campaign," according to a Bloomberg.com report, which noted that some of the group's recommendations were adopted by Obama while he was still president-elect.

While the plan itself does not officially "internationalize" Jerusalem, the article reports that the plan is not far from such an arrangement:

Four weeks ago, CAP held a panel discussion based on the premise that the Old City of Jerusalem is the main impediment in finding a solution to the Israel-Arab problem in the Holy Land. Michael Bell, a former Canadian Ambassador to Jordan, Egypt and Israel, presented a plan entitled the Jerusalem Old City Initiative. The plan does not call for the internationalization of Jerusalem - but is not far off from that. It recommends that both Israel and a future state of Palestine appoint a third-party administrator that would run and police the city.

The supposed idea behind this plan was summed up as:

Bell explained that the plan calls for an administration or regime that would govern the Old City of Jerusalem for an interim period, without either Israel or the PA giving up their demands for sovereignty: "Frankly, I don't think there's going to be any agreement on sovereignty. I think that the two sides need not cede their demands for sovereignty; these claims can remain exactly as they are today. The sides would simply agree to delay the implementation or assertion of these claims until after an agreement is reached. Until then, a special administration would be set up, with the two sides agreeing to set this up, at least on an interim basis. And what this would do ..... would be to ensure dignity, human rights and equity for all living in the Old City, all visitors, and all pilgrims."

Now, students of Bible prophecy are well aware that the Bible says that in the last days the issue of Jerusalem will become a "burdensome stone" for all those that come against it and that they will be "cut to pieces" as a result of trying to disturb the Lord's Holy City. The Bible explains that fallen man's attempts to find a resolution to this ancient problem will be futile until the Lord Jesus Christ returns and sets up his Millennium Kingdom whereby he rules with an iron rod of justice and righteousness.

The plan originators also indicated that their idea could essentially become a "permanent" solution:

Bell did not quantify the plan's "interim period," though he did imply that it could very well be "close to permanent."

Another interesting but odd news article in the news headlines was one that appeared in the Israel National News website. The article basically reported that IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei suggested that Iran was not interested in nuclear weapons, that they simply wanted "recognition" in the Middle East. The article reported:

Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed El-Baradei said that an agreement between Iran and the U.S was necessary and possible, according to a report in the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram. He admitted that Iran might already posses the know-how and technology to manufacture a nuclear weapon, but stated that he believed they had no desire to do so. Iran only seeks guarantees of its security and Western recognition of its interests in the Gulf and the Middle East, he said. "Even if Iran manufactures one nuclear bomb, this will not turn it into a threatening nuclear superpower."

Folks, I am just shocked that such insane comments were reported from ElBaradei. His comments about Iran could not be further from the truth. ElBaradei himself has been reported to have said that he believed Iran was trying to develop a nuclear weapons program and now he wants to try to "flip-flop" his position. To me, that is just more nonsense and decpetion at work.

Iran has openly stated many times that they seek to "wipe Israel off the map" and when they obtain the technology to do so that the end of Israel was imminent. One of the problems here is that Mohamed ElBaradei is first and foremost an islamic religious individual. As a follower of Islam, he believes as it is taught in the koran that it is OK to lie to the "infidels" which would include everyone that is not a islamic follower, and that includes you, me, and the rest of the West. ElBaradei is an Egyptian national who is married to an Iranian wife. His allegiance to islam and to his Iranian wife have clouded his judgment so much that in the past the US has called for ElBaradei to be removed from his post at the IAEA.

To be perfectly honest, ElBaradei is practically impotent to stop nuclear arms proliferation. Several states have become nuclear powers on his watch and they are not the good guys. It is my opinion that Mohamed ElBaradei should have been removed from the IAEA years ago. In fact, he should have never been allowed to direct the organization to start with. I'm afraid that we will all have to pay for his negligence and conflicts of interest that have kept him from doing his job, which was to prevent the spread of nuclear proliferation. And unfortunately that payment could be in the form of a mushroom cloud going up in a major Western city. At that point it will be too late.

One final article that caught my attention and emphasizes the need to stop this Iranian nuclear program is from another article in the Israel National News that reports that Iran has increased the production of the missiles. The article reports:

Iran is accelerating its production of intermediate-range ballistic missiles, according to Israeli intelligence officials quoted by Middle East Newsline. The sources said that Teheran had begun a multi-year program that would double its missile production lines over the next five years. The project is a cooperative effort between Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Defense Ministry, and includes the manufacture of both solid and liquid fuel missiles as well as launchers.

So while Iran continues to speed towards a nuclear weapon they are at the same time increasing their missile production lines which will undoubtedly be used in the future to arm their terrorist proxies of Hamas and Hezbollah in addition to their own military. This is to me just another indicator that conflict is in the future and that Israel's enemies are arming themselves to the teeth in order to take one last attempt to erase the memory of Israel. As the Psalmist in Psalm 83 records:

For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee. (Psa 83:2-5)

Until the next edition of the Rapture Report keep looking up and watching, your redemption is drawing nigh!!

God bless.

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