Latest Event Updates
Analysis: Israeli warplanes attack shipment of Iranian missiles in Syria even as whispers in Washington suggest Israel may wait to hit Iran until after June elections.
Whispers in the Pentagon and elsewhere in official Washington seem to indicate the Israelis may wait to launch massive airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites until at least after the elections this summer in Iran.
But in the last 48 hours, Israel launched surprise airstrikes in Syria territory. The targets: shipments of Iranian missiles moving through Syria and bound for the Hezbollah terror forces in Lebanon.
The message to the mullahs in Iran: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu isn’t hesitant to use force when he needs to.
“It was the second time in four months that Israel had carried out an attack in foreign territory,” noted the New York Times in its coverage.
As I’ve reported before, the Obama administration has long been pressuring Israel not to attack Iran. The latest reason: maybe the upcoming elections will lead to a change of policy in Iran. The first round of presidential and municipal elections will be held June…
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BBC documentary’s uncanny echo of Seventy Weeks
I’ve just finished watching a BBC documentary called ‘Could We Survive A Mega-Tsunami?’ It’s a chilling drama-documentary examining the possibility of a massive volcanic landslide in the Canary Islands and the effects of the resulting mega-tsunami, especially on New York.
It’s as if the makers of the film have read my novel Seventy Weeks and dramatised one of its main events! In an uncanny echo of the book’s storyline, it demonstrates the enormity of such an event and alludes to some of the global implications that would follow, again as featured in the novel!
If you’re able, catch it on the BBC iPlayer in the next few days before it expires.
If you haven’t yet got Seventy Weeks you can order it in paperback here, or download the ebook here or on Kindle, Kobo, iPad/iPhone or Nook.
The Prize
The Christian life is likened to a race. There’s a prize to attain, a goal to reach, and just as in athletics if we want to win the race we must train for it and be in good shape. If we’re spiritually fat and unfit there’s no way we’ll win the race.
Jesus said eternal life is to know Him, John 17:3. Our relationship with Him is key. If we don’t know Him then we can only expect rejection instead of being allowed to enter into the Kingdom of heaven! That’s what Yeshua (Jesus’ name in Hebrew, his native tongue) said in Matthew 7:21-23. It seems from that passage there will be many who think they’re entitled to enter heaven but will in fact be rejected. They may have the religious labels, they may be good people, but if they don’t know the Lord they actually will be left with nothing. It’s a massive lesson for us.
The Apostle Paul said he came to a point where he realised that everything else he had in life was actually worthless compared to knowing Yeshua, and that he pressed on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.Phil.3:7-14.
That’s exactly what we should do too! Knowing Him starts with repentance and being born again, but it doesn’t stop there, that’s just the beginning! We need to be in good spiritual shape, in daily training, spending time with Yeshua in His word and in prayer. John 15:7-8. And just as an athlete is in constant training, so God allows us to go through various trials and difficulties so that we will learn to be fitter spiritually, growing in patience, faith, endurance, (James 1:2-4) and becoming strong in the Lord. Ephesians 5:10. We are encouraged to be disciplined and lean so that we can run the race. 1Corinthians 9:24-27.
So what is the prize? Surely it is to know Him whom to know is life eternal! And knowing Him will result in two things. As my old pastor, Glyn Thomas used to say, the Christian life is not only ‘pie in the sky when you die’, it’s ‘steak on your plate while you wait!’ Yes, we can enjoy eternal life here and now! The joy of knowing the Lord should permeate every aspect of our daily lives. He is with us wherever we go, and as we abide in Him and His word in us, we will be led by the Holy Spirit and increasingly reflect His goodness and life in all our dealings. Now is the day of salvation! 2Cor.6:2
Ultimately of course the prize will be ours when we see Him face to face. John says when we see Him we shall be like Him, 1John 3:2. As believers who know the Lord and who walk with Him daily, we are part of His bride, the bride who is preparing herself to meet the bridegroom. And the joy of the union between the bridegroom and the bride is the ultimate prize, the ultimate reward.
Jesus said He is preparing a place for us and that He will come back and receive us to Himself so that we can be with Him, John 14. In the meantime we watch and wait. We have trials and difficulties, all part of the preparation process. But we keep our eyes on the goal, we keep pressing on towards the prize. We lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and we run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Hebrews 12:1-2. We forget those things which are behind and we press on towards the goal, Phil.3:13. If the way seems hard and dry don’t forget God’s promise to make a way in the wilderness and that He will provide us with rivers in the desert, Isaiah 43:18-19.
So, keep your eyes on Him and press on in your in spiritual training! Your Heavenly Father has a prize for you to attain and a goal for you to reach, all by His grace!
Yom ha Shoah
Do we still need to be reminded of the Holocaust? Oh Yes! The continuing need for such a memorial day is well demonstrated by two articles, one from the European Jewish Congress, showing anti-semitic attacks increased by 30% last year, and the other from the organisation Palestinian Media Watch. YouTube has threatened PMW with closure of their account because they expose the anti-semitism and hate-filled teaching of Palestinian children.
In their reports and articles PMW regularly exposes the official Palestinian policy of teaching it’s children to grow up to hate the Jews. Yet the West still supports the PA with millions of dollars, pounds and euros, and companies like YouTube threaten those who expose such anti-semitism.
Clearly, the need for the lessons of the Holocaust are definitely still needed for today! And that’s why, when Israel says “never again”, they actually mean it (unlike so many western political leaders) and take action to ensure it.
This evening sees the start of the Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, Yom ha Shoah.
Steps towards the goal of Islamic domination
The rise of an Islamic Caliphate, a union of Islamic states, features prominently in the storyline of Seventy Weeks. I based this on an ominous trend I saw developing within the Islamic world, and recently this is something which appears to be gathering pace. Iran’s long-term efforts to build a nuclear capability and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East are, I believe, part of this process.
Last year in Austria there was a conference calling for just such a Caliphate to be created, and efforts to accomplish this continue. Such moves seem to be encouraged by the stance and actions taken by Barak Hussein Obama, the US president, and his administration. These include the US support for the Istanbul Process (and here), an effort to make criticism of Islam illegal.
And the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East on the back of the so-called “Arab Spring”, is putting more power and influence in the hands of Islamic fundamentalists who support jihad. Jihad is an Arabic word whose root meaning is struggle or strive, but today “Jihad” is usually defined as a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty.
In Cairo last year, the Egyptian presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi said during his election campaign: “The Koran is our constitution, the prophet is our leader, jihad is our path and death in the name of Allah is our goal.” This same Mohammed Morsi is now the president of Egypt, the same nation that Obama is currently arming with advanced tanks and fighter jets.
The Bible however, states such efforts will ultimately prove futile and unsuccessful. Psalm 2 states:
Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”
However, the reports above are just more writing on the wall, for those who will read it, for the times in which we live.
The not defendable borders of lesser Israel
A reblogged post from “News That Matters” – an informative article that demonstrates the craziness behind a so-called “two-state” solution. What the world needs least is another Islamist terrorist state, eager to create a second holocaust! In any case, there already is a Palestinian state, it’s called Jordan, but that’s a post for another day!
No army in the World will be able to defend “lesser Israel” with just kilometers between the sea and the enemy.
The most insane word that has ever been invented in the Middle East, is the so-called “West Bank” of the river Jordan. It is suppose to be a sandy bank of a river, not compromising more than a couple of kilometers of the river.
But Islam has made it a matter of control over huge mountains in Zion, rising more than 1000 feet above the ground.
When you stand on the mount of Olives in the eastern Jerusalem, you stand almost 1000 meters above the sea level. The Jordan River ends down at the Dead Sea. The Dead sea will be 400 meters below the sea level, and impressive high’t difference.
What you are overlooking, is not a “river bank”. But a deep ravine, and a mountain range like…
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Resurrection Day – the Feast of Firstfruits!
The cross is empty! The tomb is empty! And Yeshua is alive forevermore!
Yeshua (Jesus’ name in Hebrew, meaning salvation) fulfils all the Scriptures and prophecies. He died on the cross as the Passover lamb (1Corinthians 5:7) and so became the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He was buried in the tomb of a rich man (Isaiah 53:9). Yeshua Himself said he would be in the “heart of the earth” for three days and three nights, the “sign of Jonah”, Matthew 12:39-40. And on the third day He rose from the dead (Matthew 16:21, 28:5-6), the greatest day in all of human history!
Notice in John 20:17, when Mary had gone to the tomb very early on the Sunday morning, she saw the tomb was already empty. She was distraught, not knowing what to think. The resurrected Jesus appeared to her there at the tomb, and when she realised who he was, he told her not to cling to him for he had not yet ascended to his Father. Yet later, he told Thomas in particular to touch him and see that he was real, not a ghost (John 20:27).
Why the difference? Because, when Jesus appeared to Mary on the Sunday, he had “not yet ascended to his Father”. That Sunday, the first day of the week, was the Feast of Firstfruits. During every Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread season, the first day of the week following the Sabbath was the Feast of Firstfruits, traditionally the day when the priest would take the first portion of the early harvest and wave it before the LORD so that it would be accepted on behalf of the people (Leviticus 23:11).
Jesus is the fulfilment of Firstfruits! He is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”, (1Corinthians 15:20). As such, after he appeared to Mary at the tomb, he ascended to his Father in heaven and presented himself as the firstfruits offering, in fulfilment of the Feast of Firstfruits in Scripture. That’s why Mary couldn’t touch him yet, because he hadn’t presented himself to the Father as the Firstfruits offering.
Yeshua is the Resurrection and the Life, (John 11:25). And the implication of “first fruits” is that there will be “other fruits” to be resurrected also, later, when He returns (1Cor.15:23)! His resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection, that is if we belong to Him!
So, happy Resurrection Day! Celebrate Jesus, risen from the dead, the fulfilment of the Feast of Firstfruits!
Don’t call it Easter – get Biblical!
Jesus death, burial and resurrection all took place at God’s appointed times, the set times. Jesus died in fulfillment of the Passover Lamb, was buried at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and rose again on First Fruits. These are Biblical feasts, instituted by the LORD Himself as shadows, pictures if you like, of the reality which was to come. ALL THE BIBLICAL FEASTS ARE FULFILLED IN JESUS.
Today is the 14th Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, the day the Israelites in Egypt had to slay a lamb and apply the blood to the doorposts of their homes, so that they wouldn’t die when the destroying angel “passed over”. This actual historical event from Israel’s history is a picture of Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose blood was shed on the cross at the Passover feast. He died as our substitute, so that if we will apply His blood, so to speak, on the doorposts of our own lives, that is, if we will repent and trust Him for our salvation (Jesus name in Hebrew, Yeshua, means Salvation), we too will be saved.
Did you know Easter was actually a pagan fertility festival that was given a so-called Christian makeover by the Romans to make it acceptable to those who wanted to keep their already-existing pagan celebrations? The easter bunnies, eggs and rabbits are entirely pagan symbols and have nothing to do with Yeshua’s death and resurrection. (See these articles here and here for more details into all this.)
So, knowing all the above, why would we want to use pagan festivals to celebrate the central events of our faith? Tradition? What we’ve always done? Maybe. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We’re not ignorant of these things anymore and so there is a responsibility to make changes. So, celebrate the Lord’s death and resurrection, just don’t call it Easter. Call it what God calls it – Passover and First Fruits! Get Biblical!
The New Soviet Union: Cyprus shows how the EU destroys democracy
Amid echoes of the storyline of Seventy Weeks, Mary Ellen Synon, in her article originally written for the Irish Daily Mail, describes how the latest financial crisis to hit a Eurozone member, Cyprus, lays bare the sinister nature at the heart of the EU.
No Continuing City 