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"Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book:
for the time is at hand." - Rev 22:10 

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Chris Perver

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Updated
01/01/07

Quote: ""If we do not see any progress on the political or economic track that convinces the Iranians to back down, one of the parties will use the military option," a senior Israeli source said in Washington last week. Dragging out the negotiations indefinitely is not an option. "Ahmadinejad speaks today like Hitler before taking power," Olmert said. "So you see, we are dealing with a psychopath of the worst kind — with an anti-Semite. God forbid that this man ever gets his hands on nuclear weapons, to carry out his threats."

Source WorldNetDaily

The state of Mexico is considering legislation that will legalize possession of hard drugs in small quantities, under the guise of aiming to prosecute the drug pusher rather than the addict. The legislation will cause a dramatic rise in people becoming addicted, with young people experimenting with drugs, which is now perceived as acceptable according to the law. 

Quote: "Police will not penalize people for possessing up to 5 grams of marijuana, 5 grams of opium, 25 milligrams of heroin or 500 milligrams of cocaine, under a bill passed by senators late on Thursday and earlier approved by the lower house. People caught with larger quantities of drugs will be treated as narcotics dealers and face increased jail terms under the plan.

The same thing happened in Britain, when the Labour government decided to lower the drug rating of cannabis from class B to class C, making it no longer a punishable offence for possession of small quantities. Many accused the government of sending out a mixed message on drugs. Britain has the worst drug culture in Europe, with around 40% of 15 year-olds in England have tried Cannabis, and almost 30% of teenagers having used illegal drugs. But then when even our politicians are taking the drugs, is it any surprise that they want to legalize them? A gram of Cannabis has been found at the house of former Northern Ireland secretary, John Reid.

Quote: "Strathclyde police said less than 1 gram (0.03 ounces) of cannabis resin, with a street value of 85 pence, had been found in Reid's home during a routine security search, but that no charges would be brought. 

The Bible says drug use will be prolific during the last days. The Greek word "pharmakeia", from which we get our word "pharmacy" from, is often translated as "sorcery" in the Bible but should be translated "drugs". The Word of God states that drug abuse is a serious sin...

Revelation 9:20-21 
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

Revelation 21:8 
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Source Reuters, BBC, Reuters

Quote: "Member states also want to improve co-operation between the EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU external relations commissioner. Under the constitution the two posts would be merged. EU officials yesterday mapped out a possible timetable for reviving parts of the constitution, starting with a political declaration next year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the union’s founding Treaty of Rome. Formal talks on reviving the constitution might start after French elections in the summer of 2007, continuing into 2008 when the EU starts a review of its budget.

Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, had expressed hopes that the Constitution would be revived under Germany's presidency of the European Union. That is looking increasingly unlikely. Portugal follows after Germany, and then France begins it's presidency in 2008, so it may be another year before we have anything concrete. Meanwhile Javier Solana, the High Representative of the European Union's Common, Foreign and Security Policy, continues to grow in power, regardless of the approval of the Constitution.

Source Financial Times, Euractiv

Quote: "France believes aid "must be maintained for humanitarian reasons, as well as for political reasons," Chirac said before going into the talks with Abbas. "And it will push for this continuance (of aid) within the international community and notably within the European Union." Abbas confirmed at a later news conference that the World Bank channel was among those discussed with Chirac to get aid to the Palestinian people. "If we do not reach a solution, it will be catastrophic," he said through a translator. "The situation is very grave, complex and sensitive."

There is no doubt aid does need to be continued to the Palestinian people. They are suffering terribly because of the situation created by their own leaders. But what is worse, withholding aid temporarily and causing a limited humanitarian suffering for the Palestinian people, or giving money to those who cause excruciating suffering for many Israelis and Palestinians alike through terrorism? Yes we would rather appease the terrorists (last time I checked Hamas were still regarded as a terrorist organization) and pander to Islamic opinion, than allow the Jews to live in peace.

Source Jerusalem Post 

Quote: "Though not mentioning the Jewish State by name, Sweden’s Defense Minister Leni Bjorklund said that her country was withdrawing its participating due to the fact that "the Swedish Armed Forces were notified at a late stage that a state not belonging to the Partnership for Peace, and with which Sweden did not previously have bilateral military cooperation and which does not take part in international peacekeeping missions, was to take part in the air exercise." A Swedish official told Israel Radio that Israel was not currently advancing peace and was therefore not fit to take part in the exercise. 

Sweden has also stated there is no specific ban on Visas for Hamas members. Although Hamas is regarded as a terrorist group by the European Union, it seems no European nation is prepared to bar them from raising funds for terrorism on European soil. A Hamas delegation have been invited to visit Norway, France, Italy, Spain and Greece. President Abbas visited Norway just a few days ago, and received a pledge of $20 million for Palestinian humanitarian needs from the Norwegian Prime Minister.

Quote: "Hamas representatives Salah Mohammed el-Bardawil and Mohammed el-Rantisi have had to visit the consulate daily for two weeks and el-Bardawil told Aftenposten on Monday that he is the only one of the six not to have received a visa to the Schengen group.

Source Arutz 7, Aften Posten

Quote: "The government has been challenged on all fronts. The finance minister has warned of economic collapse within months while wages to 165,000 government workers are one month overdue. "Our options are a peace initiative that would fall short of direct recognition of Israel, cement ties with President Mahmoud Abbas to overcome world isolation, or go underground and end the truce with Israel," said a third Hamas official, who declined to be identified.

Western governments will no doubt be hailing this news as a victory for democracy, and decrying Israel for its use of force against Hamas. Unfortunately what they won't realize is that this false peace is just a precursor to a massive Russian/Muslim invasion of the Middle East just around the corner. If only they read Ezekiel 38-39, they would know exactly what is going to happen. Nevertheless the battle is the Lord's, and if the battle then also the victory.

Source Reuters

Quote: ""We promise to Allah ... to be servants of Islam and the Muslims and to give our loyalty and support to the elected legitimate government," the militants chanted in a field in Gaza City as Israeli drones flew over the area. The exercise was heavy on theatrics as gunmen from the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a grouping of militants from various factions, took cover behind trees and jumped from moving vehicles as journalists invited to the event watched.

The only reason why Abbas is against the creation of this terror army is because it means he is loosing control over the Palestinian Authority. President Abbas refused to reign in terrorist groups such as Hamas, and instead actively recruited them into his Palestinian police force. Hamas' unrestrained power in the Gaza Strip is a direct result of Abbas' refusal to abide by the "roadmap to war". 

Source Reuters

Quote: "The BM-25 was originally manufactured in the Soviet Union, where it was known as the SSN6, a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, Haaretz reported. After the Russians decommissioned the SSN6, the missiles were sold to North Korea, which adapted them to carry a heavier payload, the newspaper's military affairs correspondent said. In February, a German diplomat, citing his country's intelligence data, confirmed a German newspaper report that said Iran had purchased 18 disassembled BM-25s from North Korea.

During both Gulf Wars, Iraq responded with Scud missiles, which are highly inaccurate, but still caused extensive damage. Advanced Iranian technology means an attack on Iran will not go so smoothly. Russia is also pressing ahead with the sale of its missile defence system, claiming neutrality, but aiding Iran's defence against any future invasion.

Quote: "The Shahab-3, which means "Meteor" or "Shooting Star" in Farsi, was once described by Israel's Mossad spy agency as the greatest threat to the Jewish state's existence since its creation in 1948. First launched in 1988 during the now-defunct Star Wars strategy under former US president Ronald Reagan, the US-inspired Arrow programme was stepped up after Israel was hit by 39 Iraqi Scud missiles that left two people dead during the 1991 Gulf war.

Revelation 8:7 
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Source Reuters, Defence Talk

Quote: ""An international conference should be summoned immediately, in which direct negotiations take place, on the basis of international United Nations resolutions and signed agreements," Abbas said in a speech. He proposed that the summit be moderated by an international body like the Quartet which would broker any agreement and be the arbitrator were disputes to arise. "It is important for me to clarify that the Palestinian legislative elections, which brought Hamas to power, [are] not an obstacle in the way of negotiations," he said..    

President Abbas previously stated he was working towards a peace agreement with Israel within 6 months, but with Hamas calling for Israel's destruction, it's hard to see what will happen. The Bible states that Iran and Russia will come against Israel when the Jews are at rest (note: not "peace", but a false sense of security, "having no bars or gates" - Ezekiel 38:11). Clearly Israel does not enjoy that rest yet. But with Olmert's disengagement plan proceeding this year, and with financial pressure on Hamas to comply, it may be possible that Hamas will eventually agree to some sort of truce, with the intention of arming for Israel's final destruction. The Iranian crisis may shatter the rest later this year, resulting in the invasion of Gog. Perhaps this invasion, followed by the defeat of Gog and his Muslim allies, will give occasion for the Antichrist as the head of Europe, to step in as the "man of peace" and broker a peace agreement between Israel and the Muslims.

Source Jerusalem Post

Quote: "Addressing workers in Tehran on International Labourers' Day, Ayatollah Khamenei said Iran would not heed US "threats and intimidation". "The Iranian nation and its officials are peace-seekers and the Islamic republic would not invade anybody," he added.

The Ayatollah must have an extremely short memory, or perhaps his comments about not intending to invade anybody didn't include the times when President Ahmadinejad has called on Israel to be "wiped off the map". US intelligence believes Iran could respond to any strike on its nuclear facilities through worldwide terrorist attacks on Western and Israeli targets. In any case, in the light of Scripture we already know what Iran's real intentions are, and the voice of the prophets echoes down through history as a warning to our generation. 

Ezekiel 38:17 
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?

Source BBC, American Conservative Magazine

Quote: "Founded in 2001 from a looser association set up in 1996, the group is seen by some -- in Moscow at least -- as a balance to U.S. influence in the region, though Russia's defence minister on Wednesday stressed it was not a military or political bloc. "Using arms to face terrorists is not aimed at any third country. It is to maintain regional peace and stability," Sergei Ivanov told a news conference. "The SCO is not a military alliance. But, according to its charter, it has the right to use arms to react to any challenge, like terrorism."

UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw still believes he can talk communist China around into behaving like a democratic country. Perhaps talking is all he can do. For the Bible states that during the tribulation period, China and Russia, coupled with their Islamic neighbours, will both play a big part in the battles of Armageddon.

Revelation 9:16-17
And the number of the army of the horsemen [were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses [were] as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Source Reuters, India Daily

Quote: "Shimon Eckhaus, from the ImageSat International firm which helped manufacture the satellite, told the Reuters news agency: "Everything has gone completely to plan." He told the agency the satellite's camera could spot objects on the ground that were 70cm (2ft) across in length, or were at least that distance apart. "The satellite covers every square kilometre worldwide, including Iran," Mr Eckhaus said.

The satellite launch came on the day Jews from around the world marked the anniversary of the Holocaust, in their walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau concentration camps. 

Quote: "Rabbi Lau, himself a Holocaust survivor, compared Hitler with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad, who has repeatedly called for Israel’s destruction. “When Hitler wrote his book, "Mein Kampf," about his intention to destroy the Jews people laughed. Ten years later when he became the head of the [German] Reich, he repeated his intentions and the racist Nuremberg laws were not hidden. The world said ‘this is not possible. The world - no one - will let this happen.’ Today there are people who deny the Holocaust. We must take the Iranian president’s words very seriously and pay attention to them, and to Bin Laden’s as well.”

Sadly the events that occurred during the Holocaust will be repeated, only the suffering the Jewish nation will endure during the tribulation period will be much worse than anything they have ever experienced.

Daniel 12:1 
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Matthew 24:20-21
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Source BBC, Arutz 7

The Ukraine is marking the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Twenty years ago the world's worst nuclear accident occurred in what was then the old Soviet Union, during an ill-fated experiment to see whether the reactor could run on low power. The test failed and the reactor exploded, spewing deadly radiation across the Ukraine and Europe. As one news agency described it, it is a "living disaster" that still affects the lives of over 1.5 million people today. It takes hundreds of thousands of years for the Uranium isotope to decay, a permanent tumour that will remain on earth unless God intervenes. 

Quote: "The explosion at Chernobyl's reactor No 4 spewed radiation across northern Ukraine, western Russia, Belarus and much of northern Europe over a 10-day period. Death tolls connected to the explosion, which released about 400 times more radiation than the US atom bomb dropped over Hiroshima, remain hotly debated, though at least 31 people died as a direct result of trying to contain the fire. Thousands have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and the UN health agency said that about 9,300 people are likely to die of cancers caused by radiation.

A woman in my work says she remembers the incident well. Her father used to breed chickens in his back yard, and the year the accident occurred none of his baby chickens hatched, or were badly deformed. And that is in Northern Ireland, at the furthest point in Europe from the disaster area. This anniversary comes at a poignant time, reminding us of the horrors of nuclear war, and as a warning to to the world of the consequences of letting renegade states like Iran achieve nuclear capability. 

Many people in Russia fear the name Chernobyl, for it is the Ukrainian word for "wormwood", and that name has particular significance in end times prophecy. The sarcophagus that encases the nuclear plant is disintegrating, and there have been fears that the 1000 tonne concrete and steel lid of the reactor would fall into the reactor and cause more radiation to leak from Chernobyl's tomb. 

Quote: "Most striking is the testimony of Hans Blix, Executive Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a speech given before the UN General Assembly on October 23, 1990. To this great body he quoted Revelation 8:10-11 and said, "In Slavic languages, including the Ukrainian and Byelorussian languages, there is a word ëchernobyl', which means wormwood, bitter grass. This has a striking relevance to the Chernobyl tragedy. I am no fatalist. I do not believe in the blind inevitability of fate, but who can fail to be moved by these tragic and elegiac words from Revelation, which must leave their indelible imprint on the heart."

Revelation 8:10-11
And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Is it possible the sarcophagus will disintegrate, causing another natural catastrophe during the tribulation period, perhaps much worse than the original disaster? The nuclear reactor at Chernobyl is in fact a "star" as described in Revelation, as it performs the same function as a star's nuclear core. "Falling from heaven" reminds us of the radioactive fallout that engulfed most of Europe. The "burning as a lamp" reminds us of the glow of the radioactive isotopes that was witnessed after the initial explosion. If we had a further disaster at Chernobyl the immediate consequences could be the contamination of up to a third of the water supplies of the European Union.

Source People's Daily Online, End Time

The State of Wisconsin is attempting to pass legislation which will prohibit the forced implantation of identification microchips in people. Marlin Schneider has proposed the bill, which will be considered by the State Senate today. If passed, Wisconsin will become the first state in the Union to ban mandatory implants, although the legislation will allow for sex offenders to eventually be tracked by RFID implants. 

Quote: "Schneider aides say the legislator wants the law in place before companies and governments could use them to keep track of their employees. "I don't think most people had thought about this as an issue, but it's scary. It's reality now," said Michael Schoenfield, an aide to Schneider. "Companies can or will be ordering their employees to have chips implanted. We want to stop that before it begins." VeriChip Corp. of Delray Beach, Fla., is the only company with federal approval to implant such chips in people. The company so far has implanted 2,500 people worldwide with chips the size of a grain of rice under the skin of their upper arms, said spokesman John O. Procter.

Although we don't believe that implantable RFID chips are the "Mark of the Beast", at least at the present, the Bible tells us that the world security situation will grow so dire that eventually the Antichrist will propose mandatory tagging of every individual on earth during the tribulation period. The fact that politicians are passing laws now to try and prevent this from happening shows us how close we are to the fulfilment of these Scriptures.

Revelation 13:16-17
And he (Antichrist) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Source Duluth News Tribune

Quote: ""Some 60 years has passed since the end of World War II, why should the people of Germany and Palestine pay now for a war in which the current generation was not involved," Ahmadinejad told a press conference. "We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot not logically continue to live," he said.

Meanwhile, just a few days ago dozens of Iranian protestors from the Islamic Thinkers Society lined the streets of Manhattan just outside the Israel embassy, chanting various anti-Israel slogans, claiming Jews were going to suffer in a new holocaust, and that Iran would destroy the nation with nuclear weapon...

Quote: "Israeli Zionists, What do you say? How many women have you raped today? Israeli Zionists, What do you say? How many children have you killed today? Zionists, Zionists You will pay! The Wrath of Allah is on its way! Israeli Zionists You shall pay! The Wrath of Allah is on its way! The mushroom cloud is on its way! The real Holocaust is on its way!

And again, as I said this morning, if Iran acquires nuclear technology - and up until now there has been no international consensus about what to do with that reality, President Ahmadinejad will ensure every Muslim state that opposes Israel and the West will benefit from Iran's newly found capability. The President has stated he intends to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Quote: "Ahmadinejad said that Iran would reconsider its compliance with NPT and membership of the International Atomic Energy Agency if they continued to be of no benefit to the country. "What has more than 30 years of membership in the agency given us?" he asked. "Working in the framework of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the agency is our concrete policy," he added. "(But) if we see that they are violating our rights, or they don't want to accept (our rights), well, we will reconsider."

All this news, although tiring because we seem to hear that much of it, only goes to show how close we are to the events spoken of in Revelation. We do not have the luxury of ignoring what is happening in the Middle East. The world is on a countdown to Armageddon, and there is no turning back.

Isaiah 47:13-14
Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.

Source Jerusalem Post, Counterterrorism Blog, Jerusalem Post

Quote: "According to the Foreign Ministry, there were an estimated 5,000 Israelis in Sinai, and another 1,000 Jewish tourists. The bombs were apparently placed on a bridge, in the El-Khalheeg Hotel cafeteria and near a police station prior to the explosions. Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert telephoned Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, expressing his support. Olmert told Mubarak that Israel and Egypt needed to cooperate in the fight against international terror.

It looks like Egypt has become an easy target for Al-Qaida, and with reports of the terrorist network entering the Gaza Strip, unless Israel steps up security this unfortunate event may be repeated there too.

Source Jerusalem Post

Quote: "A substantial chapter addresses the nuclear threat to Israel. Iran is capable of kindling the entire Middle East and constitutes an existential threat to Israel. The committee finds that if Iran gets nuclear arms, other Muslim, Middle Eastern countries will try to follow suit. The report comments on a proposed Israeli response to Iranian nuclear testing. The committee recommends that Israel maintain its policy of "nuclear ambiguity."

Israel isn't the only Middle East nation with concerns about a nuclear arms race. Saudi Arabia, which also feels threatened by Iran, is making efforts to acquire the technology from Pakistan. And no doubt Syria would also benefit from Iran's newfound nuclear capability, for President Ahmadinejad believes that all Muslims have a right to possess this technology.

Quote: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared here Sunday that Iran was ready to share its experiences and technology with poor peoples of the world which it had always supported. The president's remarks were made at a meeting with Madagascar's Parliament Speaker Rakotomaharo Rajemison on the sidelines of the Third International Conference on Qods (Jerusalem) and Support for the Rights of the Palestinian People which wrapped up its work here Sunday evening.

Source Haaretz, Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran

It seems "Mystery Babylon" will remain a mystery if the US has its way. US officials are keeping quiet regarding the huge structure that rising on the Tigris river. The US has allocated 104 acres of the green zone in Iraq to build its new embassy, that's six times the size of the UN headquarters in New York. The site will staff over 5000 people and be totally self-contained, with its own water and electricity supplies and sewer system. But so far the US government has refused to disclose details of the project or who is involved in it. 

Quote: ""Embassy Baghdad" will dwarf new U.S. embassies elsewhere, projects that typically cover 10 acres. The embassy's 104-acre parcel is six times larger than the United Nations' compound in New York, and two-thirds the acreage of the Mall in Washington. Original cost estimates were more than $1 billion, but Congress appropriated only $592 million in the emergency Iraq budget adopted last year. Most has gone to a Kuwaiti builder, First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting, with the rest awarded to six contractors working on the project's "classified" portion -- the embassy offices.

As I said a few weeks ago, after the fall of Saddam, Iraq has become the focus of world attention. The United Nations is pouring millions of dollars into rebuilding Iraq and specifically Babylon as a centre for tourism, and with the US ensuring a high profile presence in the country even after troop withdrawals, the way is being paved for Babylon's rise, and subsequent destruction during the tribulation period.

Revelation 14:8 
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Source Washington Times

Quote: "The speaker on the tape said that along with their governments, the people of the West bear responsibility for what he called a "Zionist-crusader war against Islam". "The war is a responsibility shared between the people and the governments. The war goes on and the people are renewing their allegiance to its rulers and masters," he said. "They send their sons to armies to fight us and they continue their financial and moral support while our countries are burned and our houses are bombed and our people are killed."

It's unfortunate Western leaders still don't recognize what this war is about. They still believe groups like Hamas can be appeased with "land for peace", and that the "war on terror" can be won. European leaders are even trying to ditch the phrase "Islamic terror", by finding ways to disassociate the attacks from the "peaceful" religion of Islam. But this war is not about land - it never was, nor is it being carried out by fringe groups. It's a spiritual war that began around 6000 years ago, between the "seed" and the "serpent", and there are "principalities and powers" working behind the scenes. Until the world realizes that (and I'm not sure they will), there will be no solution to this conflict. Indeed the world will come up with a solution. They will be persuaded that the only way to end the fighting is to destroy the Jew, and God won't let that happen.

Ephesians 6:12 
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Source BBC

Quote: ""I will continue to hold the rifle and will pull the trigger whenever required to defend my people," Mr Samhadana told Reuters news agency. On hearing of his appointment, he commented: "Factions and security services should unite in one trench against the daily Israeli aggression against our people."

This is the second time Abbas has come into conflict with Hamas over security. A few weeks ago, the President attempted to wrestle control of the borders from Hamas. He later handed border control back to the PA, and stated if the Israelis or EU monitors closed the border it wasn't his fault. 

Source BBC

Luke 15:10 
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Source My friend Angela

Quote: "Davies said: “We should be honest. These are the racist policies of apartheid yet Israel continues to pose as a victim. “I visited Auschwitz last year, and it is very difficult to understand why those whose history is one of such terrible oppression appear not to care that they have themselves become oppressors.”

The MEP (Member of European Parliament) was on a cross-party trip to the Middle East, and made the comments just a day after a Palestinian suicide bomber who killed nine Israelis was justified by the Hamas terror government. A group of MEPs are seeking a meeting with High Representative for the European Common, Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, to urge the EU to open dialogue with Hamas. Chris Davis met with Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Aziz Duack on his trip to the Middle East, despite the UN Security Council statement that there would be no negotiation until Hamas recognizes Israel. He adopts the misguided view that Hamas negotiation on the pre Six Day War borders implies recognition of the State of Israel.

Quote: "Negotiation on the basis of 1967 borders implies recognition of the State of Israel," he said, "while the 'ceasefire' that Hamas has maintained deserves acknowledgement. Diplomacy may bridge the gaps." Mr Davies condemned the latest suicide bombing in Tel Aviv as "morally wrong and politically self-defeating". He said that the taking of innocent life by Palestinians or Israelis could not be justified. "The Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Duack, asked me last week what I would do if I were in his shoes. I told him I would read the works of Gandhi. Violence will never bring Israel to the negotiating table."

There is no doubt the leadership of Britain now adopts the same stance towards the Jews as it did after the Second World War. Britain lost its empire after that war, I believe as a result of its treatment of Israel. If Britain continues to take sides against Israel, and divide God's land, this nation is heading for judgement. For whoever touches Israel touches the apple of God's eye. 

Source Totally Jewish, Chris Davies MEP

Quote: "The petition, obtained by WND, states, "We the preachers of the mosques and representatives of major families in Qalqiliya ask you to close the offices of the YMCA because the population of Qalqiliya doesn't need such offices, especially since there are not many Christians in our city." It warned, "The act of these institutions of the YMCA, including attempting to convert Muslims in our city, will bring violence and tension." Already this past weekend several Molotov cocktails were thrown at Qalqiliya's YMCA. Local political sources said the attacks followed Friday sermons in dozens of Qalqiliya mosques in which preachers called upon the community to revolt against the YMCA.

After Hamas was elected to the Palestinian Authority, they expressed their desire to implement Sharia law if that was the will of the people. In fact the Hamas charter states there is no alternative for Muslims but to be governed by Sharia. As a result the Gaza Strip and West Bank will eventually become no-go areas for Christians and Jews, and those who are still living in the region will face extreme hardship. It was Sharia law that condemned the Afghani convert Abdul to the death sentence.

Quote: "This is the law governing the land of Palestine in the Islamic Sharia (law) and the same goes for any land the Moslems have conquered by force, because during the times of (Islamic) conquests, the Moslems consecrated these lands to Moslem generations till the Day of Judgement...
There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavours. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with.

Source WorldNetDaily, Hamas Charter

Hot on the heels of the Da Vinci code, James Tabor is releasing a new book called the "Jesus Dynasty", claiming Jesus was no more than a religious Rabbi who was made into a God by the apostle Paul... 

Quote: "John and Jesus preached adherence to the Torah, or the Jewish Law. But their mission was changed dramatically when John was arrested and then killed. After a period of uncertainty, Jesus began preaching anew in Galilee and challenged the Roman authorities and their Jewish collaborators in Jerusalem. He appointed a Council of Twelve to rule over the twelve tribes of Israel, among whom he included his four brothers. After he was crucified by the Romans, his brother James – the “Beloved Disciple” – took over leadership of the Jesus Dynasty.

Many of you may not know James D Tabor. It seems James Tabor would rather you did not know him either... 

Quote: Tabor - "What I tell my students is that my personal faith is irrelevant to our course of study, and I would say the same thing to readers of my new the book, The Jesus Dynasty. This is not because I want to "hide my beliefs" but because as an historian I want my work to be as objective as possible and use the methods common in the field among qualified scholars whose personal beliefs range from secular to membership in some religious group and everything in-between.

Why does Mr Tabor not want you to know his background? He claims, according to his website, it is because your knowledge of his background may affect your view of his new scholarly work on the life of Jesus. In reality Mr Tabor has a lot to hide. He is one of the founder members of the Noahide group, a Jewish sect that believes all Gentiles are bound by the seven commandments God gave to Noah. 

Quote: "His associate James Tabor, a Professor at the University of North Carolina and editor of the Original Bible Project, is also a former employee of Ambassador College and the Worldwide Church of God. Ernest Martin also was a supporter of that project, and Tabor, an Ebionite and leadership in the B'nai Noah movement, rejects the divinity of Christ and believes the New Testament to be merely a commentary of the Old Testament. He is a member and leadership in the United Israel World Union of New York (UIWU), founded in 1943 by David Horowitz who has maintained an office at the United Nations headquarters in New York, and United Israel of Jerusalem (UIJ), founded by Tabor. According to Tabor UIWU is to give "Mosaic Law for One World." Part of that vision is the Union of the twelve tribes, including the 'lost tribes'. The purpose of UIJ is to publish both biblical research and historical material dealing with the identity of the so-called "lost tribes"

This new Jewish Noahide religion, of which James Tabor is a proponent, rejects anything to do with the Trinity. Every Christian, by stating their belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, is automatically breaking Noahide law number 2 which prohibits blasphemy. That is why James D Tabor desperately wants to discredit the claims of Jesus Christ. And if you don't think these laws are serious, they are punishable by death...

Quote: "The penalty for violating any of these Noahide Laws is spelled out on page 1192 of the Encyclopedia Judaica, "... violation of any one of the seven laws subjects the Noahide to capital punishment by decapitation."  

Still don't think we have cause to worry? The seven Noahide laws have already been enshrined in American Public Law 102-14 by George W Bush.

Quote: "The U.S. Congress officially recognized the Noahide Laws in legislation which was passed by both houses. Congress and the President of the United States, George Bush, indicated in Public Law 102-14, 102nd Congress, that the United States of America was founded upon the Seven Universal Laws of Noah, and that these Laws have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization.

And don't think that those who are promoting Noahide will be sympathetic with Christians. The following quotation comes straight from the Jewish Talmud, and reveals just what these Noahide proponents think about the Lord Jesus. Those claiming Jesus Christ is the Son of God will be committing the ultimate offence... 

Quote: "Kallah 51a."The elders were once sitting in the gate when two young lads passed by; one covered his head and the other uncovered his head (Jesus Christ). Of him who uncovered his head Rabbi Eliezer remarked that he is a bastard. Rabbi Joshua remarked that he is the son of a niddah (a child conceived during a woman's menstrual period). Rabbi Akiba said that he is both a bastard and a son of a niddah. "They said, 'What induced you to contradict the opinion of your colleagues?' He replied, "I will prove it concerning him." He went to the lad's mother and found her sitting in the market selling beans. "He said to her, 'My daughter, if you will answer the question I will put to you, I will bring you to the world to come.' (eternal life). She said to him, 'Swear it to me.' "Rabbi Akiba, taking the oath with his lips but annulling it in his heart, said to her, 'What is the status of your son?' She replied, 'When I entered the bridal chamber I was niddah (menstruating) and my husband kept away from me; but my best man had intercourse with me and this son was born to me.' Consequently the child was both a bastard and the son of a niddah.

Looks like the Pharisees aren't all dead yet.

Revelation 20:4 
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Source TMCnet, Jesus Dynasty, Seek God, Cutting Edge, Auburn, Revisionist History

Quote: "In a rare public intervention, General Yuri Baluyevsky, head of the Russian armed forces, suggested there was mounting dissatisfaction with the increasing US pressure for action against Iran. He stated that Russia would remain strictly neutral in the event of US military action against Iran, but he pledged that Moscow would go ahead with the planned sale of an advanced air-defence system to Tehran. That provoked a riposte from Mr Burns, who said: "No country should sell weapons to a regime like that."

No doubt Bushehr would find itself one of the targets of any US or Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. While Russia claims it intends to remain neutral in the event of military action, it could not do so for long if the nuclear plant goes up in smoke without UN agreement.  

In another development, energy interests are bringing Russian Foreign policy into conflict with Europe once again. When the Russian company, GazProm, decided to increase the Ukraine's gas prices, the Ukrainian nation which was then aligned closer to Europe, refused to pay. As a result Europe's gas supply lines, many of which run through the territory, were cut, sparking a crisis in Europe. EU ministers promised to diversify energy supplies in order to prevent this crisis happening again, and now GazProm is complaining that the EU is hindering its growth.

Quote: ""Attempts to limit Gazprom's activities in the European market and to politicise questions of gas supplies, which are in fact entirely within the economic sphere, will not produce good results," Mr Miller said after his meeting on Wednesday. (Gazprom comments) give grounds to our concerns on the growing foreign dependency of European energy supply Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, EU Energy spokesman "It should not be forgotten that we are actively seeking new markets such as North America and China," he added. "It's no coincidence that competition for energy resources is growing." Mr Miller's comments came after he met European Union ambassadors on Tuesday.

With competition for energy resources growing (read "resources running low"), it's just a matter of time before the whole world will be scrambling to "secure" these last remaining resources for themselves. And the coming Muslim invasion of Israel, as prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39, will give Russia just the opportunity it needs to take control of the oil rich Middle East.

Ezekiel 38:9-10 
Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time (as the Muslim invasion) shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:

Praise God He will not remain silent, but will deliver Israel from this enemy.

Ezekiel 38:18-19 
And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

Source BBC, BBC

Quote: "During his visit to Riddyah, Saudi Arabia, Straw added that he would demand in any case that Hamas meet the requirements of the international community - to stop terror, recognize Israel, and honour existing agreements between Israel and the PA - but softened his stance by saying that he would be satisfied with the group "accepting" the existence of the Jewish state, and would not insist that Hamas make a formal statement recognizing Israel.

In light of what the Labour government did in Northern Ireland - and still does, reneging on the promise that Sinn Fein would never be in government without complete and transparent decommissioning and an end to violence, this news doesn't surprise in the least. Unfortunately Jack Straw has a proven track record when it comes to Middle East politics, the man's a liability. Earlier in the year he planned to submit a document to the European Council, accusing Israel of trying to "annex" East Jerusalem. Javier Solana was forced into damage limitation mode - insisting the document was only a "draft", and the submission to the Council was later dropped after I presume a lot of political pressure on the UK government from Christian and Jewish groups. In this case it is left to the British Ambassador to Israel, Simon McDonald, to do damage limitation, insisting British policy towards Hamas has not changed.

Source Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Post

Quote: ""What a soldier's testimonial – to stay at his post until called away by Yeshua! Happy is the man whose work is his play," Mark Levitt wrote. Author and columnist Hal Lindsey said he was "greatly grieved that a great defender of Israel has laid down his sword." Continued Lindsey: "Zola has been a friend of mine since our days together at Dallas Theological Seminary, several decades ago. I rejoice that he suffers no more, but grieve for his family."

I very much enjoyed Zola's ministry on the Satellite Television in the UK. He often spoke to tour groups in Israel about end time events, and the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had a unique way of putting things across. He will be sadly missed.   

Source WorldNetDaily, Levitt

Quote: "The UN points out that a quarter of the Palestinian population depends on government salaries. If those stop, the UN says there could be a massive increase in poverty. Education, health and social services will all be affected. Public health could be damaged if sewage and rubbish collection fall apart. Most damaging could be the effect on security if the members of the Palestinian security forces are not paid. So far this is only a warning.

But it's no surprise when killers get away with murder, when anti-Semitic institutions like the UN are calling the shots. It's remarkable, that exactly one quarter of the Palestinian population is dependant on these salaries being paid. I wonder is that the same quarter that believe the state of Israel should be destroyed? Life is cheap. The price of a life in Northern Ireland is approximately Ł6.53. That's if you take roughly 1700 people killed by the IRA over 30 years, and divide it by the amount of money the Labour government let Sinn Fein IRA get away with from the Northern Bank robbery. And then abortions... In our "throw away" society, life is cheap.

Source BBC

An Iranian group, calling itself the "Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign" has been doing just that. The CCMGC openly recruits British Muslims to perpetrate attacks against Israel. The Muslims enter the country claiming to be asylum seekers in order to obtain a British passport. They then enter Israel on these passports, claiming to be peace activists, and carry out their attacks. Two British citizens carried out a bloody attack in Israel in 2003, which resulted in the deaths of several Israelis.  

Quote: "A spokesman for the group, Mohammad Samadi, told the London-based Guardian that Israel was the primary target of their attacks. "All the Jews are targets, whether military or civilian. It's our land and they are in the wrong place. It's their duty to pay attention to the safety of their own families and move them away from the battlefield," he stated. He claimed that there were many disaffected Muslims throughout Europe that could volunteer for such a mission. "We understand the suspicion with which Britain, America and other western countries regard their Muslim populations," he said, adding "We don't condemn them for this because we believe every Muslim has the potential to turn into a bomb against the west."

The whole British visa system has been fouled up by the Labour government. It was revealed a few years ago by a British Minister James Cameron, that asylum seekers from Romania were permitted to enter Britain with known forged passports, with the full consent of the Foreign Office. One such asylum seeker claimed on his job description that he fixed roofs. But the man was a double-amputee, nevertheless the government approved his application. The sex-mad and blind Labour MP, David Blunket, was thrown out of government after weeks of media pressure, when it was revealed he had used his office to fast-track a visa for his live-in nanny. How was James Cameron rewarded for his honesty to the British public whom he serves?

Quote: "James Cameron, a manager in the visa and consular section of the British embassy in Romania, was given a final warning after a four-hour Foreign Office disciplinary hearing. He was also told he would not be promoted for three years and would receive no pay rise for a year. He was banned from returning to his post in Bucharest. Mr Cameron exposed abuses which led Beverley Hughes to quit as immigration minister." "The Foreign Office refused to comment on the penalty imposed on Mr Cameron. But a spokesman said that he would have the right to appeal."

With news like this, it is no surprise that one quarter of English citizens stated in a recent survey they would vote for the British National Party. 

Source Jerusalem Post, Spy Blog

Quote: "Gillerman urged the international community and the Security Council "to take swift actions to try and prevent the next murder which is already on its way." Since January, he said, 11 major suicide terrorist attacks have been prevented and 90 potential homicide bombers have been arrested. While Israel regrets any loss of life, it will not sit idly by and allow "human bombs" or rockets to penetrate the country and kill Israelis — and he asked whether every country wouldn't do the same to eliminate a similar danger. "The danger I must add, not just to Israel but also to the whole free world, and to civilization as we know it, as this axis of evil and terror sows the seeds of the first world war of the 21st century," Gillerman said.

The Bible already tells us what will grow out of these "seeds of war", that the international community will do nothing, and Russia, Iran, Sudan, Libya and Turkey will launch a massive invasion of Israel very soon. But praise God He will defend Israel and this army will be defeated, not for Israel's sake, but for His name's sake that He might be glorified.

Source Fox News

Quote: ""These activities contradict the positive commitments by the new Palestinian government not to use the Jordanian arena for any purposes that harm Jordan's security or for meddling in its internal affairs," Joudeh was quoted as saying. Joudeh said a planned visit by Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar was cancelled until "further notice in light of the latest developments and the seizure of weapons". This was proof the Islamist Palestinian movement was using double language in its dealings with Jordan, Joudeh added.

Source Reuters

Quote: "Emad Lafta al-Bayati, Hilla's mayor, has big plans for Babylon. "I want restaurants, gift shops, long parking lots," he said. God willing, he added, maybe even a Holiday Inn. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is pumping millions of dollars into protecting and restoring Babylon and a handful of other ancient ruins in Iraq. Unesco has even printed up a snazzy brochure, with Babylon listed as the premier destination, to hand out to wealthy donors. "Cultural tourism could become Iraq's second biggest industry, after oil," said Philippe Delanghe, a United Nations official helping with the project. But before Iraq becomes the next Egypt, he said wryly, "a few little things have to happen."

Looks like "Babylon the Great" is soon to be restored, Saddam or no Saddam. Remarkably the region around the city is relatively calm, and US troops are planning to pull out of Camp Babylon next month. Once Iraq gets on its feet, as they say, tourism - and more importantly the commerce tourism will bring, will help rebuild this great monstrosity who's judgement is already declared by God through the prophets.

Revelation 18:21 
And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

Source New York Times

Quote: ""Today, you are among the world's most powerful armies because you rely on Allah," Ahmadinejad told a parade to commemorate Army Day. "Iran's enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead," Ahmadinejad said.

Iran has just 12 days to comply with the non-binding UN Security Council ruling that it halt all enrichment of Uranium. Both China and Russia are against punitive measures, but the US is seeking to implement sanctions, including freezing assets and a visa travel ban, if Iran continues in its defiance of the UN. With the US locked in unmoveable negotiations with China and Russia, will it be left to Israel to deal with the Iranian problem? 

Source CNN

Quote: "Mildred Martensteen was nine years old when the quake struck. She recalled waking up to shaking windows and doors - "a commotion", she said. "Oh yes, it was horrible. [It] just kept burning and burning. "We'd go [to] different points and watch it and then you knew at the time that they couldn't stop the fire because they couldn't get any water."

I mentioned this before on the site last year, but it's worth mentioning again. The quake in 1906 resulted in similar circumstances to that of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Rampant looting broke out, causing the Mayor of the city to enact a "shoot to kill" policy in order to control it. Morally, San Francisco in 1906 was not much different from San Francisco or New Orleans in 2006. The following quotation was written just a short time after the 1906 earthquake. It could have been written about any number of cities in the world today...

Quote: "San Francisco has long been known as a “gay town.” Her people, having gained the reputation of liberality and light-heartedness, have possibly been too anxious to live up to that reputation and too careless of the methods adopted to that end. To put it frankly, and at the same time mildly, the people of San Francisco had fallen into an attitude of self-sufficiency and of corresponding indifference to the profounder considerations of life. The shake-up of April 18, 1906, caused at least a momentary change in this attitude. On that day many a man, and woman, too, found himself and herself face to face with a superior being and experienced a consequent chastening of the spirit.

The Bible tells us that earthquakes will continue to increase in frequency and magnitude as we approach the tribulation period, with the greatest earthquake ever experience by earth-dwellers occurring during this time, causing all the cities of the nations to fall (Revelation 16:19).

Psalm 73:17-19 
Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their (the wicked's) end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

Source BBC, San Francisco Museum

It had to happen sooner or later. Dozens of suicide bombers have been intercepted by Israeli security forces over the past month. But today a Palestinian suicide bomber managed to slip detection, detonating his lethal explosives killing nine people and injuring sixty six. It is the first suicide bomber to strike at the heart of Israel for months, and is the fruit of Hamas' refusal to deal with terrorism being perpetrated against Israel. The last suicide bomber to kill Israelis was a Palestinian dressed as an Orthodox Jew, who killed five individuals who offered him a ride in their car. This suicide bomber was 16 year old, showing just how alert the IDF has to be to protect Israeli citizens.

Quote: "The Islamic Jihad terror group and the Al Aksa Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah party, have claimed they carried out the attack. Fatah is the party of PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) leader Mahmoud Abbas, and his predecessor, PLO terrorist chieftain Yassir Arafat. The bomber has been identified as 16-year-old Sami Salim Hamad of the Jenin area.

President Mahmoud Abbas, of the Palestinian Fatah party, condemned the bombing even though the military wing of Fatah and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. President Bush warned Hamas, after they justified the terrorist atrocity claiming Palestinians had the right to resist Israeli "occupation". The blast came during the Passover celebrations, and hours before the new Israeli Knesset was reconvened.

Quote: "Sami Abu Zuhri, the official spokesman for Hamas, said it was "a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes" against Palestinians. "Our people are in a state of self-defence and they have every right to use all means to defend themselves," he added. An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, Gideon Meir, told the BBC he blamed Hamas. "Now, maybe, the hands are not the hands of the Hamas, but the voice and the ideology is the ideology of the Hamas," he said.

Source Arutz 7, BBC

Quote: "In the speech, televised to millions of viewers in more than 65 countries at the end of Easter Sunday mass in the square, the head of the Roman Catholic Church listed his worries about a world he said was living through "uncertainty and anxiety" and oppressed by widespread suffering. "Concerning the international crises linked to nuclear power, may an honourable solution be found for all parties, through serious and honest negotiations ... " he said in a clear reference to Iran, which announced last week it had become a nuclear power by enriching uranium.

Just days ago, President Ahmadinejad once again denied the Holocaust ever happened, while proclaiming the Palestinians are suffering their own "holocaust". He said that if Europeans had a guilty conscience about the Holocaust, they should give Israel their own land instead of taking Palestinian land. And that would seem like a sensible thing to do, if there ever was a state called Palestine. 

Quote: ""There might be doubts in the Holocaust, but there are definitely no doubts about the Holocaust happening in the recent years in Palestine," Ahmadinejad said at the opening ceremony of the Qods (Jerusalem) conference in Tehran. One of the principle objectives of the Qods conference, which officially starts on Saturday, is to raise funds for the ruling Palestinian Hamas party.

Source Reuters, Bangkok Post

Quote: "Iran has readied an "army" of 40,000 suicide bombers to strike targets all over the Western world and Israel as a response to a possible attack on their nuclear facilities, the British Sunday Times reported Sunday morning. Two senior officials from the Homeland Security Agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed with the prediction and warned that Iran could set a worldwide terror network into motion in the US and elsewhere. They added that an attack on Iran would be much more dangerous to the US than was the strike on Iraq.

In another dramatic development in this Iranian crisis, the UN - which is calling for Iran to cease its Uranium enrichment programme, has elected an Iranian minister into its Disarmament Commission. The newly elected Iranian vice-chair, Danesh-Yazdi, called on the US to destroy its nuclear weapons, and called on Israel to open up its nuclear facilities to United Nations, the UN thereby continuing to display its true colours... A "talking shop" filled with anti-Israel and New Age propagandists. MK Shimon Peres blasted the UN for its failure to take action against Iran - which again called for Israel to be destroyed. He said "a member of the UN is calling for another member of the UN to be destroyed", and that action must be taken to stop this.

Quote: "The day before, the UN's Disarmament Commission elected Iran's Mehdi Danesh-Yazdi as one of its three vice-chairs. "The continued existence of thousands of nuclear warheads in the stockpiles of the nuclear-weapon States, which could destroy the entire globe many times over, and the increasing resort to the threat of their possible use, are the major sources of concern with regard to global peace and security," Danesh-Yazdi said, adding that Israel was required to place all of its "clandestine nuclear facilities" under UN nuclear watchdog supervision. Jordan's representative added that Israel's refusal to renounce nuclear weapons is a major source of tensions in the Middle East.

Source Jerusalem Post, Israel National News

Quote: "Even as President George W. Bush prepares to welcome President Hu Jintao to the White House on Thursday with full military honors, Washington is factoring in potential conflicts over such sore spots as Taiwan, competition for scarce resources and any threat to its predominance in Asia. "Of the major and emerging powers, China has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States and field disruptive military technologies that could over time offset traditional U.S. military advantages absent U.S. counter strategies," the U.S. Defense Department said in a long-term strategy review released in February.

The Bible states in Daniel that during the tribulation period, there will be trouble with China and Russia. As a result of these tidings, the Antichrist will send his armies against them, and overthrow many nations in the Middle East. China and many other Eastern nations will march against Israel and the Antichrist's armies, destroying a third of the world's population in the process.

Daniel 11:44-45
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him (Antichrist): therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Revelation 9:14-16 
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

Source Reuters

Quote: "The Danube is expected to rise as flood waters from central Europe make their way south. Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu told a news conference that in the next two days they expected the Danube to pass its highest level for a century. A state of alert has been declared in 12 areas bordering the river, the French news agency AFP reported. 

Source BBC

Quote: "Russian foreign ministry statement said: "Mahmoud Abbas stated his high appreciation of Russia's intent, confirmed by Sergei Lavrov, to grant the Palestinian Authority an urgent financial aid in the nearest future." Mr Lavrov said on Tuesday withholding aid to the Palestinians was a mistake. "Hamas should... recognise Israel and sit down at the negotiating table. But for that it's necessary to work with them," Mr Lavrov said.

As long as Hamas knows it will receive support from Russia and the Arab world, they will continue their intifada against the Jewish state. Some media companies claimed Hamas was preparing to recognize Israel's right to exist, but I don't believe anything will be forthcoming. Not when they believe the disengagement from Gaza is the "fruit of their sacrifices" (suicide bombers). If they did recognize Israel it will be on their terms, with the ultimate goal still being the destruction of the "Zionist regime". The Qur'an teaches that Muslims are permitted to lie if they believe it's in the interests of furthering the spread of Islam.

Daniel 11:27 
And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

Source BBC

Quote: ""The existence of the Zionist regime is tantamount to an imposition of an unending and unrestrained threat so that none of the nations and Islamic countries of the region and beyond can feel secure from its threat," Ahmadinejad said Friday. He called Israel a "rotten, dried tree" that will be annihilated by "one storm." "Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad told the conference.

The Iranian President believes that we are only a few years away from the coming of the Mahdi, the Islamic prophet that will rule Jerusalem for a period of seven years, and who will fight the armies of the "Antichrist". That belief is fuelling Iran's ambition to possess the nuclear weapons. Muslims believe that Islam will ultimately be victorious in this battle, and they will conquer the world for Allah. But according to Scripture, the Muslims and the real Antichrist will eventually conclude that their common enemy is Israel, a tiny nation that refuses to die, and all nations will gather in Har Megiddo for the last battle. 

Source Haaretz

Quote: "A helicopter pad was constructed at the site. The vibration from landings led the roof of one building to collapse. The soldiers also filled their sandbags with archaeological artefacts, just because they were lying around and easy to pick up. The head of the Iraqi State Board for Heritage and Antiquities, Donny George, is angry and says the mess will take decades to sort out. Col Coleman argues that whatever his troops did, the alternative would have been far worse. If they hadn't moved in, Babylon would have been left at the mercy of looters, he says.

Many Christians believe the ancient city of Babylon will once again rise to prominence. Where East meets West, Iraq has become the focus of world attention, and the goal of all nations is that the nation will become a prosperous democracy, and a stabilizing factor in the volatile Middle East. Whether the Babylon mentioned in Revelation is literal Babylon in Iraq, or represents a religious and commercial system - which ancient Babylon was, the fact that Babylon has survived intact despite terrorism and war is significant. 

Quote: "When Navy Seabees attached to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) advanced into the ancient biblical city of Babylon at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), they arrived to find the city's museum and its ruins looted and damaged. After Marines secured the city to protect it from further destruction, the Seabees built Camp Babylon around the ancient city in order to protect one of history's most important archaeological treasures. The individual talent of one Seabee led to the repair of one of the museum's most prized re-creations of ancient history; a scale model of the tower of Babel. The tower, according to biblical history, was built by Noah's descendants who intended it to reach up to heaven. God foiled them by confusing their language so they could no longer understand each other.

Revelation 16:19 
And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Source BBC, BBC, Global Security

Quote: "Stopping the Jordan's water from reaching the Dead Sea, and not water pumping conducted by the Dead Sea Works, is the main reason for its sinking sea level. All authorities have been aware of the situation for at least 20 years, and are trying to think of a solution. The most trendy one is building a channel from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, but the technical and ecological problems of such a plan appear insurmountable.

Several times they have proposed building this canal, but all these attempts all failed due to lack of funding. Many Christians, including my own grandfather when he visited Israel, told the tour guides the project would never happen. He was right, and the reason why is this. When the Lord returns to set up His Millennial Kingdom, living waters will issue out of Jerusalem through a canal system the Lord will create, and these waters will solve the problem of the disappearing sea.

Zechariah 14:8 
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

Quote: "The water and powerful floods also have made it difficult to maintain the Dead Sea road. "One day the Public Works Authority may decide it is impossible to maintain it any longer, and that it's better to operate a helicopter service to Ein Gedi," Dror says.

Will there be a helicopter service to En-Gedi (on the Western side of the Dead Sea)? I think not. Have a look at what the Lord says will happen to the Dead sea...

Ezekiel 47:8-10
Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

Source Haaretz

Quote: "The religious leaders in the Easter message broadcasted by the Religious Information service of the Italian Church stress that boycotting a people that has suffered and continues to suffer oppression and injustice is not fair while the international community does nothing to put an end to this situation. This 'paralysis' has caused violence, terrorism and the humiliation of the human dignity. 'We appeal to our governors as we know that they must take difficult decisions. But if there is a sincere will there will be also the capacity and the power to achieve security, peace and justice for the Israeli people and the Palestinians' the message reads. The religious leaders also invite the Israeli authorities to adopt the right measures to set free Palestinians and the Israeli people to consider the Palestinian Authority a help and a partner to build peace.

It's no wonder the Jews don't trust "Christians", when they hear statements like that. And the Western churches are no better. The Anglican Synod also saw Israel as the sole cause of the conflict, and planned to divest from companies operating in "occupied territory", while making no mention of Palestinian atrocities. And we condemn the Vatican for its silence during the Holocaust? We really do have a short memory.

Source AGI

Quote: "Also unaware was Eitan Haderi, a former Gaza Jewish farmer who represented the Gush Katif community in the greenhouse transfer. "I am stunned. No one on our side had any idea Bill Gates paid for the greenhouses," Haderi told WND. But Gates may not have got his money's worth. According to reports, the greenhouses were looted by gunmen following Israel's withdrawal. Computer equipment and, in some cases, entire greenhouses were stolen. The theft has put out of action about 70 acres of the roughly 1,000 acres left by the Jewish communities, according to Al-Masri. "The looters took their time to dismantle the greenhouses and to uproot entire greenhouses and carry them away," Amid al-Masri previously told reporters.

Since the Gaza disengagement, production in the greenhouses had fallen dramatically, as the premises were looted by disgruntled Palestinian security guards. The new Palestinian owners were also forced to hire Jewish consultants after their crops were infected with various insects, which the Israelis had been able to control.

Quote: "Eitan Haderi, a former Gaza farmer who represented Gush Katif residents in the Wolfensohn greenhouse transfer told WND, "The Palestinians are privately turning to U.S. AID to hire us because we are experts in this kind of farming. It's a really complex process that we engineered." Anita Tucker, an expelled Gaza resident and one of the pioneer farmers of Gush Katif, told WND, "I am not at all surprised the Palestinians are failing. When they worked in our greenhouses they needed to be monitored closely. Many didn't understand certain things, like not using different kinds of chemicals. Plus when we were in Gaza, our efforts were blessed by God."

I feel that last sentence really sums up this whole affair. Today the farmers that were forced to sell their businesses in Gaza are moving to the Negev, fulfilling another prophecy that God would cause the desert to blossom as the rose. This Passover, dozens of American cities are finding their Seder filled with vegetables from the Israeli desert.

Ezekiel 36:35-36
And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

Source WorldNetDaily, WorldNetDaily

Quote: "An EU official said: "The basic idea behind it is to avoid the use of improper words that would cause frustration among Muslims and increase the risk of radicalisation." Along with civil servants from the Home Office, the officials have reviewed the impact of such terms as Islamist, fundamentalist and jihad when describing acts of terrorism and murder. "Jihad means something for you and me; it means something else for a Muslim," EU officials at a Berlin conference on radicalisation said. "Jihad is a perfectly positive concept of trying to fight evil within yourself."

The old saying goes, "When is a terrorist not a terrorist?". When he lives in Northern Ireland, he's a "dissident". When he lives in Iraq, he's an "insurgent". When he lives in Israel, he's a "militant". When he lives in Chechnya, he's a "separatist". If he's a Muslim, he's an "extremist". All these words are used constantly by the world media in an effort to justify terrorism. And now the EU is proposing to separate "Islamic terrorism" from its root cause, the religion of Islam. If Europe can change the language, they can change the world's perception of sin.

Proverbs 17:15 
He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both [are] abomination to the LORD.

Source Telegraph

Quote: "Iran could be in a position to produce enough fissile nuclear material to make a nuclear bomb within 3-5 years, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies. Iran's deputy nuclear chief Mohammad Saeedi has said Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges, signalling the country's resolve to expand its nuclear programme. His comments come a day after Iran announced it had succeeded in enriching uranium on a small scale for the first time, using 164 centrifuges, at a facility in Natanz.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw joined the other members of the UN Security Council in condemning the recent development in Iran, and it is believed there are concrete plans for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities in the Autumn, when it is believed the diplomatic option will have been exhausted. 

Quote: "Western defense sources and analysts said Britain and the United States were preparing for the prospect of air strikes against Iran in late 2006. They said both London and Washington agreed to complete a diplomatic effort at the United Nations Security Council before they seriously consider plans to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities.

Russia is still insisting sanctions are not the best option to deal with Iran, creating a major obstacle for Western policy. Russia helped build Iran's nuclear facilities, and they have a lot to lose if those are destroyed. Russia's economy would also be impacted if sanctions were placed on Iran, restricting the flow of cheap Arab oil. Ezekiel 38-39 states that when Russia comes against Israel as a cloud to cover the land (an air invasion, possibly in response to an escalation between Israel and Iran), that an evil thought will come into the mind of the Russian Premier, and he will use the occasion to spoil Israel of its wealth, but the Russian/Muslim alliance will be miraculously defeated. 

Ezekiel 38:16 
And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

Source BBC, Middle East News Line

Quote: "Several extremist right wing Jewish activists, in possession of a young goat, tried to force their way onto the Temple Mount on Wednesday to offer the animal as a sacrifice. Police blocked their entrance to the mount at the Mugrabi Gate.

The Israeli police prohibit praying and the religious symbols (Bibles and Jewish religious garb, etc) of non-Muslims ascending the Temple Mount, for fear of upsetting the Islamic Waqf that administer the site. Strict Jewish law also forbids Jews to walk on certain places of the Temple Mount, until they discover the true location where the Jewish temple stood and the site is purified. In order for the Temple to be rebuilt and the resumption of sacrifices, the site first must be cleansed by the ashes of a pure Red Heifer. In March 1997 such an animal was born in Israel for the first time in 2000 years, but the Heifer was later found to be imperfect when white hairs were later discovered on its tail. Some analysts equate the birth of the Red Heifer with a nuclear bomb which would ignite the Middle East in a war between Judaism and Islam over ownership of the Temple Mount.

Quote: "To Jews who adhere to ancient tradition, whose number include religious Israeli nationalists, the long-awaited Messiah will return to become the king of Israel and high priest of a rebuilt Temple, which can only be on Temple Mount. For Christian fundamentalists, Jesus Christ's return at the height of the battle of Armageddon, in which forces of the Antichrist clash in Israel with a 200 million-man army from the East, will require a Third Temple from which the Lord will begin a millennial reign. And for Muslims, an Antichrist figure called the Dajal will be a Jew who will lead an all-encompassing war against Islam, which will culminate in the return of Jesus (as a Muslim prophet), the Kaaba, or Sacred Rock in Mecca, transporting itself to Jerusalem, and final judgment in the valley just below the Noble Sanctuary. "What happens at that one spot, more than anywhere else, quickens expectations of the End in three religions. And at that spot, the danger of provoking catastrophe is greatest," writes Israeli journalist Gershom Gorenberg in The End of Days, his 2000 book about the apocalyptic struggle over the Temple Mount. 

Source Jerusalem Post, Arutz 7, National Review

Quote: "Sharon, 78, never regained consciousness after his brain haemorrhage. The former general is expected to be moved soon to a long-term care facility, or back home to his ranch in southern Israel under medical supervision.

Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was killed by an assassin's bullet, before he could implement a similar deal which would have seen the land of Israel divided. Michael Drosnin, the author of the "Bible Code" book, claimed to have discovered this assassination encrypted in the Torah, years before the event actually happened. And the Bible seems to indicate Sharon's stroke is also linked with the dividing of the land. But will Prime Minister Olmert take heed from what has happened to his predecessors?

Isaiah 29:1-4 
Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

Source Reuters

Quote: ""Our nonviolent campaign sends the message that nowhere in the country is safe from the truth. Wherever Christian leaders are indoctrinating children with 2,000-year-old fairy tales, the truth may just find its way there." Continued the former Christian: "Our 'War on Easter' is of course completely without violence of any kind. Christians believe that beating a man to a pulp and nailing him to a cross somehow solves all the world's problems. Beyond Belief Media does not." "The God Who Wasn't There" is currently No. 5 on Amazon.com's list of best-selling documentaries.

Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life", John 14:6, and again that "the truth shall set you free". What truth then are these people claiming to have discovered? I once challenged a man who denied the truth of the New Testament, but tacitly held to the Old, to prove to me from the Old Testament that Jesus wasn't who He said He was. And if he could not, I would show him from the Old Testament - discounting the Gospels altogether, proof that Jesus is the Messiah. Unfortunately I never heard from him again, and was unable to further discuss the matter with him. Every major event in Jesus' life was foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament. Psalms, Isaiah, Deuteronomy, Daniel, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Malachi, Micah, all describe in detail where Jesus would be born, where He would live, what He would preach and how He would die. Either Jesus is who He claims to be, or else we are witnessing the greatest deception ever in the history of the world. 

Source WorldNetDaily

President Ahmadinejad of Iran has promised his people "good news" concerning the their nuclear programme today, in an announcement that is likely to upset Western powers. It is still unclear what this news will be, but Iranian ex-President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has announced today that the country has successfully produced enriched Uranium to the standard required for nuclear fuel. Rafsanjani states that Iran has used 164 centrifuges to produce the low grade Uranium, but he did not say how long the centrifuges had been operating for. It is believed that it would require at least 3000 centrifuges to bring the quality up to that which can be used in nuclear weapons.  

Quote: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday promised "very good nuclear news in the coming days" regarding Iran's nuclear programme, but it was unclear if Mr Rafsanjani's comments were linked. Political analyst Saeed Laylaz told Reuters news agency the rivals might be competing with each other over credit for the nuclear programme, which has popular support in Iran. On Tuesday Mr Ahmadinejad said: "Iran will soon join the club of countries that have nuclear technology... The equation will change in favour of the Iranian people."

Source BBC

Quote: "U.S. officials hunting child predators have considered websites like "Paiderastia" low priority because they are not explicit. But Harp fears such sites could lure children. "It plays into the normalization of it," she said. "The more you have it out there the more it's available for children to see. Children are easily influenced."

A historian recently finished a study into the demise of 88 world civilizations. He found that without exception, all these societies began with a strict moral code, flourished, and became extinct through the legalization of sexual immorality. Friends, our society has become more corrupt than Sodom and Gomorrah. We have already legalized homosexual marriage, and next on the list will be polygamy and paedophilia. Why? Because "human rights" means you can't judge people's "lifestyles", and if you legalize sodomy, you must legalize everything else under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 
Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment.

Source WorldNetDaily, Paiderastia

Although this news has been disputed by some, it appears military planners in the US at least have the option of a nuclear strike on Iran still on the table. According to Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, when it comes to taking out Iran's underground facilities buried under 75 feet of solid rock, it is believed a mini-nuke would be the weapon of choice. UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw described the plan as "completely nuts", and there is no doubt world Islamic reaction to a nuclear attack on Iran would not be positive. Hersh believes American military units are already inside of Iran, making contacts and gathering intelligence for when the talking stops.

Quote: "BLITZER: Here's the most explosive item in your new article in The New Yorker magazine. And I'll read it: "The lack of reliable intelligence leaves military planners, given the goal of totally destroying the sites," the nuclear sites in Iran, "little choice but to consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons. 'Every other option, in the view of the nuclear weaponeers, would leave a gap,' the former senior intelligence official said. 'Decisive' is the key word of the Air Force's planning. It's a tough decision, but we made it in Japan." Now, this is an explosive charge, an explosive revelation, if true, that the United States is seriously considering using a tactical nuclear bomb or bombs to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities.

France has already promised nuclear retaliation for any country that commits an attack on its soil, and Britain still retains its nuclear capability long after the Cold War ended. Even if America doesn't use nuclear weapons this time, according to the Bible, it's a matter of when and not if nuclear weapons are used. Babylon and Damascus are to be completely destroyed within a very short space of time (an hour for Babylon - Revelation 18, and overnight in the case of Damascus - Isaiah 17). Five cities of Egypt are to be destroyed, and one will be renamed "destruction" - Isaiah 19:18. Some of the plagues in Revelation and Zechariah, as well as verses in the Psalms aptly describe the effects of a nuclear explosion.

Zechariah 12:6 
In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

Source CNN

Quote: "Zaghloul Al-Naggar: "The 20th century crime is the creation of this false state amidst the Arab world and amidst the Muslim world, with no justification whatsoever - historical, ethnic, religious, you name it. They have no justification to be in that region at all. And that's why Muslims have to struggle hard to destroy this state, regardless of the blind support of the Americans and of many European nations to it, stemming from wrong misconceptions and wrong beliefs that have been mainly infiltrated by the Jewish hands.

If you look at the Scriptures and the prophecies concerning the regathering of Israel, it becomes clear this man's words are spoken out of envy. For around 1900 years the land of Israel was a desolate wilderness, even while under Arab control, and only when the Jews returned to the land and the state of Israel was created, did the deserts "blossom as the rose". As we have seen recently in regard to the Gaza disengagement, and the subsequent fall in produce exports from the region, the blessing of the land was promised for the Jew.

Ezekiel 36:33-36 
Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause [you] to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities [are become] fenced, [and] are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined [places, and] plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken [it], and I will do [it].

Source Arutz 7

We've all been saying this for months now, and finally the retailers are starting to agree. Biometric identification for financial transactions will become the next big thing. Forget the electronic passport and identification cards that the British government proposed to force upon us, they can be stolen and lost. But it's pretty hard to lose your identity. And so shops are now pressing customers to open new biometric accounts, saving them and the customer both time and money. For the retailer, they will save money by not having to employ cashiers, and spend time lodging money. For the customer, handling fees for biometric and RFID payment methods may be up to 75% less than normal credit cards, as each transaction is treated as an automated clearinghouse debit.

Quote: "Unlike a credit card or debit card application, biometric payment technology requires that the user register and create a settlement account in a closed cashless payment environment in which each supplier has a network of merchants that are part of the system. In other words, negotiability is limited to acceptance only at locations connected to the source of settlement information. Enrollment involves proving one’s identity by scanning at least two fingerprints and entering some additional information into a database system. While some applications might require specification of a unique PIN code (a 4-digit number) or identifier code (e.g., a telephone number), all systems link the biometric payment to the consumer’s choice of payment source. To complete a typical transaction, the consumer swipes a finger, enters a PIN and selects a payment source.

Source AMonline

More detail has been released regarding the "Gospel of Judas", which was published by US National Geographic last week. The text, which is neither a Gospel nor written by Judas, describes events from the Passover feast, and leads up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Going by some of the quotations from this text, I can conclude it can only be inspired by the one who possessed Judas before he carried out his betrayal.

Quote: "It begins just before Jesus’ last Passover in Jerusalem, as the disciples are offering a prayer to God over the dinner table. Watching them, Jesus laughs. “Why are you laughing at us?” the nettled disciples ask, and Jesus says that he is laughing not at them but at their strange idea of pleasing their God. (One of the unnerving things about the new Gospel is that Jesus, who never laughs in the canonic Gospels, is constantly laughing in this one, and it’s obviously one of those sardonic, significant, how-little-you-know laughs, like the laugh of the ruler of a dubious planet on “Star Trek.”) The disciples are furious at Jesus’ condescension, except for Judas, who thinks he knows what the laughter signifies. “I know who you are and where you have come from,” Judas says, standing before him. “You are from the immortal realm of Barbelo.” Apparently startled by his insight, Jesus tells Judas, “Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the Kingdom.” 

Apparently according to the Gospel of Judas, Jesus Christ is not the Son of God at all, but an "avatar" of Adam's third son Seth. The text also accuses the Creator as being the cause of the suffering of mankind. "Barbelo" is supposedly place of eternal spiritual bliss, and in order to get back to that realm Jesus convinces Judas to "kill the man that clothes Him". As Adam points out, this is only one of many attacks on the character of Christ this month. One of the authors that failed to indict Dan Brown of plagiarism with the publication of his "Da Vinci Code" book, is planning to publish another book denying the crucifixion and resurrection. 

Quote: "Michael Baigent's The Jesus Papers tries to strip Jesus of his divinity by claiming he wrote a letter to a Jewish court denying he was the son of God. It also suggests there is evidence Jesus survived the crucifixion and that his death was faked as a cover to allow him to escape his enemies. Roman procurator Pontius Pilate is said to have aided and abetted the "mock execution" because Jesus had told the Jews to pay their Roman taxes.

It is alarming all these attacks are happening around this time of year, when the world's attention is focused on the crucifixion of Christ. One would even think this is a deliberately timed Satanic attack intended to distract people from the real meaning of Easter and Passover and, that Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of God, and died for the sins of the world, and was raised again the third day.

Source New Yorker, The Australian

Quote: "During the session, the Kadima team made it clear no national referendum would be held before the convergence is carried out. According to Likud sources, Kadima members said international support for the convergence is for the implementation of the move, and not necessarily for setting Israel's borders.

This announcement is likely to infuriate many. The Palestinians, for yet more unilateral moves, and the ordinary Israelis who will lose their homes and possibly their livelihoods. But as long as Israel has enough rope to hang itself, the international community will be content. We are already seeing a shift in focus for Palestinian terrorist groups, who are moving their operations to the West Bank. Within the next few years Samaria may become the new Gaza Strip, handing Hamas yet more power and a lot more real estate from which to attack Israel. And after the West Bank, Jerusalem...

Joel 3:13-15
Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

Source YNet News

Quote: ""This is a major breakthrough for the Iranians," said a senior U.S. official, according to the London paper. "They have been trying to do this for years and now they have succeeded. It is a very disturbing development." Recent test firings of the Shahab-3 by military experts show Iran has been able to modify the nose cone to carry a basic nuclear bomb, the experts conclude.

While the Americans seem to be actively preparing for a strike against Iran, securing the use of bases in neighbouring countries, British Foreign Minister Jack Straw again ruled out military intervention in Iran yesterday. And it's hard to know why. Does he fear a terrorist reprisal in Britain from a vociferate Islamic community, or perhaps an escalation of violence in the Middle East in what is being perceived as a Western invasion of Islamic countries? Or perhaps he is afraid of alienating China and Russia, growing regional powers that have close links with Iran? In any case there should be no doubt, Iran is doing its utmost to acquire nuclear weapons, there will be an escalation of violence in the Middle East, and China and Russia will be involved... as the Bible predicted.

Source WorldNetDaily

Quote: "Most Jews shun Christian Scripture. As a result, they can't answer Christians who ask why Jews don't accept Jesus as the Messiah. Reform Rabbi Michael J. Cook says this "self-imposed ignorance" is dangerous. At a time when many Christians are embracing the Jewish origins of their faith, holding Passover seders before Easter, Cook says he has taken on the "Herculean task" of convincing Jews they must learn how the Gospels molded Christian attitudes toward Judaism.

Many Jews are now recognizing the "Jewishness" of Jesus, and are proud that a Rabbi from Nazareth is worshipped by many people all over the world. But it's more than that. Previously most Jews denied the authenticity of familiar passages like Isaiah 53 which speaks of the death of the Messiah for sin, or else they disregard it altogether. But many are now studying the New Testament for themselves and coming to recognize Yeshua as their own Messiah. I hope many Jews take up Rabbi Cook's call, for there is no doubt studying the Brit Hadassah with an open mind and heart can only bring the reader to one conclusion, that Jesus is Mashiach.

Zechariah 12:10 
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Source Jerusalem Post

Quote: "The Sunday Times quoted government health adviser Liam Donaldson as saying in a confidential letter to the schools minister that if the virus was particularly severe, deaths among school-age children "could be as high as 100,000". "This would mean that potentially 50,000 deaths might be prevented by school closures," Donaldson was quoted as saying. "For this reason, I would recommend that schools should be planning on the basis that they may have to close for part or all of the pandemic," he said.

This news will strike at the heart of every parent in the country, and it seems the whole world will be heading for an impending crisis of unparalleled proportions when this virus mutates.

Source Reuters

Quote: "Since taking office last week, Haniyeh has faced missile strikes by Israel on militant targets, which have prompted vows of revenge by Hamas's armed wing. Two al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants were killed in the most recent deadly attack. "This Israeli escalation aims to bring the Palestinian people on their knees and to blackmail the government in order to win over political concessions," Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza. "We will remain loyal to the rights of our people and we will not give anything that may harm these rights."

As I said a few days ago, even though the US and EU have temporarily blocked aid reaching the Palestinian Authority, that situation is unlikely to have much effect. Arab nations have stepped up their financing of the terrorist regime, and individual aid from EU countries - which amounts to around 300 million Euros annually - has not been stopped. Like North Korea, Hamas will create a humanitarian crisis on the ground, and blame it on Western policy, while ensuring it retains enough funds to build its Al-Kassam Brigades army. Western leaders are deceiving themselves if they think Hamas will moderate. Just like Sinn Fein IRA, who developed the strategy of "the Ballot Box in one hand and the Armalite in the other", Hamas' democratic reforms are part-and-parcel of its grand goal of liberating all of Palestine. This link I found on One Jerusalem gives a fascinating analysis of the current position of Hamas in the greater Muslim strategy of conquering the world for Allah.

Source Reuters, Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs

Quote: "In Appearance before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union said the EU must continue to reject unilateral measures which may jeopardise the two-state solution. Solana revealed the EU will keep a very close watch on developments in East Jerusalem and in the Jordan Valley, where Israel is engaging in action particularly harmful to the Palestinians, and on the construction of the separating fence (Wall).

I wonder what the "harmful action" is that Israel is engaging in in these areas? Perhaps detaining suspected Islamic terrorists at security check points? Or is it building houses? It makes you sick, to think that the world views that, rather than the terrorist atrocities carried out almost every day by Palestinian terrorists, as creating instability in the peace process.

I doubt we will ever see the creation of a bonafide Palestinian state on God's land. It was never given to them in the Bible, and now that Jerusalem has come under Jewish rule again after 2500 years, it will stay that way apart from a brief period at the end of the tribulation. But there is hope for the Palestinians, for in Zephaniah we read that the they will live in peace among the Israelis during the Millennial Reign.

Zephaniah 3:12 
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. 

Source Palestine News Agency 

Quote: "The number of tornadoes in the US has risen dramatically in the first part of 2006, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Centre. At the end of March, an estimated 286 tornadoes had hit the US, against an average of 70 for the same three-month period over the past three years.

Clearly something other than global warming is going on here. With earthquakes on the increase, killer hurricanes, droughts, floods and now tornadoes, the times spoken of by the Lord are now upon us.

Mark 13:8 
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

Source BBC

Quote: "As they did in eastern Europe, the plan was for the 24 members involved in the death squad to enlist Palestinian collaborators so that the "mass murder would continue under German leadership without interruption." Fortunately for the Jews in Palestine, "Einsatzgruppe Egypt" never made it out of Greece. "The history of the Middle East would have been completely different and a Jewish state could never have been established if the Germans and Arabs had joined forces," the historians conclude. Regarding the question why this is emerging 61 years after the end of World War Two, Mallmann and Cueppers said they simply unearthed something other historians had not found yet.

Other records from Germany's Nazi past were also unearthed recently, detailing of one man's efforts to focus world attention on the plight of the European Jews. This man even met with Adolph Hitler to discuss the problem of state anti-Semitism, but resigned from his position of High Commissioner for Refugees when he realized the world wasn't interested. And that was in 1933, six years before the start of the war. The frightening thing is, world opinion regarding the Jews today is much the same as it was back then.

Quote: "McDonald details meetings with Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini as well as with Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the man who would become Pope Pius XII, Mize said. McDonald writes that he feared the Nazis were planning as early as 1933 to annihilate the Jews of Europe. And he chronicles his attempts to find refuge for Jews in countries outside of Europe. "You really hear McDonald's frustration," Mize said. "He's going country to country trying to find safe haven for Jews and others who were persecuted by the Nazis. Time and time again he runs into leaders willing to offer sympathy but not action." McDonald pleads with Hitler himself to let the Jews emigrate, writing that he had appealed to the Fuhrer's sense of political survival, Mize said. "Hitler responds by saying, look, other countries including the U.S. have shut Jews out of their country," Mize said.

Source Reuters, Chicago Tribune

Quote: "Peres is reported, in 1994, to have promised the Vatican official status in Jerusalem. In February 2000, the Vatican and the Palestinian Authority signed an agreement calling for an internationally guaranteed special status for Jerusalem. The agreement stated that a special statute would protect "equality before the law of the three monotheistic religions [in Jerusalem], the proper identity and sacred character of the city, [and] freedom of access" to the city's holy sites.

The Pope expressed his desire to visit Israel early next year. But the Vatican's interest in Jerusalem does not stem for a desire to see peace in the nation of Israel, but rather to gain a foothold in Jerusalem. The Vatican believes it must place a Pope in Jerusalem before the return of Christ, in order to show the Catholic Church is the true Church of Christ, and can claim an unbroken line from Peter, supposedly the first Pope to the Messiah.

Quote: "During his visit in 2000, Pope John Paul II conducted a prayer service in Bethlehem, and announced that the Vatican had always recognized the Palestinians' national rights to a homeland. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Dean of Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim, said in response that the Pope's goal was simply to obtain a foothold in Jerusalem for the Church, and that his visit was one way the Pope hoped to reach this goal. 

I find it fascinating that Shimon Peres' surname means "division", and wonder whether he will be the one who will be instrumental in the break-up of Jerusalem, especially with this supposed promise to the Catholic Church. Peres is definitely one to keep your eyes on.

Daniel 5:28 
PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Source Arutz 7

Quote: "In truth, Hamas does not recognize the idea of borders at all, long claiming that Israel has no right to exist. This is evident from many clauses in the Hamas charter and statements by Hamas leaders. For instance, the man now serving as the PA's foreign minister, Mahmoud A-Zahar, said on BBC in 2003, "I'm telling you frankly, the attitude of Islam is not to accept a foreign state in this area... This is the attitude of thousands and millions of people... Islam is a supreme power in this area, sooner or later we are going to achieve our power, our moral principles, our virtue, in order to implement a real state."

It's incredulous that Hamas is even being given the option of leasing land that is under Israeli control, and was legitimately captured as the spoils of war from Jordan during the Six Day War. But the fact that Hamas will not even agree to this proposal, which is not even a permanent fixture, shows their true intent not to give Israel so much as an inch in their Jihad towards the destruction of the "Zionist regime". 

Source Arutz 7

Quote: "Regarding functional contact, however, he said "one has to take a realistic position that there should be a clear distinction between having dealings of a political nature with Hamas, and making sure that medication, water or electricity get to the right people." Otte (EU Envoy), speaking from his office in Brussels, said the EU would continue humanitarian assistance to the PA, and it was clear that a lot of these services would need to be delivered through the PA ministries. "If electricity breaks down, you have to repair a power station, you can't just send an e-mail," he said.

The short answer is "Yes". The Palestinian Authority was not able to pay its 140,000 employees this month, and some Arab nations have promised to bridge the gap. But clearly supporting the Hamas government and supporting the needs of the Palestinian people cannot be distinctly separated, and what is clear from EU Envoy Marc Otte, is that the Hamas terror government will continue to receive millions of Euros in aid, some of which is bound to end up going towards funding Hamas' campaign of terror against Israel.

Source Jerusalem Post

Rivers in many of nations of the world are slowly drying up. This isn't because of global warming as you might expect, instead researchers have discovered misuse of water resources and an increase in demand is mostly to blame. The water levels of many Canadian rivers now stands at 20% of those recorded at the beginning of the century. Climate has had an affect, with weather stations across the Canadian Prairies recording a one to four degree rise in temperatures and a decline in precipitation. But the oil industry, Canadian agriculture and population growth are putting an extra burden on ever decreasing water supplies that some are predicting will soon bring about a major water crisis.  

Quote: "Summer flows in Prairie rivers are already 20 to 80 per cent lower than in the early part of the 20th century, say Alberta researchers David Schindler and W.F. Donahue. Worst affected is the South Saskatchewan River, whose summer flows have been reduced by 84 per cent, according to the study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. All the major Prairie rivers are fed by melting snow and ice in the Rockies, but the glaciers and snowpack have been receding due to climate warming.

And it's not just in Canada. Nations across the world are facing a similar problem. It was reported just a few months ago, that China will soon face a major water crisis. China has around 20% of the world's population, and only 7% of the world's water resources. China's booming economy is also expected to increase the demand even further. In the Middle East, there are also concerns about the Euphrates and Tigris. Tensions are increasing over who controls the flow of the Euphrates, and recently Israel was complaining that countries upstream such as Turkey were building too many dams across the river, restricting the flow and leaving Israel with very little. I remember my mum also telling me about an incident in which Muslims were in an uproar when it was discovered a Jewish man living in Turkey actually owned the plot of land where the great river's source is located. 

Quote: "One solution is building dams and reservoirs to retain water, but it is often an issue that leads to tension between countries through which such rivers flow, Collins says. "The diversion of water into and retention in dams to affect river flow downstream is fairly common, and often has an international dimension," he says. "The Jordan [River] being an example, as well as the rivers in the Middle East, such as the Euphrates and the Tigris."

Some say the next world war will be fought over water, not oil. The Bible says the next war will be fought over Israel. Nevertheless the fact that we are already hearing news of problems with the flow of the Euphrates, shows us how close we are to the times spoken of in Revelation...

Revelation 16:12 
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Source  CTV, Radio Free Europe

Quote: "Heavy rains on March 24 caused a Waikiki sewer main to break, leading city officials to divert 48 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal. On Friday, another deluge knocked out power to a pumping station, causing another 1.8 million gallons of sewage to spill into the canal, which leads into the harbor. "Because of this, falling into the Ala Wai water, he's just lost his leg, his liver shut down and his kidneys have shut down," said friend Stephany Sofos. "Doctors said in order for him to survive, they may have to remove his other leg and left arm."

The same bug that struck Oliver Johnson, has affected dozens of fishermen, and is responsible for killing hundreds under the care of the National Health Service. The UK government was forced to act last year when it was revealed our hospitals are breeding grounds for MRSA, because of poor hygiene standards. It was also revealed hospitals were trying to cover up MRSA related deaths, when it was discovered patients who had been admitted for routine operations died as a result of infections which could have been prevented.

Quote: "MRSA bacteria create the same life-threatening lesions experts are treating on turtles and fish in Central Florida, according to Local 6 News reporter Tarik Minor. Fisherman Jim Freeman told Local 6 News that he knows of eight fishing boat captains infected with MRSA. "It starts out as a white pimple, but the minute you pop that pimple it starts boring," Freeman said. "It will go to the bone. Doctors say once it goes to the bone, you either have to cut your arm off or cut your leg off."

Similar blooms of this type of flesh eating virus have been discovered in rivers and in the sea near waste outlet pipes, and have caused the death of thousands of fish. 

Revelation 8:8-9
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

Source Star Bulletin, Local 6

Doron Nof, a Professor of oceanography, has proposed a new theory that states Jesus may have walked on ice, in an effort to explain the Gospel account of the miracle of walking on the water. In Doron's theory, a blast of cold air may have descended over the sea of Galilee, creating a layer of ice on top of the lake that may have been indistinguishable from surrounding water. 

Quote: "Using paleoceanographic records of the Mediterranean Sea's surface temperatures along with analytical ice and statistical models, Nof and his colleagues focused on the dynamics of a small section of Lake Kinneret comprising about 10,000 square feet near the salty springs that empty into it. Their analysis supports the likelihood that a brief blast of frigid air descended over the lake and dropped to 25 F (-4 C) for at least two days, coinciding with the chill that had already settled in for a century or more and quite possibly encompassed the decades in which Jesus lived. If these atmospheric conditions existed simultaneously over a lake such as Kinneret, a floating ice patch could develop above the plumes generated by the salty springs.

Doron states that he receives hate mail about every three minutes regarding this theory, and I'm not surprised. Satan is behind all these attacks that aim to discredit the Gospel and make a mockery of the Lord Jesus. With the Gospel of Judas being published this week, the Da Vinci Code last year, and now this, all this goes to prove if you tell a lie often enough people will believe it. People like Professor Nof are the ones who are walking on "thin ice".

Source PysOrg

Quote: "There have been more than 40 suspected cases of bird flu investigated in Britain since the start of the year. Until now none has returned positive results. The Executive said: “Preliminary tests have found highly pathogenic H5 avian flu in a sample from a swan found dead in Fife. The exact strain of the virus is not yet known. Tests are continuing and a further result is expected tomorrow.”

Government estimates are that in a worst case scenario, around 700,000 Britons could die within a matter of weeks of the virus mutating into a human form. That's 10 times more people that died in the Black Plague. And with all our modern technology it is remarkable that a simple virus could cause so much havoc. Just a few decades ago, scientists were proudly proclaiming the elimination of various diseases through the invention of new drugs. But the scientists got it wrong, and now it seems we have more diseases than ever, just as the Bible prophesied. If only our nation turned to God, we would not be in the position we find ourselves in.

Leviticus 26:14-16
But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Source Times Online

Quote: "EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told the European Parliament that the 25-nation bloc had been disappointed by the government program put forward by the Islamist movement, but there was room for it to change. "Right now, I stress -- I don't know what's going to happen in the future -- at the moment, we can't regard Hamas as an appropriate speaking partner. "We can't do that until its views and positions change," he said. But he added: "The Union doesn't and shouldn't want the Hamas government to fail."

I personally don't believe Hamas will change, or can for that matter. If Israel couldn't find a partner for peace with Yasser Arafat, they're not going to find a partner for peace with Hamas - which is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in the intifada. And when 40% of the Palestinian population want to see Israel destroyed, to use the words of Gerry Adams, they have a electoral "mandate" to continue their terrorist attacks. Sinn Fein IRA has been signed up to the "Good Friday Agreement" for 10 years, and the gun still rules in Irish politics (McCartney - covered up despite many Sinn Fein witnesses, and now Donaldson the British spy has paid the ultimate price). All this goes to show that the leopard can't change its spots.

Jeremiah 13:23 
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.  

Source Reuters

Countries around the world are continuing to experience extreme and unpredictable weather conditions. Australia has already been hit by one category four and one category five cyclones, which have caused extensive damage. Around 63 tornados lashed seven American states within the past week, and many European nations are under a deluge of water, due to heavy rains. And Israel has experienced its fair share of freak weather this week, including heavy rains, hail the size of golf balls, and a tornado. Israeli farmers are calling for compensation to be granted after their crops were destroyed by a twister that tore through the Galilee.

Quote: "Tuesday's storms were the latest in a week of extreme weather conditions in Israel. On Sunday, heavy rains led to the deaths of five people - two of whom were washed away and three who were killed in a road accident after driving into pooled water. A total of 70 people, including 20 children, were admitted to hospital in Nahariya following the violent weather. Most of the patients suffered light injuries caused by flying objects or road accidents. Two children, aged six and seven, suffered deep cuts. Meteorologist Nachum Malik said the tornado was an indication of increasingly unpredictable weather in the country. "When this kind of phenomenon occurs over water it is called a water spout, but when it occurs over land it is called a tornado. To use military terminology, this is an escalation in terms of weather and a very rare occurrence in Israel. This is an example of how extreme the weather in Israel has become," he said.

Even Britain has had its fair share of tornadoes lately. Last year two tornadoes touched down in British town centres, just weeks apart. And people claim this is all related to global warming. In any event, the Bible foretold these things would happen in the last days, and we see them coming to pass. 

Revelation 8:7 
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Source Haaretz

MasterCard are planning to roll out 35,000 of their PayPass cards to Australian banks, in a new trial aimed at introducing customers to the benefits of RFID. PayPass is a credit card which contains a tiny radio transmitter chip. This chip can interface remotely with retailers' computers, removing the need to carry cash, swipe credit cards or remember pin numbers. It all boils down to increased convenience, and that means big money for banks and MasterCard. My friend Marty in California recently expressed her concern when her bank told her they were switching to PayPass, and her Visa card would be cancelled.

Quote: "The new cards will allow customers to make transactions of up to AU$35 without supplying personal identification data. To use PayPass, customers will hold their card before a PayPass reader on the merchant's counter, which processes the payment in seconds. "This is exciting technology with huge potential applications, from shopping at the corner store, to paying at a 'drive through' to accessing sporting events," said Commonwealth Bank group executive, retail banking services, Michael Cameron. "Less money handling and quicker processing of customer transactions could result in smaller queues for many retailers."

There is no doubt the cashless society is creeping up on us, and there is not much we can do about it. As Adam says, it may just be a matter of time before banks start asking employees or customers to identify themselves with radio tags. Replace cash with an electronic system, and you can automatically trace every financial transaction in the world, and ultimately control individual lives. That's scary.

Source ZDNet

Quote: "Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar denied on Wednesday that he agreed to recognize Israel's right to exist. In a letter written to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, he wrote that the Palestinians wished to live in peace and security with their neighbors, but claimed that he did not mention Israel. He also did not mention the concept of two states living side-by-side in peace, Israel Radio reported.

Palestinian politicians have had a long history of deceiving the West with double-talk. Yasser Arafat was a master of this art, and would make moderate speeches in English to the Western Media, and at the same time call for Israel to be "driven into the sea" to his Arabic audience. Hamas is actively seeking to legitimise its government in the eyes of the world, and they know if that can be achieved, they can legitimise their goal for the destruction of Israel.

Source BBC, Jerusalem Post

The comments made by the Israeli Army Radio a few days ago have been confirmed by Hamas leaders. Beijing stands ready to receive a Hamas delegation at any time. A Chinese envoy has already met with Hamas Foreign Minister, Al-Zahar, who recently stated he wished he could hang a map of the world on the wall of his Gaza home, minus the state of Israel. China's willingness to legitimise Hamas will deal a death blow to the official UN Security Council line, that without the terror group's recognition of Israel's right to exist, they won't be accepted into the international community. The Army Radio also mentioned that India and Japan are preparing to recognize the Palestinian Authority terror government. 

Quote: "The missile attack came shortly after a Chinese envoy met with the new Palestinian foreign minister, becoming the first foreign diplomat to do so since the Hamas government was sworn in last week. Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar also said he plans to visit China next month for a conference and was told a Palestinian delegation would be welcomed. It would be the first visit by Zahar to a non-Arab country since the Hamas government took power. "The Chinese told us that they are ready to receive a Palestinian delegation at any time," Zahar said. The visit could hurt Israel's efforts to rally international pressure on Hamas, which has killed hundreds of people in suicide bombings and opposes the existence of Israel. The United States and Europe have branded Hamas a terrorist group and many countries have pledged to shun the group's government until it renounces violence.

It's not Hamas that is being isolated, it is increasingly looking like the US and Israel are the ones that will find themselves at odds with the rest of the world. Turkey, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Russia have all recognized the terrorist government. European nations are talking to them behind the scenes. I said a few months ago that the West would be forced to recognize Hamas. The only alternative is to ditch the "Roadmap to Peace" along with any hope that there will be a resolution to the conflict. China's involvement in this farce brings it closer to fulfilling its future invasion of the Middle East...

Revelation 16:12 
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east (sun rising) might be prepared.

Source ABC News

Around 27 people have been reported killed, and over 1000 homes destroyed after 63 tornadoes were formed by a storm system that swept through seven US states. The hurricane season, which lasts usually until November 30th only petered out this January, and many weather forecasters believe this storm system also came a lot earlier than expected. But it was the ferocity of the tornadoes and the devastating hail, measuring over 4 inches in diameter, that took many by surprise.

Quote: "The brunt of the storms, some packing softball-size hail, blasted an area between the small town of Newbern, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis, to Bradford. Gov. Phil Bredesen said more than 1,000 buildings were seriously damaged or destroyed and about 75 people injured, 17 of them critically. He asked President Bush to declare Dyer and Gibson Counties federal disaster areas. The Tennessee Valley Authority estimated that more than 18,000 customers in Tennessee and Kentucky were without power Monday. The storms developed after a cold front approaching from the west slammed into a mass of warm, humid air, said Memphis meteorologist Jody Aaron. A tornado in Dyer County apparently had winds of 158 to 206 m.p.h.

Apparently it is normal for multiple tornadoes to form during one storm. In April 3rd, 1974, 148 tornadoes hit 13 US States killing around 330 people. But things will get worse. I found it particularly interesting regarding the large hailstones. Even hailstones the size of golf balls do considerable damage to property, and can kill. The Bible also links hailstones with judgement, and in particular, with the tribulation period.

Revelation 16:21 
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent (about the size of a football, apparently): and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Source Chicago Tribune, Answers

Quote: "Messori recalled that in the apocryphal account Judas is forgiven: "He weeps, Jesus forgives him and in order to purify him he sends Judas into the desert to do spiritual exercises." In the New Testament, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is quoted as saying: "Woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born." After the betrayal, they never meet again and, overcome with remorse, Judas commits suicide. Christ atones for the sins of humanity but never specifically forgives Judas .

Although Judas regretted his betrayal and committed suicide when he realized he had "betrayed innocent blood", the gospels clearly state that Satan entered into Judas (Luke 22:3, John 13:27). Jesus also said of the disciples that He had chosen 12, and one of them was a devil (John 6:70). Judas is called the Son of Perdition (destruction), and in Jesus' High Priestly prayer the Lord said he had lost none save Judas (John 18:9). When Jesus Christ washed the feet of the disciples, He said the disciples were not all clean (washed in the blood of the Lamb) and John records that Jesus spoke this of Judas (John 13:10-11). Luke says in Acts 1:25 that Judas, after he killed himself, went to "his own place" (in hell). And finally, throughout the whole of the New Testament, there is not one place where Judas calls Jesus "Lord", only "Master". Recognizing Jesus Christ as Lord is essential for salvation, which Judas never had.

In reality this publication, following the Da Vinci Code, represents yet another blatant attack on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sign that we truly are in the last days spoken of in the Bible.

2nd Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Source ANSA

Quote: ""This is now Iran's front line with Israel," a senior Israeli military commander said. "The Iranians are using Hizbollah to spy on us so that they can collect information for future attacks. And there is very little we can do about it." The Israeli military has reported a significant increase in Hizbollah activity in southern Lebanon since Syria came under intense international pressure to withdraw its forces from the area last year following the assassination of the Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Source Telegraph

NATO is seeking to broaden its horizons yet again, by bringing in nations from the Southern Hemisphere. The US is seeking to bring Australia and New Zealand into a special partnership with the military alliance that now spans most of the Northern Hemisphere. The "global partnership" would bring in nations from around the world regardless of their geographical location, and offer increased co-operation for those countries with stable democratic systems. The allies have sought long to find a common enemy after the fall of the Soviet Empire, to validate the organization's existence. The force is no longer responsible for just the defence of member states, but now has the authority to intervene in regional conflicts across the globe in a "pro-active manner". Another new development for the organization is the deployment of the NATO response force, a rapid reaction force similar to that of the EU's 2010 Headline Goal. 

Quote: "A second milestone is the NATO Response Force. NATO leaders approved the concept in 2002, and it is due to reach full operational capability by Oct. 1, Jones said. "The reason this is important is because it is the first time in the alliance that we've had a roughly 25,000-man force composed of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and special operations working under one, single command," he said. The unit is designed to be NATO's most responsive force, ready to move out within five days of receiving orders. Jones said pieces of the unit have already deployed to help following the October earthquake in Pakistan. NATO can tailor the force to meet the specifics of the situation. 

Source Financial Times, Defense Link

Quote: ""It will be vehemently denied by both countries," said the Pakistani source, whose information has proven reliable for more than a decade, "but future events will confirm that Pakistan has agreed to provide [Saudi Arabia] with the wherewithal for a nuclear deterrent." As predicted, Saudi Arabia — which has faced strong international suspicion for years that it was seeking a nuclear capability through Pakistan — strongly denied the claim.

With pressure on Iran and Israel to relinquish the nuclear deterrent, it's hard to see where the West's policy of non-proliferation will go now. If these claims are true, it's difficult to see how a Western attack on Iran could be justified, or at least have any lasting effect on non-proliferation of nuclear arms. Will the West also attack Saudi? Will they risk economic collapse when their supply of oil runs dry? Will Saudi pass the technology on to its Muslim allies? It's interesting to see the reasons for Saudi desiring to acquire nuclear weapons...

Quote: "The Saudi rulers, who are Sunni Muslims, are believed to have concluded that nothing will deter the Shi'ite Muslims who rule Iran from continuing their quest for a nuclear weapons capability. 

Source Washington Times

Quote: "Responsible for the Palestinian Authority's military organs in the framework of his position, Siyam told AFP that the cooperation with Israel that Fatah implemented is no longer acceptable to the new Hamas government, and that Hamas will no longer arrest terrorists. "This is essentially an open invitation to find safe refuge within the Palestinian Authority," writes Arab affairs-analyst Dalit HaLevy. Siyam said that Hamas would no longer exchange security information with Israel, nor make arrests based on Israeli intelligence. Even Al-Qaeda terrorists are now officially welcome into PA-controlled areas, HaLevy explains.

Not only will Hamas no longer aid Israel in the capture of the terrorists, but the IDF now admit PA security forces are partaking in the attacks themselves. Israel stated just a few weeks ago that Hamas Ministers should not think that because they are members of the Palestinian Authority that they would be immune from any retaliatory strikes by Israeli forces. 

Quote: "The IDF has gone public with the fact that the Palestinian Authority's (PA) security forces are taking an active role in the firing of rockets at Ashkelon and the western Negev. "PA security forces moved into the evacuated territories, including evacuated areas in the northern Gaza Strip, and set up numerous posts in these areas," an IDF statement read. "Nonetheless, projectile rocket launchings from these areas, at times right by security forces' posts, has continued unabated.

More worryingly, France has also been involved in low-level talks Hamas, and India, China and Japan are preparing to publicly recognize the new terror government. The UK has also long been involved in low-level talks with Hamas. The whole situation smacks of a massive betrayal of Israel by the international community. He who sows to the wind shall reap the whirlwind.

Source Arutz 7, Arutz 7

Quote: "Former CIA terrorism analyst Paul R. Pillar said that any U.S. or Israeli airstrike on Iranian territory "would be regarded as an act of war" by Tehran, and that Iran would strike back with its terrorist groups. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. . . . Whether it's overseas at the hands of Hezbollah, in Iraq or possibly Europe, within the regime there would be pressure to take violent action."

And there is no doubt where that violent action would be directed. Hamas recently said that if Iran was attacked at all, they would launch an all-out assault on Israel, and President Ahmadinejad stated he desired to see Israel "wiped of the map". While Iranian attacks in Iraq would be possible, it is not Ahmadinejad's intentions to fight with his Muslim brothers. Remember how he blamed the destruction of the Shi'ite Shrine on Israel. Israel is directly within reach of Iranian missiles and will be the target of choice for any Islamic action.

Source MSNBC

Quote: "The document warns that, once such an infection arrives in Britain, it could take only two weeks to become widespread. Issued in late February, it contains the latest updated projections for the spread of a "novel" form of the common flu virus to which people would have no immunity. One of its central themes is the possibility that the virus could mutate again after an initial widespread infection, producing further pandemic waves. Those projections include a "reasonable worst-case scenario" in which multiple waves of the virus infect a total of 50 per cent of the population. At worst, the disease would be as powerful as the strain that caused the 1918 global pandemic, killing 2.5 per cent of those infected. "This combination would give rise to an estimated 709,300 excess deaths in the UK across the whole period of the pandemic, spread across one or more waves," the Cabinet Office paper concludes.

It seems the spread of this particular disease is vastly different from all the others we have seen before. It can't be contained through the normal procedures by culling animals as we saw with the Foot and Mouth disease outbreak in the UK some years ago. Because it infects wildfowl, it will eventually envelop the whole world through migratory paths. It is also spreading in a form that is currently not infectious to humans, but when it does become infectious it will become one of the most devastating diseases we have seen. 

Source The Scotsman

Quote: ""The world's fastest underwater missile was successfully test fired on the third day of the 'Holy Prophet war games'," state television reported in a caption without giving a source or details. Western nations have been watching developments in Iran's missile capabilities with concern amid a standoff over the Iranian nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at building atomic bombs. Iran says the program is civilian.

Missile technology continues to improve as the security situation in the Middle East deteriorates. Last week Israeli politicians were alarmed when the first ever Katyusha rocket, developed by Hizbullah, was fired at southern Israel. Katyushas have previously only been launched into Galilee from Lebanon. It marks a dangerous precedent, and shows terrorist knowledge and technology is having free course subsequent to the disengagement from Gaza.

Source Reuters

Quote: "Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas said this weekend that he "dreamed of hanging a huge map of the world on the wall at my Gaza home which does not show Israel on it," the China View news service reported. "I hope that our dream to have our independent state on all historic Palestine (including Israel) will become real one day. I'm certain of this because there is no place for the state of Israel on this land," said Zahar.

Most Arab maps don't show Israel on them anyway, just Palestine, perpetuating the belief among Muslim children that Israel is occupying their homeland, when in fact there has never been a Palestinian nation to start with. But the fact that Hamas will not be satisfied, even if Israel agreed to handing back all land taken during the Six Day War, should be a wake up call to the rest of the world that still believe in this "Roadmap to Peace". 

The link below is from my friend Bud. As I said a few days ago, many Muslim countries are now politically and publicly aligning themselves against Israel, and I feel that this can only mean war sooner or later. It's happened three times already, and in each war Israel scored a decisive victory over their enemies. But it seems their demonic hatred of Israel is the one thing that will keep them striving to destroy the nation, even if it means destroying themselves in the process. These words were spoken by the Iranian General, Yahya Rahim Safavi, after Hamas took power last Tuesday.

Quote: ""(If) they confront one another, with the Muslims' support for the revolutionary Palestinians, great victories will definitely be for the Palestinians. "Today the Iranians are hand-in-hand with the Lebanese, Syrians, Iraqis and Palestinians initiating a new trend that will free Palestine and will see the defeat of the Zionists and the US's greater Middle East plan."

Just like the Iranians, Prime Minister Olmert is pressing ahead like a runaway locomotive, in spite of the situation now presenting itself in Gaza and in direct defiance of the God of Jacob. What he hopes to achieve by disengaging from the West Bank is anyone's guess. Some in his party are also having their doubts...

Quote: "Argued prominent Ha'aretz journalist Ari Shavit in a conversation with Kadima's Haim Ramon prior to the election: "I want a division of the land. But I hold that Ehud Olmert's...unilateral division plan is dangerous. It will lead to the establishment of an armed and hostile Hamas state that will undercut the stability of Israel, Jordan and the Middle East...It will inevitably lead to war." 

Joel 3:1-2 
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

Source Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem News Wire

Quote: "The United States and Israel have threatened to launch preemptive assault on Iran's nuclear facilities, accusing Iran of developing nuclear weapons secretly. In response, IRGC Commander-in-Chief Yahya Rahim Safavi said on January 28 that Iran would react with missile counterpunches in case that the country was attacked. "It is worldwide known that Iran has ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000 km...We will never launch initiative attacks on any country, but we will defend our country with all useful means if attacked," Safavi said.

Iran's Shihab 3 missile can already reach targets in Iraq and Israel. Hamas also stated it would launch an all-out assault on Israel if Iran is attacked, and even though Israel recently successfully tested its Arrow II interceptor missile against a rocket of similar specifications to the Shihab, the Israeli government may have its hands full at home if the new PA government sticks to its promises. Nevertheless God is faithful, and as we have seen in the past, He will defend Jerusalem. Israel's Muslim neighbours would do well to remember 1948, 1967 and 1973.

Source China View

The French Interior Ministry has expressed its support for the adoption of a new electronic identification system. The Electronic Passport Forum, an annual conference debating the implementation of global electronic identification, will take place in Paris in June of this year. The Forum will look at the possible introduction of personal identification devices in three key stages. First, electronic Passports, then electronic ID cards, followed by electronic Visas. 

Quote: ""In the globalized scenario we live in today, with border security becoming ever more an issue, we must cross borders ourselves and work together on a common strategy for the creation of a global security infrastructure," comments Philippe Melchior, General Inspector at the French Ministry of Interior. "Communication platforms such as the Electronic Passport Forum are necessary to establish and facilitate the dialogue on the meaning, the challenges and the impact of the paradigm shift represented by the digitalization of travel documents as the core component of a new approach to global security."

The UK government is already implementing stage one of this system - electronic passports, and had stated in its manifesto that the adoption of a national identity card would be brought in this term, and they brought it in by the skin of their teeth. Perhaps those peerages for faithful Labour "donors" paid off in getting that legislation through. So much for Labour wanting a democratically elected House of Lords - in reality all they wanted was to end the Conservative domination in the Upper House. I find it very disconcerting that countries all over the world are "simultaneously" considering the creation of a global security system. I'd be inclined to wonder whether these new initiatives aren't coming from a "higher power" above state governments. Perhaps all those trips to the Bilderberg meetings, which Tony Blair, Former Labour Defence Secretary and NATO chief George Robertson and Ken Clark, among others, refused to disclose the details of in parliament, has something to do with that.

Proverbs 29:12 
If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

Source MoreRFID

Visa is planning to launch a new "contactless" credit card system. The new card is fitted with an RFID chip. The card can be waved in front of a payment device, and will automatically debit the customer's account without the need for pin numbers, or swiping through a reader. Visa has agreed to support a new communication standard for contactless payment devices with Japanese card company JCB International, paving the way for an internationally recognized payment system. Visa and MasterCard are predicting that by the year 2015, a major portion of global consumer payments will move from cash and conventional payment methods to this electronic system, using the internet, mobile phones and RFID devices. 

Quote: "Season ticket holders with Chase-issued Visa credit accounts and Cingular wireless accounts can make contactless payments at concession stands throughout the arena using near-frequency communication-enabled Nokia 3220 cell phones. Pilot testers wave the phone within an inch or two of a radio-frequency reader without the need for a PIN or a signature. In the arena setting, merchants feel they can make more money because their workers can spend more time helping customers and less time handling money.

As I said before, the banks and retailers will be the ones that will really spearhead this system. It will save them billions of pounds by adopting a cashless system, and make them billions more in hidden charges. As Christians we need to remember we also have a responsibility as "merchants" of God, and are called to be faithful in all that we do.

Luke 16:11-13 
If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (money of worldly business), who will commit to your trust the true riches (in heaven)? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Source Information Week