September 7, 2010
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LIVING ON BORROWED TIME - DVD
A morally and spiritually bankrupt society …A worldwide economic meltdown…A planet racked with increasingly intense manmade and natural disasters…Are we the Final Generation?
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:42-44
Reviews: The DVD should be seen by small groups and youth ministries far and wide. The clear quoting and referencing of bible verses is especially strong. The collage of dramatic imagery - both in photography and artwork, grabs the viewers' attention and weaves the conclusion that God is about to continue His plan in a major way. The video is so fresh - the oil explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico is shown as one example of how this old world is wearing out and is in flames
The video next defends the authorship and reliability of the bible before showing eight unmistakable developments in our world that point toward the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The number one sign given to our generation is the return of the Jewish people to form the nation of Israel. Jesus Christ is now standing at the door waiting to take his beloved bride- His true believers. Like the admonition from the Book of Jude, verse 23, I pray that this DVD will be used by the Holy Spirit to pluck dying people out of the fire before the borrowed time runs out. - John Wicklund - Chair- Olive Tree Ministries Board of Directors - Maple Grove, MN
Great Job! We have watched all your DVD’s and we think this is the best one so far. After someone watches this DVD there is no way they could argue that we are not living in the last days! – Don & Cindy K. – Bakersfield, CA
The DVD came and it was great. GOOD JOB ! ! – Julie A. – Whitefish, MT
God bless you, the new DVD is amazing! I know that if there is anyone out there who doesn't know what the bible holds or has no clue about what is really going on after seeing this DVD they will surely be enlightened about what is truly going on in the world today. - The Taylor's - Bakersfield, CA
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Iran’s sensitive nuclear labs, missiles secreted at Bushehr – www.debka.com
Iran has begun secretly moving some of its most sensitive nuclear research facilities and materials from North Tehran and the Arak heavy water plant to huge storage areas around the newly-fueled reactor at Bushehr, along with advanced missiles from the southern province of Khuzestan, debkafile’s military sources disclose.
The fueling of the Russian-built reactor since its inauguration on Aug. 21 has rendered the location safe from outside air or missile attack for fear of environmental radiation. Tehran is exploiting this advantage to conceal the forbidden facets of its nuclear and missile programs.
Already on Aug. 22, Iran’s National Security Council discussed exhaustively how best to take advantage of this immunity and the large storage depots the Russians had built around the reactor for their heavy equipment to hidie their most secret projects, weapons and materials. Their six-hour session produced a detailed plan which was submitted to supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces. He gave it the go-ahead on Aug. 26.
debkafile’s military sources report that the Bushehr nuclear reactor compound is accordingly in the process of transformation into one of the most important military facilities in the country. It is to be dedicated to four special functions:
1. The relocation of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons research center from North Tehran;
2. As hangars for storing advanced missiles, weapons and components the Iranians want to keep under wraps;
3. For research laboratories engaged in the research and development of new weapons systems;
4. Orders went out in the first week of September to start preparing the compound to accommodate Iran’s most advanced ground-to-ground missiles to be moved out of the oil-rich Khuzestan province.
Last week, our Iranian sources report, the work teams with top security clearance who had worked with the Russians on the nuclear reactor’s construction received new orders to start converting the two biggest storage areas to their new functions.
The Russian teams were told remove themselves with their equipment since the space they had occupied for 15 years was being fenced off and declared a closed military zone. Their departure was expedited by the posting of Revolutionary Guards special commandos around the temporary fence to prevent their access.
Israel seeks OK to expand smart-bomb arsenal – www.worldtribune.com
TEL AVIV — Israel has requested U.S. permission to expand the military's arsenal of American-origin precise-guided munitions.
Officials said the Israeli Defense Ministry has requested U.S. permission for the Joint Direct Attack Munition, manufactured by Boeing. They said the ministry was renewing a request approved by then-President George Bush in 2006 and suspended by President Barack Obama three years later.
"We badly need to increase our JDAMs to prepare for any sudden threats," an official said.
Officials said Obama withheld the U.S. approval of JDAMs for more than 14 months. In April 2010, the first shipment of JDAMs arrived in Israel under the current U.S. administration.
"They were only a fraction of the weapons that were approved," the official said. "We need a lot more."
Officials said the JDAM arsenal of the Israel Air Force was significantly reduced by the wars against Hizbullah and Hamas in 2006 and 2009, respectively. They said the Air Force was also seeking more powerful general purpose air bombs from Washington.
In May 2010, Defense Minister Ehud Barak renewed Israel's request for JDAMs in meetings with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other senior administration officials. Barak also raised the JDAM issue with leaders of the House and Senate.
"The administration has not said 'no,' but the fact is that we've been waiting and waiting," the official said.
The Pentagon has explained delays in JDAM and other weapons deliveries were due to the U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Pentagon has pointed to complaints by Saudi Arabia of huge delays.
Barak has also sought to win a U.S. commitment to expand the prepositioning of U.S. Army equipment in Israel. In early 2010, the administration approved the doubling of the prepositioned equipment from $400 million to $800 million. So far, the stockpile has increased to $600 million.
Under the latest Israeli request, the expansion would reach $1.2 billion in prepositioned U.S. military equipment, including JDAMs and other weapons. Under an agreement with Washington, Israel would be allowed to use the U.S. stockpiles during war.
PA official: We won't recognize Israel as a Jewish state – www.haaretz.com
Senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath says recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would harm Israeli Arabs and negate the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian Authority will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, even though the PA acknowledges there is a Jewish majority in Israel, senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath said at a press conference in Ramallah on Wednesday.
According to Shaath, the Palestinian negotiating team turned down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's request to discuss the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state during the upcoming round of peace talks in Sharm el-Sheikh next week.
Shaath said that the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state would harm Israel's Arab citizens and negate the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
Shaath added that any future peace agreement with Israel would be brought before the Palestinian people in a referendum.
"If we're on the verge of a peace agreement, we will need complete unity," he said.
Syrian influence in Lebanon on the rise again - Zeina Karam – www.news.yahoo.com
BEIRUT – Five years ago, Lebanese thronged the streets of Beirut to protest Syrian control over their country in a movement that quickly ended decades of military domination.
Now, many Lebanese are wondering if much has really changed. Syria's soldiers and the posters of its leader are gone but its influence is undeniably back.
Western-backed Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has shuttled to Damascus five times in the last nine months to try to repair relations that frayed after the 2005 Syrian withdrawal. For many in Lebanon, the trips harken back to times of Syrian dominance when Lebanese leaders used to travel frequently to Damascus to get marching orders.
Syria controlled Lebanon for nearly 30 years — something the U.S. opposed — and kept about 35,000 troops on its soil. But everything changed in February 2005 when a massive truck bombing killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a billionaire businessman and father of the current prime minister.
Lebanon's anti-Syrian political bloc, which Saad Hariri eventually came to lead, quickly accused Syria in the bombing. Millions of protesters turned out to demand Syria get out of Lebanon, in what was dubbed the "Cedar Revolution." Within months, Damascus pulled its troops out and Lebanese elections that followed swept anti-Syrian parties to power.
Although officials have not said it openly, analysts say the current rapprochement appears to be an acknowledgment that Hariri is too weak to govern Lebanon without the support of his larger, more powerful neighbor.
Steadily rising Syrian influence in Lebanon culminated this week with a stunning reversal by Hariri. He said it was a mistake to blame Damascus for his father's assassination, adding the accusation had been politically motivated.
"Syria had been placed in the docket for the murder of (Hariri's) father ... and for him to look the world in the eye and say 'I was wrong' — it's an extraordinary about-face," said Joshua Landis, an American professor and Syria expert who runs a blog called Syria Comment.
"We understand that the Cedar Revolution was a mirage," he added. "And so we have returned to the much more cynical but perhaps more realistic world of cutting deals and keeping all the local powers happy."
Since the pullout, Syria has maintained its hand in Lebanon through its ally, the militant group Hezbollah, which has also been steadily gaining power. Hezbollah, also backed by Iran, is the strongest military force in the country and the main representative of its Shiite community, roughly a third of the population of 4 million.
The group has gained so much influence in the past few years it now has virtual veto power over government decisions.
Sectarian street clashes in 2008 pitting supporters of Hezbollah against Sunni rivals in Beirut may have helped convince Hariri that he needed Syria's help.
"He tried everything in his power to find a way of isolating Hezbollah and he couldn't do it," Landis said.
Hariri's allies have not said much publicly on his new stance regarding a possible Syrian role in his father's killing — an unusual silence suggesting they are unwilling to publicly criticize the prime minister's position. A number of his allies in the U.S.-backed coalition known as March 14, named for a day of massive anti-Syrian demonstrations in 2005, declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press over the past two days.
Dory Chamoun, a March 14 politician, said Hariri's comments did not absolve Syria but were meant to emphasize that the tribunal must have the final word.
"If such statements ensure a calm situation in Lebanon, then I'm all for it," he said.
In contrast, Syria's allies in Lebanon came out with rare praise for Hariri.
Qassem Hashem, a legislator with close links to Syria, said his statements "help remove all the stains that prevailed in the past years as a result of unjust political accusations that were based on false witnesses and slander."
In Syria, state-run newspapers ran Hariri's comments on their front pages and political analysts close to the Syrian leadership said Syria considered Hariri's statements to be an apology.
"Such an apology is a courageous move by Hariri and we as Syrians regard his statements as restoring some esteem for Syria after years of slandering it," said analyst Imad Shueibi. "What happened is in fact a positive thing," he added.
Though Hariri has not explained his dramatic shift, analysts say he appears to be putting aside his deeply personal feud with Syria for the good of his own country as his Western-backed bloc struggles to maintain control.
He said as much in an interview with the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat published Monday.
"The relationship between the two countries, for me, is a strategic relationship. ... As prime minister of Lebanon, I look to the interest of the country," he told the newspaper.
For Syria, it is also a remarkable transformation from the days when Damascus was isolated, ostracized and widely blamed for Hariri's assassination and other politically motivated killings in Lebanon.
The United States tried under the Bush years to keep Syria out of Lebanon's politics and largely failed. Now the administration of President Barack Obama has sought to improve ties with Damascus, and Syria's allies and opponents here say that has given it a freer hand to influence Lebanon.
And there have been signs that the Netherlands-based U.N. tribunal set up to try those responsible for Hariri's killing may have shifted attention away from Syria.
The tribunal has not yet named any individuals or countries as suspects. But in July, Hezbollah's leader said he expected the tribunal to indict members of his movement. He dismissed the allegations and said the tribunal has no credibility.
The first U.N. investigator into the Hariri assassination, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the plot's complexity suggested a role by the Syrian intelligence services and its pro-Syria Lebanese counterpart. But the two chief investigators who followed Mehlis have worked quietly and have not named any individuals or countries as suspects.
There will be Tribulation...
"There will be Tribulation" - Will cover the Tribulation from start to finish and include the following topics: the concept, the scope, the length, the starting point, common misconceptions, the Antichrist and the world's acceptance of the Antichrist, will the Jews accept the Antichrist, the events of the Tribulation and the chronology and God's purpose for the Tribulation.
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The End of Negotiations - By Jim Fletcher - www.worldviewweekend.com
After it was announced by Hillary Clinton that Israel and the Palestinians would resume direct negotiations, the Arab threats commenced anew.
Saeb Erekat, from Jericho, head of the PLO's negotiating team, threatened that if Israel did not extend its settlement freeze in Judea/Samaria, the negotiations would end.
We are seeing the broad outlines of this reality now, as the world grows increasingly impatient with Israel, who is accused of being the bully. When Erekat made his thuggish threat - his stock-in-trade - he made it from Ramallah. Not only did Western media outlets like Reuters pick this up, but so did Arab media (such as Al-Sharq al-Awsat). As if he needed to further inflame the Arabs.
Hana Amira, a member of the PLO's executive committee, told Mahmoud Abbas that he was not hopeful about negotiations. What else is new? These things always have a predetermined outcome, anyway, and Amira claimed that the real test of Israel's good intentions will come September 26, which is the end of the settlement freeze that Benjamin Netanyahu announced last year.
Look for all sorts of new and odd pressures to be placed on Israel; we haven't seen anything yet.
For example, Israel has for the longest obviously rejected the Arab "right of return," which means that Palestinians forced out of the Holy Land due to Arab-initiated wars could now come back. Of course, this would turn Israel into an Arab state.
Provocatively, Yasser Qashlaq, allied with the Maryam Institution (part of the notorious flotilla initiatives of late), said that he wanted to found a "committee for the right of return," but he means the right of Jews to return to Arab lands they previously lived in. He then went on to say, to the Lebanese News Agency, that "our homeland is all of Palestine."
This kind of nonsense still has a strategic effect on the wider world, which will now question why Qashlaq's plan isn't sensible. Do you see?
Israel is being set up for the end-times scenarios especially outlined in Zechariah. The world is hurtling toward its much-anticipated "Final Solution" to the Jewish question. How fascinating that the Lord planned for all this to unfold in the Holy Land.
Tellingly, on August 20, the European Union Council website carried an announcement by Secretary Clinton that the Quartet intended for all final status issues between Israel and the Palestinians to be resolved within one year, culminating in the establishment of Palestine.
You see, even the Americans have considered the ancient biblical homeland of the Jews to be "occupied" land since 1967, and the international community intends to right this historical "wrong."
The real end of negotiations is coming soon, and in a cosmic way.
IAEA report: What's driving Iran's latest bout of nuclear obstinacy - By Scott Peterson – www.news.yahoo.com
Istanbul, Turkey – Iran reacted angrily Tuesday to charges from the United Nations nuclear watchdog that it was hindering an investigation of its nuclear programs by blocking experienced inspectors, and limiting access and design information.
In its quarterly report on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated Monday that Iran has “not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the Agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is in peaceful activities.”
The report provides the latest indication of a spreading pattern of restrictions under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to limit the work of nuclear inspectors, according to Iran experts. They say hurdles facing inspectors are raised as America and Western pressure on Iran increases over its nuclear program. The UN Security Council (UNSC) imposed a fourth round of sanctions last June.
“What we are seeing is an accelerating loss of transparency into Iran’s nuclear fuel cycle program,” says Shannon Kile, a nuclear specialist at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden. “I’m not surprised … that the Iranians are becoming even less cooperative than before. Everyone expected after the last [UN vote] that the Iranians would find some way to retaliate.”
The IAEA said it had “full confidence in the professionalism and impartiality” of two inspectors, who Iran recently said would not be allowed to do further work in the country. In an official letter to the IAEA last June, Iran accused the two – whose nationalities were not disclosed – of “false and wrong” reporting of undeclared nuclear experiments.
“We have the right to replace inspectors regarding their background and activities,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday, echoing senior nuclear officials who accused the banned inspectors of filing reports “contrary to reality.”
“We insist that the IAEA accomplish its legal activities regarding member states by disregarding political pressure," said Mr. Mehmanparast.
Who's right? The IAEA report acknowledged that Iran has the right to bar any inspector, but that it “rejects the basis” of the recent ban. The report noted “repeated objection to the designation of experienced inspectors hampers the inspection process.” It further asked Iran to reconsider its January 2007 decision to block 38 inspectors, and four others before that.
“This is typical Iranian hardball tactics, saying ‘Two sides can play tough, what are you going to do about it?’ ” says Shahram Chubin, a Geneva-based Iran expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “I hesitate to say they are reading the letter of the [safeguards] agreement – they are even reading less [and] are certainly not holding to the spirit, which is to have inspectors reassure the agency of what you are doing.”
Iranian officials have warned in recent years that increased scrutiny by the UNSC of its nuclear program, which Tehran says is only to peacefully produce nuclear power, would cause it to reel in cooperation to the minimum required by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The latest IAEA report reflects that modus operandi. It includes multiple references to IAEA requests for information – or design details – that are met with stiff official replies saying that Iran had already complied with its obligations, or that details would arrive “in due time,” or that there was “no legal bases” for certain IAEA requests.
The report notes that in the space of the past eight months, Iran has increased its stockpile of homemade low-enriched uranium (LEU, at a level less than 5 percent) by more than half, to 2,800 kilograms (roughly 6,160 pounds).
Likewise, since February, Iran has created 22 kg (48.4 lbs) of uranium enriched to 20 percent – still some distance from the levels above 90 percent needed for a bomb, but technically not too far off the capability to do so.
Moving fast “The regime is moving on as fast as it can – neither faster nor slower than usual – just as fast as it can. And eventually it will get there,” says Mr. Chubin, author of the 2006 book “Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions.”
“They think they are not going to get a clean bill of health, whatever they do – that’s really the bottom line,” says Chubin.
Chubin says that since Iran views the nuclear inspections as a precursor to regime change, the government has no motivation for complying with demands to stop its work.
The IAEA took issue with Iran’s narrow interpretation of its obligations and noted flatly that Iran had “failed” to comply with resolutions of the UNSC and IAEA Board of Governors that require Iran halt all uranium enrichment until remaining questions of possible weaponization efforts are resolved.
It was “essential that Iran engage with the Agency on these issues … without further delay,” the IAEA stated.
Iranian officials have dismissed previous votes by the UN and the IAEA against it as worthless “scraps of paper,” and say they have not violated the NPT. The IAEA report makes no mention of a fuel-swap deal Iran made under the auspices of Turkey and Brazil last May, which would have seen 1200 kg (2,640 lbs) of Iran’s homemade LEU shipped out of the country to be made into specialty fuel.
Billed by its signatories as a confidence-building measure, the deal was panned by the US and other Western powers for not going far enough. Mehmanparast, the Iranian spokesman, said Tuesday that Tehran was awaiting word from the so-called Vienna group – the US, Russia, France, and the IAEA – to “declare its readiness to talk.”
“The fear is that the Iranians are going down a path that has been trodden before, [in which] the outcomes have not been happy ones,” says Mr. Kile at SIPRI. North Korea, which now has a handful of nuclear warheads, “basically stonewalled the IAEA for 5 ½ years … from the time they signed the NPT.”
Warning flags abound about Iran’s deteriorating relations with the IAEA, says Kile, and include public declarations by politicians – but no official explanation to the IAEA – about large expansions of Iran’s nuclear program and capabilities.
Improved relations with the IAEA are not likely to come from within Iran. Ever since the archconservative government of Mr. Ahmadinejad took power in 2005 – claiming that his reformist predecessors were weak – Iran's nuclear program has grown from one with a few hundred centrifuges to 3,772 spinning, out of the 8,856 installed.
Iran has made few indications that it will slow down, and none that it will stop enriching uranium. So more creative diplomacy, suggests Chubin, may be required to shift the dynamic.
“I don’t think the West has asked: ‘What will we give them?’ I know it sounds like rewarding proliferation and so on, but what can we live with?” in terms of Iranian capabilities, asks Chubin. “[Iran] will get there, unless the West comes up with a package [and decides] what they would accept as a bottom line.”
THE FALL FEASTS: ROSH HASHANAH – www.khouse.org
This week Jewish communities throughout the world will celebrate Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah literally means "head of the year" and commemorates the anniversary of the creation of the world. It is celebrated on the first day of the month of Tishri, which this year starts at sundown on Wednesday, September 8th and ends at nightfall on September 9th.
The commandment to observe Rosh Hashanah is found in Leviticus 23:23-25: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 'Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.'"
It is also mentioned in Numbers 29:1: "And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you."
One of the central features of Rosh Hashanah is the shofar. The shofar is an instrument made from a ram's horn that sounds somewhat like a trumpet. In the Bible, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as Yom Teruah, the day of the sounding of the shofar, otherwise known as the Feast of Trumpets. The shofar is often representative of Abraham's offering Isaac to God as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah (Genesis 22). It was then that God provided Abraham with a ram caught by its horns in a thicket as a substitute for Isaac.
Rosh Hashanah is a time of both celebration and repentance. It is a time of spiritual renewal through prayer and deep personal reflection leading up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on the 10th day of Tishri (Leviticus 23:26-28). Rosh Hashanah is when the Jewish people recognize God as King and Judge over all living things. On Rosh Hashanah we celebrate the creation of the world, when "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good," (Genesis 1:31).
The vast majority of Christians are unfamiliar with most of the traditional Jewish holidays. Yet they hold great spiritual and prophetic significance. In Colossians 2:16-17 Paul says, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come." For more information about Rosh Hashanah or other Jewish holy days and their prophetic significance refer to our briefing The Feasts of Israel.
Rosh Hashanah is a time of forgiveness and new beginnings. Please take some time out of your week for serious introspection. Examine your heart before God and spend time in prayer.
May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.
[This is the first installment of a three part series on the fall feasts of Israel. Next week’s article will cover Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement.]
Rosh HaShanah: Sound of the Shofar Heralds Month of Holidays - by Chana Ya'ar - www.israelnationalnews.com
The sonorous call of the ram's horn – the Shofar – will herald the start of Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year on Wednesday evening, and nearly a month of holidays in the Hebrew month of Tishrei.
As always, IDF soldiers are among the first to heed the call.
Some 17,000 soldiers and their officers this year have attended Selichot services – the prayers asking G-d for forgiveness – conducted by the Military Rabbinate during the Hebrew month of Elul prior to Rosh HaShanah. The services were held in Jerusalem, Tzfat, Tiberias and elsewhere around the country.
Throughout the IDF, preparations are nearly complete for the upcoming holiday, with kitchens busily getting ready with a rich and varied menu for a special New Year's dinner.
The IDF Food Center is gearing up with about 2.8 tons of honey, 28 tons of apples and 4.5 tons of pomegranates. To toast the New Year, the kitchens will be ready with some 7,000 bottles of grape juice, to be followed by a dinner for hungry soldiers that will include 6.5 tons of fish, 15 tons of chicken thighs, seven tons of beef and 22 tons of turkey. For dessert, army chefs are preparing seven tons of honey cake and three tons of dried fruit.
Special preparations are being made to serve those soldiers who are stationed in outposts, submarines, missile boats and Air Force command sites.
'Three-Day Weekend Holiday'
This year the two days of the Rosh HaShanah holiday, Thursday and Friday, are followed by the Sabbath, creating a three-day weekend for Jews around the world.
Special foods are served at the holiday meal, including an apple dipped in honey to signify a sweet year. A selection of dishes is arranged on the table, symbolizing blessings for fertility, victory over our enemies, strength and being at the “head and not the tail” (“rosh” in Hebrew is head), among others.
Due to the Sabbath, the day-long Fast of Gedaliah, which traditionally follows the holiday, is delayed until Sunday. The fast commemorates the end of Jewish rule in the Land of Israel following the destruction of the First Holy Temple approximately 2,500 years ago.
10 Days of Repentance
Rosh HaShanah also kicks off the 10-day period known as the Ten Days of Repentance that ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which this year begins on Friday evening, September 17.
The New Year in Judaism is not a time for parties, but rather is a time of great introspection, and taking inventory of one's relationship with G-d and with one's fellow.
Based on the commandment in Numbers 29:1, 100 shofar blasts are dramatically sounded throughout the prayers, “awakening” us to improve our ways.
The “tashlich” prayer is recited on the second day of the holiday over a body of “living” water in which fish are swimming, in which one asks G-d to “throw away” his sins.
Yom Kippur which this year falls on Friday night, September 17, is the only Jewish fast that is not postponed in deference to the holy Sabbath. The holiest day of the Jewish calendar, the Day of Atonement begins at sunset and ends Saturday at nightfall, a total of around 25 hours.
Long Island Police: The Right to Bear Arms Is Not a Right of Self Defense – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com
The Second Amendment to the US Constitution says, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Apparently, Americans have the right to bear arms due to recent Supreme Court decisions. The authority to use them in defense of your life, liberty or property, however, is yet another matter. Ask George Grier who lives in Uniondale on Long Island, New York. Grier was being threatened at his house initially by five gang members and then a larger group. Grier felt his life was in danger after a gang member threatened: "I'm gonna kill your family and your babies." He fired warning shots and was arrested.
According to CBS News, Grier has no prior criminal record and he legally owned the AK-47 assault rifle he used to warn the intruders. But he was arrested and charged with felony reckless endangerment. According to the authorities, physical force can only be used to deter physical force. Since no one pulled out a gun, Grier acted illegally by firing warning shots into his lawn. In addition, the police use ShotSpotter technology, which pinpoints within 35 feet where a gun has been fired. This immediately attracts the attention of the police. So here is a case where a man appears to be defending himself after a threat of death to his family and the law favors the intruders.
CBS quoted Grier saying, "I went around and went into the house, ran upstairs and told my wife to call the police. I get the gun and I go outside and I come into the doorway and now, by this time, they are in the driveway, back here near the house. I tell them, you know, 'Can you please leave?'" Grier told CBS one of the gang members challenged him. "He starts threatening my family, my life. 'Oh you're dead. I'm gonna kill your family and your babies. You're dead.' So when he says that, 20 others guys come rushing around the corner. And so I fired four warning shots into the grass." Neither the CBS report, nor other stories indicated whether the trespassers were arrested.
Grier's sister Caprice Rines told FOX News that Grier is the grandson of a local minister and is a church deacon who lives with his wife and two young daughters. She said, "This is blowing our minds, that he's being arrested for this. You're talking about a family that are believers, and we believe we have the right to bear arms." Indeed, even Jesus Christ advised his disciples to carry arms, in fact, the most used assault weapon of his time. In Luke 22:36, Jesus said, "But now, he that has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip; and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Constitutional law is derived from the Bible. And the concept of self defense is a Biblical concept. Grier should go free.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
Blessed – Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.
— Ephesians 1:3
The word "blessed" is a wonderful word. Christians use the words "blessed" and "blessing" a lot, and most of the time we mean it. There are times when we use it as an expression to terminate a conversation that is going too long. We will say something to the effect of, "Well, that's great. Wow. Hey, praise the Lord and God bless you." This can be translated, "Please stop talking now." That, of course, is not the proper way to use it.
"Blessed" is a Christian word. It is a spiritual word. It is a biblical word. And it has been hijacked by our culture. People may talk about "blessings" in their lives, but the nonbeliever has no idea what a real blessing is, because only the child of God truly knows what it is to be blessed. It is also worth noting that Jesus both began and concluded His earthly ministry blessing people.
So what does it mean to be blessed? The word "blessed" Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount is from the Greek word makarios, which means to be happy or blissful, but it also means a self-contained happiness. The Greeks called the Island of Cypress "the happy isle." They believed that because of its geographical location, perfect climate, and fertile soil that anyone who lived on Cypress had it made in the shade. And the term they associated with the island was makarios. They believed everything you needed to be happy was right there on Cypress.
We can't all move to Cypress, but the idea is that our happiness is independent of our circumstances. It is self-contained, meaning that regardless of what is happening to us externally, we can be truly happy internally. We can be genuinely blessed as followers of Jesus Christ.
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An Encounter With Deception - By Gene Lawley – www.raptureready.com
Not long ago a couple of well-dressed and attractive ladies came to my door with a message of deception. Yes, it was that.
Their bible was translated to establish their doctrine. As to who Jesus really is, or was, they read from John 1, "In the beginning was the word and the word was.....a.....god." The second lady came forward to point out that the Greek there was the same as it is in Acts 28:6, where the Apostle Paul was called a god by the natives when he did not fall dead after the viper bit him.
I am not into original Greek. Not against it, either, but give me the plain old ABCs for a regular diet. Common sense, though, tells me to consider the context in both passages above. In John this Word they call ....a....god also is named the Creator further in the context. I led them to the passage in I Timothy 3:16, where it declares "God was manifested in the flesh...." I don't recall how their translation read, but likely it was made to read: "...a...god was manifested in the flesh...."
One thing is certain, though. Once on the road of deception, they must forever continue, or try to do so. The claim that Jesus is not God will not hold up in the whole of Scripture, for God's inspired, Spirit-moved, Word holds true.
All this has led me to think of the various deceptions the devil has developed for mankind, and what they are to accomplish in his plan. Above, it is denial that JESUS is really God in the flesh, thus making their Jesus non-essential.
The Source of Deception
Satan pulled that trick when he deceived Eve in the garden, and laid out his scheme for defeating mankind. He told Eve, in words as smooth as butter on a hot biscuit, “Has God indeed said ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” [my italics] (Genesis 3:1b). This subtle inquiry tells Eve that God was holding out on her ”right to know everything” .
But, no, God said they could eat of every tree except the one in the midst of the garden, lest you die, she responds. The devil implies that God lied to her, that He is holding back vital information from her. He says God knows, if she eats of that tree, her eyes will be opened and she will be like God, knowing good from evil. She, now, has been set up, and she realizes that the fruit of the tree was “good for food’ (lust of the flesh), it was “pleasant to the eyes” (lust of the yes), and “it would make one wise” (the pride of life). It is just as John described it in I John 2:16.
The distortion of God’s truth is the very essence of deception, and those three responses by Eve are characteristic of Satan’s warfare with mankind over the span of time since Eve’s encounter with him in the Garden of Eden. He lays the trap of deception, pulls naive people into it with temptations fashioned according to whichever of those three time-worn avenues that best fits the individual at the moment. Over and over again, that is the pattern used for all these centuries past. Test every deviation from the truth of God’s word according to these steps.
Denial of the Deity of Jesus
Just as it turned out in my encounter with those ladies, there is a firm and consistent denial of the deity of Jesus in the underlying doctrines of those religious entities that still want to be named among those who claim to be Christian.
This is the same deception in the Mormon doctrine. There, Jesus is identified as a created being, brother of Lucifer, the fallen angel we know as Satan. Thus, Jesus is non-essential for salvation in their book, and by their plan, salvation is dependent on a person's works, primarily church membership--their church only, of course--which includes baptism by them. Once Jesus is not given His rightful position as the Son of God, He cannot serve them as Savior, so it follows that eternal salvation cannot depend on Jesus. They are to do everything they can do, then the work of Christ can apply. But, with the identity of their Jesus being as it is, the true grace of Christ is never really addressed. The deception must continue, then, in complete free fall.
Likewise, the deity of Jesus is denied in the religion of Islam, wherein the claim is that God’s chosen son of Abraham in faith was Ishmael, thus proclaiming that the whole lineage of Jesus and the Hebrew race has no merit with God. As it is with the Mormon religion, the principles and doctrines of this religion are from the pen of a single person—in the first instance, Joseph Smith, and in the latter, Mohammed. When the deity of Jesus has been denied, there is no savior left to redeem mankind, so he must develop a process of works of righteousness that will be satisfying to the conscience, and the deception continues.
Man-Made Eternal Life
The deception that a person must... MUST...somehow perform SOMETHING to merit salvation permeates almost every denomination in all Christendom. Many born-again believers go to bed at night, hoping they have done enough good stuff to merit salvation, or have not done something that shuts them out. None have been able to say, or point to, exactly which sin is the one that flips them over the edge! It is truly amazing how we think, right in the face of conclusive statements throughout the New Testament that speak otherwise. What does this say for their teachers?
Note this: "For Christ is the END of the law for righteousness to EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES" (Romans 10:4) . Looks like faith is the only key.
And this: "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:21).
If a person cannot be assured of his salvation, he is forever held to that issue and cannot be effective to any length in Christian discipleship. Thus, Satan's deception through the whims of man, or basically, one of the three temptations he uses, the pride of life, does its evil work. Adding anything to the mix of grace and faith and the willing and eager desire of God to save us is part of that deception. Baptism, church membership, taking communion, and for the Catholics, mass participation requirements--all these and others of like kind, are part of the deception. Does the Word not say, “Not of works, lest anyone should boast”? (Ephesians 2:9).
As an outsider, looking in, it seems that Catholics are led to believe that they can leave their spiritual welfare in the hands of their priests, as the ones who can absolve their sins, and they will be just fine at the judgment. Do what we want and have no worry about it. What a way to live! A direct confrontation with the God of righteousness is not necessary. Yes, another very dangerous deception that will, along with the teaching of Purgatory, bring many right into the depths of hell. Hebrews 9:27 says this: "It is given to man once to die, and after this, the judgment."!
There are many Christians whose doctrine of eternal security is based on their ability to remain faithful, and they are effective and fruitful in ministry. Their lives glow with the presence of the Lord in their lives. How this fits in with Hebrews 11:6 is a remarkable example of the mercy and patience of God, no doubt, for that verse states this: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
There are many, many more, however, who struggle with that issue daily and are tossed to and fro by the devil, between pride of self-righteousness and the conviction that they have failed miserably. Thus, they remain immature and unable to be fully useful in the ministry. Are God’s promises that unclear?
Will the Deceptions Never End?
One other deception comes to mind. Many, many folks believe that Jesus is coming again, but have no idea when, or how it will be. The pre-trib, pre-wrath, mid-trib and post-trib issues confuse people, and some even maintain that all those things of Revelation's accounts have already happened in ages past.
If Satan can convince people that they still have a second chance to make things right and be saved, that fits right in with the sin-hungry and sin-sick natures we have inherited from Adam. So, if one is convinced that when these tribulations and desolations start happening, then he can submit to Christ and be saved, then the deception has worked.
When Jesus, and Paul, spoke of the unannounced coming of Christ for His own, like a "thief at night", and finds one with his life not rightly related to Christ by faith, then he will be left to the ravages of the Anti-Christ as he sets out to control the whole world and all who are in it. Salvation may not be possible, but if so, there will be a difficult time of it.
Read again Luke 17:26-30 and give it some serious thought as to when and in what order the stated events occurred.
We must pay attention to the details of God's word, for deception is the number one tool in the hand of the enemy. Find the balance in the Word of God, “rightly dividing the word”, as Paul encouraged Timothy in II Timothy 2:15.
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Maranatha!
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"On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All other ground is sinking sand."
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