September 10, 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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Opposition Group Claims Iran Secretly Developing 'Major' Nuclear Enrichment Site – www.foxnews.com
An Iranian resistance group claimed Thursday that it has compiled evidence showing Iran has been secretly developing a nuclear enrichment site for years outside Tehran, a development one official said proves Iran has a "hidden, secret nuclear weapons program."
The Iran Policy Committee hosted a press conference in Washington, D.C., where research from the Iranian resistance, known as the Mujahedeen Khalq, was unveiled. The findings could not be independently confirmed.
The presenters cited evidence, including satellite imagery, they claimed was compiled after years of extensive research. They said that the Behjatabad-Abyek enrichment site is located near the city of Qazvin, about 75 miles outside of Tehran. The group claimed the regime has spent about $100 million to date on the underground project, which started in early 2005, and that construction is 85 percent complete.
They said it was being built inside mountains to withstand bombings.
Alireza Jafarzadeh, president of Strategic Policy Consulting, said the research shows the Iranian officials have been "lying through their teeth" in claiming to have disclosed all nuclear activity to international inspectors. He said it proves Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program, only more secretly than before -- and that the information has been turned over to the U.S. government.
U.S. official, asked about the claims, said the government has known about the facility "for years" but urged caution.
"While there's still some ambiguity about its ultimate purpose -- not unusual for something that's still taking shape -- there's no reason at this point to think it's nuclear," the official said. "The Iranians put military stuff in tunnels, too. People should be cautious about reaching conclusions here."
But Soona Samsami, an Iranian activist, called the project a "major" enrichment site more important than the facility at Qom confirmed by Western officials last year.
The presenters said there is no evidence yet that centrifuges have been moved into the new building.
The opposition group was the first to reveal the existence of secret Iranian uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz and a heavy water facility in Arak back in 2002 -- the sites were later confirmed by U.S. intelligence. Though officials typically have confirmed revelations made by the resistance group, they have at times had a mixed record and are listed on the State Department's terror group list -- a list representatives argue should not include them. The European Union took them off their terror list last year.
U.S. officials could not confirm the credibility of the nuclear site claims Thursday, but State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the administration would "study" the information provided by the group.
"The MEK has made pronouncements about Iranian facilities in the past -- some accurate, some not," he said.
Iranian officials have defended their right to nuclear development but claim their research is for peaceful purposes only. The regime raised alarm last month when it started up its first nuclear reactor at the Russian-built Bushehr plant.
Iran denies it is building secret nuclear facility – www.news.yahoo.com
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran is denying an opposition groups claim that it is building a secret nuclear facility west of the capital.
The head of Iran's nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, said the country has no undeclared nuclear sites, according to a report Friday by the semiofficial Mehr news agency.
On Thursday, an Iranian opposition group claimed to have discovered a new uranium enrichment plant being built about 75 miles (120 kilometers) west of Tehran and said it was 85 percent complete.
A U.S. government official also disputed the claim by the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, saying the site did not appear to have a nuclear role. The official said the U.S. has known about the facility for years but has no reason to think it is nuclear.
Iran prepares for attack, sets air defense exercise – www.worldtribune.com
NICOSIA — Iran has been preparing for a major air defense exercise meant to test its response to any Israeli or U.S. attack.
Officials said the Iranian military would conduct an air defense exercise in September 2010. They said the exercise by the Air Defense Command would take place around Iran and test new surface-to-air missile systems.
"The exercise would test its most modern and latest systems," Brig. Gen. Ahmed Miqani, a leading air defense commander, said.
Officials said the month-long exercise would be based in Mehr and begin on Sept. 22. They said the command would test indigenous anti-aircraft batteries.
"We build whatever we want inside the country. and the production of long-range air defense system in Iran is already on the agenda of the Defense Ministry," Iranian Defense Minister Ahmed Vahidi said.
Officials said Iran has developed sufficient air defense capability to end its dependency on foreign systems. They cited the Russian-origin S-300 long-range air defense system, a nearly $1 billion contract held up by Moscow for the last 18 months.
"We will produce such systems in the near future," Miqani said.
Officials said Iran has focused on the development of medium- and long-range systems, including the Mesbah. They said some of the prototypes were capable of intercepting and destroying cruise missiles.
"The air defense systems' operational speed and range have been promoted thanks to the attempts made by our country's experts," Gen. Reza Taheri, a senior commander, said. "We are witnessing a leap in technology compared to previous systems."
Nuclear experts watch for Iran’s first N-test after sanctions fail – www.debka.com
A number of competent and well-informed sources have reached the same conclusion, namely, that international sanctions have failed to halt Iran’s push for a nuclear weapon and advanced ballistic missiles and that the Islamic Republic is fast approaching a nuclear arms capability.
debkafile, which has raised this possibility for the past year or more that Iran is making huge strides towards a nuclear bomb capacity, reports is joined now by The Washington Post, the Institute for Science and International Security, Jafarzade Alireza of the Iranian opposition People's Mujahedeen, which has for seven years accurately traced Iran’s nuclear development, and unnamed International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials.
Not a single expert in the field, whether American, international or Israeli, disagrees with the common finding that the sanctions imposed by the UN, Europe and the US, have not slowed down Iran’s race for a nuclear weapon. No covert agency, moreover, appears ready to state where this program stands today, how far Iran is from the capacity to build a nuclear device or whether it has in fact crossed that threshold.
Under the caption: If Iran makes a final nuclear push, can it be detected? The Washington Post of Sept. 10 quoted the latest IAEA report as showing that there has essentially been no change in Iran's steady accumulation of low-enriched uranium. Since last November, its stockpile has grown from 1,800 kilograms to 2,800 kilograms -- an increase of more than 50 percent. Tehran now has enough low-enriched uranium to produce two nuclear weapons with further enrichment. Already, it has enriched 22 kilograms to the level of 20 percent, which is considerably closer to the 60 percent threshold for weapon.
An analysis of the report by the Institute for Science and International Security concluded that Iran may be seeking "to increase its capability to divert nuclear material in secret and produce weapon-grade uranium in a plant unknown to the inspectors or Western intelligence agencies." If that is the case, economic sanctions are unlikely to prevent it.
The WP editorial appeared in the wake of an article by the nuclear expert David Kay captioned: The Bearer of Bad News on Iran. He says: “…the Obama administration needs to begin to seriously contemplate what it will do on the Day After. The Day After what? The Day After Iran announces it has deployed missiles capable of carrying “the world’s most destructive weapons.” The Day After Iran conducts a nuclear weapons test.
Then, Thursday, Sept. 9, Alireza Jafarzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian opposition People's Mujahedeen, claimed evidence that Tehran is building a uranium enrichment plant at Abyek 75 miles west of the capital. While a US official said it appears to have no nuclear role, Jafarzadeh told reporters "This is certainly part of their secret nuclear weapons program." He said the site is controlled, run and operated" by Iran's defense ministry, and that Iranian authorities have so far spent 100 million dollars on the site and completed about 85 percent of the construction
He said "people within the Iranian regime" provided details about the site, which he said was begun in 2005 and is now 85 percent complete.
debkafile's file’s sources find three reasons to have sparked this flurry of worrisome findings about Iran’s nuclear activities:
1. To prepare the public for another round, the fifth, of harsh sanctions which Tehran has already warned would be treated as justifying military retaliation in the Persian Gulf and Middle East. Tehran, aware of the unforgiving opinion building up in the West, made the gesture Friday, Sept. 10, of announcing the release of Sarah Shroud, one of the three American hikers seized last year in the Iraqi-Iranian border area and charged as spies.
2. To prepare the climate in the US for a possible Iranian nuclear test within months. Administration officials wrongly estimate that it would still take Iran a year to produce a weapon, a view Israel subscribes to. They also assert that such an attempt would likely be detected by UN inspectors. However, in June, Iran barred access to two experienced inspectors, part of a systematic effort to blind the IAEA to its activities.
3. The Jewish New Year was deemed a good time for the bad news about Iran to emerge because its alarming content for Israel in particular would reach American Jews and Israel more slowly and with reduced impact. The Netanyahu government could then continue to keep the Israeli public deluded about the closeness of the Iranian nuclear threat for a while longer.
PM says 'peace not at any price' in New Year greeting - Attila Somfalvi – www.ynetnews.com
Netanyahu sends Rosh Hashana greetings to Israeli public via YouTube channel, wishes for happy holiday while giving hints to Palestinians. 'We need to achieve peace, but we're not naďve,' he says
For the first time ever, the prime minister sent a Rosh Hashana greeting to all citizens of Israel over the internet. On his YouTube channel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a video on Tuesday wishing Israel a happy holiday. In his holiday greeting, he said, "There is no certainty in the success of the peace talks."
"In honor of the New Year, I would like to wish all of Israel a happy and successful year, to you and your families," Netanyahu started his address. "I hope and believe that this will be a year of new beginnings. This year we survived a global financial crisis better than most of the countries in the world and unemployment dropped to its lowest rate in years.
"We advanced important reforms in order to lower the apartment prices, to pave a new road and high-speed rail system to the Galilee and the Negev. Go to the Galilee, go to the Negev, and see the revolution in full force.
"However, I wish to clarify that the global financial crisis is still not behind us. Therefore, we will continue to take action with a combination of determination, caution, and responsibility, also on additional paths in order to promote our economy in the upcoming year as well."
'Diaspora Jews believe in Israel's future'
The prime minister continued, "This year, after many efforts, we jumpstarted the direct talks with the Palestinians. This is an important step in the attempt to advance a peace agreement between us and them. I say this is an attempt because there is no certainty for success. Indeed, there are a lot of obstacles. There is a lot of skepticism and a lot of reasons for skepticism. But we need to try and achieve peace."
"We are trying in good faith, but not in naiveté. We are insisting that any agreement between us and the Palestinians be based on the two principles of security and recognition of the State of Israel as the country of the Jewish people."
"Security," continued Netanyahu, "because no peace will last without strong organs of real security arrangements on the ground. On the ground and not on paper, not some vague international commitment, but real Israeli security arrangements on the ground."
Netanyahu noted that Israel being asked to recognize a Palestinian state, "and it is natural and fitting that we ask from the other side to recognize the Jewish state and the state of the people of Israel. The deep understanding and the belief in our right to live here in this country, our homeland, the country of our forefathers, this understanding is critical for dealing with the challenges of the coming year, of the challenges of the next decade and the future in general."
The prime minister mentioned the increased number of immigrants to Israel. According to him, this is testimony to the fact that "the Jews of the Diaspora believe in the State of Israel, believe in its future, and want to raise their children here."
Gaza militants fire on Israel after overnight raids – www.news.yahoo.com
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Militants in Gaza fired a projectile into southern Israel on Friday just hours after Israeli warplanes carried out a series of raids across the coastal strip, a military spokeswoman told AFP.
She said it was not clear whether it was a mortar round or a rocket which slammed into the Shaar HaNegev area close to Gaza's northeastern border with Israel. It caused no injuries or damage.
At least six rockets or mortar rounds have been fired across the border since Monday in what has become a near daily occurrence.
Overnight, two Gazans in the Hamas security forces were wounded in Gaza City when Israel launched a series of retaliatory air strikes after an earlier rocket attack, Palestinian witnesses said.
Israel also mounted air strikes in the north and in the southern border city of Rafah, targeting a smuggling tunnel. No one was injured, witnesses said.
The raids came after a rocket and mortar round were fired into southern Israel on Thursday, causing neither damage nor casualties.
The latest violence comes as Israel marks the second and last day of Jewish New Year and as Muslims in the West Bank and Gaza Strip begin celebrating the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Hamas, the radical Islamist movement that rules Gaza, has reined in rocket attacks by militants since the end of Israel's devastating 22-day offensive against the coastal territory in January 2009.
However since the start of 2010, militants have fired more than 100 rockets or mortar rounds into southern Israel, the army said.
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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U.N. Looks To Take Charge Of World - By George Russell – www.foxnews.com
After a year of humiliating setbacks, United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and about 60 of his top lieutenants — the top brass of the entire U.N. system — spent their Labor Day weekend at a remote Austrian Alpine retreat, discussing ways to put their sprawling organization in charge of the world’s agenda.
Details concerning the two-day, closed-door sessions in the comfortable village of Alpbach were closely guarded. Nonetheless, position papers for the meeting obtained by Fox News indicate that the topics included:
-- how to restore “climate change” as a top global priority after the fiasco of last year’s Copenhagen summit;
-- how to continue to try to make global redistribution of wealth the real basis of that climate agenda, and widen the discussion further to encompass the idea of “global public goods”;
-- how to keep growing U.N. peacekeeping efforts into missions involved in the police, courts, legal systems and other aspects of strife-torn countries;
-- how to capitalize on the global tide of migrants from poor nations to rich ones, to encompass a new “international migration governance framework”;
-- how to make “clever” use of new technologies to deepen direct ties with what the U.N. calls “civil society,” meaning novel ways to bypass its member nation states and deal directly with constituencies that support U.N. agendas.
As one underlying theme of the sessions, the top U.N. bosses seemed to be grappling often with how to cope with the pesky issue of national sovereignty, which — according to the position papers, anyway — continued to thwart many of their most ambitious schemes, especially when it comes to many different kinds of “global governance.”
Not coincidentally, the conclave of bureaucrats also saw in “global governance” a greater role for themselves.
As a position paper intended for their first group session put it, in the customary glutinous prose of the organization’s internal documents: “the U.N. should be able to take the lead in setting the global agenda, engage effectively with other multinational and regional organizations as well as civil society and non-state stakeholders, and transform itself into a tool to help implement the globally agreed objectives.”
And for that to happen, the paper continues, “it will be necessary to deeply reflect on the substance of sovereignty, and accept that changes in our perceptions are a good indication of the direction we are going.”
Hammering away at perceptions that nation-states cannot adequately meet global challenges, but the U.N. can, is a major theme of the position papers, which were assembled by a variety of U.N. think tanks, task forces and institutions, including the United Nations Development Program, and the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
CLICK HERE FOR THE POSITION PAPERS
National sovereignty — meaning the refusal of major powers like India, China and the United States to go along with sweeping global agendas — was specifically indicted for the failure of the much ballyhooed Copenhagen summit on climate change. “National sovereignty remains supreme,” as one position paper noted.
Nonetheless, the U.N. leaders intend to keep trying to change that, especially when it comes to the climate agenda. “The next 40 years will prove pivotal,” one paper argues, while laying out the basis of a renewed U.N. climate campaign, the “50-50-50 Challenge.”
That refers to a projection that by 2050, the world’s population will reach an estimated 9 billion (50 percent higher than today), at the same time that the U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — producer of the scandal-tainted 2007 Global Assessment of global warming — is calling for a 50 percent reduction in world green house gas emissions.
According to the paper prepared by Secretary General Ban’s own climate change team, however, the newly rebranded challenge still depends on the same economic remedy proposed for Copenhagen: a drastic redistribution of global wealth, “nothing less than a fundamental transformation of the global economy.”
Rolling just about every U.N. mantra into one, the paper declares that “nothing is more crucial to preventing run-away climate change than lifting billions out of poverty, protecting our planet and fostering long-term peace and prosperity for all.”
And to do that, the paper suggests, equally dramatic shifts in political power may be needed. “Is the global governance structure, still dominated by national sovereignty, capable of responding with the coherence and speed needed?” it asks. “Or do we need to push the ‘reset’ button and rethink global governance to meet the 50-50-50 Challenge?”
Yet even as the U.N. bosses talk of delivering billions from poverty, their main aim, the papers argue should be much, much larger: to limit and redirect the aspirations for a better life of rising middle classes around the world.
As the opening session paper puts it: “The real challenge comes from the exponential growth of the global consumerist society driven by ever higher aspirations of the upper and middle layers in rich countries as well as the expanding demand of emerging middle-class in developing countries. Our true ambition should be therefore creating incentives for the profound transformation of attitudes and consumption styles.”
The answer to that “real challenge,” as well as many others addressed in the position papers, is that the U.N. and its proliferating array of funds, programs, institutes, and initiatives, should push themselves forward as the great synthesizer of solutions to global problems: “connecting the dots,” as the climate change paper puts it, across a “range of issues,” including "climate, water, food, energy, and health.”
“At the practical level, through the U.N. system we have all kinds of expertise and capacities, even if not adequate resources, to actually do something,” the paper notes.
How to get more of those resources is another major theme of many of the papers. As one of the documents focusing on food security notes, “development assistance funding is less readily available and the donors are ever more focused on demonstrable results.” One suggestion: tap global philanthropies, as well as link together “a broad range of public sector, business and civil society partners.”
The U.N. bosses also need to make sure that the institution sits at top tables where the world’s financial decisions are made. It is “urgent to secure U.N. participation” at regular meetings of the G-20 finance ministers and their deputies,” according to one of the papers, a group that the U.N. Secretariat, based in New York City and Geneva, does not interact with very much.
That observation ties into another Alpbach theme: pushing global financial regulation even further.
“The much paraded reform of financial governance institutions has not gone far enough,” the position paper for the U.N. leadership’s keynote session asserts, and the voting power of emerging players and developing world, in general, which demand a greater say on these matters, remains inadequate.”
The answer? “An enhanced political will is clearly needed to avoid return to status quo, to push forward regulatory mechanisms, and improve financial governance.”
Along with planting a new flag in the field of international financial regulation, the U.N. chiefs also contemplated the further growth of the U.N. as the world’s policeman. As another paper notes, U.N. peacekeeping operations “will soon have almost 17,000 United Nations police officers serving on four continents” — little more than two years after establishing what one papers calls the institutions “Standing Police Capacity.”
The peacekeepers are now also building a “standing justice and corrections element” to go with the semi-permanent police force — a permanent strike force to establish courts and prisons in nations where peacekeepers are stationed.
In essence, as another paper observes, the U.N. peacekeeping effort is transforming into a new kind of supervisory organism in which not only conflicts but also national institutions and cultures must be regulated for longer and longer periods of time.
“Even where a semblance of stability is achieved,” the paper by Ban’s peace-building support office argues, the achievement of peace may involve more than “adopting a constitution or holding elections.” It adds that “more fundamental change may be needed in a country’s institutions and political culture as well as in public perceptions and attitudes.”
(At the same time, as another paper makes clear, “some” U.N. peacekeepers come from countries “where the armed forces and police are seriously implicated in human rights violations,” including sexual crimes. While such actions “cannot be tolerated,” the paper makes clear the U.N. has no clear answers on how to police its own behavior.)
The answer to many if not most of the problems outlined in the U.N. papers is, as the opening session paper puts it: “multilateralism is instrumental to the success of our response to global challenges.”
But not any old multilateralism. The other major theme of the position papers is that the world organization, a haphazard array of at least 37 major funds, programs, and institutions, and a proliferating number of regulatory and other authorities, should be knitting itself into a much more close-knit global system, with greater control over its own finances, along with a stronger role in setting the international agenda.
How successful Ban and his chieftains will be at pushing that agenda may soon be seen, as the secretary general hosts the lead-off event of the fall diplomatic season, a two-day summit starting September 20 on the so-called Millennium Development Goals.
That refers to the U.N.-sponsored compact among nations to halve the number of the world’s poorest people, achieve global primary schooling, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and enhance the standing of women, among other goals, by 2015.
The position papers from Ban’s conclave make clear that Ban and his team are deeply concerned that momentum toward the MDGs, as they are known, is faltering, although one paper notes that “with the right policies, adequate investment and reliable international support, the MDGs remain achievable.”
In that sense, the secretive session in Alpbach was not only a planning session, but also the equivalent of a half-time locker room huddle.
What is at stake, the papers make clear, is not only the alleged betterment of the world, but the U.N.’s soaring ambitions for itself — no matter what roadblocks national sovereignty may throw in its way.
Is the Antichrist a Jew, Gentile, or Supernatural? - By Bill Salus – www.prophecydepot.blogspot.com
When determining the true content of the false covenant of Daniel 9:27 it proves helpful to determine the origin of the Antichrist. Will he be a Jew, Gentile, or a Supernatural being like an Alien or Nephilim as some have recently proposed?
Up until the time of Abraham there were no Jews, all of mankind was Gentile. Abraham, the ancient Hebrew patriarch, fathered the Jewish race through his son Isaac, grandson Jacob, and great grandsons Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
According to Deuteronomy 7:6 the Lord formed this unique ethnicity from Abraham’s loins for His exclusive divine purposes. One of which, we are informed in Ezekiel 38:8 and 39:7, is to uphold His holy name through; for the watchful eyes of the international community in the latter years. Many eschatologists believe the prophecies of Ezekiel 38 & 39 are about to find final fulfillment, making current events involving Israel and the Jewish people extremely important.
If the Antichrist is Jewish, the content of the false covenant might favor Israeli covenantal claims made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These claims include Promised Land extending into Gaza, the West Bank, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia according to Genesis 15:18.
Additionally, the pages of the false covenant might grant Israel the ability to build their third Jewish Temple upon its former site in the world’s most controversial holy city of Jerusalem. Presently, the preponderance of Muslims vehemently opposes this prospect, claiming Jerusalem is Islam’s third holiest city behind Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. However, blueprints, Levite priests, and ceremonial religious instruments for the construction and operation of this prophesied coming Temple are already being assembled by several religious Jewish organizations.
Is the Antichrist a Jew?
One of the best research works addressing the subject of the origin of the Antichrist was performed by Dr. David Reagan of Lamb and Lion Ministries. He questioned eleven end time’s experts in a series of interviews, which aired on his Christ in Prophecy TV show in May of 2009, regarding this topic. The manuscript for the segment addressing whether or not the Antichrist is a Jew or Gentile can be obtained here:
In a nutshell the Reagan study concluded with seven no’s to the Antichrist being a Jew, one yes, one could be, one maybe, and one he will be a Jewish - Muslim. In Reagan’s closing summary, he concurred with the seven who suggested the Antichrist will be a Gentile rather than a Jew. Thus, there were eight out of twelve experts agreed upon the Gentile descent of the coming apocalyptic world leader called the Antichrist.
Had I been among those interviewed, I would have concurred with the eight favoring the Gentile Antichrist. Additionally I would have added an argument to theirs given below:
The Gentile Antichrist Arguments
1. Antichrist will be a Gentile of Roman origin. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum brought this argument forward by quoting Daniel 9:26-27. Similarly, I wrote an article called, “Does Daniel Debunk the Assyrian Antichrist,” that agrees with his conclusion.
2. Antichrist will command worldwide attention. Don McGee states, “For a Jew to be in that position (commanding worldwide attention) would be a very, very long shot.” Don also suggests the Antichrist will not be associated with Judaism, Islam, or any other religion apart from the one he “institutes for himself.” This is determined by Daniel 11:37.
3. A Jew won’t make treaties with Jews. Ed Hindson points this out and goes on to remind us that the Antichrist will be an unbeliever according to Daniel 11:37.
4. Antichrist will lead the final great Gentile world empire. Dr. Mark Hitchcock firmly points this out. He declares this would be “inconsistent for a Jew.” Hitchcock argues this keeps in stride with “the other empires in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7, the leaders of those were all Gentiles.”
5. The Antichrist prototype was Antiochus Epiphanes, a Gentile. Dr. Mark Hitchcock aptly points this commonly taught fact out. Epiphanes was the ruler of the Greek - Seleucid Empire that oppressed the Jews between 171-164 BC.
6. The Antichrist rises out of the Gentile world. Several of the experts interviewed, including Hitchcock, brought forward the Revelation 13:1 argument, which identifies the Antichrist as the “Beast” rising out of the “Sea.” The scholarly consensus is the Sea in Revelation 13:1 represents the Gentile world.
7. The Jews will never accept the Antichrist as their Messiah. Dr. Reagan makes this statement in his closing arguments. He qualifies this by stating “In fact we are specifically told that when the Antichrist reveals himself in the middle of the Tribulation and claims to be god the Jews will be horrified and will totally reject him causing him to turn on them in fury and launch an attempt to annihilate them.” He goes on to distinguish between the possibility that the Antichrist may become the ‘Political Savior” of the Jews, but never their “Spiritual Savior.”
8. The Jews will never be offered the “Mark of the Beast.” This point was not brought up in the Reagan interviews; however, Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum makes this important point elsewhere in his teachings available though Ariel Ministries. This fact also identifies the Antichrist as a Gentile. One can safely conclude that if the Antichrist was a Jew, the Jews would be among the recipients of the benefits of his cashless Mark of the Beast program alluded to in Revelation 13:14-18.
The Antichrist Seeks Jewish Genocide Making Him a Gentile
Although the arguments above strongly suggest the Antichrist will be a Gentile, the one not listed that I believe most compelling is that he orchestrates the final genocidal campaign against the Jewish Race. Zechariah 13:8 points out the Antichrist will be responsible for the deaths of two-thirds of the Jewish population in the land of Israel during the Tribulation period. Many scholars suggest that totals several million more than were killed by Hitler during the Holocaust.
The repeated Gentile genocidal attempts targeted at the Jews remain atop the list of humanities worst historical crimes against the will of God. The Egyptians, Persians, Romans, and Germans all attempted to destroy the Jewish Race. Deuteronomy 32:10 and Zechariah 2:8 identify the Jews as the “apple of God’s eye.” The destruction of the Jews is the scheming of Satan and the Antichrist is his seed according to Genesis 3:15 Revelation 13:4.
The plan of Satan is to prove God is a promise breaker, a liar, with a flawed covenant making character. If Satan can accomplish this he justifies his and his fallen angelic cohorts' rebellious campaign against God and His perfect divine will. Satan has clearly evidenced throughout human history that his modus operandi is to discredit God by killing Abraham’s Jewish descendants.
In Genesis 13:15, 22:17 and elsewhere God promised Abraham descendants forever. If there are no more Jews, then God is in breach of His covenant with Abraham. Furthermore, the promise of eternal security for all believers, justified by the similar faith of Abraham can be questioned. (Romans 4 and Galatians 3)
Therefore the Antichrist will be a Gentile; otherwise Satan must also execute him alongside his Jewish brethren. I’ve often wondered why Satan, supposedly so cunning, decided to even have a “seed.” Had he not, he could have discredited God right out the Genesis 3:15 garden gate. The Lord prophesied the coming of Satan’s seed and the bruising of Messiah’s heel by that seed. Should no satanic seed come, then the God of the Bible would be an obvious liar for prophesying such a future fictitious event. To the contrary, the satanic seed is coming and may be birthed already.
The Jewish Antichrist Arguments
The arguments for the Antichrist being a Jew can be found in the Reagan project referenced above. There are a few who believe that John 5:43 and Daniel 11:37 point to the Antichrist being a Jew. However, the Reagan study evidences that the arguments for a Gentile Antichrist far outweigh those of a Jewish Antichrist.
The Supernatural Alien (Nephilim) Antichrist Argument
Interestingly, there are some scholars suggesting since the Antichrist is the “seed of Satan,” who according to 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 rises to power supernaturally, that he might not be human at all. They, suggest Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:26 comparing the end time’s to the “days of Noah,” should be taken literally.
Genesis 6:4 informs us that there were unnatural offspring called the Nephilim, inhabiting the earth during the days of Noah. If this relatively new argument has merit it adds an interesting twist to what the true content of the false covenant may be.
The Eternal Flame of Muslim Outrage — Michelle Malkin - www.nationalreview.com
If they’re not outraged by Ground Zero mosque protesters, it will be something else.
Shhhhhhh, we’re told. Don’t protest the Ground Zero mosque. Don’t burn a Koran. It’ll imperil the troops. It’ll inflame tensions. The “Muslim world” will “explode” if it does not get its way, warns sharia-peddling imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. Pardon my national-security-threatening impudence, but when is the “Muslim world” not ready to “explode”?
At the risk of provoking the ever-volatile Religion of Perpetual Outrage, let us count the little-noticed and forgotten ways.
Just a few months ago in Kashmir, faithful Muslims rioted over what they thought was a mosque depicted on underwear sold by street vendors. The mob shut down businesses and clashed with police over the blasphemous skivvies. But it turned out there was no need for Allah’s avengers to get their holy knickers in a bunch. The alleged mosque was actually a building resembling London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral. A Kashmiri law-enforcement official later concluded the protests were “premeditated and organized to vitiate the atmosphere.”
Indeed, art and graphics have an uncanny way of vitiating the Muslim world’s atmosphere. In 1994, Muslims threatened German supermodel Claudia Schiffer with death after she wore a Karl Lagerfeld–designed dress printed with a saying from the Koran. In 1997, outraged Muslims forced Nike to recall 800,000 shoes because they claimed the company’s “Air” logo looked like the Arabic script for “Allah.” In 1998, another conflagration spread over Unilever’s ice-cream logo — which Muslims claimed looked like “Allah” if read upside-down and backwards (can’t recall what they said it resembled if you viewed it with 3D glasses).
Even more explosively, in 2002, an al-Qaeda-linked jihadist cell plotted to blow up Bologna, Italy’s Church of San Petronio because it displayed a 15th-century fresco depicting Mohammed being tormented in the ninth circle of Hell. For years, Muslims had demanded that the art come down. Counterterrorism officials in Europe caught the would-be bombers on tape scouting out the church and exclaiming, “May Allah bring it all down. It will all come down.”
That same year, Nigerian Muslims stabbed, bludgeoned, or burned to death 200 people in protest of the Miss World beauty pageant — which they considered an affront to Allah. Contest organizers fled out of fear of inflaming further destruction. When Nigerian journalist Isioma Daniel joked that Mohammed would have approved of the pageant and that “in all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from among them,” her newspaper rushed to print three retractions and apologies in a row. It didn’t stop Muslim vigilantes from torching the newspaper’s offices. A fatwa was issued on Daniel’s life by a Nigerian official in the sharia-ruled state of Zamfara, who declared that “the blood of Isioma Daniel can be shed. It is abiding on all Muslims wherever they are to consider the killing of the writer as a religious duty.” Daniel fled to Norway.
In 2005, British Muslims got all hot and bothered over a Burger King ice-cream-cone container whose swirly-texted label resembled, you guessed it, the Arabic script for “Allah.” The restaurant chain yanked the product in a panic and prostrated itself before the Muslim world. But the fast-food dessert had already become a handy radical-Islamic recruiting tool. Rashad Akhtar, a young British Muslim, told Harper’s Magazine how the ice-cream caper had inspired him: “Even though it means nothing to some people and may mean nothing to some Muslims in this country, this is my jihad. I’m not going to rest until I find the person who is responsible. I’m going to bring this country down.”
In 2007, Muslims combusted again in Sudan after an infidel elementary-school teacher innocently named a classroom teddy bear “Mohammed.” Protesters chanted, “Kill her, kill her by firing squad!” and “No tolerance — execution!” She was arrested and jailed, and faced 40 lashes for blasphemy before being freed after eight days. Not wanting to cause further inflammation, the teacher rushed to apologize: “I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone, and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”
And who could forget the global Danish-cartoon riots of 2006 (instigated by imams who toured Egypt stoking hysteria with faked anti-Islam comic strips)? From Afghanistan to Egypt to Lebanon to Libya, Pakistan, Turkey, and in between, hundreds died under the pretext of protecting Mohammed from Western slight, and brave journalists who stood up to the madness were threatened with beheading. It wasn’t really about the cartoons at all, of course. Little remembered is the fact that Muslim bullies were attempting to pressure Denmark over the International Atomic Energy Agency’s decision to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for continuing with its nuclear-research program. The chairmanship of the council was passing to Denmark at the time. Yes, it was just another in a long line of manufactured Muslim explosions that were, to borrow a useful phrase, “premeditated and organized to vitiate the atmosphere.”
When everything from sneakers to stuffed animals to comics to frescos to beauty queens to fast-food packaging to undies serves as dry tinder for Allah’s avengers, it’s a grand farce to feign concern about the recruitment effect of a few burnt Korans in the hands of a two-bit attention-seeker in Florida. The eternal flame of Muslim outrage was lit a long, long time ago.
From the Prophetic abyss, the people of God must arise – Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com
This is a time of great crisis. We have never in the history of the United States been in such a one like this at a time such as this. Just to illustrate--CNSNews.com has made the startling documentation that in the first 19 months of this Administration, the federal debt held by the public increased to $8.83 trillion, some $2.5 trillion more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public amassed by all US presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan. Yet the man who occupies the Oval Office was in Cleveland, Ohio Wednesday campaigning against Republicans, who he says are responsible for this morass. Can anyone say Nero?
There has to be a moment of reality here. It would appear that our worst enemy could not have done a better job destroying the economic free market fiber of this country than the current US president. It’s as if he set out on purpose to do it. And in a way, the answer is obvious. His campaign promises were for "change" and to "remake America" both terms of socialism and economic collectivism in a traditional statist vocabulary. But the American people were certainly thinking another type of change and now the reality of change is setting in. At this level of debt, America's economy and culture is headed toward the biggest downturn ever experienced by this generation.
There is no way, aside from a miraculous turnaround in political policy and the abolition of quickly institutionalized socialist programs that this nation will know any form of future prosperity. Socialism does not give a hand up, but rather pulls people down. Day in and day out, I receive emails from people wanting to know what to do. We must have Revivalution--revival that spawns revolution--true just action compelled by the commandments of God. It is not burning Korans. It is not self indulgent personal prophecy. Its not waiting for the rapture. It is not doctrines that rearrange the word of God into man's desires of it. It is true adherence to the word of God, God's commandments in action, changing a heart at a time.
What can you do? What must you do? First, you must know the word of God. If you don't know it, read it. If your pastor is not preaching it, demand that he does or find another church. Then you must have an Ephesians 6:18-20 moment: "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." This nation is on the precipice of drastic failure. Only God by acting through his people can save it. Will you do as God commands?
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
Reality Check – Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org
"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
— Luke 18:14
C. S. Lewis said, "The real test of being in the presence of God is that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object." We don't often hear statements like that coming from pulpits today. We hear how we can all be champions. We hear how we can all be successful. But it is unpopular to speak of being spiritually destitute, to teach that we are to be poor in spirit. Yet the Bible says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
Jesus told a story about a Pharisee and a sinner who went into the temple to pray. The Pharisee, a religious man, prayed, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men . . ." (Luke 18:11). The sinner, on the other hand, wouldn't even lift up his eyes. He beat on his chest and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (verse 13), or more literally, "the sinner." Apparently he did not think of himself as one sinner among many; he acted as though he were the only one. He was so overwhelmed with the sense of his sin, his moral bankruptcy, and his spiritual destitution that, as far as he was concerned, everyone else's sin paled in comparison.
Jesus said of him, "This man went down to his house justified rather than the other . . ." (verse 14). Why? Because he saw himself as he really was. Yet we tend do the very opposite. We attempt to justify our sin because we can always find others who are far worse.
If you want to be happy, then you must see yourself as you are, be sorry for it, and want change in your life. "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
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A Backup Plan - Ron Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” Romans 10:9-10 .
It was 1969, I was soon to turn 18 and begin my senior year in high school when one day out of the blue my mother asked me a question which, quite frankly, left me in shock. We were sitting out on the patio of our home in Chico, California, when my mom asked me, “Ronnie, do you believe in Jesus Christ?” This was a first time experience for me and I was completely unprepared. But being the smart-alecky kid I was, I firmly and resolutely replied “No”. I was in a state of rebellion. Rebellion to God? Yes. But I was also rebelling against my mother. In truth, I had rarely given Jesus Christ a second thought during those 18 years, other than to use His name as a swear word.
My mother kept a little white leather covered Bible on a nightstand next to her bed. I saw it plenty of times but I can’t remember ever picking it up and reading it. Saying yes to Jesus Christ is an individual choice we all must make and my mother knew that. She wept the day I gave her my response and through her tears she managed to say she hoped we would all be together in Heaven some day. I wrote this off as a woman’s hysterics. After all, at 18 I already had a good grasp on all knowledge, right?
Fast forward now 18 years. I’m sitting next to my mom in the hospital’s ICU and holding her hand, I had been with my mother since she had entered that hospital a few days earlier and I knew she was in severe pain. Yet in the last few minutes of her life, as we spoke my mom’s face began to glow. She smiled at me but didn’t say a word but I could tell that the horrible pain she had been enduring for the past few days was gone. Then, she just peacefully slipped away. My mother believed Jesus to be the only way to the Father. She knew the truth.
I turned 59 years old in August and my mother has been gone for 23 years. She never saw her son come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, but she may well have been instrumental in my decision to do so.
I had no idea of eternity or anything after death and at that time in my life I had not placed any stock in Heaven or Hell. When my mom died that day, as far as I was concerned, that was the end and there was nothing else. The response I gave my mother 18 years earlier was a lie. I did believe what I had been taught about Jesus, as far as that teaching went. But I was angry with my mom and very rebellious and so I blurted out a lie that caused her great pain on that day, and probably for the remainder of her life. We never spoke about Jesus again, at least not that I can remember, and I’m not sure she remembered that particular conversation. But I do, I’ll never forget the pain I was responsible for that day.
The question my mom asked that day was important to her. And considering the question she presented her rebellious son with that day, along with the peace I saw on her face as she lay dying, I am in hopes that I’ll soon see my mom again – this time in Heaven. She believed in Jesus Christ, she had a faith and a hope I didn’t understand. My mom never wanted for much; only that her family would all be together again. My mom was a forgiven sinner, of that I have no doubt.
Since the subject of Jesus Christ had rarely come up in the Graham household when I was growing up, in my early adult years I had absolutely no desire to pursue anything remotely close to acknowledging Jesus as Savior and Lord. I really had no idea what Jesus went through for me. But in August of 1995, just days after my birthday, Jesus came into my life big time. If my mom could have only seen that day it would have erased all the pain I had caused her.
One day while living in Oregon, and not long after my conversion, I was speaking by phone with my dad. As a new believer in Christ I had to ask him what he thought of Jesus Christ. After communicating the normal father and son pleasantries, I tuned the conversation toward Christ. It continued something like this:
“Dad, do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God?”
And my dad answered and said “Yes”.
So now that I had begun this line of questioning it was as though the Holy Spirit was prompting me to follow through, “Ron, don’t just leave it there”. So I continued with “Yes what Dad?”
To which my dad responded “I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God”. Now I was on a roll.
“Dad” I said, “Do you believe Jesus died for you sins?” To which my dad responded again in the affirmative. So once again I felt compelled to draw him out with a complete verbal response to my question.
I said “Dad, what do you believe about Jesus Christ?”
To which my dad replied “I believe Jesus Christ died for my sins.”
Can you imagine the peace God gave me that day all because I asked my dad a few simple questions? Can you imagine the peace I have today knowing where my parents are? The conversation between my dad and I went on from there and I knew by my dad’s words that we would be united in Heaven one day soon. I received from my dad exactly what I wanted to hear. And this whole prompting was done through the will of God. So my dad, believing in his heart, could make confession with his mouth to another believer in Christ that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Now imagine, if you will, the pain I caused my mom by responding to her question with a lie? My mom carried that pain to her grave. But God spared me that pain. And as I reflect back on my mom and dad’s spoken words and by believing what the Bible tells me about how we obtain eternal security, gives me great hope of our Heavenly reunion someday. God is great!
Dad died in 1999 and he and my mom are now in Heaven. Since God hasn’t given me the insight to see into the heart of another person, I can’t be certain regarding another’s salvation. But I know what the Bible says about those who believe in their heart and confess with the mouth “that God hath raised him (Jesus Christ) from the dead” (Romans 10:9-10). The word of God is what I go by for my assurance when it comes to the salvation of family members and friends.
There are many incidences that occur in our lives that cause us to ponder whether or not a person we know is truly saved. Joy and peace are ours to embrace when we learn someone close to us has embraced Christ and is now a part of His body. But it pains us to see a loved one living against God’s will. This pain comes to all of us sooner or later, and ultimately gives rise to an urgency to pray and to voice our concerns to those loved ones. We know time is their enemy and that a choice must soon be made.
But there is only one person who we are responsible for as far as our salvation is concerned. That one person is our self. My mom, even though broken hearted by my response to her that day, was not responsible for my choice. She put the question out there for me to react to, but my reaction was my own. Did my mom plant a seed that day? Of course she did.
My mom knew there had to be a choice made as far as believing in or rejecting Jesus Christ. She knew it wasn’t a family decision or a corporate decision, it is singular. I made the choice to say yes to Jesus Christ, but I couldn’t force the yes response from my dad; I couldn’t give a positive response for him, he had to make that confession on his own. My mother couldn’t force the correct response out of her rebellious 18 year old son; I had to respond to Jesus Christ in the affinitive for myself before it was too late. And I did.
Once we’ve reached that state of mind where we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that our salvation is securely in God’s hands, because we’ve said yes to Jesus Christ we can move on and promote His Gospel without hesitation, without the fear of condemnation, and especially without the burden of wondering where we will spend eternity. We know our salvation is true and secure, and as such all the excess worldly baggage is removed and we are free. Free to pursue life full of the adventure Jesus Christ has set forth for us while proclaiming the truth of His Gospel.
If you’re reading this commentary and you’re wavering between believing or rejecting Christ, or if you’ve made up your mind to fully reject Christ’s free gift of salvation and you consider this commentary foolishness, then please, just humor me as I ask you a few simple questions. What if you’re wrong about eternity? What if Heaven and Hell do exist? What is your backup plan? It’s just human nature to enlist a plan as we go forth through this life, and backup plans are also wise in case the first plan needs to be abandoned. In regards to eternity, every fence sitter, atheist, even those following false religions need a backup plan. After all, there is always the possibility you’re wrong about what you believe.
Do you really want to find out you made a mistake only after you’ve died? “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4. That’s why it’s always prudent to have a backup plan in case your first plan has no validity. Think of it this way, what have you to lose by asking Jesus into your life? What is the loss you will incur by placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life? Before you answer that question consider how short this life is and how long eternity is. “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14. This life is very short, like vapor – we’re here today, tomorrow we’re gone. But eternity is forever.
Now, ask yourself another question. What will you gain by placing your life in Jesus’ hands? Answer: An eternity in an awesome place that is beyond the ability for humans to even imagine. Think of the beauty in God’s creation here on earth. Now magnify that beauty a million times, and while imagining that beauty, imagine no wars, no poverty, no sickness, no death, no hatred, no lying, no murder, only love, a love we will never understand while we exist in these earthen vessels.
Everyone who has rejected Christ as Savior and Lord should have a backup plan just in case they’ve made an incredible error. Do you need a backup plan? If so, what is it? Here’s an idea: Believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Say yes Jesus Christ and receive God’s free gift of salvation. Don’t delay any longer. Soon there will be no more time and no more chances to develop or submit a backup plan; you’ll just have to go with your wrong choice. Choose life with Christ, as I did fifteen years ago. I’ve never regretted that decision, nor will you.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV and God breathed
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