AHMADINEJAD,

THE CHIEF PRINCE OF PERSIA

2473 years ago, Queen Esther declared:

“I and my people are to be destroyed, killed and annihilated.”

“Then Ahasuerus, the King of Persia, asked Queen Esther:

‘Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do such a thing?’

“Esther said, ‘A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!’”  (Esther 7:4-6)

Haman, an Amalekite Persian, had been promoted by King Ahasuerus and had been given authority to rule over the Persian Empire. But this man hated the Jewish race, and in particular, Mordecai, who happened to be the cousin of Esther, a Jewish girl whom Ahasuerus had chosen as his queen.

Haman’s plan to annihilate all the Jews in the Medo-Persian world, backfired, and he himself was hung on the gallows he had prepared for the execution of Mordecai.

TODAY,

another hard-line “Haman” has been elevated to the position of ruler of modern Persia, which is, of course, Iran. His name is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And his second term as president has been strongly endorsed by the Supreme Leader of the nation - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

For several years, Ahmadinejad has aggressively called for Israel to be wiped off the map, as have the two Ayatollahs ruling Iran in the past 30 years - Ruhollah Khomeini and Ali Khamenei.

In June 2008, this same “anointed” ruler proclaimed:

“I must announce that the Zionist regime (Israel) with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion and betrayal, is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene.” And, “today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started.”

TODAY,

the hottest topic in the world and the prophetic news media today is IRAN, because of four reasons: 1. the “Tehrananmen Square” crackdown.  2. the extreme rhetoric and threats of Iranian leaders.  3. Tehran’s aggressive nuclear program.  4. the “apocalyptic” Imam-Mahdi doctrine.

 

1.  THE “TEHRANANMEN SQUARE” CRACKDOWN

(This is the Tehran version of the Chinese Tiananmen Square bloodbath.)

After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was proclaimed the winner of the presidential election on June 12, thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets every day for more than a week, to protest against what they saw as a massive fraud. 

The Iranian government responded by launching a brutal crackdown on the freedom-seeking protestors. More than 3,000 reformers were arrested; at least 600 were wounded, and unofficial reports put the number of deaths at around 150. The protests were the biggest in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

A subsequent public battle within Iran’s clerical establishment posed an unprecedented challenge to the authority of Ayatollah Khamenei who had come to power in 1989.

IRAN’S CLERICS DEFY ELECTION RULING

July 5/09. A group of clerics in Iran called the presidential vote invalid, contradicting official results. The pro-reform clerics group said that the top legislative body, the Guardian Council, no longer had the right “to judge in this case.” The group’s statement pitted it against the top legislative body, which formally endorsed the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

RAFSANJANI CALLS FOR RELEASE OF PROTESTERS’

Former Iranian President, Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, called for the release of the people who were jailed after protesting against the result of the election. In his first Friday sermon since the vote, Rafsanjani said large numbers of Iranians still doubted its result.

Outside the mosque, police fired tear gas at thousands of opposition supporters who were chanting slogans in support of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Chanting also broke out among the tens of thousands of people inside, while thousands of opposition supporters rallied in streets near the university - the first public opposition demonstration after a lull of more than a week.

KHATAMI URGES REFERENDUM

July 20/09. Another former President of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, has called for a referendum on the legitimacy of the government. He quoted Iranian websites and said millions of Iranians had lost faith in the electoral process.

Only the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, can authorise a referendum. But Khamenei has already declared the election, which the incumbent, President Ahmadinejad, “won by a landslide,” as valid.

The Iranian opposition, including Mr Khatami and the leading defeated presidential candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, say the election was rigged.

IRAN BLOWS UP IN OBAMA’S FACE

June 25/09. Barack Obama’s key policy of seeking dialogue with Iran’s leaders, in a bid to keep a lid on Iran’s  nuclear  program  is  looking  more  and  more ridiculous.

After a week of soft-pedaling on the brutal crackdown, Obama finally said he was “appalled and outraged” at the violence with which the reform-minded protestors have been suppressed.

But the crisis has blown up in Obama’s face as Tehran’s leadership accused the Western nations of fuelling the protests. And speaking of Obama personally, Ahmadinejad said: “Mr Obama made a mistake to say those things (against Iran). Our question is why he fell into this trap, and said things that previously (President) Bush used to say.”

2.  THE EXTREME RHETORIC AND

THREATS OF THE IRANIAN LEADERS

AHMADINEJAD

The “re-elected” president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is renowned for his fierce rhetorical outbursts that call for the destruction of Israel, and of the Western Nations.

Last year he called Israel a “germ of corruption” that would be “removed soon, and slammed the “murderous Zionists” as being responsible for the global financial crisis, and America as being the cause of much of the world’s problems.

“IRAN WILL BRING DOWN WESTERN FOES”  

“Iran would not tolerate outside pressure,” Mr Ahmadinejad said recently, and his new government “would bring down the global arrogance,” signaling a tougher approach by Tehran toward the West.

It  is  hardly  appropriate  for  the  head  of  a  United Nations member  to call for the destruction of another member.  But Ahmadinejad is hardly a fair-minded advocate of universal harmony.

His distain and hatred of the US and UK intensified after the Tehran street protests; he blamed these two nations in particular, along with Israel, for the unrest and demonstrations. Of course, it was an attempt to cover his own corruption and ruthlessness.

      KHAMENEI: “AMERICANS ARE MORONS”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is Iran’s Supreme Leader, and he is the decision maker on foreign policy. And his behavior since June 12 has shown that he is no moderate.

In his post-election Friday “sermon,” Khomenei called Americans “morons” and accused them of being the worst human-rights violators in the world. 

Not very nice words coming from a “spiritual” leader!

 These are the men that Barack Obama has been seeking to engage in dialogue, with a view to weaning them away from the dangerous path to nuclear armaments.

The “rigged election” and the subsequent demonstrations, which Khamenei’s  security forces brutally suppressed, along with Ahmadinejad’s emotive response, makes it compellingly clear that Mr Obama’s offered hand of accommodation to the Islamic Republic will be firmly rebuffed.

THE FISTS OF OBAMA AND KHAMENEI

Obama’s overture to the Iranian leaders has been aiming at breaking a prolonged stalemate. “If countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist,” Obama said in January, “they will find an extended hand from us.”

But on July 6, Ayatollah Khamenei warned that the Islamic Republic would show an “iron fist” toward countries it regarded as “enemies.”

 

3.  TEHRAN’S AGGRESSIVE NUCLEAR PROGRAM

IRAN COULD HAVE BOMB IN 6 MONTHS

July 15/09. Concerns that a war between Iran and Israel may not be far off are growing. A controversial report in the German weekly Stern quotes German intelligence sources who believe that Iran has “mastered the enrichment technology necessary to make a bomb, and has enough centrifuges to make weaponized uranium.”

One expert said of the Iranian military: “If they wanted to, they could detonate an atomic bomb in half a year’s time.”

“NUKE COULD WIPE ISRAEL OUT IN SECONDS”

July 4/09. Israel’s recently appointed ambassador to the US, Michael Oren, warned that an Iranian atomic bomb could wipe Israel off the map in a matter of seconds, and that the Iranians could accomplish in a matter of seconds what Hitler did in 5 years -  kill 6 million Jews, literally.

“IRAN’S NUCLEAR AMBITIONS WORST THREAT”

“Iran’s nuclear ambitions are the greatest current threat to global security,” says US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

“Iran is the one that concerns me the most because there do not seem to be good options (or a scenario) where one can have any optimism that good options will be found.” – www.newsmax.com

IRANS’ NUCLEAR AMBITIONS

Iran’s leaders have warned the world quite clearly about what they plan to do when they finally achieve nuclear capability:

Plan A. to wipe Israel from the map.

Plan B is to use their new weapons to launch an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse weapon) attack on America or Israel or Europe.  In fact, they’ve been practicing for  this.

WARNING TO IRAN:

“U.S. READY TO BOLSTER GULF ALLIES”

For several years the US and EU have been seeking to monitor Iran’s nuclear installations and to dissuade its leaders from pursuing weapons of mass destruction. They have had no success in spite of Europe’s direct talks with Tehran.

July 22/09. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that the US is prepared to bolster the defence of its Gulf allies if Iran develops a nuclear weapons programme.      

Really? Give all the allies nuclear bombs?       

4.  THE IMAM-MAHDI DOCTRINE

The source of the top Irani leaders’ motivation for destruction is their deep-seated and fanatical desire to prepare for the arrival of the Shi’ite messiah — the twelfth imam  -  the Mahdi.

Ahmadinejad promises that the arrival of the Mahdi at a time of conflict, will signal the enduring defeat of liberal democracy and the notion of human freedom, and the eradication of Christianity and Judaism. All will be replaced by the “pure” Islam of the Mahdi, and of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

It is this prophetic belief that gives the Shia leaders the assurance that they are on the winning side, and that the return of the Mahdi will bring about the destruction of the infidels, and bring the establishment of a worldwide caliphate.

So it is not a matter of nations living together in harmony and mutual respect. It is this belief system that fuels the agenda and causes the great concern over Iran’s push to nuclear weapons.

Iran, of course, claims that their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes - like producing electricity. But if that were true, the US, EU, and Russia would have gladly provided the aid for such purposes.

WAR WITH IRAN COULD BE NEAR

For the last several years the question has been, “Will the US and/or Israel attack Iran’s nuclear facilities – and when?” The deadline, based on estimates of Tehran’s nearness to testing a nuclear weapon, has fluctuated. It has now come down to a possible six months.

The pressure from these current ominous circum-stances is increasing rapidly.

MEDVEDEV: ATTACK WILL ENDANGER  WORLD

Sept 08. The Russian President said: “We know that certain players are planning an attack against Iran. But we oppose any unilateral step and military solution to the nuclear crisis.”

SARKOZY URGES ISRAEL NOT TO ATTACK IRAN    

July 09. Reuters reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Israel that any strike against Iran would be catastrophic for the world; and he told Tehran to expect more sanctions if it refuses to discuss its nuclear program.

Major powers meeting in Italy have given Iran until next September to accept negotiations, but they were vague about what consequences would follows if it fails to do so.

Sarkozy urged against any military action. “A unilateral attack (by Israel) would be an absolute catastrophe,” he told reporters during the annual summit of the Group of Eight rich nations. “Israel should know that it is not alone and should follow what is going on calmly,” he said, adding that he had not received any assurances that Israel would hold off on any action ahead of the September deadline. 

EGYPT: “ISRAELI NUKES GREATEST THREAT

Western policies based on pressuring Iran to give up its nuclear program will fail because they disregard Israeli nuclear capabilities, which is “the first and greatest threat to security in the region,” an Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said in mid-May.

BIDEN: “ISRAEL IS FREE TO CHOOSE ITS ACTIONS” 

US vice president Joseph Biden’s recent statements were taken to mean the US was giving a clearance to Israel to take action.

 Biden, told ABC television that the US would not stand in the way of Israeli military action against the Iranian nuclear program. 

“Israel has the right to determine its own course of action with regard to the Iranian nuclear threat regardless of what the Obama administration chooses to do.”   -  5 July 2009 

But the President seems to have a very different idea (at least outwardly) …

OBAMA “ABSOLUTELY” DENIES U.S. GO-AHEAD

FOR ISRAEL TO BOMB IRAN

President Barack Obama “absolutely” denied Washington has given a green light for Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, adding: “We can’t dictate to other countries what their security interests are,” he said. “But it is also true that it is US policy to try and resolve the issue “through diplomatic channels.”

ISRAEL CONCLUDES OBAMA HAS AGREED TO IRAN NUKES

July 23/09. Israel is preparing a strategy to deal with a compromise agreement by Western powers that would approve Iran’s uranium enrichment program

Officials and analysts said the EU and US were moving toward an offer that would enable Teheran to continue enriching uranium. They said the proposal was expected to be submitted to Iran over the next few months.

Dan Meridor, an Israeli Cabinet minister responsible for the intelligence community, said; “I heard the Americans’ statement that they will defend their allies in the event that Iran arms itself with an atomic bomb, as if they have already reconciled with this possibility. This is a mistake!”  - Source: worldtribune.com

IRAN SPURNS OBAMA’S ENGAGEMENT INITIATIVES

July 16/09. Iranian leaders are turning inward and rejecting engagement with the West as they blame outsiders for street protests, even as President Obama’s administration pushes for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program. 

IRAN MASS PRODUCING LONG-RANGE,

SOLID-FUEL SEJIL SURFACE MISSILES

The accurate two-stage 2,000-kilometer range Sejil II ballistic missile is powered with solid fuel, and was successfully tested by Iran on May 20. More than 1,000 new Sejil IIs are projected to come off their production lines in five years, at the rate of 200 a year.

Liquid-fuel missiles like the Shehab take hours to prepare for firing, during which time they are exposed to oversight by US and Israel spy satellites, whereas the Sejil because it is powered by solid fuel, has the huge advantage of stealth.  - 13 July / DEBKAfile

“NUCLEAR IRAN IS NOT AN OPTION”

Last year Israel embarked on a coordinated campaign of leaks to the press regarding its determination to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities if Obama’s then-new administration fails to sway the Iranians diplomatically.

Israel is unwilling to accept a nuclear Iran: “It is not an option,” say its senior intelligence and military leadership.  - July 10/09 / www.globalpolitician

PEACE PROCESS IS ON BACK BURNER

For Israel, the peace process is not the most urgent need. It’s Iran’s menacing nuclear program.

ISRAEL PREPARES FOR ATTACK ON IRAN

All signs point to a potential conflict in the near-future as Iran speeds to the nuclear finish line.

 JOEL’S  PROPHETIC INJUNCTION

“Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the men of war draw near. Let them come up to attack! Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’

“Come quickly all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together! Bring down, O YHWH, Your mighty ones! Let the nations be aroused and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.” (Joel 3:9-12)

 

ISRAEL SENDS SUB AND MILITARY SHIPS THROUGH SUEZ CANAL

July 09. After a long pause, the Israeli Navy has returned to sailing through the Suez Canal, recently sending one of its advanced Dolphin-class submarines with nuclear-missile strike capabilities through the waterway to participate in naval maneuvers off the Eilat coast in the Red Sea. The submarine was accompanied by two Israeli missile boats.

Ten days later two Saar-class ships, INS Eilat and INS Chanit, sailed into the Red Sea in what a report described as “a clear signal that Israel was able to put its strike force within range of Iran at short notice.”

Israel has six Dolphin-class submarines, three of which are believed to carry nuclear missiles.

ARABS ALARMED AT GROWING POWER OF IRAN AND HIZB’ULLAH

May 21/09. Arab governments are starting to see the fingerprints of Iran’s proxy, Lebanon’s Hizb’ullah, all over the Middle East, adding to their growing alarm over Iran’s power and a widening Sunni-Shiite rift.

ISRAEL STRENGTHENS TIES WITH ARAB NATIONS

Israel has strengthened ties with key Arab nations that also fear a nuclear-armed Iran. In particular, relations with Egypt have grown increasingly stronger this year because of the “shared mutual distrust of Iran.”

NO EASY CHOICES AS ISRAEL PONDERS STRIKE ON

IRAN’S NUCLEAR FACILITIES

It is the toughest decision that any Israeli leader has had to make in living memory. Ordering a pre-emptive attack against Iran’s nuclear sites would plunge the country into war with a powerful enemy. The region would be thrown into turmoil and the resources of Israel’s military would be stretched — with no guarantee of success. - www.timesonline.co.uk

ZECHARIAH’S PROPHECY

“In that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a burning pot in a woodpile, and like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples; and Jerusalem will be inhabited again on her own sites - in Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 12:6)

ISRAEL’S MOMENT OF DECISION ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR THREAT

July 09. The moment that Iran announces its possession of nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and perhaps Kuwait, taking to heart Iran’s declared hostility to Sunni Islam and determination to obtain hegemony in the Gulf, will go shopping for their own weapons. Egypt and Turkey will not be far behind. As if a nuclear-armed Pakistan were not worry enough, the vulnerability of these regimes to overthrow by the forces of radical Islam, heightens the possi-bility of the world’s most dangerous weapons falling into the hands of many of the world’s most dangerous actors.

Furthermore, once the Middle East went poly-nuclear, it would be only a matter of time until a suitcase nuclear bomb fell, leaked, or was placed into terrorists’ hands. Even before that, radical Islamists throughout the Middle East -- particularly Hizb’ullah and Hamas --would receive a tremendous psychological boost from a nuclear Iran and be emboldened by their patron’s nuclear umbrella.

In sum, containment is a grim option. So is a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Israel is compelled by an Iran fast closing in on a nuclear capability to choose between the two grim options, Israel’s highest priority will be to persuade an equivocating US, a dithering Europe, and an obstructionist Russia that a nuclear Iran is not just an Israeli problem or a Middle Eastern problem but a problem for the United States and the world.    http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles

EZEKIEL’S  PROPHECY   

PERSIA INVOLVED IN THE RUSSIAN CONFEDERATION

Persia is modern Iran, and Ezekiel’s prophecy indicates that Persia will have a major role when it is lined up with Rosh and the confederation of allied nations, including Gomer, Beth-Togarmah, Cush and Put. These nations will invade Israel early in the Tribulation. They will be powerful, but they could be called:

“THE COALITION OF THE UNWILLING”

The LORD will need to put hooks into their jaws to bring them down against Israel where they will be judged:

 “The Sovereign Master, YHWH, says: Listen! I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws and bring you out with your whole army - your horses and horsemen all fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing swords.

“PERSIA (Iran), Cush (Ethiopia), and Put (Libya) will be with them, all with shields and helmets; Gomer (Germany) also with all its troops; and the House of Togarmah from the far north (Turkey and the Turkic people of Central Asia) with all its troops - many nations with you. Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them.” (Ezekiel 38:3-7)

The destruction of this mighty confederation is clear in the prophecy:

“It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Sovereign Master, YHWH, that My fury will be aroused on My Face.

“For in My zeal and in the fire of My wrath I have declared that on that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence. The mountains will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.

“And I shall call for a sword against him (Gog) on all My mountains,’ declares the Sovereign Master, YHWH. ‘Every man’s sword will be against his brother. And with pestilence and with bloodshed I shall execute judgment upon him; and I shall rain on him, and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hail-stones and burning sulphur.” (Ezekiel 38:18-22)

“The Sovereign Master, YHWH, says: ‘Listen! I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; I will turn you around and drive you on. I will bring you from the remotest parts of the north, and send you against the mountains of Israel.

“Then I will strike your bow from your left hand, and make your arrows drop from your right hand. You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the nations who are with you. I will give you as food to birds of prey of every kind and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Master, YHWH.

“I will also send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands. Then they will know that I am YHWH. I will make My holy Name known among My people Israel.” (Ezekiel 39:1-7)

Ezekiel, in these passages, is prophesying concerning the latter years – the Great Tribulation. And he is describing an enormous war which ends in what certainly appears to be a nuclear holocaust. 

Ezekiel’s burden in this chapter is concerning only the northern confederation. He does not include the other confederations that will be involved in the world war.

For a fuller picture of this world conflict we need to compare Daniel 11: 40-45; Zechariah 12:2-9; Joel 3:1-2, 9-15; Jeremiah 50 & 51 and Revelation 6:4-8.

Now, in the light of Ezekiel’s prophecy it is instructive to see ...

the northern alliance

GROWING AND PREPARING FOR THE ENDTIME WAR.

The reality of a world war is coming nearer as Russia sells arms to the enemies of Israel and builds strategic relationships with many nations.

Russia has a defence pact with Iran and Syria, and it continues to supply both of them with advanced, sophisticated weaponry, including advanced anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft missiles.

Russia has defied the US by announcing plans to sell military hardware to Iran and also to United States’ radical Latin enemy, Venezuela.

The head of the Russian state arms exporter said that he was negotiating to sell anti-aircraft systems to Iran despite American objections. Russia has already delivered 29 Tor-M1 missile systems under a $700 million (£386 million) deal with Iran in 2005.

IRAN, LEBANON SIGN 5-YEAR SECURITY PACT

Nov 27/08. Iran and Lebanon have signed a security agreement, according to which Iran will supply the Lebanese army with weapons and equipment over the next five years.

“Iran announced its readiness to supply Lebanon with defensive weapons, to be agreed upon in the frame-work of a defensive strategic system the Lebanese will formulate,” a Lebanese source said.

By supplying the Lebanese army with weapons, Iran will thus be responsible for arming Lebanon’s two major armed forces: the national army, and Hizb’ullah.

- Jerusalem Post. / www.themedialine.org

WATCH TURKEY & MIDEAST ALLIANCES!

Turkey is boosting ties with Iran, while Russia is working to wean Turkey away from its EU membership bid.

Russia is also striking deals with Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and building global alliances.

    the  developing  S C O    

 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - is an eastern alternative (rival) to NATO – “the kings of the east and the north.” (Daniel 11:44)

It’s membership at present comprises six core nations - China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan & Uzbekistan. Four other nations have observer membership - India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — freshly anointed by the Supreme Leader to stay as the face and voice of the regime’s apocalyptic agenda, met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and leaders of the SCO in Moscow, in June, to continue building a political and military alliance between Russia, China, Iran and Islamic countries in Central Asia.

Currently, Iran has “observer” status in the SCO, but has requested full member status.  

 

DANIEL’S PROPHECY

 

“But reports from the East and from the North will alarm him, and he (the Prince of Rome – Antichrist) will go out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.” (Daniel 11:44)

 

WHAT’S AHEAD?

It is clear that Persia (Iran) will be involved with Russia in the world war. So Iran will not be wiped out before that time.

But it is POSSIBLE that a conflict will set Iran’s nuclear program back, and create widespread upheavals which will leave Iran, Russia, radical Arab groups, and much of the world enraged.

Like Adolph Hitler did, the “world” will accuse the Jews of being the cause of “all the troubles in the world.” And this could lead to the rise of the new Hitler – the Antichrist.

THE  EPICENTRE  

The centre of the world, and the epicentre of the coming world war is the land of Israel.

“You (Rosh) will say, ‘I will invade the land of unwalled villages; I will attack those who are at rest and live securely - all of them living without walls and without gates or bars,’ to plunder and loot, to turn your hand against the resettled ruins and the people gathered from the nations ...who live at the center of the world.”  (Ezekiel 38:12)

This region is the other very hot topic in international news. The world has a fixation with Palestinian-Israel affairs. “Everyone” is seemingly compelled to have a say on what should happen at the Epicentre.

SOLANA: “WORLD SHOULD RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE”

July 12, 2009. The European Union’s top diplomat has called for the United Nations Security Council to push forward and recognize a Palestinian state even without a final-status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Reuters reported that Javier Solana, when explaining his proposal, said: “After a fixed deadline, a UN Security Council resolution should proclaim the adoption of the two-state solution.” 

“It would accept the Palestinian state as a full member of the UN, and set a calendar for implementation. It would mandate the resolution of other remaining territorial disputes and legitimize the end of claims. If the parties are not able to stick to the timetable, then a solution backed by the international community should be put on the table,” Solana said.

On the surface of this it looks like the international community is beginning to get tired of the stalemate between Israel and the PA, and that the international community might try to “force” a deal on the Israelis. 

G-8: “END SETTLEMENTS, OPEN BORDERS” 

July 09. With the new Obama administration issuing nearly identical calls for the resumption of direct peace talks, an end to violence, and an economic reconstruction for war-battered Gaza, a broad international coalition urged Israel to freeze all settlement activity in the West Bank and lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Backing US President Barack Obama’s Mideast policy, The Quartet of Mideast negotiators and foreign ministers of the Group of Eight industrialized nations took advantage of what the UN chief said was a “historic opportunity.”  - news.yahoo.com

BRITAIN JUMPS ON ‘SETTLEMENT’ BANDWAGON

July 3/09. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has joined the international chorus of criticism which has been directed at Israel regarding its settlement building in east Jerusalem. ‘Deploring’ the construction of apartment blocks in the Israeli capital, Mili-band echoed recent statements made by both the German Chancellor, The Quartet , and the US President, in calling for a complete freeze of settlement building in territory captured by Israel during the Six Day War.

 

NETANYAHU

IS WILLING TO BACK A DEMILITARIZED PALESTINIAN STATE

“Israel cannot agree to a Palestinian state unless it gets guarantees that it is demilitarized,” the Israeli PM said. He also said that Jerusalem must remain the unified capital of Israel.

Israel would not accept any situation in which it was forced to exist beside a terrorist state. Every withdrawal from settlement territories would contribute to such terror, Netanyahu said.

“U.S. CAN’T GET ARABS TO COMMIT TO NORMAL ISRAEL TIES”

July 2/09. The US administration has not been successful in securing commitments from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with Israel, a senior source in Jerusalem revealed.

The source said US President Barack Obama’s recent meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia did not produce a commitment to encourage the other Arab states to begin normalization.

“In such a situation, the Americans can’t continue demanding gestures only from Israel, such as the demand that Israel freeze settlement construction.”

ABBAS REJECTS EGYPT’S LATEST PLAN

July 14/09. According to debka.com, a shouting match between Egyptian president Mubarak and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas ended with Abbas throwing back in Mubarak’s face, the proposals Cairo drafted after an Egyptian intelligence delegation made the rounds of Tel Aviv, Damascus and Ramallah last week.

Cairo informed all the concerned parties that it had given up on Palestinian reconciliation and a power-sharing deal for reuniting the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Egyptian plan - as presented to Israel, Syria and the Palestinian Authority – was to form two security commissions to supervise Palestinian security and intelligence forces in the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively, and represent the Palestinians in diplomacy with the Americans and the Israelis.

The West Bank commission would have three Fatah members and one Hamas member, while the Gazan commission would have three Hamas and one Fatah member - thus representing their respective strength in the two entities.

Cairo  also  proposed  creating  a  new  3,000-strong Palestinian security service with a half-and-half Fatah-Hamas membership to assume responsibility for, and to reopen, the Gaza Strip crossings, thus lifting the Israeli blockade on the territory.

But Abbas sharply rejected the plan, accusing Egyptian leaders of “perpetuating the Ismail Haniyeh regime” in Gaza. “Don’t even think of presenting this plan to President Obama,” he said.   - http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6178

 

FATAH OFFICIAL:

“OUR GOAL IS NOT PEACE, BUT RATHER PALESTINE”

“Our goal has never been peace,” says a Fatah official in a PA TV panel. “Peace is a means; the goal is Palestine” – meaning the conquest of Israel.

Kifah Radaydeh, the deputy head of the Jerusalem chapter of Fatah, says openly that the PA will resume violence and terror against Israel when Fatah is “capable,” and “according to what seems right.”

Headed by Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah is considered the more moderate wing of the Palestinian Authority, compared with Hamas.

The panel discussion shows that in actuality, Fatah is no less firm than Hamas in seeking the goal of Israel’s destruction.  -  Palestinian Media Watch /July 09

“THE FATAH MOVEMENT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE ISRAEL, EVEN TODAY.”

Four months ago, senior PA official Mohammed Dahlan stressed that Fatah adamantly refuses to recognize Israel, and that even the Palestinian Authority’s recognition is only for the sake of receiving foreign aid.

HAMAS REVIVES ITS MILITARY IN THE WEST BANK  

Hamas has revived its military wing in the West Bank with new funding and training activity. In February, hundreds of thousands of dollars was said to have flowed to the Hamas network in the West Bank, most of it in the guise of humanitarian aid.  -  www.worldtribune.com / July 09

BRITAIN PUNISHES ISRAEL FOR ANTI-HAMAS OFFENSIVE

Prodded by Parliament Members and Amnesty International, Britain will “punish” Israel for its anti-Hamas offensive of earlier this year by withholding spare gunship parts.

At the end of a three-month government review of all defence exports to Israel – 182 in number – the British government has decided to cancel five of the licenses. All the canceled contracts involve spare parts for guns on Sa’ar 4.5 warships.

Only a small percentage of Israel’s defence-related imports come from Britain.  - Arutz Sheva / 13 July 09

PERES CHALLENGES SAUDI KING TO VISIT JERUSALEM

President Shimon Peres, speaking at an interfaith conference in Kazakhstan, challenged Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to visit Jerusalem, which Muslims claim as their third holiest city.

“I call on his Excellency, the king of Saudi Arabia, to meet wherever you wish, in Jerusalem, in Riyadh, in this beautiful country of Kazakhstan; we will be able to realize your vision” of peace, the president said.

Muslims consider the Israeli capital to be their third holiest city, but its leaders rarely have visited there or anywhere else in Israel. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s only trip to Jerusalem was for the funeral of former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin

MAHMOUD ABBAS TRYING TO CONVENE PALESTINIAN CONGRESS;

ACCUSED OF PLOTTING ARAFAT ASSASSINATION

July 14/09. Infighting within his own Fatah is threatening the PA chairman’s desperate efforts to hold the first Palestinian Congress in a decade, in Bethlehem, on Aug. 2, under his leadership. 

Farouk Kadoumi, a Fatah veteran who still holds the title of PLO foreign minister, threw a spanner in the works this week by objecting to the congress being convened in “Israeli-occupied territory.”

He also claimed to have documents alleging that Yasser Arafat had discovered Mahmoud Abbas had conspired with the Israeli prime minister at the time, Ariel Sharon, to assassinate him. Arafat was said to have discovered the plot in 2004, 11 months before his death.

Although the Fatah Central Committee denied the claim as “full of lies” and a smear campaign to destroy party unity, it spread through the West Bank like wildfire, further undermining Abbas’ already feeble control of the territory.         

- http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6178

U.S. AGAIN DEMANDS THAT ISRAEL STOP CONSTRUCTING!

July 20/09. Over the weekend, the US State Department summoned Israeli envoy Michael Oren and demanded that Israel halt construction of Jewish homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of Jerusalem. The property on which the homes are to be built has been owned by Jewish activist Dr. Irving Moskowitz for more than 20 years.

Oren told US officials that Israel would not agree to stop building in the area.

NETANYAHU’S REPLY:

JERUSALEM IS OURS, IT’S NOT UP FOR DEBATE

PM Binyamin Netanyahu issued a sharp response to the US pressure to stop Jews from building in parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem is “not up for debate,” Netanyahu said, and Jews are permitted to build in any part of the capital city, as are Arabs.

Netanyahu implied that the US request was racist. “We cannot agree to a decree like this regarding Jerusalem,” he said.

“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and night they will never keep silent. You who remember YHWH, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (Isaiah 62:6-7)

(Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Old Testament, but it is not mentioned once in the Koran.)

CALLS FOR JERUSALEM TO BE PUT UNDER INTERNATIONAL CONTROL

President Obama evidently now believes his goal of bringing peace to the Middle East cannot happen unless the Promised Land is divided, and Israel cedes the city of Jerusalem to international control.  He wants to see the United Nations flag flying over Jerusalem - (the goal of the UN and NWO).

Mr Obama, who said during his campaign last year: “Nobody should be concerned with a few obscure Bible verses,” is not likely to be concerned about God’s Word when He warns:

“I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.”  (Joel 3:2)

“Look! I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the people around. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.

“And on that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem a very heavy rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will be severely injured.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

In the meantime Israeli defence has developed a system that may be able to largely take care of the short-range rockets being fired from radical neighbours …

ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM PASSES LIVE FIRE TEST

A homegrown Israeli missile defence system performed well in its first live trial, bringing down a short-range rocket similar to those used by Palestinian and Lebanese militants, an Israeli Defence Minister official said.

Spokesman Shlomo Dror told the Associated Press that a missile from the “Iron Dome” system intercepted and destroyed a Grad rocket.  - July 15/09

BARACK OBAMA IN THE NEWS    

For a man who is a professed believer in engagement and mending bridges, the US President is receiving waves of criticism from conservatives at home, as well as from Israel. 

“OBAMA MAY BE MOST HOSTILE PRESIDENT TO ISRAEL”

June 22/09. Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, says President Barack Obama’s refusal to take a stand on protests in Iran stands in sharp contrast to demands he has made on Israel.

“I think he should take a strong stand to support the protesters in Iran who want to transform that society into one that promotes democracy and human rights,” Klein says. “But while meddling in Israel’s affairs and making specific demands, Obama explicitly states he refuses to meddle in Iran’s policies and has said almost nothing.”

“Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls because of the great number of men and livestock within it. For I,’ declares YHWH, ‘I myself will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ … He who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.” (Zechariah 2:4,5,8)

MEDIA’S GLORIFICATION OF OBAMA

In the early 1980s, the media behaved more-or-less professionally, but were biased leftward, as everyone knows. Most recently, the media have abandoned virtually all pretense of objectivity, with top national news personalities praising Barack Obama in the most embarrassing terms imaginable:

MSNBC’s “Hardball” host Chris Matthews compared Obama to Jesus.

Newsweek Editor Evan Thomas declared, “... In a way, Obama’s standing above the country, above - above the world, he’s sort of God.”

 

OBAMA FLEXES MUSCLES IN MIDEAST,

RESUMES TIES WITH SYRIA

June 24/09. President Obama is resuming diplomatic ties with Syria after a four-year hiatus (a lull with nothing happening) as he aims for a regional peace in the Middle East.

A little later, Syria invited President Obama to visit Damascus. Replying to a question about the possibility of accepting, Obama said: “I’m a believer in engagement and my hope is that we can continue to see progress on that front.”

A US commentator says: “By ignoring the achievements of the Bush administration’s policy of isolating and confronting Syria and denying the significance of its unchanged behavior, Obama and his followers are courting disaster. The consequences of their squandering hard-won gains for regional security, freedom and stability, will not be long in coming.”

“NOT EVEN NIXON TRIED TO CONTROL THE MEDIA LIKE OBAMA”

Following a testy exchange during a briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas told CNSNews that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press the way President Obama is trying to control it.  –  July 09. CNS News.com

 

THE NEW WORLD ORDER

“For the mystery of iniquity and lawlessness is already at work; but He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” (2 Thessalonians 2:7)

POPE CALLS FOR WORLD AUTHORITY

Pope Benedict XVI has called for a radical rethinking of the global economy, criticizing a growing divide between rich and poor and urging the establishment of a “true world political authority” to oversee the economy and work for the “common good.” … He criticized the current economic system, “where the pernicious effects of sin are evident,” and urged financiers in particular to “rediscover the genuinely ethical foundation of their activity.”

DEVELOPING WORLD CALLS FOR ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’

July 15/09.  More than 50 heads of state from the developing world (Non-Aligned Movement) met at Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to tackle the fallout from the global economic meltdown, with calls for a “new world order” to prevent a repeat of the crisis.        - www.news.yahoo.com

INDIA TO ISSUE ALL 1.2 BILLION CITIZENS   

WITH BIOMETRIC ID CARDS

 

July 15/09. It is surely the biggest Big Brother project yet conceived. India is to issue each of its 1.2 billion citizens, millions of whom live in remote villages and possess no documentary proof of existence, with cyber-age biometric identity cards.

The Government in Delhi recently created the Unique Identification Authority (UIA), a new state department charged with the task of assigning every living Indian an exclusive number. 

UIA will also be responsible for gathering and electronically storing their personal details, at a predicted cost of at least £3 billion.

If the cards were piled on top of each other they would be 150 times as high as Mount Everest.

The task will be led by Nandan Nilekani, who left Infosys, the outsourcing giant that he co-founded, to take up his new job. The Government has said that the first cards will be issued within 18 months.

http://www.worthynews.com/top/timesonline-co-uk-tol-news-world-asia-article6710764-ece/

Such a massive scheme points to the coming mandatory mark of the beast - the Antichrist, in the Great Tribulation:

”He compels all, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands, or on their foreheads.” (Revelation 13:16)

                     KEEPING TABS ON IDENTITIES     

AROUND THE WORLD

* Compulsory national identity cards are used in about 100 countries including Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain

* ID cards are not used in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the Irish Republic or Nordic countries

* German police can detain people who are not carrying their ID card for up to 24 hours

* The Bush Administration resisted calls for an identity card in the US after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001

* In Australia street protests in the 1980s forced the Government to abandon its plans for a card

* Plastic cards are favoured over paper documents because they are harder to forge

* Most identity cards contain the name, sex, date of birth and a unique number for the holder

* South Korean, Brazilian, Italian and Malaysian ID cards contain fingerprints. Cards in some countries contain information on any distinguishing marks of the holder

* Objections to card schemes have focused on the cost and invasion of privacy

* Supporters say that they prevent illegal immigration and fraud

* In the European Union some cards can be used instead of a passport for European travel   Sources: Privacy International; Times database

ALARM!  GROUNDWORK LAID FOR MARTIAL LAW IN U.S.

March 4/09. During his two terms in office, George W. Bush stepped outside the boundaries of the Constitution and assembled an amazing toolbox of powers that greatly increased the authority of the Executive branch and the reach of the federal government.

Bush expanded presidential power to, among other things, allow government agents to secretly open the private mail of American citizens; authorize government agents to secretly, and illegally, listen in on the phone calls of American citizens and read our e-mails; assume control of the federal government following a “catastrophic event”; and declare martial law. …

Thus, the groundwork was laid for an imperial presidency and a potentially totalitarian government -- a state of affairs that has not ended with Barack Obama’s ascension to the Oval Office, despite hopes to the contrary that President Obama would fully restore the balance between government and its citizens to a pre-Bush status quo.

As Charlie Savage reports in the New York Times; “Signs suggest that the administration’s changes may turn out to be less sweeping than many had hoped or feared -- prompting growing worry among civil liberties groups and a sense of vindication among supporters of Bush-era policies.”

The fact is that the problem is bigger than Obama or any individual who occupies the White House. Indeed, once the government assumes expansive powers and crosses certain constitutional lines, it’s almost impossible to pull back.

According to the Army Times, we now have at least 20,000 US military troops deployed within our borders to “help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.”

I am not alone in believing that we are just one incident – be it a terrorist attack, a major financial blowout or a widespread natural disaster -- away from martial law being declared in this country.

And once that happens, the Constitution and Bill of Rights will be suspended and what government officials believe and do, no matter how arbitrary, will become law.

                                                               - By John W. Whitehead THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE

 

 

THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

                                                       

 

 

While there are some indicators that the financial crisis is improving, reports from the US are still bleak. 

U.S. BUDGET DEFICIT TOPS $1 TRILLION

Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time ever.

BAILOUTS COULD COST U.S. $23 TRILLION

July 21/09. A series of bailouts, bank rescues and other economic lifelines could end up costing the federal government as much as $23 trillion, the US government’s watchdog over the effort says - a staggering amount that is nearly double the nation’s entire economic output for a year. - Politico

THE U.S. ECONOMY IS EVEN WORSE THAN YOU THINK!

July 14/09. Some experts are saying that recession should be gauged, not by the stock markets, but by unemployment levels.

At present the average length of unemployment in the US is higher than it’s been since government began tracking the data in 1948. The recent unemployment numbers have undermined confidence that we might be nearing the bottom of the recession.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary estimate for job losses for June is 467,000, which means 7.2 million people have lost their jobs since the start of the recession.  

FED’S ECONOMIC FORECAST WORSENS

May 20/09.  CNNMoney.com -- The Federal Reserve’s latest forecasts for the US economy are gloomier than the ones released three months earlier, with an expectation for higher unemployment and a steeper drop in economic activity.

WORLD BANK: ECONOMIC CRISIS TURNING INTO CALAMITY

The global financial crisis could become “a human and development calamity” for many poor countries, the World Bank said, urging donor nations to speed delivery of money they have pledged and consider giving more.

Developing countries, its main constituency, face “especially serious consequences with the crisis driving more than 50 million people into extreme poverty, particularly women and children,” the bank said.

Bank President Robert Zoellick said some of the poorest economies are being hit by “second and third waves of the crisis.” He said no one knows how long it will last or when recovery will begin.

“There is a widespread recognition that the world faces an unprecedented economic crisis, poor people could suffer the most and that we must continue to act in real time to prevent a human catastrophe.” – yahoo.com

CHINA AND BRAZIL TO DUMP U.S. DOLLAR

May 19/09. Brazil and China will work towards using their own currencies in trade transactions rather than the US dollar, according to Brazil’s central bank and aides to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president.

The move follows recent Chinese challenges to the status of the dollar as the world’s leading international currency.

Mr Lula da Silva, who visited Beijing, and Hu Jintao, China’s president, first discussed the idea of replacing the dollar with the Chinese renminbi and the Brazilian real as trade currencies when they met  at  the  G20  summit  in London in April.

ISRAELI GOVERNMENT BRACES FOR CUTS IN MILITARY AID

AS U.S. ECONOMY WORSENS

July 31/09. Israel's government has learned that the U.S. economy continues to worsen and is bracing for the prospect that President Barack Obama would significantly cut military aid.  "We are receiving reports that the American economy is getting worse and worse, and they're having trouble paying for basic programs," an official said. "This could quickly be used as a stick against foreign aid."  – www.worldtribune.com

RUSSIA PROPOSES ONE WORLD CURRENCY

  

July 09. At a G8 summit, President Dmitry Medvedev displayed a coin meant to symbolize that the dream of a world currency may one day come true.

The coin has the English words ‘United Future World Currency.’ In all likelihood something similar could appear and it could be held in your hand and used as a means of payment,’ he told reporters. ‘This is the international currency’.”  

GULF CO-OPERATION COUNCIL CURRENCY UNION

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar signed an agreement for monetary union on June 7 in Riyadh.  It is to be effective by January 2010. 

U.N. TO EMERGE AS GLOBAL IRS

The United Nations is proceeding, with President Obama’s acquiescence, to implement a global plan to create a new international socialist order financed by global taxes.

The Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development will consider adoption of a document calling for “new voluntary and innovative sources of financing initiatives to provide additional stable sources of development finance...”

This is UN-speak for global taxes. They are anything but “voluntary” for the people will be forced to pay them.

The most “popular” proposals, which could generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for global purposes, involve taxes on greenhouse gas emissions and financial transactions such as stock trades. - ACCURACY IN MEDIA (AIM) - By Cliff Kincaid - June 23, 2009

HOLLAND: GOODBYE TO CASH

Dutch supermarkets are hoping to phase out the use of cash by 2014. The aim of the ban on cash is to make supermarkets less vulnerable to robberies.

According to research, 87% of customers support moves to stimulate the use of direct debit cards.

The Telegraaf reports that 10bn of supermarket total turnover of over 30bn last year was in cash. Super-markets had to deal with 200 ‘incidents’, ranging from a grab at the cash register to armed robbery, the paper said.  - Dutchnews.nl - June 11, 2009

My dear reader, sorry it’s mostly bad news. Well, I know you know that that’s how the world is today.  There is, however, some good news, here and there, especially of the saving grace of Yahweh-Y’shua in lives around the world – and in our own lives.  For if we stop and reflect, there are many blessings for which we should be thankful and give praise to our Master.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!

Count your blessings, name them two by two;

And it will surprise you what the Lord can do!

And now believer …

“Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Master. .. be patient; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Master is near.” (James 5:7-8)

Remember your Master’s words:

“When these things begin to take place, straighten yourselves and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’ (Luke 21:28)

“And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 24:20)

The most wonderful news in the world today is …

GOOD NEWS    

“... that Christ - the Messiah - died for our sins, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

And … “God has made this Y’shua whom you crucified, both Master and Messiah.” (Acts 2:36).

“If you confess with your mouth Y’shua as Lord - your Master and Saviour,

and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved ... for whoever will call upon the Name of Y’shua  the Heavenly Master will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13).

If you have not received Y’shua (Jesus) as your own personal Saviour, I urge you to believe and call on Him today. Tomorrow may be too late!    God bless you!