News for October 15, 2007

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Christians Flock to Comfort Israel Israel Today (October 15, 2007) - Thousands of Christians ascended to Jerusalem as they do every fall in a show of solidarity with Israel and in anticipation of the prophesied Messianic Age, when all nations will come to celebrate Sukkot, the weeklong biblical Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16). Three Jerusalem-based ministries hosted the pilgrims at events with a similar focus but different approach. With an estimated 6,000 participants, the International Christian Embassy conference at the Jerusalem Convention Center was by far the largest event. In fact, it is the biggest single tourism event of the year in Israel. The “Feast” featured stunning musical productions and speeches by Israeli officials, including Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and nationalist Knesset Member Benny Elon. Despite being an Orthodox rabbi, Elon defied a ban by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate on Jews attending the Christian events during Sukkot because of alleged “missionary” activity. He even thanked the audience for “being ambassadors of Israel.” “Go tell the world the right story,” Elon said, “[that] we are here because there is a covenant between God of Israel and us and it is an everlasting covenant.” Across town at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, Vision for Israel provided the venue of choice for many Israeli believers with its distinctive Jewish flavor. Vision for Israel is a ministry headed by noted Messianic musicians Barry and Batya Segal. Contrasting the indoor events of the other two ministries, the International Christian Zionist Center (ICZC) was determined to interact with Israelis where they are hurting most, and where their biblical inheritance is under greatest threat. From the rocket-battered southern town of Sderot to secular Tel Aviv to the endangered settlements of Samaria, the ICZC set out with Isaiah 40:1 as its motto: “Comfort, O comfort My people.” In Sderot, which has been hit by thousands of Palestinian rocket attacks from neighboring Gaza over the past five years, wide-eyed locals looked on in wonder as the group’s convoy of buses pulled into town and unloaded hundreds of enthusiastic, Israel-loving Christians. more...
| Israel |

Rice: Now is time for Palestinian State Associated Press (October 15, 2007) - The time has come for establishing a Palestinian state and it's in the interest of the U.S. to do so, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Monday in one of her most forceful statements yet on the issue. The comments from Rice, after a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, suggested that the Bush administration is determined to try to bridge the wide gaps between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a U.S.-hosted Mideast conference. The gathering is expected to take place next month, though a date has not been announced. Moderate Arab countries, whose participation is widely viewed as critical, have not committed to attending. Standing next to Abbas, Rice defined Palestinian statehood as a U.S. interest. "Frankly, it's time for the establishment of a Palestinian state," Rice said. "I wanted to say in my own voice to be able to say to as many people as possible that the United States sees the establishment of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution as absolutely essential for the future, not just of Palestinians and Israelis but also for the Middle East and indeed to American interests," she said. "That's really a message that I think only I can deliver." Tensions arose Sunday when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet that he did not regard a joint declaration of principles for a future peace deal to be a prerequisite for the conference. The Palestinians said that without such a document, they would not attend. Rice did not say whether she wants the document completed before the conference, set in Annapolis, Md. However, the U.S. has said it wants a substantive working paper dealing with all the key disputes before the start of the conference. The issues include borders, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements and Palestinian refugees. "We frankly have better things to do than invite people to Annapolis for a photo op," she said. She said ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a top priority of the Bush administration. Rice praised Israel and Palestinians for making their "most serious effort" in years to end the conflict. Olmert and Abbas have held a series of meetings in recent months, and the two sides have appointed negotiating teams to hammer out their joint vision for peace in time for the gathering. Abbas said he expects the conference to launch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and that a deadline should be set for completion. However, Israel rejects a timetable and U.S. officials have been cool to the idea. more...
| Israel | Islam | Dividing the Land | America |

New FDA research center rife with risks Associated Press (October 14, 2007) - The Food and Drug Administration is moving with unprecedented speed to launch a drug research center to be paid for by companies it regulates. The goal of the Reagan-Udall Foundation, approved by Congress and signed into law late last month, is to streamline and improve the development of drugs and medical devices, a goal long sought by regulators and the biggest players in the industry, such as Merck & Co., Pfizer Inc., Wyeth, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, and Johnson & Johnson. At a time when the FDA's reputation has been battered by perceptions that it is lax on some safety issues and too cozy with drug makers, consumer advocates say the loosely defined partnership increases the agency's vulnerability to industry clout despite its promise of groundbreaking success. It's an ambitious undertaking that puts regulators and companies in a relationship unlike that of any other industry. Congress required fast-track creation of the foundation. The FDA filed a public notice Oct. 3 that it was accepting board nominations and will name board members Oct. 27. Drug industry executives likely will hold four seats on the center's 14-member board. The rest will be academics, consumer advocates and physicians, with no voting seats for FDA commissioners or staff. The board's makeup could allow drugs to be developed more cheaply, improving pharmaceutical industry profits, but not necessarily result in safer and less expensive drugs for consumers, critics worry. "Given FDA's track record in the past, I'm not confident in their ability to create something that is free of influence from industry," said Francesca Grifo, a director at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Her group and others have argued that the agency has become too accommodating to drug companies the past 25 years, after they began paying FDA user fees for the review of drug applications. "Time and again we've seen that people within FDA behave as if industry is their primary client," Grifo said. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a co-sponsor of the bill to create the foundation, says the bill requires "effective safeguards to ensure that the foundation is independent of both the FDA and its donors, whether those donors are from industry or are charitable organizations." Reagan-Udall "will make new research tools and techniques available to the entire research community, shortening the time it takes to develop new drugs and reducing costs for patients," Kennedy added in an e-mailed response. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

I don't trust the pharmaceutical industry and according to scripture it is called witchcraft, or Pharmacia. Do you think you can trust men playing with chemicals to provide unnatural chemical combinations to introduce to our bodies? I think our health and well being has much more to do with our spiritual condition. (I had cancer) Part of the unspoken push from a spiritual sense is to deaden our senses and lull us into compliance. The fruits of the industry are a generation blinded and drugged out, dependent on the very chemicals that can put us to sleep. With the ability for these companies to directly advertise their poison on TV directly to the users, they can get more people hooked, even with all the negative side-effects they list for the potential slight benefits. There is also many stories about doctors getting kickbacks from the industry in exchange for offering their drugs. Another somewhat related story, Pfizer joins online doctors' forum, talks about a forum online meant to keep the pharmaceutical companies out of doctors conversations. However, now Pfizer has made an alliance with the site. Christians beware! We are to be awake, sober and watchful. God is able to heal better than ignorant men's tinkering with chemicals that cause more problems, trust in God over men.

'Mom' and 'Dad' banished by California WorldNet Daily (October 13, 2007) - "Mom and Dad" as well as "husband and wife" effectively have been banned from California schools under a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who with his signature also ordered public schools to allow boys to use girls restrooms and locker rooms, and vice versa, if they choose. "We are shocked and appalled that the governor has blatantly attacked traditional family values in California," said Karen England, executive director of Capitol Resource Institute. "With this decision, Gov. Schwarzenegger has told parents that their values are irrelevant. Many parents will have no choice but to pull their children out of the public schools that have now become sexualized indoctrination centers." "Arnold Schwarzenegger has delivered young children into the hands of those who will introduce them to alternative sexual lifestyles," said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, which worked to defeat the plans. "This means children as young as five years old will be mentally molested in school classrooms. "Shame on Schwarzenegger and the Democrat politicians for ensuring that every California school becomes a homosexual-bisexual-transsexual indoctrination center," he said. Analysts have warned that schools across the nation will be impacted by the decision, since textbook publishers must cater to their largest purchaser, which often is California, and they will be unlikely to go to the expense of having a separate edition for other states. The bills signed by Schwarzenegger include SB777, which bans anything in public schools that could be interpreted as negative toward homosexuality, bisexuality and other alternative lifestyle choices. There are no similar protections for students with traditional or conservative lifestyles and beliefs, however. "SB 777 will result in reverse discrimination against students with religious and traditional family values," said Meredith Turney, legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute. "These students have lost their voice as the direct result of Gov. Schwarzenegger's unbelievable decision. The terms 'mom and dad' or 'husband and wife' could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured. "Parents want the assurance that when their children go to school they will learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic – not social indoctrination regarding alternative sexual lifestyles. Now that SB777 is law, schools will in fact become indoctrination centers for sexual experimentation," she said. England told WND that the law is not a list of banned words, including "mom" and "dad." But she said the requirement is that the law bans discriminatory bias. "Having 'mom' and 'dad' promotes a dicsriminatory bias. You have to either get rid of 'mom' and 'dad' or include everything when talking about [parental issues]," she said. "They [promoters of sexual alternative lifestyles] do consider that discriminatory." Also signed was AB394, which targets parents and teachers for such indoctrination through "anti-harassment" training, CCF said. Schwarzenegger had vetoed almost identical provisions a year ago, saying existing state law already provided for penalties for discrimination. more...
| America | Signs of the Times |

Muslim scholars reach out to Pope BBC News (October 12, 2007) - More than 130 Muslim scholars have written to Pope Benedict XVI and other Christian leaders urging greater understanding between the two faiths. The letter says that world peace could depend on improved relations between Muslims and Christians. It identifies the principles of accepting only one god and living in peace with one's neighbours as common ground between the two religions. It also insists that Christians and Muslims worship the same god. The letter comes on the anniversary of an open letter issued to the Pope last year from 38 top Muslim clerics, after he made a controversial speech on Islam. Pope Benedict sparked an uproar in September last year by quoting a medieval text which linked Islam to violence. The letter coincides with the Eid al-Fitr celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan. It was also sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the heads of the Lutheran, Methodist and Baptist churches, the Orthodox Church's Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and other Orthodox Patriarchs. The letter, entitled A Common Word Between Us and You, compares passages in the Koran and the Bible, concluding that both emphasise "the primacy of total love and devotion to God", and the love of the neighbour. With Muslims and Christians making up more than half the world's population, the letter goes on, the relationship between the two religious communities is "the most important factor in contributing to meaningful peace around the world". As Muslims, we say to Christians that we are not against them and that Islam is not against them - so long as they do not wage war against Muslims on account of their religion, oppress them and drive them out of their homes," the letter says. It adds: "To those who nevertheless relish conflict and destruction for their own sake or reckon that ultimately they stand to gain through them, we say our very eternal souls are all also at stake if we fail to sincerely make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony." One of the signatories, Dr Aref Ali Nayed, a senior adviser at the Cambridge Inter-faith Programme at Cambridge University, told the BBC that the document should be seen as a landmark.
| Islam | RCC | Apostasy |

It is very clear that Christianity and Islam do not mingle, in fact they are mutually exclusive. If a belief is defined by its holy book, then true Islam and true Christianity can never claim to be the same. But then again, the Vatican does not represent the Christianity of the Bible, although they claim sole position as the Christian church. The truth of the matter is made clear once again by just reading what the Bible actually says in comparison to the fruits of the Vatican. I have nothing against Catholics, but if you profess faith in Yeshua, you must also be obedient. If practices of a "church" go against the Bible, God's Word, and if we love Yeshua then we obey Him, John 14:15-21, then it follows that what we are clinging to is not really Christianity because our foundation is the Word of God, not the word of men. I urge everyone to read the Bible for themselves and see how we are supposed to act if we are really Christians. That is the foundation, not tradition. This I say in love because there is Truth, let us align ourselves with Truth, wherever that leads us.

Jerusalem Emerges as Stumbling Block in Mideast Peace Talks Voice of America News (October 11, 2007) - Jerusalem is emerging as a major stumbling block in new peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, both Jews and Muslims are claiming the city's holy sites as their own. A senior Palestinian official has thrown a wrench into peace talks by saying that the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, the holiest place in Judaism, belongs to Islam and the Palestinians. The Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Adnan Husseini says the Western Wall is a "Wakf" or Islamic Trust that must be returned to Palestinian control. He told Israel Radio that it is a supporting wall for the al-Aksa Mosque, the third holiest place in Islam. For Israel, the wall is the last remnant of the biblical Temple, and turning it over to the Palestinians is unthinkable. As Israel and the Palestinians try to hammer out a declaration of principles to be presented at an international peace conference this year, Jerusalem is back on the negotiating table. In a compromise proposal earlier this week, Israel offered to hand over some Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem to Palestinian control, though that would not include the Old City, where contested holy sites are located. Israeli parliamentarian Reuven Rivlin, of the hawkish opposition Likud party, says the government made a mistake by negotiating on Jerusalem in the first place. Rivlin told Israel Radio that if you begin by offering Arab neighborhoods to the Palestinians then you end at the Western Wall. He said no Israeli leader has the right to negotiate over Jerusalem, which he says is the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Reinforcing Palestinian demands, President Mahmoud Abbas said Israel must withdraw from all territory captured in the 1967 war, including Jerusalem's Old City. Israel's government says that is a non-starter.
| Israel | Islam | 1st Seal | Dividing the Land |

Zechariah 12:1-3
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Ahmadinejad: Iran Calls For Effective, Comprehensive Ties With Russia Islamic Republic News Agency (October 11, 2007) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not to set any limit for expansion of ties with Russia and seeks a durable, effective and all-out ties with that country. "Iran's authority would be to the benefit of Russia and vise versa," he said. Ahmadinejad made the remarks in an interview with Russian news agency Itar Tass and Russian TV network on Thursday. Given their geographical, political, and cultural status, the two nations are to live together, underlined the president. Iran and Russia are naturally united, he said. Despite many ups and downs in two sides' relations in the past, the two countries are determined to fully bolster and broaden their mutual relations, he said. Mutual cooperation between Iran and Russia would leave positive impacts on the region as well as the whole world, he pointed out. The two sides enjoy ample economic potentials to meet each other's requirements, he said. Expansion of mutual cooperation between Iran and Russia would be to the benefit of both nations, regional countries and the world, he said. Both Iran and Russia as two big powers playing significant role in regional and global equations, he said. On his latest trip to New York and his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, he said the United Nations is an international venue for exchange of views and expressing ideas and Iran did the same thing which was welcomed by the whole world. All countries in the world including Russia put the seal of approval on Iran's viewpoints about freedom and justice seeking, he said. "Another positive result of the trip to New York was that strong barrier of censorship in that country broke and the American nation directly listened to our real points of view on various global issues and welcomed them," he said. Iran's nuclear activities are within IAEA rules and regulations and have a peaceful nature, he said, adding that the reports released by the IAEA is a good proof of this claim that Iran has not deviated from peaceful nuclear activities. Since a number of western countries believe that they have lost their interests in Iran they try to put the blame on Iran by raising such claims as lack of confidence building in nuclear issue, he said. more...
| Iran | Gog/Magog | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | America |

Putin To EJC: Israel, Russia Are 'Partners' In Facing Iran The Jerusalem Post (October 11, 2007) - In a meeting with European Jewish Congress leaders on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the two countries most threatened by Iran are Israel and Russia, and the two are "complete partners in this matter," according to EJC sources familiar with the meeting. "The president [Putin] also said he will do everything in his power to continue to raise the issue in the upcoming Second Summit of Caspian States [beginning October 16 in Teheran]," the source said. Earlier Wednesday, following a meeting between Putin and French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Putin declared that there was a lack of "objective data" regarding an Iranian nuclear weapons plan, so "we proceed from a position that Iran has no such plans." Even so, he said, "we are sharing our partners' concern about making all Iranian programs transparent." Russia has opposed the US-led push for tougher sanctions against Iran and called for more checks and inspections of Iranian facilities by International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, instead of an immediate third round of sanctions. Asked about the discrepancy of apparent concern over an Iranian nuclear threat in the meeting with the EJC and the calmer tones prevailing in Putin's message to the international community, an EJC spokesman said the organization did not have an immediate comment on Putin's earlier declaration. At the meeting, EJC President Moshe Kantor asked Putin "to bring his influence to bear on the Iranian President" since "Iran is the major state supporter of International terrorism. If Iran gains the ability to export nuclear weaponry to terror organizations, the danger and horror that awaits the world is immense." The Kremlin meeting also discussed anti-Semitism, where the EJC praised the Russian government's work to combat the phenomenon in Russia. According to the EJC, Putin "committed himself to using the full force of the law to bring to account people who perpetrate such acts." In particular, the Jewish umbrella organization heard "positive" responses from several Russian leaders, including Putin, regarding the formal commemoration of International Holocaust Memorial Day in Russia. The day, which falls on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, is marked officially in Germany, Poland, the UK, Denmark and elsewhere, and was adopted this year by the UN.
| Iran | Gog/Magog | Israel | Islam |

EU will back Abbas if Hamas included The Jerusalem Post (October 11, 2007) - The European Union would support Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas if he reconciled with Hamas, according to Christina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana. Speaking to visiting Israeli reporters in Brussels on Thursday, she said the EU, nonetheless, still held firm to its policy not to recognize Hamas until it recognizes Israel. Gallach said it was up to Abbas to find a way to handle Hamas. "What we tell him [Abbas] is that he is the one we recognize, the one we support," she said. "We work very well with him and [PA] Prime Minister Salaam Fayad." In the past, Gallach said, the EU found a way to move forward with Fatah when it sat in a government with Hamas, dealing solely with Abbas and some of his Fatah ministers. Her statements came in response to media reports of possible talks between Hamas and Fatah just one month before the US-sponsored Middle East meeting expected to be held in Annapolis on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "We tell [Abbas] he has to do what he thinks is right," Gallach said. "On this issue, we will not take the lead." Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday night that Hamas would be willing to hold talks with Fatah and hinted it would consider ceding control of the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported. "There is a serious improvement in Palestinian dialogue, and we have agreed to hold talks with Fatah in one of the Arab capitals," Haniyeh reportedly said. He reportedly said the Hamas administration in Gaza was "temporary," adding that dialogue with Fatah would be established following Ramadan. Nabil Amr, a senior Fatah official and key adviser to Abbas, on Thursday strongly denied reports about secret talks between his faction and Hamas. He said Fatah would not talk to Hamas unless the Islamist movement relinquished control over the Gaza Strip. "Hamas is a terror organization, and any connection of any type whatsoever to Hamas will not bring peace - not to Israel and not to the Palestinians," a Foreign Ministry official told The Jerusalem Post Thursday. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of former senior US officials and congressmen pushed for dialogue with Hamas ahead of the Annapolis peace conference. "We believe that a genuine dialogue with the organization is far preferable to its isolation; it could be conducted, for example, by the UN and Quartet Middle East envoys," they wrote in a letter to the Bush administration published Wednesday. "If Syria or Hamas are ostracized, prospects that they will play a spoiler role increase dramatically." The signatories included former George H.W. Bush administration national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, former Carter administration national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker. The letter praised the invitation extended to Syria and called for the conference to launch Israeli-Syrian talks. more...
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal | Dividing the Land |

Foreclosure Filings Nearly Double Associated Press (October 11, 2007) - Foreclosure filings across the U.S. nearly doubled last month compared with September 2006, as financially strapped homeowners already behind on mortgage payments defaulted on their loans or came closer to losing their homes to foreclosure, a real estate information company said Thursday. A total of 223,538 foreclosure filings were reported in September, up from 112,210 in the same month a year ago, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc. The number of filings in September was down 8 percent from August's 243,947, the firm said. Despite the sequential decline, the September figure represents the second-highest total for filings in a single month since the company began tracking monthly filings two years ago. "August was an extraordinarily high month for foreclosure activity, so some falloff was almost predictable," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president for marketing. The filings include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Some properties might have received more than one notice if the owners have multiple mortgages. Typically, borrowers must be 60 to 90 days past due on their mortgage payments before their lender will consider them in default, the first stage of the foreclosure process. If a homeowner can't find a way to get current on payments, the home is then often put up for auction, and if it doesn't sell, it eventually goes back to the bank. In all, 39 states saw a decline in foreclosure filings, the firm said. more...
| America |

Outrage Erupts Over Bush Demands in Murder Case WorldNet Daily (October 10, 2007) - What the U.S. government wants in the Medellin murder case, now being heard before the U.S. Supreme Court, is "bizarrely grotesque," according to the chief counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. And the warning from ADF Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull notes that the case, being pursued by President Bush through the Department of Justice, could result in U.S. laws being subjugated to U.N. resolutions and rules to the point that local police officers will have to spend more time studying international law than catching criminals. "The notion that an international body can Mirandize the right of an illegal immigrant to call a consulate, so that if the local police trip up and innocently don't to it, a convicted rapist-torturer-murderer goes free, goes beyond bizarrely grotesque," Bull, whose organization has filed an amicus brief on the issue, told WND. At issue is the death penalty verdict for Jose Medellin, who confessed in 1993 to participating in the rape and murder of two Houston teenagers. Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena were sodomized and strangled with their shoe laces. Medellin then boasted of keeping one girl's Mickey Mouse watch as a souvenir of the crime. The Bush administration is before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the death penalty, at the behest of the International Court of Justice, a division of the United Nations. Medellin and four others were convicted of capital murder and sent to Texas' death row. A juvenile court sentenced Medellin's younger brother, who was 14 at the time, to 40 years in prison. But the Bush administration intervention came after the U.N.'s International Court of Justice found Medellin was not informed of his right to contact the Mexican Consulate for legal assistance. That, according to the Hague, was a violation of a 1963 treaty known as the Vienna Convention. WND requests for comment on the situation to the campaigns of three leaders for the GOP nomination for president, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and John McCain, as well as several other "second-tier" candidates, did not generate a response. But Bull said the potential results are frightening. "This is going to be a watershed case," he said, "which could bring the U.S. criminal justice system into a brave new world, subordinated to United Nations regulations and issuances." He noted the 50 convictions of illegal immigrants that could be overturned by the ruling, and said many of them would simply go free despite the assaults and homicides that may have been committed. "Most of these individuals will never be retried – and that's another level of concern – because the witnesses aren't available," he said. And even worse yet, he noted, is the precedent it would set for "activist presidents." If the case is decided the wrong way, he said, a future president simply could impose such requirements on the United States simply by signing a treaty composed by the United Nations. "That should scare the pants off Americans," he said. "What this would do if decided wrongly would be to transfer American sovereignty to instruments of the United Nations, essentially putting it under the 3rd World governments who form a majority of the governments at the United Nations," he said. "Our worst nightmare as Americans who love our country will happen," he said. He said he expects the outcome of the case ultimately will turn on the vote of Justice Anthony Kennedy, because the liberal and conservative blocs on the court largely have coalesced in previous decisions. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | NewWorldOrder | America |

In two words, "global governance." And the world will give their power to the beast because none can make war with him. They have slowly given all their rights and freedoms over to a man who comes in with flattery to deceive and take the freedom of others to later exert his control on them through changing the laws and the times.

Daniel 7:25
And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Which brings me to an update, the Treaty of Lisbon. This is the beginning of the coming legal war on the saints. How much control does Europe apparently already have? And what will happen when America's economy collapses and Europe has to bail us out financially, will there be any option but obedience or fighting, but they're expecting and prepared for both. That is why we must pray and forgive, loving our enemies for vengeance is the Lord's, He will repay justly.

Credit card debt is ready to blow Baltimore Sun (October 10, 2007) - After every financial crisis over the past 10 years, the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates and pumped money into the economy. Each rescue solved the problem - and created a new one. The next bomb from this chain reaction of bailouts and blowups will be credit-card debt. Hardly anybody is talking about it yet, but banks and consumers are laying the ground for a wave of credit-card defaults, bankruptcies and asset write-offs for 2009 or so. Regulators and investors have discouraged excessive mortgage lending, so banks are turning to credit cards as the next growth business. They're starting to raise credit limits, lower lending standards and increase recruitment. And now that they can't borrow against homes so easily, consumers are borrowing more against plastic - even to meet higher, adjustable mortgage obligations that they can't handle from their income. This can end only one way. The only question is how bad it will be. The percentage of banks tightening credit-card lending standards is hovering near its lowest levels in a decade, according to a Federal Reserve survey. Junk-mail credit-card solicitations jumped late last year, although they're still below the levels of 2005, according to the Tower Group, a financial services research firm. But more importantly, the percentage of people responding to credit-card come-ons has risen steadily and nearly tripled since mid-2005. "It doesn't mean that banks are giving the store away, but they've eased their lending standards to be able to grab [market] share" in credit cards, says Dennis C. Moroney, a senior analyst at Tower. Increasing market share is often banker-ese for "making lots of loans that won't get paid back." more...
| America |

Ex-Mexican prez: 'Amero' on the way WorldNet Daily (October 9, 2007) - Former Mexican President Vicente Fox confirmed the existence of a plan conceived with President Bush to create a new regional currency in the Americas, in an interview last night on CNN's "Larry King Live." It possibly was the first time a leader of Mexico, Canada or the U.S. openly confirmed a plan for a regional currency. Fox explained the current regional trade agreement that encompasses the Western Hemisphere is intended to evolve into other previously hidden aspects of integration. According to a transcript published by CNN, King, near the end of the broadcast, asked Fox a question e-mailed from a listener, a Ms. Gonzalez from Elizabeth, N.J.: "Mr. Fox, I would like to know how you feel about the possibility of having a Latin America united with one currency?" Fox answered in the affirmative, indicating it was a long-term plan. He admitted he and President Bush had agreed to pursue the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas – a free-trade zone extending throughout the Western Hemisphere, suggesting part of the plan was to institute eventually a regional currency. "Long term, very long term," he said. "What we proposed together, President Bush and myself, it's ALCA, which is a trade union for all the Americas." ALCA is the acronym for the Area de Libre Comercio de las Américas, the name of the FTAA in Spanish. King, evidently startled by Fox's revelation of the currency, asked pointedly, "It's going to be like the euro dollar (sic), you mean?" "Well, that would be long, long term," Fox repeated. Fox noted the FTAA plan had been thwarted by Hugo Chavez, the radical socialist president of Venezuela. "Everything was running fluently until Hugo Chavez came," Fox commented. "He decided to combat the idea and destroy the idea." Fox explained that he and Bush intended to proceed incrementally, establishing FTAA as an economic agreement first and waiting to create an amero-type currency later – a plan he also suggested was in place for NAFTA itself. "I think the process to go, first step is trading agreement," Fox said. "And then further on, a new vision, like we are trying to do with NAFTA." Fox's reply to the CNN viewer was captured in a clip posted on YouTube.com. CNN posted video of the interview but did not include the segment with questions from viewers. more...
| NewWorldOrder | America |

Eventually America has to cooperate with the globalists or chaos will ensue. It is not part of their plan to control the globe, and according to Bible prophecy, they will achieve their goal and give their power to one man given power by Lucifer for 42 months. Revelation 13:5 That will occur when this man of sin declares himself god in the rebuilt Hebrew temple in Jerusalem. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 We're still a little ways away from that coming to pass, but the end according to scripture is written already. Control of the world's currency is part of that such that nobody will be able to buy or sell without getting a mark of allegiance to this world leader. Those who take the mark will never see heaven. Revelation 13:16-18

New Transparent Plastic Strong as Steel Spacemart (October 8, 2007) - By mimicking a brick-and-mortar molecular structure found in seashells, University of Michigan researchers created a composite plastic that's as strong as steel but lighter and transparent. It's made of layers of clay nanosheets and a water-soluble polymer that shares chemistry with white glue. Engineering professor Nicholas Kotov almost dubbed it "plastic steel," but the new material isn't quite stretchy enough to earn that name. Nevertheless, he says its further development could lead to lighter, stronger armor for soldiers or police and their vehicles. It could also be used in microelectromechanical devices, microfluidics, biomedical sensors and valves and unmanned aircraft. Kotov and other U-M faculty members are authors of a paper on this composite material, "Ultrastrong and Stiff Layered Polymer Nanocomposites," published in the Oct. 5 edition of Science. The scientists solved a problem that has confounded engineers and scientists for decades: Individual nano-size building blocks such as nanotubes, nanosheets and nanorods are ultrastrong. But larger materials made out of bonded nano-size building blocks were comparatively weak. Until now. "When you tried to build something you can hold in your arms, scientists had difficulties transferring the strength of individual nanosheets or nanotubes to the entire material," Kotov said. "We've demonstrated that one can achieve almost ideal transfer of stress between nanosheets and a polymer matrix." The researchers created this new composite plastic with a machine they developed that builds materials one nanoscale layer after another. The robotic machine consists of an arm that hovers over a wheel of vials of different liquids. In this case, the arm held a piece of glass about the size of a stick of gum on which it built the new material. The arm dipped the glass into the glue-like polymer solution and then into a liquid that was a dispersion of clay nanosheets. After those layers dried, the process repeated. It took 300 layers of each the glue-like polymer and the clay nanosheets to create a piece of this material as thick as a piece of plastic wrap. Mother of pearl, the iridescent lining of mussel and oyster shells, is built layer-by-layer like this. It's one of the toughest natural mineral-based materials. more...
| Technology |

Threats to Bumblebees Fly Under Radar Breitbart.com (October 8, 2007) - Looking high and low, Robbin Thorp can no longer find a species of bumblebee that just five years ago was plentiful in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Thorp, an emeritus professor of entomology from the University of California at Davis, found one solitary worker last year along a remote mountain trail in the Siskiyou Mountains, but hasn't been able to locate any this year. He fears that the species—Franklin's bumblebee—has gone extinct before anyone could even propose it for the endangered species list. To make matters worse, two other bumblebee species—one on the East coast, one on the West—have gone from common to rare. Amid the uproar over global warming and mysterious disappearances of honeybee colonies, concern over the plight of the lowly bumblebee has been confined to scientists laboring in obscurity. But if bumblebees were to disappear, farmers and entomologists warn, the consequences would be huge, especially coming on top of the problems with honeybees, which are active at different times and on different crop species. Bumblebees are responsible for pollinating an estimated 15 percent of all the crops grown in the U.S., worth $3 billion, particularly those raised in greenhouses. Those include tomatoes, peppers and strawberries. Demand is growing as honeybees decline. In the wild, birds and bears depend on bumblebees for berries and fruits. There is no smoking gun yet, but a recent National Academy of Sciences report on the status of pollinators around the world blames a combination of habitat lost to housing developments and intensive agriculture, pesticides, pollution and diseases spilling out of greenhouses using commercial bumblebee hives. "We have been naive," said Neal Williams, assistant professor of biology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. "We haven't been diligent the way we need to be." The threat has bumblebee advocates lobbying Congress to allocate more money for research and to create incentives for farmers to leave uncultivated land for habitat. They also want farmers to grow more flowering plants that native bees feed on. "We are smart enough to deal with this," said Laurie Adams, executive director of the Pollinator Partnership. "There is hope." Companies in Europe, Israel and Canada adapted bumblebees to commercial use in the early 1990s, and they are now standard in greenhouses raising tomatoes and peppers. Demand is growing as supplies of honeybees decline, especially for field crops such as blueberries, cranberries, watermelon, squash, and raspberries, said Holly Burroughs, general manager for production for the U.S. branch of Koppert Biological Systems Inc., a Netherlands company that sells most of the commercial bumblebees in the U.S. more...
| 3rd Seal |

Could this lead to the apparent famine in Revelation 6:5,6?

Israel signals shift on Jerusalem split Associated Press (October 8, 2007) - Two senior Israeli politicians, including the prime minister's closest ally, talked openly Monday about dividing Jerusalem, signaling a possible shift in Israeli opinion about one of the Mideast's most contentious issues. The dispute over Jerusalem has derailed negotiations in the past, and the latest comments come at a time when Israeli and Palestinian teams are trying to agree on principles guiding future peace talks. The ideas raised by Vice Premier Haim Ramon still fall far short of Palestinian demands to establish their capital in all of the city's eastern sector, annexed by Israel after the 1967 Mideast War. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, meanwhile, told parliament he will not be deterred from seeking a peace deal with the Palestinians. He said Israel has missed opportunities in the past, and warned that continued failure would mean a "demographic struggle steeped in blood and tears." Olmert was unusually impassioned but short on specifics. He made no mention of Jerusalem. Later Monday, Israeli and Palestinian teams met for the first time to start drafting a joint declaration of principles that would guide negotiators if peace talks were to resume after a seven-year freeze. Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo said afterward that no results could have been expected from the first meeting, but he hoped a meaningful document would emerge. The document, which is to address the key disputes — borders, Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian refugees — will be the centerpiece of a U.S.-hosted Mideast conference in November. Olmert's speech appeared to be a careful balancing act — sending an encouraging message to the Palestinians, while not giving his hardline critics at home too much ammunition by going into detail. His central theme was a pledge not to miss an opportunity to reach a long-elusive peace deal, even if it requires costly concessions. Olmert said Israelis will have to led go of some of the beliefs that "fed the national ethos for many years," a reference to giving up West Bank land. more...
| Israel | Islam | 1st Seal | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount |

See also: "If I Divide Thee, O Jerusalem..." CBS News (October 8, 2007) From my understanding of Bible prophecy to date, I believe that Israel will be divided according to Zechariah 14:1,2. I believe this dividing of Israel in the name of peace is the next step in the prophetic timeline and will then lead to Ezekiel 38,39. In regards to the Temple Mount, not included above, I believe a deal will be worked out so that the outer court will not be built when the Jews rebuild the temple and it will sit next to the Dome of the Rock. rRevelation 11:1,2

Israel says peace conference not enough Associated Press (October 7, 2007) - Israel's prime minister said Sunday the U.S.-sponsored Mideast conference next month is not a substitute for direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, an apparent attempt to lower expectations from the gathering called by President Bush. However, violence threatened to overshadow preparations. On Sunday, Gaza militants fired a Katyusha rocket at southern Israel. No one was hurt, but it raised the dire possibility of an escalation in the daily battles with Israeli forces if the militants use more of the rockets, which are far more dangerous than the homemade versions they have been using. Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas bombarded northern Israel with nearly 4,000 of the rockets in their monthlong war with Israel in 2006, killing dozens of Israelis. Palestinians were scaling back their demands before the conference, improving chances for an agreement with Israel on an advance document. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet on Sunday that his meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have yielded no breakthroughs. "There have been no agreements or deals," Olmert said. The two have been sitting down every two weeks or so, and last week they appointed committees to draft an accord to take to the Mideast conference, expected to convene in late November in the U.S. The teams are set to meet for the first time on Monday, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to return to the region later this week to assess progress. While the international conference is designed to promote peacemaking, "it will in no way replace direct negotiations with the Palestinians," Olmert said. He also said there could be no actual movement toward peace until the Palestinians implement their commitments under the 2003 "road map" plan. That includes dismantling violent groups like Hamas, which has in the meantime taken over Gaza and is threatening Abbas' rival Fatah faction in the West Bank. Palestinians charge Israel has not done its part under the road map — halting settlement expansion and removing illegal outposts. Palestinian government spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh said Sunday Israeli intentions are the key. "If they are serious, we will definitely reach a political document that handles the final status issues with a timetable for the implementation and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state," he said. But other Palestinian officials said a detailed agreement is no longer a condition for attending the conference — a document that lists the issues but does not spell out Palestinian concessions would be acceptable. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations are still in progress. Israel prefers a vague declaration of principles instead of a detailed document including its concessions. The outline of a final Israel-Palestinian peace deal has been clear for years — an Israeli withdrawal from most of the West Bank, removal of most Jewish settlements there, and deals over Palestinian refugees and division of Jerusalem. The main problem is the perception on each side that the other is too weak to make the necessary concessions to finalize such an agreement. more...
| Israel | Islam | EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana | 1st Seal | Dividing the Land | America |

Is this the signal of America's end in bringing about peace in the Middle East? I wonder who will step in to solve this who has the understanding and ability to work some politics and get a Palestinian State in place? If what is happening that seems to be fulfilling prophecy is correct, that leader will be with Europe, the revived Roman Empire. He will lead 10 kings and speak for them because they will have given him their power. In the name of peace, Jerusalem will be divided and half the city will go into captivity while the other half remains. Zechariah 14:1,2 The day appears to be approaching and we are not in darkness regarding the times we are living in. Keep watching!

Deadly Mystery Disease Follows Troops Home San Francisco Chronicle (October 7, 2007) - The young American Army medic would not stop bleeding. He had been put on a powerful regimen of antibiotics by doctors aboard the hospital ship Comfort in the Persian Gulf. But something was wrong. He was in shock and bleeding from small pricks where nurses had placed intravenous lines. Red, swollen tissue from an active bacterial infection was expanding around his abdominal wound. His immune system was in overdrive. How odd, thought Dr. Kyle Petersen, an infectious disease specialist. He knew of one injured Iraqi man with similar symptoms and a few days later encountered an Iraqi teenager with gunshot wounds in the same condition. Within a few days, blood tests confirmed that the medic and the two wounded Iraqis were infected with an unusual bacterium, Acinetobacter baumannii. This particular strain had a deadly twist. It was resistant to a dozen antibiotics. The medic survived, but by the time Petersen connected the dots, the two Iraqi patients were dead. It was April 2003, early in the Iraq war - and 41/2 years later, scientists still are struggling to understand the medical mystery. The three cases aboard the Comfort were the first of a stubborn outbreak that has spread to at least five other American military hospitals, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and the Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Hundreds of patients - the military says it has not tabulated how many - have been infected with the bacterium in their bloodstream, cerebrospinal fluid, bones or lungs. Many of them were troops wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan; others have been civilians infected after stays in military hospitals. At least 27 people have died in military hospitals with Acinetobacter infections since 2003, although doctors are uncertain how many of the deaths actually were caused by the bacteria. The rise in infections has been dramatic. In 2001 and 2002, Acinetobacter infections made up about 2 percent of admissions at the specialized burn unit at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. In 2003, the rate jumped to 6 percent, and then to 12 percent by 2005. Other military hospitals have reported similar levels. more...
| America |

It's official: Terrorists endorse Hillary in '08 WorldNet Daily (October 7, 2007) - With presidential primaries approaching and the race for the White House heating up, Muslim terrorist leaders in the Middle East have offered their endorsement for America's highest office, stating in a new book they hope Sen. Hillary Clinton is victorious in 2008. "I hope Hillary is elected in order to have the occasion to carry out all the promises she is giving regarding Iraq," stated Ala Senakreh, West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group. Senakreh is one of dozens of terror leaders sounding off about American politics in the new book, "Schmoozing with Terrorists: From Hollywood to the Holy Land, Jihadists Reveal their Global Plans – to a Jew!" by WND Jerusalem bureau chief Aaron Klein. Abu Hamed, leader of the Al Aqsa Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, explained in "Schmoozing" Clinton's repeated calls for a withdrawal from Iraq "proves that important leaders are understanding the situation differently and are understanding the price and the consequences of the American policy in Iraq and in the world." "The Iraqi resistance is succeeding," stated Hamed. "Hillary and the Democrats call for withdrawal. Her popularity shows that the resistance is winning and that the occupation is losing. We just hope that she will go until the end and change the American policy, which is based on oppressing poor and innocent people." The Brigades, together with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, took responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the past three years. The Brigades also has carried out hundreds of recent shootings and rocket attacks. Abu Ayman, an Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, said he is "emboldened" by Clinton's calls for an eventual withdrawal from Iraq. "It is clear that it is the resistance operations of the mujahideen that has brought about these calls for withdrawal," boasted Abu Ayman. Nasser Abu Aziz, the West Bank deputy commander of the Al Aqsa Brigades, declared it is "very good" there are "voices like Hillary and others who are now attacking the Iraq invasion." In "Schmoozing," every terrorist leader out of dozens interviewed stated they hope a Democrat becomes president in 2008. Some terror leaders explained their endorsement of Clinton is not necessarily at the expense of other Democratic presidential candidates, whose policies are not as well known to them. "All Americans must vote Democrat," stated Jihad Jaara, an exiled member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the infamous leader of the 2002 siege of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Some Palestinian terrorist leaders stated their support of Clinton, in part, stems from hopes she will apply some of her husband's foreign policies, particularly toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "I hope also she will maintain her husband's policies regarding Palestine and even develop that policy," stated Brigades chiefton Senakreh. "President Clinton wanted to give the Palestinians 98 percent of the West Bank territories. I hope Hillary will move a step forward and will give the Palestinians all their rights. She has the chance to save the American nation and the Americans life.” more...
| Islam | America |

Bush: All religions pray to 'same God' WorldNet Daily (October 7, 2007) - President George Bush has repeated his belief all religions, "whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God" – an assertion that caused outrage among evangelical leaders when he said it in November 2003. Bush made the statement Friday in an interview with Al Arabiya reporter Elie Nakouzi. Al Arabiya is Al Jazeerah's top competitor in the Mideast. As the president and Nakouzi walked from the Oval Office to the Map Room in the White House residence, Nazouki asked, "But I want to tell you – and I hope this doesn't bother you at all – that in the Islamic world they think that President Bush is an enemy of Islam – that he wants to destroy their religion, what they believe in. Is that in any way true, Mr. President?" "No, it's not," said Bush. "I've heard that, and it just shows [sic] to show a couple of things: One, that the radicals have done a good job of propagandizing. In other words, they've spread the word that this really isn't peaceful people versus radical people or terrorists, this is really about the America not liking Islam. "Well, first of all, I believe in an Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God. That's what I believe. I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace. And I believe people who murder the innocent to achieve political objectives aren't religious people, whether they be a Christian who does that – we had a person blow up our – blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City who professed to be a Christian, but that's not a Christian act to kill innocent people. "And I just simply don't subscribe to the idea that murdering innocent men, women and children – particularly Muslim men, women and children in the Middle East – is an act of somebody who is a religious person. more...
| America | Apostasy |

Reaaaalllyyyy? Islam and Christianity are incompatible because in Christianity the Son of God died for the sins of mankind. In Islam, Allah has no son. The message of the two holy books is completely different from each other as seen in the fruits of the two groups who take their holy books seriously. The New World Order will have to remove that "extremist" exclusivity issue somehow to bring everyone together under the antichrist. The war on the saints is coming, keep watching!

I am creating artificial life, declares US gene pioneer The Guardian (October 6, 2007) - Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth. The announcement, which is expected within weeks and could come as early as Monday at the annual meeting of his scientific institute in San Diego, California, will herald a giant leap forward in the development of designer genomes. It is certain to provoke heated debate about the ethics of creating new species and could unlock the door to new energy sources and techniques to combat global warming. Mr Venter told the Guardian he thought this landmark would be "a very important philosophical step in the history of our species. We are going from reading our genetic code to the ability to write it. That gives us the hypothetical ability to do things never contemplated before". The Guardian can reveal that a team of 20 top scientists assembled by Mr Venter, led by the Nobel laureate Hamilton Smith, has already constructed a synthetic chromosome, a feat of virtuoso bio-engineering never previously achieved. Using lab-made chemicals, they have painstakingly stitched together a chromosome that is 381 genes long and contains 580,000 base pairs of genetic code. The DNA sequence is based on the bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium which the team pared down to the bare essentials needed to support life, removing a fifth of its genetic make-up. The wholly synthetically reconstructed chromosome, which the team have christened Mycoplasma laboratorium, has been watermarked with inks for easy recognition. It is then transplanted into a living bacterial cell and in the final stage of the process it is expected to take control of the cell and in effect become a new life form. The team of scientists has already successfully transplanted the genome of one type of bacterium into the cell of another, effectively changing the cell's species. Mr Venter said he was "100% confident" the same technique would work for the artificially created chromosome. The new life form will depend for its ability to replicate itself and metabolise on the molecular machinery of the cell into which it has been injected, and in that sense it will not be a wholly synthetic life form. However, its DNA will be artificial, and it is the DNA that controls the cell and is credited with being the building block of life. more...
| Technology |

Abbas: Jerusalem key to peace YNet News (October 6, 2007) - The Israeli and Palestinian teams asked to draft a joint statement ahead of a Mideast peace conference will hold their first meeting Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said. The teams are to write down the principles that would guide future peace talks. The US-hosted conference is to take place in November or early December. Abbas said he expected at least 36 states to attend, including 12 Arab states, three Muslim nations, the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the G-8. "We hope that the number will increase to 40 states," Abbas was quoted as telling Palestinian dignitaries from Jerusalem on Friday evening, during a meal breaking the dawn-to-dusk fast of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The remarks were carried by the Palestinian news agency WAFA and confirmed by a participant. Abbas did not provide a list of countries expected to attend. The US has not released such a list, or set a date yet. In Friday's meeting, Abbas told his guests that a solution for Jerusalem would be key to any peace deal. Israelis and Palestinians both claim the city as a capital. "Jerusalem has always been in our hearts, and the hope that we have been looking at," Abbas was quoted as saying. "There is no independent Palestinian state without Jerusalem as its capital. It is a concern in the coming, difficult days." Abbas has met six times since the spring with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to explore the chances of resuming negotiations, which broke down in January 2001. more...
| Israel | Islam | 1st Seal | Dividing the Land | Temple Mount |

I wonder how this will play out in the division of the Temple Mount? According to scripture, Israel will rebuild the temple on the Temple Mount, but the outer court won't be built because it is given to the Gentiles. If the plan is the creation of a Palestinian State amongst Israel, then the Temple Mount will definitely be part of it. I believe the Magog invasion will take place before too long and from this time on, Israel will recognize their God. This could mean a huge shift in Israel spiritually and while still being blinded, would return to worship of YAHWEH in the ways of their fathers according to their Holy Book, the incomplete Bible. They will definitely be pushing for the Temple to be rebuilt and the daily sacrifice to resume as soon as possible.

Looking for Purple Hippopotamuses Fulfilled Prophecy (October 6, 2007) - What if all your life you were told that, one day, thousands of massive war ships would arrive on the shores of your city? You'd probably build a coastal fortress and a strong navy. Now, instead, let's say some people reinterpreted that belief and said your city would be visited, not by ships, but by droves of purple hippopotamuses. And the hippos would come, not from the sea, but out of a volcano. You might build a watchtower near the volcano and Google "how to build a hippo trap." If you did build that watchtower, when the ships arrived you'd be caught by surprise. You'd have your back to the ocean, hippo trap in hand. That's what's happening in the church today. End-times events are occurring -- events the Bible prophesied centuries ago -- and yet many Christians aren't seeing them because they've been told to look for something else. A perfect example is the growing apostolic-prophetic movement. Leaders in this movement have reinterpreted many end-times prophecies. Take a recent prophecy by Todd Bentley, which he gave during an Aug. 23 conference at the Healing Rooms in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The gist of the prophecy is that Grand Rapids is about to experience a great work of God. Read the full prophecy here. But Bentley shares how he knows this -- from revelation God gave him about "the bowls of heaven" in Revelation 8. He describes the revelation like this:

And I had an angelic encounter and I saw how the state [of Michigan] was open. In fact the bowls were full. There's been a groundwork laid in intercession and the bowls were full. Heaven is about to respond. When those bowls are full, it's going to be mixed with the altar from God's fire and cast back down to the earth. That's what happens when the bowls are full, right? In Revelation chapter 8, when the bowls are full of the incense (the prayers of the saints), something happens in Heaven and it gets thrown back to the earth.

Bentley goes on to describe how, when these bowls are cast down to Michigan, then God will do great things in that state. In his vision, he even saw "flashes of lightning" and "thunder" over Michigan's Great Lakes. Yet, when you read Revelation 8, you will see that -- although the casting of the bowls is accompanied by lightning and thunder, they don't release God's blessings. They release His terrible judgments: including natural disasters and cosmic disturbances. In the larger context of this passage, we learn the timing of this event is when Christ opens the seventh seal of God's judgment -- after His people have endured persecution. So, presumably, the prayers that fill the bowls are Christians' prayers for vindication. And vindication is exactly what God gives them when the bowls are cast to earth. Not only does Bentley reinterpret the casting of the bowls as blessings, but he also reapplies them to just the state of Michigan. Other "prophets" do the same thing. Kim Clement often prophesies about "dry bones" -- reinterpreting the prophet Ezekiel's metaphor of God's restoration of the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 37). Last November, Clement applied the "dry bones" prophecy to Southern California -- saying God was going to do a mighty work in its regions, including the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood. Clement described his conversation with God like this:

"What do you see? Prophet, what do you see?" I see a valley of dry bones--the San Fernando Valley. "What do you see?" I see three valleys, no four, with dry bones. "What will you do?" says the Spirit. "What did I tell Ezekiel to do?--prophesy to the bones and they shall live." God is speaking in this building tonight. His Word shall go forth into the atmosphere. I see four principalities being brought to nothing. "They have no power over your children, your family, your money, your business, your ministry, your future," says the Lord.

These are just two examples of how end-times prophecies have been reinterpreted and reapplied in the apostolic-prophetic movement. "Prophet" Bill Hamon teaches that the two witnesses in Revelation 11 are actually two armies of apostles and prophets (see his book Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God, page 137). Many others, like "apostle" C. Peter Wagner and "prophet" Chuck Pierce, speak of a "great transference of wealth" from God's enemies to His people that will allow the kingdom of God to be built on earth before Christ's return. Yet, the passages they use to support this teaching actually speak of the wealth of the nations being brought to Israel during Christ's millennial rule. Meanwhile, real prophecies are actually occurring -- including the very real possibility that the "covenant with many" has been confirmed and we've entered the 70th week of Daniel (read about this here). But their significance is lost on people who've been taught to look for different things. And last week, world leaders at the United Nations meetings agreed that any religion that claims to be the only true religion is an enemy to peace. Read about it here. World leaders also gave their support to the Alliance of Civilizations -- a U.N. initiative that has big plans for countering religious fundamentalism. Read about it here. This fits perfectly with the false religious system the Bible prophesied will precede Christ's return -- one that will launch a bloody assault on Christians. Yet, not a peep about this has been heard from the "prophets" who are busy applying bowls and bones prophecies to Grand Rapids and Hollywood -- while their focus should be on the revived Roman Empire in Europe and God's nation, Israel.
| America |

Many of these cases are a prime example of not taking the whole council of God into account when reading Bible prophecy and not interpreting the prophecies with the Bible itself. It's very easy to look from our perspective in the 21st century and try to apply our ideas to what was written thousands of years ago. However, the author is the Holy Spirit and scripture was written precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. Isaiah 28:9-13 The prophetic movement seems to focus on personal prophecy and helping set up the kingdom of God, but is that what Bible prophecy is about? Revelation 19:10 states, "...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Prophecy centers on Christ, and in regards to what is written in scripture, His coming. In studying the prophecies, we learn more about Christ because He is the center of Bible prophecy and the Word made flesh. This doesn't mean we can't speak edification to the body, but the redefining from outside of scripture the prophecies written therein will only lead to confusion because scripture must interpret scripture and the prophecies of the Bible are regarding a future time beginning with much deception that will lead to the apostacy (falling away from God), the revealing of the antichrist, the great tribulation and the coming of our Lord to gather us to Himself. Trying to interpret scripture with anything but scripture will only lead to error.

Nigerian polio outbreak from vaccine Associated Press (October 5, 2007) - A polio outbreak in Nigeria was caused by the vaccine designed to stop it, international health officials say, leaving at least 69 children paralyzed. It is a frightening paradox in a part of the world that already distrusts western vaccines, making it even tougher to stamp out age-old diseases. The outbreak was caused by the live polio virus that is used in vaccines given orally — the preferred method in developing countries because it is cheaper and doesn't require medical training to dispense. "This vaccine is the most effective tool we have against the virus, but it's like fighting fire with fire," said Olen Kew, a virologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC and the World Health Organization announced the cause of the polio outbreak last week, even though they knew about it last year. Outbreaks caused by the oral vaccine's live virus have happened before. But the continuing Nigerian outbreak is the biggest ever caused by the vaccine. It also follows a nearly yearlong boycott of the vaccine in Africa's most populous country because of unfounded fears the vaccine was a Western plot to sterilize Muslims. Officials now worry that the latest vaccine-caused Nigerian outbreak could trigger another vaccine scare. Experts say such outbreaks only happen when too few children are vaccinated. In northern Nigeria, only about 39 percent of children are fully protected against polio. The oral polio vaccine contains a weakened version of polio virus. Children who have been vaccinated excrete the virus, and in unsanitary conditions it can end up in the water supply, spreading to unvaccinated children. In rare instances, as the virus passes through unimmunized children, it can mutate into a form that is dangerous enough to spark new outbreaks. In 2001, officials reported that 22 children were paralyzed from polio in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in this way. Subsequent vaccine-caused polio outbreaks have occurred in the Philippines, Madagascar, China and Indonesia. In the West, the polio vaccine is given as a shot and uses an inactivated virus, but that method is more expensive and requires training. In Nigeria, the outbreak comes "in the wake of all the other problems they've had in," said Dr. Donald A. Henderson, who led WHO's smallpox eradication campaign in the 1970s. In 2003, politicians in northern Nigeria canceled vaccination campaigns for nearly a year, claiming the vaccine was a Western plot to sterilize Muslims. That led to an explosion of polio, and the virus jumped to about two dozen countries. Now, health officials' decision to keep quiet about the cause of the outbreak for so long may look suspicious. Dr. David Heymann, WHO's top polio official, said that because the organization considered the outbreak to be a problem for scientists and not something that would change global vaccination practices, they thought it was was unnecessary to immediately share publicly. more...
| Technology |

This is a good example of why I don't believe we should not participate in vaccinations. Dr. Len Horowitz, author of DNA: Pirates of the Sacred Spiral, has much to say about this topic from a knowlegable perspective, giving details about the production of vaccines and other realities kept from the public conciousness. Read about them here. The bottom line is that vaccines can do exactly what this story is about. This is why I won't get any more vaccines, rather I will trust in God. He knows what He's doing more than these pharmacies and vaccine creators. In the Bible, the word "witchcraft" is actually the Greek word pharmakeia found in Galatians 5:20. It is defined in Greek as, "the use or the administering of drugs | poisoning | sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it | metaph. the deceptions and seductions of idolatry"

Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

EU treaty talks leave several political loose ends EU Observer (October 3, 2007) - Although the legal experts have given their blessing to the EU's new draft treaty, there are plenty of political issues that may have to be dealt with by EU leaders when they meet later this month to sign off the document. Topping the list is Poland's request to have a decision-blocking mechanism written into the treaty. Other member states fear this will make using the mechanism the norm rather than the exception and are battling to keep it in a declaration, which has no legal value. Poland is "almost certain" to raise it at the summit, says one diplomat but notes Portugal - holding the current EU presidency - is working behind the scenes to get a deal with the Poles. "They are unlikely to come to the summit without some sort of solution," said the diplomat who indicated that the Polish request for an extra advocate general at the European Court of Justice may be a bargaining chip. The legal experts refused to deal with the matter, saying it was a purely political question, and that when a solution had been found they would turn it into legal text. Under the treaty rules the post - going under the laborious name of High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy - is supposed to kick into place as soon as the document is ratified in all member states. The current timetable says this should be done by the beginning of 2009. This has already got people noting that the foreign minister could technically be in place before the European elections take place (mid 2009) and the new commission is in place (late 2009). This raises all sorts of questions about a reshuffle in the current commission - the foreign minister will also be a vice-president of the institution - and who the person is likely to be and how he or she will be chosen. Leaders of the political groups in the European Parliament at a meeting with commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday (2 October) questioned him on their role in choosing the foreign minister, with MEPs wanting to have as strong a say as possible. more...
| EU/UN / 4th Kingdom | Solana |

Nasrallah: I wish Arabs would invade Palestine YNet News (October 5, 2007) - Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that "the occupation of Palestine is one of the greatest tragedies that befell the Arab nation." Speaking in Beirut during a ceremony to mark Al-Quds Day, Nasrallah accused Israel of planning for war by launching airstrikes against targets in Syria. "Israel wants to impose its authority on the region. The flyover in Syria is aimed at harming Syria's position" ahead of the US-sponsored peace conference in November, Nasrallah said. "No one doubts that there Israel coordinated the strike with the Americans to draw Syria into war. This is Bush's plan for the region, not a peace plan but a plan for war as he did in Iraq and Lebanon." Addressing the Arab world he said: "I wish the Arab armies would head toward Palestine, that's a dream. 'We are a people ready to sacrifice but you have to stand by us and support us,' that's what the Palestinian people said during the intifada." Nasrallah also called on Arab states to boycott the conference, which he said would only benefit Israel. "Had the Palestinian people been supported by the Arab world, it would have succeeded in liberating all the Palestinian lands occupied in 1967," Nasrallah added. "The Zionists established gangs through Britain's aide and occupied Palestinian land, killing, massacring, looting, destroying and establishing their state through occupation and theft," he said. He also accused Israel of orchestrating a string of assassination of anti-Syrian politicians, saying Jerusalem and Washington had an interest in preventing Lebanon's rival political parties from uniting.
| Israel | Islam | Isaiah 17 |

I think that time is coming as depicted in Joel 2:1-11, which I believe may happen at the abomination of desolation. This unstoppable army may be the antichrist's army, made up mostly of Islamic believers of the 12th Mahdi, whom I believe may be the false prophet. Islam has a prophecy about rocks and trees crying out there are Jews behind them and to come and kill them. It is no secret than those who take the Koran seriously are the ones who also hate Israel and are greatly anticipating the time they can get rid of the State of Israel. Imagine an army seeing these "signs and lying wonders" and the reaction of fervency that would come from that. And the beast and false prophet will call fire from heaven, so their influence is considered supernatural. Before jumping to the conclusion that Islam is a "religion of peace," let us first admit that a religion is defined by the holy book to which it comes from. Let us then examine some things that the Koran says and the Bible says. Let us then examine the fruits of those beliefs in the actions of the participants who define themselves by that holy book.

Galatians 5:19-26
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Bible prophecy on Trial Lighthouse Trails Research Project (September 27, 2007) - Because there is a growing connection between those who promote contemplative spirituality (i.e., mysticism) and those who reject the study of Bible prophecy regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ, the following information and documentation is crucial in understanding the nature of both the spiritual formation (contemplative) movement and the emerging church movement. In Faith Undone, Roger Oakland states that Bible prophecy is on trial. He explains:

"Many who were once looking for the return of Jesus have fallen asleep. We now live in a period of time where numerous prominent Christian leaders are telling the Christian masses that paying attention to the signs of our times in light of the Bible is a waste of time. And many of them take it a step further and accuse those who believe what Bible prophecy says about the end of the age of being negative and self-centered.

"In the Purpose Driven Life, Warren was actually laying ground work for the emerging church's new reformation, a reformation that rejects thinking about the return of Christ and works more at convincing the multitudes that Christ is already in them as a global christ-consciousness. As you will see in the following documentation, Warren has a low regard for Bible prophecy. Perhaps this helps explain why so many who once were anticipating the return of the Lord have become occupied with worldly ambitions. Warren writes:

When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched the conversation to evangelism. He wanted them to concentrate on their mission in the world. He said in essence, "The details of my return are none of your business. What is your business is the mission I have given you. Focus on that!"

"I find it simply astounding that a statement of this sort would be in a New York Times best-seller in the present-day Christian book market. Jesus was telling the disciples they could not know the day or the hour, but nowhere does Jesus ever indicate that "the details of my return are none of your business." Rather than quickly changing the subject, we find in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 two of the longest passages in Scripture quoting Jesus' own words, and what's more, where He details the signs of His coming. In essence, Jesus was saying, because you cannot know the day and hour of my return, you need to educate yourself in Bible prophecy and take heed of my words about the end times. Later on, one of those disciples, John, was given an entire book to write on the details of Jesus' coming. Jesus continually said to be alert and ready for when He returns. In both parables and straightforward talk, he spoke of this. In Luke 12:35-40, Jesus emphasized that it is essential to be prepared for His return:

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching:... And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

"And Jesus frequently referred to the Old Testament prophecies. Those prophecies became the evidence that Jesus Christ was indeed whom He said He was--"Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). "But Warren tells readers to think about something other than Bible prophecy: "If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy." "Warren ends this section of his book by stating that Satan would have you "sidetracked from your mission" and by quoting Jesus out of context, saying, "Anyone who lets himself be distracted [by studying Bible prophecy] from the work I plan for him is not fit for the kingdom of God" (Living Bible). But Jesus was not referring to His return when He made that statement, which in the King James Version says: "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). The Purpose Driven kingdom of God leaves no room for Bible prophecy, and in fact, condemns those who study it. The apostle Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had a different view. He writes:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. (II Peter 1:19)

"Christians are called to witness and be watchmen. No Scripture exists that tells us to ignore the events that have been pointed out as signposts indicating the return of Jesus. If we do, we might be like the foolish virgins who fell asleep waiting for the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-13). "In light of Warren's end-time views, what does he think of the emerging church? This statement he made in the foreword of Dan Kimball's book answers that question. He notes:

Today seekers are hungry for symbols and metaphors and experiences and stories that reveal the greatness of God. Because seekers are constantly changing, we must be sensitive to them like Jesus was; we must be willing to meet them on their own turf and speak to them in ways they understand.

"Rick Warren is enthusiastic about the emerging church because he believes it is the church of the future. And ... the emerging church is equally fond of Warren's view of Bible prophecy, or the omission thereof, and of his plan to usher in the kingdom of God." (for references, see Faith Undone, Roger Oakland, 2007, pp. 154-157) more...
| Signs of the Times | America | Apostasy |

Islam Using First Amendment Guarantees To Enact Plan to “Eliminate and Destroy” America Daily Jot News Service (September 19, 2007) - Islam is using First Amendment guarantees of freedom of religion to implement a strategic plan to eliminate and destroy the United States of America, according to an analysis of documents submitted by the government as evidence in the Dallas, Texas Holy Land Foundation terror trial. A strategic planning document for North America written by the Muslim Brotherhood in May 1991 indicates that Islam’s plan is well under way to “settle” the United States by possessing “a mastery of the art of “coalitions,” the art of “absorption” and the principles of “cooperation.”” The plan, already 16 years in implementation, identifies eight historical stages of development that the Muslim Brotherhood in America already had accomplished by the plan’s introduction in 1991. They included the stages of 1) searching for self identity; 2) building the inner organization; 3) first phases of building mosques and Islamic centers; 4) first phases of building Islamic organizations; 5) first phases of building Islamic schools; 6) first phases of the overt Islamic movement; 7) first phases of openness to other Islamic movements; and 8) the second phase of reviving and establishing the Islamic organizations. The plan calls for the establishment of Islamic Centers in every town in America which would serve as the “axis” of the Islamic movement and a “base” to “educate us, prepare us and supply our battalions in addition to being the “niche” to our prayers.” The plan says, “This is in order for the Islamic Center to turn—in action not in words—into a seed for ‘a small Islamic society’ which is a reflection and a mirror to our central organizations…Thus the Islamic Center would turn into a place for study, family, battalion, course, seminar, visit, sport, school, social club, women gathering, kindergarten for male and female youngsters, the office of domestic political resolution, and the center for distributing our newspapers, magazines, books and our audio and visual tapes.” The “heart and the core” of the plan is then to unite all Muslim organizations in America to complete the “settlement process.” Rather than being a peaceful religion protected by the Constitution, Islam is a Trojan Horse religion set on performing in its own words a “Civilization Jihad” to eliminate and destroy America. Resisting Islam in America should therefore not be constrained by religious freedom, but rather be unleashed as a duty of every American citizen in the name of national security. Jesus said in Matthew 24:4, “Take heed that no man deceive you.” Do not be deceived by the wicked who would twist the intent of law and Constitution to conquer a law abiding people and destroy a nation. Join the conversation!
| Islam | America |

Muslim Brotherhood's papers detail plan to seize U.S. Dallas Morning News (September 17, 2007) - Amid the mountain of evidence released in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, the most provocative has turned out to be a handful of previously classified evidence detailing Islamist extremists' ambitious plans for a U.S. takeover. A knot of terrorism researchers say the memos and audiotapes, many translated from Arabic and containing detailed strategies by the international Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood, are proof that extremists have long sought to replace the Constitution with Shariah, or Islamic law. The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in the 1920s by Islamists seeking to install a fundamentalist government there. Islamist radicals today still idolize the martyr Sayyid Qutb, the Brotherhood's most influential thinker. While attending college in the U.S. in the late 1940s, Mr. Qutb was appalled by what he perceived as the nation's lack of piousness and morality. In the early 1950s, he was jailed in Egypt, where he had worked to overthrow the secular government of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Before he was executed in 1966, he penned a scathing indictment of American culture that called for worldwide rejection of Western values. His writings are still credited with radicalizing countless young Muslims, including Ayman al-Zawahiri. He became al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader and the spiritual guide to Osama bin Laden. ..."Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood are working toward the same goal, but the Brotherhood is willing to work through it politically and take their time," said Mr. Farah, the counterterrorism consultant. "They want an Islamic state. Does that mean they're going to pick up a gun and start shooting at the [U.S.] president? No. They're going to work the system." The U.S. is among the countries where the Brotherhood has sought to spread its message, according to Department of Justice prosecutors in the Holy Land case. Prosecutors say that the Brotherhood was behind the Palestinian Committee, formed in the U.S. in the 1980s. The goal of the Palestinian Committee, which trial documents indicate existed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was to raise money in the U.S. to fund Hamas. This was to be accomplished by forming a complex network of seemingly benign Muslim organizations whose real job, according to the government, was to spread militant propaganda and raise money. The Muslim Brotherhood created some American Muslim groups and sought influence in others, many of which are listed as unindicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land case. On the list are several prominent groups, including the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. All have protested their inclusion on the list. On one hand, several articles and statements indicate that the group wants to reform the West, not necessarily destroy it. It repeatedly accuses the U.S. of being "anti-Muslim" mostly for its historic backing of Israeli interests. more...
| Islam | America |