More Headlines

As mentioned, so many stories are converging right now, it is hard to keep up. Take a look at the headlines over the past 48 hours (in addition to the ones already posted). The articles and a few quotes speak for themselves:

"US Joins Pro-Muslim 'Alliance of Civilizations'"

The Obama administration has announced the United States will join the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, another openly anti-Israel organization.

...the Alliance has been anything but cooperative when it comes to improving understanding of issues relating to the security of Israel's and United States' civilians.

The group claimed in its first report in 2006 that global tensions were driven primarily by the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The same report referred to “a perception among Muslim societies of unjust aggression stemming from the West” in a discussion relating to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by the international Al Qaeda terrorist group.

Since Obama took office a year ago, he has worked hard to reach out to the Islamic community of nations in a series of gestures that make it clear he is bending over backwards to strengthen ties with the Muslim world.

Since his speech from Cairo last June, Obama has reached out to Iran and Syria, restoring full diplomatic relations with Damascus and returning an ambassador to the Syrian capital. The U.S. has also joined the anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Commission.

This is just more evidence that the US is in the process of abandoning support of Israel.


"Perfect storm" as market tremors hit China, Europe and the US

Capitulation fever has swept global markets on triple fears of faltering recovery in the US, Chinese credit curbs and Europe's intractable escalating debt crisis.

"It is the perfect storm," said Andrew Roberts, credit strategist at RBS. "People have been too complacent about risky assets. This is a global deflation scare and people need to get ready for falls in US and European bond yields.

Wall Street shares plunged 3pc after new jobless claims in the US rose to 471,000 last week, the biggest jump in three months. The S&P 500 index of shares fell to 1080, triggering automatic stop-loss sales as it crashed through support on its 200-day moving average.

David Rosenberg from Gluskin Sheff said a fresh "train wreck" may be coming in the US mortgage market as rates on a wave of "option ARM" contracts reset upwards in September. This may compound a deflationary process already eating at the US economy as Washington's fiscal stimulus wears off and the effects of a stronger dollar feed through.

Meanwhile, monetary tightening in China has begun to set off tremors. Shanghai's bourse has tumbled 20pc since mid-April (or 58pc from its 2007 peak), dragging down oil and base metals.

An internal BaFin note in February said German banks held €522bn of exposure to state bonds in Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain. It warned of "violent market disruptions" if contagion spread beyond Greece, triggering a "downward spiral in these countries, as in the case of Argentina".

City fears of "Great Depression"

Leading City experts have started raising the prospect of "Great Depression II" amid worries that the European economic crisis could trigger a deeper bout of chaos.

Markets on both sides of the Atlantic dipped to fresh lows as fears surrounding the fate of the euro project transmuted into worries about the wider global economic system.

Andrew Roberts, head of European rates strategy at RBS, said "Great Depression II" could now be approaching, adding: "It now has potential to speed toward its conclusion; a European $1trn package which does little and political panic tells you we are about to reach the end of the road. The world should be discussing deflation, not inflation."

Although the rush to safety stems originally from the euro's difficulties this week and German efforts to ban short-selling on its banks, fears that the episode may evolve into a deeper economic crisis were bolstered by fresh data.

"This is clear evidence that the deepening and spreading eurozone debt crisis... is now weighing down appreciably on consumer confidence. This is a very worrying – if hardly surprising – development."

Syria says it wants peace but keeps aiming missiles at Israel"

President Shimon Peres on Thursday declared that Israel seeks peace and that it poses no threat to Lebanon or Syria, but lamented the fact that Syria keeps arming itself while making claims it is interested in peace with Israel.

"Syria is taking simultaneous opposing actions. They talk peace while simultaneously manufacturing a huge store of 70,000 missiles on [Israel's] northern border, aimed at Israel."

Almost every scenario is being touched right now:

- Israel vs Syria
- Israel vs Hezbollah/Lebanon/Hamas
- World financial crisis/collapse
- EU struggles to survive in the midst of financial collapse
- Weapons build-up in the Middle East, including chemical weapons and other WMDs
- North Korea discovered to have sunk the South Korean ship
- The world aligned against Israel
- Attempts to divide Jerusalem


It seems that the world is JUST on the brink. The word "crisis" is something that we hear in the news daily, if not hourly.

Something is about to happen - most likely from one of the scenarios given above - any of which could trigger remaining prophetic events, including the beginning of the Tribulation. I can't help but wonder what the future antichrist is thinking right now - as he watches the stage being set for his arrival.

We are on the verge of big things. It wouldn't surprise me if we were to witness yet another huge earthquake in the coming weeks, and another story of a newly drug resistant bacteria/virus that is causing concern, just to close the loop on a big birthpain that we seem to be experiencing.

We were warned of this era - an era that Jesus so passionately informed us about and showed equal passion in His repeated warnings to watch the signs, and then, as a result of seeing the signs, preparing for His coming.

The time to prepare is now. We will soon be in His presence - and that is most definitely worth preparing for. After all, we are seen through God's lens as the Bride of Christ. The Bridegroom is preparing a place for us, and He is almost ready to take us there. He WILL return for His bride and take her to the dwelling place that He has prepared (John 14:1-3). What an awesome place that will be (Revelation 21,22).

Maranatha!