News and Opinions: The Signs are Abundant

In just one day of prophecy watching - we see so many signs that we were warned about; signs that we were told to watch:

1. Egypt:

Egypt nears military coup. USS warships in Suez Canal

A fresh surge of popular anti-Mubarak protest ripping across Egypt Tuesday, Feb. 8 has brought the country closer to a military coup to stem the anarchy than at any time since the street caught fire on Jan. 25.

military sources report that the American force consists of the USS Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group of six warships. Helicopters on some of their decks are there to carry and drop the 2,200 marines of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit which has been bolstered by two special operations battalions.

Vice President Omar Suleiman warned a group of Egyptian news editors that the only choice is between a descent into further lawlessness and a military takeover in Cairo. The distinguished political pundit of the 1960s and 1970s Hasnin Heikal saw no other way out of the crisis but a government ruling by the army's bayonets.

Egypt: Hizbullah and Iran want to 'ignite the region'

Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman said that terror organizations are the primary threat to the security of Egypt and that many operatives of al-Qaida and other Jihadist organizations had escaped from the country's prisons recently. Suleiman also told Egyptian paper Al-Ahram that those terrorist organizations had refus

Al-Qaida in Iraq called on Egyptians to free all those imprisoned by Mubarak's regime and called for holy war against Egyptian government, in a statement released to an Islamist website Tuesday

2. Earthquakes

Earthquakes continue to make headlines. Additionally, just look at the earthquake map today. Another sign of our times:

Quake Hits Northern Iran (4.5)

6.2 Earthquake hits near Solomons

Phivolcs: Magnitude 4.8 quake rocks Eastern Samar

Also:

5.2 Oregon Coast
4.6 Panama
4.9 Peru
5.6 Chile
4.7 Aleutian Islands
5.0 Vanuatu Islands
4.8 Kashmir
5.3 Indonesia

Earthquake Map: Tells the Story. This is a very active time in the world as far as earthquake activity.

3. Persecution

Teachers group probes fourth Christian college

A fourth Christian college is under scrutiny from the country’s largest university teachers’ federation for alleged restrictions on academic freedom, but the school’s president says the probe is biased and its outcome likely pre-determined.

“It’s not an open-ended inquiry into the truth because it begins with a definition that is self-fulfilling,” said Hubert Krygsman, president of Redeemer University College, a school with 950 students in Ancaster, Ont.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) told Redeemer last fall it would investigate possible abuses of academic freedom. As reported in Tuesday’s National Post, CAUT has undertaken investigations into three other small Canadian Christian universities in the past 18 months, all initiated by CAUT on its own, without complaint or outside trigger.

A group of academics associated with secular and religious institutions is asking CAUT to stop its inquiries into Christian schools. A petition, which has been circulating for two weeks, calls the investigations unwarranted and invasive, and accuses CAUT of bullying schools into co-operation.

Anti-Semitism and Israel Bashing? Must be a European Parliament Paper

The European Parliament is much like the General Assembly of the United Nations: it was founded for symbolic rather than for pragmatic reasons

As a side note, its nice to see this admitted elsewhere. There is little-no democracy in the EU - the Parliament, as stated above is mainly symbolic.

Hence, the institutions of the European Union have become a huge playground that offers Israel-haters a variety of toys to sate their palestinophile desires: They can ensure funding of anti-Semitic schoolbooks, anti-Israel NGOs and terror groups, and of course rant against Israel on a monthly basis. Every time a European delegation visits the country, it is awash with politicians who follow an anti-Israel agenda.

4. Famine

Einstein was right - honey bee collapse threatens global food security

The bee crisis has been treated as a niche concern until now, but as the UN's index of food prices hits an all time-high, it is becoming urgent to know whether the plight of the honey bee risks further exhausting our food security.

Almost a third of global farm output depends on animal pollination, largely by honey bees.
These foods provide 35pc of our calories, most of our minerals, vitamins, and anti-oxidants, and the foundations of gastronomy. Yet the bees are dying – or being killed – at a disturbing pace.

...as the UN's index of food prices hits an all time-high in real terms (not just nominal) and grain shortages trigger revolutions in the Middle East, it is becoming urgent to know whether the plight of the honey bee risks further exhausting our already thin margin of food global security.

5. Finally, some good news from the Middle East:

Is There Any Good News in Egypt?

Despite the non-stop stream of bad news from a nation falling apart at the seams, there is also good news in Egypt that isn’t getting reported by the mainstream media: we are currently seeing some significant gains in the Body of Christ, all of which is happening in response to the prayers of God’s people.

I was just in Egypt one month ago and in some of the villages south of Cairo the poverty level was some of the worst that I have ever seen anywhere -- worse than in India, Afghanistan, and the Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon. But you would not know that these committed Jesus followers have a care in their life. Their worship was passionate and their love for Jesus was overwhelming to see.

Actually, many ministries in that Biblical country are seeing God moving in very powerful ways in recent years. Egyptians are coming to faith in Christ, growing in their faith, pastors are being trained and encouraged, and the Church as a whole is growing.

One ministry, for example, saw some 3,100 people pray to receive Christ and numerous churches planted throughout the country in 2010 alone. An medical ministry team serving in Egypt recently saw over 100 people become followers of Jesus. And these young national believers are committed to reaching even the most remote villages with the Gospel and to also leave behind a life-giving church that disciples the believers. God is clearly moving powerfully in the land of the Pharaohs.

This last paragraph is something that we should all read and digest:

We have been talking with friends and allies in Egypt during this new political and economic crisis and they are thankful for all the prayers of believers from around the world. Please continue to pray for their families and the rest of the great young leaders who have been discipled and are now church leaders in Egypt.

Nine of our Egyptian workers went to prison last year for sharing Christ. But by God’s grace and the prayers of the saints, they were released soon after and remain deeply committed to serving the Lord.

They thank God for the persecution and tell us: "When we believers are persecuted we go underground, and while we are there our roots grow strong and healthy. We then emerge more fit to be Christ's ambassadors and more willing to stand firm in the midst of the persecution."

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN. I just love that last sentence and it is worth repeating:

"When we believers are persecuted we go underground, and while we are there our roots grow strong and healthy. We then emerge more fit to be Christ's ambassadors and more willing to stand firm in the midst of the persecution."

What a powerful statement. And so true. As much as the "other side" tries, Christianity cannot be stopped. The more the effort to stop Christianity, the stronger it grows.

Just looking at one day of headlines reminds us of how the signs continue to progress. On days like this - the headlines which reveal the signs of this generation - that generation who would see ALL SIGNS including the Tribulation and the Second Coming - seem to jump directly from Matthew 24, where Jesus described exactly what we would see: wars, rumors of war, earthquakes, persecution, famine, pestilence etc.

It is truly amazing that we can see so many signs in a single day of prophecy watching. But Jesus knew this, obviously, and He gave us the unmistakable evidence that we would realize that His coming would be near. He urged us to watch and have awareness of this fact, in order that we would be prepared to see HIm:

"Be on guard! Be alert!

"Therefore keep watch...If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you I say to everyone: 'Watch!"
(Mark 13:32-37)

"Therefore keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42)

"It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes."
"It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready..."
"You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."
(Luke 13: 35-40).

Indeed. Come quickly Lord.