Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Updates from the Middle East:

The situation with Syria continues to heat up considerably and shows no signs of slowing down. At the same time, from Israel's southern border we also see escalation. Things seem to be closing in around Israel (as we would expect).

First, a perspective from Debka on yesterday's news involving Syria's threats to Israel:

Turkey to hold military exercise on Syrian border. Assad threatens to destroy Tel Aviv

War tensions between Turkey, NATO and Syria shot up again Tuesday, Oct. 4, with the announcement from Ankara that Turkey embarks Wednesday on a 10-day "mobilization" exercise in the southern province of Hatay along the Syrian border, through which arms are being funneled to Syrian protesters.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is expected on the same day to visit the 7,000 Syrians who have taken refuge in Hatay from President Bashar Assad's troops.

DEBKAfile reported earlier Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has for three months staved off a military attack by Turkey or NATO for halting the exceptional brutality of his crackdown on protest by explicitly holding Greater Tel Aviv's 1.2 million inhabitants under threat of missile retaliation.


That certainly takes things 'up a notch' as they say. As if the region needed any further escalation.

The following looks like it was taken directly from the pages of biblical prophecy - specifically Isaiah 17:

The drill may well revive speculation in Damascus that Turkey is preparing to go ahead with a plan to carve out a buffer enclave inside Syria to protect civilians and provide rebels with shelter and logistical and medical assistance. The Assad regime would no doubt regard this act as a direct attack on sovereign Syrian territory by a NATO member.

According to Western intelligence sources, Syria, Iran and Hizballah have charted a coordinated military operation for flattening metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel's financial, industrial and cultural center, with thousands of missiles launched simultaneously by all three - plus the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami firing from the Gaza Strip.

Western intelligence sources have reported that Israel reacted with a warning of its own: If a single Syrian missile explodes in Tel Aviv, Damascus will be first to pay the price, and if the missile offensive persists, one Syrian town after another will be destroyed.


This specificity of this evolving scenario is almost surreal, as it fits precisely with what we have been told via the prophetic scriptures. Once again, like so many times throughout history, we see the precision of biblical prophecy.

Davutoglu warned Assad that if he did not desist from his actions he would share the fate of Muammar Qaddafi at the hands of NATO and Turkish forces.

The Syrian ruler's response was harsh: From the moment a shot is fired against Syria, "it will take only six hours for Syria to devastate Tel Aviv and ignite the entire Middle East," he said.

The barrage of Syrian threats was reinforced from Tehran Monday, Sept, 26 by Ayatollah Jafar Shoujouni, a close associate of the all-powerful Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

This was no coincidence. Their threat has since been repeated with greater emphasis to provide the Assad regime with insurance for its survival against foreign military intervention while continuing its pitiless onslaught on dissent.


These are just a few quotes; the entire article is well worth reading.

Also see this predictable development:

Russia and China Veto UN Resolution on Syria

Russia and China joined forces on Tuesday and vetoed a European-drafted UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria and hinting it could face sanctions if its bloody crackdown on protesters continues.

France’s UN Ambassador spoke out harshly following Russia and China’s veto.

“We cannot today doubt the meaning of this veto of this text,” Ambassador Gerard Araud was quoted by Reuters as saying. “This is not a matter of wording. It is a political choice. It is a refusal of all resolutions of the council against Syria.”

He added, “This veto will not stop us. No veto can give carte blanche to the Syrian authorities.”


Additionally, we see the following evolving and related stories

Sinai Anarchy To Mean More IDF Reserves

Former IDF soldiers may find themselves called back to duty more frequently this year as the IDF responds to growing terrorist threats from Sinai.

Following the deadly attacks near Eilat several weeks ago, in which Gaza terrorists infiltrated Israel through Sinai, the IDF has decided to station many more soldiers along the 230-kilometer/150-mile Egyptian border. The soldiers have been pulled from positions elsewhere – positions that, for the time being, will be filled by reservists.


2,000 Through Porous Sinai Border into Israel

An estimated 2,000 people managed to sneak through the porous Israel-Egypt border along the Sinai Peninsula in August, according to a report made in the course of a discussion on human trafficking this week in the Knesset.

It is estimated that by the end of December, as many as 15,000 infiltrators will have succeeded in crossing Israel's borders, more than in any previous year.


Meanwhile, the other signs of the generation continue to percolate as expected:

Earthquake Swarm Continues On El Hierro, Canary Islands

The number of earthquakes recorded since July 17 on the smallest of The Canary Islands exceeded 9250 on Tuesday morning.
IGN confirmed on Monday that 1172 earthquakes were recorded last week, the majority of which were located in the sea to the SW of the 280-sqkm island.

Seismologists say the majority of the earthquake activity has shifted from El Golfo in the island’s northwest to beneath the Las Calmas Sea in the south.

A dramatic rise in recorded earthquakes on El Hierro last Tuesday prompted officials to evacuate some local residents, shut El Hierro’s main tunnel, and close local schools.


And this:

Rare Subsea Earthquakes Rattle Bermuda

The western Atlantic Ocean island of Bermuda, which was hit by its first earthquake in over a decade in April, has been rattled by two moderate quakes.

The earthquakes, both measuring 4.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale, struck at 10:18 PM and 10:36 PM local time on Monday.

The subsea quakes, the strongest to be recorded in the region in more than 20 years, were centred about 80 miles (130 km) south of Hamilton, the capital of the British overseas territory.


Almost everything that we are seeing in the news lately fits exactly with what we were foretold by Jesus and the prophets. More importantly, the 'birth pain' contractions are coming in waves that are more rapid and more potent.

None of this should be surprising in the least. Just like all biblical prophecy, these things are happening exactly as we were told.

Jesus told us (Luke 21:28, Luke 21:31) to look up for His coming during this time - a time in which all of the signs are present and accounted for.

And that time is undeniably here now - it is upon us in an undeniable way.

Therefore, we need to be obedient with Jesus' request: looking up - solely focused on Jesus. After all, as stated in the scriptures, our redemption is drawing near.

Maranatha!

35 comments:

Caver said...

Just WOW! The speed, diversity, and specificity of countries and kingdoms is astonishing when compared to scripture. Only the Lord God almighty, to whom all things answer, could tell us the end from the beginning in yesterday's language and bring it to pass so we could clearly recognize it as such in today's world.

We are truly humbled...and grateful...Father.

Add the Canary Islands and a few other "goodies" into the mix that weren't mentioned today and the political / economic crisis brewing around the world and the "Wow Factor" goes up exponentially.

Just amazin!

Tasarwen said...

Oh, but I feel such a burden for the lost. While it is very exiting for those of us who long to be with our Lord, it will be terrible for those left behind. I so wish (and pray) that I could tell them all and they would believe. *sigh*

WVBORN56 said...

Tasarwen the thing I am doing is praying for the lost especially the ones I know that the Lord will save them either before or during the tribulation. Either way they make it to heaven.

Caver you nailed it...the wow factor keeps "hitting me" over and over again.

gearedup2go said...

Tasarwen, continue to pray for the lost and let the Holy Spirit convict them. Perhaps their finest hour will be when they become a tribulation saint and lead others to Christ.

Pastor Youcef is still alive and it seems that Iran is bowing to international pressure. The court was to sentence him today but have not done so. It's amazing that this brother in Christ is even alive. Last year Iran sentenced 400 Christians to death for a lesser crime and this man was labeled a Zionist which means he was a spy to the Iranian court.

On a happier note, ACLJ is happy to report that a Moroccan Christian convert, Z, has been given asylum in the US. Radical muslims had stabbed him multiple times and he remained unconscious for 3 days but was miraculously saved in surgery. He had gone to an internet cafe to enjoy his online worship experience when he was approached by 4 radical muslims who wanted to see him pay as an infidel. So he was knifed and left for dead.

From ACLJ:

"Z told the ACLJ that he was brought up in a “purely traditional Islamic way and had a burning desire since adolescence to be a good Muslim in the eye of Allah and to make his family proud of him.” At a very young age Z was sent to a Moroccan mosque to study the Quran for four years. However, Z said that “the more I tried to know Allah, the more I became afraid of him.” Z’s fear came to an end when he met with a Christian schoolmate in Europe. When Z shared Islam with this schoolmate, he says, “instead of being amazed and convinced of what I had said to her, she simply told me that she already has Jesus Christ, and she is scared of nothing.” Z started a comparative study of the Quran and the Bible. While studying the Bible, Z said, “the thing that struck me the most was that no one can ever be good enough to deserve God’s favor, to win God’s heaven, because from birth we are all pre-disposed to rejecting God and living our lives our own way. That’s why it was necessary for God himself to shrink into a human body and die on the cross, dying the death we deserve.”

Praise God for this young man's living testimony.

gearedup2go said...

WV, how is your dad doing?

gearedup2go said...

Senate ramping up for trade war with China.

WVBORN56 said...

He was having a test run this morning when I dropped off my mother so I'm not sure. His lower leg was very swollen and very red yesterday.

I needed to get to work since I spent the whole day there yesterday. Thanks for asking. He is having antibiotics running interveniously and hopefully that will work without surgery. I'll head back up later this afternoon.

I teach 5th and 6th grade boys at church on Wednesday nights. I am taking them to the Areboredum tonight to do a tree, leaf and nut scavenger hunt/identification. I don't want to miss this since the boys are very much looking forward to this. Please pray dad doesn't digress.

Caver said...

WV, lifting your father and family up in prayer.

Caver said...

Geared, have been and continue to lift this Brother and his family up in prayer.

Thanks for keeping us up to date.

Alice said...

WVBorn, lifting up your father to the Lord!

Anonymous said...

Socialists: ‘Weathervane’ Barroso signals Europe's left turn

Published 05 October 2011


President José Manuel Barroso is a 'weathervane' who is embracing Socialistic positions to tackle the eurozone crisis because he sniffs that "three big EU countries are turning to the left", prominent Socialists said yesterday (4 October).

http://tinyurl.com/3qw2hxn

or

http://www.euractiv.com/elections/socialists-weathervane-barroso-signals-europes-left-turn-news-508135

DrNofog said...

Massive unnamed comet hits the Sun

And I mean MASSIVE!!

What is very interesting [disturbing] is that in searching online for info on it, there is [apparently] no mention of this in the regular LSM!

All I was finding was all the little news sites & forums picking up Dutchsinse...

If you think of all the comparative pictures or graphs of the size of the planets to the sun, and watch it again, that had to be at least the size of the earth, if not greater, and must have traveled a tremendous distance in to penetrate close to the core!!

Yet, are we to believe that nobody saw it coming, nobody tracked it, and nobody but us little guys are wanting peeps to know about it??

One has to wonder what and how much else 'they' are not telling us...

Scott, does this qualify as those disturbing "sign in the heavens"??

gearedup2go said...

DrNo--WOW! It looked like a super sized torpedo hit the sun. I wonder if that's the reason our satellite was unable to get a complete signal at times. Weird.

Caver, thank you for keeping our Iranian brother in your prayers. I went online and signed the petition that will be presented before the UN when it reaches 100,000 signatures. Right now it's about 72 K or so.

petition

gearedup2go said...

Oops, trying the link again.

petition

DrNofog said...

This is powerful --> www.180movie.com

Caver said...

DrNo....that was powerful. Hard to realize, and shameful, how dumbed down today's kids are. Thank you

Geared, thanks for the link. Signed :ThumbsUp

PS: DrNo....have you gotten Scott a spell checker yet? :ScratchHead

DrNofog said...

Spell checker?!? We don't have no spell checker! We don't need no stinkin' spell checker!!

Nah, Caver, in retro I never should have mentioned it 'cause Scott would relax instead of stayin' on his toes and that would take all the fun outta it...
:-D

Scott said...

DrNo - Go old school and use a dictionary!!!

Scott said...

BTW - I saw 180 last nite...Very powerful and excellent point in terms of comparing abortion to nazi germany and how their philosophy in terms of 'defining' humanism led to so many deaths = same as how we treat unborn humans...very powerful

Anonymous said...

And yet, stocks are up again.

SAD to say.......

BUT, Oct is not over yet.....

I would NOT want to see the Dow
above 11,500 however, as that could
be a sign of further bulling coming.

I guess the end will come when it
does. STILL no sign of AC this
am......

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>>

Misty said...

WVB, praying for your dad and MrsC, praying for your daughter. Also praying for the Iranian pastor.
In view of the things many of us are going through, this article is so encouraging.
http://www.theignorantfishermen.com/2009/10/soldiers-of-cross-press-onward-and-be.html

ann marie said...

Stephen,
I found this audio by Dr J Vernan McGee on 2 Thess ch 2 that you may find interesting. I know that sometimes we can hold very strongly to our beliefs- I know that I am quite guilty of that, but just thought I would share this audio with you as he has done extensive research. His message on Joel ch 2 is also quite relevant.
2 Thes
blessings
am

WVBORN56 said...

Thanks everyone again for the prayers...no change at this point in dad's infected leg...it is still very swollen.

I did get to do the scavenger hunt with the boys tonight. They had fun, learned to identify several trees and we ended with Genesis 1:1, prayed centering on the wonderful creativity of our God under a clear sky and beautiful moon lit night. God is good.

Waterer said...

ann marie , great teaching by Mcgee, Loved it.
WV -praying for your Dad.

Anonymous said...

Dear AM >>>>>>

read this VERY CAREFULLY PLEASE >>

1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.


IT IS very OBVIOUS to me that
what Paul is speaking about is
about the rapture, ie, the
GATHERING UP and it is IN the
CONTEXT of this passage.

I listened to your audio.

I DO NOT agree with it....

I go by scripture, I have said
this many times.

I think people want to believe
that we will NOT have to see
the AC since it scares them...

i agree on that

BUT scripture is scripture.

and i go with that...

HEY, I may be wrong, AND you could
also be wrong.....!!!!

TIME will tell....

I will continue to look for the
AC.....to be revealed.

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>>

DrNofog said...

Caver said... "..PS: DrNo....have you gotten Scott a spell checker yet?..."

Then shortly followed by [and in cahoots wif close friend 'Caver']:

Scott said... "DrNo - Go old school and use a dictionary!!!"

Huuuh?? Wut?!? ...

Oh no!!

Caver, you didn't...did you...?? ...actually pull that "180movie" 'shop, stop on green' IQ test on me??

You led me in and I fell for it!!

There wuz never, ever any mention of a 'spell checker'!!

It wuz always about "...That tightwad Scott, usING a cheap blogger wif no grammah checker..."
;-D

DrNofog said...

But ya had to double-team me to catch me!!
Haa! ;-D

Anonymous said...

Dr. No Fog >>>>>>>>>>>

are u familiar with Pigeon English ?? We use that here in
Hawaii alot; some of your WORDS
look like it......just so u know.

Stephen >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Diane said...

Ok, one point for Stephen :) Diane

Caver said...

Caver noodling DrNo's explanation... Light bulb moment....FLASH....So, Scott couldn't get a blog with a spell checker because of having his ..."hearing system"...replaced.

Hummmmm....wondering if it was all financial or something, ah hum, more serious and long lasting?

Scott said...

Oh no...Caver giving DrNo encouragement....He is now destined to get worse....Better turn my audio up cause I can't hear him anymore :)

Expected Imminently said...

Stephen said “…are u familiar with Pigeon English ?? We use that here in
Hawaii a lot…”

Now THAT explains a lot! :)

Good effort Ann Marie; I was blessed by your link to 2Thess2 in American English – I loved the accent! ‘Spiffing – what ho’! :-D

Expected Imminently said...

Stephen

Elsewhere you correctly state that Paul warns us against deception.

In the case of 2Thess.2 the deception lies with those who contradict God’s MULTIPLE Words LOOK FOR’ or ‘WATCH’ for JESUS Christ’s appearing in favour for just HALF a verse that ‘APPEARS’ to suggest we instead look for the ANT-christ’s revealing, thus contradicting the many that say the opposite.

Deut "…by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established”.
Matt.18:16 “… 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'
2Cor 3:1 “…"By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established."

So unless you know of other verses to support your interpretation that I know nothing of; here are just a few to be going on with that deny your faulty interpretation of plain Scripture …

Mark 13:34 For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and COMMANDED the porter to WATCH.
35. WATCH ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. (No doubt dreaming of anti-christ and a falling market)
36.And what I say unto YOU I say unto ALL, WATCH.
Phil3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we LOOK FOR the SAVIOUR, the LORD JESUS Christ:

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that LOOK FOR HIM shall he APPEAR the second time without sin unto salvation.

Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13 LOOKING FOR that BLESSED HOPE, and the GLORIOUS APPEARING of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Looking for ‘prosdechomai’ is in the PRESENT tense. It is a command to NOW look for the appearing of Christ and behold Him face to face. This means Christians ARE URGED to be living in active expectation of the return of JESUS not the a/c.

It is a contradiction to this Scripture to put the appearing of the A/c foremost. Even the word hope ‘elpis’ means ‘expectancy’. Hope deferred makes the heart sick and deferred hope is no hope at all if it isn’t expected.

First it is a command to ‘do this NOW’ and secondly there is a specific blessing or reward for having the blessed hope of his ‘any minute now’ return minus ‘other events’ such a the a/c appearing.

1Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also THAT LOVE HIS APPEARING.

Rev4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11.Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The 24 Elders are representatives of the Church ALREADY IN HEAVEN, after having received their rewards/crowns at the Bema Seat of Christ which occurs BEFORE the revealing of the A/c in Rev6:1. The Church is giving all the glory and honour of their rewards BACK to Christ who alone is worthy. All our blessings are received in, by and through Christ, nothing we have done is of ourselves.

For those who do NOT earn the crown of righteousness by LOOKING FOR and WATCHING with expectant hope for His appearing, will be denying The Lord an honour that He deserves. It isn’t about what we can get out of it, rather giving back to Christ what is meant for Him.

Expected Imminently said...

Cont.

This, and much more, has already been explained to you Stephen. It is worth repeating for the sake of all newcomers who are presently being deceived by your false interpretation of 2Thess2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as THAT the DAY of Christ is at hand. (Which is the 7 year Tribulation)… moving on past the paranthesis to the punch line…

Vs7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, UNTIL he be TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY.
Vs8 And THEN shall that Wicked be REVEALED, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Stephen, your remorseless falsifying of the meaning of ‘THAT DAY’I find depressing as you persistently smash and grab at the blessed hope. It isn’t good enough for you to claim a belief in a Pre-trib rapture, as the reward is for the expectant (imminent) hope which means NOW, not after the revealing of a/c. Frankly, I can see why it is a special reward as the constant deception being levelled against this Biblical fact, takes a great deal of holding on to making sure no thief can steal it away from us.

Rev3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that NO MAN TAKE THY CROWN.

Scott said...

Well done Sue :)