Chaos Continues In Hong Kong

Chaos Continues In Hong Kong; Undercover Cops Pull Guns Amid 'Aggressive Clearance Operation'

Violence continued in Hong Kong as anti-government demonstrations entered their 17th week. The police response was described by the Washington Post as "among the most aggressive" since the movement began over a now-withdrawn extradition bill which would have allowed China to forcibly move suspects to the mainland for face trial in communist courts. 

Hong Kong police to pro-democracy protesters:
DISPERSE OR WE FIREpic.twitter.com/k6QLGcqhmR

— Alfons López Tena #FBPE (@alfonslopeztena) September 29, 2019

Protesters destroyed signs and flags raised in advance of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the People's Republic of China, some of which were burned. According to WaPo, "At times, riot police appeared outnumbered. Shoppers at a luxury mall in central Hong Kong looked on as police and protesters engaged in a pitched battle. Protesters crouched, created a phalanx of umbrellas and tossed bricks and bottles toward the officers. Police fired round after round of tear gas."

The protesters inched forward as rubber bullets shredded their umbrellas. When it appeared the police might be outflanked, officers made a hasty retreat. Protesters seized the moment, rushing toward officers piling into police vans. 

Demonstrators, cheered by onlookers and fellow marchers, hit the vans with poles and bottles as the vehicles sped away. The road was littered with glass and spent tear-gas canisters clinked across the asphalt as the protesters continued their march. 

At nightfall in the nearby neighborhood of Wan Chai,residents left their homes and workplaces to jeer at police and pelt their vehicles with bricks and bottles. -Washington Post

When riot police started amassing inside Wan Chai station, frontline protesters worked to cut them off by barricading its entrances and hurling bricks, pulled from the sidewalk, down the escalators. pic.twitter.com/oQ7BdTI5f1

— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) September 29, 2019

Several people were seriously injured, including an Indonesian journalist based in Hong Kong who was hit in the eye by a projectile while live-streaming the event for her publication.

...

Street battles broke between protesters and police who struggled to keep the demonstrators at bay with rubber bullets and tear gas. 

Residents and tourists were caught in the crossfire, clutching their faces and running in fear in several areas, including the neon-lit luxury shopping district of Causeway Bay. -Washington Post

In addition to tear gas, authorities deployed water cannons again - spraying protesters with blue die containing an irritant. 

WATER CANNON: Blue dye with irritant is sprayed at demonstrators in Hong Kong #HongKongProtests #香港pic.twitter.com/EvSQq70vLq

— Bloomberg TicToc (@tictoc) September 29, 2019

At approximately 5pm, riot police launched an aggressive clearance operation against protesters along Harcourt Road - a frequent location for clashes. 

Police pushed young demonstrators to the asphalt road and dragged them away, leaving pools of blood. Hong Kong’s hospital authority said 13 people were admitted to hospitals by 7:30 p.m., including one in serious condition. -Washington Post

Arrested protesters were lined up against a wall outside a government building before being frisked and taken away. 

6.8 Quake Hits Off Coast Of Chile

Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes off Chilean coast

A powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake shook the coast of Chile on Sunday, swaying buildings in the capital of Santiago. The national emergency agency said there were no reported injuries or damage to basic services.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at 10:57 a.m. local time and was centered 40 miles west-southwest of the city of Constitucion and about 225 miles south of Santiago, the capital. The epicenter was 10.3 miles below the surface.

In Constitucion, the cathedral was evacuated, but there were no reports of damage. Chilean officials said the quake was felt across a broad swath of the central and south of the country.

The USGS initially calculated the magnitude at 7.2

Signs Of The Times

The Time Shall Come...

By Jack Kinsella

”And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” (Matthew 24:5-6)

The verses quoted above were part of Jesus’ response to the question, “What will be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3) 

The Lord’s reply to the question is known to Bible scholars as the “Olivet Discourse” because, 1) Jesus was standing ‘upon the Mount of Olives’ at the time, and; 2) His answer, which is contained in the three Synoptic Gospels, fills the entire chapter. It is one of the most lengthy teaching discourses in the New Testament.

The Olivet Discourse focuses its attention on events that take place DURING THE TRIBULATION, but begins by describing the events that conspire together to bring it about.

The period of wars and rumors of wars has been ongoing now since 1914 with the first truly global war in human history. It was followed by a second global war in 1939, whose conclusion brought about the ultimate ‘rumor of war’ between the West and the Soviet Empire.

There are two different entities under discussion, ‘nations’ and ‘kingdoms’. The word ‘nation’ is translated from the Greek word ‘ethnos’ and describes an ethnic state, like Israel or one of the ethnic states of the Arab world. Or North Korea.

The world translated ‘kingdom’ ‘basileia’ means “royal power, kingship, dominion, rule” and it describes a national entity bound together by economic/social interests, rather than ethnic relationships.

America would fit the Biblical understanding of a ‘kingdom’ in the sense Americans are not bound together by blood or ethnicity, but rather by common social and economic benefits. The same could be applied to the member/states of the EU. Individually, some European countries might be ethnic in origin, but the Common Market exists for economic reasons.

The collapse of the Soviet Union uncorked a new round of ethnic unrest and international conflict, but, as Jesus was careful to note, “the end is not yet.”

Assessment

Ethnic or economic strife have been responsible for all the wars of modern times. The world wars were wars aimed at conquest for economic reasons. Hitler’s Nazis sought both ethnic purity and “liebensraum” (living space) for Germany.

Japan’s Imperial government set out to conquer Asia to ensure a steady supply of raw materials and to establish ethnic Japanese rule over Greater Asia.

Skeptics might argue that wars, ethnic unrest, even famines, earthquakes and pestilences, all have been part of the human condition since the Fall of Man at the Garden of Eden. (Or since the first amoeba turned into a person…for the skeptic who can’t bring himself to believe in God, but finds no conflict of faith in a frog turning into a prince).

Note that Jesus said “all these are the beginning of sorrows.” The word ‘sorrow’ first appears in Scripture in Genesis 3:16 when God tells Eve, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children.” “Sorrow” is translated from the Hebrew “itstsabown” and refers to labor pains.

The Greek word ‘odin’ translated as ‘sorrows’ in Matthew 24:8 also refers to labor pains.

Every parent who has ever lived could instantly grasp the meaning of this metaphor — that is why Jesus chose it. As the birth of a child approaches, the mother begins to experience labor pains, which, having once begun, continue to increase in both frequency and intensity as the moment of birth approaches.

Prospective parents in Jesus’ day did exactly what I did with each of my kids — timed the interval between the contractions. It was a carefully chosen metaphor designed to resonate with all people, of all cultures, in all generations. But, to the generation to whom those signs were addressed, the meaning would be unmistakable.

When one compares the accuracy of the Bible’s account of the unknowable future to the ever-changing scientific ‘explanations’ for the distant past, doubts melt away. The skeptic has multiple explanations for static events that have already happened.

The Bible gives a single explanation for a fluid, changeable series of events predicted to happen thousands of years in the future — the events that define our present day. Which is more convincing?

Bible prophecy proves Jesus was the Son of God, regardless of the latest scientific, archeological or historical discovery. No matter what else might be offered as ‘evidence’ to the contrary, there is no other explanation for Bible prophecy. It is our generation’s unique miracle.

It proves that He remains in charge of the affairs of men. Scripture records His Promise in all three Gospel accounts, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35. Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33)

“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:” (2 Peter 1:19)

Bible prophecy is proof positive that God remains on the Throne, that His Word will NOT return to Him void, and that all the chaos and terror of the world notwithstanding, all continues to go according to His plan.

Given the unbeliever’s explanation of uncontrolled chaos, Bible prophecy isn’t all that depressing, after all. What WOULD be depressing would be to be among the lost, not knowing what this world is coming to, and believing the world is in a state of uncontrolled chaos.

For the believer, Bible prophecy can be pretty encouraging, which is what the Lord intended for the last days’ Church all along:

“But these things have I told you, that WHEN THE TIME SHALL COME, ye may remember that I told you of them.” (John 16:4)

Iran Releases Photo Of Khamenei With Hezbollah Chief Underscores Iran's Support For Hezbollah, Palestinian Militant Groups

Iran releases photo of Khamenei with Hezbollah chief

 Iran has released a "never before seen" photo of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei alongside Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah. 

The photo published on the supreme leader's official website shows Nasrallah with Khamenei on his right and Qassem Soleimani -- the commander of Iran's elite Qods Force -- on his left. 

The three men are shown in front of what appears to be a door covered by a curtain and surrounded by shelves stacked with books -- decor associated with Khamenei's Tehran office. 

Before a 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon, Nasrallah often openly visited the Iranian capital, but since then his public appearances have been limited. 

Iran's support for Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad are an enduring feature of the Islamic republic's foreign policy.

The photo -- first published on Wednesday and still available on Saturday -- has received little coverage in other Iranian media.

Satanic Ritual In Downtown Portland To Protest Prayer March

'Hail Satan!' Antifa Transsexuals Stage Satanic Ritual In Downtown Portland to Protest Patriot Prayer

Chris Menahan

Antifa members staged a Satanic ritual to protest a Patriot Prayer march earlier this month in downtown Portland, Oregon. 

Earlier this month, an antifa faction called the "Satanic Portland Antifascists" staged a mock religious ritual in downtown. One of the people leading the ritual is @destroyed4com4t, a local transsexual activist and writer who I remember cheering as I was beaten in June. pic.twitter.com/qWTh4Q2vu1

— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) September 27, 2019