Prophetic Scripture Update #6 & Mid-East update #4: JER-USA-LEM

The oracle of the word of the LORD affirming Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:
“Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness (‘threshold of shivering’) to all surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.
‘And it shall happen in that day that will I make Jerusalem a very heavy (burdensome) stone for all peoples: all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered (together) against it”. (Zechariah 12:3 NKJV with KJV per Hebrew)

Today, President Trump is expected to make an announcement on the United States’ official recognition of Jerusalem as capital of the State of Israel, as well as the decision to relocate the US embassy there. [Update Thurs: Two minutes after posting and closing down for the day I turned on 6 o’clock BBC News to see him ‘Live’ in the White House. Amended post’s title spelling, adjusted opening of Zech 12 to match Hebrew see here.]

Here are some of the headlines over the past week relating to developments in fulfilling Biblical prophecy in Israel and the Middle-East:

First, we must refer to the concurrent ‘coincidental’ events that William Koenig noted as a result of his observations over the past 20 years and concluding there’s a direct correlation in connection with the ‘peace process’ on dividing up the land.

Also see Cranmer’s article/discussion The whole world should recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – simply because it is!

Prophetic Scripture Update #5 cont’d: Rosenberg on Putin summit with Iranian & Turkish leaders to strengthen anti-Western alliance…Trouble for Israel.

(Jerusalem, Israel) — After several years of darkness falling on the Middle East, we’re actually seeing quite a bit of good news in recent months. The U.S.-led coalition of Sunni Arab countries is systematically crushing the Islamic State. The Caliphate has been dismantled. ISIS jihadists are still a threat, but they’re being driven out of […]

Click to read in full > Ominous: Putin holds summit with Iranian & Turkish leaders to strengthen anti-Western alliance, discuss next steps in Syria. Trouble for Israel. Here’s the latest. — Joel C. Rosenberg’s Blog

A prince moves us towards the Second Signpost

mohammed-bin-salman-afp-bigWith the background from updates here, here and here following Sept 2015’s ‘Act of God’ lightning strike on Mecca’s Grand Mosque, and especially in view of Iran being the main actor of the Ezekiel 38 Gog-Magog alliance, we consider how events fit into Daniel’s prophecies…

Mark Davidson's avatarTHE FOUR SIGNPOSTS

In January 2016 a high-ranking Shia cleric was executed, and an embassy was burned down in retribution.

In November 2017 a missile is launched from Yemen towards Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The Lebanese Prime Minister, a Sunni Muslim, finds safety in Arabia and resigns his post.

While these might be cause for concern with many, we who are familiar with the Four Signposts know the big event to watch out for. We do not know how it will begin. It could have started over any of these events, or an event like it in the future. But that is the nature of the enmity between Sunni and Shia, one of constant agitation. We will continue to see sabre rattling and tough talk and events that make it seem the Second Signpost War could break out at any time.

Remember Iran launching its own rocket into the ISIS area? Over…

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Middle-East update #3 – Saudi king Salman to step down, handover to crown prince

Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad; credit DebkaFile

Am breaking into our usual long weekend offline to update Update #2 with brief news for readers to check details of rapid developments – and to re-blog information from Mark Davidson on how it all relates to what Old Testament prophet Daniel foresaw of today’s turmoil in the Middle East.

On Thursday, beating Israel’s DebkaFile renowned for ‘news before the news’, Britain’s Daily Mail  published this scoop > EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Arabia king to step down and hand crown over to his 32-year old son after prince rounded up Saudi royals in corruption arrests…

For further analysis, especially regarding intel, see Debka’s Saudi Prince Muhammad is on eve of accession, plans war with Iran, with Israeli attack on Hizballah and their blow-by-blow account of Lebanese PM Harari’s decision to resign when in Riyadh, then fly to Paris > Harari lands in Paris: watch the money trail…

I also recommend this from Middle East Forum for weekend in-depth briefing:

Middle-East update #2 – selection of this week’s headlines

Continuing with this week’s Middle-Eastern headlines of Biblically-related developments:

  • Nov 9 – Saudi Arabia tells its citizens to leave Lebanon immediately [Haaretz]
  • Nov 10 – Trump’s secret weapon: the hidden ties that bind Israel, Saudis [Bloomberg]
  • Nov 10 – Israel to embark on diplomatic offensive against Hezbollah/Iran at the UN [Jerusalem Post]
  • Nov 11 – Syrian drone over Golan follows Trump-Putin disagreement over Syrian buffer-zone  [Debka]
  • Nov 12 – Iran establishes military base in Syria within 35 miles of Israel border [BreakingIsraelNews]
  • Nov 13- New Trump-Putin deal on Syria/Golan grants Iran/Hizballah free movement within Israeli-Jordanian border regions [Debka]
  • Nov 14 – Iranian military force taking shape right under Israel’s nose – NB see 313th battalion awaiting Shiite ‘messiah’ ie Hidden 12th Imam or Mahdi! [Ynet]
  • Nov 15 – Iran already has 13 bases in Syria and tens of thousands of troops. Is their removal realistic? [Debka]
  • Nov 16 – Abbas: PA could move back to one-state solution if  two states fail [TimesofIsrael]
  • Nov 16- In first ever Saudi interview, IDF head says ready to share intel on Iran [TimesofIsrael]
  • Nov 16 – UN gives Egypt 1 week to re-open closed Coptic churches as Christians cry out [CPWorld]

Part three brings the very latest news before we look at its direct relevance to the ‘Four Signposts’ interpretation of Bible prophecy.

Middle-East update #1 – events around last Thursday’s post

This is first of three overviews of events in the Middle-East before leading into a consideration of how they relate to the ‘Four Signposts’ approach to Bible prophecy. We will look more closely at Jordan and dip into reports on Saudi Arabian involvement in the Israel-Palestine peace process and with Iran.

Events continue to accelerate at breathtaking speed and I will present a mix of comments and bullet-point headlines for ease of reading. Links are shown for those wishing to read in more depth and consult the source material.

NCIS fans will recall Gibb’s Rule #39: ‘There’s no such thing as a coincidence!’ – or, as in my reply to a reader’s recent comment, “Coincidences are ‘spooky’ action in time” (a play upon Einstein’s reaction to quantum physics’ hypothesis of ‘entanglement’, ie. non-local correlative ‘communication’ between photons of light and sub-atomic particles).

A BRIEF RECAP

Apart from the ‘God-incidence’ of two delegates who’d heard the same teaching, writing on the same day on the same topic – the need for ‘air supremacy’ when prophesying –  this time last week I submitted a very brief outline of major developments in the Middle-East since September 2015. It included reports of visits of a delegation of Christians to meet the leaders of Egypt and Jordan, as well as a UK prophet’s bringing the Lord’s words to diplomats at the UN in Geneva, including Donald Trump’s personal envoys.

For readers who’ve not yet read Paws 4 Thought, my premise follows the ‘coincidental’ similarity 14 years to the day between the infamous 9/11 attack upon the twin towers in New York and a severe lightning strike upon a crane, causing it to crash onto Mecca’s  Grand Mosque and thereby killing over 100 people.

A ‘coincidental connection’ between those tragedies in New York and Mecca is the Bin Ladin family by virtue of their Binladin construction group owning that crane and of their  notorious son Osama having been the leader of Al Qaeda.

JORDAN ON-THE-GROUND

I wondered if Joel Rosenberg’s report of visiting Jordan accurately paints the picture in view of strong discrimination against those who become  Christians (secret police watch ex-Muslims). I’m grateful to friends who’ve been there allowing me to share their response to my blog of his news:

‘Thank you for this. It is of course wonderful to have any connection with the head of a Moslem country; nevertheless I wonder whether Joel Rosenberg knows the following:-
Christians can’t go to the camp that the delegation visited, since the men are beaten up and the women raped; they therefore have to sleep on church floors, pavements, or if lucky in a run-down room with no heating. They are cared for by local churches.
Syrian refugees are paid 250 Jordanian Dinars a month in perpetuity by UNHCR (about £150), whereas Syrian Christian refugees receive 10 dinars a month per family member AND only for six months! Iraqis, whether Christian or not receive nothing, and are moreover not allowed to work in Jordan. There is evidence that Moslem admin. officials report Christian refugees to the secret police. Those really in danger of course are those who convert from Islam, and we were moved by all those who came to our conference at some danger to themselves.’

Their eye-opening account was gained first-hand serving with Flame International in its missions to victims of wars – read also its encouraging Report from the Jordan Mission October 2017.

WASHINGTON ROUND-UP

From his desk as an accredited correspondent in the White House, William Koenig gives an exceptionally extensive round-up of the week’s Middle-Eastern news in his ‘Eye-View’ of last Friday (also see World Watch Daily). In Bill’s words it was ‘another breathtaking prophetic week in the Middle-East’.:

‘INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE’
  • ‘President Donald Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Saudi Crown Prince Mahmoud bin Salman and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri were the talk of the Middle East the past week.
  • Crown Prince Mahmoud rounded up Saudi princes and businessmen and imposed travel curbs in his fight over corruption.
  • Saad Hariri resigned from his position over fear of assassination by Hezbollah and gave a scathing speech about Iran and Hezbollah.
  • Iran’s foreign minister blamed Jared Kushner for the Salman and Hariri activities.

POLITICO wrote,President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner returned home Saturday, Oct. 29 from an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia — his third trip to the country this year…

David Ignatius, a long time Washington Post reporter and Saudi expert, pointed to Donald Trump’s and Jared Kushner’s alleged influence in his article, The Saudi crown prince just made a very risky power play

“MBS [Crown Prince Salman] is emboldened by strong support from President Trump and his inner circle, who see him as a kindred disrupter of the status quo — at once a wealthy tycoon and a populist insurgent. It was probably no accident that last month, Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, made a personal visit to Riyadh. …MBS would probably be flattered to be described as a Saudi Trump. But Xi and his anti-corruption power play may be the real role model.”

Peace front:
  • The Trump team seems determined to forge a comprehensive peace deal between Israel, the Palestinians and the Sunni Arab world.
  • Egyptian President al-Sisi met with the Palestinian President Abbas on Monday, and King Salman of Saudi Arabia met with Abbas on Tuesday to discuss American-sponsored peace talks.
  • Former Haaretz journalist and now Channel 10 correspondent Barak Ravid wrote about “Trump’s mystery plan for Mideast peace,” which is expected early next year…:
  • ‘Israeli and Palestinian officials expect President Trump to unveil a Mideast peace proposal by early next year…
  • ‘The U.S. “peace team” working on the issue is relatively small and very discreet — just five people, including senior adviser Jared Kushner and special envoy Jason Greenblatt. The entire process is being run out of the White House, with the State Department and other agencies providing advice and support. According to U.S. officials, Trump is the driving force on this issue and is personally involved. Israeli officials say they hear Trump is pushing his team to have a proposal soon.
  • ‘In the last nine months Trump has met Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas separately three times each to discuss his peace initiative
  • ‘Greenblatt’s last trip to the region lasted three weeks, and Kushner, who is officially leading the “peace team,” came to the region three times and spends hours every week in phone calls with Arab leaders in order to get their support.
  • ‘The small, close-knit team has meant almost no leaks and zero public scandals, mistakes or embarrassments…’
What they’re saying:
  • Netanyahu told U.K. Prime Minister May last week that he’s in ‘wait and see mode’ and expecting a proposal late this year or early next year, according to Israeli and British officials. “I don’t know what peace plan Trump is about to present and I am not sure anybody knows, but I am happy the Trump team is bringing fresh and out of the box thinking on this issue,
  • Abbas told a group of former Israeli members of Knesset that he expects a plan later this year and that Trump has told him he supports the two-state solution and is planning to make his position public soon, according to people present at the meeting.
  • A White House official says there is no artificial deadline and the goal is to ‘facilitate a deal that works for both Israelis and Palestinians, not to impose anything on them’.
What to watch:
  • Trump is counting on Saudi Arabia to help get both the Israelis and Palestinians to say yes to any initiative. Kushner builds on his close relationship with the Saudi crown prince Mohamed Bin Salman as a conduit for a much bigger Saudi role in the peace process than ever before…President Abbas was in Riyadh earlier this week to talk about the peace process with the Saudi leadership.
  • Vice President Mike Pence will visit in mid-December and meet with both Netanyahu and Abbas and likely urge the parties to go back to the negotiating table.
  • Netanyahu’s political situation could be destabilized by a peace plan that includes Israeli concessions on politically charged issues, like borders, settlements and the future of Jerusalem. .
  • Abbas is in the midst of implementing a reconciliation deal with his rival party Hamas. The deal, which was led by Egypt with quiet support from the White House, includes the gradual transfer of control over the Gaza strip back to the Palestinian authority. A collapse of this agreement could have serious implications on any push for a peace deal.

Another breathtaking prophetic week in the Middle East – news and timeline

  • Wed Nov 1: Putin positions himself as Middle East broker as US retreats; visits Tehran Times of Israel
  • Wed Nov 1: IAF strikes Syrian munitions factory, Syria retaliates – Ynet
  • Sat Nov 4: Lebanese prime minister resigns, saying his life in danger – Ynet
  • Sun Nov 5: Saudi prince Salman rounds-up of Saudi princes, businessmen widens, travel curbs imposed – Reuters
  • Sun Nov 5: Hariri’s speech: An accurate description of Israel’s northern challenges – Ynet  Analysis: The Lebanese prime minister’s resignation concludes a week of turbulent events in the region, which all point to the extremely explosive situation created by the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah axis and, most importantly, mark the end of the civil war in Syria and its implications on Lebanon. Israel’s finest speech writers couldn’t have produced a better speech for Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri against Hezbollah and Iran.
  • Mon Nov 6: Egypt’s Sissi vows push to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks  Times of Israelin a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, said he remains committed to bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table.
  • Tue Nov 7: Abbas speaks with Saudi king Jerusalem Post...informed [Salman] of the latest developments related to the Palestinian issue, American efforts to advance the peace process and… national reconciliation,
  • Tue Nov 8: White House Statement on Iranian-Supported Missile Attacks Against Saudi Arabia 
  • Tues Nov 8 – President Trump’s North Korean warning speech in Seoul, Korea  White House transcript.
  • Thu Nov 9: Trump may have pushed Saudi Arabia and Iran closer to war  CNBC.  Koenig quotes CNBC.com senior columnist Jake Novak’s Commentary in some depth: ‘As I noted when he was first put in his top position by his father King Salman in June, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was already known as a hardcore hawk against Iran. Just a month before he was made crown prince, bin Salman declared that peace dialogue with Iran was impossible…More aggressive anti-Iranian hawks like bin Salman may have seen Donald Trump’s election as an excuse to win the day over more dovish princes and ministers. And the White House seemingly gave Saudi Arabia a green light…Step four seems to have come in September, when bin Salman reportedly secretly visited Israel to discuss Iran and other potential cooperative measures. Neither country is officially acknowledging that visit took place, but at least one Israeli government source confirmed the meeting last month…And now we’re on the step five, which appears to be a combination of the purge to remove any possible internal hurdles towards a greater anti-Iranian push, and blatant protests against any real or perceived Iranian aggression.

Is Saudi Arabia pushing Israel into war with Hezbollah and Iran?

  • Koenig: ‘This is an interesting perspective from Obama’s former ambassador to Israel.’  In Haaretz Daniel B. Shapiro is Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, asks, ‘What connects Lebanese PM Saad Hariri’s sudden resignation and Hezbollah’s assassination threat with Saudi Arabia and Israel? It’s all about Iran.
  • ‘But Israel must not be maneuvered by an impatient Riyadh into a premature confrontation…Hariri has long known that as prime minister, he lived on borrowed time. At Hezbollah’s whim, at any moment, his father’s fate could become his own. It’s fair to say that the assassination attempt he alluded to in his resignation announcement represented a death threat he always faced. It was only a question of when Hezbollah would choose to operationalize it. 
  • ‘The bigger question is whether his resignation is a sign that the Saudis withdrew their support for him once again. At first blush, that would not seem consistent with King Salman and MBS’s overall desire to confront Iran’s proxies on every front…’
  • ‘But it is plausible that the Saudis are trying to create the context for a different means of contesting Iran in Lebanon: an Israeli-Hezbollah war….’
  • For the rest of this informative commentary, click here: Haaretz
THE MIDDLE EAST
  • Nov 8 – Iran plots assassinations to achieve Shiite Crescent in the Middle East [JCPA]
  • Nov 8 – Barzani: Iraqi forces entered Kirkuk with US, British knowledge [Rudaw]
  • Nov 9 – Saudi Arabia Kuwait, UAE and Bahrain urge their nationals to leave Lebanon [Al Arabiya]
  • Nov 9 – The price of selling out the Kurds [Rudaw]

Part 2 will provide a quick listing of linked headlines from this week’s news.

[Flying Puzzles by Nokhoog Buchachon, courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net]

Paws-4-thought: Kingdom-related events since lightning strike on Mecca’s Grand Mosque

Won’t you pause to ponder and praise the Lord with me? Let’s look back briefly and consider how the prophetic has a place in diplomatic circles.

After a lightning strike damaged Mecca’s Grand Mosque just over two years ago I’ve noticed many changes are under way in Saudi Arabia and the M-East generally. Developments indicative of major spiritual and diplomatic changes in Muslim leaders’ relationships with and their attitudes toward Christians, and Israel in particular, are quietly emerging.

Late in the year of the ‘blood-moon tetrad‘ (2015) I closed a series of posts on the years’ spectacular events with Why this September is special: Update #2 – Islam, which referred to a lightning strike in Mecca. Under the sub-head ‘Anniversary of 9/11 Atrocity’ I wrote:

‘On the anniversary of this century’s ‘day of infamy’ for New York, I noted another event seemed to connect into the collapse of the Twin Towers – as well as possibly being of God, or was it simply coincidence?  Lightning from a severe thunderstorm in Mecca struck a tall crane, which collapsed into the Grand Mosque thereby killing and injuring hundreds.

‘The construction engineer is quoted as saying, “It was an act of God”. A ‘very saddened’ British imam is reputed to have said, “It’s a blessing in disguise for those killed”. Four days later Saudi Arabia’s King Salman suspended contracts for the construction company, which is owned by the Bin Laden family!

‘Nevertheless, it ‘struck’ me that it’s a mirror ‘action replay’ on the 14th anniversary of the attack upon America, inspired as it was by the teachings and practices of the Meccan founder of Islam. That is, the very heart of the homeland and faith of those modern religious plotters and perpetrators was visited by an almost similar ‘toppling of a tower’. Also, my first impression was of The Almighty throwing down the gauntlet to confront satan. It’s far, far too uncanny not to be of poignant significance!’

The necessity of brevity means we’ll avoid itemising all subsequent events, except the notable one, and overlooking Crown Prince Muhammad’s radical reforms, your attention is drawn to recent events with his main Sunni Muslim allies of Egypt and Jordan.

This year’s change of US administration brought a complete sea-change not only in US-Arab diplomacy but also between USA and Israel. In his first foreign trip as the POTUS, Donald Trump addressed the 2017 Riyadh Summit in Saudi Arabia with a well-crafted speech. I re-blogged Joel Rosenberg’s report Trump boldly urges Muslim leaders to “drive out the terrorist and extremists” from their nations and mosques with this intro’:

‘Note Trump’s accurate description of Islamic terror as “battle between Good and Evil” (read prepared speech.)  All a mighty contrast to Obama’s deep rift with Riyadh in 2011 for betraying Egypt’s president Mubarak as a consequence of having invited the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood to his 2009 Cairo speech plus his back-channel dealings with Iran, as I reported just over 8 years ago in Today’s Importance in History (18 May 2009)!’

Christian Leaders Meet Middle-East’s Leaders

THEREFORE, with those two historic and highly significant events in mind let’s look at the latest news from Joel Rosenberg of his delegation of evangelical leaders’ top-level meetings in Egypt and Jordan. Tap/click links to read his reports in full:

1st Nov > Today in Cairo, Egyptian President Sisi Welcomed First-ever Delegation of Christian Leaders for 3-hour MeetingI had opportunity to meet Egyptian President el-Sisi in Washington in April.  What I could not say at the time was that…the President invited me to bring a delegation of Evangelical Christian leaders to visit him in Cairo, as well as to meet other senior Egyptian government officials and religious leaders. We’ve been working on this with his staff and advisors ever since, and today the project not only became a reality but was far more than I could possibly have hoped for…’ 

2nd Nov > Arab & Israeli media provide inside details of President el-Sisi’s historic meeting Evangelical Christian leaders in Cairo : …’Rosenberg, who was born to a Jewish father, told Haaretz that he was surprised at the level of interest expressed by the Egyptians in the delegation. “For the leader of Egypt to invite a Christian group to sit with him, discuss what he’s doing, talk about some of the difficult issues, that’s very impressive. I was hoping we could get ten minutes with him, and eventually we got almost three hours. From our side, the important thing was to show our appreciation for his fight against terrorism and extremism, for his commitment to peace and security ties with Israel, and for saving Egypt from the darkness of the Muslim Brotherhood.”…

8th Nov > Jordan’s King Abdullah II welcomes Evangelical Christian Delegation at Palace in Amman. Leaders thank King for advancing peace, fighting terrorism, caring for refugees and protecting Christians : ‘The meeting capped three days of meetings between Delegation members and senior government officials; Evangelical, Catholic and Muslim leaders in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; and a moving visit to the Zaatari Refugee Camp near the Syrian border….’

Kingdom Presence & Prophecy

An insight upon another quite different aspect of spiritual diplomacy on behalf of the King of Kings was shared at Revd Dr Sharon Stone’s mentoring day last Saturday – it’s that of the office and function of God’s prophet.

As part of his material, the speaker for the first session taught about the student’s ‘work’ or assignment in the Lord as being the prime driver and energizer in their lives. As God created air for birds to fly through so He created His Kingdom in which His presence manifests and in which His saints are to function. Therein, Holy Spirit’s words and power comes to His people. Those anointed in the office of prophet are to create a Kingdom atmosphere in order to do their ‘work’.  So, without the presence of God any ministry is impossible. The question is, how’s this done in secular, even governmental, meetings?

In giving an example this speaker surprised us by telling about when he was invited to a meeting in Geneva, at the United Nations, and expected to prophesy to some government leaders. In meeting ‘the world’ with every race, creed and culture present, he realised the need to avoid jargon, or ‘churchese’.

‘Why? What am I trying to do? I’m trying to conquer an air-space; I’m trying to bring a Kingdom atmosphere into an already world-atmosphere. And there’s nothing more like world atmosphere, I promise you, than being at the UN…every ambassador, diplomat and delegate is there and I’m in front of a couple and of course I don’t know if they’re Christians. So I’m not going to say “Thus saith the Lord”. All I’m going to do is speak the Word of God  into the atmosphere and drop Truth, even in this place. And so I said (to X and Y), “I don’t know who you are but I see you’re in between two intense negotiations right now and I see…”

He gave the gathered students just a tiny peek of the bigger picture he was giving them about their personal work and how the Lord is helping. They then asked the prophet, “You don’t know who we are, do you?” – “No” he replied.

It turns out they’re Donald Trump’s envoys and the prophet continued: ‘(Then) as I’m speaking the atmosphere changes, all of a sudden the Kingdom of God came in and the next day – and the next day – there was momentum to minister to most of the diplomats…Why? Because we can change the atmosphere with the prophetic!’

The speaker explained how this principle works by alluding to the military strategy of  ‘air supremacy’ – so too, with prophecy and intercessory prayer.

Netanyahu vs. Marr – Bibi’s geopolitical master class on ‘Beeb’ tv

One of Britain’s outstanding journalists, Melanie Phillips, blogs in her Going Wherever the Evidence Leads,

‘Whatever you think about Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu, this is a master class in how to present the case, not just for Israel but for rational western policy on the manifold and gathering threats to the world within the Middle East – of which the overwhelming threat by far is posed by Iran. Watch how he calmly copes with the usual boiler-plate prejudices about the Palestinians and then makes the points that so badly need to be made to a British audience – such as pointing out that Israel has helped save many British lives. Not a fact that the British often hear.’

In gently correcting the Bigoted Brainwashing Corporation Andrew Marr’s ignorance, Bibi rebuffs his arrogance with full-some answers – definitely well-worth watching!

Read also Melanie’s BBC Today’s Disgraceful Balfour Travesty and upon which BBC Watch goes to town in demonstrating BBC Radio 4 Today’s contemptible inaccuracies; eg. ‘(Introducing the) first of those items…co-presenter Mishal Husain repeated a practice seen time and time again in BBC coverage of this story (see ‘related articles’ below). Her inaccurate paraphrasing of the Balfour Declaration concealed from audiences the fact that the document specifically referred to the “civil and religious rights” of non-Jewish communities…’

Thus, we have further evidence of the BBC’s gross unreliability as a source of historical and current data, comment and opinion.

Anglicans lead Wittenberg-style protest against ‘progressive’ bishops in their cathedrals.

gavinashenden's avatarGavin Ashenden

reformation 2

https://pjmedia.com/faith/anglicans-lead-martin-luther-style-grassroots-protest-against-progressive-christianity/

On the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, with Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church, Anglicans nailed (or tacked) a similar protesting document to the doors of five Church of England cathedrals. Leaders in the movement told PJ Media they intend to push the Church of England back to the Bible and against a “secular” form of “soft socialism.”

“These postings of the Southwark Declaration represent a grassroots protest amongst both the orthodox laity and the clergy against the complacent selling-out of the Church of England to the current secular zeitgeist in the name of progressive Christianity,” Gavin Ashenden, a missionary bishop to England who rejected his ordination in the Church of England (and his position as special bishop to Queen Elizabeth II) this year, told PJ Media.

Each of the protesting Anglicans posted both the Southwark Declaration — a document…

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‘Judgement and the Church of England.’ A sermon…following the Hereford Diocesan Synod.

Having resigned from ministry in the Anglican communion Gavin’s incisive analysis cuts close to the ‘bone’. His wise opinion, and closing dream and vision, confirm the validity of a recent prophetic word and vision of pruning of CofE’s deadwood, and my earlier conversational piece about the SSM Bill. It’s exactly as Jesus foretold about these End-times being like the Days of Noah and of Lot!

gavinashenden's avatarGavin Ashenden

Good Shepherd

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

(Ephesians 6.12)

Jesus said,

“ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mk 3.25).

There are at least two ways of doing theology; one primarily as a rational and intellectual act, and one by discernment of the Spirit.

Our Enlightenment traditions are very comfortable with the first, but Churches that look to the Holy Spirit rather than the nous or the human mind, need to be able to exercise the gift of the Holy Spirit called in the New Testament, ‘discernment.’

This is an exercise not in the cerebralness of rationality, of which we have had a great deal, but in spiritual discernment; which can only be done by the twice-born, and…

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Hatred, like beauty, may be in the eye of the beholder; cowardice, complicity and the Church of England!

Revd Gavin’s satirical latest slots in well with this blog’s recent items, showing it’s now time for REAL Christians to take a firm, loving stand against the stupidity arising from apostasy and pig-ignorance.

gavinashenden's avatarGavin Ashenden

Denouncing your neighbour for a ‘thought-crime’ was a favourite past time in the old Soviet Union. The problem for anyone accused of having the ‘wrong thoughts’ is that it’s impossible to defend yourself.

Well the practice is back. ‘Hate crime’ is the new thought crime. If someone else’s views makes you feel uncomfortable, all you need to do is to accuse them of either ‘hate’ or, if you prefer, ‘extremism’, or best of all, both.

The latest seed bed of hate-filled extremism has been lurking undiscovered for the last 16 years in a Primary School, in Tunbridge Wells.

With psychological and social consequences that surely defy imagination, a generation of children have been infected by ‘hate’ at the hands of an extremist organisation masquerading as a Christian charity.

For 16 years this charity called Crossteach has been sowing ‘hate’ and ‘extremism’ under the pretence of pretending to help local C…

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Update on removal of CrossTeach team from Anglican school

Further to my two posts on the headteacher of St John’s C of E Primary School in Royal Tunbridge Wells severing its ties with CrossTeach, James Church brings informative and thus valuable background to the discussions on Cranmer’s post.:

First, he writes: ‘This most distressing as a church that has hosted CrossTeach’s Easter Experience and as a CrossTeach volunteer I can testify to how sensitively it is led, to the dedication of the volunteers and the creativity of the program as a whole. It is most disheartening to see Wayne and others labelled as extremists and the important work they are doing trashed mainly though ignorance combined with cowardice.’

Later he adds: ‘After a conversation tonight with our CrossTeach team locally, I have discovered a number of things, 1. they have every sympathy with the Headteacher who they feel has been put in an extremely difficult position, 2. there is a lot of false information about what was or is being objected to, 3. at the root of the problem is one particular parent who largely objected to a lesson in which their child was told that heaven would be better than the best things on earth, 4. other parents have been rallied to the cause with often misleading information. It has been rumbling on for some time with the team often being misquoted or quoted out of context. In all lessons two representatives of the team are there along with a teacher.’

I responded,

‘Very helpful and thank you James, yet those ‘figures’ don’t quite add up. In view of the publicity and uproar it would be appreciated if the Head explains his actual grounds for capitulation.’

The Telegraph quotes headteacher Dan Turvey as saying “I do not believe CrossTeach has done anything wrong,” he said. “They do not deserve the tarnishing of their good name and allegations of extremism that have taken place over the last few months.”

So why couldn’t Dan ‘man-up’, perhaps because he’s not a real, practising Christian?

Also, I’d draw attention to:

Clarifying rebuttal from Cranmer of headline re Anglican headteacher

This updates Anglican headteacher surrenders to parental unbelief in view of a question over the accuracy of the linked post’s title.

The first comment shown at the foot of the discussion thread on Cranmer’s Church of England school headteacher brands Crossteach educational charity ‘extremist’ objected to that headline’s wording (emphases added).

‘Layreader’ writes:

‘All good accurate stuff, apart from the headline. Dan Turvey, while he has made the wrong decision here, was quite happy with the involvement of CrossTeach in his school. And so the 95% of parents who send their child to a C of E school just so they are properly educated are trounced by the 5% who have no idea why they sent their child there.
‘It’s a parable, if you want one, for the way that all politics works in our liberal ‘democracy’. If only a small number of people can make a large enough noise, then decision-makers, schooled in the principles of management rather than the principles of integrity, will always cave in for a quiet life.
‘This is Marxism as it is currently practised. And, in Tunbridge Wells, to boot…’

Abp Cranmer rebutts:

‘No, the headline is entirely accurate: Dan Turvey did indeed write to parents that he was happy with Crossteach, but then proceeded to ban the group from taking assemblies and RE lessons, thereby tarnishing their good name with the whiff of extremism. He should have told the zealous parents that they are lawfully entitled to withdraw their children from the Daily Act of Collective Worship and RE lessons, and made alternative arrangements. What he should not have done was to impugn Crossteach and humiliate them before the world.’

Read Update to the discussion from a CrossTeach volunteer >

Anglican headteacher surrenders to parental unbelief

Politico-religious blogger Adrian Hilton’s latest covers news about the headteacher who prefers giving in to demands from parents, doubtless atheist, rather than standing up for Christ and the teaching of His disciples!  Apostasy in action!

In Church of England school headteacher brands Crossteach educational charity ‘extremist’ Cranmer examines and comments upon events:

‘..a group of parents at St John’s Church of England Primary School weren’t happy with Christians coming in and talking about sin and Jesus and judgment and men and women getting married – you know, some of that basic Christian stuff which (headteacher) Dan Turvey says is at the heart of all they do because their Christian ethos is very strong. These parents objected to such “extremist beliefs”, and say Crossteach had been “upsetting children with a fundamentalist approach”.

Headteacher Dan Turvey capitulates in writing to parents,

“After careful consideration I have decided that we will end our regular commitment to CrossTeach and that they will no longer lead assemblies or take lessons, I have taken this action as I hope to bring an end this campaign and allow us to move on.”

Read Cranmer’s full, short article via the above link and, if you wish, share your opinion by joining its appended discussion.

ALSO note Cranmer’s clarifying rebuttal at foot of his discussion thread as in next post.

News on Daniel 7 and Revelation 12-17 visions of beasts/dragon

Link to book

Here’s news of a noteworthy development related to Mark Davidson’s thesis of the ‘Four Signposts’ (tap for website).

In Daniel Revisited Mark presents a thorough analysis of visions of OT prophet Daniel and Apostle John in relation to existing and subsequent Middle-eastern alliances.

His fascinating thesis examines the four beasts of Daniel 7, comparing the territorial identities of the 7-headed dragon of Revelation 12 with the Islamic realm of nations.

In his latest post Albania’s Tie to Turkey Confirmed, Mark writes:

‘Thanks go to a reader who sent me this article’s link.

‘Turkey is building rapport affecting the lives of Albanians and “helping” the country culturally and economically.

‘The Signpost theory tells us there is a coming Sunni Confederacy which will be the main player during the Third Signpost. Turkey will lead a group of nations in the region that ally with Turkey. One of those nations is predicted to be Albania.

‘Turkey’s foreign policy in the region around Turkey is summed up as follows:

“In the years following the demise of communism in Albania, Turkey emerged as an important factor to shape Albania’s transition from a totalitarian regime to a pluralistic democratic one. The aim of Turkey’s foreign policy towards the Balkans, apart from securing the stability and security of the region, was to establish and strengthen economic and cultural ties.”

‘We have seen reports before of Turkey’s involvement with Albania. This article supports the idea that when the time comes and Turkey is looking for allies in its war against Iran, Albania will help.’

Further Reading:

On the eve of Yom Kippur, “Putin in Ankara to forge alliance of Russia, Turkey & Iran.” Why that’s interesting.

Further developments in the ‘Gog-Magog coalition’..

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Putin-Erdogan

>>I’m speaking Saturday evening in Denver on the threats posed by Radical Islam, Russia and North Korea. Q&A will follow. Tickets are $25. Best is to register online, but you can buy a ticket at the door. Click here for more details.

(Denver, Colorado) — Readers of my novel, The Ezekiel Option, and non-fiction book, Epicenter, and this blog know how interested I am in the ancient prophecies of Ezekiel 38 and 39 and what is known by rabbis, pastors and Bible scholars as the “War of Gog and Magog.”

The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel wrote some 2,500 years ago that in the “last days” of history, the Jewish people will be gathered back to the land of Israel from all the nations where they have been scattered and exiled, they will rebuild the State of Israel, and they will create a nation of ever-increasing security and prosperity.

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Fulfilled Prophecy #23.1 – British lion to roar

Thank you to Angela Jelf and sister Kerry for their ‘heads-up’ on the Foreign Secretary’s speech at yesterday’s Conservative Party Conference entitled, ‘Let That Lion Roar!’  BBC News video Boris Johnson: Let the British lion roar shows the standing ovation to his gentle albeit clarion-call’s conclusion:

“We are not the lion.

“We do not claim to be the lion.

“That role is played by the people of this country. But it is up to us now – in the traditional non-threatening, genial and self-deprecating way of the British – to let that lion roar.”  (Read full text here.)

Angela’s note concludes, ‘Wow! In light of Wendy Alec’s 2005 vision of Great Britain I am so struck that this cannot be a coincidence’. I agree it’s no coincidence at all.

There are two relevant parts of that extensive visionary prophecy, principally about the danger of the EU to Britain, the first part follows its opening vision and reads:

‘Then the Lord showed me a large lion – and He said – “This lion represents the nation of Great Britain”.

‘And it was a shocking sight – for where the lion should have been filled out and sleek and gleaming – it was almost a skeleton – and its mane was barely visible – and its coat was covered in mange – and its roar which should have shaken the nations in its power and in its ferocity was strangled and barely audible. And the Lord saidThis represents both the glory of this nation at present and the state of My Church as a whole in Great Britain.”

‘And I saw in great letters – the words – “THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED FROM THE LION – BUT THE GLORY OF THE LORD OF HOSTS SHALL RETURN AND THE LION SHALL ROAR AGAIN.”

‘And the Lord said – “Bring back My glory – Bring back My glory that your nation may once more walk in the glory of its destiny – and the Church may show forth My glory.”

Her account goes into depth upon what she perceives as tentacles from the EU, and then she writes:

‘Then as people dropped to their knees all over Britain from every walk of life and denomination – the lion started to change – and he grew strong and sleek and his roar grew stronger. And I saw written in the spirit – “Create in me a clean heart O God – and renew a right spirit within me”. And as the people started to seek the face of the Lord I saw the word ‘COURAGE’ – and I knew that in the spirit realm that Great Britain had been endowed from the beginning of time with the mantle ‘COURAGE’ – and the Lord said, “LIONHEART”.

‘And God said Britain has yet to move into her end-time destiny in the nations – And I saw again in great letters – the words – “THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED FROM THE LION – BUT THE GLORY OF THE LORD OF HOSTS SHALL RETURN.”

‘And the lion’s roar by now had gained strength…’

Then follows references to certain cities (including Manchester) and need for prayers of protection…and Wendy under her sub-head GREAT BRITAIN – LAND OF END-TIME DESTINY she continues:

‘And then He started to speak of Great Britain’s destiny…

“Oh Great Britain, Great Britain – isle of walls and of fortresses – I tell you that even as the glory of the Lord has departed from the Lion – so the glory of the Lion of Judah shall return – and My glory shall rest upon the Lion and the Lion once again shall open its mouth and its roar shall be heard again among the nations of this earth…”

Amen, may it be so Father -and quickly.

So let’s keep praying for the complete fulfillment of Britain becoming that godly, roaring Lion. Major elements of that awesome vision have already been, or are being, fulfilled, viz:

  • the UK Referendum to cut the EU’s tentacles (see #19),
  • PM’s mission being inspired by William Wilberforce (see #9),
  • the outrage of terrorist attack in Manchester Arena (see #20),
  • the ‘great joining of the Lion and the Eagle’ (see #22).

London awakening’s torch taken into the nation

Some recent news courtesy of Michael Marcel at UK Awakening:

‘I am happy to say that the move of God that began at Capstone, Ilford, in June is beginning to gain traction. There are a few bold people who have received at Capstone and have recognised what God is doing and are starting ‘Revival’ meetings.

– Sunday 22nd October and Sunday 29th October at 7pm, Good News Church, Senior Citizens Hall, Duke Street, Macclesfield SK11 6UR.  ‘We do think that this is a genuine move of God that could develop into something big.’

– Saturday 14th at 7.00pm, Living Waters Four Square Church, The Scout Hut,387 Kenton Road,Kenton HA3 0YG.

– Every Wednesday and Friday, Bethel Church, 11 Delaware Street, Preston, PR1 5XT

‘A good friend of mine has ministered to three different streams in three days and “The power of the Holy Spirit fell in all settings; people weeping and shaking under the power of God”. He has seen this abroad a lot, but this is the first time he has seen it in the UK, in such a consistent way.

‘God has great plans for our nation, but He cannot do it without our help. The above meetings are a start, but we need hundreds of fires to break out here.’

Tap/click graphic for link to website

A Press release from the Archbishop of the Christian Episcopal Church.

This news of Gavin’s consecration as bishop is only to be expected in view of July’s schismatic synod and prophetic words about the state of the Church of England, especially the vision of a broken oak tree received by Simon Braker only last week. UPDATE: see Archbishop Cranmer’s congratulatory blog.

gavinashenden's avatarGavin Ashenden

Press Release from the Archbishop of the Christian Episcopal Church.

The Feast of St Michael and All Angels

September 29th 2017 :

Former Queen’s Chaplain Consecrated as Missionary Bishop to Anglicans in

the UK and Europe.

The Christian Episcopal Church of Canada and the USA, has announced the consecration in Vancouver, BC, during the course of an Episcopal Synod, of the Rt. Rev’d Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former Chaplain to the Queen, as missionary bishop to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Bishop Ashenden is charged with the responsibility of working as closely and collaboratively as possible with those Anglicans who are committed to remaining faithful to orthodox Christianity. In particular with the Free Church of England and the ‘Unity Forum’ that has been created to achieve that unity of purpose and action in the UK.

The Right Reverend John Fenwick, convenor of the Unity Forum, said: ‘Gavin’s stand for orthodoxy has been an encouragement to Anglicans in the UK and beyond. We look forward to working closely with…

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Prophetic Scripture Update #4: Gog-Magog coalition, Putin’s ambitions

On Friday Joel Rosenberg in Jerusalem blogged about FoxNews.com publishing that morning a new column of his on the massive Russian war games underway near the borders of three NATO countries and Ukraine. He includes findings from an exclusive poll he’d commissioned about American attitudes towards Russia and Putin earlier this year.

Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with Joel’s writings but FoxNews introduces him:

  • Rosenberg has extraordinary credentials for his perspective on America’s enemies, earning him the nickname of a “modern day Nostradamus.”
  • In 2002, Rosenberg opened his debut novel, The Last Jihad, with Muslim extremists using an airplane in a kamikaze attack on the president of the United States. Rosenberg wrote that scene before the 9/11 terror attack….[his] upcoming novel is focused on what seems to be his latest prophetic piece of fiction, The Kremlin Conspiracy…

Joel’s blog Putin is more dangerous than radical Islam is primarily concerned with that Russian’s intentions in Eastern Europe and on Joel’s experience as a Watcher on the walls, “Putin is the greatest geo-political threat that the West faces”.

The biblical aspect of Putin’s ambitions, however, increasingly continues to be directly connected with the Gog-Magog coalition foreseen by prophet Ezekiel in the scenario of end-times events the Lord showed him; as outlined in Update #3 (with its account of a ‘coincidental’ attack by ‘cyber-gremlins’ AND that’s not the first time with respect to my blogging about Iran!).

In view of his residence in Israel, Joel will doubtless be aware of developments over the Syrian front, as in yesterday’s Breaking Israel News of Russia rejecting Israel’s request for a 37-mile buffer zone in the Golan to keep Iranian-backed forces away from their border.

These extracts from Debkafile’s recent military intelligence analyses and reports provide more on Putin’s support of Iran:

  • The Russian air force has recently deployed to Syria four of its most highly advanced early warning and control aircraft, the Beriev A-50 SRDLO (“Mainstay”), which is rated the most sophisticated AWACS in operation…(The plane’s)  radar is capable of pinpointing targets across a distance of 600km (covering) all parts of Israel and can detect every aerial and military movement…’ (30 Aug – Russian-Syrian radar covers all Israel)
  • ‘Washington was winding up discussions with Moscow on terms for US special forces to evacuate the Al Tanf post they were holding in the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian triangle and hand it over to the Syrian army. Quitting Al Tanf is tantamount to the US withdrawal from south-eastern Syria and its handover to Syria and its allies, including Hizballah…’(8 Sept – US set to quit Al Tanf. Pro-Iranian forces move in)
  • ‘Iran, Syria and Hizballah sharpened their responses to the large-scale Israeli military war game against a potential Hizballah invasion… An Iranian military buildup indeed appears to be taking place on Syria’s borders with Jordan and Israel, in response to Israel’s mock thrust into Lebanon. But they are moving in on areas outside the de-escalation zones which are manned by Russian officers. Their tactic therefore is to entrench themselves in other parts of the southeastern Syria so that Russian, Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah forces form a continuous, impermeable line along Syria’s borders with Israel and Jordan.’ (12 Sept – Iran build-up in S Syria…)
  • ‘The (US/UK-forbidden river Euphates) crossing operation, as well as deepening Russia’s military involvement in Syrian and Hizballah offensives, is a major boost for Iran’s objectives, with grave strategic implications for the US and Israel…Iran and its pawns were creating an accomplished fact, with massive logistical and military assistance from the Russian army…By establishing a foothold on both banks of the Euphrates River and both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border, Iran has taken a step towards pursuing its avowed goal of Israel’s destruction.’ (16 Sept – Syrian/Hizballah troops cross Euphrates).

6pm alert – today’s game-changing tactics! (Read Russia/Iran’s game-changer.)