Tag Archives: #Geopolitics

International political and diplomatic relations, as influenced by geographical factors. .

Saudi Crown Prince sees ‘Second Signpost’ — Tangoes Trump out of Turkey and Quatar

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The heir apparent to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, gets it. He called Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei “the new Hitler” back in November. Admittedly, I didn’t read the story; after all, of course the Ayatollah is like Hitler – ruling his nation with an iron fist, etc. It’s a no-brainer.…

Continue reading Mark Davidson’s summary Saudi Crown Prince Sees the Second Signpost – for introductory details see The Four Signposts of Books of Daniel and The Apocalypse.

Also in this week’s news, in Washington ‘MbS’ and Donald Trump dance the tango to move a major US airbase from Turkey and Central Comms from Quatar to Saudi Arabia (photo and text courtesy Debka):

TRUMP-MsB-UAE ACTION GROUP:

‘Ahead of their White House talks on Tuesday, March 20, President Donald Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince agree on a new Supreme Committee to coordinate military and diplomatic efforts for curbing Iranian expansion. The United Arab Emirate is the third member. This committee, to focus on coordinated operations, will consist of the three governments’ national security advisers. For final decisions, they will call in President Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman (MbS) and the UAE Emir Sheikh Muhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ). White House sources reported that the new group would be ceremonially launched in Washington this week. The Emirates national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan will come over to join the event. The emir himself is expected in Washington soon.

‘US and Saudi officials confirmed Tuesday that the new Supreme Committee’s mission would be to execute the goal shared by the three governments, namely, to stall Iran’s expansionist designs across the oil-rich Gulf and the Middle East...(click title for more)’.

US TRANSFERS TWO MID-EAST BASES:

‘Plans to speed up the transfer of the big US CENTCOM base in Qatar to Saudi Arabia were approved by President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Muhamed bin Salman when they met at the White House on Tuesday, March 20. This is an earth-shaking event for the Middle East, which far transcends US-Saudi relations, say DEBKAfile’s military sources. They also disclose that, despite repeated denials, the Trump administration is in the process of another momentous move, packing up its air force and quitting Incirlik in southern Turkey, the biggest air base in the region.

‘The two moves are interconnected. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has become an avid supporter of the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is locked in a feud with the Saudi rulers. Turkey recently established a large military base in the oil emirate. The Saudi Crown Prince and his ally, the UAE ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, are close friends and President Trump’s leading allies in the Gulf region. The two Gulf rulers view the Turkish president and Qatari emir as arch-foes…(click title for more)’.

Acceleration of Biblical End-times events is speeding up!

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Upon hearing presenter J.D. Farag’s opening remarks in Sunday’s Mid-East Prophecy Update I was instantly reminded of these intertwined personal revelations:

  1. after being stunned upon hearing,“This is ALL about to be fulfilled” (see The Endgame Is Now In Play) I started monitoring current events more closely, and
  2. noted those related to Bible prophecies occurring with an increasing rapidity!!

This pastor of Calvary Chapel Kaneohe in Honolulu catches everyone’s attention with,

“As I was preparing for today’s Prophecy Update I was struck with how swiftly everything is happening – how fast everything is speeding up. To me, it’s almost as if world leaders are being motivated by some force to move quickly, and to strike while the proverbial iron is hot.

“So, what I want to talk about today is what seems to be this global expediting – of sorts – and in so doing I want to answer the question of ‘Why the fulfillment of Bible prophecy is on fast-forward?’

“I’ve used that illustration before – I do not see anyone or anything being able to push the pause button on how fast things are going. Rather, I see it as someone pushing the fast-forward button – things are moving so fast, so fast!”

What’s especially fascinating is mainstream media is now referring to unexpected turns in geopolitical events and changes in their anticipated timing, to which the Pastor  refers (quoting his downloadable Update; bold emphases his, underlining mine):

  • “Jerusalem Post asks why is the US speeding up its Jerusalem embassy move?
    “The State Department’s announcement …that it will essentially move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in phases, with the first stage to begin as early as May to coincide with Israel’s 70th Independence Day, is a significant shortening of the timeline. So what happened? Why now has the US decided to at least call the current consulate in Jerusalem an embassy and move Ambassador David Friedman and some of his staff to the location by mid May?”…
  • “On Thursday, Arutz Sheva published a report that the Czech President wants the move of their embassy to Jerusalem expedited...
  • “Speaking of the expediting prior to this May, I’m sure that you, like me, were quite stunned by the sudden breaking news that North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un and the U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to meet prior to May…While the announcement was sudden, Trump…earlier had made a surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room to promise that South Korea would soon make a “major announcement”. …welcomed this …as “very positive”, implying that he believes he is on the verge of a swift and unexpected breakthrough for his so-called “maximum pressure campaign” to force Kim to accept disarmament talks…Thursday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi…called for Washington and the North “to engage in dialogue sooner rather than later.”
  • “According to Reuters…that Russia, Iran and Turkey aren’t going to wait for May, and instead, will meet next month in April. It’s rumored that Putin, Rouhani and Erdogan who “cooperate closely on Syria”, will (discuss) the situation in Syria.
  • “On Friday, Arutz Sheva published an article about how, in the era of Trump, time is no longer on the side of the Palestinians…quote Education Minister Naftali Bennett as saying President Trump has fundamentally changed the equation in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. According to the Jewish Home chief, President Trump’s historic December 2017 declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announcing plans for the relocation of the US embassy removed any incentive for the PA leadership to delay final status talks, potentially making negotiations with Israel more likely. The declaration, argued Bennett, has the potential to “allow, or accelerate peace, or enable peace …The Palestinians…over the past 50 years, had a very simple strategy. Time was on their side, so they’ll just wait. And every time they wait, they get a better deal. If you look through ’93, through 2000, in 2007 the deal just got better. So why not wait? What he’s actually done is reverse that vector, that trend, and suddenly, the Palestinians realize that time is not necessarily on their side, and maybe they should start moving.”

PLUS, the PA leader’s health is not good, yet he’s adamant in refusing to change his mind; so his death will unquestionably be a game-changing event!

Pastor stresses (emphases mine), “It’s important to note specific phrases like speeding up, significant shortening of, expedited and accelerated in these reports because they all speak to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, revving up, as the Lord’s return is fast approaching.  Actually, this is the answer to the aforementioned question of why it seems that everything is speeding up with such urgency.”

NINE YEARS AGO:

As implied in the first paragraph, this vital topic of ‘acceleration’ got flagged up early in my private correspondence nine years ago when president Barack Obama had made an unprecedented, albeit temporary, U-turn in his attitude to Israel, as told in Israel’s PM Points to New Testament – Obama Does U-turn.  In it I quoted White House accredited Christian correspondent William Koenig:

“Never before have we had so many biblically significant events evolving at such a rapid pace…it requires a major effort and assistance in an attempt to stay up with them. Only a small percentage of people in the church and a very small percentage of people in the public know of the seriousness of the times…” (emphasis mine)

Only a few months later in asking Could This Weekend Change The World? I quoted his friend and co-author John McTernan’s opinion,

“Those that are anchored in the Bible and believe the prophetic word, understand what is happening. Events seem to be accelerating towards the Day of LORD. Our hope is in the Blessed Hope, the Lord Jesus coming for His church.” (emphasis mine)

Subsequently, the momentum gathered pace as the number of Biblically-related events heads towards a deluge as we approach the fulfillment of all Bible prophecy. So we can soon expect to see Biblical and contemporary prophetic words and visions converge to fulfill Holy Writ. As J.D. Farag concludes (note numbers for next post):

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7)

Selah!

Brief update to Bible Update on ‘Gog-Magog’: Israel & US vs Iran & Russia

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The necessity for brevity in Bible Update: Ezekiel 38-9 – Iran vs Israel – USA and Russia? meant I didn’t expand upon the parenthesis in my opening remark, ‘…news of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s threat to ‘open the gates of hell’ over the Zionist regime (not the first such threat)…’. Let me now explain:

Please don’t listen to critics’ claiming evangelical Christians support Israel just because they want to hasten the battle of Armageddon.  In fact the reality is this:

Shiite theology desires exactly that in order to bring about the return of their hidden 12th Imam, or Mahdi – and supposedly accompanied by the prophet Jesus!

Thus, the ultimate goal of Iran’s theocratic regime is the removal of the Jewish state of Israel, as I was stunned to see thirty years ago!

[Those who’ve read my Bio Info may recall that, whilst casually flicking through a new book I’d been given I noticed lots of references to the significance of Jerusalem, I also was watching a documentary on then raging Iraq-Iran war. Suddenly I heard a narrator on TV say what’s being shown is elite units from opposing forces rehearsing together an attack upon Jerusalem – that is, despite being at war with one another!!  Thus began my appreciation as a non-believer in the Bible’s prophetic value. The truth of this reality got confirmed in peculiar instances (‘God-incidents’) after I’d started blogging, especially around its fourth anniversary in November 2013 – see The Invisible Hand Reappears and Did My Triple Warning About Iran Affect WordPress Connections? and from 2015,  What’s Weird About Writing About Iran.]

So it comes as no surprise to see this headline in this morning’s Jerusalem Post: Israeli Defense Minister : Iran Declared War On Us Long Ago.: ‘Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said Wednesday. “Iran declared war on us long ago. The highest echelons in Tehran want to erase the Zionist entity, they do not hide the fact that they want to wipe the State of Israel off the face of the earth” Liberman said at annual conference…“Iran is also fighting us through their proxies: Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and now Hamas and of course the Syrian regime.Therefore, it is a daily war not only in the military aspect but also in the realm of international terrorism and we do everything in order to preserve Israel’s security,” adding that Israel maintains absolute freedom of action and will do everything necessary to prevent Iran from consolidating themselves in Syria.

USA and Russia in Syria

Now news has emerged in the MSM of American forces blowing up a Russian-made tank in self-defence against an attack by Syrian troops loyal to Assad and backed by Russian mercenaries, here’s a list of linked-headlines US-Russia conflict I was unable to locate for the earlier post but which are now available:

DEBKA also claims Israel’s downing of Iran’s drone is part of a larger scenario of US-Russian involvement (to be revealed in report to subscribers).

Bible Update: Ezekiel 38-39 – Iran vs. Israel : USA and Russia?

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After the weekend news of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s threat to ‘open the gates of hell’ over the Zionist regime (not the first such threat) and all American bases, we look at the headlines from pre-MSM (mainstream media) DEBKAfile and a few from MSM in Israel as a synopsis of latest events in Israel and in Syria. Links are provided should you wish to read further (MSM ones are slowed by adverts):

NB: Underlined items all now available (added 14 & 15 Feb ) per further Update with explanation of Iran’s deep animosity towards Israel:

Yesterday’s DEBKAfile report Iran’s Saegheh drone in Syria a worry for US as well as Israel gives penetrating insights into this conflict, as hinted in this extract:

‘The infiltrator drone was discovered to have been part of a whole fleet of advanced armed Saegheh UAVs housed at the T-4 base. The second wave of Israeli air strikes against 12 Syrian and Iranian targets decimated this fleet. Most importantly, the drone intrusion and its sequel exposed the incident to have been no one-off,  but part of a calculated Iranian plot against Israel at the highest level, that was coordinated in advance with the Russian air force, which shares the use of T-4, and the Syrian air defense systems, which operate under Russian command. It is equally important to note that Iran brought its Saegheh UAV’s to Syria with Moscow’s consent.
This may be accounted for by the drone’s unique provenance.

‘In a long and arduous process of reverse engineering, Iran’s munitions industry copied some of the components of the CIA’s most secret stealth drone, the RQ-170 Sentinel, after it was intercepted and captured over Iran in December 2011. The American drone, armed and capable of detecting clandestine nuclear tests, is rated the finest UAV of its kind in operation. Tehran claimed it had intercepted the Sentinel’s overflight by taking control of the American surveillance satellite communications which navigated the drone’s course. This was vehemently denied by Washington. At the time, DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources revealed that the those responsible for the feat of bringing the secret American drone down intact were not Iranian but Chinese cyber experts.

‘The Russians were keen on getting a look at the wonders of the American drone, but the Iranians refused to give them access. Eight years later…’ (click to read in full).

NOTE: for news/opinion without left-wing bias see my Not On The 10 o’Clock News.

Zecharia 2:8-9 as root of Europe’s migrant crisis and of UK’s ‘Brexit’

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For thus said the Lord of Hosts, after [His] glory had sent me [His messenger] to the nations who plundered you – for he who touches you touches the apple or pupil of His eye: (9) “Behold I will swing my hand over them and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O Daughter of Zion: for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you”, says the Lord. (Zecharia 2:8-9 Amplified Bible Classic Edition)

I humbly submit that the above verses about defending Jerusalem may be relevant to the unending influx of millions of Muslim refugees into Europe, as well as to Britain’s leaving the European Union – even to the EU’s grossly hypocritical failure to apply an international law!

Could this be the real reason behind our getting out of the EU?

Credit: Free_israel_photos_jerusalem_old_city_all

AN INSIGHT UPON SCRIPTURE

When using the above verses to open the first part of this Zecharia 2 Update (on EU Supports Palestine Against Israel) I was going to refer to the original Hebrew. However, the website wouldn’t open and so I opened my NKJV Study Bible but got nudged for some reason to grab the classic edition of the Amplified Bible from my bookshelf.  During the course of drawing attention to European hostility towards Israel, I noticed this Bible’s verse 9 hints at a very subtle nuance: one that may explain the consequences upon Europe of the EU’s policy!

Chapter 2 covers the third vision prophet Zecharia received, which is of the measuring and rebuilding of Jerusalem and of the Temple. Although set in the decline of the Babylonian Empire it foreshadows the eschatalogical New Jerusalem. YET I WAS STRUCK THAT IT MAY APPLY TODAY TOO!

Historically, verse 9 describes the Lord’s retribution upon the Babylonians, yet it could also promise that happening any time in the future. BUT AHA! – it’s already been happening!!  That is, the consequences of EU hostility are already ongoing, or have been so for at least the past couple of years in the massive migration of refugees into Europe!

My quick reading of that short text led me to colour it to distinguish between what I thought is the writer’s narrative (v.8) and the Lord’s words (v.9), but later I learned that translation of v.8 is difficult. The New Bible Commentary’s opinion is ‘The speaker is the Messiah, who is sent to the Jews, to whom pertains the glory (cf Rom 9:4) to be their Protector…(repetition of) ‘sent me’ emphasises the importance of the commission…to protect His own from all hostile powers that menace this precious possession. Others, however, think that the pronoun refers to the enemies of Israel and means that they endanger their own safety by hostility towards the elect‘ (emphases mine).

In fact, both option could now be in play: ie. not only to protect His own from all hostile powers menacing His people but also to act specifically against them!

Historically, the colonial empires of Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Holland had taken control of lands across Africa, Asia and the Middle-East and used their populations as a source of labour, servants and military personnel.

Verse 9 clearly implies that such servants of European colonial empires will come and ‘plunder’ those empires, either there or back on home territory, as a Divine directive. Why? Because they’ve ‘touched the apple of His eye’ – His Jewish people and His holy city – Jerusalem!

That is, nations which permit their citizens to insult and denigrate the Jewish people and their state – and making others boycott Israeli goods and services! – would eventually find that the Lord’s declared intention gets applied in their own lands, which is what we’ve been seeing before our very eyes.  And this is despite many European nations subscribing to the Laws of Holocaust Denial.

EU PREFERS DESCENDANTS OF PHILISTINES TO THOSE OF ISRAELITES

As mentioned in the previous Update, not only the Palestinian leadership but also that of the European Union refuse to recognise and stand resolutely against the Word of God.

On his December visit to Europe Israel’s PM Netanyahu encouraged its leaders to be open to Donald Trump’s recognising the reality of Jerusalem being Israel’s capital, but Europe’s foreign policy chief rejected his plea outright. That’s hardly surprising in view of the EU’s parliament building in Strasbourg being specifically built like the Tower of Babel, as described in UK/EU in/out #2 cont’d – Significant Spiritual Signs.

Here’s this week’s events that contribute towards a scriptural judgement; headlines and extract as on Koenig World Watch Daily homepage:

Abbas urges EU to swiftly recognize Palestine, says it will encourage peace

‘Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday urged the member states of the European Union to “swiftly” recognize the state of Palestine, arguing such a move would preserve the Palestinians’ hope for peace.

“We truly consider the European Union as a true partner and friend, and therefore we call its member states to swiftly recognize the state of Palestine and we confirm that there is no contradiction between recognition and the resumption of negotiations,” Abbas said in an address in Brussels. 

‘Abbas, who gave his remarks alongside EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, called on the EU to play a larger role in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. “The EU should play a political role in this Middle East peace process in order to reach a just solution on the basis of internationally recognized terms and decisions,” Abbas said.’

EU promises to back Abbas’ demand for Jerusalem

Council of Europe to vote on condemning Trump’s Jerusalem recognition

Why is the EU warmly welcoming this rabid racist and Holocaust denier?  He should have been arrested as soon as he set foot in Europe!

Maybe the Lord regards Abbas as a modern-day Haman, as intimated in the opening minutes of the prophetic words for 2018 and beyond delivered by John Kilpatrick. (We’d not heard them prior to my completing this post – so this sentence has only been added at the last minute before publication.)

Caroline Glick, the internationally respected editor and journalist with first-hand experience of coordinating negotiations with the PLO, writes of Mahmoud Abbas’ personal history in Time for Trump to cut the cord on the Palestinians:

‘Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said that Abbas’ remarks (in Cairo at PLO conference on 19th January) harken back to “things that led him to be accused years ago of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.” Abbas’ PhD. thesis, which he wrote for a Soviet university controlled by the KGB in the 1960s denied the Holocaust.

‘Over the past 25 years, the Western and Israeli leaders that have hailed Abbas as a moderate dismissed the significance of his doctorate – which he later published in Jordan as a best-selling book – saying it was a relic of the PLO’s former rejection of Israel’s right to exist…

‘Contrary to Rivlin’s view of Abbas racist assault on Jews as a throwback to an earlier time, antisemitic diatribes have been a consistent feature of Abbas’ public statements, whether he is speaking to Arab or Western audiences.

‘In a speech before the European Parliament in 2016, for instance, Abbas recycled the medieval blood libel that Jews poison the wells of Christians. That blood libel incited the death of thousands of Jews through the ages.

‘Speaking to European lawmakers, Abbas said, “Certain rabbis in Israel have said very clearly to their government that our water should be poisoned in order to have Palestinians killed.”

‘As for his Holocaust denial being a thing of the past, Abbas posted his doctoral thesis on his official website. His lies are taught as fact in Holocaust education in the Palestinian school system – which he controls.’ 

For more well-informed commentary on PLO claims and strategy  read:
BREXIT – OUR ‘GET-OUT-OF-JAIL’ CARD!

Clearly, Britain’s departure from the EU will help us avoid what the Lord will bring upon Europe – although we are not an entirely innocent party!  Doubtless, the verses we’ve considered is a very small portion of all scriptures behind the Lord’s warning to Britain to “Come out!” that David Noakes received in November 2015, part of which reads:

“Rather than rely on Me and my faithfulness to you, you chose, for worldly purposes, to join yourself to an institution which has denied my Name and refused to acknowledge Me in its councils. My fierce anger is upon that institution on account of its rebellion, its defiant rejection of me and its hardness of heart towards my ancient people Israel.

“I warn you now that the European institution will not repent, even though I bring disaster and destruction upon it. I urge you, O Britain still beloved by Me for the sake of your godly forefathers, come out of her, so that you may not be caught up in that same destruction, for I am even now arising in judgment to bring to nothing what she has sought to achieve. If you will separate yourself from her declared rejection of God, I will have mercy upon you and restore my hand of protection; and I will use you once again to bring light to many lost in the darkness which is now steadily increasing.

Thus, the Lord’s deep desire is for the UK to avoid the judgement He’s already bringing upon the EU (latest at Davos 2018 re France and Ireland on Brexit deal).

To enable a fuller understanding of the immense importance of this End-times matter (v11 ‘in That Day’ cf Obadiah 1:15) to ALL nations TODAY, I recommend carefully and prayerfully reading the whole of chapter two of Zecharia, as appended below (emphases added):  Continue reading →

Bible Update: Zech 12:2-3 – PA leader’s 25-year strategy broken over Jerusalem

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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 12:1-3 NKJV with KJV per Hebrew)

Having long bitten the hand that feeds it, the Palestinian Authority’s President Abbas has now received a long overdue “slap in the face’. The Holocaust denier’s reaction was to threaten war! So he’ll break upon the ‘burdensome stone’ that is the ‘apple’ of the Holy One of Israel’s ‘eye’!

Trump-Abbas Credit: Reuters

Within the past week he’s thrown the biggest tantrum over Trump’s moving America’s embassy to Jerusalem and introducing a way to overcome the PA’s continual intransigence over the ‘peace’ process. BUT the proposal is not that of Donald Trump alone (nor Israel’s) but comes in tandem with the Arab nations of Saudia Arabia, Egypt and United Arab Emirates!

Courtesy Koenig’s WWD headlines/extracts (with emphases mine), the sequence of recent events reads:

  • Abbas Cancels Peace Negotiations Due to Saudi-leaked Jerusalem Plan –‘(PA) President Mahmoud Abbas decided to deliver Sunday’s speech – in which he ruled out a peace process as long as Donald Trump is US president – after parts of Trump’s Middle East peace plan were leaked to him by the Saudis, Channel 2 reported on Tuesday night. Even before Sunday’s speech, Ben Caspit of The Jerusalem Post’s Hebrew sister paper Maariv reported last week that Abbas was angered by the preliminary reports of Trump’s plan that the Saudis had given him. The report said those leaks were the real reason Abbas did not intend to return to the negotiating table, and not Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.’
  • Abbas: “Jerusalem is the Gate of Peace or War – Trump Must Choose” – ‘(PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday continued to rail against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, cautioning that actions taken in the city could spark a future war, while also advocating a “peaceful” path. “Jerusalem is the gate of peace and war — Trump must choose,” said Abbas, who was at a conference in the Al Azhar University in Cairo on “global support for Jerusalem.” While warning of war, the 82-year-old Palestinian leader also reiterated several times that the only way forward for Palestinians to oppose both American and Israeli policies involved peaceful means.“A popular and peaceful resistance is the path that will succeed and that we will continue on,” Abbas said.
  • Trump Cuts UNRWA Funding Amid Abbas Assault – ‘The Trump administration informed the UN Relief and Works Agency on Tuesday that it was cutting tens of millions of dollars in aid to the organization, amid an escalating diplomatic crisis between Washington and Ramallah, a US official told The Jerusalem Post. President Donald Trump heeded the advice of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster – in addition to that of the Israeli government – and agreed to transfer $60 million to the UN body for now, as opposed to cutting all funding outright. But the remaining pledge of $65m. has been withheld “for future consideration,” according to a letter sent to the agency. While the policy decision came out of the State Department, which faced a UN dues payment this week, the question of how to proceed became an interagency debate among Trump’s top foreign policy staff and involved the president himself. Only one of those figures – Nikki Haley, Trump’s ambassador to the UN – advocated for a full and immediate aid cut.’
  • (At UN) Haley Takes PA to Task After ‘Hateful’ Comments by Abbas – In her first official reaction to (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’s fiery speech this week, US Envoy to UN Nikki Haley said Washington is “not going to pay to be abused.”  Speaking during a wide-ranging interview…Haley took the PA to task. “Don’t think that you can sit there and say hateful things about us and turn around and write you a check. It’s wrong in every turn,” she said.

    Abbas effectively threw in the towel over the weekend, offering a scathing speech targeting the US administration generally and President Donald Trump personally by dismissing their peace effort and calling for his “house to be destroyed.”  “Damn your money!” Abbas declared. Israeli politicians and Jewish American groups decried the speech as a racist diatribe that revealed Abbas’s true colors. The speech included conspiracy theories and fundamental questioning of the existence and justification for a Jewish state. Abbas also reiterated his position that the US could no longer be seen as a fair broker in future peace talks.

    “We’re not going to reward bad behavior,” Haley said. “Here you’ve got the Palestinians who are basically saying they’re going to cut the US out of the peace process. They’re saying they no longer want to have anything to do with us. They go and take us to the United Nations and try, basically, are very hostile in what they say and what they do. We’re not going to pay to be abused. It doesn’t make sense.”

As ever, pre-MSM news outlet DebkaFile provides good insights in Abbas’ Ultimatum to Trump: Choose Between Palestinian Jerusalem or War. This in-depth analysis opens – and note opinion about EU funding.:

‘Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas kicked back hard after grasping he was confronted with an orderly, Arab-backed US peace plan that left his strategy in ruins. Abbas now sees he is cornered by his nemesis: Trump’s move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, was not just a one-off whim, but a component of the “deal of the century,” which the US president and his advisers had crafted for months together with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman and the UAE ruler Sheikh Muhammed Bin Ziyad.
‘The Palestinian leader’s first predicament was how to explain to the Palestinian and Arab public what happened to his master strategy of the past 25 years, for using world opinion to force a pro-Palestinian peace solution down Israel’s throat. Not too long ago, Abbas boasted he was about to pull it off. Now it is crashing before his eyes. It is not enough for him to yell that the “deal of the century” is the “slap of the century.”
‘Here and there, he may find international pro-Palestinian stalwarts, but the doors are slamming shut as funds for UN bodies and NGOs dry up. Even the Europeans, who dislike Trump and sympathize with the Palestinians, are beginning to think twice about sticking to a blunt line against the US and Israel. They are reluctant to buck the two allies’ partners, the oil-rich Saudi and Emirate rulers, a luxury they can ill-afford in these times of profound economic decline.’

The known details of the plan are noteworthy: ‘Much of the criticism of the US-Arab peace plan is prompted by a misapprehension. The plan is based strongly on a two-state solution that offers the Palestinians their own state and negates bi-national Israeli-Palestinian statehood. But the contours are different from any former peace proposal. Gone for good are the pre-1967 war lines which were Abbas’ sine qua non. According to the fragments leaked about the new proposal, which is still on the work bench, this Palestinian state would rise on territory currently governed by the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria…

‘This plan for Palestinian statehood bears little resemblance to the goal of the 50-year old Palestinian struggle. The Palestinian national movement has consistently aspired to a state that would swallow Israel and extinguish the Zionist vision…For Abbas this prospect is anathema. He is so beside himself that on Sunday, he cursed the house of US President Donald Trump before the PLO central committee. But, then on Monday, Jan 16, Trump whipped out his ultimate weapon and slashed aid to the UN Works and Relief Agency for Palestinian refugees, from $165m to $60m..’ (read in full here).

FASCINATING! As Bill Koenig says, “The Bible is playing out right before our eyes.”

Recommended reading:
  1. Melanie Philips’ deep knowledge of this man’s character and history is very revealing.  Her article on his speech, Abbas Tears Of the Mask, concludes,‘In short, Britain and the EU continue to support, validate and this connive at an agenda aimed at the extermination of Israel promoted by hallucinatory lies and libels about the Jewish people along with gross Holocaust denial.

    ‘Abbas’s speech should be sent to every member of the British parliament, and the Prime Minister, Theresa May, should be asked how Britain can continue to give any money at all to such open anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers. She should be asked how the British government can continue to support giving such people a state of their own. She should be asked why the British government has ignored this horrifying reality, and the constant mortal danger it poses for the Israelis, for so long.

    ‘But then, many British people will be unaware of the appalling nature of Abbas’s speech since the BBC chose to bowdlerise it, as BBC Watch observes.

    ‘Abbas clearly felt he had nothing to lose by making this speech. America has made clear it will no longer give the time of day to such an unconscionable agenda. Only Britain and the EU continue to keep it alive, to their undying shame.’

    2. Cont’d in Zecharia 2:8-9 as root of Europe’s migrant crisis and of UK’s ‘Brexit’.

Bible Update: Zecharia 2:8 and 8:8 – EU supports Palestine against Israel

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For thus said the Lord of Hosts, after [His] glory had sent me [His messenger] to the nations who plundered you – for he who touches you touches the apple or pupil of His eye: “Behold I will swing my hand over them and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O Daughter of Zion: for behold I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord. (Zech 2:7-9 Amplified Bible)

Chapter 8 of the Book of Zecharia is sub-headed ‘Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future’ in the NKJV and verse 8 (NB: that number once again!!) reads:

“I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.”

The Palestinian leadership and that of the European Union refuse to recognise and stand upon the Word of God, being defiantly and resolutely against it. But for blogging on a God-incidental validation of a personal debate I would have reported more fully on this issue sooner.  So as an aside I wrote about the EU’s official reaction to developments, viz:

‘On his recent (early December) visit to Europe PM Netanyahu encouraged its leaders to be open to Donald Trump’s recognising the reality of Jerusalem being Israel’s capital. But Europe’s foreign policy chief rejected his plea outright.  Did you know this person’s office and authority are established through the EU’s (more properly Western Assembly’s) ‘Recommendation 666’?  – my email April 2009 Not Many People Know: 2 refers (also see this useful summary dated 2006).’

In The Apocalypse, or ‘Revelation of Jesus Christ’, ‘666’ is the Number of the Beast out of the earth that serves the demonic dragon (ie. satan), and which some refer to as ‘The Antichrist’ (Rev 13:11-18).

This week Koenig’s World Watch Daily displays two headline reports on 10 January:

Norway, EU Call Meeting in Bid to ‘Speed Up’ Efforts for 2-State Solution

EU Foreign Policy head Federica Mogherini in Cuba, Jan 2018. (AFP/Adalberto Roque)

‘Norway and the European Union said Wednesday they would convene an “extraordinary session” of donor countries to the Palestinians, saying efforts to reach a peace deal needed to be hurried up.

‘The meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, to be held on January 31 in Brussels, is also meant to discuss the need to “enable the Palestinian Authority to execute full control over Gaza” based on the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal signed in Cairo on October 12, 2017.

“There is an urgent need to bring all parties together to discuss measures to speed up efforts that can underpin a negotiated two-state solution,” the EU said in a statement.

Netanyahu Hails US Envoy for Telling Truth about Palestinians Rejecting Peace

Ambassador David Friedman said Hamas’ glorification of attacks and PA’s paying terrorists a monthly stipend is to blame for stagnated peace process

The previous day’s KWWD home page has:

Erekat: No Peace Talks Until US Revokes Jerusalem Recognition

‘Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday said the Palestinians would reject all United States-sponsored peace talks until Washington rescinded its December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“The continued American talk about deals to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or calling for negotiations or talks is unacceptable to the Palestinian leadership, as long as Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not revoked,” Erekat told the official Voice of Palestine radio station, according to the official PA news site Wafa.

‘When US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, he “removed Jerusalem from any negotiations,” said Erekat.’

Previous reports are also directly relevant to our headline scripture:

CONCLUSION

Europe’s response to President Trump’s announcement on Jerusalem has been far more extreme, violent and outspoken than the response of the Arab world. Thus writes ‘ne plus ultra’ journalist Caroline Glick, whom I highly regard and recommend for well-informed, perspicious insights, as in Europe’s War Against The Jewish State.

Let’s not forget the prophetic word delivered by David Noakes on the Lord’s urging us to ‘Come Out!’ of the EU before He brings its breakdown, of which we observe unremitting progress towards its fulfillment!

So let’s watch what The Almighty does to those who array themselves against Him…AND “Genesis 12:3 applies too!

[Update 13 Jan – see also Caroline’s latest: The Palestinians Race To The Bottom]

Charlie Shamp prophecy on US embassy moving to Jerusalem

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Further to my closing remark in the previous post Sue Payne at UK Prophetic Words reminded me that Charlie Shamp also foretold an increasing prosperity for the United States. This would be as a result of its President’s radically different approach to Israel.  The following prophetic insights came to Charlie within weeks of Trump’s inauguration.

February 7th 2017 entry in his Destiny Encounters International reads as follows:

PRAYER SHIELD: UNITED STATES EMBASSY WILL  MOVE TO JERUSALEM

Continue reading →

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

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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.

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(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

Prophetic Scripture Update #5: Gog-Magog coalition solidifies, Assad’s secret visit to Russia

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THE HOLY BIBLE CONTINUES TO DISPLAY ITS RELEVANCE TO TODAY’S NEWS

As I read yesterday’s (Wednesday 22nd November) Telegraph report it kept speaking to me of chapter 38 in the Book of Ezekiel. That’s where the Lord told that Old Testament prophet about a future international alliance that would come against His people.

As outlined in Update #2, Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe an alliance known as ‘the Gog and Magog’ coalition that will eventually invade the land the Holy One of Israel gave to His people. Most Bible scholars regard the various people named as forming that group  as coming from the land between and north of the Black and Caspian Seas. ie modern Russia.

The prophet received a word from the Lord to ‘set his face’ against Gog, a leader of those nations north of Israel and which include Persia/Iran. And in coming into battle he and those nations would be used for God’s own purpose for this almighty battle:

“So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel. I will not let them profane My name anymore – Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.” (Ezekiel 38:7 NKJV)

Let’s check the pertinent points of Middle East correspondent Raf Sanchez report, emphases mine.  His opening gives the game away!!

‘Syria’s Bashar al-Assad has thanked Vladimir Putin and the Russian military for helping to save his country as the Russian president prepared to host the leaders of Iran and Turkey for high-level talks on ending the war in Syria. Mr Assad made a secret visit to Socchi (Black Sea resort) on Monday…(where he) met Mr Putin for 3 hours to discuss a potential political settlement for Syria’s future…

‘Mr Putin ordered Russian forces to intervene in Syria on Mr Assad’s behalf in late 2015…(and) with their Iranian allies have swung the tide of war decisively in Mr Assad’s favour.

‘The Kremlin said the two men had worked to “prepare the groundwork for possible understandings” that might be reached during today’s (22nd) summit between Mr Putin, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.

‘ Iran and Russia supported the Assad regime throughout the war whilst Turkey has backed the opposition. The three countries have acted as guarantors of local deals in Syria and Mr Putin hopes they will be able to agree on a comprehensive pact to end the fighting.

Mr Putin has placed himself centre-stage in talks over Syria’s future. As well as hosting the Turkish and Iranian leaders, he spoke to Donald Trump by phone…briefing him on the talks with Mr Assad.

‘The Geneva talks (with Syrian opposition) have collapsed several times…observers agree it’s more likely major decisions will be made by Russia, Iran and Turkey.’

SO, WHO’s IN CHARGE? Clearly the Russian leader is! Although often disagreeing with each other, the leaders of Iran and Turkey kowtow to him.

The above Reuters’ photo of Assad and Putin speaks volumes to those who read body language.

MEANWHILE ON ISRAELI-SYRIAN BORDER

Previous posts on Gog/Magog referred to the Iranian strategy of getting a strong swathe of influence westwards from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean by means of proxy-terrorist, regular military and diplomatic activities. In view of their declared ambition of attacking and capturing Jerusalem, Iran’s military presence in the Golan and within 10 miles of Israel is totally unacceptable to the Israeli government.

Several bulletin point headlines in Middle-East Update #2 highlight those deep issues. Note the reference to a special ‘eschatological’ brigade in the Golan. One whose aim is undoubtedly to prepare the ground for the Shiite Mahdi to appear (with Jesus in tow!) – obviously a blasphemous counterfeit of Christian theology. (Read more on this in third section of Iran and the Nuclear ‘Fix’.)

Moreover, Monday’s long telephone conversation between Putin and PM Netanyahu ended up with them at odds over removing Iran/Hizballah from the Golan border (Debka). It would appear Donald Trump has quietly withdrawn the US from involvement on this front. Having close Christian input, details of the Ezekiel 38 Gog-Magog prophecy will have been brought to his attention.

Next, we’ll consider Joel Rosenberg’s ‘take’ on this week’s news…(click to read)

NB: In view of the increasing relevance of Old Testament prophecy to current world events I’ve set up a new tag: OT-UPDATE.  Click thereon to read a multitude of posts on news of, and developments towards, the fulfillment of Bible prophecies.

Further Reading:

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

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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 Israel…in 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

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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 Meeting : I 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

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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.

From new book: The amazing enigma that is Daniel 11 — Part 1

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Readers who relished Mark Davidson’s well-researched Daniel Revisited will enjoy studying this appetizer for his latest book…very well done Mark. (Opening his post overwrites my brief re-blog but if you wish to read in a new window tap/click here, and then continue reading Part 2 of 3, also in new, separate window.)

Mark Davidson's avatarTHE FOUR SIGNPOSTS

Daniel 11 has the potential to be very helpful in helping us understand much of what will happen in the Middle East during the Fourth Signpost and Tribulation.

The Problem

The question has been which parts of Daniel 11 were fulfilled in ancient times, and which parts apply to being fulfilled soon, in the end times? As you may know, if you read Daniel Revisited, Daniel 11 was mostly ignored, but it is very much a part of the new book.

My new book, using the ancient method of reading that was lost and found, I believe, has solved the question of Daniel 11 and it’s a bit of a surprise. I cannot show right now how this method arrives at what I reveal in these posts—that’s in the book—and I’ll show it later, but here I will show the result. The book will show how to use this reading…

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Centenary of the Balfour Declaration

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Prime Ministers meet prior to gala dinner – Credit: Peter Nicholls/PA Wir (tap for link)

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the British Government’s issuing a Declaration in support for ‘A National Home for the Jewish People’ (read draft versions at Balfour100). As expected, this morning’s edition of Koenig’s World Watch Daily includes this in its rolling headlines, ‘November 2nd 2017 is the 100th Anniversary of the Balfour Declaration’ and displays a copy of the document:

 

Now, does this anniversary have any relevance to prophecies in the Holy Bible?

In my opinion it’s prophetically signalled by the fact that Koenig has sandwiched the Declaration between two directly Gog-Magog relevant headlines – (above) ‘In Iran, Putin says dismantling nuclear deal is ‘not acceptable’.’ with a photo of his shaking hands yesterday with Iran’s President Rhouani – the headline shown below it reads as shown here with initial text describing the preceding Declaration item:

So we’re not only back to the Bible but also to what grabbed my attention in mid-1980s of Iran rehearsing (with its Sunni enemy troops!) the storming of Jerusalem whilst I was reading about it as a non-Christian in the secular book ‘The Invisible Hand’ (tap link to learn more).

Never forget Khameini’s belief that their full attack will facilitate the supernatural return of their ‘hidden imam’ or Mahdi – accompanied by the prophet Jesus!! (See Iranian Leader’s End-times Declaration)  LOL!  So let’s pray that Khameini is blessed with a similar personal revelation of the supreme power of Jesus Christ over Muslim’s god and prophet as had stunned the ex-Hezbollah Afshin David.

As well as being related to the prophecies in Ezekiel 38-39, those two items on World Watch tie in with the next headline on the surgical insertion of microchips under the skin in the web between the thumb and hand. This development was foretold in Revelation 13 wherein a demonic entity forces people to ‘receive a mark on right hand or forehead’ in order to buy and sell – just like holding a phone and waving it over a cash machine!

SO MILLENNIALS – BEWARE of enslavement to your devices!!

It’s so obvious that we’re quickly getting closer to the times of the battle of Armageddon and Jesus Christ’s return to put all demonic principalities and powers under His feet.

For more information consider Cranmer’s excellent historical/theological review of the Declaration…which concludes:

‘God told Abraham to “Go…”, and he responded “I will…”. God promised Abraham that his descendants would have a land – a geographic entity – and would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth. Israel is a fulfilment of that promise, or the covenant of blessing is as fragile and ephemeral as the desert covenant. Christians and Jews together can thank the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and praise the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ for the restoration of the Jewish people to their homeland, because it was an eschatological promise that He would so. And if that was not a promise, then Jesus may not in fact be the long-promised Messiah, and our promised salvation is nullified in a plethora of meaningless metaphors.‘

Boris (brave), the BBC (beware!) and the Balfour Declaration

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Yesterday’s encouraging op-ed in the Telegraph broadsheet on the Balfour Declaration by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson covers his vision and a solution for peace in the Holy Land.  Lord Balfour’s Declaration of 2nd November 1917 on behalf of the British government under Lloyd-George, proposed the establishment of territory within Palestine for the Jewish people upon the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after allied victory in World War 1. That is, it would be in their own original and ancient homeland.  Boris writes,

‘On the Centenary, I will say what I believe: the Balfour Declaration was indispensable to the creation of a great nation. In the seven decades since its birth, Israel has prevailed over what has sometimes been the bitter hostility of neighbours to become a liberal democracy and a dynamic hi-tech economy. In a region where many have endured authoritarianism and misrule, Israel has always stood out as a free society. Like every country, Israel has faults and failings. But it strives to live by the values in which I believe.

‘I served a stint at a kibbutz in my youth, and (though I was mainly washing up) I saw enough to understand the miracle of Israel: the bonds of hard work, self-reliance and an audacious and relentless energy that hold together a remarkable country.

‘Most of all, there is the incontestable moral goal: to provide a persecuted people with a safe and secure homeland. So I am proud of Britain’s part in creating Israel and Her Majesty’s Government will mark the Centenary of the Balfour Declaration on Thursday in that spirit…’

His thoughts are well-worth reading for they display a keen appreciation of the state of affairs and he argues for a two-state solution thoroughly negotiated by Israelis and the Palestinians. BUT I have to say this could have been achieved decades ago but for the hatred, intransigence and duplicity of Palestinian leaders who prefer to forever whinge about victim-hood, instead of blessing and prospering their people’s lives!

For example, according to the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem’s report the PA ‘demands’ a formal apology from Britain for the Balfour Declaration!

The well-worn adage that ‘history is written by the victors’ isn’t so much of a yardstick in these days because of the increased global ability to research and investigate in depth through cyber-technology. However, there are many who bury and distort facts to avoid painful truths and spread lies for perverted propaganda purposes – not only politicians and terrorists but also medintellectuals and historians, who should know much better but serve the evil one’s purposes instead.

Tonight BBC 2 broadcasts ‘The Balfour Declaration: Britain’s Promise to the Holy Land’ at 8pm. The Badly Bigoted Corporation’s tarnished reputation hardly makes this good, recommended viewing, especially if it is similar to BBC Radio Wales’ highly politicised account of the Declaration. Aired earlier this month, that programme included numerous omissions and inaccuracies according to BBC Watch’s in-depth review (here and here). This watchdog concludes,

‘…the aim of this programme appears to have been to steer BBC audiences towards the partisan view that – as Sarah Rowland-Jones inaccurately claimed in her introduction – the Balfour Declaration “sits behind the lasting conflict in the region”, while the relevant issue of Arab violence against Jews and later Israelis was once again whitewashed from a BBC account of history.’ (Emphasis mine)

Having investigated the modern history of Palestine in some depth I trust this brief note will warn you to keep an open mind and be alert to myths you may be exposed to. (NB. BBC reports less than 1% terrorist attacks against Israel in Q3 yet over 29% BBC News website covers security/terror issues – a disproportionate imbalance – and give excuses supportive of attackers for those it does cover.)

May you, my reader, discover the facts for yourself.

Also, please continue to the next post to read highly informative comments and about the ‘glytch’ preventing their receipt and automatic appearance at the foot of this post.

VP Pence says advancement of religious freedom and defense of persecuted Christians…must be top priority…

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After Obama administration’s deliberate anti-Christian policies we’re now seeing Trump’s pro-Christian stance in action.

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Pence-InDefenseofChristians(Jerusalem, Israel) — In the face of genocide against Christians in the Middle East, the United States government is finally making the advancement of international religious freedom — and solidarity with persecuted Christians and other faith communities — a top priority.

Several days ago, Vice President Mike Pence delivered the keynote address at a conference in Washington organized by the group, “In Defense of Christians.” You can watch the full speech by clicking here. You can read the full text by clicking here. I encourage you to do both, and share it with family friends. It was an excellent address, and very encouraging to see the seriousness with which this administration is taking the issue.

Pence said he will soon travel to Israel and Egypt, in part to advance the issue. “President Trump has directed me to go to the Middle East in December,” the V.P. told the assembled Christian…

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

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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.

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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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