Tag Archives: #Geopolitics

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

Iran’s leaders reject Obama deal, calling it “unacceptable.” It’s been a bizarre few days. Here’s the latest.

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As one of my subscribers comments elsewhere, “It’s a reminder that the heart of the king is in God’s hands”!

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, for a new round of nuclear negotiations on Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) US Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, for a new round of nuclear negotiations on Monday, March 2, 2015. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(Washington, D.C.) — Consider the odd developments of the past few days:

* The leader of our most faithful and trusted ally comes to Washington to warn of a mortal and rising threat from a dangerous and deceiving enemy.

* The President of the United States refuses to meet with him.

* The President sends his VP out of the country to avoid our ally.

* The President sends the Secretary of State out of the country to avoid our ally, and instead to meet with our enemy.

* The President refuses to allow any of his Cabinet Members attend the speech by our ally.

* The White House pressures Members of Congress to boycott the speech of our ally.

* The President’s…

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On eve of Purim, Netanyahu warns of new Persian threat to Israel & the world.

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A momentously significant day in world history; thank you Joel.

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

The Prime Minister of Israel addressing a Joint Session of Congress on March 3, 2015. The Prime Minister of Israel addressing a Joint Session of Congress on March 3, 2015.

(Washington, D.C.) — That was one for the ages.

In 25 years living in or near the nation’s capital, I have never actually been to a Joint Session of Congress. But if there was ever a speech I wanted to hear, it was this one.

I wish you could have been there with me. It was so fascinating — and so humbling — to be in the House Chamber as the Prime Minister of Israel arrived to thunderous and continuous applause.

As I listened to him speak, I felt I was witnessing history being made, as if Winston Churchill himself were personally warning us of the gathering storm.

On the eve of Purim, the Jewish holiday remembering the Biblical book of Esther and the Persian plot to annihilate the Jewish people 2,500 years ago, Prime Minister…

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An insight into global satanic strategy – part 2

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Timing in publishing this follow-on, 700th post is exceptionally fascinating not only for its confirmation in directly related news from Washington but also in other details. I will explain in next post; meanwhile, may you too be blessed with insights as you read:

Hand Holding Puzzzle PieceContinuing from Part 1 let’s consider further the revelatory ‘jigsaw piece’ found whilst musing upon satan’s strategy to avoid the Lake of Fire. It came whilst reading specialist historian Paul Crawford’s  Four Myths About The Crusades.  His solid, illuminating essay on president Bill Clinton’s unsound premise to his remarks on the 9/11 attack also apply to Barack Obama’s recently equating Christianity to Islamist butchery of Christians. Paul’s paper exposes falsehoods behind and adroitly disposes of the following:

  • Myth #1: The Crusades represented an unprovoked attack by Western Christians on the Muslim world.
  • Myth #2: Western Christians went on crusade because their greed led them to plunder Muslims in order to get rich.
  • Myth #3: Crusaders were a cynical lot who did not really believe their own religious propaganda; rather, they had ulterior, materialistic motives.
  • Myth #4: The Crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians.

Part 1 of this post briefly summarised Myth #3 and I concluded:

“The period of the Enlightenment with its liberal intellectual and philosophical attitudes nourished a growing rejection of religion, agnosticism and atheism. So a jaundiced view of Christian scripture and history developed. Thus, the Western intelligentsia began to put a twist upon the Crusades.”

His paper deserves to be studied in full and in view of its importance in this part I shall quote more extensively, adding emphases where appropriate:

The Muslim Attitude to the Crusades

Dr Crawford begins answering Myth #4 by stating part of the answer lies in that for Myth #1 – ie. Muslims had attacked Christians for centuries ever since the inception of Islam. His answer to the first myth succinctly summarises what was happening, as itemised on 7 pages by Dr Bill Warner on Political Islam, and which show that ‘jihadic’ attacks and strategic advances occurred on average every 5 years for 460 years!

Paul continues by stating Muslims “needed no further incentive to continue (jihad). But there’s a more complicated answer here…”.

“…until quite recently, Muslims remembered the crusades as an instance in which they had beaten back a puny western Christian attack…(One) of Lawrence of Arabia’s letters (describes) a confrontation during post-World War I negotiations (over) a case for French interest in Syria going back to the crusades, which Faisal (later Faisal I of Iraq). dismissed with a cutting remark: “But, pardon me, which of us won the crusades?”

He goes on to state that before WW1 most Muslims had a similar, if any, attitude to the Crusades,

“…that is, when Muslims bothered to remember them at all, which was not often. Most of the Arabic-language historical writing on the crusades before the mid-19th century was produced by Arab Christians, not Muslims, and most of that was positive…There was no Arabic word for “crusades” until that period, either…It had not seemed important to Muslims to distinguish the crusades from other conflicts between Christianity and Islam…As Carole Hillenbrand has noted, “The Muslim response to the coming of the Crusades was initially one of apathy, compromise and preoccupation with internal problems”.

“The first Muslim crusade history did not appear until 1899. By that time, the Muslim world was rediscovering the crusades — but it was rediscovering them with a twist learned from Westerners.”

At this point our author has introduced a new angle: the influence of modern European schools of thought. This was covered in Part 1 of this post for the purpose of leading into an appreciation of how Muslims’  attitudes towards the Crusades  changed radically in the early decades of the 20th Century. As Crawford explains:

“At the same time, nationalism began to take root in the Muslim world. Arab nationalists borrowed the idea of a long-standing European campaign against them from the former European school of thought – missing the fact this was a serious mischaracterization of the crusades and using this distorted understanding as a way to generate support for their own agendas.

“This remained the case until the mid-20th century, when, in Riley-Smith’s words, “a renewed and militant Pan-Islamism” applied the more narrow goals of the Arab nationalists to a worldwide revival of what was then called Islamic fundamentalism and is now sometimes referred to, a bit clumsily, as jihadism.

“This led rather seamlessly to the rise of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, offering a view of the crusades so bizarre as to allow bin Laden to consider all Jews to be crusaders and the crusades to be a permanent and continuous feature of the West’s response to Islam.

“Bin Laden…is no more accurate in his view about the crusades than he is about the supposed perfect Islamic unity which he thinks Islam enjoyed before the baleful influence of Christianity intruded. But the irony is that he, and those millions of Muslims who accept his message, received that message originally from their perceived enemies: the West.

“So it was not the crusades that taught Islam to attack and hate Christians. Far from it. Those activities had preceded the crusades by a very long time, and stretch back to the inception of Islam. Rather, it was the West which taught Islam to hate the crusades. The irony is rich.”

Conclusion

The last leads Paul Crawford ‘back to the present’ in asking how much of president Bill Clinton’s Georgetown speech of 2001 was accurate, especially his emphatic assertion that the story of the Crusades was “still being told today in the Middle East and we are still paying for it!”.

“This is the most serious misstatement of the whole passage. What we are paying for is not the First Crusade, but western distortions of the crusades in the nineteenth century which were taught to, and taken up by, an insufficiently critical Muslim world.

In drawing everything together, this specialist in the history of the Crusades offers his opinion:

“The problems with Mr Clinton’s remarks indicate the pitfalls that await those who would attempt to explicate ancient or medieval texts without adequate historical awareness, and they illustrate very well what happens when one sets out to pick through the historical record for bits—distorted or merely selectively presented—which support one’s current political agenda. This sort of abuse of history has been distressingly familiar where the crusades are concerned.

Thank you Paul Crawford for such an excellent examination and clarification of a crucial current issue. (Paul is an Associate Professor at California University of Pennsylvania –  also see his bio at Queen Mary University of London, and The Intercollegiate Review.)

The Diabolical Spin

Clearly, as shown above, the “Father of Lies” has been spinning his worldwide web of deceit, to which a surprising confirmation has been given this week and will be revealed in the next post.

Out of the post-Reformation intellectual freedom that eventually led to the rejection of most Judeo-Christian values, was born an anti-Christian mind-set that deliberately warps any spiritual understanding. It eventually affected not only traditional Christian beliefs but also associated historical facts.

Into his engineered ungodliness Satan could sow seeds of disbelief to twist and poison intellectual integrity. This serves his strategy to disunite and weaken Christianity further by falsified history harnessed to intellectual dishonesty and arrogance to belittle, blame and persecute the church of Jesus Christ.

“But Jesus…”

UPDATE: current security concerns led to a relevant development upon this thesis, as revealed in Anti-terrorism summit confirms this week’s insight.

MORE: this theme develops further in 1 of 3: the ‘End-game’ gets ramped up a level.

[‘Hand Holding Puzzle Piece’ by Ponsulak, courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

An insight into a global satanic strategy – part 1

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A nuance new to me of our enemy’s tactics has come to light which seriously affects politicians’ and public’s perceptions. As in the caveat to Paws 4 thought, it’s a topic I’d much rather not blog about, but current events require this information to be shared. It should help you to understand the huge, beguiling deception blinding national leaders.

An “aha!” moment instigated continuation of those musings. Long-standing readers may recall, like my friend and fellow End-times teacher-author ‘Neil Mac’, that ‘jigsaw pieces’ occasionally bring revelation ‘out-of-the-blue’.

Hand Holding Puzzle Piece by PonsulakAfter popping a small ‘piece’, the last link, into my brief comment to the re-blog of Joel Rosenberg’s post on the war against Christianity, it struck me that link is part of an ‘invisible’ jigsaw. Not exactly as depicted in this photo by Ponsulak, it seemed like I’d inserted a ‘piece’ into a large puzzle, part of which covers Islamist actions.

Puzzle - Salvatore VuonoTo the first ‘puzzle pieces’, or links to comments on US National Prayer Breakfast, I added two more on the Crusades. It was upon later reading the last of these four at leisure that I was struck by it’s being like a piece connecting one area to another (rather  like Salvatore Vuono’s picture here).

That ‘piece’ connects the modern revival of Islam in all its original barbarity that overflowed from Arabia 1,500 years ago with my musings on the Devil’s plot to avoid the Lake of Fire. Now, it’s not the fact that this phenomena is part (5) of my historical evidence, but more the facts emerging from further analysis that brought a better perspective.

Historical Evidence cont’d

In those musings we considered just a few events to support my thesis that satan is the source of anti-Semitism and Christian disunity. There’s a ‘rationale’ to such a strategy.  Nowadays,we’re brainwashed into ignoring the historical facts behind Christianity’s massive reaction 920 years ago to 460 years of jihad – widespread strategic attacks and invasions. That is, it all started 1,380 years ago – and ISIS/ISIL want the whole world to regress not improve! (Hence, my re-blog’s link to Dr Warner’s itemised listing.)

Also, militant Muslims, backed by mendacious academics in Western universities, use that twisting of historical facts to pretend they’re victims of the Crusades: but in actual fact, Muslims came out as the winners!!

What is deeply disturbing is the fact that presidents Clinton and Obama were duped, or else wallowed in self-imposed ignorance, about the Crusades – and displayed this in public!  My readers in the States will be aware of the outcry following Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on 5th February when Mr Obama said, and I underscore the cause of the issue:

“…we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for faith, their faith, professed to stand up for Islam, but, in fact, are betraying it.  We see ISIL, a brutal, vicious death cult that, in the name of religion, carries out unspeakable acts of barbarism…and claiming the mantle of religious authority for such actions…[examples of sectarian wars] a rising tide of anti-Semitism and hate crimes in Europe, so often perpetrated in the name of religion

“So how do we, as people of faith, reconcile these realities…operating alongside those who seek to hijack religious for their own murderous ends? 

“Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history.  And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.  In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ…”

To his credit the President didn’t refer to deep anti-Semitism that had riddled European churches since the ‘early Church fathers’ and led up to the Holocaust. (Reformer Martin Luther was renowned for his strident, ungodly dislike of Jews!)

Elliott AbramsEven so, cluelessness masks deep disingenuity over the recent anti-Semitic murders of French and Danish Jews, as Elliot Abrams (Senior Fellow at the CFR and just one among myriad experts) pointedly questions and explains, Why can’t the White House see Terrorism and anti-Semitism? (see his linked lead-in post too).

Franklin Graham, outspoken son of Billy Graham, took issue with Obama’s comments, as emphasised above. On his Facebook page the evangelist sought to correct them:

“Today at the National Prayer Breakfast, the President implied that what ISIS is doing is equivalent to what happened over 1000 years ago during the Crusades and the Inquisition. Mr. President–Many people in history have used the name of Jesus Christ to accomplish evil things for their own desires. But Jesus taught peace, love and forgiveness. He came to give His life for the sins of mankind, not to take life. Mohammad on the contrary was a warrior and killed many innocent people. True followers of Christ emulate Christ—true followers of Mohammed emulate Mohammed.”

A fortnight later Franklin asks about the butchery in Libya,

“…In a statement the White House even called the 21 Christians who were beheaded “Egyptian citizens,” refusing to identify them as Christians. The truth is–their barbaric murderers openly said they killed them because they were “people of the cross.” Why is the President seemingly continuing to protect Islam and refusing to open his eyes to the truth?” (emphasis added)

The essential point, as in several earlier posts, is to compare the founders of both faiths – that of Islam just doesn’t, and cannot, bare comparison with Jesus.

William Koenig’s perspective on this as an accredited journalist at the White House and editor-in-chief of World Watch Daily is worth noting too:

“An important point to remember is that President Obama’s speeches have a specific audience or audiences in mind. At the National Prayer Breakfast…he equated the Christian (ie. Catholic) Crusades with radical Islam’s brutality. Moreover, he neglected to contrast the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, who came as the Savior to the world, with the brutality of Mohammed, who attempted to dominate and terrorize the world…

 “What did Muslims hear? A Muslim apologist who happens to be the President of the United States, and who calls himself a Christian, lectured Christians not to be on a “high horse”. He equated horrific Muslim violence with Christians who resorted to violence in two specific periods in history.”

This furore comes as no surprise. I questioned the President’s claims to be “a student of history” in his 2009 Cairo speech, which benefitted the Muslim Brotherhood. To the very deep disquiet and legitimate suspicion of many Americans, the MB since infiltrated and became too influential within the US administration, as lawyer and author Joseph Klein recently maintained in Obama Bolsters the Brotherhood.

Also refer to Tuesday’s article by Ephraim Karsh, professor emeritus of Kings College London, on White House Delusions, Islamist Realities, wherein he tells what happened after Cairo. UK readers will find relevant material by searching on ‘Cordoba foundation’ and ‘UK islam and democracy conference’ by Global MB Watch.

‘Four Myths About The Crusades’

Historian Paul Crawford’s above-titled article is the revelatory ‘jigsaw piece’ referred to above. It was first published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in 2011, but I found it through the Catholic News Agency. It gave me a new perspective into another tactic used by the Devil against Christianity. This scholarly paper should be recommended reading for every serious student of history; click to read in full.

The author, a specialist teacher of medieval history, opens by referring to Bill Clinton’s speech in 2001 where he, like Obama, excused the perpetrators of 9/11 by comparing them to medieval crusaders!

Crawford’s well-reasoned and illuminating essay exposes the falsehoods behind and adroitly disposes of:

  • Myth #1: The crusades represented an unprovoked attack by Western Christians on the Muslim world.
  • Myth #2: Western Christians went on crusade because their greed led them to plunder Muslims in order to get rich.
  • Myth #3: Crusaders were a cynical lot who did not really believe their own religious propaganda; rather, they had ulterior, materialistic motives.
  • Myth #4: The crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians.

What opened my eyes to a nuance in the devilish scheme to avoid the fiery lake was a scenario cloaked within the facts underlying Myths #3 and #4, for which the scholar’s opening gambit to the first (#3) reads:

“This has been a very popular argument, at least from Voltaire on. It seems credible and even compelling to modern people, steeped as they are in materialist worldviews. And certainly there were cynics and hypocrites in the Middle Ages…

“In the modern period, there were two main European schools of thought about the crusades. One school, epitomized by people like Voltaire, Gibbon, and Sir Walter Scott, and in the twentieth century Sir Steven Runciman, saw the crusaders as crude, greedy, aggressive barbarians who attacked civilized, peace-loving Muslims to improve their own lot. The other school, more romantic…saw the crusades as a glorious episode in a long-standing struggle in which Christian chivalry had driven back Muslim hordes. In addition, Western imperialists began to view the crusaders as predecessors, adapting their activities in a secularized way that the original crusaders would not have recognized or found very congenial…”

Free from church controls, the Enlightenment’s intellectual and philosophical liberality nourished a growing rejection of religion, agnosticism and atheism. So a jaundiced view of Christian scripture and history developed. Consequently, Western intelligentsia put their own twist upon the Crusades.

Part 2 will look at how this diabolical spin generated Myth #4; that the Crusades taught Muslims to hate and attack Christians – and the implicit activity of the “Father of Lies” in avoiding his ultimate demise.

[‘Hand Holding Puzzle Piece’ and ‘Puzzle’ courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

Egypt’s president el-Sisi orders military strikes after ISIS beheads 21 Egyptian Christians. Details & analysis.

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Lest anyone’s unaware: Islamists have declared and are waging war against the world. Americans will have noted their leader continues to insult one’s intelligence (misleading comments at US National Prayer Breakfast: read Douglas Murray & Raymond Ibrahim). To correct this, Dr Bill Warner compiled over 100 facts, the vast majority of which were military attacks. Thus, over 460 years of JIHAD CAUSED THE CRUSADES – NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND!!  When will Western leaders learn? See also Four Myths about the Crusades [Latest: Egypt’s airforce struck at dawn today UPDATE 28 Feb: Egypt goes to war on ISIS, masses troops against Islamist Libya stronghold.]

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

ISIS jihadists prepare to behead 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. (source: screen capture from new ISIS video) ISIS jihadists prepare to behead 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya. (source: screen capture from new ISIS video)

UPDATED: Much of the West remains asleep or lethargic concerning the threat posed by the Islamic State, even as the movement’s gruesome killing spree continues unabated.

The latest: an Islamic State affiliate has beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians who were working in Libya, according to a new ISIS video released on Sunday. “In the video, militants in black marched the captives, dressed in orange jump suits, to a beach the group said was near Tripoli,” reported Reuters. “They were forced down onto their knees, then beheaded.”

“The people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian church,” read a caption on the five minute video, Reuters noted.

President Obama spent eight hours golfingon Sunday.

But Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi vowed to “avenge” the “criminal killings.” He immediately ordered the Egyptian air force to…

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Amidst Obama retreat from Mideast, three regional leaders forming quiet but fiercely determined alliance against Iran & ISIS.

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Who needs America? Not these three wise warriors! As ever, Joel offers solid analysis and this alliance is especially noteworthy in the light of the ‘4 Signposts’ scenario…

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

King Abdullah and PM Netanyahu. King Abdullah and PM Netanyahu.

President el-Sisi and King Abdullah II. President el-Sisi and King Abdullah II.

Something curious is happening in the Middle East.

Amidst President Obama’s repeated moves to withdraw American military power and influence from the Middle East and “pivot” to Asia, three regional leaders in the epicenter are forming a quiet, unexpected but fiercely determined alliance.

Why? To protect their people against two existential threats, one posed by the Shia Radical Islamists of Iran, the other posed by the Sunni Radical Islamists of ISIS.

Who are they?

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu;
  • Jordan’s King Abdullah II; and
  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

They are meeting secretly. They are talking regularly by phone, as well as with other leaders in the region from Saudi Arabia to the Gulf. Their senior advisors are also in regular contact, coordinating moves to counter their most serious enemies. They are not waiting for Washington. Indeed, they often see the White House and State Department as less than helpful, and…

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A Trend Continues: Iran’s Rise in Influence

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It’s reported this week that ISIS wiped out the forward command group of an Al Qods Brigades commando force early Monday, Jan. 12, killing its commander (Debkafile). Also, ISIS systematic targeting of top officers fighting them in Iraq, especially the Iranians, led to an assassination attempt upon the C-in-C of that elite IRGC force. See also the comment which expands upon this news.

Mark Davidson's avatarTHE FOUR SIGNPOSTS

Prior to the Second Signpost which is the invasion of the Middle East by Iran, we would expect to see Iran’s power and regional influence continue to increase.  We saw in this post Iran’s increasing power, and in this post its increasing influence in the region, particularly in Iraq.

This is a trend that should continue for months (or possibly years) prior to the Second Signpost.  Adding another data point to this trend, this news story was just released.  According to a poll taken of Iraqis, Iran – and not the U.S. – is seen to be Iraq’s best ally when it comes to fighting the Islamic State (IS).

Iraqi Hezbollah march in Baghdad with a portrait of Iran's Supreme Leader Iraqi Hezbollah march in Baghdad with a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader

In a post from six months ago, Is ISIS the Trigger for the Second Signpost? I wrote,

“I could very well be wrong, but here is my opinion nonetheless. Indications show…

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As fires rage across the Mideast, a key man to watch is Jordan’s moderate King Abdullah II.

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Interesting that this was published on Oct 7th, the day before the outbreak of violence at the Temple Mount. (In his previous re-blogged post, Joel scrutinises the important role played by his ‘Key Person for 2014’ in working to bring calm into the situation.)

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

A key man to watch: Jordan's moderate King Abdullah II. A key man to watch: Jordan’s moderate King Abdullah II.

On January 10th of this year, I began writing a series of columns on key people in the epicenter who I planned to keep an eye on in 2014. The first name on my list was Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

Sure enough, the King has proven himself a central player in a region set aflame by the forces of Radical Islam this year.

As the flames get higher, several critical questions come to the fore:

  • Will ISIS or other Radical groups try to topple the King and raise their black flag over Amman?
  • Will the U.S., NATO and other allies stand closely together with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, one of our most important allies in the region, to make sure this does not happen?
  • Will the U.S., Israel and Sunni Arab countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia — as well as some…

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As radicals try to blow up Israel-Jordan relations and ignite “Third Intifada”, Netanyahu heads to Amman for emergency talks.

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UPDATE Mon 17 Nov: The Times of Israel quotes Hebrew news site NRG’s report on Thursday’s meeting that Jordan’s King Abdullah II expressed dissatisfaction regarding Jewish Knesset members who’d recently visited the Temple Mount…yet acknowledged President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent requests that right-wing MKs refrain from visiting the contested holy site, and noted last week’s decline in such visits…Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to Abdullah and Kerry that Israel has no intention of changing the delicate status quo at the Temple Mount, which includes the controversial Israeli policy of banning prayer by non-Muslim visitors…he reminded Abdullah that Jordan maintains administrative control of the holy site, and encouraged him to take a larger role in restoring quiet…also pointed out the recent clashes were carried out with the full knowledge of the Jerusalem Waqf (responsible for maintaining administrative charge of the holy site under the terms of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty).

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

"His Majesty King Abdullah holds talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Amman on Thursday." (Photo courtesy of Royal Court/AFP/Jordan Times) “His Majesty King Abdullah holds talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Amman on Thursday.” (Photo courtesy of Royal Court/AFP/Jordan Times)

(Central Israel) — Radical Islamists are trying hard to ignite a “Third Intifada,” engulf Jerusalem in violence, and blow up relations between Israel and Jordan, twenty years after the two countries courageously signed a peace treaty.

A close look at events here in recent weeks suggest that without much prayer for the peace of Jerusalem, wise leadership,  patient diplomacy, and the grace of God, the Radicals could very well succeed.

But they haven’t yet. With violence in and around Jerusalem spiking, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Amman on Thursday evening for emergency talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Secretary of State John Kerry. The goal: to find a way to de-escalate tensions — quickly and carefully.

The three leaders also held a conference call…

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If the Obama team is this hostile to Israel before the elections, how bad will things get after Tuesday?

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joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Obama v. Netanyahu and Israel -- what happens after the mid-term elections? Obama v. Netanyahu and Israel — what happens after the mid-term elections?

Just days before the mid-term elections, with Democrats poised to suffer serious losses, tensions between the Obama White House and the Netanyahu government remain sky high.

A senior Obama administration official openly used vulgarity with a reporter to mock and disparage the Israeli leader.

And the administration appears set to cave in to Iranian demands over its nuclear program in talks to conclude at the end of November.

If the President and his team feel this comfortable being this hostile to an Israeli leader before an election, imagine how hostile the President could be when he’s a lame duck and not facing the voters again ever.

As I noted yesterday, a train wreck in U.S.-Israel relations is now in motion.

“Very publicly, very nastily, and very worryingly, we are witnessing the collapse of an alliance,”wrote a leading Israeli news editor.

The…

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The real reason for the Israel-Palestine issue and anti-Semitism

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Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east. (Zecharia 14:3-4 NKJV)

Awaken Your Might - credit; James Nesbit www.jamesnart.com

Only 12 MPs were wise enough to vote in the House of Commons against an opposing 274 (not a full House). As recorded in the Hansard transcript, they voted just before 10pm on 13th October 2014,

“That this House believes that the Government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel, as a contribution to securing a negotiated two state solution”.

That’s fine and all well and good on the face of it BUT it’s utterly farcical.  As with many thousands elsewhere, these 274 have been well and truly fooled.

The factual evidence follows below.

This blog’s totally unplanned focus this week is on what’s, in essence, a critical issue.

Few in my opinion know why it’s critical, or the real reason for the prolonged hostility over Israel’s existence and complete lack of a solution to the territorial disputes.

The real reason is; it’s Satan’s objective to thwart God’s purpose, as stated in His above Word given to Zecharia 2,500 years ago. That is, Satan seeks his own self-preservation!

In Zecharia’s prophecy the Lord is to appear in that Middle-Eastern location and thereby bring about the next phase of Satan’s downfall. (The first was when Jesus died and rose from the dead, thereby redeeming humanity from Satan’s authority and thus enabling us to be reconciled to God, our Father.)

The foretold scenario is ‘The Day of The Lord’; the start of which is described in the 12th chapter of the book of Zecharia, as mentioned in Exactly as prophesied….

The Lord foretells in verse 10,

 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

In A Rabbi Looks at the Last Days, Messianic rabbi Jonathan Bernis explains how the feast of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) relates to Jesus’ return and then exclaims,

The clarity of this prophecy is astounding! It declares in detail the day when Jewish people, and specifically the inhabitants of a Jerusalem under Jewish control, recognise that Jesus, whom they previously understood to be the God of the Christians and whom they denied since the days of their ancestors two thousand years ago, is in fact Yeshua, the promised Messiah of Israel. (Page 215)

That is, the Jewish people will have to have returned to live in as well as have control of Jerusalem and thus be in place for Jesus to visit. Chapter 14 answers any question that this event may be just a supra-natural, spiritual or subjective vision by referring explicitly to an objective, tangible presence.  That is, Jesus will have physically descended onto the Mount of Olives.

To avoid this happening Satan must therefore ensure there are no Jews in Jerusalem, or its vicinity.  In the absence of Jews, Jesus’ return would be pointless and thus not happen. So Satan could possibly avoid his decreed fate, remain ‘safe and sound’ on earth and not imprisoned to be eventually thrown into the ‘lake of fire’. As Jonathan states,

I cannot reiterate enough that anti-Semitism is nothing more or less than Satan’s attempt at self-preservation.

So, Satan is the source of all Jew-hatred, whether it comes from any biblical or modern nation; or from historic Christian churches, as it has for centuries; or from ancient Islam and its modern terrorists. All have been duped and used by the enemy of mankind.

To show the validity of my thesis we need only to look at the history of anti-Semitism and global hatred of the modern state of Israel; especially the disingenuous tactics of the Palestinian leadership, as indicated in Nick Gray and Joel Rosenberg’s reports here and here.  But there’s even more tangible evidence for my claim.:

Map of Palestine

Three years ago, in blogging on PM Netanyahu’s address to the UN General Assembly, I referred to Palestinian leader Abbas’ visit to the UN seeking recognition of Palestine as an observer state to the UN. That post shows the model of the land of Palestine Abbas brought to them. I wrote,

When the PLO were permitted to open up diplomatic missions the map displayed on their flags and literature depicts their proposed state as being the whole territory between the Mediterranean, Lebanon, Egypt and the river Jordan – ie. excluding Israel…  (emphasis added)

Now they have official Observer Mission status, its website’s ‘About Palestine’ displays a Declaration of Independence which claims Jerusalem as their capital. Deeper down that menu is the ‘PLO’ entry which shows the map of Palestine and Israel as Palestinian territory.

A few days ago I cited Michel Gurfinkiel’s statement that the Oslo Accords and ‘Road Map’ of 2003 explicitly requested the Palestinian Authority to direct its public education towards a pro-peace attitude. Abbas has never complied with that requirement.

Here’s the latest evidence that Palestinians have not – and will never – change what they teach about their supposed state:

PMW

Thank you to Palestine Media Watch for publishing this item from Fatah Facebook that shows children learning “Palestine cannot be divided”.  It heads a page of documented examples, PA depicts a world without Israel, and explains this one as follows:

‘The text was accompanied by a photo of a teacher pointing to a map of “Palestine” replacing all of Israel drawn on the blackboard, with the explanatory text rejecting Israeli jurisdiction over Israeli cities: “Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Ramle, Safed, Beit Shean, were and will remain Palestinian cities”.’

So how can any two-state solution ever be negotiated?  Parliament’s motion, therefore, is rendered meaningless and needs flushing down the pan, where it belongs!

France

On Tuesday French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was reported as saying that Paris would recognize a Palestinian state if negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel fail. However, French MP Meir Habib responded by stating France is making a grave mistake,

“Europe and France specifically refuse to recognize the reality and think that if they recognize a Palestinian state, the conflict will end. When will they wake up? The free world must unite and realize that recognizing a Palestinian state without negotiations at this time is a grave mistake that will be costly for Europe”.

Israel

A priest has appealed to the UN and told them to ‘end the witch hunt’ against Israel, as reported by religio-political blogger Archbishop Cranmer,

‘Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Greek Orthodox Priest in Yafia, near Nazareth, appealed to the UN Human Rights Council last month, urging them to end their “witch hunt” on Israel: “In the Middle East today, there is one country where Christianity is not only not persecuted, but affectionately granted freedom of expression, freedom of worship and security,” he testified. “It is Israel, the Jewish state. Israel is the only place where Christians in the Middle East are safe.”

‘And he testified further, confirming that some 120,000 Christians have been killed in the Middle East every year for the past decade: “That means that every five minutes a Christian is killed because of his faith,” he said. “Those who can escape persecution at the hands of Muslim extremists have fled. Those who remain, exist as second – if not third-class citizens to their Muslim rulers.” And he warned: “It is time the world woke up to the fact that those who want to destroy the Jewish state are signing the death warrant on the last free Christians in the Holy Land”. (Emphasis added)

Anti-Semitism in Church

Hold onto your seat here. I’ll be brief and assume you are aware of the Church’s stance against Jewry, especially since the time of Constantine and the Council of Nicea in 4th Century. This was soon followed by the false doctrine of Replacement Theology which originated in Augustine’s seminal work ‘City of God’. This doctrine assumes the Church has replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people and that He’s turned His back on them. This teaching opened the door for over 1,500 years of harsh persecution from so-called Christians.

Proper recognition of the Jews special relationship with God came from Puritans and Non-conformists of Cromwell’s time in 17th Century. They recognised the importance of the Jews returning to their home land and eventual acceptance of Jesus as Messiah, as foretold in Zecharia.

Today, however, anti-Semitism is continued by the World Council of Churches. It also has a key role in mobilizing the BDS (Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions) movement in churches. The WCC promotes and works closely with Palestinian Liberation Theology,  and it founded the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).

William Koenig’s Eye View From The White House dated 20 June 2016 gives a wealth of detail on this deeply disturbing anti-Semitism within so-called churches:

“By claiming that the Jewish people “occupied” Judea, Samaria, and East Jerusalem the global Christian organizations have sided with the Islamic worldview”.

Of many indictments, he cites:

  1. EAPPI frequently uses inflammatory and demonizing rhetoric against Israel and engages in (BDS) campaigns. It presents a one-sided Palestinian narrative, promotes the “right of return,” ignores terror attacks against Israelis, and blames Israel entirely for the conflict.
  2. EAPPI is an important resource for pro-Palestinian activists in various denominations worldwide as “sending organizations (several US/UK examples!!)
  3.  A number of European governments, plus the US and Canada, provide funds for these church-based efforts to delegitimize Israel. These tax-payer funds are disbursed as grants to church-based humanitarian NGOs, which then transfer these funds to highly politicized pro-Palestinian NGOs — including Christian groups that promote BDS, the one-state solution and, in many cases, anti-Semitic supercessionist, or replacement, theologies within mainline churches worldwide.
  4. The WCC, an ecumenical body, which claims to represent 590 million Christians worldwide and based in Switzerland, sponsored an event supporting the partition and Islamization of Jerusalem. The “World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel”  [began] 22 Sept 2013. (See EXPOSE: Christian Fatwa Against Israel).

Thank the Lord that His shaking and sifting of churches will deal with this falsehood.

[Awaken Your Might – credit; James Nesbit www.jamesnart.com]

British MPs ‘recognise’ a non-existent state!

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Published also as ‘How Britain Harms Israel-Palestine Peace Prospects’ in The Commentator, this post by Nick Gray, Director of Christian Middle East Watch, expands upon my previous posts to explain why Parliament’s vote is not only irrational but is also futile for furthering peace.

cmewonline's avatarChristian Middle East Watch


big benMonday’s vote in Britain’s parliament to recognise an as yet non-existent Palestinian state may not change government policy but it sends a negative message way beyond London. This despite the fact that less than half of the House of Commons was present for the debate

The vote to recognise “Palestine” will encourage Israel’s detractors (of which there are many in Britain) and, in the words of Britain’s ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould, “This Parliamentary vote is a sign of the way the wind is blowing, and will continue to blow without any progress towards peace.”

Sweden’s new government has made a similar declaration of support for the “state of Palestine”. Palestinian emissaries have been busy and other governments will follow, adding to the more than one hundred already recognising “Palestine”.

This is all part of Mr Abbas’ plan for formal recognition of his “state” at the UN and to join…

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What did Netanyahu discuss with Obama in the Oval Office? Here’s the latest.

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Bill Koenig of World Watch Daily writes: “Netanyahu had a 2-hour visit at the White House today, which I attended. It was originally scheduled only for an hour and a quarter. He likely had some intelligence on the Islamic State (IS) that he shared… Netanyahu is a true statesman, who once again warned the world about the threats from Iran and now IS. He also re-emphasized the danger posed to the entire world by Hamas. Sadly, I really sense the world is not responding to his warnings. Every year he has to come up with a different approach to warn about the seriousness of the threats. It is as if his warnings are playing to deaf ears”.

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

President Obama talks to Israeli PM Netanyahu during an Oval Office meeting on October 1st. (Credit: YouTube/The White House) President Obama talks to Israeli PM Netanyahu during an Oval Office meeting on October 1st. (Credit: YouTube/The White House)

Many issues have complicated the U.S.-Israeli relationship — and particularly the personal relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu — in recent years. The Palestinian issue. The future of Jerusalem. Settlements. Hamas and Gaza. But none have divided the two leaders more than how to deal with Iran.

Obama and Netanyahu have deeply divergent views of the urgency of the nuclear threat, and how best to stop Iran from building nuclear warheads and the missiles to deliver them. Now we are rapidly approaching the end game with the P5+1 talks with Iran. It is crunch time, and Netanyahu is worried that Obama is not worried enough. The Israeli premier is concerned that the President is too willing to make too many concessions to Iran, concessions that could make it easier for Iran to quickly…

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Tale of 2 speeches: at UN Palestinian leader accuses Israel of “genocide”, “war crimes” – Jordanian king gives moderate, peaceful address.

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As well as Joel’s attached analysis, Dror Eydar’s frank Israel Hayom Newsletter opens, “We watched as he stood up and lied in the worst speech of incitement a Palestinian representative has ever made to Westerners, using the verified accusations made against the Palestinian Authority and turning them against Israel without batting an eye. Not a word about the reason for the war this past summer; not a word about the putsch Hamas planned against him. And we’re expected to trust him?”  Also see Elliott Abrams’ brief examination why Abbas made it yet ‘another lost opportunity’.

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of "genocide" during speech to the UN General Assembly this week. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of “genocide” during speech to the UN General Assembly this week.

UPDATED: This week in New York City, leaders from around the world are addressing the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly (GA). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently flying to New York to meet with President Obama and address the GA. His speech is scheduled for Monday. I will provide the full text and analysis at that time.

So far, speeches by two Arab leaders have drawn my attention. Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas both addressed the GA in recent days. I would strongly encourage you to read both texts. The contrast between the two was stark.

Here are key excerpts from the speeches and a bit of…

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Israel, Palestine, Egypt 1; USA, Europe, Hamas 0

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Courtesy WatcharakunReaders might like to know that last night, after hearing John Kilpatrick’s detailed teaching upon Russia’s possible intentions according to Ezekiel 38-39 and his declaration to national leaders on Israel, I checked out the latest ‘before the media’ headlines. What I found had been published perhaps less than an hour before, according to its time-stamp.

In view of what we’d just heard, this headline was most interesting: Netanyahu-Sisi-Abbas line-up tells Hamas: “Accept an extra month’s truce – or Ramallah will” (click for full report). This ‘exclusive’ opens as follows,

“The Egyptian and Palestinian Authority delegations slapped down an ultimatum for Hamas when negotiations for a durable Gaza truce resumed in Cairo, Sunday, Aug. 17. Debkafile’s intelligence report that Hamas was given the option of declaring a 1-month extension of the 5-day ceasefire which runs out Monday midnight, (emphasis added) or else the announcement would be made from Ramallah Monday in the name of the Palestinian national unity government. This was the first joint action taken by the triple bloc formed by Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh El-Sisi, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for pushing the Islamist Hamas-Islamic Jihad duo up against a wall…”

It continues by referring to the bloc’s backers, namely Saudi king Abdullah and Russian president Putin!

More sensational, but definitely not surprising to those who follow closely, is the bloc’s agreement to keep the Obama-Kerry duo and administration, as well as the Europeans, from the trio’s dealings with the Palestinian Islamist factions.

“The proposition the three partners have formulated puts Hamas and Jihad on the spot. The Arab world has abandoned them and their only source of funding is Tehran. So their choices are grim: Face an escalated war that Israel will fight until the bitter end, or swallow hard and accept the only proposition on the table which is tantamount to disarmament and capitulation.

“Their isolation is complete. The Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders have managed to cut Hamas away from any backing in Washington, Qatar and Turkey as well as blocking its path to Moscow….

“Mahmoud Abbas, who appeared to be sitting on the sidelines of the Gaza conflict during Israel’s month-long military operation, finally threw in his lot with Sisi and Netanyahu when it came to the crunch…”

Thus, they’ve put the USA out in the cold, and their playmates Turkey and Qatar, as a result of the outrageous shenanigans that were a serious affront to sensible discourse, as Joel Rosenberg reported here. At least Abbas may now be cooperating with Israel – and without American involvement!

These actions confirm long-held suspicions of Obama’s preference to support terrorists, especially where connected with the Muslim Brotherhood. I voiced my own sceptical reservations of his 2009 overtures in Cairo to the Muslim nations, as well as to claims to his being a committed Christian. Obama’s own and his administration’s lack of concern for the butchery of fellow believers in Nigeria, Syria and Iraq are common knowledge.

[Respected analyst Caroline Glick’s insights on his change of direction in Obama’s new plan for Hamas point out there’s never been anything real to differentiate Fatah from Hamas. So Sisi’s gameplan may come undone, or actually prove effective in driving a wedge between the two Palestinian factions, as reported here. Update 19/8: see Abbas orders probe into Hamas coup plot revealed by Israel. Also, my comments on Obama in Cairo reinforced by US Army Lt Col (Ret’d) Allen West on how he’s enabled Islamist causes.]

Additionally, this decision by Israel’s supporters demonstrates Obama’s incompetence and strategic blunders in foreign policy has lost America all credibility and respect in the Middle East.

This fresh Gaza conflict instigated by Hamas has served to bring out into the open the new geo-political reality of America’s only democratic ally in the region now working with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Russia (as well as Jordan).

It demonstrates the truth of what the Lord promised Abraham that whomsoever blesses him and his descendants through Isaac will be blessed by Him and, conversely, those who curse them will fall outside that blessing and be open to living a cursed life, as it is written in Genesis 12.

Calls to pray for Obama appeared to result in a temporary change in his attitude to Israel. However, hostility seems to remain, as shown by his dealings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and halting further arms supplies. Anyway, this unrighteous gentile has the dubious distinction of being C-in-C and evangelist for changes in the definition of marriage; again defying scripture…

UPDATES:

Further reading

Another well-informed point of view on US foreign policy may be found in several short pieces by Elliott Abrams of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Also, see Cranmer on the Church’s attack upon PM Cameron’s ‘incoherent’ Middle-East policy.

See Joel Rosenberg on Netanyahu meeting Obama at The White House on 1st October 2014 after UN General Assembly. (Related material: PM Netanyahu at UN and Tale of 2 Speeches at UN.)

[Image courtesy of Watcharakun at Freedigitalphotos.com]

Gaza War Update, Day #21: Obama calls Netanyahu to demand “immediate” cease-fire. Kerry angers Israeli, Palestinian & Egyptian leaders.

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Joel RosenbergOf Joel’s many updates I’m reblogging this because it covers the latest incompetence of messers Obama and Kerry (now persona non grata?). American influence in the Middle-East is likely to disappear in this rapidly changing geo-political situation.

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

UPDATED AT 10:30PM EASTERN SUNDAY:(Washington, D.C.) — The most dramatic developments of the weekend in the Gaza war were these:

  1. President Obama’s call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to demand an “immediate” ceasefire, even though Israeli leaders don’t feel they are yet finished neutralizing the terrorist threat posed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
  2. The U.N. Security council demand on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire, even though this will most help the terrorists.
  3. Secretary John Kerry’s disastrous efforts at negotiating a ceasefire, in which he actually managed to anger Palestinian, Egyptian and Israeli leaders all at once — as one regional commentator put it: “We are witnessing a grave strategic error by the Americans, who are succeeding in infuriating serious and strong allies like Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in favor of a deception in the form of Qatar and Turkey, which has managed to quarrel with all of its neighbors.”

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David Cameron’s Easter speech: “Christians are now the most persecuted religion around the world”

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In view of my musings upon the scriptural issue at the heart of the past fortnight’s furore, Gillan’s report on this important matter makes interesting reading and discussion. The PM’s candid humility about his faith is no doubt real, but the reference to “our saviour” begs the question: why doesn’t he heed Jesus’ instructions (eg. on the origin and purpose of marriage)? The guidance he wishes for isn’t forthcoming if he won’t take ‘our Saviour’ seriously!

Senior MPs tell the Government to do more to prevent the persecution of Christians globally

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This, along with Richard Parkhouse’s comment about Prayer for Parliament, is most informative after learning about the concerns of Muslim leaders here and in Egypt, Kenya and other Muslim nations (as in my earlier post).

THIRD SEAL OF REVELATION HAPPENING NOW

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RJBMy friend’s hit a thought-provoking indicator, which I’d heard some time ago in connection with the cause of the ‘Arab Spring’: ie. the inability of Tunisian and Egyptian poor to afford crippling wheat prices. These had escalated because of US demand for conversion of wheat to ethanol fuels!

Brandy's avatarMy Passions

Habakkuk 2:2
[ The Just Live by Faith ] Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it.


I’ve often pondered the seals of Revelation. I’ve studied and studied them over and over again to find what part of Revelation we are in (because we all know something is coming) and I think we can be pretty sure now where we are on God’s timeline based on something that is happening in Israel as we speak. Although this is a detail of the seals that many skip over because it hadn’t been revealed yet, it is my belief that this little detail was revealed to me (and probably others) the other night and this blog is to bring awareness to it. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW FOR THOSE OF YOU WATCHING.

I’m sure you will…

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Putin to visit Iran for first time in six years. Historic trip will raise renewed interest in the “Gog & Magog” prophecies.

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RJBI’d like to draw your attention to Joel’s analysis of the meaning of this historic visit. Read also what former British Ambassador Charles Crawford writes about ‘the mother of all messes’ President Obama has caused over Syria. You may wish to check my previous posts about the Ezekiel 38 Alliance and remarks covering Joel’s recent post on Yom Kippur.

joelcrosenberg's avatarJoel C. Rosenberg's Blog

(Dallas, Texas) — “Vladimir Putin has accepted an Iranian invitation to visit the country and meet with newly elected President Hasan Rouhani, a spokesman for the Russian president confirmed,” reports the Times of Israel.

“Putin has been invited to Iran, and he will certainly take advantage of this kind invitation,” the Interfax news agency quoted spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying on Friday. “The dates of the visit will be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.”

“The announcement came on the heels of a report that Russia had agreed to sell to Iran the advanced S-300 air defense system and construct a new nuclear reactor at the Bushehr site,” the Times noted. “Putin met with Rouhani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Friday. During the meeting, Rouhani extended an invitation to Putin, who accepted, the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency reported. In July, there were reports

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