Signs of the Times -3 2006-2007     See also Signs

News Index Articles Home

"...nation will rise against nation....  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places." Matthew 24:7

 

"... in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good...  lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God... And from such people turn away!" 2 Timothy 3:1-14

 

"...false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." Matthew 24:24

 

"... no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark ..." Revelation 13:16-17

November 2007

On the Jewish Question: "...some thoughts about tomorrow's [now today's] Annapolis peace conference, and the larger problem of how to approach the Israel-Palestine conflict.... There are basically two possibilities: that it is about the size of Israel, or about its existence....

    "If... the issue is the existence of Israel, then clearly it is insoluble by negotiation. There is no compromise position between existing and not existing, and no conceivable government of Israel is going to negotiate on whether that country should or should not exist.... [I]n light of the past record, it is clear that is and will remain the issue, until the Arab leadership either achieves or renounces its purpose -- to destroy Israel. Both seem equally unlikely for the time being." See Jerusalem

September 2007

Dengue Fever Surges in Latin America: "Dengue fever is spreading across Latin America and the Caribbean in one of the worst outbreaks in decades, causing agonizing joint pain for hundreds of thousands of people and killing nearly 200 so far this year. The mosquitoes that carry dengue are thriving in expanded urban slums scattered with water-collecting trash and old tires. Experts say dengue is approaching record levels this year...."

 

Jews urging Christians to save Jewish Temple: "The Christian world and top U.S. Christian leaders are being urged to petition the Israeli government to immediately halt a massive dig Islamic authorities are conducting on the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – that is said to be destroying antiquities and what archaeologists believe is a wall from the Second Jewish Temple." Where is UNESCO and its protectors of world heritage sites now? See WORLD HERITAGE "PROTECTION"

August 2007

Bumps under the rug: "Arab governments and educational institutions insist that their maps and globes eschew all mention of a country called Israel, and mapmakers obediently comply.... After all, a map reflects what its maker or commissioner deems the 'correct' picture of the world.... Peace... cannot be made with an enemy that refuses to acknowledge your right to exist. That is the real root of the conflict, and until it is resolved, no amount of territorial concessions will make any difference. Yet it will never be resolved as long as the international community insists on sweeping it under the rug." See UNESCO's Memory of the World

      UNESCO is building a body of information that will present the preferred view of history to future generations. Do you wonder how it will present Israel? Notice that UNESCO's current statement at National Memory of the World Committees leaves no place for Israel:

       "Memory of the World National Committees exist presently in several countries around the world. Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, Latin America and the Caribbean." But where does Israel fit?

The first two items below were posted in response to questions about three popular books: 90 Minutes in Heaven, 23 minutes in hell, and Heaven Is So Real. All three teach supposed truths about the future based on feelings and experience, not on God's revealed Word.

 

Visiting Heaven and Hell? "Evidently the rules have changed. Now those who claim such visions and revelations write books to describe what they saw. As we shall see, they also claim to have received special revelation about things not revealed in the Bible, and to have been commissioned by 'Jesus' to reveal these things to the church." See God's holy, unchanging Word and 90 Minutes in Heaven

 

Embraced by the Light: "Few authors have changed our spiritual orientation more than Betty Eadie who wrote Embraced by the Light. During her supposed 'near-death' experience she met a loving 'Jesus' who appeared 'more brilliant than the sun.' With three 'angels' as her guides, she was shown an occult spiritual system that fused her Mormon and Native American heritage with contemporary New Age teachings. Her supposedly 'Christian' experience contradicts the Bible on every point. Who do you think was her source of 'wisdom'?

     "Many people see near-death experiences as opportunities to preview heaven. Few know the darker side. In pagan cultures, shamans often 'met" their personal animal spirit (spirit guide or demon) during childhood near-death experiences which opened doors to demonic spirits and visions." See Don't be deceived!

April 2007

The Power of the Gatekeepers: "Mr. Ish-Shalom maintains that the current crop of presiding rabbis -- many of whom are Haredi (ultra-Orthodox), as opposed to modern Orthodox -- holds potential converts to a higher standard than is required by Jewish law.  ...the Orthodox rabbinate defends its strict interpretation of Jewish law, arguing that conversion is not a casual decision. It says that the Russians are free to live as citizens of Israel even if they are not Jewish by Orthodox criteria, but otherwise consider themselves Jews. But they are not accorded the same rights as citizens." See Jerusalem (Zion)

Solana--Stage being set for 'comprehensive peace': "Developments in the Middle East are pointing toward a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and the Arab world for the first time in decades, the European Union's foreign policy chief said Saturday. 'The Arab League for the first time in many years has assumed the responsibility to be more active in the peace process,' Javier Solana said." See Signs of the times

In The Future, Mandatory Implants--For Now, High Schools Issue Contactless Microchip Student ID: "Colleges have been using campus card ID systems for years. But with increasing security concerns, similar products are moving into public schools. One example: Philadelphia, Penn.’s school system where high school students at 60 schools have been provided a contactless ID card needed to gain admission to school property, track attendance, and, in some cases, buy lunch in the cafeteria.... Students are encouraged to wear the lanyard-attached badge around their necks, however, many are still simply carrying them on their persons.... So, if a student is in the hallway, the badge can be read by an administrator to determine where the student should be." See An International Information System: Executive Order #13011

March 2007

A Day of Reckoning: "There was once a spider living in a giant Iowa cornfield. He was a big spider and he had spun a beautiful web between the corn stalks. He got fat eating all the bugs that would get caught in his web. He liked his home and planned to stay there for the rest of his life.

     "One day the spider caught a little bug in his web. Just as the spider was about to eat the little bug he said, 'If you let me go I will tell you something important that will save your life.' The spider paused for a moment and listened because he was amused. 'You better get out of this cornfield,' the little bug said, 'The harvest is coming!' The spider smiled and said, 'What is this harvest you are talking about..."

 

U.S. privacy board backs controversial surveillance AP: "A White House privacy board has determined that two of the Bush administration's controversial surveillance programs, electronic eavesdropping and financial tracking, do not violate citizens' civil liberties." See Signs of the times

February 2007

Death of Horse Blamed on Endangered Wolf Pack: "A horse belonging to a Catron County, N.M., family has been killed by a pack of endangered Mexican gray wolves.... Miller said personnel with the wolf reintroduction team responded quickly to the report of the horse kill, but he thinks they may be just giving the family 'lip service.'... Miller and his wife said they are concerned about their 8-year-old daughter's safety. They also have plans to establish a camp on their property for kids interested in learning about the outdoors and hunting....The Aspen Pack was removed from the Blue River area of Arizona because of similar problems and was relocated to the Gila Wilderness in 2005. The animals seemed to be doing well until October, when their behavior began warranting more aggressive hazing. See The U.N plan for food and land and The Lord, our Judge

January 2007

'Moderate' Abbas Tells Supporters to Use Their Guns Against Israel: "Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told supporters on Thursday that they should turn their guns on Israel and not on each other.... 'We have a legitimate right to direct our guns against Israeli occupation. It is forbidden to use these guns against Palestinians,' he said." See Signs

Southern San Andreas fault waiting to explode: "The southern end of the San Andreas fault near Los Angeles, which has been still for more than two centuries, is under immense stress and could produce a massive earthquake at any moment..." Just a reminder that -- no matter where we live -- our lives are in God's hands. Safety in Jesus

Philippine president orders preparations for volcano eruption: "...the Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon, central Philippines, began to spew ashes anew Saturday morning.... Alert level two indicates an elevated level of volcanic activity, which may produce hazardous magmatic eruption." See Signs

Indonesian volcano stirs after earthquake: "Fresh spurts of lava from a nearby volcano, a strong aftershock and worries about the spread of bird flu are adding to the strain for hundreds of thousands of survivors of Indonesia's devastating earthquake..... Mount Merapi, one of the world's most active volcanoes, spewed lava and hot clouds of gas and ash scores of times on Saturday.... Worried villagers in recent days have performed rituals aimed at warding off an eruption....

      "More than 50 people were staying Saturday in two large empty chicken coops in Pentong in Bantul district. Flies buzzed everywhere, and children played barefoot on bamboo slats encrusted with chicken droppings." See Signs of the times

 

 

Religion. Myths and mysticism that surround Merapi: "Reaching magnificently up to the sky on the border between Yogyakarta and Central Java provinces, the 2,968-meter volcano is believed, by the traditional Javanese communities that live in its vicinity, to be a sacred place. Some think that the volcano is the kingdom of spirits.... Others believe that the volcano is guarded by spirits, whose names vary from one region to another. On the northern slopes of Merapi, for example, Mbah Petruk is the guardian. In the south, the guardian spirit is Kyai Sapujagad....

     "'Many also consider it taboo to use the word 'eruption' to describe the volcanic activities of Merapi. Instead, they prefer to say that Si Mbah is having a ceremonial feast if an eruption occurs....

     "A myth exists... that an imaginary line runs between Mt. Merapi to the north, Yogyakarta Palace in the center and the South Sea to the south. 'It symbolizes fertility. It's a bit like yin and yang.... So, when you have to deal with it (the volcano), the most important thing that you should do is pray to God for protection." But -- contrary to today's interfaith sentiments -- their mythical god is nothing like our God! See A Twist of Faith

May 2006

Perpetuating the 'Protocols': "A 10th-grade Saudi textbook on the hadith and Islamic culture for boys contains a lesson on the 'Zionist movement.' A key part of the lesson teaches students about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic forgery that purported to expose a scheme for Jewish global domination and has been widely circulated since the early 20th century. Despite repeated debunking and a notorious role in inciting Nazi violence, the protocols are still taught to the 10th graders as an authentic document." See Signs

April 2006

Passover Explains Why So Many Jews Are Liberal While Judaism is Conservative (by Rabbi Daniel Lapin): "As a visible, politically conservative rabbi, whose conservatism flows inevitably and directly from his Judaism, I endure a never-ending barrage of attacks.... [M]ost of these attacks come from other Jews; indignant Jews outraged by a rabbi who does not subscribe to the principles of liberalism. As a Jew, I must reject liberalism because the values of the two belief systems, Judaism and liberalism, are quite incompatible." See God's moral Law

Holy Land's Christians caught in midst of conflict: "... tension is rising between Arab Christians and their Muslim neighbors who see Christians as belonging to a Western World they blame for the conflict in Iraq and other regional troubles. 'Even though Christianity grew in the Middle East, the Christians are increasingly seen as being part of the West and therefore at risk at being targeted because of it.'" See Jerusalem and Chronology of Conquests in the Name of Allah

U.S. Steps Up Financial Pressure on Hamas: "The U.S. government has barred Americans from doing most business with the new Hamas-led Palestinian government.... Palestinian officials condemned the American decision.... 'This restriction is limited to transactions with the PA government and does not apply to transactions with individuals or other entities in the Palestinian territories.'"

'Islamic terrorism' is too emotive a phrase, says EU: "European governments should shun the phrase 'Islamic terrorism' in favour of 'terrorists who abusively invoke Islam', say guidelines from EU officials. Backed by diplomats and civil servants from the 25 EU members, the officials are drafting a 'non-emotive lexicon for discussing radicalisation' to be submitted to Tony Blair and other leaders in June. ... An EU official said: 'The basic idea behind it is to avoid the use of improper words that would cause frustration among Muslims and increase the risk of radicalisation.' ... 'Jihad is a perfectly positive concept of trying to fight evil within yourself." Redefining words is nothing new for social change agents. See Three Sets of Meanings of Educational Buzzwords and the next two links:

March 2006

Hamas Justifies First Suicide Bombing Since Taking Power: "'The message from Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to the world powers is this: talk to us no more about recognizing Israel's 'right to exist' or ending resistance until you obtain a commitment from the Israelis to withdraw from our land and recognize our rights.'... Hamas considers all the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel to be Palestinian land and wants to establish an Islamic state in the entire area." See Signs of the times

 

Jittery Israel Agrees to Brief Opening of Israel-Gaza Border Crossing: "Despite continuing security concerns, Israel agreed to temporarily open a passage into the Gaza Strip on Monday to allow the delivery of badly needed food and goods to reach Palestinians...."

 

Officials predicting 'West Bank intifada': "With a large increase in the number of shootings, stabbings, stone and Molotov cocktail attacks against Israelis the past few weeks, Israeli security officials today said they fear the violent trend might indicate a plan by Palestinian terror groups to launch a new intifada, or 'uprising,' against the Jewish state, focused mostly against Jews in the West Bank....

     "Some terrorist leaders... say they are planning a 'third intifada' against Israeli civilians mostly to revolt against the new Hamas-controlled Palestinian government. 'The new intifada is only a question of time and this will be the hardest and the most dangerous one.'" See Signs

February 2006

Why the leaders of Hamas are 'Democrats': "In a pure democracy, the majority has the power to destroy a minority. That’s what happened in Germany in 1933 when Hitler’s National Socialist Party was voted in by the majority. Hitler then consolidated his power into the Nazi dictatorship with its deranged racism [focused on killing all Jews] and plans for world domination....

     "And now among Palestinians, sixty years after Hitler, we have the same situation. A political party, Hamas, determined to wipe Israel off the map, has acquired political power through the democratic vote. This is pure democracy, unfettered by any constitutional limitations. Hamas has stated its plans in its Covenant of 1988: the total destruction of Israel." See Charts: Five Types of Religious Expressions