Signs of the Times -4
2008 - 2009
See also Scriptures on Israel, war & famine
See also Signs
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Signs of the Times -4 2008 - 2009 See also Scriptures on Israel, war & famine See also Signs |
"...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
December 2009
Iran Test-Fires Its Longest-Range Missile: "Iran announced Wednesday it has successfully test fired an upgraded version of its longest-range, solid-fuel missile which it said is faster and harder to shoot down.... The Sajjil-2 is a two-stage missile with a range of about 1,200 miles. That range places Israel, Iran's sworn enemy, well within reach and reaches as far away as southeastern Europe with greater precision than earlier models."
A tale of two walls: "Egypt is building a huge metal wall along its border with the Gaza Strip to cut down on smuggling and penetration by terrorists. When it is finished in 18 months, the super-strength steel wall that cannot be cut or melted will be about seven miles long and extend 60 feet below the ground to inhibit tunnel-digging. It is said to be impenetrable – however, no one doubts that smugglers and terrorists won't try to burrow beneath it.... I have heard not one word of protest from the international community about this wall. Contrast this mute non-reaction to the tales of woe sung when the Israelis built similar security fences to protect its civilians from terrorist attacks from Palestinian Authority territories. That fence, now proven overwhelmingly effective in cutting down terrorist violence, was roundly and bitterly condemned and protested – with comparisons to the Berlin Wall and even Nazi concentration camps. That wall was protested by the major powers in Europe and the U.S. government."
Man arrested with daughter for allegedly praying on Temple Mount: "Police on Wednesday detained an Israeli man and his daughter for a few hours after they ascended the Temple Mount and began to pray at the contested holy site.... David Kirschenbaum told The Jerusalem Post he went up to the mount with his daughter on the day before her wedding, in order to take in the holiest site in Judaism." See next link:
Obama administration 'assures Jewish evacuation'... giving Temple Mount to Palestinians: "Members of the Obama administration recently assured the Palestinian Authority that most Jewish communities in the strategic West Bank will be evacuated." See Jerusalem
World Bank gives Palestinian Authority $64 million: "Bank says goal of donation is to boost Fayyad's plan to set up institutions for a state within two years." See Map of vast Islamic lands vs. tiny Israel
November 2009
Obama sends haji... greetings to Muslims: "President Barack Obama sent greetings Wednesday on behalf of the United States to pilgrims performing the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia, and to Muslims worldwide celebrating the Eid-ul-Adha holiday. 'The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world's major religions,' read a White House statement. 'On behalf of the American people, we would like to extend our greetings during this Hajj season -- Eid Mubarak,' Obama said, using a traditional Muslim greeting." See Deceptive alliancesA U.N. critic has her credentials stripped: "Anne Bayefsky. The Toronto native is an expert on human-rights law and an accredited United Nations observer. She is also a friend of Israel, which makes her persona non grata.... Ms. Bayefsky's sin was a two-minute talk she delivered at the U.N. earlier this month after the General Assembly had issued a resolution endorsing the Goldstone Report, which levels war crimes charges at Israel for defending itself in the face of Hamas's rockets.
"'The resolution doesn't mention the word Hamas,' she said. 'This is a resolution that purports to be even-handed; it is anything but.' Ms. Bayefsky's comments were the only note of criticism on a day otherwise marked by much U.N. jubilation. Whereupon she was summarily stripped of her U.N. badge and evicted from the premises.
"'The Palestinian ambassador is very upset by your statement,' ... the U.N. security chief told her. Journalist Matthew Russell Lee tells us that he heard the ambassador asking whether U.N. security had 'captured' Ms. Bayefsky....
"...the U.N. continues to bar Ms. Bayefsky from the premises, despite calls on her behalf by the U.S. mission and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel. Best-case scenario, one U.N. insider tells us, is that 'they'll put her on probation.' We hear the U.N.'s NGO accreditation committee, chaired by Sudan, will likely make the final decision. Meanwhile, a committee of the General Assembly recently passed a resolution on the so-called defamation of religion. 'Everyone has the right to hold opinions without interference, and has the right to freedom of expression, the exercise of which carries with it special duties and responsibilities and may therefore be subject to limitations,' it says.
"'Without interference' yet 'subject to limitations.' Orwell should be living now."
The Reality of Middle East Anti-Semitism: "'The scale and extremism of the [anti-Semitic] literature and commentary available in Arab or Muslim newspapers, journals, magazines, caricatures, on Islamist websites, on the Middle Eastern radio and TV news, in documentaries, films, and educational materials, is comparable only to that of Nazi Germany at its worst.'... Yet the Western world largely turns a blind eye to the likely genocidal consequences of such a culture of hatred, much as it did 70 years ago."
Israel, the U.S. and the Goldstone Report: "The U.N.'s Human Rights Council (HRC) voted overwhelmingly on Friday to endorse the recommendations of the lopsidedly anti-Israel Goldstone Report....But by attempting to criminalize Israel's strategy of crippling Hamas, the report in effect declared the entire antiterrorism campaign to be a war crime. ....The HRC resolution endorsing the report's recommendations repeatedly lacerated Israel, leading Mr. Goldstone himself to cringe, saying he was 'saddened' the resolution contained 'not a single phrase condemning Hamas as we have done in the report.'"
Israeli Navy Seizes Ship Allegedly Carrying 60 Tons of Missiles Wednesday: "Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying more than 60 tons of missiles, rockets and anti-tank weapons bound for Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.... Israeli defense officials said weapons including anti-tank missiles and Katyusha rockets were stashed on a commercial vessel operating under the guise of an aid ship, captained by a Pole and flying an Antiguan flag." See Jerusalem
Israel Official Says Hamas Rockets Can Reach Tel Aviv: "The Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip can now launch rockets capable of reaching the Israeli metropolitan area of Tel Aviv.... Hamas is receiving support from Iran, which is using the Islamic movement to increase its influence in the region.... In 2008, some 3,300 rockets and mortars were fired into Israel."
October 2009
The Return of Israel's Existential Dread...Israelis brace themselves for war with Iran: "A map of Israel is divided by color into six regions, each symbolized by an upbeat drawing: a smiling camel in the Negev desert, a skier in the Golan Heights. In fact, each region signifies the amount of time residents will have to seek shelter from an impending missile attack. If you live along the Gaza border, you have 15 seconds after the siren sounds. Jerusalemites get a full three minutes. ...along the Lebanese and Syrian borders, the color red designates 'immediate entry into a shelter.'...
"If Israel were to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear facilities, Tehran's two terrorist allies on our borders—Hezbollah and Hamas—would acks against the Israeli home front."
Fighting the Lies [is] Harder Than Fighting the War: "Israel's enemies certainly seek to terrorize and demoralize Israel. But the more important campaign — which is gaining traction — is to delegitimize her and to brand Israel's self-defense as a war crime....
"Consider the assessment of Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan.... 'During Operation Cast Lead, the IDF [Israel] did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare. Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population.'
"What army has offered 48 hours notice to its enemies of planned operations? Israel did so, dropping 2 million leaflets in advance of army movements. Twenty-four hours before the IDF moved on a suspected terrorist site, the army phoned civilians to warn them to evacuate. There were 100,000 calls. And five minutes before an operation began, the IDF sent out text messages. The calls and messages contained not just warnings, but instructions on which roads were safe to take and which schools or other buildings could be used for shelter. In the midst of the conflict, hundreds of trucks brought food, water, and medical supplies to Gaza. ...
"The more intolerable injustice is the world's embrace of the lies and calumnies now peddled by the same people who sent those kids into the streets in a war zone."
Temple Mount riots part of Arab agenda? "Today's Islamic riots on the Temple Mount may be more about internal Palestinian politics and regional negotiation strategy and less about any so-called Jewish threat to the holy site.... The riots are being directly incited by the Palestinian Authority, whose official media outlets and institutions have been stoking Arab flames the past few weeks by claiming right-wing extremist Jews are attempting to threaten the Al Aqsa mosque – a decades-old blood libel that should be easily dismissible in light of heavy Israeli restrictions on Jews and Christians from ascending the Mount during most hours of the day....
[Yet] Official PA television and radio have been calling on Muslims to 'storm' the Al Aqsa Mosque to 'protect' the site from 'Jewish threat.'....Today's clashes had all the trappings of a pre-planned PA campaign. ... The Jerusalem police revealed today they have film of several Muslim youth preparing the unrest by gathering rocks and pouring oil onto the ground to foil security forces. The PA is not just inciting violence; its officials also are assisting the riots..." Sounds a little like Alinsky's Rules for Radicals
Now Muslims Demand Full Sharia Law [U.K.]: "Muslim group sparked outrage last night as it launched a massive campaign to impose sharia law on Britain. The fanatical group Islam4UK has announced plans to hold a potentially incendiary rally in London later this month. And it is calling for a complete upheaval of the British legal system, its officials and legislation. Members have urged Muslims from all over Britain to converge on the capital on October 31 for a procession to demand the full implementation of sharia law." See Hope, Hate & Human Nature
Iran Threatens Israel: We'll Blast Your Heart Out: "Even if one Zionist or American rocket hits our land,' said Mojtaba Zolnour, 'Iranian rockets will explode in the heart of Israel even before the dust settles.'" See End Time Events
Stop the Campus War Against Israel and the Jews: "...Iran is leading a global movement calling for a second Holocaust — the elimination of Israel from the face of the earth. The Islamic terrorist organizations Hizbollah and Hamas are calling on Muslims to destroy the Jewish state and kill the Jews in those exact words. And on campuses across the United States, radical professors and student groups are lining up to support the genocide....
"...campuses are adorned with banners in which the Star of David is joined to the swastika by an equal sign.... Pro-jihad groups such as the Muslim Students Association, an organization that supports Hamas and is part of the Muslim Brotherhood network.... chanted 'Death to Israel!' in almost the same breath as 'Death to the Jews!'"
Hope, Hate & Human NatureRevolutionary Anti-Semitism: "'Sometimes I ask myself if Hitler wasn't right when he wanted to finish with that race, through the famous holocaust, because if there are people that are harmful to this country, they are the Jews....' - David Romero Ellner, Executive Director, Radio Globo, Honduras...
"Meet one of Honduras's most vocal advocates for the return of deposed president Manuel Zelaya to office. He's not your average radio jock. He started in Honduran politics as a radical activist and was one of the founders of the hard-left People's Revolutionary Union, which had links to Honduran terrorists in 1980s.... [H]e has joined Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Mr. Zelaya in targeting Jews.
"Mr. Chávez has allied himself with Iran to further his ability to rule unchecked in the hemisphere. He hosts Hezbollah terrorists and seeks Iranian help to become a nuclear power. He and his acolytes cement their ties to Iranian dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by echoing his anti-Semitic rants....
"The Honduras debate is not really about Honduras. It is about whether it is possible to stop the spread of chavismo... in Latin America."
MI6 confirms Ahmadinejad's Jewish roots: "MI6, Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, has established that the greatest living Holocaust denier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, comes from a Jewish family....The man who has spent his years in power calling for Israel to be wiped off the face of the earth has managed to keep totally secret his family history until now. ... The 52-year-old Iranian president was born in a small house above the family cloth-weaving workshop where he was introduced to the tenets of the [Jewish] faith. They baked their bread for Sabbath, and celebrated all the Jewish festivals. By the age of four his friends were children of a mixture of Hassadin, Orthodox and Marmos Jews. Like his friends he was circumcised. Since Ahmadinejad came to power he has taken extraordinary steps to hide his background as he shocked the world with his calls for Israel to be destroyed."
Hamas children's TV program again calls for the 'slaughter of Jews': All Jews must be "erased from our land," Nassur, a stuffed bear who hosts the weekly program, Tomorrow's Pioneers, on Hamas's Al-Aksa television, explained to a child who called in to a September 22 show. "We want to slaughter them, Saraa, so they will be expelled from our land... we'll have to [do it] by slaughter."
Tehran, Damascus stir up Hamas-Israeli Muslim riots on Temple Mount: "Far from erupting spontaneously, the riots were carefully planned for more than a month in covert contacts between Palestinian Hamas operatives and heads of the Israeli Muslim movement, under the guidance of Syrian and Iranian secret agents. They succeeded in bringing Palestinian Islamists and Israeli Arab radicals together for the first time for a joint violent anti-Israel operation.... Thousands of young Palestinians and Israeli Arabs were quietly spirited into Jerusalem during the weeks before the outbreaks. They were divided into 'platoons' of 150-200 men each and entrusted with watching over al Aqsa around the clock 'to prevent its occupation by settlers, right-wingers and the Israeli police.'"
Iran's missiles are ‘ready to destroy Israel': "Iran warned Israel yesterday that it faces destruction if it attacks the Islamic republic, only hours after Tehran provocatively test-fired missiles capable of hitting targets across the Middle East.... His defiant comments came after Western leaders dismissed a second day of rocket launches by Iran, calling them a "reprehensible" distraction from critical talks this week that will determine whether Tehran is ready to negotiate..."
Clinton Issues Holiday Greetings to Muslims, Not Jews: "Both Jews and Muslims celebrated holidays in September 2009. However, the United States Consulate in Jerusalem – America's representative in Israel's capital – chose to focus entirely on Islam this year, while ignoring the Jewish holidays....
"...America takes care not to recognize Israeli rights in the capital city despite more than 40 years [and its previous history] of sovereignty in the greater Jerusalem area."
September 2009
The Jihadists are Mushrooming Inside America: "It is unprecedented in American counterterrorism annals: in one day, the nation was dealing with three separate jihadist plots to blow up civilian and other targets inside the homeland. Although the cases were addressed at different time periods by the FBI and other agencies, nevertheless, the thickening web of terror attempts breached the crossing line of U.S. national security."
'Ahmadinejad has enough uranium to go whole way': "Senior US official says secret facility is right size to make 'bomb or two a year.'"
Iran to Test-Fire More Missiles That Could Hit Israel, U.S. Bases : After claiming to successfully test-fire two short-range missiles during drills Sunday by the elite Revolutionary Guard, Iran will test-fire a missile on Monday that could have the capability to hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf region, Reuters reported. The drills are a show of force days after the U.S. and its allies condemned Tehran over a newly revealed underground nuclear facility..."
Did Obama call on Israel to vacate Temple Mount? "Some members of the Israeli government here reacted angrily to Obama's strongly worded demand... for the creation of a 'viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967.' The term 'occupation' routinely is used by the Palestinians as well as some countries hostile to the Jewish state in reference to Israel's presence in the West Bank and Jerusalem." See Blending facts with useful illusions? Obama's Speech
Iranian president raises stakes against Israel: "President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad raised the stakes against Israel on Friday and called the Holocaust a lie, just as world powers try to decide how to deal with the nuclear ambitions of an Iran in political turmoil. 'The pretext (Holocaust) for the creation of the Zionist regime (Israel) is false ... It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim,' he told worshippers at Tehran University.... 'Confronting the Zionist regime is a national and religious duty.'"
Netanyahu: The Land of Israel Will Be Divided: "Netanyahu insisted that the new reality required 'practical solutions'. 'How will the land be divided? Territory-wise, there have been those who predicted the land would be divided according to the 1967 armistice lines, which is not acceptable to me. Israel requires defensible borders.'"...
[Note from Curt: "'The Land of Israel will be divided', what a prophetic headline! ... [H]ere is a [Bible] passage from Joel.... Joel 3:2: 'I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land." Pray for Jerusalem
'Gay' man sues Bible publisher for ... 'negative connotation' toward homosexuals
: "A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for 'mental anguish' after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals. Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges Tyndale House Publishers manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale's New Living Translation Holy Bible... by using the term 'homosexuals' in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9. 'One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether,' Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog."'Crazy Ants' Get Under Skin of Gulf Coast Residents: "Swarms of foreign 'crazy ants' are spreading through Texas and Florida, raising alarms that the tiny, frenetic bugs will rival the fire ants that have ravaged the South.... Although the new pests don't pack the powerful sting of fire ants, scientists say they can do as much damage, killing wildlife and shorting out electrical equipment. Crazy ants have an additional trait that is proving especially irksome: They like to hang out where people live and are difficult to dislodge once they get inside buildings....
"Called crazy ants because they scramble in all directions... the ants carpet the ground and swarm over anything in their way -- plants, animals or humans. ..the insects have been shorting out electrical sockets, air conditioners and ... floodlights.... Over-the-counter pesticide sprays leave piles of dried corpses that look like drifts of brown sand, but still barely dent the ants' numerous populations."
Sounds a bit like the Old Testament plagues, doesn't it? More in the next link:
Honeybees face new threat in Texas: 'Crazy' ants: "Beekeepers say the omnivorous ants swarming the hives appear to be less interested in the sweet honey inside than they are in the bee larvae there. And once a hive is decimated, the ants will take over and use it to raise their own young. One beekeeper reported that the ants had destroyed about 100 of his hives in the past year. Aside from the crops they help to pollinate, the bees also produce about 4.9 million pounds of honey a year."
Is new Russian triumvirate a threat? "A strategic triumvirate of Russia, India and Iran appears to be emerging from the turmoil of world tensions and uncertainty.... Anxiety levels are on the rise because of a more assertive Russia challenging a multitude of neighbors.... The scenario raises the unwelcome prospect of a strategic grouping of Russia, India and Iran balanced against the U.S., China and Pakistan."
See Deceptive alliances and first news item here: China & CommunismSame Axis, More Evil: "...now the 'special relationship' is between Iran and North Korea, the two nations which prove daily that the 'axis of evil' idea wasn't just another poor choice of words by George W. Bush."
August 2009
Same Axis, More Evil: "...now the 'special relationship' is between Iran and North Korea, the two nations which prove daily that the 'axis of evil' idea wasn't just another poor choice of words by George W. Bush."
Claims Jews have no historic tie to Jerusalem: "The Jewish temples never existed, and Jews have no historic connection to Jerusalem, declared chief Palestinian justice Sheik Taysir Tamimi.... Tamimi claimed 'all Jewish rabbis and extremist organizations' as well as Netanyahu are lying when they state Jerusalem was a historically Jewish city. He called such claims 'baseless and untrue.' 'Jerusalem is an Arab and Islamic city and it always has been so,' he said. "
Note: Hitler's principle of "the big lie" works. There are people who will believe this man because he asserts it so authoritatively.
Palestinian police 'directing traffic in Israel's capital': "Palestinian Authority security forces directed traffic several times this month in the eastern sections of Jerusalem.... Two witnesses in Beit Hanina earlier this month also said they personally witnessed uniformed PA police direct traffic in that area for Abbas' two previous visits there.... Sections of Jerusalem have essentially been forfeited on the ground to the PA, while Jews, including local landowners, are barred from entering parts of Israel's capital
"...
the U.S. has been aiding the Palestinians in developing infrastructure in Jerusalem. ...the Israeli government has failed to stop Arabs from illegally building thousands of housing projects on Jerusalem land purchased and owned by a U.S. Jewish group for the express purpose of Jewish settlement, culminating in an Arab majority in the neighborhoods...."A tour of the three Jerusalem neighborhoods in question finds some surprising developments. Official PA logos and placards abound, including one glaring red street sign at the entrance to the neighborhoods warning Israelis to keep out. Another official sign... reads in English, '...This project is a gift form (sic) the American people to the Palestinian people in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority...'"
Iran and Syria: So happy together: "Assad said: '...I believe the Iranian people's reelection [of Ahmadinejad] is another emphasis on the fact that Iran and Syria must continue the regional policy as in the past." But, in the midst of militant alliances and signs of terror, Our God Reigns
Obama: Palestinian state now, Israel's security later: "The U.S. is seeking a deal that will set the final borders of a Palestinian state immediately and negotiate other issues, such as security and water, at a later date.... The Egyptian official said Obama stressed the U.S. is applying 'huge' pressure for Israel to agree to a complete freeze of Jewish construction in the strategic West Bank and eastern Jerusalem."
Gulf Arab money 'behind purchases of Israeli land': "Vast tracts of Israeli agricultural land in north Israel's Galilee area have been bought up by Arabs with financial backing from the Gulf, Israeli public radio reported on Saturday."
None dare call it totalitarianism: "I'm not going to make the case that America under Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress has become a totalitarian police state. But, I will make the case that Washington is leading us in that direction.... What do you call it when the government wants to monitor broadcasts and establish itself as the guardian of 'fairness' on the airwaves? What do you call it when the government seeks to take over the private and personal health-care decisions of the people – establishing bureaucracies to make life-and-death decisions and banning unapproved transactions between doctors and patients?...
"What do you call it when honest and open expressions of dissent are characterized as the expressions of 'angry mobs'? What do you call it when government-created joblessness is used to promote policies of government control?....
"Americans tend to think 'it can't happen here.' In truth, America's unique experiment with freedom has been brief." See God's Warnings for our Times
Obama fails to name anti-Semitism envoy: "At a time when anti-Semitism remains a staple of government propaganda in the Middle East, when violent anti-Semitic incidents are reported almost daily throughout Europe, and when even the streets of Washington are not untouched by anti-Semitism's violent potential, that is the wrong message to send.'"
U.S.-trained forces failing basic tests: "They are billed as the most professional Palestinian police force ever assembled.... They are upheld as the force capable of assuming law and order in the place of the Israeli army during the creation of any Palestinian state. And this week they couldn't even secure a few stages at a music festival....
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The festival... was strongly criticized by a group of Fatah militants who openly oppose calls by the PA to engage in a period of calm with Israel. One Fatah militant was quoted stating, 'Instead of a legacy of the struggle against occupation [the supposed Jewish "occupation" of Arab territory], we get young men with 65 foot-long sagging pants, yelling and screaming....'"Halfway into the festival, the militants burned down the stages, bringing the event to a screeching halt."
July 2009