Signs of the Lord's Return and the End of the Age

[Maryjane]

One word lets me know the end is near..godlessness..and it will grow worse and because of it, there will be a seperation of who is christian and who is not..

[Barbara]

This is from the Hal Lindsey Report:

"The head of Israel's Internal Security Service says that after Hamas blew up the border wall between Gaza and Egypt 2 weeks ago, they smuggled heavy weapons into Gaza. As reported last week, the breech allowed hundreds of thousands of Gazans to cross into Egypt without restriction. Ordinary Palestinians mobbed the border towns buying up huge amounts of supplies of food and fuel. Those are the pictures you saw in the media. But while the TV cameras focused on them, Hamas terrorists were busy smuggling tons of advanced rockets, weapons, high explosives and ammuntion from Egypt into Gaza.

Under an agreement that the US brokered between Israel and the Palestinians, Egypt and the PA operated the border crossing at Rafa. Worthless EU moniters were deployed on the Palestinian side. During the final Hamas takeover of Gaza last June, the Europeans ran for their lives. That allowed Hamas to gain control of ther border terminal unchallenged.

Yuval Diskin is the Director of Shin Bet, Israel's Security Service. He recently told the Israeli cabinet that terrorists affiliated with various organizations from Iran, Syria and Egypt were smuggled into Gaza at the same time. Diskin said that using the training they received in Iran, Hamas is upgrading for future attacks against Israel. Among the heavy weapons Hamas has now added to it's arsenal are longer range rockets, and anti-tank, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles. The improved rockets bring hundreds of thousands more Israelis within range of the Hamas launchers. According to the Jerusalem Post, Diskin's report is based on intelligence only obtained in recent days. Diskin also revealed that the IDF has identified 30 different routes accross the Sinai Negev border in the southern part of Israel, used by terrorists to infiltrate Israel. It's believed that hundreds of foreign fighters have already made their way through the border regions.

The border breech was carefully planned to tap the world's sympathy to the plight of the Palestinians caught in the crossfire between Hamas and Israel. While global attention was focused on the Palestinians buying cigarettes and diesel fuel, Hamas and Egypt used this cover to augment Gaza's military arsenal. The complex breeching operation took several months to prepare. Despite Egypt's official denials it's unlikely that Hamas could have managed the operation without Cairo's knowlege or cooperation.

As a watchman on the wall, Lindsey says, let me seek to summarize the danger that Israel has come to face over the last few weeks. I believe that Israel faces a more dangerous situation than ever before. Because of recent developments, Israel faces enemies whose reason for being enemies is not political differences or even strictly ethnic differences, Israel's foes oppose them because of an irreconcilable religion. For the same reason, Israel does not war with one nation, it is at war with many nations that are united against her because of this one common religion, Islam. Therefore, political and economic solutions will not work because they only address structure and conditions, and not the root cause of the conflict. Frankly, the approach of the west to solve the so-called Middle East conflict continues to deal with it only in political and economic terms. It's akin to a physician who keeps treating only the symptoms, but never diagnoses the disease that causes those symptoms.

Now, Israel faces a much graver situaion. Hamas' recent breech of the border wall has enabled, perhaps hundreds of highly trained terrorists to move into Gaza. It also permitted Gazan terrorists to join with other groups in the Sinai. They're now deploying along Israel's lightly guarded, 220 km southern border. They're now able to set up missile launch locations in range of Dimona, Beersheba and Elat - each of these cities were previously out of their reach. Hamas also imported much more advanced and deadly munitions to be used against Israel's population centers, from within Gaza. Even Tel-Aviv may soon be in rocket range. The situation is further exacerbated by intense pressure from the Bush administration upon Israel to reach some sort of a deal - apparently any deal with the Palestinians. They think that forcing democracy upon the Palestinaians and improving their economic situation will settle the centuries old religious differences. The unrealistic time table Bush slapped on the process makes it likely that the Olmert government will agree to very unwise concessions. Things that more competent leaders with cooler heads would never consent to.

The recent Lenigrad Report says, because of incompetent leadership at the top, the former vaunted Israeli Defense Force is now inadequately trained. Rather than this report giving Israel cause for relief, it signals the Muslim nations that the time to anniahlate Israel is now. They know that if a tough leader like Netanyahu gets in, their chances are greatly diminished. The report tells the Muslim world that they don't have to fear Olmert. It signals them that he's a man that can't move quickly and decisively to defeat an attacking enemy.    

[Barbara]

Amen, blackeyedpeas and Maryjane,

I was typing while you posted. But you're right, it could be that 'blindness in part' have come upon the people that are engineering these events and they're unwittingly complying with God's Holy Word. The wheat and the tares will surely be separated.

These are times I never thought i would see and am amazed at all the news that completely lines up with what God tells us will happen.

[Shammu]

Chertoff is not sleeping any better than he was last year at this time, but he's not sleeping any worse. He feels the pieces are being put in place to counter an attack from al Qaida, and win the war on terror.

'Earth-Shattering' Events

February 11, 2008 - 10:48am
J.J. Green, WTOP Radio

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff's eyes narrow and his voice develops a stern, urgent tone as he reveals America's biggest vulnerability to terrorism.

"The great weapon they have is persistence and patience, and the one weakness that we have is the tendency to lose patience and become complacent," Chertoff tells WTOP.

"It strikes me as hard to accept that anybody would believe the threat is over. There is nothing these terrorists are doing or saying that could lead a reasonable person to believe that they have somehow lost interest. Our biggest challenge is making sure we do not drop our guard because time passes."

Chertoff recognizes it has been more than six years since al Qaida launched the Sept. 11 attacks, but some experts say that's how long it took to plan them, suggesting the U.S. may close in on another spectacular attempt by Osama bin Laden to topple the U.S. economy.

"If you're asking me what keeps me up at night or what I most worry about -- in the short term, obviously, you worry about homegrown terrorists or somebody coming in with an explosive device or the kind of act of violence or terror that we've actually seen occasionally carried out in this country by people who are simply nuts or like a Timothy McVeigh.

"But in the longer run, in terms of something that would really be earth-shattering, the kinds of things I'm worried about are a nuclear or a dirty bomb attack or a nuclear or biological attack. Now I don't believe that the capability to do that is around the corner."

What worries him, worries U.S. intelligence officials as well.

CIA Director Michael Hayden told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week that al Qaida will continue trying to "acquire chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials (CBRN), and would not hesitate to use them in attacks."

Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell said at that same hearing that "al-Qaida remains the pre-eminent threat against the United States."

Europe is at the top of the list of possible launch points for an attack against the U.S.

"One of the things we've become concerned about lately is the possibility of Europe becoming a platform for a threat against the United States," Chertoff told the British Broadcasting Company in mid-January.

Chertoff tells WTOP he's convinced by evidence from 2007 that the stakes are high.

"Just look at what's happened in the last year. We had the attacks in Britain. We had the disrupted plot in Germany. We had the arrests in Spain," Chertoff said. "Clearly terrorists and militants are able to operate within Europe."

The special travel relationship between the U.S. and Europe is worrisome for Chertoff.

"We have a visa waiver program with respect to Europe that allows people to come without getting visas. There's an obvious concern that people might seize that as they tried in August 2006 to use Europe as a platform to attack us."

And CBRN attacks, which are most likely from an organized al Qaida threat, would require the largest protective investment.

"I don't believe that the capability to do that is around the corner, but I also think that the preparations that we need to have in place to deal with this threat are going to take a while to build, and we're building them as we speak.

"But they're not going to be done in six weeks or even six months. So what is important is to stay focused on making the investments now that we will be very grateful for in several years if someone does get their hands on nuclear materials or a biological agent."

What is the Department of Homeland Security doing to prepare for the possibility? Chertoff recites a long list, including scanning capability, the ability to disarm, better intelligence focus and better capability to make sure that the radioactive material in this country is properly accounted for and secured.

"With respect to biological agents, we've got widely deployed biological sensors, but we now want to move to the next generation of sensor, which would be quicker, cheaper and even easier to disperse. We're creating an integrated intelligence fusion capability focused on biological threats, so that we can merge intelligence, clinical information and sensor data in order to rapidly identify and characterize a biological attack."

Chertoff is not sleeping any better than he was last year at this time, but he's not sleeping any worse. He feels the pieces are being put in place to counter an attack from al Qaida, and win the war on terror.

But there is one lingering question that has yet to be answered: Will the nation remain focused enough to finish it?

"We're moving properly and efficiently, but it only works if we don't lose interest in it. If we decide that it's no longer a concern, then we're going to be putting ourselves in danger."

'Earth-Shattering' Events
~~~~~~~~

I think that the next administration won't view the threat as real and basically sideline homeland security, or use it solely for political purposes.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Iranian President Ahmadinejad has made a historic visit to Iraq

Iranian President Ahmadinejad received a warm welcome in Baghdad, Iraq on the first ever visit to Iraq by an Iranian President. This visit marking the culmination of a process of normalization between the two countries after the eight year long war they fought back in the 1980's.

At a joint news conference with Iraqi President Talabani, the Iranian President said that his visit to Iraq opened a new page in the Iraqi-Iranian relations and that the two nations were determined to strengthen their political and economic cooperation, adding that a united and powerful Iraq is in the interest of all countries in the region.

The Iraqi President Talabani, who warmly greeted the Iranian President, said that Ahmadinejad's visit to Iraq was truly an historic event.

The visit of an Iranian President to Iraq is not only an historic event, but a prophetic event as well.

Iranian President Ahmadinejad's state visit to Iraq, the first ever by an Iranian President, marks the end of normalization for the two Middle Eastern nations who fought an eight year long war that resulted in the deaths of millions of Iraqi's and Iranian's.

During Ahmadinejad's visit he called for the United States military to withdraw from Iraq so that this war-torn nation could rebuild itself and become a major power in the region.

President Ahmadinejad's counterpart in Iraq is President Talabani who you may recall is not only the President of Iraq but also the leader of the Kurdish people of Iraq. Let me remind you that the Iranians of today are the Persians of Biblical times. And the Kurds of northern Iraq are the Medes of Biblical times, the Medes and the Persians.

Ahmadinejad spoke prophetic words as he called for Iraq to become an economic and political powerhouse in the region. That's exactly what Bible prophecy says will happen. Iraq today was Babylon in Biblical times and will become the economic, political, governmental capital of the world in the last days.

Revelation 18 reveals this scenario, a scenario that calls for the world leader during that time to be the antichrist, who will set up his headquarters in Iraq or Biblical Babylon, only to have it destroyed in one hour, Revelation 18: 10, 17 and 19 and also Revelation 16:17-20.

By the way, the Medes will assist in that destruction and that's found in Jeremiah 51:11. The Medes in this passage are the Kurds of today. Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

[nChrist]

President Ahmadinejad's counterpart in Iraq is President Talabani who you may recall is not only the President of Iraq but also the leader of the Kurdish people of Iraq. Let me remind you that the Iranians of today are the Persians of Biblical times. And the Kurds of northern Iraq are the Medes of Biblical times, the Medes and the Persians.

Ahmadinejad spoke prophetic words as he called for Iraq to become an economic and political powerhouse in the region. That's exactly what Bible prophecy says will happen. Iraq today was Babylon in Biblical times and will become the economic, political, governmental capital of the world in the last days.

Revelation 18 reveals this scenario, a scenario that calls for the world leader during that time to be the antichrist, who will set up his headquarters in Iraq or Biblical Babylon, only to have it destroyed in one hour, Revelation 18: 10, 17 and 19 and also Revelation 16:17-20.

By the way, the Medes will assist in that destruction and that's found in Jeremiah 51:11. The Medes in this passage are the Kurds of today. Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

It's fascinating that the Holy Bible is 100% accurate - down to the most TINY detail. Christians of today are getting more and more concrete evidence by the day that the Holy Bible IS and ALWAYS has been THE ULTIMATE TRUTH OF ALL AGES! I just hope and pray that the lost will see this. As for Christians, our faith should be strengthened by the day.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Ephesians 1:18-23 NASB I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

[Soldier4Christ]

Britain to issue national ID cards

Britain will begin issuing national identity cards within months and target foreigners, airport staff and students in the first wave of the program, the government said yesterday.

Foreign nationals will need to provide fingerprints and personal data for a database linked to the plan starting in November, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said.

The program will cost an estimated $11.1 billion and involve the creation of a new national database, which will store a wide range of individual data.

Government ministers say the cards and database will help thwart terrorism, crime and illegal immigration. But opponents insist the system will be too expensive, provide little added security and erode personal freedom.

Foreigners from outside the European Economic Area — the 27-nation European Union plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein — deemed at most risk of committing immigration offenses will be targeted first, Mrs. Smith said, including those using student or marriage visas to live in Britain.

The identity cards will contain details of the holders' immigration status, entitlements and specifics on how long they can stay in Britain, she said.

Beginning in 2009, citizens of the European Economic Area who live in Britain and Britons working in secure sites, including some airport staffers, power station workers and staff at the London 2012 Olympics, will be required to sign up for identity cards.

Students and young people will be asked to join the program voluntarily starting in 2010, Mrs. Smith said.

She said that, starting in 2011, everyone in Britain applying to renew a passport will have his or her details added to the national database. She expects most people to be registered by 2017.

"As citizens, it will offer us a new, convenient, secure way to prove our identity," Mrs. Smith said.

Opposition lawmakers and civil liberties campaigners bitterly oppose the program; some question the government's ability to handle sensitive data.

In recent months, tax officials have lost sensitive information — including banking records — on nearly half the population; transport officials misplaced records of 3 million would-be drivers; and the Defense Ministry lost a laptop storing details of 600,000 military applicants.

"The National Identity Register, which will contain dozens of personal details of every adult in this country in one place, will be a severe threat to our security and a real target for criminals, hackers and terrorists," said David Davis, home affairs spokesman with the main opposition Conservative Party.

Mrs. Smith said internal government polling shows 60 percent of Britons support the idea.

[Shammu]

King Abdullah extends hand of friendship to Catholic Church
March 17, 2008
Richard Owen in Rome

The Vatican is believed to be holding talks with Saudi authorities over opening the first Roman Catholic church in the Islamic kingdom, where Christian worship is banned and even to possess a Bible, rosary or crucifix is an offence.

The disclosure came the day after the first Catholic church in Qatar was inaugurated in a service attended by 15,000 people and conducted by a senior Vatican official.

The Vatican and Saudi Arabia do not have diplomatic relations. However, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem, the Papal Nuncio to Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Yemen and Bahrain, who attended the Doha inauguration, said that moves towards diplomatic ties were under way after an unprecedented visit to the Vatican last November by King Abdullah. This would involve negotiations for the “authorisation of the building of Catholic churches” in Saudi Arabia, he said.

The move would amount to a potential revolution in Christian-Muslim relations, since Saudi Arabia adheres to a hardline Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam and is home to Mecca and Medina, the most holy sites of the religion. No faith other than Islam may be practised.

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said that he could not confirm that the two sides were in negotiations. However, he added: “If, as we hope, we reach an agreement authorising the construction of the first church in Saudi Arabia, it will be a step of historic importance.”

Saudi religious police search the homes of Christians regularly; even private prayer services are forbidden in practice. Foreign workers have to observe Ramadan but are not allowed to celebrate Christmas or Easter.

La Stampa, the Italian daily, said that the talks would have been “unthinkable” until recently. The way was paved by King Abdullah's talks with the Pope and by the recent setting up of a permanent Catholic-Muslim forum to repair relations between the two faiths after the Pope's controversial remarks on Islam at the University of Regensburg in 2006.

The Pope said that his apparent reference to Islam as inherently violent had been misunderstood and he made amends by praying at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul soon afterwards.

Of the Saudi Arabian population, 94 per cent are Muslim and less than 4 per cent - nearly a million people - Christian, nearly all of them foreign workers. The last Christian priest was expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1985.

Qtar, which hopes to bid to host the Olympic Games in 2016, has approved five churches for other Christian denominations, including the Anglican Communion.

Land of one faith

— Saudi laws do not recognise or protect freedom of religion. Non- nationals are severely restricted in practising different faiths

— Missionaries are banned and face imprisonment if caught. Sunni Muslims face severe repercussions from the Mutawwain, or religious police, for breaking Muslim law

— The official policy of allowing non-Muslims to worship freely at home is not reliably enforced

— In the courts, once fault is determined, a Muslim receives all of the amount of compensation determined, a Jew or Christian half, and all others a sixteenth

King Abdullah extends hand of friendship to Catholic Church

[Shammu]

Catholics & Muslims = beginnings of one world religion??

Hey Pope, since when do Christians fellowship with darkness??

[Maryjane]

Isn't it a blessing to know the sign of the Lord's coming is His very word when He told us.."I am coming Again"?

[Soldier4Christ]

 King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has called for an interfaith conference between Moslems, Christians and Jews

In a rare departure from government practice, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is planning to convene an interfaith conference that will include Moslems, Christians and even Jews and this conference has received a green light from Saudi Arabia's top Islamic clerics.

King Abdullah said that he had proposed to Pope Benedict a couple of months ago, the idea of a summit to promote religious dialog telling the Pope he wanted to address Allah by means of the Bible, the New Testament and the Koran. The Saudi monarch said that he is disturbed by the breakdown in the family unit across the world as well as the damage to the principle of loyalty to humanity and he wants to hold a number of these interfaith summits in the future.

An interfaith summit of Moslems, Christians and Jews led by the King of Saudi Arabia is a precursor to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

Recently, Pope Benedict announced the Vatican's plan to hold a conference where Christians and Moslems will get together to share what their two faiths have in common. The King wants to include Jews in the conference. King Abdullah says that an open discussion of the three faiths: Islam, Christianity and Judaism will promote a better understanding between them.

This proposed interfaith summit is preparing the world for the one world religion that is called for in Bible prophecy. Revelation 17 is the prophecy of the coming one world religion that will be headquartered in Rome, Italy. It will be a mother-son cult that was established 4,500 years ago in Babylon. This false religion will be led by the individual known in Bible prophecy by 27 names, the best known name, the Antichrist. Revelation 13 and in Daniel chapters 7 and 11 all give us prophetic Biblical passages about this coming world religious leader.

King Abdullah's call for this interfaith summit is indeed a precursor to Bible prophecy that will be fulfilled.

[nChrist]

YES - It appears that the times are getting near.

[Shammu]

Western Antarctic ice chunk collapses

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer 2 hours, 34 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.

Because scientists noticed satellite images within hours, they diverted satellite cameras and even flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse for rare pictures and video.

"It's an event we don't get to see very often," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple... That gets to be a runaway situation."

While icebergs naturally break away from the mainland, collapses like this are unusual but are happening more frequently in recent decades, Vaughan said. The collapse is similar to what happens to hardened glass when it is smashed with a hammer, he said.

The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it too may collapse. Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 2002 and 1995.

Vaughan had predicted the Wilkins shelf would collapse about 15 years from now. The part that recently gave way makes up about 4 percent of the overall shelf, but it's an important part that can trigger further collapse.

There's still a chance the rest of the ice shelf will survive until next year because this is the end of the Antarctic summer and colder weather is setting in, Vaughan said.

Scientists said they are not concerned about a rise in sea level from the latest event, but say it's a sign of worsening global warming.

Such occurrences are "more indicative of a tipping point or trigger in the climate system," said Sarah Das, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

"These are things that are not re-forming," Das said. "So once they're gone, they're gone."

Climate in Antarctica is complicated and more isolated from the rest of the world.

Much of the continent is not warming and some parts are even cooling, Vaughan said. However, the western peninsula, which includes the Wilkins ice shelf, juts out into the ocean and is warming. This is the part of the continent where scientists are most concern about ice-melt triggering sea level rise.

Western Antarctic ice chunk collapses

[Shammu]

Whoops there goes another piece of Antarctica.
Whoops there goes another piece of Antarctica.
But I got high hopes. I got high hopes. I got high
Apple pie in the sky hopes.
So any time you're feeling low
Instead of letting go,
Just remember that iceberg boom
Whoops there goes another piece of Antarctica.
Whoops there goes another piece of Antarctica.
Whoops there goes another piece of Antarctica............ Now!!

Global Warming is a hoax, when are these folks going to learn!! Polar ice sheets do these sorts of things, naturally.

[nChrist]

    

One set of reports from respected scientists states that the ice is actually 3 feet thicker this year than last year. This would be an overall figure, and isolating specific locations could lead to faulty and misleading information. However, I think we need to send Al Gore to PASTE this ice back on.