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

[Soldier4Christ]

 Russia will hold a Middle East peace conference whether Israel likes it or not

A very defiant Russian Foreign Minister (FM) says that Russia is determined to go ahead with an international Middle East peace conference in Moscow this coming June, whether the Israelis like it or not and the FM Sergey Lavrov made that clear to Israeli officials on a recent visit in Jerusalem.

At the same time, Russia and Egypt have announced the signing a nuclear deal between the two countries with Russian President Vladimir Putin assuring Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak that Russia's overall foreign policy and energy policy will not change after Medvedev becomes president.

The Russians demanding an international Middle East peace conference in Moscow and signing a nuclear deal with Egypt is in reality a page out of Bible prophecy for the End Times.

On a recent trip to Jerusalem, the Russian FM was very demanding in that the Russians will hold an international Middle East peace conference in Moscow this next summer as a follow-up to the Annapolis Middle East Summit in the US last Fall. Russia is watching Iran become more influential in the Middle East with its connections to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza and in Iraq. The Russian leadership of Putin and Medvedev want to bring Iran under control and make certain of their position in the Middle East, thus the plan for the summit in Moscow.

This scenario is truly a page out of Bible prophecy. The ancient Jewish prophet Ezekiel wrote 2,500 years ago of a coalition of nations that will form an alignment against the Jewish state of Israel, Ezekiel 38. Ezekiel 38:2 introduces Gog, the leader, in the land of Magog, the place, and Bible geography reveals that Magog is modern-day Russia. Ezekiel 38:5 mentions Persia, modern-day Iran, and Daniel 11 and Psalm 83 mention the other nations that Russia will lead against Israel.

Russia's demand for an international Middle East peace conference does indeed set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Heavy fighting in Southern Iraq between Iraqi security forces and Islamic Messiah's Army has caused concern across the world

Recent reports of intensive exchanges of gunfire in Southern Iraq between the Iraqi security forces and the Mahdi Army, the Islamic militia of the Shiite radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr who is also a political leader in Iraq, has retained the world's attention as this radical Islamic cleric pursues more power both religiously and politically.

The Mahdi Army, the Messiah's Army in English, has been the most fierce of militias in Iraq and had been quiet during a recent cease fire arranged by Muqtada al Sadr, a cease fire that seems to have been broken. The main fighting has been centered in Bosra which is where a major oil pipeline is located which the Iraqi forces are seeking to defend, while at the same time, in Sadr City, a section of Baghdad, there are additional clashes between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi security forces.

The fighting for control of war torn Iraq and its vast oil fields is a scenario that is key to understanding the prophetic scenario for Iraq that is found in Bible prophecy.

The radical Islamic cleric Muqtada al Sadr and his Mahdi Army have been waging an ongoing battle for the religious and political control of Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The Arabic word Mahdi means, "Messiah" and Muqtada al Sadr believes this is a battle to control Iraq in the final days of history before Allah, the Islamic god, sets up his Islamic kingdom here on Earth.

Islamic eschatology has an interesting parallel to true Biblical eschatology, eschatology of course, the study of End Time events. In Biblical eschatology, Iraq, modern-day Biblical Babylon, will be the center of world power as the coming false messiah, the Antichrist, will set up his headquarters in Babylon, located on the Euphrates River in Iraq just outside of Baghdad, Revelation 16 and 18. Jeremiah 50 and 51 says that Babylon will be destroyed just prior to the Return of Jesus Christ to the Earth.

The control of Iraq and its vast oil fields is on the agenda of events that will indeed set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Middle East Peace Envoy Tony Blair tells Israel to drop it's indifference and skepticism about the prospects for peace with the Palestinians

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now the Middle East Peace Envoy for the Quartet, has told the Israeli's that they need to make a psychological shift from indifference and skepticism about the prospects of progress with the Palestinians to an active determination to make it happen on the right terms.

Blair, in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, said that Israel, which will be 60 years old next May, would absolutely still be here in another 60 years but that to guarantee it's long-term security, he believes that Israel needs a viable Palestinian state.

The recent exhortation to Israel from Middle East Peace envoy Tony Blair, that Israel can have peace with the Palestinians, has positive and negative prophetic significance, that is according to Bible prophecy.

After serving a number of years as the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair was named as the Middle East Peace Envoy for the Quartet, which includes the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

The peace envoy believes that the Israeli's and the Palestinians can co-exist in the Middle East into the future. This thought pattern displayed by Blair is in contradiction to Bible prophecy.

The ancient Jewish prophet's wrote that the Jews, descendants of Jacob, and the Palestinians, descendants of Esau will continue to fight each other until the Messiah, Jesus Christ comes back to earth, Malachi 1:2-4, Ezekiel 35 and Obediah.

Tony Blair's position as Middle East Peace Envoy is a prototype for a leader who will come to power out of the Revived Roman Empire, that would be the European Union, today, and will indeed establish a peace; howbeit a short-term peace between the Jewish state of Israel and it's Arab and Moslem neighboring states. This scenario is found in Daniel 7 and also Daniel 9:27.

Let me hasten to say; however, I do not believe that that leader, the Antichrist, will be fulfilled by Tony Blair, but indeed he is a perfect prototype. Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

[Shammu]

'We Make Our Own Heaven'
Atheist Minority Finds Spiritual Home in Palo Alto
By JOHN DONVAN and STEVEN BAKER

March 28, 2008—

It is hard not to notice the bells that ring on Sunday morning. But at churches, synagogues and mosques around the globe there are some for whom that religion is lost. This group is part of America's atheist minority.

While Christians, Muslims and Jews can celebrate their beliefs, and fellowship in the company of others in churches, mosques and synagogues, where can non-believers find a spiritual home?

One answer lies in Palo Alto, Calif., if you spot the sign by the roadside. It's at the Humanist Community, where for a few hours every Sunday the humanists, as they call themselves, come together in what one might call a congregation. It even has its own Sunday school.

Without church bells, but with music, this group of humanists believe in a lot of things  but God isn't one of them.

Eight-year-old: "I Like To Think Freely"

They get together and, with lectures for the older congregants and stories and games for the younger ones, discuss not their faith, but the opposite of faith -- the idea that truth arises from reason, from science, from free thought.

"I like to think freely, but still I can really think freely whenever I want 'cause I think thinking freely is good," said eight-year-old Jane Kovak, one of the humanists' younger congregants. Jane's parents, John and Kimberly teach in the community.

"I don't believe there is a God," Jane continues, "but there is a possibility that there can be. I don't really think there is."

When Time magazine wrote up their version of the Humanist Center and called it Atheist Sunday School, some at the center took issue at the description, because humanism, they say, is so much more than atheism.

The Atheist Named Bishop

Peter Bishop is the group's intellectual guide. "People are the force for good in the world and so I believe in people that their goodness will create the goodness that we have in the world," he says.

Bishop is an MIT graduate who works now as a software writer in Silicon Valley. His parents encouraged the idea of free thought during his childhood.

What's interesting about this non-church is some of its churchlike aspects. There's a hymn book, talks that sound like homilies and, at one point, an actual collection plate passed through the aisles after one song.

And of course, there's the atheist named Bishop. The manner in which he teaches is similar to how some fired-up preachers preach. But if he's not preaching faith and he has a Sunday school, what is Bishop teaching?

"Community," he said, "a sense of community, that they get to know other kids& It's a place where, I don't know, Jane, what do you think?"

"It's cool 'cause you can, like, think freely by yourself," she said.

Too Young to Not Believe?

Some outside the church might take issue with the humanist teachings being taught to a child as young as Jane.

One congregant disagrees. "I do believe that this is important to start when they are very, very young," said Beverly Crowell, a member of the congregation. "Because our culture, especially now, is so permeated with religion views, and so in order to counteract that with children that are malleable and very impressive or impressionable, it's good to get them early and teach them that they can be individuals on their own."

But if people want to believe in God, why not?

"Oh absolutely, if they get comfort from that... more power to them, I think that's wonderful, I don't get anything from that," said Crowell. "The way they do, I'm not impressed. I believe we make our own heaven right here, or hell, and I said, I'm going to come back in an afterlife as a leaf on a tree."

Religious Decision up to Humanist

As for Jane, her parents believe that her religious beliefs, or lack thereof, should be up to her.

"They have had many discussions about this, and we've had our discussions too," said her mother. "I think that we just give our view, I always tell Jane that she has to make up her own mind, she has to experience her experiences -- figure it out for herself."

And Jane is doing just that -- trying to figure out for herself the answers to life's difficult questions, like what happens when people die. "Well, usually you kind of go in the earth, but I don't believe that heaven's not really real," she says. "It would be cool if it was real. But there is a possibility that it is real, but I don't think so. "

'We Make Our Own Heaven'

[Soldier4Christ]

 The Israeli government has allowed Hamas to broadcast incitement against the Jews from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Rabbi Chaim Richmond, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and leader of the Temple Institute, claims that the Israeli government is responsible for allowing Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization, to broadcast live from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem while at the same time Jews and Christians were banned from the holy site.

Rami Kaoud, a manager of Hamas-al Aqsa Radio, said that broadcasting daily from the Temple Mount helps to bring al Aqsa to the Gaza Strip and to challenge the siege imposed on the Palestinian people by the Zionist state of Israel.

Live radio broadcast by the Palestinian terror group Hamas from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is evidence of the nearness of both the positive and negative scenarios that can be found in Bible prophecy for the Last Days.

For a number of years, the Palestinian Authority has broadcast the Friday Moslem services from the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Now, the Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas, has been granted permission to broadcast live and daily to the Hamas followers in the Gaza Strip from the Temple Mount.

In a joint statement by the New Jewish Congress, the different Jewish Temple Movements and the Sanhedrin, they claimed that the Israeli government has decided to give over the Temple Mount, the apple of the Jewish nation's eye, for the use of enemy incitement as Hamas calls for the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel.

There is a positive and negative aspect to this story as it relates to the prophetic scenarios that can be found in bible prophecy for the Last Days.

The ancient Jewish prophet Micah revealed that the Word of the Lord, Word from the Messiah, will go forth from the House of the Lord, the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, in the future Kingdom Period, Micah 4:1-2.

However, this story also reveals to us that the Palestinian people, people in Biblical times known as Edomites, descendants of Esau; these Palestinians would call for the destruction of the Jewish state and the demise of the Jewish people in the Last Days, Ezekiel 35.

Live radio broadcasts by Hamas from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is indeed evidence that Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

[nChrist]

There is a positive and negative aspect to this story as it relates to the prophetic scenarios that can be found in bible prophecy for the Last Days.

The ancient Jewish prophet Micah revealed that the Word of the Lord, Word from the Messiah, will go forth from the House of the Lord, the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, in the future Kingdom Period, Micah 4:1-2.

However, this story also reveals to us that the Palestinian people, people in Biblical times known as Edomites, descendants of Esau; these Palestinians would call for the destruction of the Jewish state and the demise of the Jewish people in the Last Days, Ezekiel 35.

Live radio broadcasts by Hamas from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is indeed evidence that Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

We are seeing the ABSOLUTE TRUTH of the HOLY BIBLE, and all was foretold perfectly thousands of years ago. As Christians, our Faith should be stronger than ever!, even for some of the doubting Thomas' in our ranks. HOWEVER, we could all go back to the time of the CROSS and see that the HOLY BIBLE CONFIRMED ITSELF perfectly countless times. It was far beyond coincidence or probability - BEYOND ANYTHING THAT MAN COULD EVEN MEASURE! We have the ULTIMATE TRUTH - GOD'S WORD!

[Soldier4Christ]

 A pamphlet is being distributed in synagogues across Judea and Samaria calling for a second Jewish state

There is a campaign underway in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, to choose a flag and anthem for the new Jewish state that is being planned in the event the Israeli government follows through on promises made at the Annapolis Peace Summit to withdraw all Jews from the settlements in Judea and Samaria.

The initiative, published in the pamphlet, "Our Land of Israel", which is distributed in synagogues on the Sabbath, is offering a prize of several thousand shekels to be awarded to the participant whose design is adopted. Rabbi Dov Wolpe, the spokesperson for this initiative, says the only solution is to declare the establishment of an autonomous Jewish state in Judea and Samaria that will unite the Jewish settlements as a state to be.

The very serious initiative to establish a second Jewish state in Judea and Samaria is in perfect harmony with the End Time scenario that can be found in Bible prophecy.

In the aftermath of the Middle East Peace Summit held in Annapolis, Maryland recently, there is a major move among rabbis in the Judea and Samaria region to establish a second Jewish state as an alternative to the proposed withdrawal of the Jewish settlements from the region. The possibility of a second Jewish state in Judea and Samaria has been discussed for a number of years, but the concessions made by the Israeli government to the Palestinians to remove the Jewish settlers for a future Palestinian state has now put in motion a serious plan to erect this state to be.

As I previously mentioned, this initiative is in perfect harmony with Bible prophecy. The ancient Jewish prophets, Malachi, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all wrote about a second Jewish state during the End Times near the time of the Coming of the Messiah, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Malachi 2, Jeremiah 3 and Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel wrote that the two states would be called Israel and Judah, Ezekiel 37:15-23.

The concessions by the Israeli government and the Jewish settler's initiative for a second Jewish state has indeed set the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.

[Maryjane]

Everyday the Lord gives me..I look around and a person would have to be blind not to see all that is happening in this world that leads to the Lord's return..You can see it on the faces of those who choose not to trust the Lord and it is accepted that Christianity is a myth..or just legend..It is normal for people to pick what they choose to believe in..even a cat that one feeds and grooms better than half this world grooms their children is a religion to some..not to mention depending on self...We cry Lord come quickly when we see the horror of murders in our country..sensless murders and crimes that are put on TV to exalt the criminal..Most of the TV shows are crime investigation and countless interviews involving orible crimes..This is watched by milions daily..No wonder chidren treat it as normal and want to pattern themselves after what they think is "cool".. it is said in the Word nothing is new under the sun..So..crime has gone on and on..wars have gone on and on..BUT..Through it all..we do not have to be anxious for anything for we know the Lord is coming..He said so and He keeps His word..The Lord has told us to spread the gospel..to live holy for He is Holy..We have been given all we need to fulfill the purpose He has given us..This world will not change for it is not ours..our home is heavenly and praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ who gives us grace to endure til His coming..We know He is coming for the sign He gave is an empty tomb..

[nChrist]

AMEN MARYJANE!

[Soldier4Christ]

 A new movie and television special presents an Islamic Jesus to the Moslem world

A film producer, who shares the ideas of Iran's hard-line president, has produced what he says is the first film giving an Islamic view of Jesus Christ in a bid to show the common ground, he says, between Moslems and Christians.

The film, Jesus the spirit of Allah, and it's television version which will further explore the links between Jesus and the Immam Mahdi, the Moslem Messiah, who will usher in, with Jesus, a new era of peace and harmony.

The film and TV version of the Islamic Jesus says that Jesus was not crucified but was taken by Allah directly into heaven to await His return with the Islamic Messiah.

An Islamic Jesus, who did not die on a cross and resurrect from the dead, is not the Jesus of the Bible, and a film depicting such a Jesus to the Moslem world has great prophetic significance for the end times.

In an effort to make a bridge between Christianity and Islam, despite the stark divergence from Christian doctrine about the final hours of Jesus Christ before His death, the Iranian film producer believes he can open the door for dialog between Christians and Moslems.

The film, by saying that Allah saved Jesus from death on a cross with Judas taking His place, is a stark contradiction to the Bible records in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the foundation of the Christian faith.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians two thousand years ago that if Jesus Christ did not die and resurrect from the dead, He was not the Son of God and we Christians are still in sin, I Corinthians 15:1-20.

In that same letter to the Christians in Corinth, Paul wrote of the Rapture of the Church, I Corinthians 15:51-53, when Jesus will take us from Earth to Heaven to be with Him forevermore. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a must if the Rapture is to take place.

Anyone, Islamists or whomever, who says that Jesus Christ did not die and raise from the dead is of an Anti-Christ philosophy, I John 2.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

There is no LINK or BRIDGE between GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT with islam. islam is a BLASPHEMY TO THE HOLY TRINITY, most especially to JESUS CHRIST! islam is anti-CHRIST - plain, blunt, and simple! This is really the end of the story and all we need to know about a completely FALSE RELIGION!

[Maryjane]

Amen BEP..There is no bridge nor comparrison..

[Soldier4Christ]

 Global Jihad is on the rise

Islamic expert and historian Bernard Lewis and former CIA director James Woolsey, both speaking at the Herzliya Conference in Israel, warned that global Jihad was on the rise, with Lewis adding that the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 signified the first major victory in the global Islamic push toward that goal.

Lewis said that the whole Arab and Muslim world is experiencing the second stage of the Islamic revolution in Iraq and James Woolsey lamented the fate of Europe which he sees as already having been compromised in what he calls World War IV, the third having been the Cold War. Both Lewis and Woolsey warned that the Iranian Shiite sect is not the only threat posed by Islam, they included the radical Wahabism of the Sunni sect of Islam as well.

The warning of a global Jihad, a worldwide holy war, from a former director of the world's largest intelligence agency has a similarity to the prophetic scenario that is found in Bible prophecy for the End Times.

At the Herzliya Conference in Israel, a gathering of academics, politicos, military personnel and the media, the warning of a global Jihad on the near horizon rang out through the meeting halls of the conference confirmed by two experts on Islam. All of the Islamic world, including the Shiite sect as well as the Sunni sect are preparing for what the ancient Jewish prophet Joel revealed would happen in the Last Days.

Joel, in chapter 2:2-3, reveals the prophecy of the largest military militia ever to move on the Earth, they will make their way towards Jerusalem to destroy the Jewish state. This army will be a Muslim army as confirmed by the nations involved in the alignment of nations found in Daniel 11, Ezekiel 38, and Psalm 83. Ezekiel 38:18-39:6 says that this Muslim militia involved in global Jihad will be destroyed early on in the seven year Tribulation Period soon after the Rapture.

The warning of the rise of global Jihad is evidence we're quickly approaching the time when Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

[HisDaughter]

Bio-chip implant arrives for cashless transactions
Announcement at global security confab unveils syringe-injectable ID microchip
 
Posted: November 21, 2003 -7:42 p.m. Eastern
By Sherrie Gossett
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
 

At a global security conference held today in Paris, an American company announced a new syringe-injectable microchip implant for humans, designed to be used as a fraud-proof payment method for cash and credit-card transactions.
The chip implant is being presented as an advance over credit cards and smart cards, which, absent biometrics and appropriate safeguard technologies, are subject to theft, resulting in identity fraud.
Identity fraud costs the banking and financial industry some $48 billion a year, and consumers $5 billion, according to 2002 Federal Trade Commission estimates.

Verichip portable reader
In his speech today at the ID World 2003 conference in Paris, France, Scott R. Silverman, CEO of Applied Digital Solutions, called the chip a "loss-proof solution" and said that the chip's "unique under-the-skin format" could be used for a variety of identification applications in the security and financial worlds.
The company will have to compete, though, with organizations using just a fingerprint scan for similar applications.
The ID World Conference, held yesterday and today at the Charles de Gaulle Hilton, focused on current and future applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, biometrics, smart cards and data collection.
The company's various "VeriChips" are RFID chips, which contain a unique identification number and can carry other personal data about the implantee. When radio-frequency energy passes from a scanner, it energizes the chip, which is passive (not independently powered), and which then emits a radio-frequency signal transmitting the chip's information to the reader, which in turn links with a database.
ADS has previously touted its radio frequency identification (RFID) chips for secure building access, computer access, storage of medical records, anti-kidnapping initiatives and a variety of law-enforcement applications. The company has also developed proprietary hand-held readers and portal readers that can scan data when an implantee enters a building or room.

Verichip pocket reader
The "cashless society" application is not new – it has been discussed previously by Applied Digital. Today's speech, however, represented the first formal public announcement by the company of such a program.
In announcing VeriPay to ID World delegates, Silverman stated the implant has "enormous marketplace potential" and invited banking and credit companies to partner with VeriChip Corporation (a subsidiary of ADS) in developing specific commercial applications beginning with pilot programs and market tests.
Applied Digital's announcement in Paris suggested wireless technologies, RFID development, new software solutions, smart-card applications and subdermal implants might one day merge as the ultimate solution for a world fraught with identity theft, threatened by terrorism, buffeted by cash-strapped governments and law-enforcement agencies looking for easy data-collection, and corporations interested in the marketing bonanza that cutting-edge identification, payment, and location-based technologies can afford.

Verichip
Cashless payment systems are now part of a larger technology development subset: government identification experiments that seek to combine cashless payment applications with national ID information on media (such as a "smart" card), which contain a whole host of government, personal, employment and commercial data and applications on a single, contactless RFID chip.
In some scenarios, government-corporate coalitions are advocating such a chip be used by employees also to access entry to their workplace and the company computer network, reducing the cost outlay of the corporations for individual ID cards.
Malaysia's "MyKad" national ID "smart" card is the foremost example.
Meanwhile, privacy advocates have expressed concern over RFID technology rollouts, citing database concerns and the specter of individuals' RFID chips being read without permission by people who have their own hand-held readers.
Several privacy and civil liberties groups have recently called for a voluntary moratorium on RFID tagging "until a formal technology assessment process involving all stakeholders, including consumers, can take place." Signatories to the petition include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Privacy International and the Foundation for Information Policy Research, a British think tank.
Commenting on today's announcement, Richard Smith, a computer industry consultant, referred to what some "netizens" are already calling "chipectomies": "VeriChips can still be stolen. It's just a bit gruesome when to think how the crooks will do these kinds of robberies."
Citing MasterCard's PayPass, Smith pointed out that most of the major credit-card companies are looking at RFID chips to make credit cards quicker, easier, and safer to use.
"The big problem is money," said Smith. "It will take billions of dollars to upgrade the credit-card networks from magstripe readers to RFID readers. During the transition, a credit card is going to need both a magstripe and an RFID chip so that it is universally accepted."
Some industry professionals advocate having citizens pay for combined national ID/cashless pay chips, which would be embedded in a chosen medium.
Identification technologies using RFID can take a wide variety of physical forms and show no sign yet of coalescing into a single worldwide standard.
Prior to today's announcement, Art Kranzley, senior vice president at MasterCard, commented on the Pay Pass system in a USA Today interview: "We're certainly looking at designs like key fobs. It could be in a pen or a pair of earrings. Ultimately, it could be embedded in anything – someday, maybe even under the skin."


Also check out this link:
http://www.revlu.com/grail.html

[nChrist]

Hello Grammyluv,

Thanks! This was a fascinating article and just more evidence that the world is getting ripe for the end of this Age of Grace. As we already know, every world system that is designed by mankind will be a horrible failure.

ONLY JESUS CHRIST is capable of ruling and reigning over the world, and HE Will one day soon.

Love In Christ,
Tom