Quote: "Among the antiquities that have been damaged are a 7-meter-wide wall that apparently dates back to Second-Temple times and was likely part of the Temple courts, according to Israeli archaeologists from the nonpartisan Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount. "This is the first time in the history of archaeological excavation in Israel that we have remains that could have been part of the courts of the Temple itself," Barkai said. He added that it was unfathomable that Israel's top archaeological body was turning a blind eye to archaeological destruction at Judaism's holiest site. "All civilized people should stand up and protest this barbaric act," he said.

Members of the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Temple Mount are considering filing a complaint with the police and petitioning the Supreme Court in order to have the work stopped. The official Muslim view is that no Jewish Temples ever stood on the Temple Mount, and so any evidence to contrary must be suppressed by the Islamic Waqf. This is why Israeli excavations near the Temple Mount are vehemently protested by Muslims across the Middle East. Evidence of a Jewish presence on the Mount would bring Islamic claims of ownership into question. The Temple Mount is mentioned many times in the Bible, but it is not mentioned once in the Qur'an. The only reference is that of the prophet Mohammed's ascension into heaven from the "farthest mosque", which Muslims interpret to be a reference to the Temple Mount. Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement, who called for a Third Intifada to defend the Al Aqsa Mosque during Israeli excavations at the Mugrabi gate, is once again whipping up Islamic fervour over the holy place. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had previously stated Israel could hold joint authority over the Temple Mount. Salah is claiming that Israel wishes to divide the compound in order to build a Jewish Temple... 

Quote: "Salah called on Arab and Muslim nations to "prevent the division of the Al-Aqsa by Israel." In a letter to Arab kings and leaders of Muslim countries, Salah urged all Muslims to torpedo "Israel's plan that aims at dividing the Al-Aqsa Mosque between Muslims and Jews whereas in the Jewish part it plans to build its imaginary temple."

Source Jerusalem Post, YNet News

I have uploaded the last audio for the prophecy meeting we had on Wednesday in our assembly. The subject for the meeting was The Reign of 1000 Years. This was preceeded by a question and answer session on end time prophecy. You can download the files here (part 1, part 2). These are 32kps MP3 files. If your media player does not support them, download the audio program Audacity to play them.

The city of Manchester has been hit by an earthquake for the sixth time this month. According to the Reuters news article, Britain experiences around eight to nine minor earthquakes per year, with most usually occur in remote areas. But it seems earthquakes and other unusual phenomenon hitting major population centres is becoming more commonplace. Between October 2002 and January 2003, the Manchester region experienced around 150 minor tremors, one of which measured around 3.9 on the Richter Scale. At the beginning of Israel's disengagement from Gaza, Britain experienced two tornados in the cities of Birmingham and Bristol within the space of one week.

Quote: "People reported wardrobe doors rattling and buildings creaking as the earthquake measuring an initial 2.4 on the Richter scale shook the city centre at about 5:45 a.m. Julian Bukits, assistant seismologist at the British Geological Survey, said: "About a dozen people have contacted us saying they had heard faint to moderate rumbling." "It was a gentle wake-up call." It was the sixth earthquake to hit the city in the past month, all measuring between 1.4 and 2.5 magnitude.

In the Psalms, Isaiah, Zechariah and the book of Revelation, prophecies regarding the end times seem almost synonymous with an increase in earthquake activity. Isaiah 2:19-21, 13:13 and 24:18 state that during the tribulation period, the Lord will "arise to shake terribly the earth". Isaiah 24:19 says the earth is "moved exceedingly" and verse 20 says that the planet shall "reel to and fro like a drunkard" - perhaps literally out of its orbit as we witnessed in December 2005. Revelation 16:18-19 states that during the tribulation period, there will come an earthquake so great that it will destroy all the cities of earth. The earthquakes we are seeing now, in places where they would have previously been unheard of, are like birth pangs leading up to the tribulation period and the Second Coming of Christ to the earth. Are you ready to meet the Lord Jesus Christ? Have your sins been forgiven? Will you be taken to be with Christ, or will you be left behind to face the judgement of this world? Trust in Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Isaiah 24:17-18
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [are] upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, [that] he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.

Source Reuters

Quote: ""We are not talking about the first time this has happened," military correspondent Avi Yissacharov told Army Radio. "This phenomenon of Hamas paying ten shekels to children in order to retrieve the launchers has become the norm. The terrorists launch the rockets from afar via remote control and know that if they approach the launchers they will be hit, so they send young children."

It's not the first time Palestinian children have been caught in the cross fire of this deadly war. An eight year old boy and his six year old sister were killed by a Kassam rocket when it fell short of its target landing in the Gaza Strip. A Bedouin shepherd and his teenage son were recently killed after coming across an unexploded Kassam rocket. Not to mention the Gaza Beach incident, after which world leaders lashed out at Israel for supposedly killing an entire Palestinian family, but it later turned out that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian land mine intended for IDF forces. You would think that the deaths of children would convince the terrorist organizations to call a cease-fire. In any civilized culture this would be the case, but Palestinian mothers have stated that even if their children are killed by their own people, they will have died a martyr's death in the war against the Jews. Palestinian children are at the very forefront of this conflict. Hamas even runs a website encouraging children to become suicide bombers, filled with stories about child martyrs who sacrifice their own lives in order to kill Jews. Just today the IDF revealed it has prevented another suicide bombing attempt. The perpetrator was a 15 year old boy, who intended to detonate an explosives belt strapped to his waste in order to murder IDF soldiers...

Quote: "The IDF revealed Thursday that it foiled an attack by a would-be 15-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber who tried to attack soldiers operating in the northern Gaza Strip, Army Radio reported. The bomber was stopped overnight Tuesday as he approached soldiers, according to the IDF. He had reportedly strapped explosives to his body that he planned to detonate when he reached the force, the IDF said.

Dozens of people have also been killed as a result of Israel's unexploded cluster bombs in southern Lebanon. I have no idea why the government decided to use cluster bombs in the days leading up to the end of the war. I think it was a mistake to use them, especially when they have resulted in so many civilian deaths. But the difference between Israel and Palestinian terrorist organizations is, Israel does everything possible to avoid civilian deaths and apologizes when they occur, while Palestinian terrorist organizations actively seek to cause them. That is why there can be no moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorist organizations and Israel, and why Christians who support the Palestinian cause must justify murder.

Isaiah 5:20
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Source Arutz 7, Jewish Chronicle, Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Post, Mail & Guardian

"If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?" - Hebrews 12 V7

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent." - Revelation 3 V19

Do not be discouraged by the chastening of God, for God corrects those whom He loves. Repent! Come to Jesus. He has His arms open and all are invited. He came to seek and save the lost and sinful so even if you have something from the past that haunts you, do not be discouraged. Repent and seek forgiveness and Christ will forgive you of all your sins and He shall remember it no more. Time is running out, be zealous and repent!