For those in Northern Ireland, Shalom Messianic Fellowship will meet this Friday the 20th July 2007 at 7:30pm sharp. The meeting will be held in Donaghadee Community Centre. This week's teaching will be on the "Biblical Shabbat". Everyone is welcome. For further details please contact Jim on: 07841803856

Tony Blair is due to travel to the Middle East tomorrow, on what will be his first visit to the region as Special Envoy for the Quartet (EU, US, UN, Russia). He has received strong backing in his new role from the United States, when it was announced that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would be aiding him in his dealings with the Palestinian Authority. Previously US diplomats had stated that Blair would not be involved in mediating a covenant between Israel and the Palestinians, and that this role would remain the sole domain of the Secretary of State. Javier Solana, the High Representative for the European Common, Foreign and Security Policy, had also objected to Tony Blair's new role, fearing it would detract from his own efforts in the region. Perhaps that is the reason why Solana will accompany Blair on his trip to the region this Wednesday.

Quote: "On Solana's trip to the region, he will hold talks with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. On Thursday, he plans to travel to Portugal for a meeting of senior officials from the EU, United Nations, Russia and United States - the powers that make up the Quartet of would-be Middle East peacemakers. "We are going into a very critical and decisive phase there," said Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. Amado told a panel of the European Parliament that he hoped the Lisbon meeting would "give a new boost to the peace process."

Blair's mission to the Middle East will be officially launched in Lisbon on Thursday, following a meeting of the Quartet to discuss recent developments in the region - namely, the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, money transfers to the new Palestinian Authority government, the situation in the Gaza Strip and the election of Shimon Peres as President. Blair is intending to spend much of his time in the Middle East, and knowing Blair, I believe this may give a significant boost to the peace process in the region. 

Quote: "Blair said he would stay in the region for one week every month. He has appointed as his chief of staff Nick Banner, who worked with Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Blair's foreign policy adviser in Downing Street. He intends to add staff members from the USAID agency, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia. A suitable building for Blair's office in Jerusalem has not yet been found due to high real estate prices.

I thought the last quote was interesting. It reminds me of the passage which states that Jerusalem will become the base of the Antichrist during the tribulation period. 

Daniel 11:45
And he (Antichrist) shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Zechariah 8:3
Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

Source International Herald Tribune, Haaretz

A second strong earthquake shook Japan on Monday just hours after an earlier tremor killed at least seven people, injured hundreds of others and sparked a fire and leak at a large nuclear power plant.

Quote: "In addition to offering new ideas for progress, Bush's speech is also expected to include demands from Israel. "In the past, it had been clear who the good guys and the bad guys were, and so long as Yasser Arafat and [later] Hamas were in power in the Palestinian Authority," that was the case, the senior political source said late Sunday night. "Now, Bush needs to relate to the two sides as equals," the source added.

And as I commented yesterday, President Shimon Peres - who's name means "Hearkening to Division" - is already doing exactly that, stating that Israel needs to "get rid of the territories" as soon as possible. His statement, coming on the day of his inauguration, has angered many Israelis who feel that Peres is using his new position to further his political goals, rather than taking an independent stance as head of state for all of the Israeli people. 

Quote: "President Shimon Peres spoke with the Associated Press earlier Sunday, and was quoted as saying "we have to get rid of the territories... I shall respect the minority, I shall not insult them... I changed my position. I didn't change my beliefs."

This shared "vision" of two states, living side by side in peace and security, is nothing more than a satanically-inspired mirage. It reminds me of the Scripture in Psalms 2:1-2, "why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed (Jesus Christ)". The political leaders of this world have imagined a "vain thing", that they can divide God's land and somehow make peace in the Middle East. To the average person their goal is a noble task, but through this endeavour Satan is aiming for nothing less than the destruction of the state of Israel, and the prevention of Christ's return to earth to set up His Kingdom on earth. The Bible states what shall be the end result of their efforts. Like a spiritual chess game, the Lord always reserved the last move for Himself. "Yet have I set my king (Jesus Christ) upon my holy hill of Zion", Psalm 2:6. The Psalm refers to the prophecy of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth, when He will stand upon the Mount of Olives. And in that one act, a six thousand year period of earth's history will be finished. Will you be with Christ on that day as man's final chapters of history come to a close, or like so many in Christ's parables who died in their sins, will you find yourself cast into outer darkness where there is weeping, and wailing and gnashing of teeth? Trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation today. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation (2nd Corinthians 6:2).

Zechariah 14:4-5
And his (Christ's) feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which [is] before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee [to] the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, [and] all the saints with thee.

Source White House, Haaretz, YNet News