Quote: "Mr Blair told MPs: "The absolute priority is to try to give effect to what is now the consensus across the international community - that the only way of bringing stability and peace to the Middle East is a two-state solution."

As a Christian, the above statement makes me particularly sad. Tony Blair has said that he will be working towards a two-state solution, which we know according to Scripture, will bring about the division of God's land during the tribulation period and result in a time of great tribulation for the nation of Israel. This of course, is all according to God's ultimate plan. But what makes me particularly sad is a former Prime Minister, who claims to be a Christian, making such a statement. And this is also a personal issue for me, for I have in the past emailed and posted letters to Tony Blair on this very issue, pleading with him to work towards peace in the Middle East, and not to divide God's land. 

Letter 1 - emailed 11/04/05 

Letter 2 - posted 25/11/05

At the time of writing, I had no idea the Prime Minister would finish his career and head to the Middle East as a Special Envoy for peace. Although I didn't receive any reply or notification from Downing Street that they received my letters, I hope and pray that Tony Blair had opportunity to read them, and to hear his need of salvation if he is not saved.

Quote: ""Hamas does not want peace with Israel," he pointed out. "It is continuing its terrorist activities, and moderate Palestinians are unable to do anything about [the situation], even though they want peace." Yadlin added that he does not believe a political agreement with the PA is in Israel's best interest. "If Israel withdraws from the West Bank," he warned, "what happened in Gaza will happen there."

This news comes as Israeli Prime Minister Olmert boasts that he has created the prospect of peace from the overthrow of Fatah in the Gaza Strip. During his summit in Egypt with Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian representatives, the Israeli Prime Minister promised to release 250 Fatah prisoners from jail as part of a gesture to the maligned President Abbas. He also released over $350 million in tax revenues to help bolster the Palestinian Authority government.

Quote: ""Within eight days Olmert has managed to turn the downfall of Fatah in the Gaza Strip into an opportunity for peace. He's got the backing of the United States, the Quartet and now the moderate Arab states as well," said a senior aide to the prime minister after the summit.

Some Israeli politicians criticized the move, claiming it will do nothing to strengthen Abbas, and will make Israel's security situation worse. And living in a state which has had its own share of prisoner release schemes, courtesy of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, I can understand that view completely. The Bible states that during the tribulation period, the situation in Judea will grow much worse. The Lord said of it, that then there would be "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be", Matthew 24:21. We are not told the exact circumstances of what brings this about. But as the international community presses Israel to divide God's land, and Islamic extremism continues to fester in Gaza and other regions, it seems the situation can only grow worse.

Psalm 2:1-6
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, [saying], Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

Source Arutz 7, YNet News

Israeli military intelligence has projected that a major attack could come from any of five adversaries in the Middle East. Officials said such a strike could spark a war as early as July 2007.

On Sunday, Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet that the Jewish state faces five adversaries in what could result in an imminent confrontation. Yadlin cited Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Hamas and Al Qaida.

Quote: ""Just glance at a map of the areas most likely to be affected and you are struck at once by the fact that they are exactly those parts of the world where we see fragility, instability and weak governance today. "It seems to me rather like pouring petrol onto a burning fire," Stirrup told the Chatham House think-tank in London.

His comments came as torrential rains brought severe flooding to England, resulting in the deaths of three people and causing much devastation. In Sheffield, hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes over fears that a dam wall, cracked by the weight of water it is holding back, may soon collapse. In the same city, at least a thousand people have been displaced from their homes, due to rising flood levels. In my own country last week, over a month's worth of rain fell in a few hours, causing severe flooding. The roof of a shopping centre in Belfast collapsed with the weight of the rain, and sewers outside my house burst, turning the road into a river and filling a local pond with effluent. The rain storm, which brought continuous rain for around week, was preceded by exceptionally hot weather, and a massive thunderstorm which destroyed electronic equipment across the province.

Quote: "Heavy rainfall caused massive flooding across England on Monday, killing at least two people and leaving hundreds of people stranded in factories and offices, officials said. Rainstorms dumped as much as 3 inches of rain on a country already soggy from an exceptionally wet June, Britain's weather office said.

Some Christian seem to think global warming is a hoax. I believe it is real, although I wouldn't necessarily attribute the cause of it to mankind. The Bible states that during the last days, world climate conditions will be dramatically altered. During the tribulation period there will be extreme heat waves (Revelation 16:8), killer hail storms (Revelation 16:21) and the drying up of the Euphrates river (Revelation 16:12). The Lord sums in up in Matthew 24:29, "the powers of the heavens shall be shaken". I believe as Christ's Second Coming to earth draws closer, world weather patterns will become more and more adverse. Today people blame mankind and its pollutants for the global warming crisis, but during the tribulation period the blame will be transferred. Men will one day recognize why all these things are coming upon them, and will "blaspheme God, who has power over these plagues", Revelation 16:9,21. Sad to say Revelation records that they still refuse to repent of their sins, and turn to their Creator for salvation.

Source Reuters, Guardian, Reuters, BBC