Sorry I haven't updated much today. Once again I am feeling a little down because of my own failure to do right. Yesterday I had the joy of the Lord, and Satan was quick to snatch it away again. It's so true, "the joy of the Lord is your strength", Nehemiah 8:10. And when I sin, I loose the joy, and there goes my strength just as Samson lost his. But as the Lord said, if we keep His commandments we shall abide in His love, and our joy will be full (John 15:11-12). If there is anything lacking in my life, it is that.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to the Middle East this weekend, on what is expected to be the final leg of her visit ahead of the international peace conference. She will be pressing the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams to finalize a joint-statement, which will be signed by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the peace conference later this month.

Quote: "U.S. officials expect Rice's third visit in six weeks to the region will result in a document filled with general principles to kick off negotiations on a Palestinian state, but with few hard-core specifics. "They are wisely reducing the bar on expectations. They are now dropping it so low it could hit them on the head. But that is wise," said Middle East expert Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution's Saban Center, a former CIA analyst. Rice is due to arrive in Jerusalem late on Saturday after attending an Iraq conference in Turkey, where she is set to hold a string of bilateral meetings on her peace efforts. On Sunday, Rice will address a conference in Jerusalem where she is expected to push both sides to make bold compromises and agree to meet commitments under a long-stalled 2003 "road map" peace plan, including a halt to Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and a Palestinian crackdown on militants.

As the saying goes, third time lucky. Unfortunately up until now those involved in this Middle East peace process have been experiencing anything but luck. The last time US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel, wildfires were sweeping across the state of California, destroying much property and causing billions of dollars worth of damage. That same week Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was diagnosed with prostrate cancer, his announcement to the public coming one week later. It's happened too many times to be a mere coincidence. As the nations gamble over the division of God's land, you can be sure that more catastrophes like these will occur, for the Scriptures prophesied this would happen.

Zechariah 12:3
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

Source Reuters

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has drafted a plan that will strengthen Palestinian institutions as part of the European Union's contribution to the US-lead Middle East peace conference. Steinmeier first published the document in a German newspaper some weeks ago, and it has been formally approved at a meeting of the European Foreign Ministers. The German Foreign Minister presented his plan to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad today, during a two day visit to the region. He also plans to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, as well as his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, Tzipi Livni and Riad Malki.

Quote: "German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Wednesday to present a EU plan for boosting U.S.-led Mideast peace efforts. Under the plan devised by Steinmeier, the EU would try to strengthen small and mid-sized Palestinian businesses, West Bank universities, the police and other institutions. 

It sounds ominous, but I haven't been able to find much detail on the internet for this other than what is quoted in this article. But a statement I made a few days ago comes to mind, "...perhaps bribery may play a part in the formulation of a deal. If Israeli and Palestinian leaders find a sudden willingness to negotiate, you will know that the EU will have had something to do with that". There is no doubt Abbas will find it hard to turn down the offer of economic aid in return for agreeing to peace with Israel. And that's the situation the Scriptures prophesy will occur. The Antichrist, a European leader, is prophesied to "confirm" or strengthen an agreement with many nations for one week. Perhaps this may not be the actual fulfilment of this prophecy, but it does indicate that Europe is in such a position to fulfill it in the near future.

Daniel 9:27
And he shall confirm (strengthen) the covenant with many (nations) for one week (seven years): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Source IHT

AFP

LONDON (AFP) — King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is to meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday to discuss the Middle East peace process and counter-terrorism amid a state visit that has sparked protests and controversy.

On the second official day of his trip to London, the monarch is also to meet with Prince Charles and opposition Conservative Party leader David Cameron.

His discussions with Brown will centre on counter-terrorism, Iran, the Middle East peace process, Iraq and Lebanon.

A spokeswoman for Brown's Downing Street office has previously said the prime minister would "raise issues he believes to be appropriate".

The Saudi monarch's role in the Middle East peace process has been key, as the country held an Arab summit in Riyadh in March to present the Arab peace initiative to Israel.

The five-year-old Saudi-authored blueprint offers Israel peace and normal ties if it withdraws from all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and allows the creation of a Palestinian state and return of Palestinian refugees.

On Tuesday evening at a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, where he is staying, the king, speaking in Arabic, said that he was certain Britain would do everything it could to put an end to "the tragic ordeal of our Palestinian brethren".

He also warned of "ominous signs of war and conflict" in the world, which must be faced with "wisdom and courage so that we may not slip into the abyss."

For when THEY shall say, Peace and Safety: then sudden destruction comes upon THEM as travail upon a woman with child; and THEY shall not escape.... (1st Thess 5:3)

Source Google News

The Palestinian Authority has once again hardened its stance ahead of a planned international peace conference next month, threatening to boycott the talks if no timetable is given for the establishment of a Palestinian state. President Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had previously demanded that Israel cede all territory in Gaza, Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem for the creation of a state. He is also demanding Palestinian custody of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. According to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Olmert is indeed willing to hand over control of the Temple Mount, but to a panel of representatives from the UN, Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Quote: "MK Uri Ariel (NU/NRP) said: "If the report is true, the Israeli government has stripped itself of any linkage to Zionism or its Jewish roots." "The Olmert government is trying to destroy the dreams of thousands of generations who have dreamed and worked to return the Jewish people to its land, continued Ariel, vowing: "we wont let him succeed." Ariel's party colleague MK Aryeh Eldad said that if Israel willingly gives up sovereignty of the Temple Mount to a foreign power "it will lose its moral, historical, legal and religious justification for existence." "This is post Zionist, nonsensical and suicide," he said. MK Tzi Hendel (NU/NRP) said: "I warned long ago that Olmert would divide Jerusalem, and now it is clear that even the Temple Mount, which is the heart and soul of the Jewish people, is going for cheap."

The chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei has also warned that unless Olmert agrees to a timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state, that the PA may scupper the peace conference scheduled for November. It was previously reported that Olmert and Abbas had agreed that the peace conference would commence the beginning of open-ended negotiations for a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

Quote: ""The Israeli prime minister [Ehud Olmert] has stated that he will not accept a timetable, and we say we will not accept negotiations without a timetable," Qurei said at a news conference with the EU's external affairs commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

And as the Palestinian Authority hardens its stance against Israel, Hamas is also hardening its position, threatening to launch a new intifada against the Jewish state. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of Hamas, has announced it is preparing to launch terrorist attacks against Israel in the coming weeks. Hamas leaders are also threatening to stage a coup in Judea and Samaria, similar to that undertaken by the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip earlier this year.

So it seems the pressure is mounting on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to come up with the goods. If he is seen to be offering the Palestinians too little, he risks giving the terrorist organizations an excuse to launch attacks against Israel, just as occurred following the failure of the Oslo agreement. And if he does not move quickly enough, he may also risk losing Judea and Samaria to Hamas rather than a "moderate" Fatah. The Bible doesn't state explicitly what way things will work out, but it does state that Jews living in Judea (Mark 13:14) and the eastern half of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2) will face a tremendous period of persecution. The Antichrist, the European leader that will strengthen an agreement between Israel and the nations, will according to Daniel's prophecy, privately turn his back on that agreement (Daniel 11:32), plunging the nation into the time of Jacob's trouble (Daniel 12:1). As we can see, today's events are clearly pointing towards the fulfilment of this prophecy.

Matthew 24:44-46
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed [is] that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Source WorldNetDaily, Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Post, YNet News, YNet News