Prophecy in the news

"Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book:
for the time is at hand." - Rev 22:10 

Send news to:
Chris Perver

Search Prophecy in the news

Updated
01/01/07

Unbelievable. When you consider France is gearing up to play a leading role in Javier Solana's Middle East security force, ensuring the security of Israel and the stability of Lebanon, it is utterly unbelievable. French Foreign Minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, has explained to a press conference in Beirut today that he believes Iran is a "great country", that plays a "stabilizing role" in the Middle East. Philippe's comments, coupled with the Lebanese Prime Minister's public praising of Hizbullah means Israel will have its work cut out, if they expect to see the end of this war. 

Quote: ""It was clear that we could never accept a destabilization of Lebanon, which could lead to a destabilization of the region," Douste-Blazy said in Beirut. "In the region there is of course a country such as Iran – a great country, a great people and a great civilization which is respected and which plays a stabilizing role in the region," he told a news conference.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has been doing everything humanly possible to create instability in the Middle East, and the world in general. Yesterday Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met with President Ahmadinejad in Teheran, where he was adorned with an Iranian medal of honour after vowing to unite with Iran to help "end the American empire"...

Quote: ""If the U.S. empire succeeds in establishing its dominance, there will be no future for humanity. Therefore we should save humanity and end the American empire," Chavez told a crowd at the University of Tehran. Chavez also criticised the current offensive by Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, against Lebanon as "both fascism and terrorism". This chimed with the view of Iran's president who has compared Israel's conduct to that of Adolph Hitler. A beaming Ahmadinejad presented Chavez with the golden "High Medallion of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and slipped a blue sash around his chest. "Mr Chavez is my brother, the brother of the whole Iranian nation and of all freedom-seeking people in the world," he said. 

But it doesn't end there. While Hizbullah fight on in Lebanon at the behest of Ahmadinejad and Assad, the President is once again threatening to pull the plug on the Six Nation nuclear deal, which was presented to Ahmadinejad by Javier Solana on 06/06/06. The reason? You guessed it, the war in Lebanon. 

Quote: ""Events in Lebanon affected our evaluations about ... [the] package of incentives. We should review it carefully. I have asked my colleagues to review it more carefully," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a news conference. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi referred to the ongoing Israeli-Hizbullah war and said that any Security Council action against Iran "will confront the region with more tension," he said.

The UN Security Council is also aiming to pass a resolution tomorrow, which could see sanctions placed on Iran if it fails to halt enrichment by August 31st. President Ahmadinejad is also threatening to end nuclear negotiations if the threat of sanctions is placed against it. It seems Ahmadinejad can't believe his luck, he doesn't know which excuse to use. Thus the President has created the perfect Catch 22 situation...

1) Iran whips up conflict in Lebanon by telling Hizbullah to attack Israel
2) Fighting in Lebanon distracts international community from Iranian nuclear problem, while Ahmadinejad presses on with his goal of enriching enough Uranium to manufacture a bomb
4) World blames Israel for "atrocities" in Lebanon, as mainstream media swallows Iranian Hizbullah lies
5) Iran threatens to pull out of nuclear agreement due to Israeli "aggression" in Lebanon
6) Iran hits Israel with nuclear device while the international community stands back in horror

And as long as politicians like Douste-Blazy and Siniora keep toeing the Iranian line, President Ahmadinejad will know he can keep a firm grip - sorry, "stabilizing role" in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Revelation 9:13-15
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

Source YNet News, Reuters, BreitBart

A number of people sent me an interesting link a few days ago entitled "Red Sea parts again". Recent earthquake and volcanic activity in the Middle East has caused the Red Sea to widen by as much as twenty six feet, all within a space of three weeks. As the African and Arabian tectonic plates drift apart from each other, hot magma is forced into the gap forming new rock. The rift also runs through Eritrea and Ethiopia, and volcanologists believe a new sea could eventually be formed as a result of the activity.

Quote: "This is the first rifting episode to have occurred since 1970 and the largest single rip in the Earth's continental crust during the satellite-monitoring era. "We knew about the steady rifting process in Afar, as Arabia moves away from Africa across the rift," Wright said. "And we knew that occasionally the strain that builds up slowly over centuries is released suddenly in rifting episodes. We did not know how big the deformation could be."

What has surprised volcanologists is how quickly this process has occurred. Under normal circumstances, only around two centimetres of rock is formed between the African and Arabian plates per year. Twenty six feet of rock in three weeks proves that our present geology didn't require millions of years to form. My friend Barbara has alerted me to another development in the Middle East, regarding earthquake activity. An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter Scale hit the Red Sea region yesterday morning. The Red Sea fault line runs right through Jerusalem runs right through the Mount of Olives, reminding us of the prophecy in Zechariah 14 concerning the earthquake that is prophesied to split the mountain in two, when Christ returns.

Zechariah 14:4-5
And his (Lord Jesus Christ) 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 Live Science, USGS

Any hope of a de-escalation of the conflict in southern Lebanon was dashed today, after the Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora praised Hizbullah and called for its Arab neighbours to act against "Israeli aggression". Around 54 people died when an apartment building they were sleeping in collapsed, in what appears to be the result of an IAF strike. Israel has halted air strikes for two days until the cause of the collapse can be established. An initial investigation has shown the structure of the building collapsed eight hours after the IAF ended their attack, leading the Israelis to believe either a weakened structure or Hizbullah explosives were responsible for the deaths. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has expressed deep regret over the deaths, but stated that the residents of Qana were warned by Israel to leave the area because they risked getting caught up in the fighting there. The IAF have been fighting in Qana for three days, from which dozens of Katyusha rockets have been launched against Israeli towns. Israel put the blame for the deaths fairly and squarely on Hizbullah, which uses the residents as human shields to carry out attacks against Israel. Not so Siniora...

Quote: "Siniora repeatedly stressed his desire to reach a ceasefire, and called on the UN Security Council to meet immediately and act on the issue. The Lebanese prime minister added that he esteems those who fell in "the defense of Lebanon,"' and said that his government is doing everything to strengthen its stance. He even expressed his "full admiration for Nasrallah and all those who sacrifice their lives for Lebanon."

In reality, it is Hizbullah who is sacrificing the lives of the Lebanese people, not Israel. Contrary to what was reported in the mainstream press, Katyusha rockets started raining down on Israel before the capture of the IDF soldiers. Yesterday Hizbullah set a grim new record, as over 140 rockets landed in northern Israel today, the nineteenth day of the war. Meanwhile, tensions are growing in Syria and Iran. Journalists are reporting a "pre-war" feel from Damascus, and believe President Assad may be preparing his people for war against Israel, with nationalistic military parades being broadcast on state television. President Bashar Assad, who up until now has remained relatively quiet in regards to the situation in Lebanon, condemned the Israeli attack on Qana as "state-sponsored terrorism". Many analysts also believe this Hizbullah attack on Israel has been an operation by the Iranian President to test new weapon systems on Israel, and see what Israel is made of. 

Quote "Israel's attack on a building in the Lebanese village of Qana that killed at least 54 civilians constitutes "state terrorism", Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Sunday. "The massacre committed by Israel in Qana this morning shows the barbarity of this aggressive entity. It constitutes state terrorism committed in front of the eyes and ears of the world," Assad said in remarks carried by state news agency SANA.

The continuing escalation of this crisis is causing David Dolan, a Christian reporter who lives in Israel, to believe that a major Middle East war is now on the cards. And there is again a prophetic significance to Israel's current situation. This from David's War Update for today...

Quote: "We are only four days away from the darkest day on the annual Hebrew calendar, the fast of Tisha b’Av, which begins at sundown on Wednesday. It marks various disasters that have befallen the Jewish people on that very date, including the Babylonian and Roman destructions of the ancient Jewish temples and the expulsion of Spain’s large Jewish community in 1492, ordered on that date. It seems to many of us here in Israel that this week could prove pivotal in determining whether or not we are heading toward a full-scale regional war, which could easily result in hundreds of thousands of causalities since both Syria and Iran, along with Israel, possess non-conventional chemical, biological and—at least in Israel’s case, but also quite possibly with her declared adversaries as well—nuclear warheads. To say the least, your urgent prayers are greatly appreciated.

Source YNet News, YNet News, YNet News

As the fighting continues to rage in the south of Lebanon between Hizbullah and Israeli forces, another battle rages that in most circles has gone unnoticed. As one of the editors of Honest Reporting described it, a "fourth front" has been opened in the conflict in the Middle East. The liberal media is attempting to assassinate Israel's character. It's not a matter of taking one side or the other - Israeli or "Lebanese", it's a matter of truth and deception, and this is one battle that Hizbullah is very actively engaged in. As we've seen from previous media reports, Israel is being blasted by media for carrying out deliberate attacks on unarmed UN personnel by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, deliberately targeting civilians by the Prime Minister of Lebanon, and a whole host of other things by the Iranian President and his cohorts. All these claims have been proven to be groundless, but this still goes mostly unreported in the mainstream media. I didn't see one major news organization that broadcast the fact that Hizbullah guerrillas were using the bombed UN base as a cover to launch attacks against Israel, yet if Israel strikes terrorist bases in Lebanon it's front page news. The liberal media continues to report that out of 400 Lebanese killed a majority of these were civilians, despite the fact that Hizbullah terrorists often dress in civilian clothes and mix with the local population whom they use as human shields to prevent themselves being attacked. This from CNN reporter Nic Robertson...

Quote: "KURTZ: All right. I want to go now to CNN's Nic Robertson, who joins us live from Beirut. Nic Robertson, we were speaking a moment ago about the way journalists cover Hezbollah and some of these tours that Hezbollah officials have arranged of the bomb damage in the areas of Southern Lebanon. You, I believe, got one of those tours. Isn't it difficult for you as a journalist to independently verify any claims made by Hezbollah, because you're not able to go into the buildings and see whether or not there is any military activity or any weapons being hidden there? 
NIC: Well, Howard, there's no doubt about it: Hezbollah has a very, very sophisticated and slick media operations. In fact, beyond that, it has very, very good control over its areas in the south of Beirut. They deny journalists access into those areas. They can turn on and off access to hospitals in those areas. They have a lot of power and influence. You don't get in there without their permission. And when I went we were given about 10 or 15 minutes, quite literally running through a number of neighborhoods that they directed and they took us to.

Hizbullah is portrayed in the West as a political party with a military wing, that is fighting for the liberation of Muslim lands from the Zionist and Crusader forces. In reality it is much more than that. Israel has been condemned for creating a virtual siege situation in Lebanon, destroying government and military facilities and taking control of vast swathes of Lebanese territory. But when you consider how powerful Hizbullah is, the Israeli response can no longer be perceived as "disproportionate" as many have claimed. Hizbullah is an organization that is financed by Iran and operates in around 20 countries in the Middle East, controls 25% of Lebanese territory, collects income tax, runs schools, clinics, hospitals and welfare networks, controls municipal councils, and has its own embassies in other countries, has its own satellite television station and operates its own police force, courts and prisons. As has been described in the article, Hizbullah is a state within a state who's aim is furthering Iranian influence in the Middle East, not just a paramilitary organization operating on the Lebanese border. Hizbullah has more firepower than Lebanon's own army, and that is why Israel is calling for a major international peacekeeping force to take control of the region.

Quote: ""The Israelis would be foolish to think they are dealing with nothing but a bunch of mad fanatics," says a former Iranian diplomat now in exile. "Hezbollah in Lebanon is a state in all but name: it has its territory, army, civil service and economic and educational systems."

No wonder Javier Solana couldn't figure out if Hizbullah was a terrorist organization or not. He doesn't know whether to attack it or throw money at it. That's why the world isn't too fussed on pressing Israel to halt its war with Hizbullah. No Middle Eastern country wants Iranian spies sitting on their doorstep, and they are prepared to let Israel deal with them so they don't have to. 

Source CNN, Times Online

As I said before, in regards to the Iranian nuclear crisis, President Ahmadinejad has taken on the world and won. The UN Security Council had demanded on two occasions that Iran halt its Uranium enrichment programme, or face the threat of sanctions. The High Representative for the European Common, Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, was given the task of personally presenting the Iranian President with a package of incentives (bribes) on 06/06/06, to dissuade Iran from its nuclear ambitions. The bribes included security guarantees for the Islamic state, European built light-water nuclear reactors, a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel and access to advanced US nuclear technology. Javier Solana had insisted Iran would only be allowed a few weeks to decide whether to accept or reject the package. That was nearly two months ago. The Iranian President, who called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map", has stated he will wait until August 22nd before presenting the world with his response to the six-nation offer. US analysts believe the Iranian frequently makes use of symbols when making key decisions, and if this is the case with August 22nd - which Muslims regard as the day Mohammed ascended to heaven, some are wondering what revelations that date may hold for Israel and the world. Islamic tradition states that on the day Mohammed ascended from the Temple Mount, a "great light" lit up the sky. President of the Reform Party of Syria, Farid Ghadry, based on previous statements Ahmadinejad has made about the Jewish state - e.g. Israel "has pushed the button of its own destruction", believes Ahmadinejad could be planning to light up the Jerusalem night sky with a nuclear weapon.

Quote: "And now, according to Ghadry, Ahmadinejad is planning an illumination of the night sky over Jerusalem to rival the one that greeted the Prophet of Islam on his journey. What the Iranian President, he says, is “promising the world by August 22 is the light in the sky over the Aqsa Mosque that took place the night before. That is his answer to the package of incentives the international community offered Iran on June 6.”

Source Human Events

Quote: ""The above mention of Psalm 83 has led to misconceptions about the revealed wording and may be a source of concern for people who believe Psalm 83 deals with 'the wiping out of Israel'," the museum said in its clarification. The confusion arose because the manuscript uses an old Latin translation of the Bible known at the Vulgate, which numbers the psalms differently from the later King James version, the 1611 English translation from which many modern texts derive. "The Director of the National Museum of Ireland ... would like to highlight that the text visible on the manuscript does not refer to wiping out Israel but to the 'vale of tears'," the museum said. The vale of tears is in Psalm 84 in the King James version. "It is hoped that this clarification will serve comfort to anyone worried by earlier reports of the content of the text," the museum said. 

"Don't panic! Don't panic! Contrary to previous reports, the tribulation is not about to begin. You can all return to your comfort zones..." (joking). The article states that part of Psalm 83 of the Vulgate Bible was legible. It's entirely possible part of previous Psalm will also be discernable, but we'll just have to wait a few months to find out.

Source Reuters

Quote: ""The shells and rockets ripping apart Muslim bodies in Gaza and Lebanon are not only Israeli (weapons), but are supplied by all the countries of the crusader coalition. Therefore, every participant in the crime will pay the price," Al-Zawahri said. Al-Zawahri said Muslims everywhere must rise up to attack "crusaders and Zionists... and support jihad everywhere... until American troops are chased from Afghanistan and Iraq, paralysed and impotent... having paid the price for aggression against Muslims and support for Israel."

It's time for another spot the difference competition. Reuters reported the exact same story as YNet News, and Jerusalem Post, but slanted the report against Israel by portraying Zawahri's comments as a response only to Israeli "atrocities" in Lebanon. 

Quote: ""The war with Israel is not based on any agreements or any border disputes ... it is jihad for the sake of Allah, to free all of Palestine from occupation and to rid all the homes of Islam from the crusaders. The whole world is our battlefield."

Reuters failed to mention the real motive behind this Islamic Jihad. It's not about Israel or US policy in the Middle East, it's strictly about the religion of Islam. The terrorists' goal is to make Europe bow to Islam, but apparently Reuters do not want you to know that. 

Quote: ""The war with Israel does not depend on ceasefires... It is a Jihad for the sake of Allah and will last until (our) religion prevails ... From Spain to Iraq," Al-Zawahri said. "We will attack everywhere." Spain was controlled by Arab Muslims until they were driven from the country at the turn of the 16th century. 

Source Jerusalem Post, YNet News, Reuters

Quote: "Another UN position of the Ghanaian battalion in the area of Marwahin in the western sector was also directly hit by one mortar round from the Hezbollah side last night. The round did not explode, and there were no casualties or material damage. Another 5 incidents of firing close to UN positions from the Israeli side were reported yesterday. It was also reported that Hezbollah fired from the vicinity of four UN positions at Alma ash Shab, Tibnin, Brashit, and At Tiri. All UNIFIL positions remain occupied and maintained by the troops.

Retired Canadian Major General Lewis Mackenzie has stated he received emails from one of the soldiers killed in yesterday's bombing, stressing the fact that Hizbullah were operating from inside the UN outpost at the time.

Quote: "We received emails from him a few days ago, and he was describing the fact that he was taking fire within, in one case, three meters of his position for tactical necessity, not being targeted. Now that’s veiled speech in the military. What he was telling us was Hezbollah soldiers were all over his position and the IDF were targeting them. And that’s a favourite trick by people who don’t have representation in the UN. They use the UN as shields knowing that they can’t be punished for it. 

While as Christians we despair of any life lost, and mistakes in war can often end in tragedies like this, I cannot take at face value everything reported in the press. Over this past few months I have learned that things are not always what they seem, and the god of this world (that old serpent) is intent on making things as difficult as possible for God's chosen people according to the flesh, before the onslaught of Armageddon. 

Isaiah 62:6
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, [which] shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Source UNIFIL, Why the UN post was bombed

Quote: "In an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, President Jacques Chirac said France could participate in a peace force mandated by the United Nations once there was a ceasefire, but it would be wrong for the U.S.-led alliance to be involved. "Like it or not, NATO is perceived as the armed wing of the West in this region, so in terms of its image, NATO is not right for the job," he said. A German government spokesman said NATO "does not have priority for a possible stabilization force" and ruled out sending the alliance's newly created reaction force. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said he did not exclude a future role but "this is not the moment".

Once again the UN has shown itself completely incapable of doing anything constructive. This of course leaves only one solution, that the European Union would bridge the gap and send its forces into southern Lebanon to keep the peace.

Quote: "Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the European Union announced that the committee of EU foreign ministers would hold an emergency discussion on the Lebanon crisis next Tuesday.

This link from my friend David... According to Javier Solana, going through the UN was always the difficult route. Perhaps Olmert's previous acceptance of a robust EU peacekeeping force will happen after all (as prophesied).

Quote: "Germany, Greece, Italy and EU candidate Turkey signalled interest, while France has already expressed its willingness. EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said substantial European involvement was a "real possibility". "It is not an easy force to deploy but we have been working since Wednesday to try to construct a concept that would make it possible to deploy under the umbrella of the U.N. Security Council," Solana told reporters in Brussels. "I think several member states of the European Union will be ready to provide all necessary assistance," he told a joint news conference with Lebanese parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri after the two discussed the conflict.

Daniel 11:31 
And arms shall stand on his part (Antichrist's behalf), and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength (Temple), and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

Source Reuters, YNet News, Alert Net

My friend Joe also emailed me this morning and mentioned he was studying Psalm 83 a couple of weeks ago, which he believes is prophetic and may be currently unfulfilled, and is possibly linked with Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39. But he did not mention this news article which appeared on the net today. The timing of this is truly fascinating. A labourer working in the south of Ireland has accidentally uncovered an ancient book of Psalms as he was digging in a peat bog. The 20 page book is written in Latin and is believed to be dated from around 800-1000AD. Archaeologists from Trinity College, Dublin are studying the artefact and say it could take months just to identify the best way to examine the book without destroying it. But what is most fascinating is the timing of this find in relation to current events, considering the position the book was in when uncovered.

Quote: "He said an engineer was digging up bogland last week to create commercial potting soil somewhere in Ireland's midlands when, "just beyond the bucket of his bulldozer, he spotted something." Wallace would not specify where the book was found because a team of archaeologists is still exploring the site. "The owner of the bog has had dealings with us in past and is very much in favor of archaeological discovery and reporting it," Wallace said. Crucially, he said, the bog owner covered up the book with damp soil. Had it been left exposed overnight, he said, "it could have dried out and just vanished, blown away." The book was found open to a page describing, in Latin script, Psalm 83, in which God hears complaints of other nations' attempts to wipe out the name of Israel.

Friends, I can't believe this is a mere coincidence. That Israel is once again facing the possibility of a major regional war, and a farm hand in Ireland uncovers an ancient prophecy, buried long before Israel became a nation, that's left open at a page that depicts the circumstances Israel now finds itself in. The only thing that parallels this event in my mind is the rediscovery of the book of the law by king Josiah in the Old Testament. His actions resulted in the repentance and turning to God of the entire nation of Israel. Can my nation of Ireland do no less?

Psalm 83:4-8 
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

Source Washington Post

Quote: "In a statement read out on state television, the king said: "if the option of peace fails as a result of Israeli arrogance, then the only option remaining will be war, and God alone knows what the region would witness in a conflict that would spare no one."... "It must be said that patience can't last forever, and if the brutal Israeli military continues to kill and destroy, no one can foresee what may happen," the king said.

And Iran and Hizbullah seem to be doing their best to make that happen. Israel has claimed that over 100 Iranian Revolutionary guards have been killed so far in the fighting in Lebanon, and were transported by truck back to Iran across the Syrian border. Iran was also involved in the attack on an Israeli naval stationed off the coast of Lebanon that resulted in the deaths of four soldiers. Up until now Iran has officially stayed out of the war, but that may be changing. The INLA (Iranian National Liberation Army) has reported they are planning to send a squad of suicide bombers to Lebanon.

Quote: "The expeditionary force, dubbed by the Iranian regime as "Loyalists of Islamic Justice," will be the first ever to be sent to Lebanon. According to the report, the force is compiled of seekers of the Shahadah (death for the sake of heaven), who are set to depart from Tehran after the noontime prayer on Wednesday. Other reports claimed that two groups made up of 27 volunteers have already left for Syria on their way to Lebanon. The volunteers' task, after having undergone a months-long training, would be to carry out suicide bombings aimed at wreaking havoc and fear around military and civilian targets. According to the report, the group's mission is to trigger a civil war within the divided Lebanese society, and cause the situation in the country to deteriorate even further.

No doubt Israel will get the blame if any deaths occur as the result of these Iranian suicide bombers. Meanwhile, another "Gaza beach" incident? UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, has slammed Israel after four UN observers were killed when a UNIFIL base was hit in Lebanon. Prime Minister Olmert has once again apologized for the incident - which was believed to be caused by an Israeli missile, before any of the facts are known. But Olmert was incensed at Kofi Annan's claim... get this... that Israel carried out the attack "deliberately".

Quote: "As reports of the attack emerged, Annan rushed out of a hotel in Rome following a dinner with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. "I am shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defence Forces of a UN Observer post in southern Lebanon," Annan said in a statement later. Annan said in his statement that the post had been there for a long time and was marked clearly, and was hit despite assurances from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would not be attacked. "I call on the government of Israel to conduct a full investigation into this very disturbing incident and demand that any further attack on UN positions and personnel must stop," Annan said in the statement.

It wouldn't be the first time Israel has got the blame for something that was carried out by Islamic terrorists. Where was Kofi Annan's condemnation of Hizbullah, when one of their rockets slammed into a UN observation post?

Quote: "A U.N.-run observation post just inside Israel was struck during fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants on Friday. The Israeli army blamed Hezbollah rockets but a U.N. officer said it was an artillery shell fired by the Israeli Defense Force. A U.N. officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said an artillery shell fired by Israel made "a direct hit on the U.N. position overlooking Zarit." The post is part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. But an IDF spokesman said the position was hit by rockets fired by Hezbollah that fell short of their targets in northern Israel.

Source Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Post, Washington Post

A commentary written by Hal Lindsay on current events in the Middle East is revealing increasing military co-operation between Russia, Iran and Syria. Russian assistance in Iran's nuclear and missile programmes, along with a newly built Russian naval base in Syria is threatening the regional stability of the Middle East, according to an intelligence briefing presented to President Bush. Hal believes the reason why President Ahmadinejad of Iran has seemingly taken on the international community and won, is because he knows the West does not wish to upset his backers in Moscow who have equipped Iran and Syria with air defence systems to protect their nuclear and military installations. Hal believes this military cooperation is the result of a secretive defence pact signed between the three nations.

Quote: "Russia, Iran and Syria have entered a defense pact that is in the process of altering the balance of power in the entire Middle East. Russia’s part in the pact has been kept relatively secret for a long time. But the facts reveal a long steady Russian commitment to the Iranian nuclear program and arms supply to Syria. A Mossad General shared with me in confidence that he had personally traced the hiring and importation to Iran 283 of the defunct Soviet Union’s top nuclear and missile scientists. This meeting took place in February of 1991. 

Hal states that he believes the recent conflagration in the Middle East was purposely created to deflect international attention away from Iran's nuclear programme. It is likely that this nuclear crisis will form one of the hooks (Ezekiel 38:4) that will bring Gog and his armies against the land of Israel in the latter days. Hal believes that because Syria is not specifically listed not being listed among the nations that come against Israel, that the prophecy concerning the destruction of Damascus must happen soon.

Quote: "Syria and the tribal name of its forefathers are not mentioned in the Russian led Muslim Confederacy that launches Armageddon in the middle of the Tribulation. All of this leads me to believe that Damascus will be destroyed before the Tribulation begins. I believe that Damascus is about to so threaten Israel’s existence by either launching or furnishing bio-chemical weapons or radioactive dirty bombs, that Israel will nuke them. Israel has sworn that it will implement the Samson-Option against any nation that attacks them with any form of weapons of mass destruction. That means a thermonuclear strike. This may soon happen to Syria.

But I'm not so sure. Ezekiel 38:6 states that among the nations of Magog (Russia), Persia (Iran), Ethiopia (Sudan), Libya, Gomer and Togarmah (Turkey), that there shall also come "many people with thee". Is it possible that the phrase "many people" could include Israel's enemies in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria and the surrounding Islamic nations? I feel it would take something major to occur before Israel could contemplate using the "Samson option". Israeli Prime Ministers have stated Israel will not be the first ones to use nuclear weapons in Gulf, and they would need to feel significantly threatened before striking Syria in such a manner.

Source Hal Lindsay Oracle

We've all seen many films on the rapture and tribulation period. Some of my favourites are "Years of the Beast", along with several other films made in the 1980s (I find these films seem to have more of an endearing appeal than some later offerings I've seen). Whether you believe the rapture to occur before or during the tribulation period, we can't escape the fact that it will happen and we are the generation that will witness it. I've often wondered what the news headlines would be on the day after the rapture. Perhaps this is a taster. I just came across this article by the Ottawa Citizen. Rather than presenting a rational investigation into the beliefs of these Christians, along with a critical analysis of prophecies that have been fulfilled in our time (Israel being regathered, etc), this news article merely describes, in a somewhat derogatory way, what various people's views are on what is currently happening in the Middle East.

Quote: "Have you heard of the Rapture? That's the moment when Jesus Christ will take true Christians into heaven prior to his Second Coming. Many of those who believe in the Rapture see great portent in what is now happening in the Middle East.

But unfortunately that's the best pick of a bad bunch. Other newspapers aren't so understanding. I'm not registered with the Vancouver Sun, nor would I want to be, but just reading the introductory paragraph of this article is enough to show how slanted the mainstream media is against Christianity. Yes, apparently us Christians are cheering on Israel to kill more Arabs, in the hope that a major Middle East war will cause the rapture to occur sooner.

Quote: "Thank God for the carnage in the Middle East. That's not my view, but it is the view of many "dispensationalist" Christians, who see in the conflagration evidence of the impending Rapture, the time when good Christians will be lifted up to join the Lord while the rest of us will be left on Earth to face persecution at the hands of the Antichrist.

In reality that's not any Christian's "view", that's a view concocted by the mainstream media in order to portray Christians as a crazed bunch of halfwits that want to bring this world to the brink of global war to fulfil some selfish expectation of being raptured into heaven. And the reason they want to propagate that view is because Satan wants to deflect people's attention from what's really going on in the world. Too many people might get saved otherwise. In reality, we don't wish for war in the Middle East, the Bible specifically teaches us to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem". And so we should, but we cannot pray against God's will. I believe it is unscriptural in some cases to pray for peace - as some denominations have called for, if God has said in His Word there will be no peace. The Lord derided the Old Testament prophets who prophesied peace, when God wanted to use Babylon to accomplish His purposes in Israel. And as we read in Ezekiel 38-39, it is the sovereign will of God that the armies of Gog should be brought against the land of Israel in the latter days. To pray for peace in the case of the Gog Magog war would be futile. Unfortunately the newspapers aren't the only ones carrying this twisted view, claiming that Christians are warmongers...

Quote: "It’s not only the neocons who are happy about the carnage in Lebanon. The extremist fringe of the American Christian right, which believes conflict in the Middle East heralds the End Times and prepares something called Rapture (essentially the spiriting away of real Christians before the anti-Christ makes a mess of the world), is really excited by what’s happening in Lebanon. 

Friends, when the Rapture does happen, and only the Lord knows the day and hour, you can bet that it will be the mainstream media who will be instrumental in helping the world "believe the lie". As we can see, the rapture won't be the final evidence for the unbelievers, who will suddenly realize what the Bible has been saying all along is true. If they don't repent and believe the Gospel now, they never will during the tribulation period (Luke 16:31).

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Source Canada, Canada, Arabist

Israeli forces are continuing to press into southern Lebanon in their effort to push Hizbullah back to the Litani river. The IDF hope that this operation will prevent the terrorist organization from launching rockets into northern Israel, and may also pave the way for an international peacekeeping force to be deployed in the region. IDF soldiers have captured the border town of Maroun al-Ras, a Hizbullah stronghold, and are preparing to set up a civil administration in the south of the country. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Olmert has stated that he would be prepared to accept a European peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, after a meeting with the E3 (Britain, France and Germany). This force could be made up of NATO or the EU, and would monitor the borders between Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Quote: "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Sunday that Israel would consider permitting the deployment of an experienced European military force in Lebanon. The prime minister added that such a force would have to control passages between Syria and Lebanon, deploy along the Lebanese-Israel border and assist the Lebanese army, especially in case it implements UN Resolution 1559 and works to disarm Hizbullah.

Why specifically a European peacekeeping force and not a US or UN force? As usual we are witnessing the fact that regardless of man's best intentions, ungodly men and women are fulfilling God's Word to the last letter. The European Union will be in a perfect position to create "peace" in the Middle East, ensuring that Ehud Olmert's "covenant of peace" will be confirmed by the Antichrist.

Source Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem Post, YNet News, BBC

I am going down to Portrush to a Christian outreach for today and tomorrow morning, so no news updates until then. But please do keep me informed of what's going on if anything significant happens.

Europe has been hit once again by a record breaking heat wave, which has killed dozens of people across the continent. Temperatures in London reached a whopping 36 degrees centigrade, causing the soles of people's shoes to melt on the pavement as they walked. The temperature where I am reached around 30 degrees this past week, which I can tell you is quite unbearable. We've been wearing vest tops in work, leaving our doors and windows wide open, and utilizing every fan available in the office in the hope of getting some relief. In 2003 tens of thousands of people died in Europe as temperatures soared. 

Quote: ""Desert London", a headline in Britain's Evening Standard newspaper said over a photo of a parched Hyde Park on Friday. "This is not the Sahara or Serengeti - these remarkable pictures show how London's parks have been turned dry, brown and dusty by the drought," the newspaper said. A severe drought, said to be the worst in a century in the south of England, is making itself felt and temperatures hit a July record of 36.3degC earlier this week.

Global warming or no global warming, things are getting hotter as the Bible predicted. Revelation states that during the tribulation period, things will become so unbearable that men will blaspheme God because of the heat. Astronomers tell us that from around 2007, peaking in 2012, the sun will enter a a cycle of particularly high solar activity, disrupting weather patterns on earth and possibly knocking out communications too. I always thought pollution and the depletion of the ozone layer would fulfil these verses in Revelation, but the Bible states the angel pours out his vial of judgement "on the sun", so perhaps this increased solar activity has something to do with this.

Revelation 16:8-9 
And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Source New Zealand Herald, SF Gate

Friends, we were all absolutely dumbfounded when we saw the picture of Prime Minister Olmert, openly stating that Israel is seeking a "covenant of peace", the exact phraseology used by the prophet Daniel to describe the event that would trigger the beginning of the tribulation period (Daniel 9:27). If you have not seen this picture, go now to my 2007-2013 page.

Well my friend Javier has just sent another prophetically explosive image. I am absolutely shocked at what is occurring this week. Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit the Middle East by the end of the week. President Bush's administration expressed the opinion that there was little point to calling for a cease fire now, and have this problem raise its ugly head six months down the line, so they have given Israel more time to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure before pressing for an agreement. The Iranian and Syrian Presidents have expressed their opinion that if Hizbullah is defeated by Israel, this will create an entirely new situation in the Middle East, one devoid of Iranian influence. A stable Lebanon and a secure Israel would go someway towards creating a peaceful Middle Eastern region if the war continues, which war US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has apparently stated is the "Birth Pangs of the new Middle East". 

Quote: "I think we are beginning to see the outlines of a political framework that might allow the cessation of violence in a more sustainable way, tied to 1559, tied to what is there in the G-8 statement. The elements are becoming quite clear. But I have no interest in diplomacy for the sake of returning Lebanon and Israel to the status quo ante. I think it would be a mistake. What we're seeing here, in a sense, is the growing -- the birth pangs of a new Middle East.

Anybody who knows their Bible will identify immediately with the phrase "birth pangs". Birth pangs are mentioned several times in the Scriptures, but most notably in 1st Thessalonians 5 and Revelation 12. Birth pangs in the literal sense are indicators of how close a child is to birth, and they increase in intensity and frequency as the child is about to be born. In the Scriptural sense, birth pangs are prophetical indicators of how close we are to a particular accomplishment in God's prophetic calendar, and these prophetical indicators also increase in intensity and frequency as we have been seeing. Both 1st Thessalonians 5 and Revelation 12 refer to the tribulation period, and describe the sorrow Israel must go through before she sees her Messiah at the Second Coming of Christ.

1st Thessalonians 5:2-3 
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Revelation 12:1-2, 5
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman (Israel) clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (12 tribes of Israel): And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 

Friends, this could be it. This could be the beginning of the lead up into the tribulation period. World politicians are not satisfied with the status quo, and it looks like they are going to make the most of Israel's war with Hizbullah as a catalyst for change in the Middle East. That means the covenant Prime Minister Olmert says he is seeking, which will be confirmed by the Antichrist, cannot be far away. As usual, the European Union, and particularly Javier Solana, is at the centre of events...

Quote: "Rice said she was meeting not only with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert but also with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as well as with allies at a gathering in Rome. Asked why she didn't go earlier and engage in quick-hit diplomacy to try to end the death and destruction that has gripped the region, she replied, "I could have gotten on a plane and rushed over and started shuttling and it wouldn't have been clear what I was shuttling to do."

But as prophesied, the US will not be the ones to broker the deal. According to Daniel's prophecy, that will be left to the European Union...

Quote: "In a letter to Martti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Finland who currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, Chirac asked that Javier Solana also be charged with a mission to defuse the crisis in Gaza...
The letter noted that the president was reiterating a proposal made in June. He suggested that Solana, who visited Beirut last weekend and was currently in Cairo, work in conjunction with the United Nations to meet with all figures necessary to "very quickly make proposals to reach conditions for a global and lasting cease-fire in the region."

Source Washington Post, Fox News, Easy Bourse

The Gay Police Association of Britain is coming under fire for an advertisement recently published by the group which claims religion (namely Christianity) is one of the main causes of hate crime being perpetrated against homosexuals. The advertisement features a Bible beside a pool of blood, under the caption, "in the name of the Father". The Christian Police Association is up in arms over the poster, which appears to suggest that fundamental Christian beliefs are responsible for some of the terrible offences that are committed against homosexuals. The Gay Police Association is being investigated over the incident, which could amount to an offence itself against Christians. 

Quote: "The advert refers to a 74% increase in 'homophobic incidents' reported to the GPA. Earlier this year the GPA announced that telephone calls about "faith-based homophobia" made to its helpline had increased from 8 to 14 in one year. Maybe this is where the 74% in the advert comes from. Certainly this is not an official figure. A 'homophobic incident' is not the same thing as a crime. It is an administrative record of a complaint to the police (not the GPA). The technical definition of a 'homophobic incident' given by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is "Any incident which is perceived to be homophobic by the victim or any other person." So merely saying that homosexuality is wrong could constitute an incident if someone perceives it to be 'homophobic'. This has happened to the Bishop of Chester, Phillip Jenson (Dean of Sydney Cathedral), Joe & Helen Roberts and Lynette Burrows. It seems they were all thought to be "perpetrators" of a "homophobic incident". None of them committed any crime. All believe that homosexual practice is morally wrong.

I remember reading of an elderly Christian couple in England not so long ago, who complained to their local council when homosexual posters appeared in their town close to their church. They merely asked if the posters could be taken down, and instead of receiving a reply, two police officers knocked on their door and quizzed them for several hours over this "homophobic incident". 

In other news, it seems that the Jerusalem GayPride week has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. My friend James summed it up well, "Will God grant victory to Israel over her Muslim enemies while the State of Israel approves and encourages and wallows in this kind of abomination? The State of Israel prays to God for deliverance and celebrates homosexuality with the whole world simultaneously". It's maybe just as well the event was cancelled. As James says, when Israel goes to war they are commanded to separate themselves from all sin. 

Quote: "Lazer Brody, an author and dean of the Breslov Rabbinical College in Ashdod, Israel, concurred with Winston. "When God’s presence is in the camp, nothing can happen to the Jewish people," Brody stated. "But If the Jewish people bring impurity into the camp of Israel, this chases away God's presence." Brody contends the "removal of God's presence" led to the recent violence here, but he said he still feels the Jewish state is being protected. "Over 1,000 Katyusha rockets have been fired thus far, and the damage has been equivalent to scratches," Brody said. Before becoming a rabbi, Brody served for many years in the Israeli army, where he fought in combat missions in Beirut during Israel's incursion into Lebanon in the early 1980's. He said the public display of homosexuality in Jerusalem "soils the camp of Israel with impurity, and pushes away the divine presence and protection."

Deuteronomy 23:14 
For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

Source Christian Institute, WorldNetDaily

The European Union has completed a three month study into the potential uses and caveats of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology. The European Commission has taken it upon itself to define "globally accepted interoperability standards and practices with regard to data privacy and ethical principles when applying the technology". RFID workshops were set up by the EU in Brussels last March to study the new technology. The European Commission plans to publish the results of this public consultation in September as a "working document", which will later be adopted - presumably worldwide, at the end of this year. 

Quote: "The European Commission has therefore launched a comprehensive public consultation on the technology, starting with a series of workshops to build consensus on key issues. These workshops will take place in Brussels between March and June 2006 and their conclusions will assist the European Commission in drafting a working document on RFID. This document will be published in September in an online consultation. The additional feedback will then be analysed and integrated in a Commission Communication on RFID, to be adopted before the end of the year – and could lead to amendments of the Privacy and electronic communications Directive of 2002, which is up for review this year.

The article my friend Adam had sent to me detailed how European supermarkets are openly embracing this new technology despite privacy and security concerns. I said before, RFID will become a major money-saver for retail companies. Time is money, and passing an RFID chip through a scanner takes a lot less time and money than counting cash or lodging cheques. As a result, less time spent means less staff to man checkouts which in turn means bigger savings for the company. As a result, RFID will be forced on the consumer public with little or no say in the matter. But major companies are taking note of consumer concerns, and are taking the "softly, softly" approach. Marks & Spencers has announced plans to mark its products with barcode labels that are laced with RFID chips. So while we won't notice anything different, the technology will be already present to implement the "Mark of the Beast" system when it finally comes in. Marks & Spencers claims it will not put RFID tags through the till, it will instead scan the barcode labels, but I wonder how long that policy will continue when they realize the money they could be saving by using RFID only.

Quote: "In mid-February, Marks & Spencer unveiled plans to expand item-level tagging to clothes that come in more complex, wide-ranging sizes, such as bras, and a year from now, it will affix RFID tags to apparel in six departments across 53 stores to keep better track of clothing. Instead of using separate RFID tags and bar-code labels, as it has done in the past, Marks & Spencer is working with Paxar Corp., a merchandising-systems and -label supplier for the apparel industry, to develop a 5-inch paper label that will integrate the RFID chip and bar code in the same label. The chips, which will store serial numbers unique to each product, are from EM Microelectronics-Marin SA, a Swatch Group Ltd. company. Clerks will take inventory at the end of each day by scanning the RFID chips on items remaining on the floor with 868-MHz handheld readers. At registers, clerks will scan bar codes rather than RFID information to allay any concerns that the RFID data will be connected to individual buyers, Marks & Spencer says. Labels on the tags and pamphlets in the store will explain that the RFID chip is an intelligent label for stock control, Stafford says. Clerks will continue the practice of offering customers the option of removing the tags in the stores.

Source Out Law, Information Week

Quote: "Palestinian officials said one person was shot dead in the Mughazi camp. An earlier Israeli air attack on the camp left one dead and 20 injured. 

Quote: "An Israeli air strike Thursday night in the Gaza refugee camp of Mughazi killed one armed Palestinian, Palestinian hospital officials said. The Palestinian was the third person killed during fighting in the camp on Thursday. The army said it attacked a group of gunmen in the camp.

You guessed it. The BBC fails to mention that these Palestinians were carrying guns, and therefore were most likely Fatah or Hamas members. In any normal society people don't go around carrying guns in the streets, and therefore the reader of the BBC article is left with the impression that these were innocent civilians. But the BBC goes further than that...

Quote: "The Gaza offensive also aims to stop rocket launches by Palestinian militants, who say such attacks are in retaliation for Israeli action against them.

Hold on a second... What was Hamas doing when Israel was evacuating around 9000 of its people from Gaza? I think you'll find the answer is they were stepping up their Kassam rocket attacks on Israel, and the BBC knows that only too well. This insert by the BBC is here solely for the intension of justifying Palestinian violence. In light of all this violence emanating from the Gaza Strip, President Ahmadinejad is continuing to concern himself with the "Palestinian problem", I believe in an effort to deflect attention from his nuclear efforts. The President has written a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, asking her for help to find a solution to Zionism and the Palestinian problem. Earlier in the year, Ahmadinejad criticized Europe, saying that if Europeans felt so guilty about killing Jews during the Holocaust, that they should have created a homeland for them in Europe, and not in middle of the Islamic world. 

Quote: ""It's not negative like Ahmadinejad's letter to Bush. He is not criticizing Germany," he said. "It's basically about how we have to work together and solve the problems of the world together." In February, Merkel compared Ahmadinejad's statements and stance to Adolf Hitler's rise to power when he and his Nazi party began threatening to exterminate European Jewry. "Remember that in 1933 many people said it was just rhetoric," Merkel said. The German official said it was interesting that the letter did not discuss Iran's nuclear standoff with the United States, European Union and other countries.

It didn't discuss it, because he doesn't want to bring attention to it. At least until August 22nd.

Source Jerusalem Post, BBC, YNet News

Quote: ""Indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians," she said in a statement released by her office in Geneva. "Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged innocent civilians is unjustifiable." "Hizbullah fighters too are bound by the rules of international humanitarian law, and they must not target civilian areas," it said, referring to the indiscriminate shelling of Israeli cities.

Quote: ""Indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians," Ms Arbour said. "Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged military significance, but resulting invariably in the killing of innocent civilians, is unjustifiable."

When you are fighting a war, innocent people will always get caught in the middle, that is an unfortunate fact. The Israeli pilots do their best to ensure no civilians are around at the time of the bombings, but mistakes are invariably made. That may be the price that has to be paid in order to defend the innocent civilians who have become the targets of this Syro-Iranian sponsored onslaught. How many more deaths might have occurred had Israel just stepped back and let the UN dictate the rules? Just look at Sudan for an example of UN "peace keeping" policy. Around 1.5 million Christians dead in 20 years, while the world turned a blind eye. Only recently has the region caught the world's attention, and what has the UN achieved in that time? 

Russia has also expressed its anger at the Lebanese death toll, and accused Israel of going far beyond what was required, while calling for an immediate cease-fire and the release of the captured Israeli soldiers. 

Quote: ""The unprecedented scale of victims and destruction bear witness to the fact that the actions that were announced to (free captured Israeli servicemen) have gone far beyond the bounds of an anti-terrorist operation," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)

The Lebanese Prime Minster Siniora has also warned Israel if they enter Lebanon, they will be fighting a de facto war with the Lebanese army, adding that he could not keep Syria and Iran at bay from what is happening in his country. Meanwhile, the European Commission is working hard to ease the escalating crisis, pledging 10 million Euros to help those fleeing the country. At his meeting with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, Javier Solana also expressed his desire that a a solution would soon be found...

Quote: ""We have a sentiment of tragedy, which urges all of us to do all we can to stop what was going on as soon as possible," Solana told reporters after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza city over intensive Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. "We don't want to see responses that would result in tremendous physical and human losses for civilians," he added.  

Source YNet News, BBC, YNet News, YNet News, Reuters, People's Daily

Quote: "Mount Mayon, the most active of 22 volcanoes in the Southeast Asian country, began spewing lava, ash and rocks the size of cars last week, prompting volcanologists to raise the alert level to 3 on a 1-5 scale. The government has told 4,000 people to evacuate a danger zone of 6 km (4 miles) around the summit but many have refused to leave their homes and farms until the alert level was raised anew as officials set up relief centres to house and feed them.

Source BBC, Telegraph, Reuters

Quote: "According to Israeli estimations and reports in Arab media, Syria and Iran are working to support Hizbullah and help it survive the conflict with Israel. The aim is to safeguard the organization so that it can serve the two states in a future confrontation, around Iran's nuclear program for example. Qatari newspaper al-Watan said that Damascus and Teheran reached an agreement according to which a Hizbullah defeat must be avoided, and that supporting this organization and Palestinian organizations in the territory will serve the strategic interests of Damascus and Teheran. 

Meanwhile, Hizbullah continues to kill Israeli civilians, this time in the predominately Christian-Arab town of Nazareth. This time, two Israeli children were killed while playing in the streets. The Israeli Foreign Ministry points out that this was a coordinated attack on a Christian community.

Quote: "A short time after the strike on Nazareth, the Foreign Ministry's senior officials held a meeting. "They do not distinguish between Jews and Arabs and Christians. These rockets strike out of intention a holy city to Christianity, to send a message. Their ability to direct these rockets have been proven. There's no doubt that they planned to hit one of the central places of faith for Christians, a symbol of hundreds of millions around the world," a Foreign Ministry official said. Ambassadors were told that it "it is just a coincidence that an ancient church was not struck there, a center for many Christian pilgrims."

This from LittleGreenFootballs. You may not realize it, but there is already a UN presence in Lebanon, called UNIFIL. It's this force that Kofi Annan and Javier Solana are so keen to upgrade to a possible 8000 strong standing army. UNIFIL aren't a "peace keeping" force, i.e. they don't have the authority to kill Hizbullah terrorists, but they do monitor the border, keeping an ever watchful eye on everything that's going on...

Quote: "Relations between Israel and the United Nations plummeted after information emerged that U.N. peacekeepers on the Lebanon border suppressed video tapes of three soldiers being abducted by Hizbullah guerrillas in 2000. UNIFIL denied the charge, but the U.N. later admitted unintentionally concealing evidence from Israel. "We know that they had line of sight and could see the actual kidnapping. They could have put roadblocks up to prevent Hizbullah from escaping. But they didn't lift a finger," said Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the U.N.

And when everything is quiet, there is always time for a relaxing cup of tea...

Quote: "An Israeli commander at the Lebanese border recalls peering through binoculars one afternoon to see U.N. peacekeepers sipping tea with Hizbullah guerrillas.

Source YNet News, YNet News, Reuters

Quote: ""Israel and the international community have the common goal to initiate a move that will bring a long-term change in the region and prevent the terror that Israelis and Lebanese are facing," said Livni. "Our interest is to bring a better future for the region," she said. "We demand the immediate and unconditional release of the three abducted soldiers: Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev. Israel is not going negotiate with the Hizbullah and there is no anticipation in the international community that we do it. It's clear that there is a strategic goal here – the understanding that we are facing a regional threat, and that Israel and Lebanon has no real disagreement."

This "regional threat", i.e. the Syro-Iranian axis (is that a word?), coupled with Hizbullah and Hamas in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, will provide the ideal staging grounds for the EU to test its new crisis management tool, a.k.a. Recommendation 666. The UN Secretary General has already called for EU assistance in the region, and if Prime Minister Olmert is going to get his "covenant of peace", Javier Solana will probably need troops in Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and possibly Egypt (which has been suffering lately from a wave of Al Qaeda attacks). Libya and Sudan are also mentioned in Scripture as being occupied by the Antichrist's forces in Daniel 11:43, both countries currently hotbeds of Islamic terrorism. 

But Solana, always true to form, does not want to upset Hizbullah either. He stated today that Europe would not list Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, despite its targeting of Israeli civilians in suicide bombings and support from Iran and Syria. 

Quote: "The United Nations [ed. European Union] High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana said during a press conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni that the UN has no sufficient data to determine whether the Hizbullah can be included in the list of terror organizations. He also added that the issue at hand is legal, not ethical. (Ronny Sofer)

I doubt that the EU has "sufficient data" to determine this, a more likely explanation is that Solana wants to butter up Hizbullah so they will work with him, as he is presently doing with Iran. The European Union sees Hizbullah much like the current UK government perceives Sinn Fein (or the PUP, etc), as a political organization with ties to terrorism. In my opinion, if it barks it must be a dog. Likewise, any organization that resorts to violence to achieve a political end is a terrorist organization, and ought to be branded as such. Even the Russians are pretty upset with Hizbullah's "terrorist activities"...

Quote: "Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on Saturday warned that other nations could be drawn into the escalating Middle East conflict, which he called "a war that has begun." Ivanov appealed to the Islamic extremist group Hezbollah to stop using "terrorist methods" and said both sides must exercise restraint. "We call on Hezbollah to stop resorting to any terrorist methods including attacking neighbouring states," Ivanov said.

Source YNet News, YNet News, Haaretz

While most media organizations and politicians are now in support of Israel's very own "war on terror", and now blame Hizbullah and its Iranian and Syrian support for creating this crisis, there are some leftwing nuts who are still trying to portray this conflict as Israeli aggression against Lebanon. Forget the Pope and the French President, who merely accused Israel of a "disproportionate response" while over 800 rockets a day rained down on the country. French Minister of Parliament, Jacques Myard, is accusing Israel of deliberately targeting civilians and calling for French military action against Israel to protect its nationals in Lebanon. This despite over one thousand sorties being launch against Hizbullah positions since the start of the war, and thousands of targets being destroyed with comparably limited civilian casualties. If Israel was hitting a lot of civilians, you can bet the liberal media would be making the most of it. There have been a number of Lebanese deaths, but as they say there will always be some "collateral damage" in any war, especially when Syrian trucks are coming across the border to rearm Hizbullah, disguised as civilian vehicles.

Quote: Jacques Myard MP states - "Multiple direct testimonials from Lebanon are coming from French people residing in South Lebanon, and particularly Tyre, according to which the Israeli army is shooting at first sight on everything that moves, and notably on civilians. These French saw a helicopter kill a whole family, including the children, by shooting at their minivan on sight and from a few meters afar, as they were fleeing the conflict zone. The church at Rachaya is said to have been destroyed while it was packed with refugees.

And this view isn't a French problem. It seems the BBC is still reluctant to accept that Hizbullah, supported by Iran and Syria, is responsible for this escalation in violence. Another liberal reporter in the Biased Broadcasting Corporation, Jonathan Beale, accuses the US of trying to deflect international attention away from Israel and onto Hizbullah, and openly questions Syrian involvement in Lebanon despite the Syrian government's statement of support for the group's actions against Israel. 

Quote: "The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says the US strategy is becoming clearer - to turn international attention and anger away from Israel's actions, and to focus on those of Hezbollah and Syria instead. But he adds that some will question the evidence of blatant Syrian interference in Lebanon. 

I would partially understand if these comments were part of an editorial on the situation in Lebanon, but the fact they are inserted into a news article, which is meant to be reporting facts - not opinions, goes to show how low the BBC is willing to go to mould public opinion against Israel and the US. "Who" will question Syrian involvement in Israel, and "how" does Jonathan Beale know that blaming Syria is just a US strategy and the source of the problem, are questions that the reader should be asking themselves, rather than taking Jonathan Beale's or the BBC's word as facts. 

Source The Dissident Frogman, BBC

Hizbullah terrorist cells stand ready to attack US and Jewish interests worldwide, according to a recent statement made by the organization, if and when the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei gives the order. While Iran actively supports Hizbullah in its war against the Jewish nation, the fighting has up until now been limited to Lebanon and Israel. In the event of an attack on Iranian or Syrian soil, it is possible other countries could soon find themselves dragged into a wider war by Hizbullah's Islamic army of suicide bombers...

Quote: ""We have 2,000 volunteers who have registered since last year," said Iranian Hizbollah's spokesman Mojtaba Bigdeli, speaking by telephone from the central seminary city of Qom. "They have been trained and they can become fully armed. We are ready to dispatch them to every corner of the world to jeopardise Israel and America's interests. We are only waiting for the Supreme Leader's green light to take action. If America wants to ignite World War Three ... we welcome it," he said.

US and Israeli intelligence had warned back in April (once again we see this war has been planned by Iran and Syria), that Hizbullah possessed an extensive terror network that was capable of causing severe disruption on an international scale.

Quote: "Iran has readied an "army" of 40,000 suicide bombers to strike targets all over the Western world and Israel as a response to a possible attack on their nuclear facilities, the British Sunday Times reported Sunday morning. Two senior officials from the Homeland Security Agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed with the prediction and warned that Iran could set a worldwide terror network into motion in the US and elsewhere. They added that an attack on Iran would be much more dangerous to the US than was the strike on Iraq.

And if you think this threat is limited to Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran or other Middle Eastern countries, think again. Hizbullah aren't the only group that is advocating a global jihad against Christians and Jews. The Islamic axis in Britain is alive and well. This from a man based in the UK...

Quote: "The speaker asked, rhetorically, what can be done. He answered, "From the time the (heathen) Briton, American and Israel enter Muslims lands, it's the right of all Muslims now. It is global jihad! When the jihad has spread all over the world, occupation has spread to every country in the Muslim lands. Now it has become a war declared openly (and) the jihad affects every single Muslim. (We encourage every Muslim) to fight the jihad physically, financially and verbally - all three - so (those who are) far away from the fight or can't reach it... can still support... the jihad... We can incite the believers; we can promote the jihad and Mujahideen. Let the (heathen) know they are not just fighting a few Muslims in Beirut, but 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide... United we will condemn them in London, speak out asking Allah to destroy them; no two states. We are going to ask Allah to destroy them completely so that there is not one left; every single one is dead in Israel. Give victory to the Muslims and destroy all of our enemies."

Source Washington Post, Jerusalem Post, Global Politician

Quote: "British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday that the force must have more bite and "far greater" numbers than UNIFIL, which was set up in March 1978 to oversee the volatile border region between Lebanon and Israel. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi talked of 8,000 troops, but the United States has appeared cautious, stressing that all the leaders had done was to ask the United Nations to consider deployment.

Israel has recently extended the operation in Lebanon for a further five days. The IDF believes it has destroyed around 50% of the fighting capacity of Hizbullah, but needs more time to prevent further attacks from happening. Some Knesset members are calling on the Israeli Prime Minister to strike Syria now, and put an end to Hizbullah and Hamas once and for all. 

Quote: ""Ceasefire is a mistaken concept - we need deterrence. We need to aim, not for a temporary agreement, but rather a permanent, written agreement between Israel, Lebanon, and the quartet. In the event of a temporary ceasefire, terrorists will merely use the quiet in order to rearm and recruit, and the situation will begin all over again," Lieberman continues. In his opinion, Israel must resist a ceasefire that does not comply with the three aforementioned conditions and also, exert pressure on Syria. To a certain degree, he claims, we should extend operations to Syria. "Assad is panicking. We can squash him so hard that he would quickly quit his involvement with and support of Hizbullah. We have at our disposal the means and the opportunity to exert pressure on Syria. For example, we could attack airports, the Beirut-Damascus road and other things that I recommended to the prime minister. Assad knows that American forces are sitting on one side of his borders and that our forces are sitting on the other side. "We could squash him," Lieberman repeated, "Notice that he hasn't said a word, publicly, about Hizbullah."

President Bush also blames President Assad of Syria for escalating the situation, and has told Prime Minister Tony Blair that the only way the situation can become calm is to end Syrian support for the terrorist groups in the Middle East. On the Iranian front, President Ahmadinejad accused Israel of trying to occupy Lebanon today, and recommitted himself to his own August 22nd deadline for responding to the European nuclear offer, much to the frustration of EU politicians. Iran I believe is purposely holding back from publicly joining the war against Israel, possibly at least until they can announce to the world they have a nuclear weapon or something similar. Ahmadinejad's promises that the world will soon witness the end of the "Zionist regime" are too bold to pass off as mere gesture.

Source Telegraph, YNet News, YNet News

Quote: "Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was sent to Damascus to urge Hizbullah to curb rocket attacks against Israel and to release two Israel Defense Forces soldiers captured a week ago in order to avoid further escalations, a London-based Arabic daily reported. Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that a European country warned Iran that Israel is ready for a confrontation with Syria, which recently signed a defense alliance with Iran. The alliance stipulates that Iran would send arms and troops to back Syria should Damascus be attacked.

Source YNet News, YNet News

Friends, I still find everything we have witnessed this past few days extremely hard to take in, as many of you also do, but the following news seems to be the icing on the cake in regards to Biblical prophecy this week. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressed the Israeli Knesset and nation this afternoon, concerning the ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip and south Lebanon. He stated everything possible was being done to avoid this conflict in disengaging from Gaza and the West Bank, but that Israel's enemies had been mistaken in thinking Israel's "willingness to pull back and show restraint is a sign of weakness". Olmert stated that the operations in the north and south would continue until the safe return of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers. The Prime Minister also stated that a strong Lebanon was a key to preventing terrorism and instability in the Middle East, and said in his address that he hoped Israel could soon sign an "eternal covenant of peace" with their neighbours. He finished his speech by quoting from the book of Jeremiah. 

Quote: "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that he hoped an "eternal covenant" could soon be signed between Israel and its neighbours. "Israel didn't want these confrontations, on the contrary, we did our utmost to avoid them by withdrawing to borders recognized by the international community," said the prime minister. Olmert added that Israel had no business in involving itself with the internal struggles within Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority adding, "our problem is with the terrorists attacking us from those territories."

Prime Minister Olmert is speaking of the soon fulfilment of two prophesies in one address to the Knesset. One, that Israel would withdraw to internationally recognized borders as mentioned in Joel 3:2 and Zechariah 12. Two, that Israel would sign a peace agreement or "covenant", the exact words used by Daniel to describe this peace treaty, with the surrounding nations. 

Joel 3:2 
I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

Daniel 9:27 
And he (Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many 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 (Temple) desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This "covenant" will of course, according to Daniel, fail catastrophically in the middle of the tribulation period, and result in the greatest persecution for Israel they have ever witnessed. The Hebrew prophets spoke of these days we are now living in, and we are privileged to witness it. God's Word has come to pass, is coming to pass, and will continue to come to pass regardless of what man says. Whether you believe we will go through the tribulation or not, the Bible states there is only one acceptable time to be saved.

2nd Corinthians 6:2