JPost.com » Iran » Article

May 8, 2008 18:38 | Updated May 8, 2008 19:36 Ahmadinejad: Israel a 'stinking corpse' By JPOST.COM STAFF

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the state of Israel is a "stinking corpse" that is destined to disappear, the French news agency AFP reported.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Photo: AP

"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as having said.

"Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."

Ahmadinejad further stated that Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese" - referring to the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1209627040670&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Way to spoil a birthday party, Mahmoud.

Actually, it's hard for me to imagine Mahmoud being the balloon animal/pin the tail on the donkey type anyway.

But as we noted yesterday, this outrageous, almost silly rhetoric would be laughable if the following story wasn't fresh in our minds.

Israel: Iran could have nukes by '09

 

With Iran racing forward with its nuclear program, Israel now believes the Islamic Republic will master centrifuge technology and be able to begin enriching uranium on a military scale this year, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, visits the Natanz Uranium Enrichment Facility some 322 kilometers south of the capital Teheran, Iran.
Photo: AP

Slideshow: Pictures of the week

The new assessment moves up Israel's forecasts on Teheran's nuclear program by almost a full year - from 2009 to the end of 2008. According to the new timeline, Iran could have a nuclear weapon by the middle of next year.

Iran, a senior defense official said on Tuesday, had encountered numerous technical obstacles on its way to enriching uranium but was now on track to master the technology needed to enrich uranium within six months.

Israel is also concerned that Teheran is developing a cruise missile that can evade interception by the Arrow, the IDF's anti-ballistic missile defense system. Iran is suspected of having smuggled Ukrainian X-55 cruise missiles and using them as models for an independent, domestic project. A cruise missile, which flies at low altitudes to dodge radar detection and interception, could be used to carry a nuclear warhead. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1209627027461&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

If the idea of crazy people with guns make us nervous, how about crazy people with stealth technology equipped cruise missiles?

There is no doubt that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a threat to Israel and world peace.

But there is another aspect of this story we must also keep in mind.

No matter how well armed and filled with hate Iran's leaders might be, they are no match for the One Who stands with Israel.

Do not keep silent, O God!
         Do not hold Your peace,
         And do not be still, O God!
 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;
         And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
         And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
         That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”

O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
         Like the chaff before the wind!
As the fire burns the woods,
         And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,
So pursue them with Your tempest,
         And frighten them with Your storm.
Fill their faces with shame,
         That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
Let them be confounded and dismayed forever;
         Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD,
         Are the Most High over all the earth. (Psalm 83:-14,14-18)

 

Iran clerics rebuke Ahmadinejad over 'hidden imam'

Teams of aid workers are on standby for Burma's military rulers to grant visas and access to a country where an estimated one million people are homeless and entire villages are said to have been swept away.

President George Bush urged the military junta to accept disaster teams from the United States as a charity worker warned : "People are saying this is worse than the Tsunami. It's like a war zone. The number of dead is just staggering." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=564119&in_page_id=1811

How staggering?

Ripped apart: The cyclone's 120mph winds tore this Rangoon factory to pieces

Devastation: Satellite photos of the Irawaddy delta last month and, right, yesterday show how floods have swallowed up swathes of lowland around Rangoon, in the red box

Official figures say more than 24,000 are confirmed dead so far with a further 41,000 missing.

An estimated 10,000 people alone died in the town of Bogalay, 50 miles south west of the capital Rangoon - the majority victims of a 12ft high wave whipped up by the 120 mph winds that left 95 per cent of homes destroyed.

"More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself," Minister for Relief and Resettlement Maung Maung Swe said yesterday, adding : "It swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages...they did not have anywhere to flee."

This event may end up creating more damage and loss of life than the Tsunami Disaster of a couple of years ago.

Jesus did say that unprecedented natural disasters would increase in frequency and intensity as the Last Days draw near.

But He also pointed out another troubling sign.

After Katrina, and the Tsunami, and 9/11, another 60,000 killed by a freakish spasm of a fallen world barely registers two minutes of coverage on the news and a yawn from viewers.

Take a moment to remember that 60,000 isn't just a statistic, but a number that represents mothers and fathers and children, just like the people you love.

Take a moment to pray, and support effective relief works and ministries that can meet both the spiritual and physical challenges in this circumstance.

And pray that we never become so jaded that a disaster like this leaves us unmoved.

Prince Caspian: An Interview With Douglas Gresham

Posted: Monday, May 05, 2008

 
Stevo had a chance to catch up with one of the producers of the upcoming film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. However, this producer is special because he also happens to be the step-son of C.S. Lewis; Douglas Gresham. Mr. Gresham talked with Stevo about the upcoming film, growing up with the creator of Narnia, and much more. Click to hear the complete interview, and look for the next film in The Chronicles of Narnia series to hit theaters May 16th.

Listen to the Interview

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Scott's Blog - 5/01/08

And You Thought "Nahoul the Jew Hating Bee" Was Crazy..

Hamas Holocaust perversion:

Jews planned Holocaust to kill handicapped Jews

By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, Apr. 30, 2008

 

Jewish leaders planned the Holocaust to kill "disabled and handicapped" Jews to avoid having to care for them, according to a Hamas TV educational program. As much of the world prepared to commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, Hamas TV presented its latest sinister twist on Holocaust denial.

 

The Hamas TV educational program, broadcast last week, taught that the murder of Jews in the Holocaust was a Zionist plot with two goals:

 

1- To eliminate "disabled and handicapped" Jews by sending them to death camps, so they would not be a burden on the future state of Israel.

2- At the same time, the Holocaust served to make "the Jews seem persecuted" so they could "benefit from international sympathy."

 

Amin Dabur, head of the Palestinian "Center for Strategic Research" explained that "the Israeli Holocaust - the whole thing was a joke, and part of the perfect show that [Zionist leader and future Israeli prime minister] Ben Gurion put on." The "young energetic and able" were sent to Israel, while the handicapped were sent "so there would be a Holocaust."

 

click here to see video

 

The following is the transcript,

 

Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas) April 18 2008

 

Narrator:

"The disabled and handicapped are a heavy burden on the state,"

said the terrorist leader, Ben Gurion. [Zionist leader - Israel's first PM]

 

The Satanic Jews thought up an evil plot [the Holocaust] to be rid of the burden of the disabled and handicapped, in twisted criminal ways.

[Picture: Holocaust death camp, dead bodies]

 

While they accuse the Nazis or others so the Jews would seem persecuted, and try to benefit from international sympathy. They were the first to invent the methods of evil and oppression."

 

Amin Dabur, head of the Palestinian "Center for Strategic Research":

"About the Israeli Holocaust, the whole thing was a joke and part of the perfect show that Ben Gurion put on, who focused on strong and energetic youth [for Israel], while the rest- the disabled, the handicapped, and people with special needs, they were sent to [to die]- if it can be proven historically. They were sent [to die] so there would be a holocaust, so Israel could "play" it for world sympathy."

 

Narrator:

"The alleged numbers of Jews [killed in the Holocaust] were merely for propaganda." http://www.pmw.org.il/Bulletins_apr2008.html#b300408

JPost.com » Iran » Article

Apr 30, 2008 20:00 | Updated Apr 30, 2008 21:03 Mofaz: Iran could go nuclear in a year

Iran has taken command of its nuclear technology and could have an atomic bomb in a year, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz was quoted as saying Wednesday, citing Israeli intelligence.

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.

According to Channel 10, Mofaz made the comments during talks with US officials in Washington where he leading an Israeli delegation holding meetings within the framework of the Israel-US Strategic Dialogue.

In the past, the general consensus in the intelligence community has been that Iran had hit some technical difficulties with enrichment and that its attainment of nuclear capability was much further off.

Late Sunday night, as Mofaz headed to Washington, he said that Iran must be prevented from attaining nuclear weapons and that all the options were on the table in order to stop that from happening.

"Teheran leads the axis of evil, poses a threat to the entire world, is up to its neck in the Middle East and is even trying to get a foothold in the West Bank," he said.

Meanwhile, as a second US aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf, CBS reported Tuesday that the Pentagon had ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran.

According to the report, the planning was being driven by what one officer called the "increasingly hostile role" Iran is playing in Iraq - smuggling weapons into Iraq for use against American troops.

Targets would include everything from the plants where weapons are made to the headquarters of the organization known as the Quds Force which directs operations in Iraq, CBS reported. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1208870533063&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The fact that Israel was more than willing to obliterate the North Korean built nuclear facility in northern Syria tells us that the IDF will do all that is necessary to prevent the fanatical followers of the Twelfth Mahdi to obtain the bomb.

The addition of another carrier group in the Persian Gulf may indicate that the United States shares that same conviction.

The Bible tells us that Iran will one day be part of a Russian lead coalition of nations that will invade Israel. (See Ezekiel 38:1-6)

But interestingly, a one on one show down between Iran and Israel is never mentioned.

This may indicate that a temporary de-fanging of Iran is in the offing. If Mahmoud Ahmadinejhad and the mad mullahs are humbled by a destruction of their own nuclear capabilities it won't decrease their hatred of Israel and the United States. It may, however drive Iran into an even greater dependency on Russia to achieve her ultimate ambition - the destruction of the Jewish State.

Just as the Scriptures foretell.

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. (I Thessalonians 5:4)

 <http://www.wretch.cc/video/ritahsia&func=single&vid=2282608>

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18)

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Scott's Blog - 4/28/08

The T-Rex In The Living Room

Tyrannosaurus rex just got a firm grip on the animal kingdom's family tree, right next to chickens and ostriches. New analyses of soft tissue from a T.rex leg bone re-confirm that birds are dinosaurs' closest living relatives.

"We determined that T. rex, in fact, grouped with birds - ostrich and chicken - better than any other organism that we studied," said researcher John Asara of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. "We also show that it groups better with birds than [with] modern reptiles, such as alligators and green anole lizards."

Scientists long suspected non-avian dinosaurs were most closely related to modern-day birds. This idea initially rested largely on similarities between the outward appearances of bird and dinosaur skeletons. Later, further evidence on the close evolutionary relationships among birds and non-avian dinosaurs accumulated.

A leg bone full of key gunk

The latest evidence comes from an ancient femur bone unearthed in 2003 by Jack Horner of the Museum of the Rockies in the Hell Creek Formation, a fossil-packed area that spans Montana, Wyoming and North and South Dakota.

It seems some 68 million years ago, a teenage T. rex died and left behind a drumstick-shaped femur bone that today still contains intact soft tissue and the oldest preserved proteins discovered to date.

Though no genetic material was preserved, researchers were able to extract the proteins from the collagen tissues.

"The proteins are what carry out the function inside the cells and organs. So the protein does a lot of the work. That [protein] sequence was derived from DNA," Asara told LiveScience. In the case of T. rex's collagen, "it was responsible for making hard bone so that the dinosaur could stand."

By comparing the dino's protein sequences with those of 21 living organisms, a team of researchers say they have locked in the dinosaur-bird link. http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080424/sc_livescience/gunkintrexfossilconfirmsdinobirdlineage

Did you catch the major issue that went unaddressed in this article?

No. It has nothing to do with the alleged dino-bird link.

An important article that highlights the flaws in this theory is available at http://creationontheweb.com/content/view/4162/

So what was missing in this story on "Dinosaur Gunk"?

The answer is pretty simple - How does the soft tissue of a T-Rex stay preserved at a level that allows protein sequencing for 65 million years?

Last night I had the privilege to sit in on a broadcast of the "Raw Talk" program on M-88 FM in Albuquerque, New Mexico. http://www.m88.org/rawtalk.asp

I shared the hour with Dr. Russell Humphreys of the Institute For Creation Research http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=discover. Dr. Humphreys http://www.icr.org/article/968/ pointed out that DNA of this type does not remain intact for more than 10,000 years. This "dinosaur gunk" should not only be "unsequenceable", it shouldn't exist at all.

But there it is.

Not unlike a carnival worker trying to play the shell game, it seems that this whole speculative discussion of similarities between dinosaur and bird DNA is pointless until we discover why these dinosaur guts are still there in the first place.

This is the "Dinosaur in the living room" that evolutionists simply don't want to touch.

Because if T-Rexes are shown to be less than 10,000 years old a huge part of the evolutionary hold on the public imagination is blown to bits.

It also shows that the plain record of Scripture regarding the age of dinosaurs and the earth itself stands up under examination.

Once again we discover the power of a simple, yet profound biblical truth:

WASHINGTON —  The White House said Thursday that North Korea's secret work on a nuclear reactor with Syria was "a dangerous and potentially destabilizing development for the world," raising doubts about Pyongyang's intention to carry through with a promised disclosure of its nuclear activities.

Seven months after Israel bombed the reactor, the White House broke its silence and said North Korea assisted Syria's secret nuclear program and that the destroyed facility was not intended for "peaceful purposes." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352515,00.html

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Scott's Blog - 4/23/08

We Hate To Say We Told You So..

Carter-Hamas meeting achieved nothing: Palestinians

Last week's meeting between former US president Jimmy Carter and the exiled leader of Hamas militants did not produce any results, Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki said here Wednesday.

"President Carter came to the region thinking he could achieve something. Unfortunately president Carter left without anything concrete," he told a conference in the Spanish capital.

"The only thing he achieved was permission on the part of Khaled Meshaal of Hamas to deliver a letter from a detained Israeli soldier to his family. Nothing else," he said.

"Hamas offered nothing to president Carter. They reiterated the same positions. There was no change on the part of Hamas," Malki added.

Carter's meetings with top Hamas leader Meshaal and his deputy in Syria angered Israel and the United States, which consider the movement a terror group despite its victory in 2006 elections.

He was unable to secure a ceasefire or a prisoner exchange for an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants in 2006, but on Monday Carter said Hamas told him it would recognise Israel's right to exist such a deal was approved by a Palestinian vote.

Just hours later Meshaal told a press conference in Damascus that Hamas would not recognise the Jewish state and would insist on the right of return for 4.5 million Palestinian refugees. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080423112836.vw3o9562&show_article=1

OK.

You caught me.

I don't really hate to say I told you so.

Especially in this case.

There is nothing wrong with pursuing peace.

But when "peace" becomes a sad by word for a propaganda festival, or a strong armed attempt at securing territorial concessions in exchange for meaningless promises, pardon me if I stay off the band wagon.

Jimmy Carter's self promotion driven exercise in shuttle diplomacy was bound to fail.

He has no authority.

Hamas has no reason to listen to him.

Israel won't recognize him as anything else than a high profile tourist.

The only thing this peace initiative accomplished was to get Jimmy Carter's face back on CNN.

Speaking of territorial concessions in exchange for meaningless promises -

Israel 'ready to return Golan'

Returning the Golan Heights to Syria is not a popular concept in Israel

Israel has passed a message to Syria that it would withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace, according to a Syrian government minister.

On Thursday, Mr Olmert told Israel's Channel 10 television that he was interested in peace with Syria, and that both sides knew what the other wanted.

"Very clearly we want peace with the Syrians and we are taking all manner of actions to this end," he said. "President Bashar al-Assad knows precisely what our expectations are and we know his. I won't say more."

The former US President, Jimmy Carter, who held talks with the Syrian leader recently has said he believes "about 85%" of the differences between Israel and Syria have already been resolved, including borders, water rights, the establishment of a security zone and on the presence of international forces.

"[Mr Assad said] the only major difference in starting good-faith talks was that Israel insisted that there will be no public acknowledgment that the talks were going on when Syria insisted that the talks would not be a secret," Mr Carter said earlier this week.

Mr Carter said it was now "just a matter of reconvening the talks and concluding an agreement" between the neighbouring countries.

The Syrian reports on Wednesday have sparked outrage in the Israeli parliament, however, where several MPs said they would seek to accelerate the passage of a bill requiring any withdrawal from the Golan to be dependent on a referendum.

"Olmert's readiness to withdraw from the Golan represents an unprecedented political and national abandon," Yuval Steinitz of Likud told the Haaretz newspaper.

Correspondents say returning the Golan to Syria is not a popular concept in Israel, and the details of a possible Israeli withdrawal have bedevilled past negotiations between the two countries. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7362937.stm

Why is returning the Golan to Syria such an unpopular notion among the Israeli people?

Consider that the nation it would be returned to was listed along with Iran and North Korea as part of the infamous "Axis of Evil" by our president.

Consider that less than eight months ago, North Korean technicians were killed when a biological or chemical warhead malfunctioned in Syria.

Consider that less than six months ago Israeli commandos took out a nascent nuclear weapons facility in northern Syria.

But they promise to be good if Israel returns a piece of property that would allow missiles to be launched at any target in the Jewish state with virtually no time for a warning.

Right.

The prophet Jeremiah identified one of the signs that God's judgment was in the offing with these increasingly relevant words.

“ Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
      Everyone is given to covetousness;
      And from the prophet even to the priest,
      Everyone deals falsely.
      They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly,
      Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’
      When there is no peace." (Jeremiah 6:13-14)

It has been said that nations tend to get the kind of leaders they deserve.

Let's pray for the protection of the sons and daughters of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that the Lord would raise up leadership who will take the protection of His people seriously.

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Scott's Blog - 4/22/08

Hold That Hudna!

If there was ever a politician who took the words, "Go not silently into that dark, dark night" to heart it would have to be Jimmy Carter.

The most famous peanut farmer ever to come out of the state of Georgia was back in the headlines last week for tossing a different kind of dirt around.

Against the explicit wishes and advice of both the state of Israel and our State Department, Carter engaged in a series of public embraces with the leadership of the terrorist group Hamas.

Jimmy Carter: Give Hamas a chance

Jimmy Carter on "Larry King Live" Wednesday.

(CNN) -- Hamas deserves to be recognized by the international community, and despite the group's militant history, there is a chance the soon-to-be Palestinian leaders could turn away from violence, former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday.

 The 39th U.S. president said he met with Hamas leaders in Ramallah, in the West Bank, after last week's elections.

"They told me they want to have a peaceful administration. They want to have a unity government, bring in Fatah members and independent members," Carter said. But he added that "what they say and what they do is two different matters."

However, Carter noted, Hamas has adhered to a cease-fire since August 2004, which "indicates what they might do in the future." He said Hamas is "highly disciplined" and capable of keeping any promise of nonviolence it might make. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/01/carter.hamas/

Carter was correct in his assessment that when it comes to Hamas, "what they say and what they do are two different matters".

He was also correct about the "high level of discipline" in the organization.

Hamas was in fact, so "highly disciplined" that while Carter was hugging its leaders for the cameras, they were also capable of launching two suicide attacks and twelve missiles into Israel at the same time.

The media has made much of the fact that Carter was able to extract a promise of a 10 year cease fire from Hamas if Israel will return to her pre 1967 War boundaries.

Hamas Offers Israel 10-Year Truce
Mohammed Mar’i, Arab News  

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal addresses a press conference in Damascus on Monday. (AFP)

RAMALLAH, West Bank, 22 April 2008 — Hamas would accept a Palestinian state on only part of the land it claims and would grant Israel a 10-year “hudna,” or truce, the Palestinian group’s leader said yesterday.

Khaled Meshaal’s comments were one of the clearest outlines Hamas has given for what it would do if Israel withdrew from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, which it seized in 1967. He suggested Hamas would accept Israel’s existence alongside a Palestinian state on the rest of the lands Israel has held since 1948.

“We agree to a (Palestinian) state on pre-67 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital with genuine sovereignty without settlements but without recognizing Israel,” Meshaal told reporters in Damascus.

“We have offered a truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, a truce of 10 years as a proof of recognition,” he said. He said he made the offer to former US President Jimmy Carter during talks on Friday and Saturday in the Syrian capital. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=109201&d=22&m=4&y=2008

Sounds promising? Wait till you read the fine print.

The word "Hudna" is a loaded one in Islamic lore.

Hudna With Hamas

The media translate "hudna" as "truce," misrepresenting the term's religious, historical and modern meaning.

The Associated Press declared that "the success of peacemaking may well hang on a legal concept dating to the birth of Islam: a hudna, or a truce of a fixed duration."

The New York Times added Monday that a hudna would constitute "a major breakthrough... out of 33 months of violence."

Would a hudna with Hamas really mark "the success of peacemaking," a "major breakthrough" toward a nonviolent future?

The answer lies in the historical meaning of the Muslim expression, Hamas' track record, and the terms of the road map itself.

Hudna has a distinct meaning to Islamic fundamentalists, well-versed in their history: The prophet Mohammad struck a legendary, ten-year hudna with the Quraysh tribe that controlled Mecca in the seventh century. Over the following two years, Mohammad rearmed and took advantage of a minor Quraysh infraction to break the hudna and launch the full conquest of Mecca, the holiest city in Islam.

When Yassir Arafat infamously invoked Mohammad's hudna in 1994 to describe his own Oslo commitments "on the road to Jerusalem," the implication was clear. As Mideast expert Daniel Pipes explained, Arafat was asserting to his Islamic brethren that he will, "when his circumstances change for the better, take advantage of some technicality to tear up existing accords and launch a military assault on Israel." Indeed, this is precisely what occurred in Sept. 2000 when Arafat & Co. launched a terror assault upon Israeli citizens.

As for Hamas, they have proven time and again their commitment to a tactical hudna — replenishing their strength during the quiet periods, then returning with increased deadliness. As recently documented by The Washington Institute, Hamas agreed to no less than ten ceasefires in the past ten years, and after every single one returned freshly armed for terror. Hundreds of Israeli citizens have paid for these hudnas with their lives. http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/critiques/Hudna_With_Hamas.asp

So what does this exercise in dishonest brokering mean from a prophetic point of view?

Surprisingly, it could be a preview of coming attractions.

Consider this conversation between New York Times best selling author and friend of SRL, Joel Rosenberg and CNN talk show host Glenn Beck last night.

MEDIA ALERT: I will be on "The Glenn Beck Show" on CNN Headline News each night this week discussing current events, Bible prophecy, and my new political thriller, Dead Heat. On Friday, Glenn and I will do a one-hour special together on these issues. Tonight's topic: We will pick up on yesterday's discussion about the prophetic significance of Hamas's 10-year peace offer, and discuss whether global warming and food shortages are simply left-wing ideological fantasies or have any basis in reality, and/or prophecy. I hope you can join us.

---------------------------------

At the end of last night's segment on CNN regarding former President Jimmy Carter's recent meetings with senior Hamas leaders, Glenn Beck asked me whether there was any Biblically prophetic significance to the meeting. It was an important question (and one not usually asked on CNN). While I only had 30 seconds to answer it, allow me to raise a few points.

First, Hamas's offer of a 10 year peace deal with Israel is a new and startling development. I personally don't believe Hamas really wants peace with Israel. What's more, the founding Hamas Charter explicitly rejects all comprehensive peace treaties with the Jews. This is simply a ruse to get Israel to stop assassinating Hamas terrorist leaders and lure Israel into a false sense of security. But that's not the point. The point is that this the first time in history that one of Israel's primary enemies has suggested forging not a comprehensive peace deal in perpetuity, but a peace treaty of a short and specific time frame. Israel's treaty with Egypt signed in 1979 was not a time-limited agreement. Neither was Israel's treaty with Jordan in 1994. The Oslo Agreements were never time-limited. Nor is President Bush's "Road Map" for Middle East peace. This is a new development. And I suspect the Hamas offer will eventually be taken seriously by the leaders of Israel, the U.N. and the E.U. (perhaps the U.S., too.)

Second, this time-limited peace offer by Hamas is fascinating in that it is completely consistent with Bible prophecy about the last days. In Daniel 9:27, the ancient Hebrew prophet tells us that in the End of Days, an evil leader will make a comprehensive peace deal or covenant with Israel and her many neighbors and enemies. That deal will seem "firm," says Daniel, but it will not be forever. It will be for 7 years. According to the Book of Daniel and Revelation, Israel will accept the deal (fatally flawed though it is), but the evil leader will break the deal after 3 1/2 years, invade Israel, set up a global empire, and eventually trigger the War of Armageddon. Let me be clear: while Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al is without question an evil leader who seeks nothing less that the liberation of Jerusalem for radical Islam and the liquidation of all Jews and Christians in the Holy Land, I am not saying he is the evil leader of which Daniel writes. But Mash'al's proposal has now injected something new and Biblically significant into the Middle East peace process equation -- the element of a time-limited deal. Very interesting.

Third, in my new political thriller, Dead Heat, I write about this exact scenario of a time-limited peace deal between Israel and her enemies. On page 167, my fictional U.N. Secretary General says: "We need to win the Israelis' confidence. We need them to lower their guard. Their Zionist ideology is exhausted. Their political leaders are feckless. Their diplomatic leaders are so desperate to be loved, to be accepted by the rest of the world, they're willing to give away almost anything. But we must not make the ridiculous mistakes of the past. We must not threaten Israel with war. We must invite them to make peace. We must not turn our backs to them. We must offer them an open hand. We must not boycott them....We must shock them. We must offer them a comprehensive peace treaty, the likes of which the world has never seen before. We must lure them into feeling safe and secure. We must lull them into trusting us, into trusting me...And then, when all this has been accomplished, when the time is right, you and I will make our move. We will seize Jerusalem. We will raze the Temple....But not now. We're not ready -- yet." Then, on p. 371 of Dead Heat, my fictional Israeli Prime Minister says: "The world is suddenly very unstable and Israel, I'm afraid, is suddenly very vulnerable. [The U.N. Secretary General] is suggesting we go from Rome to Babylon and have some time alone with [the leader of Iraq]. He wants us to hammer out some kind of fast regional peace treaty -- even a temporary one, something that might last five or ten years, or so....To be honest, given all that's happening, I'm inclined to say yes."

Fourth, watch carefully to see if this concept of a time-limited Arab-Israeli peace deal gains traction. I wrote about a fictional deal like this in Dead Heat because it seemed like a plausible geopolitical scenario to get us to the Biblical prophecy of a 7-year Middle East peace deal. But until this week, no one in real life had ever talked seriously about a limited time frame for a peace deal with Israel. Now Israel's most dangerous immediate neighbor has, assisted by the architect of the Camp David Peace Accords. What's more, President Bush says he is optimistic that an Israeli-Palestinian deal can be struck by the end of 2008. Perhaps prophetic events are moving faster than most Americans think. http://joelrosenberg.blogspot.com/

Be sure to catch Joel on the Glenn Beck Show this week.

But be even more sure to remember the words of Jesus.

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour^[f] your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:37-44)

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Scott's Blog - 4/21/08

I Wish We'd All Been Ready

We live in a time where worship songs by Chris Tomlin, Sean MacDonald and Jeremy Camp are regularly heard in church.

This may have never happened if it had not been for the pioneering work of Larry Norman.

Larry Norman's "Only Visiting This Planet," 1972

Larry went to be with the Lord earlier this month. A recurrent series of heart problems and complications ended up taking their toll.

But suffice it to say that Christian music would not be in the state that it is in today without the pioneering work of this man.

"I wanted to push aside the traditional gospel quartet music, break down the church doors and let the hippies and the prostitutes and other unwashed rabble into the sanctuary," he recalled to Contemporary Musicians. "I wanted to talk about feeding the poor, going into the world.... I wanted the church to get active and go out and do what Jesus told us to do. I felt that while the hymns had great theology soaked into their lyrics, that most of the modern music was anemic and needed a transfusion."
http://larrynorman.com/

One of the most memorable songs Larry Norman produced was the classic "I Wish We'd All Been Ready".

Life was filled with guns and war,

And everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we'd all been ready

Children died, the days grew cold,

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

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A man and wife asleep in bed,

She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone,

I wish we'd all be ready,

Two men walking up a hill,

One disappears and one's left standing still,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

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Life was filled with guns and war,

And everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we'd all been ready,

Children died, the days grew cold,

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

How could you have been so blind,

The Father spoke, the demons dined,

The Son has come and you've been left behind.

 

Larry Norman's legacy is a musical style that didn't flinch from asking tough questions.

"I Wish We'd All Been Ready" raises some of the most important of all.

How can we be ready for the return of the Lord? Who will be taken in the Rapture? Who will be left?

Check out our video blog on the homepage for some challenging answers.

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Scott's Blog - 4/17/08

"Peace In Our Time"?



Have you ever heard of the Munich Pact?

In 1938, the shadow of war was beginning to loom large over Europe.

Adolf Hitler has already annexed the nation of Austria. Next on his list was a large portion of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland.

The Czech inhabitants were looking to France and Britain to honor previous defense agreements and stand up for them.

It didn't happen that way.

At a peace parlay in Munich, an agreement was reached effectively giving the territory to Nazi Germany.

Although the Czechs kicked off their land weren't even allowed to take their livestock with them it managed to avert open hostilities between Germany, France and Britain.

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain returned to thunderous applause from his relieved countrymen. He made the following historic statement:

'"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time."

The reaction wasn't all positive. Winston Churchill famously commented, "You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You have chosen dishonor and will have war."

Less than three years later when German rockets rained down on London, "Peace in our time" had become a cruel joke.

I couldn't help but think of Neville Chamberlain's misguided optimism when I read the following quote from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert regarding another rising Nazi-like threat:

"I can tell the Israeli people on the eve of Pessah...that to the best of my understanding, based on what I know and assess, I believe the effort by the international community - which includes any relevant means - will succeed, and Iran will not become a nuclear power." http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1208356973683&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Ironically, some thousand miles to the north east, another head of state had a completely different take.

Iran marks Army Day, issues more threats

 

TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that Iran would "cut off the hand of any aggressor" and insisted Tuesday the country's military must be prepared amid escalating tensions with the international community over its disputed nuclear program.

The defiant stance came hours before a meeting in Moscow of senior diplomats from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany to discuss the issue and less than two weeks before a council deadline for Iran to stop uranium enrichment.

"Today, you are among the world's most powerful armies because you rely on God," Ahmadinejad declared at a parade to commemorate Army Day.

"Iran's enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead," Ahmadinejad said. http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-04-18-iran-army-day_x.htm

It is interesting to note that one of the surest signs of impending disaster in the Scriptures is this very same Munich Pact-like optimism.

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.  For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.  But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing. (I Thessalonians 5:1-11)

There is a real difference between a whistling in the graveyard hope in political solutions, and trust in the plan of God to provide for His people.

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TEHRAN, April 15, 2008 (AFP) - Iran would "eliminate Israel from the global arena" if it was attacked by the Jewish state, the deputy commander of the army warned on Tuesday, amid an intensifying war of words between the two foes.

"We are not worried by Israeli manoeuvres, but if Israel takes such action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we will eliminate it from the global arena," Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

His comments come a week after Israeli National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer warned that any Iranian attack against Israel "would lead to the destruction of the Iranian nation."

Ashtiani, whose comments were also reported by the official IRNA news agency, was speaking at a news conference ahead of Iran's national army day on Thursday when a major military parade is expected in Tehran.

"As the President (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) has said, we have a great motivation to defend the frontiers of our country," he added.

"In the case of any action by Israel, we are ready to eliminate it from the global arena." http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080415/wl_mideast_afp/iranisraelpoliticsconflict_080415114542

This war of nerves is definitely playing out on both sides of this conflict.

American-Israelis who came of age in the 1950s and '60s will be old enough to remember taking part in regular air-raid drills during school hours. This involved crouching under a desk or against an interior wall, placing your head between your knees and covering your face with your arms - a defensive posture known as "duck and cover."

A Zaka rescue and recovery volunteer group during a chemical warfare drill in Jerusalem, Sunday.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

That this was standard practice for years in the most powerful nation on earth attests to the Cold War fears and tensions on the American home front over the threat of intercontinental Soviet missiles stored in silos a hemisphere away.

Over the next four days, Israelis around the country - in schools, offices, hospitals, factories and, of course, military installations - will be practicing the ol' duck-and-cover, both literally and figuratively, as they take part in "Turning Point 2," the largest-ever-civil-defense drill in Israel's history. It is the first time an emergency exercise of this scale has been carried out here - but it surely won't be the last, reflecting the evolving nature of the strategic threats Israelis must now contend with militarily, and to a certain degree, on the level of mass psychology. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207486207851&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Iran's saber rattling and Israel's defense drills both illustrate that the world we live in is subject to change without notice.

To underestimate the willingness of Mahmoud Ahmadinejhad and the mad mullahs of Iran to plunge the Middle east into war is a foolish mistake. As we have mentioned before in this space Ahmadinejhad and his fellow Shiite Moslems believe that the coming of their messiah, the Imam Mahdi, will happen when the entire world is engulfed in conflict.

It is not only in their regional political interests to stir up trouble in the Middle East, it is a religious duty.

One day, according to Ezekiel 38-39 these threats will be backed up with actions.

When will it happen? We don't know for certain. But the players are beginning to take their place on the stage of world events.

Now, more than ever, we need to keep Jesus' words in the forefront of our minds and hearts.

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” (Luke 21:28)

Only 9 percent of all born again adults gave 10 percent of their income to churches and charitable groups, a new survey revealed.

While the practice of tithing and whether it is a biblical responsibility is still debated today, The Barna Group found that very few Americans, including Christians, give tithe.

Overall, only 5 percent of U.S. adults tithed in 2007, the survey released Monday showed. Since 2000, the proportion of adults who tithed has remained in the 5 percent to 7 percent range.

The most generous group was the evangelicals, with 24 percent having tithed last year. Other groups who were more likely to give at least 10 percent of their income include conservatives (12 percent); people who had prayed, read the Bible and attended a church service during the past week (12 percent); charismatic or Pentecostal Christians (11 percent); and registered Republicans (10 percent). http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080414/31947_Study%3A_Few_Born_Agains_Tithe_to_Churches.htm

Why are so many so hesitant to give?

I believe it comes down to a close encounter with legalism.

It starts when churches, like everyone else go through a time when resources get lean.

The leadership gets frustrated, and even fearful that ministry won't be able to continue.

So not so subtle hints are dropped.

"If you want God to bless you you must give at least 10% of your income to the church!"

The verse that is usually quoted to back this up?

There is only one problem with this teaching.

The tithe (literally, a tenth) was given as a command to the nation of Israel. It was a form of spiritual income tax that would go for the upkeep of the temple and the support of the priests and Levites who worked there.

Although in Matthew 23, Jesus does affirm that the Jewish people should have tithed, nowhere do we see this given as a command for non Jews to keep in either Acts or the epistles (see Acts 15).

What is the New Testament standard of giving?

In short, New Testament giving should be a "get to" not a "got to". We should give because we are excited about the things God is doing and want to be a practical part of it.

The moment we feel pressured or guilty or resentful about giving -

Get ready, because I will wager you would never have thought that a pastor would write this -

The Lord doesn't need your money. He's not a little short this month. He's not broke.

We give because we want to share in God's generous character, and learn to think a little less about ourselves.

We give because we want to see others blessed and be a little more like Jesus Who gave everything to save us.

The problem with giving under pressure is that it works in the short term. But after a few bad experiences, instead of rejoicing we resent every opportunity that is presented to give.

And so the wallets stay shut.

Don't get me wrong. Giving 10% is a good guideline to shoot for in terms of making giving a regular part of our walk with the Lord.

But it is not mandatory.

We are blessed not by our works, but by the grace of God.

Perhaps if that message of giving as a "get to" not a "got to" was shared more often, more than 24% of believers would get in on the fun.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (II Corinthians 9:15)

 

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Scott's Blog - 4/14/08

Will Billy Graham Be in Heaven?