PART THREE OF "WHY THE ANTICHRIST WILL PROBABLY BE A MUSLIM" BY NEVILLE STEPHENS.

I have been running a little late this month with holiday, business, and family arrangments, therefore part three of my series on "Why The Antichrist Will Probably Be A Muslim" has been put onto a back burner.

To fill the gap, while I finish off chapter three, I post here a superb article by Amy Van Gerpen, in a critique of the latest book by Tim LaHaye called "Revelation Unveiled". In it, Amy supports my theory that the Antichrist will be an Assyrian from the Eastern Leg of the Revived Roman Empire, and not someone from the European Union, or the Western Leg (Rome) which collapsed approximately fourteen centuries before the demise of the Turkish Empire.

It is good to see expert prophecy scholars such as Chuck Missler, Ron Matsen, all of the WND team led by Joel Richardson and Walid Shoebat, plus the likes of Amy Van Gerpen present this fresh eschatological approach to challenge the mainstream end times teachings, which lead so many people astray.

Nev.
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The Nationality of the Antichrist. "Daniel 9:26 refers to [the antichrist] as the ruler of the people that will come, meaning that he will be of the royal lineage of the race that destroyed Jerusalem. Historically this was the Roman Empire; therefore he will be predominantly Roman."

("Revelation Unveiled" - By Tim LaHaye)

The antichrist will indeed arise out of the historic Roman Empire based on Daniel 9. It is possible that the antichrist may even have Roman blood. However, his nationality will probably not be European.

Lahaye, and most other Bible scholars are quick to suggest that the antichrist will come out of Europe, based on this one passage in Daniel. Further study reveals this is not likely the case.

The historic Roman Empire became too large to be governed effectively and so it was divided:

The statue in Daniel depicts this with the two legs of iron (Daniel 2:33). So we see that the "people" that the "ruler" will come from not only includes the European nations (the west leg), but also includes the Middle East nations (the east leg). The western leg eventually fell, but the eastern leg continued as the Byzantine Empire for almost 1000 more years, and was headquartered in Turkey.

The Ottomans conquered the Byzantine Empire near the turn of the 14th century, and ruled until the 1920's. It is interesting to note, that Satan had his throne in the eastern leg, in the area of Turkey (Revelation 2:13).

The original seven churches in Revelation were also in Turkey.To complicate matters, the Roman army typically did not consist of Roman soldiers but of people from the region led by Roman Generals, called "legions" (source). This was necessary because with the massive size of the empire there were not enough Roman born soldiers to go around. In other words, it is probable that the "people" that the antichrist will be a descendant from, is from the Middle East.

Revelation 13:2 and Daniel 7:3-7 depict the beast as a combination of the previous beasts or kingdoms. So it would make sense that the origin of the antichrist will be associated with all of these kingdoms; much like Christ was born in Bethleham, came out of Egypt and was called a Nazarene. Interestingly, the modern-day nations that were once a part of all four kingdoms in Daniel (lion=Babylon, bear=Medo-Persian, leopoard=Grecia, beast=Roman) are Israel, parts of Turkey, Armenia, parts of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The latter four kingdoms neighbor Israel.

The Bible also refers to the antichrist as the Assyrian (Isaiah 10, 14 & Micah 5) and the King of the North (Daniel 11:40-45). Assyria was a kingdom centered in Mesopotamia, or Babylonia, which was north of Israel. The Assyrian empire ruled prior to the Babylonian empire. This is purely speculation, but perhaps the antichrist's initial dominion will cover most of the ancient area of Assyria and be called "New Assyria" with "New Babylon" as its capitol. This kingdom would likely emerge after the "Great Middle East" and "Gog and Magog" wars (See "Amy's Speculation Corner"). Let's not forget that the strongest foreshadow of the antichrist was Antiochus IV., Epiphanes, who was King of Assyria from 175-164BC.

Antiochus carried out an "abomination of desolation", defiling the Jewish Temple, which is prophesied to take place again during the middle of the 70th Week in Daniel 9:27, by the antichrist, who is also called the king of Assyria. It is also interesting to note, that the Assyrian Empire included modern day Iraq. The Bible also indicates that the antichrist will rule from Babylon (Isaiah 14), where it will be the capital of the world during the Tribulation (Revelation 18).

Lahaye also suggests in his book the possibility of the antichrist having Jewish blood. In light of the prophecy from Jacob in Genesis 49:17, where Dan is said to be like a serpent in the last days, we should not rule it out. However, it is probable that the false prophet of the beast could fulfill this prophecy about Dan instead. This is because the false prophet will arise out of the land, a type of Israel (Revelation 13:11), and the antichrist will arise out of the sea, a type for the Gentile nations (Revelation 13:1).

To me, it makes sense that the antichrist will be of the bloodline of Abraham, but come from the line of Ishmael, who is considered a Gentile. Ishmael was cursed to be a wild donkey of a man; he also did not get God's blessing. As we know today, Ishmael's descendants are still cursed and being led by Satan against God's chosen people.

The last Gentile kingdom, we haven't touched on, is Egypt. Pharaoh was a strong foreshadow of the antichrist, much like the kings of Babylon and Assyria were. Ishmael's mother Hagar was Egyptian. So if the antichrist is from the line of Ishmael, he also has ties to Egypt. The Egyptian kingdom, like the other Gentile kingdoms, included Lebanon, Syria and parts of Turkey and Jordan, but not as far as Armenia.

If the antichrist was from a country that was included in all the Gentile kingdoms, this would then literally fulfill Revelation 13:1, where the beast will come from all seven heads or kingdoms (1. Egypt - 2. Assyria - 3. Babylon - 4. Medo-Persia - 5. Greece - 6. Roman Empire - 7. Revived Roman Empire).

And then there was Esau. Why did God say that He hated Esau? I believe it was because he married two of Ishmael's daughters in disobedience. Genesis 28:8 tells us that Ishmael's daughters lived in Canaan. Interestingly, Canaan was cursed back in Genesis 9:25 for the sin of his father Ham. Ham, Canaan, Ishmael, and Esau are then all tied together in disobedience to God, and have all been cursed. Satan has used their offspring, the Arab Muslims, as enemies and a continual stumbling block to God's chosen people under the umbrella of the religion of Islam.

It is no wonder that the headlines and wars today are centered on the continual conflict between the Jews and the Muslims with this spiritual battle going on. The Muslim eschatology even has their own messiah, the Mahdi, with the return of Jesus as a prophet, which is strikingly similar to the Biblical antichrist and false prophet. Is Satan trying to force the hand of God, or has he figured out from Scripture where the antichrist will originate from?

The Bible tells us that the antichrist will come as a peacemaker (Daniel 11:21-24 & Revelation 6:1-2). Does it even seem plausible that a leader from the European Union would be able to make peace, with the difference in ideologies so strong in the region? I think it makes more sense that the antichrist will have a Muslim background.

In my mind, someone that is Muslim would be more successful in being able to bring the people in the Middle East together for peace. However, I don't think that the antichrist will be a radical or fundamental Muslim as these groups appear to be targeted in the "Gog and Magog War" of Ezekiel 38 & 39, which will likely take place near the beginning, or before the Tribulation begins.

While Islam will be judged in the "Gog and Magog War", the Muslims that are left after that war will likely be absorbed into the One World Religion of Mystery Babylon. Islam, fundamentally speaking, will likely cease to exist as God says he will "reduce to nothing all the gods of the earth" in that war (Zephaniah 2:11).

Another point to keep in mind is that one can be born a Muslim, but be lukewarm in their beliefs, much like a Christian of the Laodicean church is (Revelation 3:14-22). In fact, the antichrist will not hold to the god of his father (Allah?) or any gods (Daniel 11:37-38), but that doesn't mean he won't hold on to Muslim traditions or encourage his Muslim brethren to join the One World Religion to gain power through his push for peace.

Prophecy teachers have also traditionally held that the European Union will fulfill the prophecy in Revelation 17:9-11, which predicts the re-birth of the Roman Empire. This may come from the widely held belief that the antichrist will be European. I have no doubt that the European Union is a prototype for the revived Roman Empire, but I do not believe it fulfills this prophecy. The emerging Mediterranean Union seems more likely to fulfill the prophecy in Revelation.  

What the Mediterranean Union has that the European Union lacks is the northern Africa and Middle East countries that were part of the original Roman Empire. Not only is the Mediterranean Union more geographically similar to the Roman Empire, but it also could fulfill the prophecies in Daniel about the mixing of iron and clay (European and Arab seed?) and having 10 "toes".

Daniel 2:40-43 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

Currently, the Mediterranean Union is more of a forum for strengthening relations between Europe and the Arabs rather than a real economic or political union. Interestingly, the Mediterranean Union framework is a "5+5" forum, a group of 10 leading nations; five from Europe and five from northern Africa (source). Time will tell if this framework becomes the 10 toes of the revived Roman Empire. If it is, the European Union will crumble and the Mediterranean Union will rise from the ashes.

There are a myriad of catalysts that could force the move to strengthen the Mediterranean Union. The most prominent in the works now, being the worsening of the current economic crisis of the European Union. The rapture of the Church and the resulting "sudden destruction" (1 Thessalonians 5:3) could also crumble the European Union, as well as the other struggling world powers.

In conclusion, not only do the scriptures point to the antichrist being from a Middle Eastern Country, but the geographical area of the original Roman Empire supports this notion. The Mediterranean Union appears to fit what will become the revived Roman Empire better than the current European Union. The only country that seems to be missing from the Mediterranean Union, is Babylon. Of course Babylon will be the capital of the antichrist's kingdom. The addition of Babylon to the rising Mediterranean Union would truly become a revived Roman Empire in the geographical sense.

AMY VAN GERPEN from "TrackingBibleProphecy.com".

PS. Parts one and two of this series are on this blog if you care to scroll down the next few pages, or all three segments are now grouped together at the very bottom of this page (after the photo gallery) on the right hand side for your convenience (Nev).

PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT OUR NEW "RAPTURE" BLOG. THERE ARE MANY UP TO THE MINUTE PROPHETIC ARTICLES ON IT, PLUS SEVERAL CONTROVERSIAL AND MIND-BLOWING ITEMS! I THINK YOU MIGHT FIND IT INTERESTING!

Because of the many articles, reports and comments I am now receiving on a daily basis, I have decided to start up a new website blog devoted solely to The Rapture, The Second Coming Of The Lord Jesus Christ, and prophetic happenings in the world around us today. It can be found at http://www.nevrapture.blogspot.co.uk/ You might find it interesting!

I still want to keep this blog going for all of the meetings and events surrounding our PWMI venues at Newport, Pontypool, Caldicot, Ebbw Vale, Swansea, Bristol, and Swindon, but it is gradually being overtaken by the numerous prophetic postings I receive daily, and these are worthy of posting on a separate website without detracting from what is happening here in South Wales and the West Country.

Also, you are probably aware that there is a separate blog for our work at Pontypool, and this can be found at http://www.ziontalywain.blogspot.com/.

Neville.

YET ANOTHER NEW PWMI BRANCH OPENING IN SOUTH WALES!!

We are delighted to announce that yet another new branch of the PWMI will be opening soon in South Wales, taking our numbers up to six!

The new branch will operate from the Bethany Baptist Church, Ford Road, Pwllgwaun, PONTYPRIDD, CF37 1HX, under the main direction of Pastor Darren Rogers. I know he will also receive valuable support from Andrew and Elaine Phipps, and Len and Deb Gadd, who have supported other PWMI meetings in the area.

The date for the first meeting will be Saturday, the 29th September when the first speaker will be the Rev Colin Le Noury, the General Director of the PWMI, who will be taking an all day seminar from 11am to 4pm speaking on several up to date prophetic subjects.

The excellent website for the Bethany Baptist Church can be found at
www.bethanybaptistchurch.org.uk/pwllgwaun/ 
and the phone number for Pastor Darren is 01443 686682.

We are experiencing exciting prophetic times here in South Wales at present. Approximately four years ago the PWMI only had one branch in Swansea, and they only met three times a year! We now have SIX, with the recent formation of branches in Caldicot, Newport, Ebbw Vale, Pontypool, and now Pontypridd in that order.

We give thanks to the Lord, and pray that He will continue to guide and bless the people who organise these prophetic meetings, as we seek to get out our urgent end times message that the world is in a terrible spiritual state, as prophesied in the Bible for the latter days, and that the Rapture of the Church to Glory, and the Second Coming of Christ to earth are looming closer and closer on the horizon.

Maranatha,
Neville.

OBAMA CONFIRMS COVENANT ON TISHA B'AV, THE 9TH OF AV, A DAY OF GREAT SORROWS IN ISRAEL!!!

WAR DRUMS GET LOUDER AS SPECULATION INCREASES THAT ISRAEL WILL MAKE A UNILATERAL MILITARY STRIKE AGAINST IRAN!!

"If I Were An Iranian, I Would Be Very Fearful Of The Next 12 Weeks"

http://www.nytimes.com/

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A series of public statements and private communications from the Israeli leadership in recent weeks set off renewed concerns in the Obama administration that Israel might be preparing a unilateral military strike on Iran, perhaps as early as this fall.

But after a flurry of high-level visits, including one by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta to Israel on Wednesday, a number of administration officials say they remain hopeful that Israel has no imminent plans to attack and may be willing to let the United States take the lead in any future military strike, which they say would not occur until next year at the earliest.

The conversations are part of delicate negotiations between the United States and Israel that have intensified over the past month. On Wednesday they continued with Mr. Panetta, who appeared with the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, and declared that the United States would stand by Israel if Iran developed a nuclear weapon.

“We have options that we are prepared to implement to ensure that that does not happen,” Mr. Panetta said. Standing with Mr. Barak in front of an Israeli antirocket missile battery in the southern town of Ashkelon, about five miles from the Gaza border, Mr. Panetta made clear what he meant. “My responsibility is to provide the president with a full range of options, including military options, should diplomacy fail,” he said.

In the last three weeks, a steady stream of administration officials have flown to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among them Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Thomas E. Donilon, the national security adviser. The trips were in part planned for other reasons — Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Panetta were going to Egypt to meet with the new president and so diplomatically could not ignore Israel — but administration officials say that there has been an intense effort to stay in close contact with Israel and abreast of its intentions.

The visits, deliberately or not, also sandwiched in Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who was in Jerusalem two days before Mr. Panetta. Mr. Romney, who received a short briefing from the American ambassador in Israel but had no other substantive communication with the administration, appeared to take a harder line against Iran than President Obama has.

In Jerusalem, Mr. Netanyahu continued on Wednesday with his tough rhetoric of recent days, arguing that sanctions against Iran were largely useless. “Right now the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear program,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “This must change and it must change quickly because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out.”

Administration officials say that Israeli officials are less confrontational in private and that Mr. Netanyahu understands the consequences of military action for Israel, the United States and the region. They say they know he has to maintain the credibility of his threat to keep up pressure on the United States to continue with sanctions and the development of military plans.

“The more the Israelis threaten, the more we respond by showing them that we will take care of the problem if it comes to that,” said Martin Indyk, a former American ambassador to Israel and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution.

Mr. Panetta met separately on Wednesday with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Barak and Shimon Peres, the Israeli president. Administration officials say the Americans and Israelis shared the latest intelligence on Iran, coordinated implementation of the most recent sanctions and discussed military options. Mr. Panetta said on Tuesday in Cairo that he was not taking any American attack plans to show to the Israelis.

He also said that any American strike would be a last resort. “We have to exhaust every option, every effort, before we resort to military action,” Mr. Panetta said at the Ashkelon missile battery, which is part of the Iron Dome defense system in part paid for by the United States.

On Wednesday, Mr. Panetta used some of his sharpest language on Iran, as if to assure the Israelis that the Obama administration could be equally tough.

“This is not about containment,” Mr. Panetta told reporters at the start of his meeting with Mr. Peres. “This is about making very clear that they are never going to be able to get an atomic weapon.”

In Israel, there remains feverish speculation that Mr. Netanyahu will act in September or early October. Besides the prime minister’s fear that Israel’s window of opportunity will close soon, analysts cite several reasons for the potential timing: Israel does not like to fight wars in winter. Mr. Netanyahu feels that he will have less leverage if President Obama is re-elected, and that if Mr. Romney were to win, the new president would be unlikely to want to take on a big military action early in his term.

“If I were an Iranian, I would be very fearful of the next 12 weeks,” said Efraim Halevy, a former chief of Israel’s intelligence agency and national security adviser.

Others made light of the constant visits from the United States. “The visitors are actually baby sitters to make sure the unpredictable kids do not misbehave,” said Efraim Inbar, the director of the Begin-Sadat Institute for Strategic

American defense officials and experts in Israel say that because Israel does not have a bomb powerful enough to penetrate Iran’s underground uranium-enrichment facilities, an independent strike would be likely to set the nuclear program back only one or two years, at most. That has led to major dissent among Israel’s security professionals over the wisdom of such an attack. The Pentagon, in contrast, has the munitions, bombers, missiles, stealth aircraft and drones that would cause far more extensive damage.

David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who recently spent time in Israel talking to government officials, said that Israel’s longstanding doctrine of self-reliance makes American promises to act later if all else fails less effective. Instead, he said, Israel needs to be convinced that if it waits, it can still retain the option to act independently.

“Make Israel not believe that it’s two minutes to midnight,” Mr. Makovsky said. “If Israel is so convinced that its window of action is shutting, then maybe you try to enlarge Israel’s window. You say, ‘Here, we know there are some things you need. But we don’t want you to use them until several months ahead.’ ”

The Obama administration is eager to prevent an Israeli attack partly to avoid a major foreign policy crisis during the American presidential campaign and partly because officials say an Israeli strike could set off a new conflagration in the region. If Iran retaliated by launching missiles at Tel Aviv that killed thousands of Israelis, administration officials say the United States would be under enormous pressure to defend Israel and respond, and would then be pulled into another war in the Middle East.

Mr. Netanyahu and other Israeli officials have argued that Iran makes progress in enriching nuclear fuel every day, enhancing its capability to withstand a strike and keep any nuclear weapons program on track. Iran denies the intent to develop nuclear weapons and says its program is for peaceful purposes.

The Israeli news media have been filled in recent days with speculation about a strike. One article said that the Obama administration had vowed to strike within 18 months, another reported continuing concerns in the security establishment here about the effectiveness of an Israeli strike, and a third said that Mr. Donilon, Mr. Obama’s national security adviser, had revealed details of the American attack plans during his visit. The articles did not make clear where those accounts came from, but they contributed to a growing atmosphere of expectation.

“Everybody’s leaking like crazy right now — that doesn’t mean there will be a strike, but it means we’re closer to a decision,” said Amos Harel, defense correspondent for the left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz, who estimated the chance of an attack before November at 50 percent. “It’s probably a more crucial junction than it was ever before.”

THE MAD PRESIDENT OF IRAN CALLS FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL YET AGAIN!!

Ahmadinejad: Annihilate Israel

http://www.jpost.com/

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In a speech published on his website Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the ultimate goal of world forces must be the annihilation of Israel.

Speaking to ambassadors from Islamic countries ahead of 'Qods Day' ('Jerusalem Day'), an annual Iranian anti-Zionist event established in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini and which falls this year on August 17, Ahmadinejad said that a "horrible Zionist current" had been managing world affairs for "about 400 years."

Repeating traditional anti-Semitic slurs, the Iranian president accused "Zionists" of controlling the world's media and financial systems.

It was Zionists, he said, who were “behind the scene of the world’s main powers, media, monetary and banking centers.”

"They are the decision makers, to the extent that the presidential election hopefuls [of the USA] must go and kiss the feet of the Zionists to ensure their election victory,” he added.

Ahmadinejad added that "liberating Palestine" would solve all the world's problems, although he did not elaborate on exactly how that might work.

“Qods Day is not merely a strategic solution for the Palestinian problem, as it is to be viewed as a key for solving the world problems," he said.

He added: "Anyone who loves freedom and justice must strive for the annihilation of the Zionist regime in order to pave the way for world justice and freedom.”

The Iranian president said that Israel reinforced "the dominance of arrogant powers in the region and across the globe" and that Arab countries in particular - he cited Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Syria and Turkey - were affected by Israel's "plots."

Ahmadinejad, who has called the Holocaust a myth, has previously called for Israel's annihilation, in a 2005 speech in which he used a Persian phrase that translates literally as "wiped off the page of time."

SAUDI MUSLIM WOMAN CONVERTS TO CHRISTIANITY AFTER DREAM ABOUT CHRIST!

Lebanon: Muslim Woman Converts To Christianity After Dream About Christ, Flees Saudi Arabia.

By Tafeel Al-Yousif -”AL-KHOBAR — A Saudi girl who recently embraced Christianity and fled the country for refuge in Lebanon told the host of a religious program on an Arabic TV channel that she was tired of performing prayers and fasting during Ramadan.
The girl, who said her name was Maryam, said praying and fasting did not bring her any benefits. She also criticized the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai’a) and claimed that she was raised to hate Judaism and Christianity but fell in love with the religions after she found peace in Christianity.
She said she became a Christian after she had a dream one night. In it, she climbed to the skies and heard God telling her that Jesus is His son. She said that she had been living in the Kingdom since she was 17.
Meanwhile, Christian groups of all denominations in Lebanon have dismissed reports that the Saudi girl is living in a church in the country.
Maryam’s father filed a complaint against her two former co-workers, a Saudi and a Lebanese, accusing them of helping his daughter illegally flee the Kingdom and embrace Christianity. The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) in Al-Khobar accused the men of forcing the girl to convert and arrested them. However, both men were later released on bail while their case has been referred to a court in Al-Khobar.
The Lebanese man, who is accused of playing a major role in the girl’s conversion, has had his name put on a travel ban list.
The Saudi Embassy in Beirut is coordinating with the concerned authorities in the country to convince the girl to return to the Kingdom. It is expected that the Al-Khobar District Court will look into the case, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, soon.” Source – Saudi Gazette.

Flashback: Dreams And Visions Moving Muslims To Christ – “… The film documents and dramatizes Ali’s story and several other Muslims who came to faith in Jesus through a dream or vision. ‘We’re seeing that all around. We’re hearing about people that have never even thought about Jesus as savior,’ Tom Doyle, with e3 Ministries, said. ‘They’re content Muslims and they’re having dreams over and over.’ Doyle and his wife Joanna take the gospel to the Muslim world. He’s also the author of the upcoming book, Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World?… The phenomenon of dreams and visions has surfaced throughout the Muslim world, from Indonesia to Morocco.” Read more.

 

THE PROPHESIED END TIMES "WHITE HORSE" OF MORMONISM REARS ITS HEAD AGAIN!! MITT ROMNEY ATTACKED BY PALESTINIANS!

Palestinians attack Mitt Romney for 'racist' comments

Mitt Romney has travelled to the UK, Israel and Poland - all close US allies

Continue reading the main story

US Presidential Election 2012

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Mitt Romney has been accused of racism for suggesting to Jewish donors that "culture" might explain Palestinians' income inferiority to Israel.

A senior Palestinian aide said the Republican presidential candidate had failed to note economic restrictions placed by the Israeli occupation.
But the Romney campaign said his remarks in Israel were misinterpreted.
The former Massachusetts governor is now in Poland, for the third and final leg of a week-long foreign tour.
Mr Romney is set to face Barack Obama in November's presidential election.
'Hand of providence'
Speaking at a breakfast of about 40 donors in Jerusalem on Monday, Mr Romney said he had thought about how Israel had achieved greater prosperity than its neighbours.

"This breakfast remark is perhaps not a gaffe in any sense - it is of a piece with [Mr Romney's] attitude generally, and what he thinks.” 

Mark Mardell North America editor

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"As you come here and you see the GDP [Gross Domestic Product] per capita, for instance, in Israel which is about $21,000 dollars, and compare that with the GDP per capita just across the areas managed by the Palestinian Authority, which is more like $10,000 per capita, you notice such a dramatically stark difference in economic vitality," Mr Romney is reported to have said.

He referred to a book called The Wealth And Poverty Of Nations, by David Landes, which examines how some societies became more prosperous than those of their neighbours.
Mr Romney said he had concluded from the book that "if you could learn anything from the economic history of the world it's this: culture makes all the difference.

He added: "And as I come here and I look out over this city and consider the accomplishments of the people of this nation, I recognise the power of at least culture and a few other things."
Mr Romney also said he recognised "hand of providence in selecting this place [Israel]".
The economic disparity between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is even wider than Mr Romney's remarks suggest.

According to a World Bank report, in 2011 Israel's GDP was $31,000 per head, compared with just over $1,500 in the West Bank and Gaza.
'Scratching their heads'
Saeb Erekat, an aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, responded quickly to the comments.

"It is a racist statement and this man doesn't realise that the Palestinian economy cannot reach its potential because there is an Israeli occupation," Mr Erekat said.
"It seems to me this man lacks information, knowledge, vision and understanding of this region and its people.
"He also lacks knowledge about the Israelis themselves. I have not heard any Israeli official speak about cultural superiority," he added.

Mitt Romney: It would be "foolish not to take Iranian threat seriously"

Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said his remarks had been "grossly mischaracterised".
His campaign added that the candidate's comments had been more general and had included examples of income disparities between the US and Mexico, and Chile and Ecuador.
Meanwhile, a White House spokesman said Mr Romney's comments had left some people "scratching their heads a little bit".

At the breakfast, Mr Romney sat next to casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who has given millions of dollars to Republican presidential campaigns.
The owner of the American football team New York Jets, Woody Johnson, and hedge fund manager Paul Singer were also guests at the breakfast, which is thought to have raised about $1m.
Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon came to Mr Romney's defence.
"It is unfortunate that the Palestinians find every reason and opportunity to discomfit or to criticise or to attack Israel or anyone who pays respect to Israel and Jewish culture," he said, reports the Associated Press.

On Sunday, Mr Romney caused controversy when he described Jerusalem as the country's capital.
He said in an interview with CNN that he would favour moving the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, where it is currently located.
The status of Jerusalem is a key issue in peace negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Mr Romney's visit to Israel followed a three-day visit to London. There, he was criticised in the British press for expressing doubt about whether Britain was ready to stage the Olympic Games.

MUSLIMS PROVE THEIR POWER AT THE OLYMPICS AGAIN! WILL NO ONE STAND UP TO THEM?

International Olympic Committee Bows To Allah, Sets Up Barrier For Lebanese Judo Team To Separate Jews

07/28/2012 ICA Leave a comment Go to comments

 

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In the Muslim world, only Islamic spirits are permitted. The Olympic spirit is clearly forbidden …
“The Lebanese judo team forced International Olympic Committee officials to erect a barrier between themselves and the Israeli judo squad, Friday afternoon in London, just hours before the Games’ opening ceremony, reports Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot.
Both teams were scheduled to train inside London’s ExCeL center but Lebanon’s team did not want to be seen by the Israeli one, and IOC officials heeded to the Lebanese’s demand after the team’s coach demanded separation.
This is not the first time Middle Eastern judo teams have caused a political stir. In February, Egypt’s Ramadan Dawris defeated Arik Zeevi of Israel, but afterwards, Dawris refused to shake the hand of his competitor.” Source – the algemeiner.
Iranian Olympian Claims ‘Gut Infection’ To Avoid Competing Against Israeli – “For 33 years, Iranian athletes have forfeited or withdrawn to avoid matching up against Israeli athletes in international competition. It was all supposed to change in London. Earlier this week, Bahram Afsharzadeh, the head of Iran’s Olympic committee, said ‘we will be truthful to sport. We just follow the sportsmanship and play every country.’ That very same day, the Tehran Times reported that Iranian judokan Javad Mahjoub would be withdrawing from the Olympics with ‘a gut infection.’ Why does this matter? Mahjoub, in the 100kg judo competition, was the only Iranian athlete who could possibly have matched up against an Israeli …” Read more.
Maybe the thought of a humiliating loss to a Jew must have made the poor guy sick. What ever happened to “Allah is Greater”? …
Palestinians Welcome IOC’s Rejection of Moment of Silence for Murdered Israeli Athletes, Saying It Would Be ‘Racist’ – “The Palestinians are praising the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to hold a moment of silence in memory of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered in the 1972 Munich Olympics in the London Games’ opening ceremony, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday. Jibril Rajoub, chairman of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, sent a thank you letter to IOC President President Jacques Rogge… ‘Sport is a bridge for love, unification and for spreading peace among the nations,’ he wrote. ‘It must not be a cause for divisiveness and for the spreading of racism.’” Read more

http://midnightwatcher.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/international-olympic-committee-bows-to-allah-sets-up-barrier-for-lebanese-judo-team-to-separate-jews/

SYRIA'S CHEMICAL WEAPONS ARSENAL BY MELANIE PHILLIPS.

OPINION PIECE: SYRIA'S CHEMICAL WEAPONS ARSENAL

(by Melanie Phillips - July 26th, 2012)

There is a degree of panic, and rightly so, over whether the Syrian tyrant Basher al Assad will use chemical weapons against either his own people or foreign attackers. His regime has this week threatened to do the latter, thus finally confirming what was long suspected but never openly admitted, that Syria possesses chemical weapons. It is believed to have mustard gas as well as nerve agents such as tabun, sarin and VX. The fear is either that the Assad regime uses them or that they fall into the hands of Hezbollah, al Qaeda or other Islamic terrorist groups. Either prospect is utterly nightmarish. Even Russia says it has told Syria it is unacceptable to threaten to use them.

 

In the last few days, this has been much discussed. What has not been raised, however, is the question of how Syria managed to develop such a chemical weapons stockpile in the first place. No-one in the western media seems remotely curious about how Syria has managed to arm itself to the teeth with them beneath the radar of international scrutiny.  

 

Dr Danny Shoham, at the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, is an expert in chemical and biological warfare. In a Middle East Quarterly article in 2002, Guile, Gas and Germs: Syria's Ultimate Weapons, he set out the extraordinary history of Syria's chemical weapons programme.  

 

It first received chemical weapons from Egypt, he says, as far back as 1973. By the late eighties, it was saying it possessed an 'answer to Israel's nuclear threat'; people who read between the lines understood this meant Syria now possessed non-conventional weapons. In 1992, Syria refused to commit itself to the elimination of chemical weapons. From the 1970s onwards, wrote Shoham, Syria covertly developed a chemical weapons programme, aided by a wide variety of European and Asian suppliers including the Soviet Union, West Germany and middlemen and brokers located in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Britain, and Austria.

Shoham concluded:

 'Syria now possesses the most formidable CBW capabilities of any Arab state. Its arsenal probably even exceeds that of Iran in quantity and quality. Yet in building it from scratch, under the rule of Hafiz al-Asad, Syria has always managed to stay just outside the spotlight of international scrutiny. It did so by diffusing its efforts, and by playing its political cards with supreme skill-entering (and exiting) the Arab-Israeli "peace process" at just the right times, joining the Kuwait war coalition, cutting back at the last moment on its support for Kurdish separatism in Turkey, and so on. The West has always had some reason not to include Syria on its blackest list. Other regional problems have also drawn attention away from Syria. The United States is still preoccupied with Iraq and Iran, alongside which Syria appears benign.

 

'But at this moment in time, it is a fact: Syria has more destruct ive capabilities than either of them. The West is often accused of a double standard-of tolerating Israel's possession of WMD, while preventing those same weapons from coming into the hands of Arabs or Muslims. But if there is such a double standard, then how does one explain the West's silence, if not complicity, in the building of Syria's CBW capabilities? A simple explanation would be to say that Syria outwitted the world. But that explanation may be too simple. Many parties profited from the Syrian build-up, and foreign strategists thought that a strong Syrian deterrent might give Hafiz al-Asad the confidence to make peace.'

 

That, however, was back in 2002. In 2003 the US, Britain and others went to war in Iraq to make the world safe from Saddam Hussein and his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. Ever since, however, we have been told that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and the proof of that is that none was ever found - surely one of the most profoundly illogical and imbecilic formulations ever to have fallen from human lips.

 

At the time, however, there were a number of reports that enormous truck movements across the border from Iraq into Syria suggested that some of these WMD had been moved there. Saddam's Air Vice-Marshal Georges Sada, whom I interviewed, said he was absolutely certain that WMD had been moved from Iraq to Syria. All of this was however brushed aside for, as the bien pensant world has never stopped intoning with positively religious fervour, 'we were taken to war in Iraq on a lie'.  

 

But now we know that Syria possesses an arsenal of chemical weapons. So could any of this have come from Saddam's Iraq, just as it was transferred from Egypt two decades previously?  

 

In a more recent paper published in 2006 in the International Journal of Intelligence and Counter-Intelli gence , An Antithesis on the Fate of Iraq's Chemical and Biological Weapons, Dr Shoham wrote that the two official reports - Duelfer and Carnegie in 2004 - that supposedly exonerated Saddam of still having WMD by the outbreak of war ignored much information that indicated the smuggling of chemical and biological weapons from Iraq into Syria. Although the most knowledgeable and experienced individuals tracking Iraq's WMD were members of UNSCOM, they were largely excluded by the US intelligence community. Ill-trained soldiers would go to a site, find something suspicious, return 48 hours later and find it had disappeared.  

 

In October 2003, the US intelligence community publicly pointed for the first time to transfers of WMD from Iraq to Syria. The Director of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, James Clapper, said it linked the disappearance of Iraqi WMD with the huge number of Iraqi trucks entering Syria before and during the US invasion; based on satellite imagery, it assessed that these trucks contained missiles and WMD components. Shipments to Syria were supervised by Saddam's most loyal intelligence agents. Once the shipments were made, these agents would leave and the regular border guards resumed their posts.

 

Moreover, captured Iraqi documents record that the Russian 'spetsnaz' moved many of Saddam's weapons and related goods, including chemicals used to make chemical weapons plus missile components and MIG jet parts, out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the 2003 invasion.

 

In 2004 Nizar Najoef, a Syrian journalist who defected from Syria to Europe, claimed he had received information from contacts in Syrian intelligence that:

* Tunnels dug under al Baida near Hama in northern Syria were an integral part of an underground factory, built by the North Koreans, for producing Syrian Scud missiles. Iraqi chemical weapons and long range missiles were stored there;

* Vital parts of Iraq's WMD were stored in the village of Tal Snan, north of Salamija where there was a big Syrian air force camp;

* Iraqi WMD was also stored in the city of Sjinsjar on Syria's border with Lebanon.

Shoham concluded:

 'Apparently, then, the prevailing perception of the "failure" to find Iraq's CBW arsenal ought to be rethought...Strategically, Iraq's enduring arsenal may affect Syria's CBW capabilities, provided that the transfer did in fact take place...'  

 

Might some of Basher al Assad's chemical (and possibly biological) arsenal have Saddam Hussein's name on it?

 

Melanie Phillips.

PART TWO OF "THE ISLAMIC ANTICHRIST" BY NEVILLE STEPHENS.

THE MUSLIM ANTICHRIST (PART TWO).

We saw last time that the origin of the soon-coming Antichrist will be from the ancient “Assyria” of Bible times, and not from the Revived Roman Empire as is commonly taught in most prophetic circles today.

The Bible is very specific, for after all, it is the Divinely Inspired Word of God. The geography of the Bible is a masterpiece in itself, yet us poor mortals try to indoctrinate our thoughts and teachings into Bible prophesies instead of letting the Sacred Writings mean what they say, and let Holy Writ be its own and best interpreter.

We must also remember that the Bible is predominantly a JEWISH book, and bear this in mind when we come to attempting to unravel certain difficult passages. Every author in the Bible was a Hebrew except one (and even the Gentile Luke became a Proselyte Jew), The Twelve Disciples were all Jews, and all of the Old Testament Judges, Kings, Patriarchs, Priests, and Prophets were all Israelites.

And on top of all of this, the eagerly awaited Messiah of two millennia ago when he appeared on the scene was born in Bethlehem, was baptised in the River Jordan, was raised in Nazareth, spent most of His time in Galilee of the north, was executed in Jerusalem, and never set one foot of His adult life outside of His beloved Israel after his short sojourn in Egypt as a baby!

This is vitally important!! Yeshua ministered only “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt 15:24). He never preached to a gentile audience, and only seemed to accept a gentile enquiry rather reluctantly during His earthly ministry devoted to the Hebrew people,(see Mark 7:25-30 re the Syrophoenician woman and the infamous “dogs eating crumbs from the Jewish table incident”)!

I heard of a lady from the USA recently who was shocked to discover that Yeshua was a Hebrew, and not an American! What is more, she refused to accept her newly found FACT,  and continued to believe that Jesus was a handsome six feet tall  American with long dark hair, ruggedly good features, beautiful blue eyes, and as good looking as any model on the front page of the latest fashion magazine!

Obviously this is a very extreme case, but it does illustrate the point perfectly. A lot of us in Britain, Europe, and America tend to read the Scriptures with a biased Westernised educated viewpoint, and we need to take off those “glitzy glasses” which only distort the real picture, to gain a true perspective on what this Eastern book is teaching us about God’s chosen covenant people, and those countries which come in to contact with her.

Who was Ezekiel thinking of when he was writing about the northern enemies of Israel? Why should we read Russia into this equation when it did not exist as such at that time. He was obviously thinking of the un-mistakable enemies of the Jewish people who existed then, and still do today, such as the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Medes and the Persians. Similarly in the South, the ancient enemies were the Philistines (now Gaza), but primarily Egypt, who are now coming into prominence once again with the fall of the Mubarak regime, and the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood.

You might have hated the atrocities perpetrated by such despots as Hosni Mubarak, Saddam Hussein, and Muammar Gaddafi, but Scripture informs us that it is the Lord who appoints leaders, and these dictatorial leaders ruled their respective countries with a rod type grip of iron, and kept most of the unrest at bay.

However, since their removals, these states are now being over-run by extreme Islamic organisations such as the Salafis and the Muslim Brotherhood, both of which want the destruction of Israel and the removal of the Jewish State off the maps of the world. This is just an extension of the Shi’ite doctrine espoused by the mad Mullah’s of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority, and all of these anti-semitic countries and their proxies surround poor little Israel at present, and banging their war drums louder and louder with every passing day!

Also, another point remembering is that the Roman army under Titus which ransacked and destroyed Jerusalem in AD70 leading to the modern theory that the Revived Roman Empire will produce the Antichrist of Armageddon, was not Roman at all! Several highly respected scholars have written that by the time of the destruction of the Temple in AD70, the Roman army had as few as one in five Italians amongst their huge numbers, with most of the remainder coming from the surrounding territories. 

There were approximately twelve legions of the Roman army which were involved in the attack on Jerusalem. Each legion comprised of 5000 soldiers, but of these 60,000 warriors, only eight per cent were actually Italian! It is estimated by accredited historians that there were approximately 55,000 enemies of Israel that fateful day in AD70, comprising mainly of Syrians, Arabs, and other recruits and mercenaries from other Eastern countries, who actually delighted in the annihilation of their sworn Jewish enemies.

So much so, that according to Josephus in his “Wars Of The Jews”, that even when Titus demanded the withdrawal of his troops after certain victory, these anti-semitic terrorists just continued with their bloodthirsty tactics of death and destruction to the Hebrews, irrespective of disobeying orders from their Roman paymasters, and risking the death penalty for disobeying orders!

Seeing that it was still possible to save the Temple from complete destruction, Titus gave orders to rescue the Holy Structure, according to Josephus, but his orders were ignored by in excess of fifty thousand blood thirsty Jew-hating warriors wanting the complete annihilation of the Hebrews. It was not by the commands of Rome that the Temple was burned to the ground, but by the pure anti-Semitic hatred from the eternal Ishmaelite enemies of the chosen Israelite people!  

The Assyrians have always played a mega part in the downfall of Israel and Jerusalem in the past, and they will also be Satan’s tool in the future to again attempt to bring doom and destruction to God’s ancient covenant people.

There are still many prophesies from the Tanakh yet to be fulfilled, but there are two major predictions from the Old Testament in particular which need our careful attention from the books of Micah and Isaiah.

First of all, let us deal with the section of Scripture from Micah.5:5-15. Here we see a description of a war still future very similar in nature to the eschatological military campaign in the same area east of the Euphrates river described in Rev 16:12, and very much involving the Assyrian and his armies.

In Numbers 24:23, 24 “Ships from the coast of Chittim will afflict Assyria and Eber”. And again in Daniel 11 when the Antichrist is attacked, these ships from Chittim are very much in evidence, giving very strong evidence as to the northern identity of this invader (read Daniel 11:30 and whole chapter). See also Ezra 6:22-7:1 where the King of Assyria and their King of Syria are heavily linked.

Assyria represents the Mesopotamian power. Rome was never a Mesopotamian power, its main geographical theatre being Europe, not Western Asia, whereas Bible prophecy focuses its attention on the northern Mesopotamian power.

The Assyrian power of the end times receives even more treatment in Isaiah. Through the description of his destruction in Isaiah 11:4, he appears again in Paul’s picture of the Antichrist in his second letter to the Thessalonian church. The apostle here quotes directly from Isaiah 11:4 when describing the destruction of this man of perdition. “The lawless one will be at once revealed. Then the Lord Jesus will come in all His splendour, He will breathe upon him and destroy him, and take away all his power. The coming of the lawless one will be accomplished through the power of Satan” (2 Thess 2:8). Paul has in mind the Assyrian material presented by Isaiah, and in this “evil one” he sees the final Antichristian figure.

We have no difficulty in recognising Paul’s quotation of Isaiah 10:22,23 in Romans 9:27,28 that “the remnant will return”, as a prophecy of the future restoration of Israel. Therefore, there is no good reason to overlook his quotation of the destruction of the Assyrian as the destruction of the eschatological Antichrist.

The secret of much good Bible study is in discovering the links between the Old and the New Testaments. Most mistakes occur when the connections are broken, especially when the Old Testament is neglected. When Jesus explained the Bible to His disciples, He “began with Moses and with all the prophets, expounding the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27).

However, much of traditional Christian orthodoxy is based on a Greek philosophical reading of the New Testament severed from the Old, and we in the West are very much guilty of this erroneous approach to our study of Holy Writ today, and of Bible prophecy in particular.

Why do we not let the Bible mean what it says? If it prophesies that the future Antichrist and the King of the North is to be an “Assyrian”, why do we try to wrestle with the Scriptures to make them fit with modern interpretations of a gentile coming out of the Revived Roman Empire? It is far better, and consistent, to let the Sacred Writings mean what they say, and we will continue with this approach in our third instalment to come shortly.

Neville.

PS. Part one of this series is a little further down this blog.

THE EXCELLENT DAVID HOYLE'S LATEST NEWS FROM ISRAEL BULLETIN.

BIBLE PROPHECY FOUNDATION

News from Israel - David Hoyle July 25^th 2012

There is much argument in the press on an ongoing basis about the legality, or otherwise, of Israel’s settlements in the so called “West Bank” (Biblical Judea and Samaria).

The United Nations and European Community are not surprisingly opposed to all settlement building and regard it as illegal.  Both Barack Obama and William Hague among others are vociferous in their condemnation of Israel on a regular basis.

A committee appointed by Mr Netanyahu to examine the legality of Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria issued the following statement on July 4^th 2012.  “Israeli’s have a legal right to settle that region”.   The committee head, retired Israeli Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy declared “According to international law Israeli’s have a legal right to settle all of Judea and Samaria, at the very least the lands that Israel controls under agreement with the Palestinian Authority.  Therefore the establishment of Jewish settlements (in Judea and Samaria) is, in itself, not illegal.”    

The detailed report went on to say ”The fourth Geneva Convention on the transfer of populations does not apply, and was not intended to apply to communities such as those established in Judea and Samaria.” 

Israel can now cast off the bonds of false accusations that it “occupies” Judea and Samaria!

America  

Perhaps in the light of this edict we may anticipate the USA moving its embassy to Jerusalem, a move already passed by both houses of Congress.

A Two State Solution?  

In the home of the UK ambassador to Israel Dhud Ehud Ya´ari who works for Israeli television with a mandate to liaise with the Arab Community said, ‘There has been an explosion in the Middle East and Islamic dust is falling.  We do not know the outcome’. He went on to say that in his discussions with Israel’s Arab Community he has found that 99% want a one state solution with no Israel.  He further said that in the countries that have freed themselves from dictatorships the people are no longer subject to a regime but are citizens of a country!

Mr Abbass has, of course, often reported Mr Arafat’s desire for a Palestinian state from “the river to the sea.”  A biblical study of God’s promise of the land to Abraham through Isaac and the apportionment of the land to the different tribes leaves no doubt to the ultimate outcome.  All the land from the Mediterranean to the river Jordan and an area including much land “occupied” by Arabs will one day belong to Israel. 

God keeps His covenant with the Jewish people, if He doesn’t our salvation would be in doubt as He will also break His promises to us!  Believers in Replacement Theology take note!

Anti Semitism 

Takes many forms but on all fronts it is rampant today.  In its more violent form it took the form at last week’s bomb attack on Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian resort of Burgas.   Seven people died and thirty five of the injured were flown to Tel Aviv for treatment.  There have been other attempts in India, Thailand, Azerbaijan and Georgia.  Many of these attacks and attempted attacks are blamed on Hezbollah a proxy of Iran, and by the time you read this you may well have heard of Israel’s retaliation.

In another form Anti Semitism was evident in the Anglican Church’s vote to send monitors to investigate Palestinian human rights.  As always, no consideration of Israel’s position.  This vote led to the Mayor of Hendon, Melvyn Benjamin calling for a severing of relations between Jewish organisations and the Anglican Church.  Vivian Wiseman chairman of the Jewish Board of Deputies said “we shall not cut links but it will not be business as usual.”

Elsewhere the BBC refused to identify Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on its Olympic website.  The Palestinian team was listed as having East Jerusalem as its capital.  After protests the BBC listed Jerusalem as Israel’s “seat of government although most foreign embassies are in Tel Aviv.”   The Palestinian page was changed to East Jerusalem, intended seat of Government, Ramallah its administrative capital.

Amnesty International

Has defended a senior officer accused of coordinating campaigns against Israel.  He claims that “Israel should be listed alongside North Korea and Iran as a stupid, dictatorial regime.”   He threatened to assault an Israeli supporter at an Amnesty event.  On another occasion he said that Israel had the same wanton attitude to human beings as Sudan and Burma!   Anti-Semitism is alive and well at Amnesty International.

Israel Government 

Just 70 days after Shaul Mofaz took Kadima into the coalition he resigned because of the failure of Mr Netanyahu to honour the coalition agreement to pass a bill removing the exemption from the IDF draft for the ultra orthodox.  This now leaves Mr Netanyahu as leader of a right wing government dominated by nationalist and religious hard liners and brings the possibility of an election nearer. 

Having been found not guilty of corruption Ehud Olmert may now return to politics and seek to take over as leader of Kadima.

 Arab Spring (so called)

With the imminent fall of the Assad regime 30 000 refugees have crossed into Lebanon and the situation grows ever more dangerous.  It is reported that many border posts between Syria and Turkey also Syria and Lebanon are now in rebel hands.   Most people are fleeing the fighting but should the regime fall the Alawites would have to fight to the death or flee, most probably over the Golan Heights to Israel’s border.  There has been and argument in Israel as to whether to open the border or not, but the decision has been taken and this week Ehud Barak, Israel’s Defence Minister  said “ Israel will stop Syrian refugees entering the Golan Heights if they try to flee there.”   Apart from Lebanon many refugees have fled to turkey but the Christian community who were protected and well treated by Mr Assad will be in grave danger of a massacre if the regime fell as they declined to take part in the uprising!  Please pray for them as they wait with anxiety. 

Hamas

Speaking at a conference in Tunisia Khaled Mashaal said “We shall continue to resist Israel and seek the recovery of occupied Palestinian territory.”   He said Palestinian lands had been looted!  Since the revolution in Tunisia unemployment has risen, the country is racked by strikes, and the economy is shrinking.

On every front the Arab Spring is bringing problems not improvements. 

Interesting and Good News

    

Parts of ancient Acre’s (Ptolemais) ancient harbour, 2300 years old, have been uncovered. Akko in Hebrew was the most important port in the Hellenistic period (3^rd and 4^th century BC).

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have recently discovered a collection of gold and silver jewellery from around 1100 BC hidden in a vessel at Tel Megiddo.  One piece is a gold ear ring decorated with ibexes which is described as “without parallel.” 

Scientists from the Wieizmann Institute in Rehovot have designed a robot that can be controlled using brainwaves!  The team who designed it hope it can be used to help the paralysed, people who had strokes and those with locked in syndrome.

Labour’s Baroness Blackstone

Has attacked the sale of products from Israeli West Bank settlements.   She also said that if Israel struck at Iran with American backing the base at Diego Garcia should not be used.

Olympics

With the possible threat of an attack on Israel’s athletes, the Israeli secret service Shin Bet has been flown in to aid their security.  Security on the athletes’ arrival was felt to be insufficient.

Keep praying for Israel and the Jewish people as the Lord’s return grows ever more imminent.

You can still book for our Israel Tour in October, but move fast!  Tel. 01423 881803 for brochure.

Breaking News

Writing in today’s Times the former prime minister of Spain Josē Maria Aznar states Israel was excluded from the first meeting of the Global Terrorist Forum so as to not offend its host Recep Erdoğon of Turkey.  Worse still, a meeting of the victims of terror also excluded Israel.   This on the event of the anniversary of the attack on the Olympic village when 11 Israeli is despicable. Mr Aznar was himself a victim of a terrorist attack!

Israel Radio have reported that at least six of the 28 members of the Kadima party in the Israeli parliament say they will leave the party to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition. It is reported that Netanyahu has offered them senior government posts. The expected defections mean that Netanyahu would have a solid majority of 71 members in the 120 seat parliament, making early elections less likely.

Party activists say party leader Shaul Mofaz must quit as leader, citing low numbers in the polls.

David Hoyle, Chairmain of the Bible Prophecy Foundation, and Host of nearly Ninety Tours to Israel.