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Israel – Ready to Attack Iran?
H E Lafferty
The world news today is featuring a prominent story claiming that Israel is getting ready to attack the nuclear production facilities of Iran – and that Israel’s military planners are at least one page ahead of US military people. Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak has informed US officials that the time to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities is fast becoming too late. But the US seems willing to do absolutely nothing beyond sanctioning Iran until after the November elections.
In light of that, observers are now putting forward the belief that Israel will actually deliver some hard blows to Iran by March or April – some six to eight weeks away. Minister Barak revealed yesterday that Iran has been working on a missile which could fly 10,000 km (just over 6,000 miles) and would be able to hit the US. This fact correlates with the information that the explosion some weeks ago in an Iranian missile facility probably set that project back a long way; the explosion occurred in the plant in which this missile was being developed.
Israeli authorities today specified that any facility created by man can be destroyed by man – a reference to the current thought that the Iranian facilities are buried too deep for surface bombing or missiles short of atomic warheads.
However … think about this: every such buried facility is serviced by one or two entry portals – tunnels from the surface to the factory far below ground. This necessary feature is the weak point of any such facility. A few medium sized bombs in strategic, pin-pointed tunnels could collapse the tunnels and seal the facilities for months to come, creating a horrible death for all the workers on duty at the time, sealing them underground with high levels of radiation. Radiation sickness (poisoning) is an horrible process involving metabolic collapse, massive tissue breakdown, internal bleeding, fluid accumulation and death. And, of course, there is the matter of lack of oxygen in such a sealed underground space.
Eventually the tunnels might be opened at hazard of the workers’ becoming also exposed to high levels of nuclear radiation. Nuclear reactions in such facilities need human control in order to prevent their leaping out of control and melting down – depending on the processes being carried out. Once the human control is lost through staff members expiring – or critical damage to the control systems – almost anything could happen in those facilities, including the unthinkable.
But what can we determine scripturally about this dilemma? Ezekiel specifies quite clearly that “Persia” (modern day Iran) is numbered with the Gogian host which is set to attack Israel in the future – perhaps some years away at this time. From this fact we can be certain that Iran be only partially deterred from its aggressive stance against Israel; indeed, its main role lies in the indeterminate future. Its demise comes not from distant threats to Israel but from its physical encroachment upon the Land of Israel of the future with mortal combat on its mind.
Ezekiel 38 and 39 are entirely clear about the fate of Gog and his aggressive companions: they meet their abrupt end on the mountains of Israel in one day – destroyed by the Almighty’s fury rising in His face – by several specified “natural” weapons – every man’s sword against his brother (Chapter 38: 21), by pestilence, blood, an overflowing rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone – all these amid an enormous “shaking” of an earthquake of unprecedented strength (verses 19, 20) which shall level mountains, shake down every wall and every steep place. It shall be terror such as no human agency could match. The end result is that ALL the host of Gog will be destroyed with not one remaining – as stated by an overwhelming preponderance of references from other ancient sources in opposition to the “sixth part” remaining as stated in the A. V.
So great shall be the slaughter that their rotting corpses will be eaten by the birds of the air and the beasts of the field (Ezekiel 39: 4) before they can be buried … buried at a place to be known as Hamon-gog in the Yarkon Valley east of Galilee’s Sea (per Young).
One worry of Israel is the huge number (now estimated at 200,000) missiles aimed at the Israeli heartland; might all these be unleashed upon Israel in case of an attack on Iran. We are wondering whether Israel is waiting as long as possible to attack Iran because of this threat.
A related article appeared this week entitled “Boeing Partners With Israeli Firm to Develop Arrow 3 Missile Interceptor,” sourced from the Department of Defense. The article is short and succinct; we quote it verbatim:
“U.S. defense firm Boeing has partnered with Israel Aerospace Industries to prepare a long-range system that would form the uppermost component of Israel's multilevel ballistic missile shield, Aviation Week reported on Thursday.
The Arrow 3 interceptor is intended to have the capability to hit incoming missiles outside the Earth's atmosphere and so would have a longer reach than Israel's Arrow 2 technology. Israel's tiered missile defense system is intended to give the military several opportunities to eliminate incoming threats.
Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing previously collaborated in establishing the Arrow 2 interceptor. ‘This new agreement is the next logical step in our relationship with Boeing and a strong opportunity for both companies to play a bigger role in the missile defense market’ Israel Aerospace Industries President Itzhak Nissan said in a press release.
The Arrow 3 would be used in conjunction with the advanced ‘Great Pine’ radar system that is thought capable of identifying threats as far away as 563 miles. Information on missile threats would also be provided by a U.S.-supplied X-band radar unit established in southern Israel.
Development of the Arrow 3 is financed by the Israeli military and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The interceptor is anticipated to be ready for preliminary operations in 2014.
The system is being developed with an eye toward Iran's evolving missile and nuclear capabilities. Jerusalem believes Tehran is pursuing a nuclear-weapon capability, an allegation rejected by Iranian leaders.
’Israel is too small to absorb a nuclear strike. The Arrow 3 will minimize the chance of enemy missiles penetrating our defense shields,’ a well-placed defense source said." [End]
This new system will allow defenders to hit ICBMs just after lift-off from their home bases, and hopefully will destroy them while they are still in their climbout stage (while still over enemy territory) and thus drop their lethal payloads on the aggressor countries. That should be a fairly effective deterrent to the use of such missiles! Meanwhile, Israel’s problem with Iran has a seemingly much shorter “fuse” than 2014, when Arrow 3 is scheduled to be operational.
Although the Shepherds of Israel today do not realize the fact, nor have faith in this outcome, Isaiah addresses their present predicament in these words: Isaiah 31:5 As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.
It appears that whatever is launched against Israel will be deterred in some way by the Almighty. But we wonder in what more succinct words an ancient writer might have described the anti-missile missiles being developed by Israel and the US at the present time? The technology is little short of miraculous – a defensive missile is launched to collide with an already airborne missile from afar incoming at perhaps 5,000 miles per hour or more, in the stratosphere, and is effective knocked out of the sky by the defensive missile sent to meet it head on! That’s exactly like firing a pellet gun at a deer slug in its trajectory and expecting to hit it in midair. But that’s what actually happens. The offensive missile is disabled inertially – that is by physical blunt contact, and not by explosive power.
Israel already has several such weapons designed to thwart attacks by shorter range missiles and intermediate range missiles – named Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow 2, etc.
When Saddam Hussein fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel in 1990 they did hardly any damage; and only one person fell casualty to these – a person who was over-wrought with the danger and died of an heart attack. Perhaps until Israel’s anti-missile missiles are ready for deployment their Father will simply deflect any enemy missiles to open spaces where little damage will occur – it’s the same result as knocking them out of the sky.
<HEL MD/USA February 5, 2012>
Observations on Ezekiel 35
H E Lafferty
We often ruminate on the terrible condemnation of Esau in Obadiah, considering Jacob’s twin brother’s overwhelming hatred of God’s people which has persisted for literally thousands of years. It began with the events of Genesis 27:41, where Esau swore to kill his brother.
Obadiah’s prophecy against Edom (Esau) absolutely and precisely defines Israel’s nearest and fiercest enemy of our modern day; that enemy is unmistakably the “Palestinians” of Gaza, the “West Bank,” of Lebanon, of Syria, of Jordan and of the Sinai Peninsula and even the Saudi Arabian peninsula. This small prophet in succinct words spells out the unmitigated doom of these peoples – these mingled peoples, these Arabs – calling themselves “Palestinians.”
Newt Gingrich recently stirred up controversy when he called the “Palestinians” an INVENTED people; but he was entirely correct in his language. There is not and NEVER HAS BEEN a people known as “Palestinians.” The term is taken from a Roman term “Philistia” which was the label Rome assigned to the people of the Land after the Bar Kochba Rebellion of 135 AD, hoping to erase the name of Judah (Judaea) from the lexicon forever. But the area was merely the southern provinces of Syria, not a national entity.
So the extremely few people of this area were known as Palestinians for that reason. But they had no central government and no identity as a nation. Indeed, until the time of the establishment of the State of Israel, it was the Jews of the Land who referred to themselves as Palestinians, but not the Arab residents – they were “Arabs,” thank you, and would not deign to label themselves as Palestinians! The name adopted by these Arabs is officially منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية;(approximately this sound) Munaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyah.
In fact, it really didn’t occur to the Arabs of the area to refer to themselves as “Palestinians” until the PLO’s formation in 1964; even then statehood was not mentioned by them! Its charter did not recognize Israel as a nation and put forth its clear intention to obliterate the foreign “occupiers” of “Arab land.”
So the Edomites of yesteryear are “Palestinians” of this era – clearly and simply. Their animosity and aggression toward the Jewish State is notorious and persistent, and their hatred well-known in the world. It is these people that Obadiah addresses.
And it is these people whom Ezekiel also addresses; the entire 35th chapter is dedicated to their condemnation – and apparently to the healing of the breach of a few of them in the end: this text is from the A.V. as presented by E-Sword. Comment upon the text is interspersed throughout …
Ezekiel 35:2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir (the people of Esau), and prophesy against it, 3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
This expression of His disapproval shall be executed by the hand of Christ, as in Isaiah 63, and is pictured as a bloody, terminal event for Esau’s house.
Eze 35:4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
This verse informs us that a remnant of Edom shall remain, for there must be some of the people remaining for this realization to take place in their hearts and minds. These shall be completely converted from Islam to people of Christ and His kingdom.
Eze 35:5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end:
Here is an unmistakable time marker in which these events reach fulfillment: the time that their iniquity had an end. The prophet is referring to the children of Israel – the Jewish people of today – the remnant of His people who have returned to the Land. It is they who are destined to be delivered from the aggression of Esau’s descendants; it is they who are offered salvation at the accomplishment of this event.
Eze 35:6 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will prepare thee unto blood, and blood shall pursue thee: sith thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall pursue thee. 35:7 Thus will I make mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it him that passeth out and him that returneth. 8 And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword. 9 I will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
Here the prophet refers to the impossibility of the return of Esau’s people and cities to their former condition after they have been dealt with by The Christ. Their current philosophy (militant Islamic fundamentalism) shall NOT return, for they shall then fully realize that they have anciently been following the wrong lord (Allah) but shall be taught in detail that it is the God of Jacob Who is really their God. The teachable ones of Esau shall survive; all the others shall not.
Eze 35:10 Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there:
These two nations are Israel (the ten tribes) and Judah (the two tribes), the territories of whom those of Mount Seir have coveted and legally claimed in the courts of men (the UNO).
Eze 35:11 Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make myself known among them, when I have judged thee.
This definitive statement indicates a landmark achievement for the people of Israel, who, remember, are nearing the end of their calamities and the beginning of the time when their iniquity shall have an end (verse 5); they are the chief beneficiaries of these decisive actions! It is ONLY at this time that God’s Son shall make known to His people His actual identity; He shall be “known” among them – appreciated, loved, obeyed – but only “when I have judged (Edom).”
Eze 35:12 And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume. 13 Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against me, and have multiplied your words against me: I have heard them. 14 Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.
Why shall the “whole earth rejoice?” because its Salvation has come in the personal return of Jesus Christ to the earth, in pursuit of His clearly stated intention of pacifying the earth and its people, and of offering salvation first to His people Israel, then to the nations of the earth. (Ezekiel 34:25, q.v.)
Eze 35:15 As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate, so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
Amos addresses these same faults in his scathing words of Amos 1:11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: 12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
Thus comes to finality the career of the nearly eternal, evil nemesis of Jacob – the descendants of Esau, mingled with the seed of Ishmael, the brother of Isaac, whose ways and marriages displeased his father Abraham. Neither of these fathers (along with the sons of Lot, Moab and Ammon) of the “mingled peoples” called Arabs were sons of inheritance; and neither has an everlasting future unless they become adopted sons of Jacob, or Israelites indeed, through the name of Christ.
Seemingly only a troubled few will ever have that opportunity when the final showdown comes – although today, while it is now, the day of salvation is wide open to them. Their dreadful self-imposed deterrence to this advantage is their entrenched evil mindset toward Israel. We earnestly pray for the enlightenment of at least some of these folk – that they will come to realize the enormity of their hatred for Israel and her God and truly repent, turning abruptly aside to salvation in His name.
Instead we behold them and all Islam continuing to oppress everyone who is unlike themselves. Even the “Christian” community of Bethlehem has shrunken by tens of thousands since the PLO gained sway over that city. Their lives are unbearable as dhimmi (second class citizens) among the Arabs. The Christians of the Coptic order are fleeing Egypt in droves as their oppressors bear down and burn their churches and kill them in savage attacks. Perhaps nearly a million “Christian” people of South Sudan were killed in the extremely unsettled conditions imposed by the Sharia Law of the Muslims in the north of Sudan.
Conclusion: Although Esau is condemned to extinction as an enemy of Israel and of God (Psalm 83: 1, 2) and slated for total destruction as to ideology and identity, a precious few will come to know Yahweh and His mercy and salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. Isaiah and Obadiah (among several other prophets) clarify their fate, and indicate their lands as fair game for Israel’s Messiah as expansion territories for his germinal kingdom – even from the Nile to the Euphrates, and from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf (and the Indian Ocean?). <HEL MD/USA Dec. 31, 2011>
It's Fayyad Who's Ignorant, Not Gingrich
Posted by FresnoZionism.org, December 12, 2011Here are a few quotations from a recent interview with presidential candidate Newt Gingrich:
I believe that if somebody is firing rockets at you, they are probably not engaged in the peace process. I believe if somebody goes around and says you don't have a right to exist, they're probably not prepared to negotiate for peace. I think if someone says they wanna wipe you out, you should believe them.…
I think we're much more likely to see an Arab winter, than we are to see an Arab Spring. The fact is that when people point out that of the 1,200,000 Christians who were in Iraq when we arrived, 700,000 have fled the country. That doesn't strike me as a success. When you know that Coptic Christians who have been in Egypt for 2,100 years are now being persecuted and having their churches burned, that doesn't strike me as a success. I think the Israeli Defense Minister said the other day that he's very concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood's success in this recent election.
Remember, I think 15% of the seats went to people who are more extreme than the Muslim Brotherhood…
So, I think there's a lot to be concerned about, and whether or not the Arab world is going to evolve now in a very negative, probably very destructive, way.
…
You have Abbas who says in the United Nations, "We do not necessarily concede Israel's right to exist." You've had four PLA ambassadors around the world say flatly, "Israel does not have a right to exist." In late November in India, the PLA ambassador said "Anybody who thinks there is a big gap between Hamas and Fatah is kidding themselves." You know, and so you have to start with this question "Who are you making peace with?"…
I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state, and I believe that the commitments that were made at a time…remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places. And for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940's, and I think it's tragic.
…
Well, I think it's delusional to call [the Oslo process] a peace process. I mean, we have an armed truce with a Palestinian Authority that's relatively weak. And on its flank is a Hamas authority which may become relatively weak, because it can't deliver anything. But both of which represent an enormous desire to destroy Israel. And I think unless you start with…and frankly, given their school system and the hatred they teach in their schools, often with money that comes from us through the United Nations, I mean I think there's a lot to think about in terms of how fundamentally you want to change the terms of debate in the region.
Say what you will about Gingrich as a viable candidate, but you cannot say that he doesn't understand the Middle East and particularly the Israeli-Arab conflict.
The quote about the "invented Palestinian people" has stirred up the expected hornet's nest. For example, Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad called his remark "cheap and disgraceful":
Responding to the statements of Gingrich, Dr. Fayyad stated that "the Palestinian people inhabited the land since the dawn of history, and intend to remain in it until the end times", and added that "people like Gingrich must consult history as it seems that all what he knows about the region is the history of the Ottoman era".
Perhaps Gingrich's tone was insulting, but historically he was not incorrect. Ridiculous Palestinian claims that they are descended from ancient Canaanites notwithstanding, most of the ancestors of the present-day 'Palestinians' arrived in the region along with or after the expedition of the Ottoman governor of Egypt Muhammad Ali into Syria in the early 1830′s. Rebellions and famines in Syria brought waves of Arabs into Palestine in the 19th and 20th centuries. And of course British and Zionist development brought even more Arab immigrants.
While Palestinian Arabs were mostly united in their opposition to Jewish immigration (although there were exceptions), specifically Palestinian nationalism probably did not exist before the first decades of the 20th century; interestingly, at first most nationalists were Christians rather than Muslims. Arab inhabitants of Palestine often insisted that the area was actually 'southern Syria', and identified as 'Arabs' and not Palestinians.
This changed with the founding of the PLO in 1964. Arab residents of the former Palestine Mandate became the 'Palestinian people'. And in truth, the regional wars and terrorism, their indoctrination by every means possible into a culture based on one main principle, hatred of Jews and Israel, their incarceration by the Arab nations and the UN in 'refugee camps' where they are bred like farm animals in order to incarnate a weapon of mass destruction for use against the Jewish people — all this has finally made them a people. What kind of people is another question.
Nevertheless, it is Fayyad who is ignorant of history, not Gingrich.
Visible Correlation of Endtime Developments
H E Lafferty MD/USA
Although the prophets of Israel have clearly forecasted the conflicts of Israel in the Endtime to take on a multi-phase character separated by some indeterminate length of time between them, we can clearly discern the development of all three expected streams of aggression (although some of them are not even yet intended in the minds of the perpetrators, but shall certainly develop in strict accordance with the long-standing revelations of the sages of Israel recorded in the scriptures). The Almighty One is not sitting still in His preparations for these coming conflicts but is bringing the development of each forward in each one’s own unique pathway.
The Gogian Powers
The identity of Persia (modern day Iran) is well certified in Ezekiel 38 and 39 as a main player in the Gogian invasion of Israel foretold in those chapters. In accord with that future role, Iran’s present relationships with Israel are well on their way to such a future posture. Her bellicose president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, frequently makes condemnatory statements about Israel, gratuitously taking the side of the “Palestinians” unnecessarily and using their “plight” as a premise for his own conflict with Israel – or at least his hatred for the “Zionist entity.” He has taken their cause as HIS cause.
Now … having stated those truths, it is admitted that the “Palestinian Question” will be the first to have a definitive settlement – total, abject defeat! These are the forces of the first decisive wave of aggression against Israel. We are ignoring details of these in this commentary as they have been explored in great detail on former occasions. Gog is the second major aggressor.
Iran is a major factor in that second wave: Iran is well known to be developing nuclear capabilities which it avows as peaceful in nature. Yet the already-developed components of the project belie this posture. Equipment is being employed to refine Uranium to much higher levels than those needful for peaceful generation of electricity, which is Iran’s sworn claim. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspects the Iranian facilities about every two months – those to which it is even admitted – and on Tuesday last issued a disturbing report which most observers regard as a certain “game changer. For several years under its former head, Mohamed el-Baradei – an Egyptian Islamist – Iran was given a free pass (by IAEA) as to being involved in weapons development.
The report (which you may read in detail at www.guardian.co.uk if you care to do so) concludes that Iran probably already has the materials for about four nuclear bombs. It is now rapidly developing rockets for the delivery of its warheads and may be now capable of showering up to four such weapons of mass destruction upon Israel in case of attack by any nation or nations. Iran knows that any nation which might attack it will be an ally of Israel, and that any threat of harm to Israel would likely be a deterrent to those nations.
Actually, we believe Iran underestimates Israel as possibly being the main potential aggressor – or among the main ones – in league with possibly Britain, along with the United States, in a multi-mode, multi-pronged assault on the war-making capability of Iran’s nuclear facilities, rocket factories, and her military forces. In this regard we have read just this week of the invention of a new U.S. “bunker buster” bomb which is being manufactured by Boeing Aircraft Company – a super-weapon which weighs 30,000 pounds and can be carried by a B-2 Stealth Bomber; it can penetrate 200 feet of reinforced concrete before exploding! It would be difficult to conceive of the damage this huge bomb could do to underground nuclear facilities – especially the ones in Iraq, which are reported to lie under about 20 feet of reinforced concrete and several stories further down in the earth.
The Deity’s incitement of the Arabic/Islamic programme of hatred and aggression against Israel thus moves ahead on multiple fronts. In this regard the nearby threats to Israel from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip are at their highest levels. The Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt has made giant strides in emerging as the dominant and only really organized force in that country; its strength points toward Egypt’s takeover, perhaps, by the Brothers at the next election. Its enmity toward Israel is well-known and validated. Its leaders avow renewed hostilities against neighboring Israel in contravention of the long-standing peace treaty of the Seventies.
At the same time, the “liberators” of Libya, having now destroyed Mummar Qadaffi’s person and power, now embark upon a haphazard attempt to form a rational, workable government in that country with fragmented leadership. It is not proceeding well. It is almost certainly destined to fall under the evil and stern tenets of Sha'aria Law - the most strict application of Islamic prejudice. But Libya remains a recognizable country for now, and available for its certain destiny in league with the Gogian host.
Events in Syria do not seem to be moving rapidly toward the displacement of President Bashar Assad whose army continues to murder his riotous citizens; the number of estimated dead now numbers over 2,500 Syrians who have been killed by the Syrian Army. Many of the Syrian soldiers are said to have defected and joined the rebels, but the chief national objectors to his conduct seem unwilling (or unable?) effectively to intervene to stop the killing and enforce peace.
The imminent departure of all U. S. forces from Iraq will leave a giant vacuum which the forces of Iran will surely attempt to fill as soon as possible, bringing reinforcement to the Shi’ite government there. The Iraqi “democratic” government of today is surely destined for failure. Iran’s measure of success there, however, may not be very great as the prophetic forecast seems certainly to be for Iraq and Syria (together constituting Assyria) to join forces to invade Israel at some time in the near future as clearly foretold in Micah 5, while the Iranian aggression develops separately and at a later date in cahoots with Gog of the land of Magog, Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal.
Which brings up another interesting facet to consider. Meshech and Tubal have been considered to be Moscow and Tobolski in Russia – and that is doubtlessly a valid point – but Meshech and Tubal were originally residents of large portions of Turkey today. Magog’s habitat was probably originally there, too, as reflected in the title, Gog of the land of Magog, Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal – all of who were originally Anatolian and proximal to each other.
The relatively recent view that the Gogian host (Russian) will initiate hostilities against Turkey and overrun it may be obviated by this fact – the original habitation of these descendants of Japheth (Genesis 10:2), Meshech and Tubal. They are already located in Turkey and will allow Turkey to become an ally of Gog without any conflict whatever because of their ideological connection with the Islamic Cause which the Gogian forces embody – every entity named by Ezekiel being overwhelmingly Islamic except Russia (which has a large proportional population of Muslim identity, but not a majority).
The Third Antagonist: the Harlot and the Beast
In the above commentary we have not even considered the third antagonist of Israel – the Harlot/Beast power of Europe. Close attention to that arena however ALSO shows movement in the expected direction of consolidation toward a re-constituted Holy Roman Empire. The ten horns of the Beast are part of the power of the Beast – the European Community.
In a recent development, the ten powers (“the Ten”) of the Western European Union which were originally charged with security and war-making for the EU voluntarily ceded its power to the Greater Beast in dissolving its own powers. The official announcement on March 31, 2011, was worded: “ … on behalf of the High Contracting Parties to the Modified Brussels Treaty – Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and The United Kingdom.” It was in this manner that "The Ten" handed over its mandate and authority to the Beast. The announcement was made by the President of the Permanent Council of the Western European Union (WEU).
Now, as of March 31st of the current year, all the 27 nations of the EU became equally saddled with the responsibility for war-making and security (instead of “the Ten”); in our minds this is a clear fulfillment of Revelation 17:12 – And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
For years Biblical scholars have watched the establishment and developments of the products of The Treaties of Rome (1957), the founding date of the European Economic Community (EEC), and of Euratom (Europe’s AEC)..
The overall purpose of these treaties was stated as “The Treaty establishing the EEC affirmed in its preamble that signatory States were ‘determined to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe.’ In this way, the member States specifically affirmed the political objective of a progressive political integration.”
This, we believe, was the origin of the Beast of Revelation 17. One surely must agree that the prophecy is quite transparent at this stage of its development – or, at least, so we are now convinced! Its destiny is to resist the Lord Jesus Christ when He appears among those nations. Their future is grimly forecasted by John in the next verse of the above text: 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
This development raises our antennae to great heights when we realize the connection between the two events, informing every student of the dire portent of the legal steps just undertaken by these unsuspecting Ten Horns of the Beast – those horns (powers) which have until recently been charged with matters of security and defense of the EU overall, HAVE JUST GIVEN THEIR POWER AND STRENGTH OVER TO THE BEAST. These were the "horns" of the Beast - its power ... its strength for war-making. They no longer bear this responsibility alone.
It seems to me that this is one of the surest, clearest conclusions (fulfillments) of prophetic forecasts; but it will be discounted and even missed by most scholars for some reason … such as ignoring any event which does not fit their preconceived notions. For years men have speculated over the Toes of the Image of Nebuchadnezzar; they were full of anticipation when the EEC was formed and headed for a membership of ten nations. But it went to 27 nations to date and many were disillusioned. Yet here, with “The Ten” could be the answer to the puzzle, for ten of the major members of the EEC (the WEU countries) being saddled with security and military matters for the EEC have come to the end of their charter and have turned their power over to the greater Beast!
To my simple mind, this confirmatory relinquishment of power portends the next major event for those nations – to make war with the Lamb Who shall overcome them! Although the prospect for this conflict lies some time in the future the wise scholar will keep these things in his mind and be strengthened by them. The fact remains that The Ten (horns/kings) were certain of only one goal – that of relinquishing their power to the Beast. They have now accomplished that goal Their next goal is Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
At the same time, European fortunes are being forged by an unprecedented financial crisis. Greece may be forced out of the EEC. Spain and Portugal as well as Ireland are having their financial troubles as well. Italy and France are not far behind these four. Germany seems to be the powerhouse of all Europe and is observed as being not only ready but able to purchase the distressed national properties of nations such as Greece. Germany is eagerly purchasing many of these valuable properties which will generate revenues from outside Germany for generations – assets such as railways, utilities, and financial institutions. Thus German influence and power is effectively projected to the far corners of the EEC
But one wonders seriously whether there is an overlooked factor in this dilemma: that of the Vatican, which although among the smallest in land area, is actually one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We really have not seen any media coverage about the Vatican’s readiness to purchase some of these fire-sale properties. But we must consider that if there is a fast, sure profit to be made, papal interests are surely present and active! One of the chief traits of The Beast of Europe is its trading abilities and the wealth of its merchandise so meticulously catalogued in Revelation 18: 11 - And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
The final item on this fantastic list of goods, please note, is human merchandise – the souls (lives) of men; it is the chief commodity of the Church, for from that commodity flows more money than all the others – multiple lifetimes of rich weekly contributions and grants from its slavish members. The Merchants of the Earth mourn her demise and in the end, burn the Harlot’s flesh with fire for her everlasting deception and adultery. We cannot yet be precisely certain of what event will bring about that kind of hatred, but we highly suspect that it shall be TRUTH, which the Lord Jesus brings to them in the Everlasting Gospel (Revelation 14: 6), and proves to them beyond any doubt in His conquest of the Harlot.
This represents the Almighty’s third giant step toward subjection of the earth to His will in fulfillment of Psalm 22: 27 – And all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. Psalm 86:9 declares essentially the same universal truth: All nations which Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord, and shall glorify Thy name.
<HELafferty MD/USA October, 2011 >
A Credible Military Threat to Iran
- Eli Lake (Daily Beast)
As Iran methodically built its nuclear program, Israel has been assembling a multibillion-dollar array of high-tech weapons that would allow it to jam, blind, and deafen Tehran's defenses in the case of a pre-emptive aerial strike.A U.S. intelligence assessment this summer concluded that any Israeli attack on hardened nuclear sites in Iran would likely include electronic warfare against Iran's electric grid, Internet, cellphone network, and emergency frequencies for firemen and police officers. Israel has developed a weapon capable of mimicking a maintenance cellphone signal that commands a cell network to "sleep," effectively stopping transmissions. In a 2007 attack on a Syrian nuclear site, Israeli planes "spoofed" the country's air-defense radars, at first making it appear that no jets were in the sky and then in an instant making the radar believe the sky was filled with hundreds of planes.
Israel also likely would exploit a
vulnerability that U.S. officials detected two years ago
in Iran's big-city electric grids, which are connected to the
Internet and therefore vulnerable to a Stuxnet-style cyberattack,
officials say. The likely delivery method for the electronic elements of
this attack would be an unmanned aerial vehicle.
A senior Israeli official said this month that
one important objective of Israel's political strategy
on Iran was to persuade Iranian decision-makers that a military
strike against their nuclear infrastructure was a very real possibility.
"The only known way to stop a nuclear program is to have smashing
sanctions with a credible military threat. Libya is the best
example of this," this official said.
If past practice is any guide, the Israelis
would not likely strike at the same moment that their officials are
discussing the prospect in the press. In other words,
if Israel is openly discussing a military strike, it is unlikely
to be imminent. But if Israel goes radio silent - like it did
when it attacked a nuclear site in Iraq in 1981 - that may be an
early warning sign that a strike is nearing.
In 2007, the Israelis presented
what they considered to be rock-solid evidence that Syria was
building a covert nuclear facility at al-Kibar. They asked President Bush
to bomb the facility, according to the new memoir from Condoleezza Rice.
"The president decided against a strike and suggested a diplomatic
course to the Israeli prime minister," she wrote. "Ehud Olmert
thanked us for our input but rejected our advice, and the Israelis then
expertly did the job themselves."
One American close to the current
prime minister said, "When Netanyahu came into office, the
understanding was they will not make the same mistake that Olmert made and
ask for something the president might say no to. Better to ask forgiveness
than to ask permission."
If the Arab Spring Turns Ugly
Winged Migrants Over Israel, and Gog
From time immemorial gigantic flocks of birds have shuttled northward and southward over God’s Land in the mysterious, perennial movements engineered into their natures. Our Father noted these in speaking through Jeremiah: “Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 8:7).
Visitors to Israel in the spring and fall are likely to be impressed with a sky full of Cranes on the wing, or Steppe Eagles, Turtledoves, Vultures and Swallows as they blacken the heavens with whirring wings in giant, orderly formations moving as one enormous community of avians on the move! Or, passing by the numerous wetlands of the Upper Galilee may observe thousands of Storks covering the bogs and lakes, sleeping while standing on one leg, or scouring the wet grounds and shallow lakes for nourishment. They take advantage of the lush vegetation of Israel and its water to rest from the long flight from Egypt or from Turkey. They rest, sleep and refuel for the next leg of their journey here.
On Tuesday, August 15, the Jerusalem Post reported, “The first groups of migratory birds, including thousands of pelicans, passed through Israeli skies on their way to warmer temperatures. Observers at the Israeli Ornithological Center, in conjunction with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel reported that the autumn migration has begun. The first groups of migratory birds, including thousands of pelicans, passed through Israeli skies in the last two days on their way southward to warmer temperatures, according to the report.”
A correspondent sent this brief snippet along with his comment: “This article, if read with Ezekiel 39:17 undoubtedly gives us an indication of the time of the year for the Gogian invasion.”
The text in point includes about four verses in all, speaking in the poetic stance of the Creator providing a giant feast for His creatures: Ezekiel 39:17 And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood.18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.20 Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel thus indicates the crushing, lethal termination of Gog’s attempted invasion of God’s Land. The immense sacrifice results from the six weapons from the Almighty enumerated in verses 21 and 22 of the previous chapter: every man’s sword against his brother; pestilence and blood; an overflowing rain; great hailstones; fire; and brimstone.
This death toll shall be so immense that an extraordinary cadre of raptors and scavengers of nature will be called upon to devour their flesh. It seems reasonable that the slaughter of the Gogian host shall take place in either the spring or fall of the year while this great transitory population of beasts are overflying Israel!
Bird Migration
Migration itself is one of the most amazing natural phenomena on earth. It is undertaken by butterflies, fishes, turtles, deer, birds of numerous species, and many other animals. By far, the longest migrations of all those named are those of birds. Israel is the keystone of three continents and is over-flown by migrating birds on a scale perhaps without equal anywhere else in the world. Recent studies have shown that about 500 million birds transit Israel’s tiny airspace twice every year in the fulfillment of their migratory tendencies. So Israel has become perhaps the premier center in the world for bird observation – birding, as they term it.
Israel has protective laws for these migratory residents; but they also create special safety concerns for both the Israel Air Force and commercial aircraft as well as the birds themselves. Recent research has resulted in an 88% reduction in bird deaths.
There is much interest in bird migration in Israel. Utilizing satellite and radar imaging, researchers may track the birds from Israel to their winter nesting grounds in Africa and Madagascar, then back northward through the Israel Flyway to Europe and Western Asia in the spring. So Israel is essentially a superhighway for bird migration. At the height of their migratory seasons, the country may contain as many as 500 species of birds.
One writer rhapsodized: “You must realize that migrating birds do not recognize political borders, and serve as ideal symbols of the era of peace that is surely about to dawn in the Middle East.”
Israel’s International Center for Study of Birds Migration is located on the main road between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv; there, efforts at interdisciplinary study are being made to develop methods of computer tracking of migrating birds and ready exchange of information with ornithologists and avian students in neighboring countries and throughout the world.
In Jerusalem there is a facility tucked in between the Knesset and the Supreme Court; it is theJerusalem Bird Observatory. There workers capture birds in a soft net strung between trees and identify them, record their species, sex and weight. These are then tagged with tiny metal leg bands, and released. When a bird is captured which is already tagged, the center notifies the country of origin as to the identity of its bird, time of visit, and state of health including weight. In this way migratory patterns become better understood.
In addition to the transients, the native birds of Israel number about 270 species. Together the species count of about 500 is equivalent to Britain, and less than 200 short of the United States.
Current writers are not especially mentioning the raptors among their avian visitors. It has been estimated that about 15% of the migratory birds passing through Israel are raptors – about 75 million individuals! These are generally considered birds of prey (not all these pass through Israel); from Wikipedia we list:
Accipitridae: hawks, eagles, buzzards, harriers, kites and Old World vultures
Pandionidae: the Osprey (sometimes classified as subfamily Pandioninae of the previous family)
Sagittariidae: the Secretary Bird
Falconidae: falcons and caracaras
Cathartidae: New World vultures including condors.
Strigidae: (typical owls)
Tytonidae: (barn and bay owls).
So, you see, the population is quite diverse. These shall be the most active players in consuming the carcasses of the Gogian host, for they are carrion-eaters as well as (often) devourers of live prey.
And so it is that we witness well before the fact, the awful demise of an immense body of aggressors of Israel, God’s people, who come intending to assault the Kingdom of Christ, but meeting a blunt, omnipotent, destructive force: Ezekiel 39:3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
The Fall of Japan? AND OTHER JUDGMENTS BY GOD
H E Lafferty
There is an extremely interesting “coincidence” of events which have had devastating consequences for Japan – for Japanese people who live almost as far from Israel as one can get. We believe that the God of all the earth often reveals His will by acting against His enemies on anniversaries – or at times immediately following assaults against His people Israel. We will consider two cases.
The former pattern of reaction (anniversaries) certainly seems to be the case with Japan. On March 11, 2011, a tremendous 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of northern Japan devastated the northern Island, created a tsunami of biblical proportions, and disrupted life and profession for literally millions of Japanese people. Fukushima nuclear plant was so damaged that even the interim assessment is that it is more devastating than the disaster at Chernobyl!
Now … as to anniversaries. Why am I mentioning that factor? Perhaps you don’t recall the date – few people would – when an out of the blue official proclamation was issued by Japan condemning the Jewish building of apartments in East Jerusalem and in the “West Bank.” The official Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan declaration, copied from its web site pronounces “… on the decision of the Government of Israel regarding the construction of housing unit at settlements in West Bank including East Jerusalem” and reads as follows:
The Government of Japan deplores the decisions of the Government of Israel to give permission for the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem in addition to 112 units in West Bank just after the Israeli and Palestinian leadership’s acceptance of the start of indirect talks. The Government of Japan does not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of Jerusalem and the territories in the pre-1967 borders. Japan demands that the plans should not be implemented.
The date of this official pronouncement was March 11, 2010 – exactly one year prior to the disaster in Japan! EXACTLY one year! It is surely the Almighty’s not-so-subtle way of telling us that the two events are directly related to one another.
Note carefully the solemn promise the Father made to Abram in
Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
God’s solemn word declares two perpetual intentions in this revelation: first, that He shall treat enemies and friends of Abraham’s descendants (His people of Israel) with the same treatment they are given; and second, that His destiny for them is that ALL FAMILIES of the earth shall be blessed in Abraham!
This declaration by the Almighty has not and CAN not be rescinded, for the God of Israel does not relent when He has set a standard. His will has been ever thus. All the historical persecutors/oppressors of Israel have met the same ignominious fate: oblivion. Where are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome? Where are the Ottomans? Where are the Crusaders? Where is Byzantium? And although Egypt still exists, where is its former glory? All have passed away – forever. God’s word cannot be said nay; He always has and always shall enforce it!
Bill Koenig, a White House correspondent in Washington, wrote a book a few years ago entitled Eye to Eye, last revised July, 2006. In that work he pinpointed scores of actions contrary to Israel by nations and powers, and correlated these with almost immediate catastrophic results suffered by those same powers – answers to their arrogance almost by return mail in nearly every instance! It is a book well worth having in your library, well worth its $12.00 cost.
Now the disaster in Japan has occurred on the precise one-year anniversary of the uncalled-for and un-provoked official meddling of Japan into the affairs of Jerusalem and Israel. The event and its consequence reminds us of the warning of God through Zechariah (12:3) And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
I should think what has happened to Japan quite easily qualifies as cause and effect!!
There is another striking example – that of hurricane Katrina and the serial storms which destroyed New Orleans and the southern coast in 2005.
Although Japan's quake is reminiscent of the time in 2005 when the US State Department on March 13th, condemned Israeli construction of 500 new West Bank homes as “Illegitimate,” there is a marked event which I want to highlight: In August 2005, President George W. Bush insisted that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon force the Jewish settlers from their homes in Gaza. AT THAT VERY MOMENT the tropical depression that became Hurricane Katrina suddenly began incubating in the Western Atlantic. If I remember correctly, it formed virtually in the Leeward Islands, and not in the far Eastern Atlantic near Africa, as most such storms do. At the time, this feature of Katrina was noted as almost unique – and should we add Providential?
In only a few days the storm had strengthened, picking up the warm vapors of the Gulf of Mexico, and slamming into the South Coast with a fury never before seen in the recent history of such storms. The leader transgressed and the people suffered, much in the same way that result was seen in biblical times. Hundreds of people lost their lives; thousands lost their properties; livelihoods were wiped out for tens of thousands; cities and towns were devastated; levees ruptured flooding wide areas of residential and commercial property; governments were tested; insurance companies were drained of emergency funds; relief efforts could not possibly meet or keep up with demands. The bottom line monetary cost alone is measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars; the human cost is inestimable.
I bring one other notable example of such cause and effect events: the vicious tornado which destroyed Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011. What major blow to Israel preceded that event, or is that a valid question?
Well, it IS valid; several did, involving the verbal sparring of President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. The first shocking revelation of Mr. Obama – and a decisive change in previous declarations – was that on May 19th he came on national television and made his announcement that Israel must base its agreements with the PLO on “its 1967 borders” – meaning those in place at the truce agreement of June, 1949.
That speech was given just two hours before Prime Minister Netanyahu was to leave Ben Gurion International airport for Washington to meet the president on this very subject! It took Israel and its leader by surprise.
Over the next days just prior to the cyclone which destroyed Joplin, these leaders exchanged speeches and “clarifications” leading up to an address by both to the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) in Washington, and later, Mr. Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress.
On Sunday night the murderous tornado struck Joplin. Its footprint was an half mile wide and six miles long! So far 131 deaths are attributed to this storm and ten people are still listed as missing.
The close proximity of this landmark speech betraying Israel, changing the US ground rules, and also blind-siding their leader, absolutely correlates with the awesome storm in Joplin. That correlation raises our antennae which are tuned to cause and effect events as discussed above. It is difficult to dismiss the close proximity of these events as NOT being related. Such have been juxtaposed in the same manner on so many occasions in the past. Of course none of the secular news services or commentators are looking for such connections; indeed, they would pooh-pooh such a suggestion as hogwash if they were asked about them. But the correlation is just too close, and the concept too often correlated in prior events. The leaders err; the people suffer.
A poignant scriptural passage comes to mind here: Zechariah 12:9: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
It occurs to me – and should occur to all observers – that it is not unreasonable to view all such events as prime Causes which result in subsequent Effects, directly from the God of all the earth Himself, as testimony to his early promise to Abraham, that I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:2) And that those who “curse” Israel certainly should expect divine retribution – response to their actions which may appear simply as natural occurrences. But when coupled with His mind, and His concepts of justice, and His previous ultimatums, may easily be seen as divine retribution upon those transgressor nations, leading to the ultimate vindication of His blessed people Israel, and their elevation to the prime nation upon earth in the kingdom age.
<HEL MD/USA June 1, 2011>
Statement by Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the decision of the Government of Israel regarding the construction of housing units at settlements in West Bank including East Jerusalem
March 11, 2010
Japanese
1. The Government of Japan deplores the decisions of the Government of Israel to give permission for the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem in addition to 112 units in West Bank just after the Israeli and Palestinian leadership’s acceptance of the start of indirect talks. The Government of Japan does not recognize any act that prejudges the final status of Jerusalem and the territories in the pre-1967 borders. Japan demands that the plans should not be implemented.
2. The Government of Japan continues to request strongly that both parties will act in a way that enhances mutual confidence. Japan sincerely hopes that the indirect talks in the peace process will swiftly develop into the resumption of direct talks between the two parties.
Is it true that GOD still loves with an everlasting love, Israel? and, defends Israel. Read this:
"Significance of Japan's March 11, 2010, statements about Israel and their (Japan's) disaster. Many it seems were very surprised by the intensity of Japan's statements on March 11, 2010, about Jerusalem, the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Jewish home construction.
The Japanese statements of last year about Israel-one year later to the day: Tragedies hit Japan: earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plants and their economy is severely hurt. Coincidence?
Japan's financial gifts to the Palestinians were not spoken of in the media. It seems God was watching, though-nothing is hidden from His view. God doesn't lie, his faithfulness to Israel is everlasting. To the Jew first then the Gentile.
The Japanese's strong and specific words about Israel's land:
Japan deplores construction by Jews in East Jerusalem and the West Bank;
Japan condemns Jewish home building in East Jerusalem;
Japan does not recognize the annexations of East Jerusalem by Israel;
Japan urges Israel to refrain from unilateral acts that change the current situation in East Jerusalem, etc.
The Japanese are supposed to be friends of Israel, but these statements about Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria were strong statements. Additionally, many were surprised Japan made these statements independently rather than letting the Quartet speak for it around the time of Joe Biden's visit to Israel last March.
Twelve months to the day after Japan made its first major statement on March 11, 2010, the fourth strongest earthquake ever recorded struck in Japan (on March 11, 2010).
One year earlier to the very day, of the 9.1 earthquake and tsunami, Japan made this declaration: “The Government of Japan deplores the decisions of the Government of Israel to give permission for the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem in addition to 112 units in West Bank,” (Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs March 11, 2010).
God says those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. After Japan “deplores” Israel building houses, many thousands of homes are destroyed in Japan. For the past year, Japan had increased its anti-Israel rhetoric.
Should we soberly consider the connection?
P M NETANYAHU’S SPEECH TO JOINT SITTING OF THE US CONGRESS MAY 24 2011
The text of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of the US Congress on May 24, 2011, as provided by the Prime Minister's Office.
I am deeply honored by your warm welcome. And I am deeply honored that you have given me the opportunity to address Congress a second time.
Mr. Vice President, do you remember the time we were the new kids in town?
And I do see a lot of old friends here. And I do see a lot of new friends of Israel here. Democrats and Republicans alike.
Israel has no better friend than America. And America has no better friend than Israel. We stand together to defend democracy. We stand together to advance peace. We stand together to fight terrorism. Congratulations America, Congratulations, Mr. President. You got bin Laden. Good riddance!
In an unstable Middle East, Israel is the one anchor of stability. In a region of shifting alliances, Israel is America’s unwavering ally. Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.
My friends, you don’t need to do nation building in Israel. We’re already built. You don’t need to export democracy to Israel. We’ve already got it. You don’t need to send American troops to defend Israel. We defend ourselves. You’ve been very generous in giving us tools to do the job of defending Israel on our own. Thank you all, and thank you President Obama, for your steadfast commitment to Israel’s security. I know economic times are tough. I deeply appreciate this.
Support for Israel’s security is a wise investment in our common future. For an epic battle is now unfolding in the Middle East, between tyranny and freedom. A great convulsion is shaking the earth from the Khyber Pass to the Straits of Gibraltar. The tremors have shattered states and toppled governments. And we can all see that the ground is still shifting. Now this historic moment holds the promise of a new dawn of freedom and opportunity. Millions of young people are determined to change their future. We all look at them. They muster courage. They risk their lives. They demand dignity. They desire liberty.
These extraordinary scenes in Tunis and Cairo, evoke those of Berlin and Prague in 1989. Yet as we share their hopes, but we also must also remember that those hopes could be snuffed out as they were in Tehran in 1979. You remember what happened then. The brief democratic spring in Iran was cut short by a ferocious and unforgiving tyranny. This same tyranny smothered Lebanon’s democratic Cedar Revolution, and inflicted on that long-suffering country, the medieval rule of Hezbollah.
So today, the Middle East stands at a fateful crossroads. Like all of you, I pray
that the peoples of the region choose the path less travelled, the path of liberty. No one knows what this path consists of better than you. This path is not paved by elections alone. It is paved when governments permit protests in town squares, when limits are placed on the powers of rulers, when judges are beholden to laws and not men, and when human rights cannot be crushed by tribal loyalties or mob rule.
Israel has always embraced this path, in the Middle East has long rejected it. In a region where women are stoned, gays are hanged, Christians are persecuted, Israel stands out. It is different.
As the great English writer George Eliot predicted over a century ago, that once established, the Jewish state will "shine like a bright star of freedom amid the despotisms of the East.” Well, she was right. We have a free press, independent courts, an open economy, rambunctious parliamentary debates. You think you guys are tough on one another in Congress? Come spend a day in the Knesset. Be my guest.
Courageous Arab protesters, are now struggling to secure these very same rights for their peoples, for their societies. We're proud that over one million Arab citizens of Israel have been enjoying these rights for decades. Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa, only Israel’s Arab citizens enjoy real democratic rights. I want you to stop for a second and think about that. Of those 300 million Arabs, less than one-half of one-percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel!
This startling fact reveals a basic truth: Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what is right about the Middle East.
Israel fully supports the desire of Arab peoples in our region to live freely. We long for the day when Israel will be one of many real democracies in the Middle East.
Fifteen years ago, I stood at this very podium, and said that democracy must start to take root in the Arab World. Well, it's begun to take root. This beginning holds the promise of a brilliant future of peace and prosperity. For I believe that a Middle East that is genuinely democratic will be a Middle East truly at peace.
But while we hope and work for the best, we must also recognize that powerful forces oppose this future. They oppose modernity. They oppose democracy. They oppose peace.
Foremost among these forces is Iran. The tyranny in Tehran brutalizes its own people. It supports attacks against American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. It subjugates Lebanon and Gaza. It sponsors terror worldwide.
When I last stood here, I spoke of the dire consequences of Iran developing nuclear weapons. Now time is running out, and the hinge of history may soon turn. For the greatest danger facing humanity could soon be upon us: A militant Islamic regime armed with nuclear weapons.
Militant Islam threatens the world. It threatens Islam. I have no doubt that it will ultimately be defeated. It will eventually succumb to the forces of freedom and progress. But like other fanaticisms that were doomed to fail, militant Islam could exact a horrific price from all of us before its inevitable demise.
A nuclear-armed Iran would ignite a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It would give terrorists a nuclear umbrella. It would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger throughout the world. I want you to understand what this means. They could put the bomb anywhere. They could put it on a missile. It could be on a container ship in a port, or in a suitcase on a subway.
Now the threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads in the sand. Less than seven decades after six million Jews were murdered, Iran's leaders deny the Holocaust of the Jewish people, while calling for the annihilation of the Jewish state.
Leaders who spew such venom, should be banned from every respectable forum on the planet. But there is something that makes the outrage even greater: The lack of outrage. In much of the international community, the calls for our destruction are met with utter silence. It is even worse because there are many who rush to condemn Israel for defending itself against Iran’s terror proxies.
But not you. Not America. You have acted differently. You've condemned the Iranian regime for its genocidal aims. You’ve passed tough sanctions against Iran. History will salute you America.
President Obama has said that the United States is determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. He successfully led the Security Council to adopt sanctions against Iran. You in Congress passed even tougher sanctions. These words and deeds are vitally important.
Yet the Ayatollah regime briefly suspended its nuclear program only once, in 2003, when it feared the possibility of military action. That same year, Muammar Qadaffi gave up his nuclear weapons program, and for the same reason. The more Iran believes that all options are on the table, the less the chance of confrontation. This is why I ask you to continue to send an unequivocal message: That America will never permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
As for Israel, if history has taught the Jewish people anything, it is that we must take calls for our destruction seriously. We are a nation that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. When we say never again, we mean never again. Israel always reserves the right to defend itself.
My friends, while Israel will be ever vigilant in its defense, we will never give up on our quest for peace. I guess we’ll give it up when we achieve it. Israel wants peace. Israel needs peace. We've achieved historic peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan that have held up for decades.
I remember what it was like before we had peace. I was nearly killed in a firefight inside the Suez Canal. I mean that literally. I battled terrorists along both banks of the Jordan River. Too many Israelis have lost loved ones. I know their grief. I lost my brother.
So no one in Israel wants a return to those terrible days. The peace with Egypt and Jordan has long served as an anchor of stability and peace in the heart of the Middle East.
This peace should be bolstered by economic and political support to all those who remain committed to peace.
The peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan are vital. But they're not enough. We must also find a way to forge a lasting peace with the Palestinians. Two years ago, I publicly committed to a solution of two states for two peoples: A Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state.
I am willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic peace. As the leader of Israel, it is my responsibility to lead my people to peace.
This is not easy for me. I recognize that in a genuine peace, we will be required to give up parts of the Jewish homeland. In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers. We are not the British in India. We are not the Belgians in the Congo.
This is the land of our forefathers, the Land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace. No distortion of history can deny the four thousand year old bond, between the Jewish people and the Jewish land.
But there is another truth: The Palestinians share this small land with us. We seek a peace in which they will be neither Israel’s subjects nor its citizens. They should enjoy a national life of dignity as a free, viable and independent people in their own state. They should enjoy a prosperous economy, where their creativity and initiative can flourish.
We've already seen the beginnings of what is possible. In the last two years, the Palestinians have begun to build a better life for themselves. Prime Minister Fayyad has led this effort. I wish him a speedy recovery from his recent operation.
We've helped the Palestinian economy by removing hundreds of barriers and roadblocks to the free flow of goods and people. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. The Palestinian economy is booming. It's growing by more than 10% a year.
Palestinian cities look very different today than they did just a few years ago. They have shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants, banks. They even have e-businesses. This is all happening without peace. Imagine what could happen with peace. Peace would herald a new day for both peoples. It would make the dream of a broader Arab-Israeli peace a realistic possibility.
So now here is the question. You have to ask it. If the benefits of peace with the Palestinians are so clear, why has peace eluded us? Because all six Israeli Prime Ministers since the signing of Oslo accords agreed to establish a Palestinian state. Myself included. So why has peace not been achieved? Because so far, the Palestinians have been unwilling to accept a Palestinian state, if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it.
You see, our conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state. It has always been about the existence of the Jewish state. This is what this conflict is about. In 1947, the United Nations voted to partition the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews said yes. The Palestinians said no. In recent years, the Palestinians twice refused generous offers by Israeli Prime Ministers, to establish a Palestinian state on virtually all the territory won by Israel in the Six Day War.
They were simply unwilling to end the conflict. And I regret to say this: They continue to educate their children to hate. They continue to name public squares after terrorists. And worst of all, they continue to perpetuate the fantasy that Israel will one day be flooded by the descendants of Palestinian refugees.
My friends, this must come to an end. President Abbas must do what I have done. I stood before my people, and I told you it wasn’t easy for me, and I said… "I will accept a Palestinian state." It is time for President Abbas to stand before his people and say… "I will accept a Jewish state."
Those six words will change history. They will make clear to the Palestinians that this conflict must come to an end. That they are not building a state to continue the conflict with Israel, but to end it. They will convince the people of Israel that they have a true partner for peace. With such a partner, the people of Israel will be prepared to make a far reaching compromise. I will be prepared to make a far reaching compromise.
This compromise must reflect the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred since 1967. The vast majority of the 650,000 Israelis who live beyond the 1967 lines, reside in neighborhoods and suburbs of Jerusalem and Greater Tel Aviv.
These areas are densely populated but geographically quite small. Under any realistic peace agreement, these areas, as well as other places of critical strategic and national importance, will be incorporated into the final borders of Israel.
The status of the settlements will be decided only in negotiations. But we must also be honest. So I am saying today something that should be said publicly by anyone serious about peace. In any peace agreement that ends the conflict, some settlements will end up beyond Israel’s borders. The precise delineation of those borders must be negotiated. We will be very generous on the size of a future Palestinian state. But as President Obama said, the border will be different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967. Israel will not return to the indefensible lines of 1967.
We recognize that a Palestinian state must be big enough to be viable, independent and prosperous. President Obama rightly referred to Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, just as he referred to the future Palestinian state as the homeland of the Palestinian people. Jews from around the world have a right to immigrate to the Jewish state. Palestinians from around the world should have a right to immigrate, if they so choose, to a Palestinian state. This means that the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside the borders of Israel.
As for Jerusalem, only a democratic Israel has protected freedom of worship for all faiths in the city. Jerusalem must never again be divided. Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel. I know that this is a difficult issue for Palestinians. But I believe with creativity and goodwill a solution can be found.
This is the peace I plan to forge with a Palestinian partner committed to peace. But you know very well, that in the Middle East, the only peace that will hold is a peace you can defend.
So peace must be anchored in security. In recent years, Israel withdrew from South Lebanon and Gaza. But we didn't get peace. Instead, we got 12,000 thousand rockets fired from those areas on our cities, on our children, by Hezbollah and Hamas. The UN peacekeepers in Lebanon failed to prevent the smuggling of this weaponry. The European observers in Gaza evaporated overnight. So if Israel simply walked out of the territories, the flow of weapons into a future Palestinian state would be unchecked. Missiles fired from it could reach virtually every home in Israel in less than a minute. I want you to think about that too. Imagine that right now we all had less than 60 seconds to find shelter from an incoming rocket. Would you live that way? Would anyone live that way? Well, we aren’t going to live that way either.
The truth is that Israel needs unique security arrangements because of its unique size. Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world. Mr. Vice President, I'll grant you this. It’s bigger than Delaware. It’s even bigger than Rhode Island. But that’s about it. Israel on the 1967 lines would be half the width of the Washington Beltway.
Now here’s a bit of nostalgia. I first came to Washington thirty years ago as a young diplomat. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out: There is an America beyond the Beltway. But Israel on the 1967 lines would be only nine miles wide. So much for strategic depth.
So it is therefore absolutely vital for Israel’s security that a Palestinian state be fully demilitarized. And it is vital that Israel maintain a long-term military presence along the Jordan River. Solid security arrangements on the ground are necessary not only to protect the peace, they are necessary to protect Israel in case the peace unravels. For in our unstable region, no one can guarantee that our peace partners today will be there tomorrow.
And when I say tomorrow, I don't mean some distant time in the future. I mean -- tomorrow. Peace can be achieved only around the negotiating table. The Palestinian attempt to impose a settlement through the United Nations will not bring peace. It should be forcefully opposed by all those who want to see this conflict end.
I appreciate the President’s clear position on this issue. Peace cannot be imposed. It must be negotiated. But it can only be negotiated with partners committed to peace.
And Hamas is not a partner for peace. Hamas remains committed to Israel's destruction and to terrorism. They have a charter. That charter not only calls for the obliteration of Israel, but says ‘kill the Jews wherever you find them’. Hamas’ leader condemned the killing of Osama bin Laden and praised him as a holy warrior. Now again I want to make this clear. Israel is prepared to sit down today and negotiate peace with the Palestinian Authority. I believe we can fashion a brilliant future of peace for our children. But Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by the Palestinian version of Al Qaeda.
So I say to President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas! Sit down and negotiate! Make peace with the Jewish state! And if you do, I promise you this. Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. It will be the first to do so.
My friends, the momentous trials of the last century, and the unfolding events of this century, attest to the decisive role of the United States in advancing peace and defending freedom. Providence entrusted the United States to be the guardian of liberty. All peoples who cherish freedom owe a profound debt of gratitude to your great nation. Among the most grateful nations is my nation, the people of Israel, who have fought for their liberty and survival against impossible odds, in ancient and modern times alike.
I speak on behalf of the Jewish people and the Jewish state when I say to you, representatives of America, Thank you. Thank you for your unwavering support for Israel. Thank you for ensuring that the flame of freedom burns bright throughout the world. May God bless all of you. And may God forever bless the United States of America.
Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Knesset Monday May 16 2011:
- The Middle East is changing rapidly and drastically. Hundreds of millions of people around us yearn for political freedom and are fighting to obtain these freedoms. It is very possible that in the long term, these changes will be for the best. But in the short term, our situation could possibly worsen.
- We saw what happened along the borders of Israel. Thousands thronged against our fences in an attempt to invade our territory and challenge our sovereignty. What were they yelling in Gaza? That they want to return to Jaffa. What were they crying in Syria? That they want to return to the Galilee. What did the leader of Hamas say? "We want to see the end of the Zionist agenda," the very same words used by his patrons in Iran.
- The root of this conflict never was a Palestinian state, or lack thereof. The root of the conflict is, and always has been, their refusal to recognize the Jewish state. It is not a conflict over 1967, but over 1948, over the very existence of the State of Israel. Sunday's events did not occur on June 5, the anniversary of the Six-Day War. They occurred on May 15, the day the State of Israel was established.
- The citizens of Israel are much more united than is commonly believed. There is consensus regarding the basic issues:
- The Palestinians must recognize the State of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people.
- The agreement between us must end the conflict and end the demands from the State of Israel.
- The problem of the Palestinian refugees will be resolved outside of Israel and not within its borders.
- A Palestinian state will only be established under a peace treaty that will not compromise the safety of Israel. This state must be demilitarized, with practical security arrangements, including long-term IDF presence along the Jordan River.
- We must maintain the settlement blocs. Many of us agree that the settlement blocs must remain inside the borders of the State of Israel.
- Jerusalem must remain the united and sovereign capital of the State of Israel.
- We can only make peace with those who want to make peace with us. Those who wish to obliterate us are no partners for peace. A Palestinian government with half its members declaring daily that they plan to annihilate the Jewish state is not a partner for peace.
Israel Under Siege Part I
H. E. Lafferty
We are seeing today a most remarkable turning of the tide against Israel and her people. This map of North Africa, the Middle East and Southwest Asia graphically illustrates the diminutive size of Israel compared with its Islamic neighbors, which surround it on every side. Please allow me to try to make some sense of these multiple events which have cascaded upon the world. This is Part I of a two part article; the conclusion will be sent tomorrow, God willng.
The first quarter of 2011 saw the most remarkable tide of uprisings in ALL the countries shaded in darker brown as well as in Turkey, Italy, Albania, and even Spain. Israel represents less than 2% of their total land mass and only about 2% of their population. It is swamped by an overwhelming tide of Islamic Fundamentalism which arose abruptly during this period.
First Tunisia erupted in revolt against its king after a young male citizen who had graduated from university became despondent after not being able to find employment; in desperation, he procured a fruit vending cart and was selling fruits and vegetables in Tunis, the capital. Soon the police accosted him and asked for his vending license; when he could not produce a license, he was fined. Because of this almost incidental confrontation, he poured gasoline upon himself and immolated himself because of his remorse and frustration at not being able to find employment. This isolated act caught the attention of the Tunisian population which immediately began to hold street demonstrations demanding more employment and lower prices for food staples. The riots grew daily, demanding that their “king” remove himself; within a week the ruler had departed.
The world press noted the unrest and its result. Next the people of Egypt began to congregate in the streets of many Egyptian cities and to demand the removal of Hosni Mubarak from the presidency of Egypt. After nearly 30 years they were fed up with his repressive regime. After a few weeks of rioting and unrest, Mubarak did step down and appointed his vice president as the new president of Egypt.
The intrigue grew. Muhammed el-Baradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency of the UNO came to Egypt and sided with the demonstrators, who seemed to have no leader at all. The rioters were said to be from all walks of life, ranging from shopkeepers to physicians – all demanding a “democratic form of government,” or so it was claimed. [We doubt that claim as the vast majority of these folk do not even understand “democracy.”]
The validity of that claim cannot be verified. The Moslem Brotherhood (MB) soon entered the fray as well. It invited an exiled member of the MB back to Cairo to address the crowds – an immensely popular Islamic scholar named Yusuf Qaradawi – to speak to nearly an hundred thousand Egyptians in Tahrir Square. Here is a short article from the Jerusalem Post:
“On Friday, Feb. 18, Yusuf Qaradawi spoke to a giant cheering crowd in Tahrir Square [Cairo]. Qaradawi, the world champion radical Islamist cleric, said he looked forward to a similar ceremony in Jerusalem. Until now, the Egyptian revolution has lacked a charismatic thinker, someone who could really mobilize the masses. Qaradawi is that man. Banned from the country under the old regime, he returned briefly to his homeland in triumph. [Exactly as did the Ayatolla Khomeini, who returned to Iran after a forced exile!]
“Through [the] Internet, radio, his 100 books and his weekly satellite television program, he has been an articulate voice for revolutionary Islamism. He is literally a living legend. It was Qaradawi who argued that Islamists should always participate in elections because they would invariably win them.” (Jerusalem Post)
The insurrections then spread quickly to other regimes on this map. Yemen’s population rose up in arms demanding “change” as did the people of Bahrain. Those uprising continue today, growing more intense. Then Libya broke out in fighting as much of the population resisted Muammar Ghaddafi’s thirty year despotic presidency; that one may be settling to a stalemate, with no clear resolution. Lebanon had been in turmoil for some time after the Hezbollah members of the Lebanese parliament resigned from the government resulting in chaos and further accommodation to and encroachment by Syria’s Bashar Assad. Unrest in Syria is continuing and steadily increasing; Assad shows no signs of relaxing his control on power in that doomed country. His soldiers are regularly shooting demonstrators in the streets and not allowing them to receive medical assistance or even ambulance service – a barbaric practice of this Sandbox dictator of Syria who is otherwise an educated man (an ophthalmologist) turned despot.
Meanwhile people continue in South Syria and Coastal Syria to turn out in huge numbers to protest the Assad regime and demand reforms in his government. There is an unexpected “twist” to this roiling activity: all this unrest takes Syria’s attention from Lebanon and the Hezbollah, which realizes that while Assad is being besieged they can expect little assistance from him against Israel; so Hezbollah is lying low … for now.
This retarding effect upon Hezbollah also affects Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They acutely realize that if they prick at Israel too much and get attacked during this unrest they may perhaps get no assistance from their otherwise occupied friends in the north, and might have to go the battle alone as during Operation Cast Lead of a couple of years ago. The Gaza/Israel front has settled down momentarily perhaps for this reason. You see clearly that all these events are connected and depend upon each other. Deeper thought may be able to discern the hand of God in this aspect of things, too!
Of course, Assad will not quit the presidency; instead he sent Syrian army units into the streets of Damascus and several other population centers to quell the riots. To date several hundred Syrians have been killed and the rioting is increasing. This week thousands of women and children are marching in protest of their husbands/fathers having been arrested and detained by the government. All of them risk detention or death in the streets.
The Green party of Iran meanwhile has been protesting at higher levels than usual; the Ayatollah’s government sees itself under siege but will not give in to their demands. That government is already as anti-Israel as it can be. We fear the people’s further resistance to their leaders will simply result in greater oppression for them; their hope for “democracy” is futile.
As the riots in Bahrain continued, the Saudi government sent military assistance to the rulers of the country across the 18-mile causeway connecting Eastern Saudi Arabia to Bahrain. These Shiite Bahraini demonstrators want the Sunni Bahraini rulers to quit the realm, which is the reason for the Sunni forces of King Saud having being sent; he wants to preserve the status quo. It is also a move to resist Iran’s new idealism which is apparently driving the revolters of Bahrain.
At the same time, Qatar is experiencing demonstrations against its government. All these regimes are expected to deteriorate, becoming more (not less) fiercely allied against Israel, increasing pressure on the Jewish State.
So we see Israel being increasingly enveloped and surrounded by the flames of revolt and insurrection among its neighbors. And its neighbors becoming more combative and hostile toward Israel. Egypt and Jordan, who had concluded peace agreements with Israel, and had brought relative calm to Israel’s southern and eastern borders for years, were now being compromised. Israel is expecting those borders to become infiltrated by more and more terrorists which are now unrestrained by those two powers. The MB elements in Egypt speak openly about their hatred of Israel and intent to assault the Jewish state.
At first, the MB was not considered much of a factor in Egypt. But lately its spokesmen are becoming more vociferous and aggressive toward Israel not only in Egypt but in Jordan, Syria and other centers. The party, we believe, will become dominant in Egypt, and in Gaza through Hamas, and in Lebanon in the north through Hebbollah, as well as increase in strength in Jordan to the east. None of these developments bode well for Israel’s security.
Israel has just deployed its new anti-missile system, Iron Dome, in the south of Israel to combat the missiles and shells coming in from Gaza to Ashdod and Beersheva. Its success has been limited to date, but is expected to improve with use. More of these units are slated to be deployed soon, as well as two additional anti-missile systems.
Thus we see the amazingly sudden cascading effect of Islamic Fundamentalism as it bears on Israel as well as the populations of all those countries – drastic, regressive side effects which most of them do not yet understand. The regimes of ALL those countries stand to deteriorate in quality of life for their citizens, and increase markedly in their degree of animosity toward Israel – their common enemy! The MB in Egypt is already forming a “modesty police force” to range freely about the country to enforce its brand of “modesty” including the outrageous official authority to examine girls on the streets to determine whether they are still virgins! Ah! The glories of Islamization! [End Part I]
Israel Under Siege Part II: The Danger to Israel
The danger to Israel is increasing exponentially as these events unfold.
Why are almost none of our more active students of Bible prophecy – writers and publishers – addressing these issues? I am honestly mystified by this great reluctance!
We see a few notices from our associates that the Palestinians and Islam are becoming (more correctly, have become!) an immensely larger problem, but almost NONE of them address the godly solution to this grave series of events – grave for Israel to the extent that Israel is imminently threatened, but grave for THOSE NATIONS even more so; FOR ISRAEL’S SAFETY IS ENTIRELY ASSURED in the face of this tremendous onslaught of military might and hatred. The aggressor nations are quite obviously increasing their certain level of divine punishment for their egregious treatment of God’s people, and their covetous desire for the Land He has given to them.
Frankly, we believe the reason for this nearly universal silence is that writer John Thomas did not foresee these developments and therefore did not predict them when he attempted to elaborate the future details of Bible prophecy in the mid-portion of the 19th century. I believe it may have been impossible for him to have foreseen the details of this grave series of events; several of the key fulfillments necessary to understand these events were yet in the future to those days.
The implication is, unfortunately this: that if John Thomas did not foresee these events then they aren’t important!! That is really not a sufficient reason for those commentators to remain silent; their audience among the brotherhood deserves some intelligent, coherent, scriptural observations on this overwhelming turmoil in the Arab world – what it means, where it is going, what its overall meaning is!
We presumably enlightened scholars of today haven’t the option to remain silent; these events are of supreme importance to the continued existence of Israel from an human viewpoint. Frankly, we believe that many folk who should know better ACTUALLY DO NOT CARE MUCH FOR ISRAEL AS NOW CONSTITUTED! This is shameful! Even those who do love Israel (such as the Evangelical community, many of whom care for Israel deeply) and are not yet aware of her true destiny are extremely worried. They have an entirely different agenda and outlook for the Jewish State.
We have previously reviewed exhaustively the abundant scriptural destinies/fates of the nearby (Proximal) Islamic States in their Endtime aggression against Israel, God’s chosen people now regathered in great numbers in Eretz Israel – their Promised Land (promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David and their Seed, which is Christ – Galatians 3:29). So it is pointless to explore these numerous scriptural passages again at this time. But things grow graver by the hour in the entire region between 20 degrees north latitude and 20 degrees south latitude in Europe, Africa and Asia’s Islamic-dominated cultures!
First, several pivotal events are planned by the enemies of Israel for around May 15th – Israeli Independence Day: her 63rd anniversary – in order to bring international condemnation upon God’s people. Actually the holiday is celebrated on the equivalent Jewish calendar day, the 5th of Iyar, which is May 10th this year. It is almost never the same on the Gentile calendar day. But they are close. The Arabs celebrate May 14th as “Disaster Day” and we can look for appropriate responses from those within and around Israel at that time. It is always a time of heightened security measures and tension. IDF troop deployments to all the major population centers will greatly increase around this time; watchfulness for terrorism will intensify.
What other events may we expect in May? (There are more planned for September, but we will discuss those of May initially.)
Turkey is sponsoring around mid-May, another “Freedom Flotilla” directed at bringing “humanitarian relief” to Gaza, intending, as previously attempted, to penetrate Israel’s blockade of Gaza. This flotilla will not pass unchecked by Israel, whose naval and air forces intend another interception and inspection of the ships’ contents. This flotilla is sponsored by a Canadian pro-Arab group, by several US government people in the Obama White House as well as Greek, Turkish and Irish components. This is a second such multi-national assault upon Israel on the high seas. Late word is that this flotilla may be delayed by about a month in order to make more solid preparations.
So Israel is again being set up for a massive torrent of criticism as it again resists a serious assault on its national sovereignty. It shall be reminiscent of the great volume of criticism by Turkey and the UNO to the first attempt to penetrate the Israeli blockade when nine flotilla members were killed as Israeli paratroopers rappelled down to the deck of one of several ships. All the ships were turned back to Israeli ports and inspected as to cargo. The cargo of that ship turned out not to be humanitarian supplies but war materiel for Hamas. If allowed to pass unhindered into the port of Gaza, those same weapons should have been deployed against Israel within perhaps hours!
Meanwhile, weapons are thought now to be flowing unimpeded into Gaza from Egypt at this time. It is doubtless the main reason that during the last few days over 50 rockets and mortar rounds have been fired into South Israel from that Hamas enclave. Israel has struck back with a vengeance, killing nearly ten “militants” in Gaza. These pin-pointed air strikes by Israel are capable of striking the exact point from which those munitions were launched/fired – increasing the possibility of obliterating the launch crews who were responsible. Often the weapons are fired from the vicinity of private homes, which results in that family’s home being destroyed in the after-strike by Israel.
Of course many of them are emplaced in civil institutions of various kinds – schools, even hospitals, and in mosques. Israel can no longer be as sensitive as to who is affected by its return fire. Hamas is violating international rules of war when it locates war-making machines in such places, but they care not. Collateral damage (civilian deaths) cannot be laid to Israel in such a case – although, of course, they shall be!
But there are far wider problems – not more important, but wider, which tends to take one’s attention off the principal object, which is ISRAEL.
Adding to the general anxiety, Stephen Lerner of the Obama White House has announced his intention to crash the United States’ stock market (and therefore those of the world!) by encouraging homeowners to purposely default on their mortgage payments. He reckons that if he can convince a million people to go along with his devilish plan, the results will sink the stock market even more effectively than the last time (2008).
By reliable reports he has determined to have this happen in May – just 30 days from now! The last time was the occasion upon which the US taxpayers “bailed out” the institutions which were about to fail catastrophically. But this time, there is no more money for such a “bail out” so massive failure is nearly certain if his diabolical plan succeeds.
This tactic is absolutely insane, of course. Such a catastrophe will mangle the 401-K plans of practically everyone in the US who has one – which is most of the employees of most corporations. This would mean that their life savings are intended to be obliterated by this move. The intent of Lerner is to create CHAOS – and utter dependence upon “the government” and whatever solution it devises. If he can bring it off, that surely will be the inevitable result!
Observers have quoted Van Jones, a former member of Obama’s White House and an avowed communist (his own words), as saying that fundamental change (the Obama mantra, if you recall it) can only be brought about by creating chaos; so much chaos that the “little people” who are the majority of those affected, will cry out in desperation for help – ANY KIND of help – as they frantically try to feed their families and keep roofs over their heads.
Van Jones has said on past occasions that in order to get control of the masses, “the top has to come down, the bottom has to come up, and force the inside OUT.” It’s the classic squeeze-play of the socialists/communists of the world … to put intense pressure upon the masses, and create a desperate need by the population (the ‘bottom’) to be assisted in whatever way that can be devised by ANYONE (the ‘top’)! They cry urgently, and as one, for help! The intent is that any kind of oppressive control may then be exerted upon the masses that may subsequently be slightly relieved by those in power, a move which will result in their docile obedience to those same persons of power, no matter the severity of their imposed solution. Tyranny is the result.
I know many readers may think this terrible consequence is unthinkable in an “enlightened” world. Well, it is! Or, that it cannot happen. But it can! That no one in authority would resort to this kind of tactic. They would! Such conspirators are willing to exert any kind of outrageous pressure to get their agenda in place. Their mantra is, “The end justifies the means!” “Top down, bottom up, inside out!” Any drastic move that will procure and secure power at the top!
Fortunately, the People of the Book need have no fear of these drastic measures or the expected draconian conditions of hunger and insecurity. The Father has observed through the psalmist (37:25) “For I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
And, after all, the most drastic outcome could only be death: Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
But He also requires expediency on our parts. Jesus warned His followers that when they saw the armies surrounding the city or Jerusalem, that they should flee to the mountains – get out of the city with their families, thus saving themselves from the horrible massacre that was determined upon the city. When Rome was about to encircle Jerusalem, all those who followed His instructions escaped being killed or starved – or being sold as slaves.
Now, we likewise, must be prepared for whatever comes. Because our lives are so vastly more complex than those of 70 AD, our preparation shall be harder – and shall have to address more complex issues. We can’t just load some food onto the donkey and head for the hills. We have a tremendous burden of baggage on our shoulders which must be considered – too ponderous to be solved on short notice: our homes, our jobs, our extensive obligations, updated passports, ready cash, etc. Which is why planning is necessary. We have addressed this issue on prior occasions; we ask that you think seriously about it at this time, as the day approaches when the enemy encircles our “city” and threatens our lives.
Now, as to September events: this may be the most drastic of all. It can perhaps be the tie-breaker to end this tedious, drawn-out stalemate between Israel and its aggressors. The PLO and its minions are said to be planning a move within UN parameters unilaterally to establish a “Palestinian” state in Judea and Samaria around September 15th. For months the “Palestinians” (Edomites – see Obadiah’s definition) have absolutely refused to meet with Israel to try to work out their differences. But they still believe they should be gifted the land and authority to form a wildcat state within Israel!
This is NOT the resolution of the problem indicated by ALL the prophets!
We have opined on previous occasions that this shall not happen and be allowed to stand. We stand by that assessment. Yet, Joel 3:2 decidedly condemns those “who part My land,” certainly a reference to past events when both Britain and the UNO have already divided the Land, and perhaps a possible reference to this impending (?) event in September, if it indeed occurs.
Yet, for the present enemies to INTEND to divide God’s Land, and constantly seek to “liberate Palestine” is deemed the same as actually parting it, in the Almighty’s terms. That third of Joel is extremely relevant to these Endtimes. Joel 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
It is obvious that some sudden and decisive trigger of the final conflagration is determined by our God. Perhaps this is that trigger beyond which Israel shall rise up in overwhelming resistance, and not be persecuted and blasphemed any more, and the point at which she decisively stands up for her sovereignty, and forcefully resists her land being taken and desecrated. I believe it obvious to any serious student of God’s word that Israel shall not be alone in this crucial time, but shall actually be led by The Lord, Who “shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem” (Joel 3: 16) and shall “be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.”
This is that point in history when Israel shall “know the Lord,” as He relates in Joel 3:17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through any more. At last … the world, it is a-changing!! <HEL MD/USA, April 14, 2011>
Israel to Become Major Oil Producer
H. E. Lafferty MD/USA
For all the time of its existence, Israel has searched for internal petroleum deposits without any major success. Golda Meir is famous for having expressed her dismay at their plight of sitting in the midst of lands whose petroleum reserves are vast: she is reputed to have remarked that she had nothing at all against Moses except that he led Israel to a “dry hole.”
With Israel’s new offshore oil and gas discoveries this was already about to change. But those resources should have still been limited to a shorter-term outlook, perhaps twenty years. Then, Behold! A blockbuster! Israel now has excellent prospects of becoming a major world oil and natural gas producer based on the discovery of a massive oil shale deposit south and west of Jerusalem in the old tribal territory of Judah. The area is designated the Shfela Basin; it is believed to contain the second largest deposit of oil shale in the world outside the U. S.
The potential of this deposit is being actively, even vigorously pursued by Israel Energy Initiatives (IEI) headed by chief scientist Dr. Harold Vinegar, former head scientist at Royal Dutch Shell. IEI is in the midst of an extremely ambitious project to become one of the world’s leading oil and gas producers by a new process of shale oil extraction presumably developed by Dr. Vinegar.
The cost of production of one barrel of oil (42 gallons) with this new process will be from $35 to $40 per barrel. This figure compares with as much as $60 per barrel - the marginal cost of producing crude oil in the world’s inhospitable lands such as the Arctic and Siberia – and $30 to $40 per barrel in the deep water locations off Brazil. Therefore it is competitive to world production costs. There is one difficulty which will certainly cause conflict: it is largely on land claimed by “Palestinians” for their hoped-for state.
There are other differences which are significant. Unlike earlier extraction methods, the Vinegar process does not use large quantities of water; indeed, it uses NO water. The new IEI process utilizes electric heaters inserted into horizontally-drilled holes in the layers of shale to raise the temperature to well over 325 degrees Celsius entirely underground at which temperature the carbon to carbon chemical bonds are broken and oil is released and the gas can safely be extracted – all in a highly protected environment and by relatively non-polluting techniques.
And there is one other spectacular benefit: the process, instead of consuming water, produces water as a by-product – one of Israel’s most needed natural commodities! The giant shale deposit sits atop a deeper aquifer which is located several hundred meters below the shale – a concern, but deemed not to be a problem. The process, it is claimed, may easily be pursued without any danger of contamination of ground water. Yet a number of environmentalists are certainly concerned.
The company expects to begin commercial production before the end of the decade.
So, finally, there are proven, valuable mineral deposits within Israel which represent great wealth, fulfilling the expectation of many that Israel would become a source of such value that the Gogian host would consider it “a spoil and a prey” (Ezekiel 38 and 39) to be desired. This certainly seems now to be the case!
The Shfela Basin deposit is said to be 238 square kilometers in extent – a close, deep, concentrated deposit of immense wealth. It is mostly located at a depth of no more than 300 meters below the earth’s surface; its deposit is estimated to contain 250 BILLION barrels of extractable light, sweet crude oil – the easiest to refine – with fractions rich in naphtha, gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel. This estimate compares with the estimates of Saudi Arabia’s entire crude oil reserves of 260 billion barrels! So it is obviously a determination of great importance to Israel, this “discovery” of these oil shales; actually these deposits have been known for some time but were thought to be beyond recovery because of technological lag (there was no effective process then known for its recovery; now there is!).
The present requirements of Israel are 270,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). Dr. Vinegar plans to be producing 50,000 bpd of shale oil by the end of this decade, which will contribute heavily to the country’s overall demands. Offshore production will expectedly add to this figure, all building toward energy independence of Israel in the years ahead. Things are looking up, Mrs. Meir!
Abstracted from Daily Alerts, March 26, 2011, and Desertpeace: “Israel: Oil and Vinegar” March 22, 2011 <HEL MD/USA>
Earthquakes and Christ's Coming
In (ABOUT) AD 29 the Lord Jesus told the disciples of some of the events to happen in ‘the latter days’ and one of them was as follows
“Great earthquakes shall be in divers (different ) places……….” Luke 21-11
The few people who think on the word of God will surely be amazed at the number of large earthquakes which have occurred since June last year. The following list shows the main ones and we warn you not to be overly surprised when “the big one’ hits the west coast of the USA. Many say that it is well overdue, which means it could happen at any time. Keep in mind that stupid people have built right up to the ‘fault line’ which runs north/south in California and, when disaster strikes, the human casualties will number in the tens of thousands
With USA constantly pressuring Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians, and Britain following the same path as they both demand a State for the Palestinians, something that is NOT foretold in the Bible, we wonder how long it will be before the God of this universe shows USA in particular, that He “rules in the Kingdom of men”.
In recent years USA has been hit in its main source of power, its economic sector and we suspect this has been but the tip of the iceberg. Stand ready to see the God of the universe at work among the nations
GPL March 12 2011
EARTHQUAKES SINCE JUNE 2010
JUNE 13 2010 MINOR EARTHQUAKE EAST OF San Diego Cal USA
JUNE 16 2010 6.4 OFF THE COAST OF INDONESIA
JUNE 26 2010 A preliminary 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the Solomon Islands on Saturday June 26 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
JULY 5 2010 A 6.3 QUAKE AFFECTED JAPAN
JULY 8 A SIZE 4.0 EARTH QUAKE hit Los Angeles, between LA and San Diego
JULY 12 201- 6.2 EARTHQUAKE IN CHILE
JULY 20 2010 5.8 QUAKE HITS SOUTH IRAN
JULY 23 7.4 EARTHQUAKE HITS PHILIPPINES
JULY 27 2010
An Omani coastal guard source attributed the explosion to a low-level earthquake around Bandar Abbas on the Iranian shore of Hormuz. The Iranian seismological institute confirmed a slight 3.4 Richter magnitude tremor.
JULY 27 2010
5.9 QUAKE HIT EAST IRAN
JULY 30
A 5.7 Earthquake hit two north eastern Iranian cities on Friday July 30
7 YEARS AGO A 6.6 KILLED 26,000 IRANIANS IN SOUTH EAST
AUGUST 10 2010
A 7.6 QUAKE HIT VANUATU
AUGUST 12
6.9 IN EQUADOR
AUGUST 13
7.2 OFF GUAM
AUGUST 15
6.3 NEW GUINEA
AUGUST 28
EARTHQUAKE IN NORTH EAST IRAN KILLS 3. SECOND ONE IN A MONTH
AUGUST 29 2010
EARTHQUAKE IN WESTERN Indonesia….t’was dormant for 400 years. Last one in 1600 10,000 people died
SEPTEMBER 4 2010
7.3 QUAKE AT CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND
SEPTEMBER 8 2010
5.1 AT CHRISTCHURCH NZ
SEPTEMBER 9
6.2 NEAR FIJI
OCTOBER 3
4.4 IN TURKEY NEAR ISTANBUL
OCTOBER 11 2020
5.3 AT INDONESIA’S CAPITAL
OCTOBER 13 2010
EARTHQUAKE IN TONGA
OCTOBER 20 2010
6.9 IN NORTH MEXICO
OCTOBER 19 2010
5.0 AFTER-SHOCKS IN CHRISTCHURCH
OCTOBER 25 2010
7.4 INDONESIA
NOVEMBER 25 2010
3.5 IN UPPER GALILEE
DECEMBER 21
6.4 SOUTH EAST IRAN NEAR HISTORICAL CITY OF BAM (26,000 KILLED THERE IN 2003 BY EARTHQUAKE)
DECEMBER 21 2010
STRONG QUAKE OFF SOUTH EAST OF JAPAN
DECEMBER 25 2010
ANOTHER 7.00 QUAKE OFF VANUATU
DECEMBER 26 2010
4.2 AFTER SHOCKS IN CHRISTCHURCH N. ZEALAND
JANUARY 3 2010
7.1 QUAKE IN CHILE
JANUARY 18 2011
5.8 OFF SUMATRA
19 JANUARY 2011
7.5 SOUTH PAKISTAN
JANUARY 26 2011
SMALL QUAKE SOUTH OF KATOOMBA, BLUE MOUNTAINS, AUSTRALIA
FEBRUARY 1 2011
4.8 IN YUNAN PROVINCE IN CHINA
FEBRUARY 1 2011
MOUNT SHINEMAO , Kysushu Island
FEBRUARY 4 2011
6.4 IN INDIA/MYANMAR BORDER REGION
FEBRUARY (1ST WEEK) 2011
EARTHQUAKE IN SOUTH WEST PAKISTAN SIZE NOT KNOWN
FEBRUARY 12 2011
6.8 IN SOUTHERN CHILE
FEBRUARY 22 2011 12-51 pm
6.3 IN CHRISTCHURCH 56 AFTERSHOCKS
MARCH 7 2011
EARTHQUAKE OFF SOLOMON ISLANDS
MARCH 7 2011
HAWAII (BIG ISLAND KILAUEA) CRATER COLLAPSE WITH 150 SMALL EARTHQUAKES
MARCH 9 2011
6.2 QUAKE OFF TOKYO, JAPAN
MARCH 11 2011
8.9 QUAKE NORTH EAST OF TOKYO, JAPAN, ….TSUNAMI AND QUAKE KILLS 1,000 PEOPLE (+) 2 WASHED OUT TO SEA ON USA WEST COAST
MARCH 12 2011
6.9 QUAKE OFF JAPAN
GPL
The Sea and the Waves Roaring
Harold Lafferty
Luke 21:25 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Jesus)
1 Thessalonians 5: 1 –But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. Apostle Paul
Given that this well-known biblical figure of speech – the sea and the waves roaring – always means turmoil among the nations, it seems obvious that there may have been no time in the past when this was as true as it is this week! That figure is only one of several which indicate that the time has finally arrived for “the powers of (the Gentile/heathen) heaven to be shaken” and for “(them) to see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”
The general observation of this suddenly widened and intensified turmoil among “the nations” creates a wide variance of views among international commentators. Some seem earnestly to think that the current unrest stems from nothing but a desire for democratic rule in the affected Islamic states. Others feel it is a concerted attack by Fundamentalist Islam on the self-appointed despots of many countries to depose them, form a Caliphate, and establish Sha’aria law [the law of the Islamic fundamentalists said to be derived from the Qur’an (Koran)]. Others have some opinion between these two extremes.
These disparate viewpoints present a dilemma for most scriptural commentators. I just read a blog by one writer who feels that this widespread international revolution against the despots may create a more favorable climate for agreement among themselves, and perhaps to make “peace” with Israel, thus accomplishing his view of the “peace and safety cry!”
Our own view is that the Almighty’s Hand is at the switch which placed these staggering convulsions in play nearly at the same moment in time. We see it as the Endtime paroxysms of the forces of evil which have been aligned against our Father and His beloved people – for all these nations of Islam have one common goal: the utter destruction of the State of Israel. It is the signal to believers that His return is drawing near!
Israel sitting securely upon “the Arabs’ land” squarely amidst the vastly greater Islamic holdings represents a catastrophic failure of “Allah” to vindicate and avenge his people. In their minds it is shameful, and shows Allah to be powerless! It also seems to be a harbinger to all Believers of certain realizations to come, which are that these nations shall soon to be taught a supreme lesson: that there is ONE GOD and Father of mankind, and that He is the Almighty One – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the God and Father of Israel’s Anointed Saviour, Jesus Christ, the King Who is about to return from a far country!
It will be a catastrophic awakening for the few who remain to perceive it! And will require immediate capitulation to His Ways and Means.
The roiling events of the past several weeks have been astonishing in their rapidity and severity. Beginning with a seemingly minor incident in Algeria – a relatively minor and insignificant Islamic state to begin with; their ire triggered by some now-forgotten incident, their “king” was quickly deposed by the protesters and left the country. It was almost entirely parallel to the assassination prior to World War I, of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Dutchess Sophie, on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo. It was a seemingly minor infraction which quickly grew into the Great War. Similarly, today’s Algerian incident has rapidly expanded to the rabid unrest of the Islamic states almost without exception.
The subsequent events to Algerian rebellion also grew out of any seeming proportions as Egypt began to foment for the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak; trouble brewed in Yemen to replace its government; resistance to the monarchy appeared in Jordan; an outbreak of violence against its despotic ruler took place in Tunisia; and rumors of rebellion arose in Iran, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and even in Albania. The Saudis are greatly concerned. Iraq is being infiltrated by Iranian dissidents. It was an unheard-of spread of violent discontent!
We arrive at today, Sunday, February 27, 2011. We survey with astonishment the events which have occurred to overthrow the mostly secular, high-living Islamic overlords of many “nations” of Islam.
The overthrow of Mubarak has been accomplished in that he has abdicated control of the country in favor of military leaders and seemed to disappear. Egypt’s resultant leadership is not yet well defined, its course not settled. At the moment a perceived-to-be stable military junta is said to be in control.
Libya – a country which produces about 300,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) of the world’s oil has experienced af fall to about 160,000 bpd on Saturday. Moammar Kaddafi, its despotic leader, has appeared on TV claiming to be willing to die rather than capitulate. His wish seems due to be granted! As of today eastern and central Libya have already fallen; several helicopter and fighter pilots have defected to Malta with their aircraft and extra passengers who wish to defect.
Meanwhile, Iran, sensing the brittle instability of Egypt – and a possible drift toward the Iranian way of thinking – has taken advantage of the unrest and sent two naval ships through the Suez Canal to the eastern Mediterranean. They have now arrived at Latakia, Syria, as a show of support for Bashar Assad, the president of Syria, and solidarity also with pro-Syrian Lebanon and Hezbollah.
This maneuver is causing concern in Israel – not fear; just concern. They view the Iranian move as ill-advised; after all, these two enemy ships, by transiting the Suez south to north, have placed themselves in a Mediterranean trap. The only way out of this giant lake is via Gibraltar or the Suez – or into the cul-de-sac named the Black Sea. Israel’s navy isn’t even seriously challenged by this puny frigate even though it bears a few missiles. The other one is a supply ship with space for three helicopters. They are said to plan to stay in Syria and in the Mediterranean Sea for about a year. Israel stated rather offhandedly that its navy could easily and routinely sink the vessels without advance preparations if they become provocative, once positive identification is made! (Ha’aretz, February 21, 2011)
Ahmadinejad’s show of “force” with these ships is almost laughable. Acttually, the diminutive Ahmadinejad only needs a variety of silly hats to make his identity parallel to Khaddafi. His speech is certainly as inane, and his braggadocio as intense. He seemed to think Israel was quaking in its combat boots as the Iranian ships transited the Israeli coastline. I believe, although Israel has strongly condemned this little show of force, it really isn’t concerned at all, except for its symbolism.
On Iran’s home grounds, however – in Tehran and other larger cities – the Mullahs and their puppet president may be in more serious trouble than they perceive. The Green movement (the resistance) in Iran may be stronger than they would wish – and more tenacious than they suspect. It seems however, with its large and loyal armed forces that even if the present government falls, Iran is not destined to pass into ‘friendly’ hands – friendly to Israel, that is.
Why is this so? Because, as we have previously observed, Iran (Persia) is destined to play an integral role in the Gogian assault upon Israel as in the account of Ezekiel 38 and 39 – an event which we believe to be some time future to today’s date. So that polity is either to remain an enemy, or to regain that identity, before the Gogian host assembles. Indeed, this present intrigue seems surely designed by the Almighty, along with the Stuxnet computer worm, the trade sanctions, and international scorn, to slow Iran’s progress in its aggression upon Israel as well as its development of nuclear weapons so that their card isn’t played too soon (?). We shall have to wait to see the outcome and what effect it shall have on the overall process.
Now, turning our attention to Bahrain; this island-nation in the Persian Gulf is home to the US Fifth Fleet. As such, it could be vulnerable to air attack by Iranian aircraft, or missiles from the Iranian mainland – another “Pearl Harbor” for US naval forces. Bahrain’s rulers are Sunnis. If these pro-American rulers were unseated they might be replaced by the opposition: the minority Bahraini Shiite group which has been demanding immediate withdrawal of the US Fleet. As you may know, Iran is also Shiite; and that they hate their “brethren,” the Sunnis.
In addition to this concern, any new Bahraini regime might easily expand to the nearby eastern shore of Saudi Arabia where almost the entire population is also Shi’a. That could seriously bring danger to the Saudi rulers, who are Sunni Moslems. Iran and its Shiite constituents would like no better prize than ownership or at least control of the vast Saudi oil reserves. But we don’t believe this is in the offing.
So Iran has skillfully ferreted out the US weakness in the region. It could possibly rid itself of the pesky Americans without firing a shot, simply by ‘diplomatic’ means if the Shi’a gain control. For that reason, Iran is concentrating its support for underground elements throughout the Persian Gulf countries. If Iran comes to believe that the US would treat the rulers of Bahrain as it has treated Hosni Mubarak, this would act to encourage Iran’s interference there.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that “all its capabilities” are ready to support Bahrain’s ruling royal family if its unrest is not resolved soon. The Saudis probably will do anything to keep Bahrain as a buffer between themselves and their perceived archenemy, Iran. And to keep the Sunni Moslems in power in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia is also mostly Sunni.
Today, almost the entire Mediterranean basin is aflame. The Moslem Brotherhood in Egypt has kept a fairly low profile to date, but last weekend brought an inflammatory exiled leader home to Egypt and gave him a lecture platform from which to spew Islamic hatred for Israel in Egypt. Please read this dispatch from the Jerusalem Post:
On Friday, Feb. 18, Yusuf Qaradawi spoke to a giant cheering crowd in Tahrir Square [Cairo]. Qaradawi, the world champion radical Islamist cleric, said he looked forward to a similar ceremony in Jerusalem. Until now, the Egyptian revolution has lacked a charismatic thinker, someone who could really mobilize the masses. Qaradawi is that man. Banned from the country under the old regime, he is returning to his homeland in triumph. [Exactly as did the Ayatolla Khomeini, who returned to Iran after a forced exile!]
Through Internet, radio, his 100 books and his weekly satellite television program, he has been an articulate voice for revolutionary Islamism. He is literally a living legend. It was Qaradawi who argued that Islamists shraould always participate in elections because they would invariably win them. (Jerusalem Post)
Qaradawi is rated by Islamic assessors as the 7th most influential Muslim in the world. He is fantastically popular. Yet, incredibly, several high officials of the US government recently have opined that the Moslem Brotherhood is secular and not a danger in Egypt or anyone else – not to be feared in any way! The above dispatch does not confirm this silly notion!
What rock have they been living under? The party of Muslim Brothers, in reality, is a “fundamentalist international organization or organizations originating in Egypt, whose goals are the conversion of Muslim countries into states ruled by Sha’aria law, the re-establishment of the Caliphate, and ultimately world domination” according to an article by Amy Isseroff (November17, 2008).
Its ideology insists that Islam dictates political governance as well as religious domination, and is “the prototypical example of Islamism. The Caliphate was last seen embodied in the Porte of Constantinople – the Ottoman Sultan prior to 1920. As proof of her statement, Ms. Isserhof quotes the Brotherhood’s slogan as being thus:
"God is our purpose, the Prophet our leader, the Qur'an our constitution, Jihad our way, and dying for God's cause our supreme objective.”
Well now, that doesn’t sound very “secular” does it?
Here is its identifying badge:
It doesn’t look very secular, either; the script below the swords and the Koran in the MB insignia is “Prepare!” That word is used pointedly in Joel 3 where Islam is depicted as crying “Prepare War! Wake up the mighty men!” The word here means to consecrate or hallow WAR – it means JIHAD, a concept peculiar to Islam today.
The full quotation from Joel is:
Joel 3:9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
In other words, it shall not end well for these “mighty men” of war!
As previously suggested, Isaiah 19 forecasts that Egypt shall come under the heel of a cruel lord – an oppressor – from which the righteous forces of Israel’s King shall liberate it and teach it righteousness at sometime in the future … a discussion for another time, however. The Moslem Brotherhood appears to be an excellent candidate to fulfill this role or oppressor; but, again, we shall have to wait and see.
The most important conclusion to be drawn from all these facts is that the Second Advent draws nigh! It could come at any time. Perhaps we know this “intellectually,” but aren’t really convicted to place this expectation in full operation in our lives.
We must do so!
We are clearly seeing Israel being isolated in a churning, heaving sea of Islamic aggression. It is pure evil – evil unadulterated – blasphemous evil against God, and against God’s people. The tide of opposition against Israel is becoming absolutely mountainous. Only divine judgment can prevent an Islamic Caliphate surrounding the Mediterranean and the Middle East clear over at least to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and eventually extending to Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans, Greece and Turkey, the last of which has already been accomplished!
This is the older, more stylized symbol of the Moslem Brotherhood: crossed swords and the Koran, with more script than today, but similar.
But we need not be intimidated; we need have no fear. Islam is not destined to take over the world – or even Europe – although it seems to be already well on its way to overwhelming the Middle East. But I don’t believe that movement will have enough time to develop that fully in Europe before our Master arrives and sends forth the “everlasting gospel” to that area and brings a decisive defeat to the Roman influence which now pervades Europe.
As already stated, all these events are frightening to all mankind; but they are prophesied to end well, by God’s sheer grace:
Joel 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
<HEL, Feb.27, 2011>
H. E. Lafferty
At this moment, night is falling in Egypt. Physical nightfall. But another, deeper darkness may be in the offing! The fall of the Egyptian government could mean a very dark ‘night’ for Egypt, depending upon who is behind this sudden eruption of violence, and upon whether it is successful in overthrowing the government.
During the past week or so we have seen similar uprisings in Algeria and in Yemen; great changes have occurred in Lebanon with the takeover of the government by Hezbollah, and its new prime minister’s affiance with Syria and Iran.
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt has been in power for nearly 30 years. He succeeded President Anwar al-Sadat in 1981, when that leader was assassinated by members of the Moslem Brotherhood! Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel engineered by President Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin in the late Seventies. That treaty, although a “cold” peace, has held firmly for all those years.
Now … as to “who” is backing the popular uprising: it appeared to begin as a grass roots demonstration of students, peaceful citizens, physicians, and shopkeepers intent on gaining greater democracy in Egypt. At first it was peaceful but has deteriorated into street confrontations, rock throwing and tear gas. None of the TV news sources have mentioned the Moslem Brotherhood until about an hour ago – noon on Friday. But finally they have done so after nearly three days of demonstrations.
At first, the unrest seemed to be simply a massive uproar over the corrupt Mubarak government, its satisfaction with the status quo of high unemployment, high inflation, corruption in high places, high prices of bread and commodities, and failure to place corrective actions in place.
The Moslem Brotherhood was formed in Egypt in 1928 as a rejection of the monarchy then in place in Egypt. It is said to be the largest pan-national Arab organization. It has grown to the point where today it has spawned Hamas in the Gaza Strip where it has taken control from the Palestinian Authority. It was instrumental in the formation of al Qaeda as well. Hamas is akin to the Taliban and al Qaeda in its ideals of Moslem fundamentalism. Such organizations are superbly adept at taking advantage of political and civil unrest and turmoil; they are now in their native element.
I believe it possible that we can expect to see the Moslem Brotherhood come visibly to the foreground soon and take stringent measures to guide this current unrest to their own advantage.
President Mubarak, who is reported to have cancer, wants his son Gamal Mubarak to take control of Egypt upon his demise; but the army apparently does not trust Gamal. Is the army behind this initial uprising? Nobody can yet discern. The army may try to insert its own choice of a leader – not doubt he shall be military – in place of the ailing Mubarak.
We cannot foresee at this moment the tactics which the Moslem Brotherhood may employ; but I feel that it will make the most of this unrest to establish itself in a position of authority. The foundational ideals of the Brotherhood are extremely ‘religious’ (i.e., the ascetic standards of Sharia Law). It is a fearful outlook for the average Egyptian who certainly does not favor this change. Egypt’s Copts (nominal Christians) and others in Egypt will certainly suffer from any such change.
What is the scriptural commentary on this particular episode? My conviction is that sometime soon the Egyptian people will probably be dominated by the Moslem Brotherhood, and that this organization shall probably be identifiable with “the oppressors” of Egypt mentioned in Isaiah 19:20: “… for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them.”
Previous researchers have also reached the opinion that the Moslem Brotherhood shall be precisely these oppressors of Egypt. If it successfully brings Egypt under its control, it will instantly bring Egypt again overtly into dire opposition to Israel, although perhaps not strong enough to wage war against it, as that does not seem to be in the mix of conflicts of the Endtime.
But if this happens, it shall be integral to the destiny of Egypt, which shall end well: Isaiah 19:21 And the LORD shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it. 22 And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.
This is decidedly further into the future from today. But that result brings most welcome relief to the remaining (surviving) citizens of Egypt: the prophecy continues in Isa 19:23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. 24 In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: 25 Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
So, whether it dominates Egypt now or later, the Moslem Brotherhood has NO FUTURE in Egypt OR ELSEWHERE. Its brand of violence and oppression is unheard of in Christ’s kingdom of the future; its ideals are utterly rejected by Him; its adherents either converted to Truth or destroyed by Him.
As these uprisings in Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and now in Yemen work themselves out, we wonder seriously how the Muslims of the “street” in Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia will be affected … and even in Iraq. And we wonder if these particular uprisings shall be the trigger for the massive, ungoverned uprisings of all these States against their common enemy – Israel?? All, that is, except Egypt, which as earlier stated, does not seem to be part of the Endtime wars from this point forward.
My reason for this opinion is based on earlier words of Isaiah in this chapter which I believe reflects the overwhelming defeat of Egypt in four wars such that Egypt’s President Sadat was compelled to draw up a peace treaty with Israel in the late 70s. Those words are found in Isa 19:16 In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which he shaketh over it.17 And the land of Judah shall be a terror unto Egypt, every one that maketh mention thereof shall be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts, which he hath determined against it.
This language is extremely important for us to understand. Since 1917 at least, the Archangel Michael of Daniel 12:1-3 has been “standing up” for his charges, the people of Israel, divinely giving them the spectacular successes they have enjoyed in their conflicts with the nations round about them. No nation of 600,000 people (as Israel was) could have defeated and expanded its territory in the War of Independence of 1948 against about 80 million Islamic enemies who were better equipped, better financed, and better trained than the Israelis. No army of citizen soldiers in the following conflicts could have rendered the incredibly thorough defeats of their Islamic neighbors which Israel did!
No one could have predicted that the small demonstrations of two day ago could grow to the hundreds of thousands of people on the streets the very next day. To quell the disturbing influences the government shut down Facebook and curtailed internet service; they blocked Twitter; police beat protesters. Most Egyptians are extremely poor; they worry that they will not be able to feed their families with the markedly higher food prices now growing even higher.
One of the main players is Mohamed el-Baradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency of the UNO. He returned to Egypt yesterday and was put under house arrest. He is 68 years of age and would like to step into the leadership position. If the Moslem Brotherhood has its way, he probably will not do so. The Egyptian people see Mubarak as just wanting to retain the status quo, keep the people under control, and keep wealth and power for himself. The rank-and-file don’t like this one little bit; they envy Tunisia, Iraq and south Sudan as having been able to change their governments and status in life, and want to do the same.
May God have mercy on those souls in Egypt who really want stability and peace. They are destined to get just that … but not yet.
Harold Edward Lafferty
JANUARY 30 2011
Stuxnet ‘Worm’ Effect: Slowing Iran’s Nuclear Development - Nov. 2010
H E Lafferty
The cyber worm called Stuxnet which we reported earlier has been sent to infect the computer systems of the Iranian Nuclear Enrichment Program, is having a drastic effect upon that country’s nuclear development program. Gil Ronen, a Jerusalem Post correspondent has reported today, November 25, that “Major technical problems in Iran’s nuclear program have forced the temporary shutdown of thousands of centrifuges enriching uranium at Iran’s Natanz plant,” quoting Iranian diplomats.
As you know, due to the scripturally clear role of Persia/Iran as enemy of Israel in the latter days is spelled out in Ezekiel 38 and 39, we have been anticipating some effective retardation of Iran’s aggression against the Jewish state. Their stated aggression seems to be too early in “the game” to begin at this premature date. By this I mean that the aggression in which Iran is a designated player is that of the Gogian assault of those key chapters in Ezekiel; but we seem to be some time away from that future time in prophetic fulfillment. There are many other preceding events which are almost sure to occur prior to that time.
The diplomats elaborated, telling the Associated Press that the computerized interference has caused Iranian experts to “temporarily power down” the centrifuges they use for enrichment – to take them “off line.”
Although the sources didn’t offer further details, suspicions are that the Stuxnet worm is effectively retarding the nuclear activities. Observers believe Stuxnet to have been released by either the United States or Israel – or both. This move would be in lieu of a military attack upon the Iranian facilities but would not depend solely upon the sanctions which have been imposed.
How does the worm cause damage? Scientists say the Stuxnet worm has been designed specifically to destroy centrifuges by causing them to overspin to around “1,410 cycles per second” (out of control), then suddenly reduce to about two cycles per second. This kind of stress is fatal to many of the machines and causes operational failure. Further complicating Iran’s plight is the fact that the high-strength steel needed to repair the machines is no longer available because Britain, their former supplier of this specialty metal, is faithfully conforming to the sanctions against Iran imposed by the UNO over the last several months and years.
Reports are that Iran’s enrichment efforts have markedly slowed in the last several weeks, and that “Even a brief shutdown of the thousands of enriching machines would be the strongest documentation to date that the program – Iran's nuclear cornerstone and a source of national pride – is in trouble.”
It couldn’t happen to a more appropriate enemy!
Yet another official, said Ronen, cited a Western intelligence report which suggested that Stuxnet had also “infected the control system(s) of Iran’s Bushehr Reactor and would be activated once the Russian-built reactor goes on line in a few months.” So, does even more trouble lie ahead for Iran’s nuclear efforts?
When activated, Stuxnet would interfere with the reactor’s basic operations such as control of critical pressures and temperatures within the facility as well as neutron flow. The drastic result could be an actual “meltdown” of the reactor. Ruination, plain and simple! It would be a key blow to a vital link in Iran’s nuclear ambitions and blunt their aggression toward Israel for the time being.
The officials said Iran’s enrichment capacity has stagnated in recent years in spite of optimistic claims by President Ahmedinejad that “thousands” of additional centrifuges have been placed on line and that the program was advancing apace. In reality, “hundreds of centrifuges” have been taken off service in the last 18 months or so.
A UN official who is affiliated with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that “a complete stop in Iran’s centrifuge operations would be unprecedented to his knowledge:” but would not discuss specifics. Meanwhile, the AP had spoken to two senior diplomats from IAEA member countries who confirmed the incident at Natanz.
We have been expecting retardation of Iran’s nuclear ambitions from some such source by attentive searching of God’s word – either “an act of God” such as earthquakes, storms, fires, or other disruptions. We expected something that would appear “natural” in every way.
But it seems that retardation is coming from a more technological direction as the Stuxnet Worm! And its very makeup is so complex that neither Iran nor its Siemens scientists/consultants have been able to untangle its complex character and counter its effects. The worm is reputed to be such that it responds to all approaches to neutralize it and changes its methods of attack slightly with each assault. It stays ahead of its attackers! It is reputed to have taken a large task force of computer experts perhaps months to engineer the Stuxnet and put it into place – an assault more likely attributable to a nation or nations rather than a small group of amateur hackers.
About 80% of the computer systems which are known to have been infected have been Iranian, and all of these are Siemens systems – talk about a pin-pointed attack!! Siemens is an extremely powerful international electronic and engineering consortium with world-wide prominence – a scientific giant of commerce and industry. But its computerized systems are vulnerable to cyber attacks just as those of any other company.
Iranian officials have not acknowledged that they feel Israel is responsible for the very effective sabotage of its computers. But, if this supposition turns out to be true, it would be an ‘answer by return mail’ to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has frequently stated that “Jews control the world” and that Israel “should be wiped off the map.”
The little dictator made the decidedly anti-Semitic statement in 2008, that "A small handful of Zionists, with a very intricate organization, has taken over the power centers of the world…. According to our estimates,”he said, “the main cadre of the Zionists consists of 2,000 individuals at most, and they have another 8,000 activists.”
I believe Mahmoud the anti-Semite has vastly underestimated the strength of the Zionists, just as did Haman in the days of Esther, and Pharaoh of Egypt at the Exodus. It is true on the surface that Israel contains the highest percentage of scientists per capita of any country in the modern world. But their most sure foundation is the identity of the “Boss” of their outfit: Isaiah 54:17 says it all. “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall arise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is OF ME, saith the LORD.”
It is a sure promise, far outweighing the vile threats of Iranian hatred of Zion!
<HEL> November, 2010
You are welcome to visit http://www.gpl.org.au/home/theprophecyletter
Stuxnet: A Cyber-Threat upon Iran Sep. 2010
Harold Lafferty
28 September 2010
Debkafile© has reported that the specific selection of two of the top speakers at the United Nations meeting held last week in New York is indicative that Iran’s nuclear ambition is one of the UNO’s top priorities for consideration.
The fact that US President Obama and Iran’s President Ahmedinejad were chosen was their clue to this concern being one of the thorniest faced by the General Assembly.
Connected to this selection of main speakers, military and intelligence services have noted that “leaks” of information to the press which have appeared since September 20th show fairly clearly that the United States and others have initiated a secret cyber-war upon certain key Iranian installations. As one might have suspected, Israel has also begun elite cyber-war efforts toward this same goal, for theirs seems the greatest hazard from a nuclear Iran.
Because of its prophetic prominence, we watch Iran closely in these Endtimes. Iran is ancient Persia, and is prophesied to invade Israel in league with the Gogian host of Ezekiel 38 and 39. As we understand the coming sequence of events, it is too early for Persia/Iran to enter into combat with Israel, for when it does so it will be destroyed.
It seem obvious that the United States will not presently either physically attack or sanction an attack by others on the Iranian facilities, but prefers to deal with Iran by a combination of continuing diplomatic interchanges and clandestine levels of computerized assault against their facilities.
This is where we learned of the computer virus named Stuxnet; more on that a bit later.
This two-track approach will continue to involve UN and US sanctions on Iran not only to reduce or halt the financial resources that Iran has dedicated to its nuclear success, but also a clandestine cyber-resistance, aided by Israel, intended to retard and even to destroy Iran’s brick and mortar nuclear facilities themselves.
In pursuance of these tracks, soft contacts are being made in New York with Ahmadinejad’s people to renew the Six-Power Talks on Iran’s Uranium enrichment program which could lead to weapons-grade products. This enrichment activity has been banned by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but its ‘orders’ seem to mean little to Iran.
A US initiative to get back to such negotiations was made after several purposeful “leaks” by American security people to the news media that Israeli military and security agencies (the Mossad and Shin Bet) are being utilized as “cyber-raiders” with plenty of technical savvy and operational toughness to operate in dangerous areas of concern. It is the highest use of “industrial sabotage” because it involves invading, cancelling, stealing and destroying Iran’s nuclear technology and cyber structure.
When a group of technicians are highly trained for certain tasks in Israeli teams, they are termed “elite” units. It has become known that the Jewish State has had long experience with such tasks, witness the role played by elite cyber-raiders in Israel’s destruction of a plutonium reactor that North Korea was building for Syria at A-Zur in the northern sector of the country.
So, last Monday, the Christian Science Monitor and a few American technical journals revealed new information about a virus which is able to disable or destroy the computer servers of large facilities such as nuclear reactors, power plants and other industrial installations. Its name is Stuxnet. Debkafile© says, in its release of this date, that “all the leaked reports agree on three points:
“1. Stuxnet is the most advanced and dangerous piece of Malware ever devised. [Malware is a virus, or any destructive software capable of sabotage or disruption of Systems of Control - Ed.]
“2. The experts don't believe any private or individual hackers are capable of producing this virus; only a high-tech state such as America or Israel [could do so].
“3. Although Stuxnet was identified four months ago, the only servers known to have been affected and seriously damaged are located in Iran.
“Some computer security specialists report lively speculation that the virus was invented specifically to target part of the Iranian nuclear infrastructure, either the Bushehr nuclear plant activated last month or the centrifuge facility in Natanz.”
Whatever is destined to happen in this arena of combat, we may be sure the Lord God will protect His people Israel from serious harm or injury. He has promised that “I will bring them again to this land, and I will build them and not pull them down; and I will plant them and not pluck them up.” (Jeremiah24: 6)
It is therefore significant that only since last month (August) UN and US nuclear regulators have been reporting a marked slowing of progress in Iran’s enrichment output because of failures which have taken a large number of the centrifuges necessary to this program out of service completely. [Centrifuges are high speed machines which “spin” materials (plutonium) at high speeds in order to obtain higher concentrations of the materials. Ninety percent concentration is required for nuclear bombs.]
It is significant that Iran’s nuclear technicians have not been able to repair these failures, which involve about 3,000 centrifuges; this outcome is consistent with viral damage which is extremely difficult to detect and correct if well done in the first place!
We also know that Iran no longer has a source of high strength steel from Britain (because of the sanctions) which is absolutely necessary in re-machining of broken or worn parts for these sophisticated machines.
As of September 27th, Fox News Channel reported a significant assault and widespread damage by some external force [Stuxnet?] to Iran’s nuclear facilities that day. So we can imagine that such interference will continue to be the case as time goes forward.
After all, it’s a tactic that is much less expensive and hurtful than fighting a war!
<HEL> September, 2010.
The Summer of 2010:
Showdown on the “Two-State Solution”?
There is much ‘net traffic regarding the imminent solution to the “two-state solution” to the Arab-Israel conflict. Israpundits and detractors are proposing all sorts of solutions which have already been discarded out of hand by the Arabs. As David Greenfield (aka Sultan Knish) on July 28th has written, “Foreign Policy Journal condemns Israel for everything, and suggests it be replaced with ‘a single, united, democratic state with a constitution and representative government that recognizes the equal rights of all and protects the rights of the minority.' A state that the writer claims ‘the Arabs proposed before Israel existed.’ Which is rather curious considering that none of Israel's neighbors was [or is - Ed] a democratic state that protected the rights of minorities -- as the million Jewish refugees from Muslim countries would tell you. Of course such quibbles are petty when it comes to the main task of damning the ‘Racist Zionist colonial entity’, as innumerable Soviet Ambassadors to the UN and left wing bloggers describe Israel.”Actually the Two State Solution is not new – not even CLOSE to new. Indeed it has already been done – twice! In the 1920s the British government relegated 76% of the Palestine Mandate to the rulership of Sheikh Abdullah, the Governor of Mecca, and made him a “king” in Amman to boot, in exchange for accepting the fact that his original desired prize of Syria had been taken away by the French invasion of that area. Britain saw its best advantage in the case to keep hands off France in the matter and “paid” Abdullah for his acquiescence to the deal. Thus emerged Trans-Jordan – the first Palestinian State.
Well…this should have brought peace to the region, yes? No. It did not.
The local Arabs continued their murderous rampages against the resident Jews. During one week in 1929, they murdered 113 Jews and wounded hundreds more. This isn’t seen as Arab colonialism; it is completely ignored by Arab supporters – self-described “historians” – who scream to high heaven about the “massacres” of Arabs in Jenin and Deir Yassin, both proven later to have been patently false! For the Jew there seems to be no leeway – and no recognition of truth when the possibility of slander or lies against her exist.
So, the creation of Trans-Jordan (now just Jordan) did not even approach a solution to the problem. Someone has pointed out that “insanity” is aptly defined as “doing the same thing one has done before and failed at accomplishing.” Well…let’s see…
Now the United Nations Organization (UNO) steps into the fray. In 1947 it voted to impose “partition” of the small remaining fraction of the British Mandated Territory of “Palestine” between the Jews and the Arabs, with Jerusalem becoming an international enclave. As the Sultan wrote, “The Jews said ‘yes,’ and the Arabs said ‘jihad'.” And that was given the provision that the Jews got the Negev desert and the Arabs were allocated all the water supplies! That was the second try.
So the War of Independence followed. When it ended the Jews had increased its partitioned territory by over 100%, including the sources of the Jordan River and Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee).
A truce was arrived at – but peace was not attained by this second attempt. So, now what is the proposed solution?
Well…let’s try a “Two State Solution” which just might work!
The first concrete move in this “new” direction was that proposed by Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel at Camp David, and later at Shepherdstown, in which he inexplicably and foolishly offered the Palestinian Authority almost 100% of their demands, including a portion of East Jerusalem as capital of a “Palestinian” State. But miraculously, Yasser Arafat turned the offer down! (He wanted the whole Magilla.)
Yet the liberals and Islamophiles and Israel-deniers continue to chant “Two States – Two States – Two States!” as if it were a voice command for their magic wand to produce just such a monstrosity. But a 29-cent wand doesn’t function that way. Harry Potter really is mythical, you know – just a fantasy.
So we arrive at TODAY. There are now two de-facto Muslim “states” within Israel. They are Gaza (under Hamas’ control) and “the West Bank” (under control of Fatah). This is because the “brothers” who control Hamas and Fatah absolutely hate each other. I should say this becomes a minor problem to a two state solution, especially since one must now deal with three states.
But, we predictably have arrived at another attempt at a “Two State Solution!”
What is this now…the fourth attempt? Yes, I believe so. The fifth? Maybe.
Actually, since Hamas has wider backing and more popular support among the “Palestinians,” it would also be running the West Bank except for the territory of Israel located between the two. Israel has steadfastly blockaded Gaza, which has essentially prevented Hamas from migrating east to the West Bank and taking over the place.
Meanwhile, Fatah’s Mr Abbas, must be thankful to his protector (Israel), his financier (billions in foreign aid) and his diplomatic advocate (the United States). With this array of insularity he absolutely refuses to negotiate with Israel at the moment, simply demanding everything he wants without any negotiations. The concessions he demands are key items such as the borders for a future “Palestinian” state even before sitting down to negotiate borders! – Which could be defined as hijacking, not negotiation. Therefore, absolutely no movement forward can be anticipated.
Which, as best we can determine, is the way the scriptures portray the process. Although there are many references to fighting over the Holy Land, not much is said about actual, official division of the land except that of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14: 2) which was fulfilled at the end of the War of Independence, in 1949, and has since been ‘cured’ by Israel’s conquest of the Holy City on June 7, 1967. Joel 3: 2 uses the phrase “parted My land,” but I believe this reference to be historical, not current. Obadiah verses 11 and 16 indicate responsibility of Edom (equivalent to the “Palestinians” of today) for that action c.586 BC. That populations devout, fanatical CURRENT intent for division of the Land may be considered as the deed itself.
Abu Abbas, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, is doomed in the possibility of deciding on something as important as a Final Status Decision. Not only can he not make a decision, he knows that eventually he will be eliminated either by dissenters in his own faction or by a car-bomb placed by Hamas, as it has for so many of their Lebanese enemies! So there are three factors militating against the renewed demand for a Two State Solution: a) it has been tried over and over and could not succeed; b) the fact that there are already three “Palestinian” states in the mix, including Jordan, who will be induced to fight Israel again by some means unknown at the present time (cf. Obadiah, Isaiah 11, etc. ); and c) Abbas is unable to move off the dime and genuinely negotiate.
The bottom line is this: From every scriptural consideration we can make, the Second Coming of the Lord from heaven could come at any moment. To the true believer this is the best news we could hear. It is also the best news “the world” could hear, but it is not yet ready to hear this “gospel” (good news).
So we wait. We “occupy until I come” (Luke 19: 13)
H E Lafferty MD/USA July 28, 2010