"Will Prophetic Events Unfold Soon?"

Prophecy buffs: Start your engines!

Every major player mentioned in end-time Bible prophecy has been front page news in recent weeks:

• Syria
• Egypt
• Iran 
• Israel
• and......Russia!

The only nation in the news that is NOT mentioned in the prophetic profile is the late, great U.S.A. 

President Barack Obama's decision to climb-down and back away from military action against Syria, and hand the reins over to Russian President Vladimir Putin, marks the beginning of the end of U.S. leadership in the Middle East.

Russia is only too happy to fill the vacuum--a situation predicted in the book of Ezekiel.

Russia, it seems, recognized the opportunity and pounced. They also recognized (even if U.S. leaders did not) the humongous potential for an early Armageddon.

"If a warhead, by design or by chance, were to hit the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor near Damascus, the consequences could be catastrophic," Moscow warned last Wednesday. Such a strike could set off a chain-reaction of unintended and horrific consequences.

The possibility of this happening is high. According to DEBKAfile, "important chemical weapons research facilities are located in the same compound  as the small Syrian reactor.  Moscow fears if the area were targeted the entire region could be at risk of contamination by highly-enriched uranium that could 'fall into the wrong hands.' 

In other words, Putin is afraid Obama will miscalculate and trigger a domino effect that sets the tinderbox known as the Middle East ablaze. 

Given these circumstances, it takes little imagination to see how the prophecy regarding Damascus, found in Isaiah 17, might be fulfilled: "This message came to me concerning Damascus: 'Look, Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins" (Isaiah 17:1).

Both Syria and Iran have threatened to retaliate against Israel should the U.S. attack Syria. If Syria makes the mistake of lobbing chemical weapons into Israel, you can bet on a swift and devastating response.

The seriousness of today's geopolitical landscape cannot be overstated. The Bible predicts:

• The city of Damascus will be destroyed (Isaiah 17:1)
• Egypt will dissolve into civil war (Isaiah 19)
• Israel will be attacked by her surrounding Muslim neighbors (Psalm 83)
• Russia will form a strategic military alliance with Iran (Persia), Ethiopia and Libya (Ezekiel 38:5), attack Israel in what sounds like either a chemical or nuclear exchange (Ezekiel 39:14)
• All the nations of the world eventually come against Israel  (Zechariah 12)

The Bible gives us detailed descriptions of what will happen in the Middle East. What it doesn't give us is the precise timing or order of these events, saying only that they will happen in 'the latter days' or 'the time of the end.'

Remember, 27% of the Bible is prophetic. There are literally hundreds of prophecies scattered throughout its pages. Many appear to be coming to fruition in our life time, indicating that we are the last generation.

Hard to believe?

Coincidence is one thing--but when every player mentioned begins to line up exactly as predicted--it's harder not to believe.

Before rolling your eyes, open them to the possibility that maybe---just maybe---God really does know the future, and He wants you to know it, too.

Why? So you can believe in Him, repent, and be saved (Ezekiel 38:16)

U.S. vs. Syria may be averted thanks to Putin, of all people. If so--great. But make no mistake: 

Damascus, one of the world's oldest cities, will one day face destruction.

And so will the rest of us if we refuse God's offer of salvation

"Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12).

"Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plans to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

A wise man once said: "Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late." Felix Frankfurter--Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1939-1962.

News:

• Washington Post: Opinion writer (and former Bush speechwriter) Marc A. Thiessen, accuses President Obama of "lifting his Syria speech from Bush. Obama essentially copied Bush's speech making a case for military action back in 2002, while attacking him at the same time."
• DEBKAfile: Western strike force for Syria disperses. Syria launches offensive near Israeli border

"Rush to War: Too Little, Too Late"

Authorization of U.S. military action in Syria was approved Wednesday by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This paves the way for a full vote next week.

Apparently, the Democratic leadership was in such a hurry to pass the war authorization that they didn't even adhere to their own rules.

"This was a rush to war behind closed doors," one senior GOP aide said. "We were told there was a need to have a thoughtful and public debate about how this nation goes to war, but this seems to be about simply getting a resolution done to cover the president."

According to Senate rules, seven days of advance notice is suppose to be given so that members have an opportunity to mull over the resolution before having to vote on it. This time they were only given a matter of hours. Considering the fact that 59% of Americans oppose going into Syria, you'd think they could at least follow their own protocol.

There are so many problems with going into Syria now, we hardly know where to begin. Assad is a monster and should have been dealt with two years ago. Now, after 120,000 deaths and millions of refugees, no one knows who the good guys are.

And why are we announcing our intentions to Syria?

Intelligence out of Syria reports the Assad regime has already hidden its WMD throughout Damascus hospitals and schools (Dang those guys! Who could've seen that one coming?)

While everyone hates to see what is happening to innocent Syrian people, it is now a classic example of 'Too little, too late'. If we are going to fight Assad now--we better fight to win. This 'shot across the bow' business won't cut it.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, complained to reporters that this administration has put military planners in the Pentagon in a "strategic bind." (ya think?) A limited Syrian strike could potentially open a can of worms that unravels the whole region.

One can only hope this whole Syria thing is just a diversionary tactic and what they're really planning is a surprise attack against Iran's nuclear program.

But that's just crazy talk. Taking out one of the world's biggest threats in a timely manner makes too much sense.

A wise woman once said: "Happy are all free peoples, too strong to be dispossessed. But blessed are those among nations who dare to be strong for the rest." -- author Elizabeth Barrett Browning

As the Scriptures say: "I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas. So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense" -- 1st Corinthians 1:19-20.

News:

• DEBKAfile: Hizballah mobilizes to defend Damascus under U.S. attack, while also preparing to launch a rocket attack against Israel.
• CNN: Russian President Vladimir Putin made veiled threat to sell highly advanced S-300 defense system to Iran if western nations attack Syria without UN backing.

"Economic Facts Don't Add Up"

Hang onto your hats, people, and everything else that's not tied down. There's only a few days left before the Boys (and Girls) are back in town.

That's right, folks, the lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill and it won't be pretty. In fact, according to Oliver Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent for Yahoo!News, Americans should "brace themselves for a game of political chicken."

On September 9, back from five weeks of summer recess, this gang is ready to rumble. First issue up at bat?

The Debt Ceiling.

If Congress refuses to raise the nation's $16.7 trillion (that's trillion with a T) borrowing limit, and if they can't agree on a federal budget before September 30, the entire government could come to a sudden, grinding halt.

Though shutting down the government might sound like a good thing, it's not likely to happen. Knox predicts they will come up with their usual "kick the can down the road" solution at the very last moment and pass a temporary spending bill, solving nothing. 

Again.

Meanwhile, a recent Gallop poll reveals:

• 7 out of 8 jobs created this year are part-time
• 54% of Americans earn less than $30,000 annually
• 8 million Americans have stopped looking for work

Money manager Peter Schiff says, "the government keeps telling us the economy is getting bigger, but millions of Americans are leaving the workforce. We've got record numbers of people on food stamps and part-time jobs are replacing full-time jobs. How is that consistent with a growing economy? It's not. Incomes have dropped twice as fast during the 'recovery' than they did during the recession. That's quite an accomplishment."

James Rickards, author of the best-selling Currency Wars-The Making of the Next Financial Crisis, takes it even further:

"The problem in 2008 was too-big-to-fail banks. Well, those banks are now bigger. Their derivative books are bigger. In other words, everything that was wrong in 2008 is worse today."

Much worse. In 2008 the Fed hadn't started the printing presses yet. This country is hemorrhaging  money to the tune of  $85 billion each and every month. That's one trillion (with a big fat T!) per year.

Can't bend your mind around all those zeroes? Try this:

• a million seconds = 12 days
• a billion seconds = 32 years
• a trillion seconds = 31,688 years (+ change)

And that, dear friends, is longer than the existence of Western civilization.

Maybe it's time to give the gang in Washington a permanent recess.

A wise man once said: "If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them, they may become happy."  --Thomas Jefferson

"Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income" --Ecclesiastes 5:10.

"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded,nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy" -- 1 Timothy 6:17.

News

• Fox News Channel: Both U.S. and Russian warships head for Syria, as U.S. weighs military strike; meanwhile, Iran threatens destruction of Israel if U.S. strikes.
• Family Research Council: San Antonio proposal 1st step to banning Christians from holding public office; ordinance would prevent those who express concerns regarding same-sex marriage from attaining positions of influence.
• CNBC: 40% of businesses polled plan to cut spouses from insurance plans due to Obama care.

"Extermination Under Way in Syria?"

This week the world was assaulted with the horrific sight of row upon row of dead Syrians, many of them children, alleged victims of an al-Assad chemical attack.

Exactly one year ago, President Obama warned the Syrian government against crossing the now famous 'Red Line':

"We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is [when] we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation." 

Outraged by opposition rebel claims of being "exterminated', many in the international community are calling for Assad's head. France's foreign minister raised the possibility of using force against Syria if it is proven that Bashir Assad's regime used chemical weapons against his own people.

The U.N. Security Council called for a "thorough, impartial, and prompt investigation", backed by demands from the U.S., Britain, France, Turkey, and Germany that a team of U.N. experts already in Syria be granted immediate access to investigate the site.

Some, like Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag, insist it is clear Assad is the culprit. Others, like Russia, China and Assad himself, deny the allegations: "These claims are categorically false and completely baseless and are part of the filthy media war waged by some countries against Syria," an Assad spokesman said. Further, the Assad regime accuses the opposition of fabricating claims or staging gas attacks themselves.

Sounds ridiculous until you remember that the opposition has been taken over by al-Qaeda operatives desperate to sway public opinion against Assad and toward military intervention.

And then there's the timing of the attack--just three days after the team of U.N. chemical experts arrived.

"It would be very peculiar if it was the government to do this at the exact moment the international inspectors come into the country," said Rolf Ekeus, a retired Swedish diplomat and former head of U.N. weapons inspectors. "At the least, it wouldn't be very clever."

Let's hope clear heads prevail.

A wise man once said: "Sometimes the only winning move is not to play." unknown

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9

News:

• CNN: Japan scrambles fighter jets when Russian bombers briefly enter Japanese airspace; 2nd such incident this year.
• Fox News Channel: Newly confirmed U.N. Ambassador, Samantha Power, absent from Syria emergency meeting due to vacation.
• MSN: Dozens of wildfires rage across western U.S. driven by worst drought in years.

"The Nightmare Disaster We're Barely Aware Of"

Hey, anybody out there remember Fukushima?

That's the Japanese nuclear power plant that exploded following the Tohoku, magnitude 8.9 earthquake and tsunami in 2011. It is the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and only the second to measure a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. (Chernobyl was the first).

Yeah. That Fukushima.

According to Professor Christopher Busby, Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risks, "Fukushima is a nightmare disaster area, and no one has the slightest idea what to do. The game is to prevent the crippled nuclear plant from turning into an open-air super reactor spectacular which would result in a hazardous, melted catastrophe."

But even if that worst-case scenario never happens, (though Prof. Busby claims it is predictable), we still have a slo-mo disaster in progress. Since 2011, "huge amounts of radioactivity have flowed from the wrecked reactors directly into the Pacific Ocean," Busby says.

And the other problem? There isn't much anyone can do about it. "They can't get close enough because the radiation levels are too high. The water itself is lethally radioactive (within the plant). Gamma radiation levels tens of meters from the water are enormously high. No one can approach without being fried," Busby said.

The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) begs to differ. In their first public estimate of the size of the leakage, they claim that a cumulative 20-40 trillion becquerels of radioactive material has probably leaked into the ocean, which is within legal limits.

Dale Klein, former head of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, blasted the company's failure to prevent leaks and lack of transparency and secretiveness over the issue. "These actions indicate that you (TEPCO) don't know what you are doing--you do not have a plan and you are not doing all you can to protect the environment and the people."

TEPCO faces huge liabilities.

They have every reason to downplay the catastrophe, and though the country's Nuclear Regulatory Authority believes it's an emergency, they've only come up with a clean-up plan now--2 years, 5 months, and 3 days later.

But hey--better late than never, right?

The Wall Street Journal reports that the reactors have lost containment, and experts have no idea where the nuclear cores are or how to get them safely out.

So what does this all mean?

Fukushima is an unprecedented disaster and the truth is this: No one knows the long-term repercussions of a Level 7 nuclear event. Chernobyl, as bad as it was, didn't leak into the ocean. They were able to contain it for the most part and eventually cap it. Fukushima is not contained and cannot be capped. The ramifications are unknowable.

Apparently, the only thing they know for sure is that they don't know anything for sure. Oh, and the clean-up? Think in terms of decades. About 4 of them, give or take, but again, better late than never.

For a graphic (and terrifying ) picture of what you're not hearing about Fukushima, click link below:

News You Don't Want To Read About Fukushima

To see freaky vegetable and butterfly mutations caused by Fukushima, click links below:

Fukushima vegetables

Japanese Mothra

A wise man once said: "Facts have a cruel way of substituting themselves for fancies. There is nothing more remorseless, just as there is nothing more helpful, than truth." -- Wm. C. Redfield, Secretary of Commerce

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."  (2 Corinthians 5:1).

News:

• FNC: National Security analyst, K.T. McFarland says next 72 hours will be pivotal in the future of Egypt; current chaos could dissolve into prolonged civil war that spreads across the region.
• CBS: Pentagon study of US nuclear power plants security risks found all 107 nuclear reactors vulnerable to terrorist attack; facilities insufficiently protected against theft of bomb-grade nuclear materials and sabotage.
• CNBC: Congress exempts itself from Obamacare
• Household Debt and Credit Report: US consumer bankruptcies jump by most in three years; third-party collections at all-time high.

"Fallen Angels and Demons: Are They The Same?"

The terms fallen angels and demons are often used interchangeably, but could there be a difference between the two?

Angels were created by God with spiritual bodies that look similar to ours, but are probably more akin to Jesus’ resurrected body.

Way back, long before God created mankind, there was a rebellion in heaven headed by the Archangel Lucifer. A third of the angels chose to follow him rather than God, so God threw the lot of them out of heaven.

Okay—so what exactly are demons? Did God create them, too?

That brings us to the very controversial (and just plain weird) Genesis 6 passage:

            “…And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on

 the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they

were fair; and they took them wives of all which they

chose” (Genesis 6:1-2).

The word daughters clearly means female children of human parents. The daughters of men were simply women, in other words.

The sons of God refer to an entirely different group from either the men or the daughters of men. The term sons of God occurs elsewhere in the Bible and clearly means angels (see Job 1:6).

The term sons of God in Hebrew is B’nai Ha Elohim—Sons of Elohim, a term consistently meaning angels throughout the Old Testament. Ancient rabbinical texts and early New Testament translators agreed the term refers to angels. Up until the fifth century A.D., there was no question that the text meant: Fallen angels procreating with human women.

Why the controversy? Angels + women = hybrids, a thoroughly perverted, depraved, and shameful situation. For this reason Augustine embraced an interpretation that Genesis 6 simply meant: Believers marrying unbelievers producing ungodly children. Short and sweet, but wrong and misleading.

This interpretation, though widely accepted, does nothing to explain what follows in Genesis 6:4:

                        “There were giants on the earth in those days, and also

                        afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters

                        of men and they bore children to them.”

Believers marrying unbelievers may produce a mixed-up kid, but certainly not a giant!

Back in Noah’s day, the human race was corrupted by fallen angels. They co-habited with humans and created one heck of a gene-pool problem. This was such a monumental breach of God’s order that it provoked a divine judgment.

The entire world was destroyed with the Flood. Everyone, every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth was wiped out. Except Noah and his family.

Extreme? Not when you understand the fact that only Noah and his family were still fully human. All the others, known as the Nephilim, had tainted genes. They were corrupted, in other words. God had no choice but to start over, using Noah and his family to re-populate the earth.

Unfortunately, though the Nephilim were destroyed in the Flood, their spirits remained. Mankind would now have to contend with something new: Demonic entities.

So, why didn't God destroy their spirits, too, if they were such an affront? We don’t know. Maybe the consequences of this particular sin meant having to contend with disembodied evil spirits until the final judgment.

We do know this: The human spirit is eternal. It cannot be destroyed and will spend eternity in either heaven or hell. Those who choose to repent of their sin and be redeemed by the death of Christ will spend eternity in heaven. But those who choose to ignore God’s offer of salvation will spend eternity in hell.

The Nephilim were conceived in direct opposition to God and were neither human nor angel. They cannot be redeemed. When a Nephilim dies, its spirit cannot enter heaven, it is left homeless, looking for a host body, hence the Biblical references to demonic possession (Luke 4:33, 11:19; Acts 16:16).

And yes, Satan did enter Judas in John 13:23 which proves fallen angels can possess humans (and serpents, for that matter), but they don't need to. They have spiritual bodies that can manifest as solid if they want. Demons do not.

So, are fallen angels and demons the same? Study Genesis 6:1-4; 2 Peter 2:4; and Jude 5-11 and come to your own conclusions.

A wise man once said: “Our real battle is not with human cultists, false religionists, atheists, agnostics, and pseudo-Christians, but with the demonic beings working through them.” – Earl D. Radmacher, Th.D.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12-13)

News:

• CBN: At least 12 states at risk for flooding as relentless rains top 15 inches in South and Midwest.
• Wall Street Journal: Outgoing CIA Deputy Director says Syria is greatest threat to US national security.
• MSN: Mystery priest appears to pray over crash victim, then vanishes

"A Cure for Death?"

Doctor Sam Parnia claims raising the dead, even after 24 hours have passed, could be commonplace someday soon.

Impossible?

Not according to his new book, Erasing Death, where Dr. Parnia details his study of resuscitation science. The critical care physician writes, "With today's medicine, we can bring people back to life up to one, maybe two hours, sometimes even longer, after their heart stopped beating and they have thus died by circulatory failure. In the future, we will likely get better at reversing death."

For now, the average resuscitation rate for cardiac arrest patients in the US is roughly 18%. But at Stony Brook University School of Medicine (New York) where Sam Parnia is leading the research, that rate jumps to between 33 and 38%. And, according to Parnia, "Most, but not all of our patients, get discharged with no neurological damage whatsoever." We've come a loooong way baby...at least when it comes to resuscitation.

A specialized and complicated field much like cardiology, resuscitation science has made tremendous progress in the past decade. Parnia believes "it is possible that in 20 years, we may be able to restore people to life 12 hours or maybe even 24 hours after they have died."

Dr. Parnia's basic message? "The death we commonly perceive today in 2013 is a death that can be reversed."

That may be so--but only temporarily. Let's face it gang, unless Christ returns in our lifetime--nobody gets out alive. We've got a survival rate of exactly ZERO. While that's a bummer for the unbeliever, it's not a problem for the Christian. We are only sojourners and pilgrims here. This earth is not our home. We are foreigners with a job to do, traveling to our eternal home, hoping to bring as many with us as are willing to come.

There is only One who has conquered death once and for all time. So yeah, resuscitation is a marvelous thing, but Resurrection is infinitely better. If you're looking for a permanent cure for death, click below:

 How to Go to Heaven

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26

A wise women once said: "Real wisdom is looking at the world from God's point of view." --Anne Cetas, Our Daily Bread

News:

• Debkafile: Israeli, Palestinian negotiators set goal of peace deal in 9 months
• Wired: Lawmakers who upheld NSA phone-spying received double the defense industry cash; House votes not to rein in NSA's phone-spying dragnet
• MSNBC: Fed keeps stimulus going, leaves rates unchanged
• Infowars: Report exposes NSA for tracking Americans thru web searches and social media
• FNC: Massive rate hikes due to Obamacare hit many states with 198% insurance premium increases; Group of Republicans push to de-fund the law