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

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

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just as the Scriptures foretell.

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

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

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

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Scott's Blog - 4/28/08

The T-Rex In The Living Room

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

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

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

A leg bone full of key gunk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But there it is.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Scott's Blog - 4/23/08

We Hate To Say We Told You So..

Carter-Hamas meeting achieved nothing: Palestinians

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OK.

You caught me.

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

Especially in this case.

There is nothing wrong with pursuing peace.

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

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

He has no authority.

Hamas has no reason to listen to him.

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

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

Speaking of territorial concessions in exchange for meaningless promises -

Israel 'ready to return Golan'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right.

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

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

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

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

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Scott's Blog - 4/22/08

Hold That Hudna!

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

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

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

Jimmy Carter: Give Hamas a chance

Jimmy Carter on "Larry King Live" Wednesday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sounds promising? Wait till you read the fine print.

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

Hudna With Hamas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Surprisingly, it could be a preview of coming attractions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Scott's Blog - 4/21/08

I Wish We'd All Been Ready

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Life was filled with guns and war,

And everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we'd all been ready

Children died, the days grew cold,

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

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

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A man and wife asleep in bed,

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

I wish we'd all be ready,

Two men walking up a hill,

One disappears and one's left standing still,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

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

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Life was filled with guns and war,

And everyone got trampled on the floor,

I wish we'd all been ready,

Children died, the days grew cold,

A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,

I wish we'd all been ready,

There's no time to change your mind,

How could you have been so blind,

The Father spoke, the demons dined,

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

 

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

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

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

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

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Scott's Blog - 4/17/08

"Peace In Our Time"?



Have you ever heard of the Munich Pact?

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

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

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

It didn't happen that way.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Iran marks Army Day, issues more threats

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why are so many so hesitant to give?

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

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

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

So not so subtle hints are dropped.

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

The verse that is usually quoted to back this up?

There is only one problem with this teaching.

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

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

What is the New Testament standard of giving?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And so the wallets stay shut.

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

But it is not mandatory.

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

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

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

 

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Scott's Blog - 4/14/08

Will Billy Graham Be in Heaven?

O Jerusalem! America drafts plan to cut in 2
Allows Palestinian security control, asks Israel to forfeit Temple Mount

The Temple Mount

By Aaron Klein
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – The United States, which has been mediating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority here, has proposed a plan to divide Jerusalem, WND has learned.

The plan, divided into separate phases, among other things calls for Israel eventually to forfeit parts of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

According to the first stage of the U.S. plan, which was obtained by WND, Israel would give the PA some municipal and security sovereignty over key Arab neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem.

The PA would be allowed to open some official institutions in Jerusalem, could elect a mayor for the Palestinian side of the city and would deploy police forces to maintain law and order.

The initial stage also calls for the PA to operate Jerusalem municipal institutions, such as offices to oversee trash collection and maintenance of roads.

After five years, if both sides keep their certain commitments called for in a larger principal agreement, according to the U.S. plan the PA would be given full sovereignty over the eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods and also over sections of the Temple Mount. The plan doesn't specify which parts of the Temple Mount would be forfeited to the Palestinians.

After the five year period, the PA could deploy official security forces in Jerusalem separate from a police force and could also open major governmental institutions, such as a president's office, and offices for the finance and foreign ministries.

The U.S. plan leaves Israel and the PA to negotiate which Jerusalem neighborhoods would become Palestinian. According to diplomatic sources familiar with the plan, while specific neighborhoods were not officially listed, American officials recommended sections of Jerusalem's Old City as well as certain largely Arab Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Jabal mukabar, Beit Hanina, Shoafat, Abu Dis and Abu Tur become part of the Palestinian side.

As WND reported previously, many of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, including all of Shoafat, a large Arab section, were constructed illegally on property owned by the Jewish National Fund, a Jewish nonprofit that purchases property using Jewish donors funds for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement.

According to diplomatic sources, the plan is being discussed by Israel and the PA but has not yet been accepted.

The sources said the plan was delivered earlier this month by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her trip to the region to push Israeli-Palestinian negotiations started at last November's U.S.-backed Annapolis summit, which aimed to create a Palestinian state before the end of the year.

Since Annapolis, negotiating teams including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia have been meeting weekly while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas have been meeting biweekly.

The U.S. is "very deeply involved" in all aspects of the negotiations, according to a top diplomatic source.

To demonstrate the level of U.S. involvement, the source pointed to recent U.S. supervision of Israeli commitments to dismantle about 50 West Bank anti-terror roadblocks and to bulldoze what are called illegal outposts, or West Bank Jewish communities constructed without government permits.

"The U.S. oversaw the removal of each and every roadblock, making sure the roadblocks were actually removed," said the source.

"Also, even though Israel prepared a report of all illegal outposts and handed it to the Americans, U.S. officials have been doing their own very specific independent investigating to find each and every illegal outpost and then oversee their dismantlement," the source said.

Olmert's government has hinted a number of times it will divide Jerusalem.

In December, Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said the country "must" give up sections of Jerusalem for a future Palestinian state, even conceding the Palestinians can rename Jerusalem "to whatever they want."

"We must come today and say, friends, the Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, will remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the Arab neighborhoods will be the Palestinian capital, which they will call Jerusalem or whatever they want," said Ramon during an interview.

Positions held by Ramon, a ranking member of Olmert's Kadima party, are largely considered to be reflective of Israeli government policy.

Olmert himself recently questioned whether it was "really necessary" to retain Arab-majority eastern sections of Jerusalem.

Israel recaptured eastern Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – during the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians have claimed eastern Jerusalem as a future capital; the area has large Arab neighborhoods, a significant Jewish population and sites holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

About 231,000 Arabs live in Jerusalem, mostly in eastern neighborhoods, and many reside in illegally constructed complexes. The city has an estimated total population of 724,000. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=61197

 

Dispatch from the Golan Heights
Situation on eve of Epicenter Conference
by Joel Rosenberg

(Golan Heights, Israel) -- Pray for peace, but prepare for war. This has been my theme over the past few years, but I have never felt the urgency to do both -- pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as the Scriptures teach us in Psalm 122:6, and make preparations to ship into the region at least $120 million worth of humanitarian relief over the next few years -- more than I do right now. The Palestinian foreign minister says he thinks a peace treaty with Israel can be signed by year's end. But war clouds are also building on the horizon -- particularly with Iran, Syria and Lebanon -- and no one is quite sure how long we have until the next conflict breaks out. As I write this, I am looking out over the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights and wondering just what the future holds. And I am not alone. Today, the Israeli government begins the largest emergency drill ever to get its citizens and first responders ready for what they fear could be coming soon.

"In face of increased tensions with Syria and Iran's efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon, parts of the country will shut down later this week for what security officials say is the largest emergency exercise in Israel's history," reports The Jerusalem Post. "The drill, which is being organized by the newly-established National Emergency Authority, will start on Sunday and last five days....The first two days of the drill include security cabinet meetings -- led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert -- to simulate the effectiveness of the current decision-making process during an enemy attack.

On Tuesday, sirens will sound briefly nationwide; the public is asked to use the time to locate the closest bomb shelter or protected room. Drawing from lessons of the Second Lebanon War and in preparation for Iranian nuclear bombs as well as possible chemical and biological attacks, the Israel Police, IDF Home Front Command, other military branches, all of the country's hospitals, the Fire and Rescue Service, Magen David Adom and other rescue services will participate in the five-day drill. Rescue services will simulate mass evacuations from 'hit zones' -- including chemical and biological attacks -- and hospitals will drill their ability to treat thousands of injured." http://joelrosenberg.blogspot.com/

"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy^[a] to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)

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Scott's Blog - 4/08/08

The Most Important Story You Will Probably Never See

'Report on Sept. 6 strike to show Saddam transferred WMDs to Syria'

By JPOST.COM STAFF