Muslim Brotherhood infiltration at the president's invitation

Muslim Brotherhood infiltration at the president's invitation

The US president appears to have embarked on a deliberate strategy to embrace radical Islam by partnering with Islamic organizations calling for the demise of the United States, and by assigning Islamists to key strategic positions that oversee the security of the nation, aspects of the judiciary, and are intimate aides to high level administration appointees. The Administration's public position is that these relationships are in the best interest of the United States in promoting tolerance in America and democracy in the Middle East. In reality, they raise poignant and unthinkable questions whether this president has violated his oath of office and several US laws by facilitating an Islamic takeover of America.

One need look no further than the Administration's embracing of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and high level appointments of Muslims who are directly associated to the MB or have ties to organizations associated with the MB. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's top aid since 1996 is Huma Abedin. Former Palestinian terrorist now converted Christian Walid Shoebat says that Abedin was never properly screened.

Shoebat reports that Abedin "is closely associated with her Muslim Brotherhood family and even joined Clinton at an event with her mother, Saleha Abedin, at Dar El-Hekma College in Saudi Arabia. Also present was a close associate of Saleha Abedin-Suheir Qureshi. Qureshi's name later appeared in several prominent Arab newspapers when it was revealed that she belonged to a list of 63 members of the secret arm of the Muslim Brotherhood called The Sisterhood. The full list was later revealed-Huma Abedin's mother is on it. Huma's brother-Hassan Abedin-also collaborates with Omar Naseef and Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, two of the most influential terror supporters in the world."

Clinton recently overruled the Immigration and Nationality Act by allowing Tariq Ramadan entry into the United States. Ramadan, described as an independent power center within the MB, is the grandson of the founder of the MB. He has been banned to travel in the US since 2004 for his contributions to Hamas and links to radical Islamists.

Clinton also announced on the eve of the July 4th holiday that the United States welcomes dialogue with the MB, prompting this response from Frank Gaffney, Jr. at the Center for Security Policy: "The Obama administration chose the eve of the holiday marking our Nation's birth to acknowledge publicly behavior in which it has long been stealthily engaged to the United States' extreme detriment:  Its officials now admit that they are embracing the Muslim Brotherhood (MB or Ikhwan in Arabic).  That would be the same international Islamist organization that has the destruction of the United States, Israel and all other parts of the Free World as its explicit objective."

The MB was founded in 1928 to establish global Sharia Law through jihad. The Administration states that the MB denounces violence and promotes democracy. In reality, the MB is the umbrella organization that supports various terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda. For example, Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's new commander, joined the MB when he was 14. The MB also has an extensive network in the United States through various vassal organizations including: Muslim American Society, Islamic Society of North America, Muslim Students Association, Muslim Businessmen Association, Muslim Youth of North America, Mercy International Association, Islamic Circle of North America, Muslim Arab Youth Association, The Association of Muslim Social Scientists. The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is closely associated with many of these organizations.

The MB, with a public facade of non-violence, promotes democracy as a landing point to gain political control and establish Sharia Law, as its supported terrorist groups did so aptly in Gaza with Hamas and in Lebanon with Hezbollah. Currently, its targets are Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, and the United States of America.

The MB was exposed in the Holy Land Foundation trial in 2007. Documents provided as evidence in the trial indicated a plan to take over the United States. The plan, written in 1991 calls for Islamists to colonize America with Islamic Centers, schools, elected officials and court cases. It seeks to establish a "Civilization-Jihadist Process." It outlines how "work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and "sabotaging" its miserable house..." The plan is using so-called "moderate" Muslim groups to establish a beachhead in the US and then radical elements to take over.

MB-supported elected officials are found across America in local offices. At the national level the first Muslim elected to Congress, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison is an MB-supported candidate. The Muslim American Society (aka MB) paid for Ellison's Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The MB ties also extended deep into then-Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign. In October 2008, FOX News reported that the Obama campaign was rift with associates of the MB. FOX reported that Minha Husaini replaced Mazen Asbahi as Obama's Muslim liaison after Asbahi resigned over revelations that groups linked to the MB featured him as a speaker. FOX reported that Husaini also met with groups tied to the MB and Hamas in Virginia on September 15, 2008.

Since the campaign, the Administration has redoubled its efforts to appoint Muslims to high government positions. The Congressional Muslim Staffers Association, now disbanded because of its ties to radical Islamists, vetted potential appointments "under the radar," according to J. Saleh Williams, who headed the effort.

The result is a tremendous number of Islamists sitting at key strategic positions in the federal government and on the judiciary. Included are: David Heyman, nominated as Assistant Secretary for Policy at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and at the same agency, Secretary Janet Napolitano has appointed Arif Alikhan as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development. According to Newsmax, "both men are devout, Shariah Law Muslims, and in her announcement Napolitano made that very clear...Alikan is associated with the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) "a public service agency working for the civil rights of American Muslims." BOTH men will have top security clearances. Several Muslims at the DHS who have top security clearances are associated with groups that claim Hamas and Hezbollah are "humanitarian" organizations.""

And such appointments continue. The president has appointed Hezbollah favorite Abed Hammoud as  Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. Hammoud. In the past, he has said that Israelis are like Nazis. He has led marches against Israel. The pro-Hezbollah Arab-American News in Dearborn, Mi reported that Hammoud led marchers against Israel who were chanting "Down, down Israel!" and "Death to Israel!" The newspaper quoted Hammoud saying, "Other than our own leaders, Israel pulls us together like no one else can." Hammoud added to cheers, "We don't believe Hizbullah is a terrorist organization. We obey the law, we don't give them financial support or provide them with aid, but we think this law needs to be changed."

Israel National News reported on June 20 that the president appointed Azizah al-Hibri to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. al-Hibri believes that Sharia Law is superior to Western Law, no surprise since she sat on the National Advisory Board of the American Muslim Council. INN reported that in 2001, "Al-Hibri traveled to the Afghan border and criticized the Western press for "sensationalizing" Taliban atrocities and using them "as an opportunity to attack Islam". After the attacks of September 11, she cautioned against bombing Al-Qaeda and Taliban targets during Ramadan."

Former CIA agent and current professor for the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies Clare Lopez concludes that the Administration has quietly installed Islamists in key security and foreign policy positions who are now directing the Middle East foreign policy of the United States.

The evidence appears overwhelming that the radical Islamist influence assembled by this White House is in lock step with the Muslim Brotherhood plan to takeover America. Perhaps the unthinkable has become reality. As the prophet Jeremiah spoke of ancient Babylon that had many of the same traits of today's post-moral America "Surely I will fill thee with men, as with locusts; and they shall raise a battle cry against thee (51:14)." The evidence is in plain sight, but how long will it take for America to awaken from her politically correct slumber?

Sources/Resources

Muslim Brotherhood Plan to take over America http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/20.pdf

Muslim Brotherhood Pays for Ellison's Hajj http://www.jihadwatch.org/2008/12/muslim-congressmans-hajj-paid-for-by-muslim-brotherhood-front-group.html

Obama wants more Muslims in Administration http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/03/obama-wants-more-muslims-in-his-administration-and-to-work-closely-with-muslim-community-in-us.html

Obama gets list of top Muslim Americans http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12006596?source=email

Obama Muslim Outreach meets with Jihadists http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29039

Israel National News on radical Obama appointment http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/10337

Background on Huma Abedin http://www.shoebat.com/blog/archives/1277

Background on Hammoud http://dearbornunderground.blogspot.com/2011/05/inside-outside-upside-down.html

Clare Lopez http://yourdaddy.net/2011/02/03/ex-cia-agent-reveals-muslim-brotherhood-has-infiltrated-obama-administration/

Gaffney's column http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/p18757.xml

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day! 

Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com

The "peace of Islam" and Iran's nuclear program

The "peace of Islam" and Iran's nuclear program

Mohamed ElBaradei spent a dozen years as head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency. During that time, he continuously made excuses for Iran's nuclear program, stalling actions at the UN Security Council to prevent Russia, China and North Korea from assisting Iran in building a nuclear weapon. He even won a Nobel Peace Prize for it. He insisted that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. Today, ElBaradei is working closely with the umbrella front for terrorist organizations (and the White House Middle East peace partner), the Muslim Brotherhood, as he vies for the presidency of Egypt. Now Iran is testing missiles capable of delivering nukes to Israel and US assets in the Middle East.

The British Foreign Secretary has announced that Iran has conducted secret tests of missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads in breach of UN resolutions. William Hague said, "Iran has also been carrying out covert ballistic missile tests and rocket launches, including testing missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload in contravention of UN resolution 1929." This is no big revelation. It is also no big revelation that Iran is processing uranium at a rate far higher than needed for any peaceful use--unless, of course, Iran has been honest all along with its intent of the nuclear program--that it was using the nuclear program to spread the "peace of Islam" worldwide.

This is something that Western diplomats have misinterpreted for nearly a decade--the so-called "peace" of Islam. Though many who know and understand Islam can readily say it, it is amazing that diplomats and politicians have no understanding of it. The "peace of Islam" means that the world would come under submission to Islam, hence bringing the peace of Islam to the world. This is how in Islamic eschatology the Islamic Mahdi (which coincides with the Christian anti-Christ) rises to power and subdues the world. Iran's dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been speaking this for years, and sees himself as an apocalyptic agent chosen to usher in the Islamic end times.

It is amazing that former President George W Bush would proclaim that Islam is a religion of peace. That the man now occupying the Oval Office would follow suit and actually partner with the terrorist supporting Muslim Brotherhood to "reform" the Middle East in the name of Islamic peace. Further, it is clear now that ElBaradei is an agent for Islamic peace, rather than true peace. The end time scenario is shaping up quickly and Christians must understand something that diplomats and politicians do not: The peace of Islam is a worldwide Caliphate as administered by Sharia law. It is the antithesis of every thing Christian. As Jeremiah 8:11 warns of those, "saying peace, peace, when there is no peace."

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day! 

Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com

The Parallel politics of presidents and terrorists

The parallel politics of presidents and terrorists

The US president is in full campaign swing--everything is political these days. Well almost everything. Its a political decision to announce bringing home the troops in Afghanistan against his general's wise council. I, for one, want our troops home. If we are not going to fight terrorism, but rather assist in building a nation for terrorist groups to rule, our troops should be home. But this is where things are not so "election" oriented, or are actually a different type of politics. White House policies in the Middle East are undoubtedly pro-Islamic in the guise of pro-democracy, and there are parallel tracks of politics being played--the American people, our troops, and Israel are caught in the president's political snare.

On the home front, there is a campaign promise to be fulfilled--that the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will be brought home. This promise has nothing to do with victory or national security. It has everything to do with gaining votes. Its been ten long years of war. 'Seems as though with America's superior firepower, those places could have been subdued and terrorists rooted out in short order, but then the whole unconstitutional aspect of nation building crept in. The guise, however, is extended into the dark shadows of Islamic deceit where this White House is promoting democracy through its partner the Muslim Brotherhood--documented to be behind terrorist groups such as Hamas, al Qaeda and the Taliban.

There is a 2006 film called "The Brotherhood" where producer PBS states: "Award winning Newsweek journalists Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff investigate a movement that preaches peaceful co-existence but also supports suicide bombings in Israel and offers inspiration for many violent jihadi groups." The Muslim Brotherhood was also part of the Holyland Foundation trial where prosecutors submitted a Brotherhood plan to takeover the United States through a "Civilization Jihad." These investigations and court transcripts point to the Brotherhood as a deceitful organization that puts on a non-violent, moderate front, while supporting worldwide jihad to establish an Islamic Caliphate under Sharia Law.

At a June 20 reelection fundraiser with Democratic Friends of Israel, the president said of the US-Israel relationship: "There are going to be moments over the course of the next six months or the next 12 months or the next 24 months in which there may be tactical disagreements in terms of how we approach these difficult problems." The tactical disagreements are actually related to the White House strategy of working with the Muslim Brotherhood to overthrow Middle Eastern rulers and creating states even more hostile to Israel and the United States. This does not bode well for America. The Lord said to Abram of Israel in Genesis 12:3, "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." Promoting Islam is not a blessing.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day! 

Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com

The Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 … Part 3

The Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 … Part 3 - This Week's Feature Article by Jack Kelley- www.gracethrufaith.com

Part 3 of our study begins with the first verses of chapter 39.

"Son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals. You will fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in safety in the coastlands, and they will know that I am the LORD.


" `I will make known my holy name among my people Israel. I will no longer let my holy name be profaned, and the nations will know that I the LORD am the Holy One in Israel. It is coming! It will surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD. This is the day I have spoken of. (Ezek. 39:1-8)

The King James has the more accurate rendering for the beginning of this passage. The phrase translated I will turn you around and drag you along in the NIV and others, literally reads I will turn you around and leave but the sixth part of you which means that 5/6ths of the Moslem armies will be destroyed. The Hebrew concept is roughly equivalent to the one behind the English word "decimate." Although decimate originally described the punishment requiring that 1 in 10 soldiers in a mutinous Roman Legion be executed, figuratively it has come to mean that something is all but totally destroyed. Synonyms are "annihilate" or "wipe out." So it is with the Hebrew. When the Lord brings this Moslem coalition into the mountains of Israel, He will also wipe them out.

And don't be confused by the reference to bows and arrows. Ezekiel was just using terms he knew. The same Hebrew words could be translated launchers and missiles today.

Some interpret the idea of sending fire on Magog and those who live safely in the coast lands as warning of a nuclear exchange. Magog refers to Russia of course, but the identity of the coast lands is less clear. The Hebrew word implies that they're a distant land, and in Isaiah the phrase "beyond the sea" is used to help locate them, the sea being the Mediterranean. This reference could easily be pointing to Europe, and some even believe the US is in focus here. But we'll have to wait and see.

Also the Hebrew word translated in safety is the same one that's used to describe Israel's state of mind in Ezek. 38:8. Again it denotes a sense of carelessness, this time on Europe's part, as if they don't believe this kind of thing could happen to them and therefore aren't prepared for what's coming.

And once more the Lord explains His real purpose. He's going to use this battle to announce to one and all that He's Israel's Protector and Champion. The nations of the world are being told that to get to Israel, they'll have to go through Him.

" `Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up-the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel. They will not need to gather wood from the fields or cut it from the forests, because they will use the weapons for fuel. And they will plunder those who plundered them and loot those who looted them, declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezek 39:9-10)

In Ezekiel's day people burned wood for heat and so that's the idiom he used to describe the situation. In fact, the passage indicates that all of Israel's energy needs for 7 years will be met by converting the energy from the weapons the enemy leaves behind to peaceful use. I can't imagine the enemy carrying in enough wood (or any other conventional fuel for that matter) to supply Israel's power and heating plants for 7 years, so a more modern application is in order. Many observers say this is a reference to nuclear power. The old Soviet Union converted submarine reactors into power generating plants to provide electricity for whole communities so the notion isn't that far fetched. And as you'll see, the clean-up procedures for this battle are remarkably similar to today's nuclear decontamination process. Why only 7 years then, when a nuclear reactor could theoretically supply energy needs for much longer? If, as I believe, this battle will introduce the 70th week of Daniel, 7 years worth of energy is all they'll need. After that, the Lord will supply their needs. (Rev. 22:5)

" `On that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, in the valley of those who travel east toward the Sea. It will block the way of travelers, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon Gog.

" `For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I am glorified will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign LORD .

" `Men will be regularly employed to cleanse the land. Some will go throughout the land and, in addition to them, others will bury those that remain on the ground. At the end of the seven months they will begin their search. As they go through the land and one of them sees a human bone, he will set up a marker beside it until the gravediggers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. (Also a town called Hamonah will be there.) And so they will cleanse the land' (Ezek 39:11-16)

The King James version says this valley is east of the Dead Sea. If so it would be in Jordan, not Israel, and even in Ezekiel's day would have been outside Israel's borders. Yet verse 11 clearly locates the burial place in Israel. Therefore I believe it's more likely the one traditionally called the Valley of the Shadow of Death (Psalm 23:4) that was part of Israel during Ezekiel's time. If so, it's at the bottom of the old Jericho Road that still connects Jerusalem with Jericho and is on the way to the Dead Sea. And remarkably it's in territory occupied by the Palestinians today, another hint that due to the fulfillment of Psalm 83 they will have lost any claim to the West Bank before Ezekiel's Battle begins.

It will require the combined efforts of all Israeli citizens for 7 months to bury the enemy dead. After that they'll hire professionals, some to decontaminate the land and some to search for any bodies the people may have missed. They won't touch any bones they find, but will set up markers and call the professionals to come take them away. This approach fits modern Nuclear Biological Chemical Warfare decontamination procedures to a tee. Did the Lord have Ezekiel write this to show us the type of weaponry being used? Between this and the energy reference above, it sure looks that way.

"Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: `Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls-all of them fattened animals from Bashan. At the sacrifice I am preparing for you, you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk. At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders, mighty men and soldiers of every kind,' declares the Sovereign LORD. (Ezek. 39:17-20)

The carrion birds and scavengers will have a field day due to the carnage left behind on the battlefield. Earlier the enemy force was described as being a great horde, like a cloud covering the land. Now that it's been decimated there are dead bodies everywhere. This is not unique in Israel's history. Josephus wrote that after the Battle of the Galilee in 68 AD there were so many dead bodies floating in the Sea that you couldn't see the water.

"I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God. And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.

"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD." (Ezek 39:21-29)

Following this victory the Lord will complete the return of His people Israel to their land, begun in the early 1900's and made official in 1948. Though He caused them to be scattered all over the world, He'll now bring them back, not leaving any behind. Since about 55% of the world's Jewish people currently live outside of Israel this will be some homecoming. But having witnessed His defeat of their enemies, Jews from all over the world will flock to Israel and to Him, yearning for a reinstatement of their Old Covenant relationship. And after waiting for nearly 2000 years for them to return, He's not going to refuse them now.

Because of a peace treaty enforced on their behalf by a coming world leader, they'll soon build a Temple, Old Covenant worship being impossible without one. If they follow the instructions from Ezekiel 40-48 as I believe, they'll build the Temple in Shiloh, about 12 miles (20km) north of Jerusalem. This is the Temple that will be made desolate by the anti-Christ and later cleansed at the beginning of the Millennium, just as the second Temple was first made desolate and then cleansed in the time of the Maccabees. (Read The Coming Temple for all the details.)

And so this battle will permit the beginning of Daniel's 70th week, the last 7 years of human history before the Millennium. Having given this prophecy to Israel, Ezekiel doesn't get into any detail on its aftermath, especially as is relates to the world's subsequent reactions. But for we who are the Church today, the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39 carries more significance in what Ezekiel didn't say than in what he did. And that's the topic of our concluding episode, next time. See you then.

This Week In Mid-East Prophecy

Perspective by Jack Kelley


With so much news from the Middle East this past week, we're going to delay publication of the next chapter of our commentary on the Book of Romans to bring you a prophetic perspective of current events. First, a quick review.

Russia Iran Connection

The Russian sale of anti-missile batteries to Iran was completed this week, enabling Iran to protect its nuclear installations from attack. In addition, it's been reported that the promised delivery of fuel rods for the Bushier reactor, which Russia had delayed, is back on the schedule again for sometime in 2007.

North Korea Iran Connection

Iranian scientists, having been present at North Korea's nuclear test site are now hosting their North Korean counterparts in Iran. Their purpose? North Korea is helping Iran prepare to conduct its first test before the end of 2007. If successful this will dramatically alter estimates of Iran's progress toward full nuclear capability. As I've reported before, North Korea is really acting on behalf of Russia and China. Both countries stand to gain substantially through this, oil and gas for China, influence in the region for Russia, cash for both.

Iran Threatens US

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed this week to hit back at US interests world wide if Iran is attacked. Another high-ranking Iranian Ayatollah said that being surrounded by US troops "works to our advantage. It means that the US is now within our firing range in the East, West, and elsewhere." The US has to be taken out of the picture before Iran can make good on its pledge to wipe Israel off the map. To this end Iran has mounted attacks against the US monetary system, is involved behind the scenes in Iraq, and claims to have sleeper cells in the US ready to launch terror attacks against the infrastructure and even civilian population centers.

Hamas Fatah Unity Government

Hamas and Fatah have been convinced to agree on a unity government for the Palestinians. Saudi Arabian King Abdullah negotiated the agreement, strongly advising the US and Europe to go along even though it doesn't obligate Hamas to renounce terrorism, recognize Israel, or abide by prior PLO agreements with Israel. King Abdullah further said that if the West doesn't resume aid to the Palestinian Authority now, Saudi Arabia will pick up the tab itself, effectively undercutting Western influence.

Hamas seems to have gained the upper hand in the agreement. There are early concerns that Fatah, which is seen by the West as being more moderate and therefore preferable, may be seeking accommodation with hard-line Hamas, which is aligned with Iran. If so, it will give Iran a position in Israel's south similar to the one they enjoy in the North with Hizbollah. Iran has placed 4000 rockets in the South with Hamas and 3-4 times that many in the North with Hizbollah, all pointed at Israeli population centers. It appears that the real driving force behind forming a Palestinian unity government may be to make final preparations for war with Israel.

Lebanese Firing On Israel's Border. Russian Spotters?

After Hizbollah planted some major explosives along the Lebanese border with Israel, the IDF went into the buffer zone between the two countries to remove them. The Lebanese Army began firing. Israel returned fire, and the UN forces stepped in. Russian intelligence has all but taken over the town of Sidon in Southern Lebanon and advises Hizbollah, Lebanon, Syria and Iran on IDF troop movements in the north. Many qualified observers expect the Israel-Lebanon war to flare up again as early as this spring. Both Syria and Russia appear ready to take part. Iran will likely rely on Hizbollah for now.

Islam Demands That Israel Stop Repairing Gate To Temple Mount

Threatening an intifada worse than the one begun in 2000, Islamic national and religious leaders have demanded that Israel be forced to stop repairing the temporary footbridge leading to the Western Wall Plaza. This footbridge is Israel's only self controlled access to the Temple area and Moslems have been waiting for years for it to collapse so they can shut the Jews completely out.

While there's no work being done within 50 yards of the Temple Mount, Moslem officials have accused the Jews of destroying two rooms of the Al Aksa Mosque to make way for a new Jewish Temple. The rhetoric coming from the Islamic world is strikingly similar to that which preceded the last intifada, as are the behind the scenes preparations.

Perspective

Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. (Ezekiel 38:7) This verse is a direct command to Russia and the Moslem Coalition from the Lord Himself. For students of Ezekiel 38-39 the purpose behind Russia and Iran's involvement in these recent events is clear. They're working feverishly to prepare themselves and those allied with them for a future attack on Israel. Russia has sold air defense systems and anti-tank weaponry to Syria as well as Iran and runs a state-of-the-art intelligence gathering service from Lebanon. And we already know about Russia's plans to build a deep-water port in northern Syria and re-locate a portion of its Naval fleet to the Mediterranean.

Iran has re-armed Hizbollah and is consolidating its power in Gaza. It plans a nuclear test before year end. Iranian involvement in Iraq is becoming the world's worst kept secret. Joint US-Iraqi action beginning this week in Baghdad is intended to disrupt Iran's flow of men and weaponry to terrorist groups there. The addition of another US Carrier Attack Group to the Persian Gulf is for the purpose of patrolling the Iran-Iraq border from the air and disrupting cross border traffic. President Bush has authorized US troops to kill or capture any Iranian combatants they encounter.

Clearly Russia and Iran are obeying a call from the Lord they don't acknowledge, as He sets them up against His people. His purpose is to defeat them so completely that Israel and all the world will recognize that it was He Who did this. "I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them. From that day forward the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God." (Ezekiel 39:21-22)

This will be Israel's wake up call, the unmistakable sign that the long night of their diaspora (scattering) is over. Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. (Ezek 39:28)

This supernatural victory will result in a national demand for a Jewish Temple. Without one they can't properly worship the God Who didn't abandoned them after all, but will have come to their rescue in the time of their most desperate need. As Jews from all over the world stream into Israel, the thing they'll want first is a way to acknowledge their God according to the Jewish religion. And as the treaty that permits the Temple's construction is put into force, Daniel's 70th Week will have begun.
Two Stops Earlier

A man on a bus asked the one seated next to him which stop he should get off at to reach his destination. After determining where the man lived, the seatmate replied, "It's two stops before mine. So when you see me get off, you should have gotten off two stops earlier."

That sums up our interest in the End Times Scenario. When Daniels' 70th Week begins it means that Israel will have officially returned to their covenant relationship with God. Otherwise they would neither need nor want a Temple.

When they return to their covenant relationship, it means that the Battle of Ezekiel 38 will have been won. Otherwise they wouldn't be in covenant with Him again.

And that means that the Age of the Church will have ended and the Church will be gone. Otherwise God wouldn't have turned His attention back to Israel. Acts 15:13-16 tells us that after the Lord has taken a people for Himself from among the Gentiles, He'll return to rebuild David's fallen Tabernacle (the Temple). And Paul wrote that Israel's heart will be hardened against God until the full number of Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25) You see, we'll be getting off two stops earlier. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 02-10-07