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A Tightening Ring of Encircling

Al-Qaeda Jihad Terror!

October 18, 2005

Israel does indeed have reason to be concerned about the tightening ring of the Al-Qaeda terror network around them.

It will play a major part in the coming consolidated Jihad attack against Israel by 10 Arab nations, which I believe could occur as early

as 2007 or as late as 2012. I know biblically that the attack must occur but, as is always the case in prophecy, the exact time of its occurrence cannot be predicted with an absolute degree of certainty.

The following article was taken from the Jewish Daily Alert Bulletins listings. It is a series of quotes made by the head of IDF Israeli Intelligence, which are given by Ma’ariv-Hebrew on October 17.

BEGIN Ma’ariv-Hebrew Article

IDF Intelligence: “Al-Qaeda Already Operating in Gaza” (Maariv-Hebrew, 17Oct05)

Maj.-Gen. Aharon Zeevi (Farkash), the head of Israeli Military Intelligence, said in an interview:

“We are not a high priority [for al-Qaeda], but our prioritization for them is increasing.

From al-Qaeda’s standpoint we are dividing the Muslim world.”

“Look at the circle that is tightening around us.

Attacks in Turkey, Taba, Sharm el-Sheikh, Katyushas in Jordan.”

“We know that activists from the global ji had, about ten, infiltrated Gaza from Sinai during the story we

had with Philadelphi.

They will link up with those who are in the uprising in Gaza. It is a real threat.”

“They came from the group hiding out in Jabal Halal [in Sinai] and were involved with others in the attacks in Sinai.

In Jabal Halal a military-grade weapons base has been created, that Egypt has been unable to eliminate.”

End Ma’ariv Hebrew Article

Temple Mount Group Still Trying to Lay Third Temple Cornerstone!

Supplement to Archive Prophecy Updates 76D, 79, and 121B

October 17, 2005

The majority of prophetic buffs are waiting for the Third Temple to be rebuilt, believing its completion will be a sign that Messiah’s coming will quickly follow its completion. I assure you that the Temple rebuilding will not be one of the signs of his coming. If you would like to know why I hold this opinion, consult Archive Prophecy Updates 76D and 121B after reading Prophecy Update 79, which follows the article taken from the Ha’arez News Service.

BEGIN HA’ARETZ ARTICLE

October 16, 2005

Court won’t let Temple Mount group lay ‘cornerstone’ of Third Temple

By Haaretz Service

The High Court of Justice on Sunday rejected a request by the Temple Mount Faithful to place what the organization said was the cornerstone of the Third Temple next to the Western Wall, Israel Radio reported.

The court also rejected a request by the group to visit the Temple Mount after 9 A.M. during the week-long Sukkot holiday, which begins Monday night.

The organization says its goal is to build the Third Temple on the Temple Mount and to liberate the Temple Mount from “Arab occupation.”

The justices said they feared clashes because Sukkot coincides this year with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which has become a time of increased attacks by suicide bombers in addition to being a month of fasting and introspection.

END HA’ARETZ ARTICLE

BEGIN ARCHIVE PROPHECY UPDATE 79

PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 79

August 3, 2002

WILL THE TEMPLE BE REBUILT IN JERUSALEM?

I long ago lost count of the number of men and women who have reminded me that the temple MUST be rebuilt before Jesus returns. A majority of believers are certain that it must be rebuilt because antichrist must set in it “showing himself that he is God.”

As a young man I believed that it would be rebuilt before Jesus returned. But as I studied the Greek language in Seminary, I began to say it would probably be rebuilt. I now do not believe it will

be rebuilt until the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Why?

Much of what follows is quoted primarily from the “New Testament Greek-English Dictionary of the Complete Bible Library,” Volumes 13 and 14.

In the New Testament the word “hieron,” translated as “temple,” is found ONLY in the Gospels, in Acts, and in I Corinthians 9:13, where Paul’s ONLY use of the word appears as “temple.”

I Corinthians 9:13 – Jerusalem’s Literal Stone Temple

[13] Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple (hieron)? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar

?

“Hieron” refers to the entire temple including its precincts and the temple hill or, in a limited sense, any portion of the temple, such as the court of the women (Luke 2:37) where Jesus stood before the altar after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:11), the court of the Gentiles out of which Jesus drove the money changers (John 2:15), or the temple proper where the veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (Matthew 27:52). “Hieron” is ONLY used in a literal sense in the entire New Testament. This is in very sharp contrast to its closely related term “naos,” which is used both literally and figuratively in the New Testament.

It is used figuratively at times to refer to the human body or a local church body.

I Corinthians 6:19 – The Human Body – Naos

[19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which

is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

I Corinthians 3:16,17 – The Local Church Body – Naos

[16] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

(All the “ye’s” in this verse are plural, and the “in” of verse 16 may be translated with equal validity as being “among” you, because “you” is plural.)

Now, let’s take a look at the word “naos,” translated as “temple” in the New Testament. “Naos” denotes the “dwelling place of a god.” Consequently, the “naos” was the inner “sanctuary” of a temple where the image of the God was placed, or where he dwelled. It is frequently translated as “temple,” but the association with the word “sanctuary” should not be overlooked.

The following verses contain ALL the uses of the word translated “temple” in the writings of the Apostle Paul.

TEMPLE – HIERON – I CORINTHIANS 9:13

[13] Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?

(This is absolutely referring literally to the great temple of stone in the city of Jerusalem)

TEMPLE – NAOS – I CORINTHIANS 6:19

[19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

(This is absolutely referring to the body of someone who has experienced the new birth as figuratively being a temple)

TEMPLE – NAOS – I CORINTHIANS 3:16,17

[16] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

TEMPLE – NAOS – II CORINTHIANS 6:16

[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols

? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

(All the “ye’s” and the “them” and “they” are plural, and the two “in’s” may be translated as “among”)

TEMPLE – NAOS – EPHESIANS 2:21,22

[21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

(The “ye” in verse 22 is plural)

It is perfectly obvious in the verses in the two books of Corinthians and Ephesians that Paul was not referring to the literal temple in Jerusalem, and it is also equally obvious he knew the distinction between “hieron” and “naos.” That is why his ONLY other use of the word “naos,” occurring in I Thessalonians 2:4, is so puzzling. I am convinced that if he meant the literal stone temple in Jerusalem, then he would have used the word “hieron.”

TEMPLE – NAOS – II THESSALONIANS 2:4

[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

The precise meaning of “naos” in this verse is uncertain. I believe Paul pictures the antichrist sitting on the temple mount

in a sinful body of flesh, with his inner soul and spirit claiming he is God to prove it to himself, and to show the world he is God. This would parallel his use of the word “naos” in I Corinthians 6:19. In any case, I Thessalonians 2:4 falls far short of proving that the temple must be rebuilt before Jesus comes.

The companion Old Testament Scripture often used to link with I Thessalonians 2:2 to prove the temple must be rebuilt is Daniel 11:45.

Daniel 11:45 – And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

However, the word translated “palace” is “appeden.” It is never translated as “temple” in the entire Bible. So it means, in the context of this verse, that antichrist returns to Jerusalem just before the battle of Armageddon, and puts up a command post palace pavilion on the temple mount, from which he plans to sit and direct the final battle. The tents (tabernacles – ohel) are the tents of all the troops from Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa which have poured into Israel in answer to his call, and he will direct their final attack against Israel in the Negev from his “appeden” on the temple mount. I have heard about the rebuilding of this temple for some 54 years. For better or for worst, I do not believe the temple will be rebuilt until Jesus returns.

Do Not Expect A “Yes” Answer to Either Request!

Supplement to Archive Prophecy Update Number 227A

October 16, 2005

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The following paragraph is extracted from Special Prophecy Update Number 227A, titled “Is the Assyrian Antichrist Soon to Arise?.”

Watching the events unfurl in Syria, (which was once a part of the old Assyrian Empire), over the next two years, could well prove to be very interesting. The current President of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad, simply does not have the expertise to measure up to the biblical characteristics and role laid out for the future antichrist.

I expect him to be taken out by a coup within two years and, after the

coup and a brief period of struggle for leadership, I am looking for a strongman to pop up in the Syrian governmental structure, and take control decisively.

He could be the Assyrian antichrist.

Many are expecting the rise of the man of sin to be a long gradual process. I am not! I have always believed his initial appearance would be sudden and decisive.

Before the world sees the Son of man return in a cloud to end the tribulation period, become King over all the earth, and stand and feed in the strength

of his Father, the Assyrian antichrist will attack the nation of Israel from the north. It will be his attack that invokes the Son of man to return at his Second Advent some 3 and ½ years later.

END EXTRACT FROM 227A

The current events in Syria, and the international stir it is causing, make me believe even more that the prediction in Archive Update 227A will be correct. The following two articles, the first from DEBKAfile, and the second from Ha’aretz, are setting the stage for future events in Syria that will eventually end the presidency of Bashar Assad.

BEGIN DEBKAfile Article

DEBKAfile Exclusive: From Vienna, UN investigator Detlev Mehlis has demanded Syrian permission to perform an autopsy on the body of interior minister Ghazi Kenaan whom Damascus reported committed suicide last Wednesday

October 15, 2005, 12:01 PM (GMT+02:00)

Mehlis is due to submit his findings on the murder of Lebanese leader Rafiq Hariri to the UN Security Council in one week.

His latest action came amid the cloud of suspicion hanging over the death of the former Lebanon strongman as the investigation closed in on Damascus. Kenaan was a longtime repository of the Assad regime’s innermost secrets and boss of its security and intelligence agencies.

If not complicit, the de ad m

an would certainly have possessed dangerous knowledge about the mechanics of a Syrian involvement in the Hariri murder plot. He was one of the seven Syrian senior officials Mehlev questioned in his inquiry.

END DEBKAfile ARTICLE

BEGIN EXTRACT FROM HA’ARETZ ARTICLE

U.S Offers Beleaguered Assad Deal to End Political Isolation

October 15, 2005

By Yoan Stern, Aluf Benn and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents, News Agencies and Haaretz Service

The U.S. government has made an offer to Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, that would end his political isolation in return for ‘painful concessions’, the London Times newspaper reported Saturday.

According to the terms of the deal, Syria is required to name – and possibly hand over – those involved in the slaying of Lebanon’s former prime minister, Rafik al-Hariri; stop its interfering in Lebanon, where a number of Syria’s critics have been recently killed in a series of mysterious bombings; and cease its support of militant groups such as Hezobollah, Hamas and the Iraqi insurgents.

In return, the U.S promises to establish friendly diplomatic ties with Damascus and allow foreign aid and investment into the near bankrupt economy, helping to ensure the struggling regime’s survival.

The deal is based upon the agreement reached upon with another beleaguered Arab leader, Libya’s Colonel Gadaffi, who was recently welcomed back into the international community after he was shunned for years following the Lockerby affair. Assad is said to give his reply to the proposal next week.

Rice: Syria must cooperate with UN probe into Hariri murder
United States Condoleezza Rice on Friday called on Syria to cooperate fully with the United Nations investigation into the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, but warned against trying to speculate on the probe’s findings.

Speaking at a joint press conference with her French counterpart Philippe Douste-Blazy, Rice said that chief investigator Detlev Mehlis was “rightly” keeping his findings to himself until they are presented to the United Nations. “I don’t think it helps to get out ahead of the Mehlis report and try to prejudge what the Mehlis report will say,” she said.

France and the United States cooperated last year on a U.N. resolution, 1559, calling on Syria to pull troops and intelligence agents out of Lebanon.

Although Syrian troops did depart during a spring of political upheaval in Lebanon, the United States and its allies say there is no doubt Syria is still trying to influence politics under a newly elected government.

“What is very clear is that the international community is demanding of Syria that it fully implement 1559 and that it not engage in activities that destabilize its Lebanese neighbor,” said Rice.

She said she and French leaders had talked “about making sure that there is full cooperation from Syria for the Mehlis investigation.”

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Thursday that he hoped Wednesday’s suicide by Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan, who headed Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, would not make Kanaan a scapegoat for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“The Syrians feel the noose tightening around their necks,” Shalom said. “The Mehlis report is closing in on direct Syrian involvement in Hariri’s murder.”

A UN panel is expected to report soon on its probe into the February 14 assassination of Hariri, who was killed when an explosion ripped through his motorcade as it made its way through the streets

of Beirut.

Shalom also said the Syrians “apparently have a connection, which they are having difficulty hiding, to Hariri’s assassination. As long as Assad continues to support terror, the international community will give his regime no rest.”

The circumstances surrounding Kanaan’s death remain unclear.

Damascus is reportedly concerned that the special UN investigation into the assassination of Hariri will link senior Syrian officials to Kanaan’s gunshot death.

There is also concern in Syria that the death of an official as senior as Kanaan would upset the regime’s stability.

Rumors have been rife in Syria recently that former Syrian vice-president Abd al Halim Khaddam and former chief of staff Hikmat Shihabi have been in touch with the U.S. administration about toppling the regime in Damascus. Both men deny the charge.

Kanaan was recently questioned by the panel working under Mehlis, and Arab pundits say his suicide raises the possibility that the Syrian regime would accuse him of personal involvement in Hariri’s killing.

END EXTRACT FROM HA’ARETZ ARTICLE

WEAPONS FOR ISLAMIC JIHAD AFTER STATEHOOD!

Supplement to Archive Prophecy Update Number 7

October 15, 2005

The massive influx of weapons, which where quickly hustled across the border from Egyptian Sinai into the Gaza strip the day the Egyptians were given control of it by Israel, is now down from massive to steady in character. These weapons are being distributed to the many different groups in

the Gaza Strip, and a percentage will continue to seep into the West Bank.

The weapons are being smuggled by Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Al Qaeda, and a splinter arm out of Fatah, the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades. The October 14 article which follows was taken from Middle East News Line on the internet, and details the weapon smuggling of the past two months.

BEGIN EXTRACT FROM MIDDLE EAST NEWS LINE ARTICLE

JERUSALEM [MENL] — Israel has determined that the bolstered Egyptian police presence has not stemmed

the flow of weapons and ammunition from the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.

Israeli officials said the military has detected a steady flow of weapons from the Sinai to the Gaza Strip.

They said that nearly every night boxes of weapons and components were smuggled over the 14-kilometer Egypt-Gaza border.

“It’s no longer a massive flow,” an official said. “But it’s a steady flow and much greater than what it used to be during our presence along the border.”

Israel has complained several times both to Egypt and the United States of the continued weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

The complaints have included reports that the smugglers were also bringing in weapons through the Mediterranean Sea.

END EXTRACT FROM MIDDLE EAST NEWS LINE ARTICLE

There is coming a day, perhaps as early

as 2007 or as late as 2012, when these weapons are going to be used to launch a well coordinated Jihad against Israel, with Syria leading a confederation of Arab nations that will attack from without, while the Palestinians and their associated terror groups will attack from within.

When we first began issuing our Web Site Prophecy Updates in 2000,

we only issued one a week because I was still averaging about 35 meetings a year away from the home church at Dardanelle.

When I began to cut down on the number of meetings I would do per year, we began to issue two special updates weekly and, by request, started to do series. Five years ago, when we issued Prophecy Update Number 7, I believed such an attack would not occur before 2003, but would occur before 2012. At that time it was my guess the most likely time for

it to occur was between 2004 and 2005.

I still believe it will occur before 2012, but most likely in 2007. The Prophecy Update Number 7, which follows, was taken from our Prophecy Update Archives in 2000.

PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 7

In Prophecy Update Number 6 we discussed the military buildup by Israel in her Negev wilderness.

The Negev is the wilderness of Revelation 12:6, to which the woman, who is Israel, will flee in the tribulation period: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” Within the foreseeable future, Syria will lead an Islamic array of nations against Israel. The well coordinated effort of these nations, aided by the Palestinians within Israel, will be able to initially defeat the woman Israel, and she will be forced to remain in the Negev for three and one-half prophetic years, or 1260 days. According to Zechariah 13:9 to 14:2, only one-third of Israel will make it into the Negev, and the city of Jerusalem will fall to the Islamic conglomerate: “[9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

[1] Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. [2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” Considering the present number of Jews in Israel, about 4.8 million, if the attack were to occur now, this would mean about 1.6 million Jews would be hedged in the Negev for 1260 days. If the attack were to occur in the distant future that number could reach 2 million.

I really do not expect such an attack to occur this year, because it has to first be secretly coordinated behind closed doors, between several Arab nations confederate with Syria, and with the terrorist groups they control. This will take several years. I feel confident the attack will not occur before 2003, but I do believe it will occur before 2012, with the most likely time being between 2004 and 2005. But if 1.6 to 2 million Jews are to survive in the Negev, they must have enough water and food to sustain them for 3 and ½ prophetic years. Has God already been instrumental in assuring they will have it? More on this in Prophecy Update Number 8!

Things Are Heating Up Internally in the Syrian Kitchen!

How Much Heat Can the Head Chef Absorb

?

October 14, 2005

Shalom: Assad Turned the World against Syria

As I reported last Wednesday, the possibility of Syrian Interior Minister Kenaan’s death being involuntary suicide is now becoming a reality in and outside Syria by much of the international community. The articles which follow, from the Jerusalem Post and DEBKAfile, are indicative of that assumption.

BEGIN ARTICLE 1 FROM THE JERUSALEM POST

Shalom: Assad Turned the World Against Syria

By JPost Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST

October 14, 2005

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom claimed that Israel does not yet know the full circumstances leading to Syrian Interior Minister Brig.-Gen. Ghazi Kenaan’s death, but noted that there were murder cases in the past that had been presented as suicide.

Shalom suggested that Kenaan’s death should be understood in the context of

the tremendous pressure that was being applied to Syrian President Bashar Assad by the international community.

Shalom stated in an interview to Israel Radio Friday morning, that by supporting terror, Assad managed to unite the whole world against him.

Official sources in Jerusalem doubted that Ghazi Kenaan would commit suicide voluntarily, and he may not have had any other choice.

They said that it was a reasonable assumption that this was an attempt to prevent him from revealing incriminating information against Assad.

END ARTICLE 1 FROM THE JERUSALEM POST

BEGIN ARTICLE 2 FROM THE DEBKAfile

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Syrian military and security forces are on the highest alert in the mountain strongholds of the ruling Alawi clans east of Latakia

October 14, 2005, 1:17 PM (GMT+02:00)

They are braced for a vendetta within the Alawi community of which President Bashar Assad and his supporters are leading members. They fear that at least two clans may reject the official claim that interior minister Ghazi Kenaan died by his own hand Wednesday and seek revenge.

Assad had thought to appoint Kenaan’s successor – most likely a former interior minister Hassan Harabe – without delay. He was deterred by a warning that he could no longer rely on the loyalty of the security and intelligence services ruled by the dead minister.

There has been speculation in Washington and Damascus that the Assad may have made former Lebanon strongman and pillar of his regime the scapegoat should the UN Hariri investigators point the finger at top Syrian circles when their report comes out on Oct. 21. DEBKAfile’s Syria observers report that the last high Syrian military alert occurred in 2000 towards the end of Bashar’s father president Hafez Assad term when prime minister Mahmoud Zouaby, a Sunni, killed himself after he was imprisoned on corruption charges.

The only time before that was in 1968 when Syrian military intelligence chief Gen. Abndel Karim al Jundi, an Ismaili, committed suicide.

END ARTICLE 2 FROM THE DEBKAfile