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Palestine – The End Time Place of Jacob’s Trouble is finally the Front Line!

October 17, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

When Napoleon ravaged Europe, some thought he was the prophesied Antichrist, but Jacob’s people were not back in Palestine as a nation. The Front Line was in Europe. But the Antichrist did not come out of Europe.

When the Keiser spread out in Europe in World War I, many thought he was the Antichrist, but Jacob’s people were not back in Palestine as a nation. The Front Line was in Europe. But the Antichrist did not come out of Europe.

When Hitler conquered Europe in World War II, many were sure he was the Antichrist, but Jacob’s people were not back in Palestine as a nation. The Front Line was in Europe. But the Antichrist did not come out of Europe.

Now Jacob’s people are back in Palestinian as a nation, surrounded by nations in the territory that was once the southern half of the ancient Roman Empire, nations such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan, Algeria, and Morocco, the descendants of Ishmael and Keturah by Abraham. But, because of the teaching that “he” in Daniel 9:27 is the Antichrist, the Majority still brings him out of Europe as “the prince that shall come” in 9:26. The Front Line is not in Europe.

The Front Line is finally in Place, in the land of Palestinian that God gave to Jacob, and Antichrist will arise from among the Arab nations.

May of 1948 marked the beginning of the time when Israel, with all its persecutions since 70 A.D., officially was positioned in the place of its prophesied final time of its greatest end time trouble. It is not only to be the time of Israel’s greatest trouble – it will also be that of mankind.

Matthew 24:21,22 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Jeremiah 30:7 – Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thous and two hundred

and threescore days.

Zechariah 13:8,9 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [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.

Daniel 12:1 – And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

The Iranian President said last week, “Palestine is the front line of the Islamic nations in their struggle against the aggressive superpowers.”

It has taken hundreds of years for Jacob to get back in the place from which he was dispersed by the Romans, and in 2008 he will have been in Palestine as the State of Israel for 60 years, with Old Jerusalem in his possession for some 40 years.

All the ingredients are now together, and in place, politically, geographically, geologically, and morally, according to the Scripture, for the time of Jacob’s trouble to begin. Most of the world is dreading it, but I am anxiously awaiting it, because I like the way it ends.

I don’t know when it will begin – I can only guesstimate, but the sooner the better, because Luke and Jude tell us how it will end.

Luke 21:27,28 – And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Jude 14 – And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Begin Arutz Sheva Article

Ahmadinejad: PALESTINE IS THE FRONT LINE

Thursday, October 12, 2006 / 20 Tishrei 5767

Arutz Sheva – Israel National News

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Thursday, “Palestine is the front line of the Islamic nations in their struggle against the aggressive superpowers.”

In a chilling prelude of what a nuclear Iran could bring, Ahamdinejad also told Hamas official Sa’eed Seeyam, “Iran has no problem transferring its successes and experience in any field to the Hamas government.”

Hamas has killed more Israelis than any other terrorist group, using suicide bomb attacks and other means to target civilians.

Ahmadinejad praised the “victories” of Hamas and Hizbullah, saying, “Such victories have called the fake Zionist regime to challenge inside the occupied territory and have raised questions on the existence of this regime throughout the world, including Europe and the US.”

According to the typographical error in the official Iranian release of Ahmadinejad’s statements, “The chief executive said that reliance on Gold Almighty [sic] and resistance are the secret to the victory of the Palestinian nation in various fields.”

Hamas official Seeyam said at the close of the meeting that all Moslems are credited with the victory of every Islamic state, adding: “Muslims across the world should take pride in the victory of Islamic resistance in Lebanon, that of the popular Hamas government in Palestine and remarkable success of Iran in various domains.”

End Arutz Sheva Article

Begin DEBKAfile Article

DEBKAfile: US Consul-General in Jerusalem outlines all-out effort to boost Mahmoud Abbas, blames Hamas for the Palestinian people’s suffering.

October 11, 2006, 1:03 PM (GMT+02:00)

Meeting Palestinian correspondents Wednesday, after the breakdown of the Qatari mediation effort for a unity government, Jack Wallace accused Hamas of aborting Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners for Ramadan by its kidnap of the Israeli soldier Gideon Shalit in June. He said the US was investing in the expansion, equipment and training of Mahmoud Abbas’ s pre

sidential guard for the tasks of fortifying his leadership and manning Palestinian border crossings between Gaza, Egypt and Israel.

DEBKAfile’s military sources add: On the advice of US Lt.-Gen Keith Dayton, the Bush administration is investing $10 million to expand Yasser Arafat’s old Force 17 from 3,500 to 6,500 men and equip them with arms, a fleet of vehicles – some armored – and communications systems.

The Americans have also hired Palestinian contractors to upgrade the Palestinian Jericho facility as a central training base and the Palestinian Authority’s most modern military installation. Training and living conditions will be on a par with Israel’s special operations forces’ installations. Palestinian security officers will act as instructors under the guidance of British military personnel.

End DEBKAfile Report

Special Prophecy Update Number 147D

November 25, 2003

THE THREE “HE’S” IN DANIEL 9:27

Have We Taken the Wrong Path in Prophecy?

Have We “Bought the Farm” in Prophetic Teachings?

It is absolutely amazing how the great majority of our prophetic teaching on the antichrist, and all the events associated with his arrival and departure during the last seven years of the Age of the Gentiles, is based on Daniel 9:27, and the understanding that the three “he’s” in it refer to the antichrist. All of the prevailing positions on the rapture, so widely differing among the brethren, the pre, mid, pre-wrath, post, split, and progressive positions are all based on the three “he’s” being the antichrist. All of our charts and diagrams are based on the antichrist being the three “he’s” in Daniel 9.27, showing two boxes, each one three and one half years in duration, which are supposed to be the final seven years of the Gentile Age.

Daniel 9:27 – And HE shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week HE shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations HE shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

There are times a part of me wishes I had never gone back in time to see what was believed, and what was taught, about the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27. In all my years of research I have yet to find anyone teaching what is taught today prior to 1742. The first expositors of the Church Age on the Old Testament all held in their writings that the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 were Jesus Christ. The idea that the “he’s” were the antichrist did not appear in any of their writings. Among the best known writers of the first four centuries, who believed the “he’s” were Jesus Christ

were: Hippolytus, Clement of Alexander, Julius Africanus, and Eusebius.

The Catholic writers of the Dark Ages continued to state this belief in the Sargis DOAberga document and, in this period, Theodore Beza, Arnold of Villanova, and Pseudo Aquinas all continued to proclaim that the “he’s” were indeed Jesus Christ. I could find no writer among them that identified the “he’s” as referring to antichrist.

In the Protestant Reformation times both Martin Luther and Melanchthon said the “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 were the Christ, not antichrist. Melanchthon dated the 70 weeks of Daniel from the second year of the great Persian king Artaxerxes Longimanus, with 69 weeks to the baptism of Christ, and placed the crucifixion of Christ in the midst of the 70th week, three years after Christ’s baptism. This is the position I hold today. I believe Christ fulfilled the covenant during his ministry in the first part of the last seven years, and we are waiting for the second half to be

fulfilled following the attack of antichrist against Israel. Other Reformation writers who held the three “he’s” were Jesus Christ were Georg Nigumus, Johann Funck, Jacques Cappel, John Tillinghast, Joseph Mede, and Heinrich Bullinger. And, once again, I was unable to find a single writer during the Protestant Reformation that identified the “he’s” as the antichrist. I am not saying one did not exist, but I could not find him.

In the Post Reformation period Isaac Newton, Cocceius, Johann Petri, William Wilson, Heinrich Horch, Jahann Bengal, and the Belenburg Bible, all identified the three “he’s” in Daniel 9:27 as being Jesus Christ. And, once again, I could find no writings in this period that stated the “he’s” were the antichrist.

From the Post Reformation period to 1742, I could not find a writer that identified the three “he’s” as being the antichrist. Among American expositors who identified the “he’s” as being Christ were Samuel Langdon, John Davenport, Ephraim Huit, and Samuel Osgood. Among the Old World expositors, during this period, who held the “he’s” were Christ,

were Bishop William Winston, William Hales, Louis Gaussen, Archibald Mason, and Edward Bukersteth.

So, the question I have been forced to address is a very simple one. Were they all wrong up to 1742? Should we have changed the teaching that the three “he’s” refer to Christ, and made them apply to the antichrist? I have made my choice – the old fellows were right, it is Christ! This teaching lasted well into the 20th century, and is still held by a minority in this present century. I was exposed to it as a young man many years ago, and I still believe it. One of the greatest Baptists of history, B.H. Carroll, who was born in the 19th century, carried this teaching into the 20th century. It began to decline in popularity after John Darby began to popularize the Pre-Trib Rapture position in 1827, but was still the majority belief until the publication of the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909, after which it became more and more of a minority belief.

There was a very popular song in my youth titled “What a Difference a Day Makes.” I assure you, that the title I ascribe to Daniel 9:27 is a most profound one – “What a Difference a HE Makes.” Which position is correct? I could care less personally, because I am prepared for either one to be correct. How is that possible? I both practice, and advocate to the church I pastor, to do the following:

Mark 13:34-37 – For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

[35] Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: [36] Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. [37] And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

I am qualified to be his servant because I was saved by grace through faith so I could walk unto good works!

Ephesians 2:8-10 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boast. [10] For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

I am supposed to serve him in good works in his house, in one of his local churches that teaches his truths.

I Timothy 3:14,15 – These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: [15] But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

I am supposed to serve him in a church that teaches the truth he taught the first eleven disciples, and to whom he delivered the authority to do so just before his ascension.

Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The Lord has assigned me a work to do in a local church at Dardanelle, Arkansas. I am the pastor of that church by his appointment and their accepting it. I feed it and do the work of an evangelist.

I Peter 5:1-4 – The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: [2] Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; [3] Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. [4] And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

II Timothy 4:3-5 – For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. [5] But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

So, if I am doing what I am supposed to do faithfully in one of Christ’s local churches when he does come, I do not have to be concerned about the time of his coming. I may be killed in a car crash today or die in my sleep at the crack of dawn tomorrow, which are both just a form of early rapture. Do the following daily, and you won’t have to be concerned about the “he’s” in Daniel 9:27, or when the rapture is going to produce the “change.”

I Corinthians 15:51,58 – Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Hebrews 10:21-25 – And having an high priest over the house of God; [22] Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. [23] Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) [24] And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: [25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see

the day approaching.

II Peter 1:4-8 – Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. [5] And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; [6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; [7] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

[8] For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 6:9 – And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

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Legendary Persian Cunning is Second to None in Sword Shaking!

October 16, 2006

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Iran is determined to keep stirring the witch’s cauldron in the Middle East to produce chaos, while the other two ends of The Axis of Terror, Syria and North Korea, cont

inue to rattle their swords on their opposite ends of the axis.

Begin DEBKAfile Report

Tehran Arms Hamas for a Double-Barreled War

Option and Gaza as Second Lebanon

DEBKAfile Special Military Report

October 13, 2006, 10:42 PM (GMT+02:00)

The military pacts Palestinian Hamas interior minister Said Siyam signed with his Iranian counterpart Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi in Tehran on Oct.

12 are designed to transform Hamas’ military wing, the Ezz e-Din al Qassam, into a crack operational arm of the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and Gaza into a second Lebanon.

Syam was in Tehran for two days at the head of a 7-man delegation.

DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources report Tehran has committed to training Hamas’ rapid deployment force of 6,500 men in Hizballah combat tactics, with the accent on missiles, especially the anti-tank variety which were used with devastating effect against Israeli tanks in the Lebanon War. The force will be sent over in batches for six-week courses at Revolutionary Guards installations in southern Iran.

Iran will foot the $60 million bill for the training as well as for the top-notch weaponry.

The Hamas military delegation flew from Cairo to Dubai and on to Tehran. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and intelligence chief, Gen. Omar Suleiman, were apprised of the Hamas leaders’ trip and the military accords they were to sign, but did nothing

to detain the travelers.

This was taken by Hamas and the Iranian government as signaling Cairo’s assent to the Hamas-Iranian transaction, a green light for the trips through Egypt of trainee groups to and from Iran and a continuing blind eye to the delivery of Iranian armaments via Egypt to Gaza.

Egypt is thus assuming the same role In relation to Tehran and its terrorist proxies as does Syria, which places its airfields at Iran’s disposal for delivering arms to Hizballah.

The accords merely formalize Tehran’s massive arming of Hamas which is already in progress. Smuggling tunnels from Egyptian Sinai under the Philadelphi border strip are the conduits into S. Gaza for supplies of long-range anti-tank missiles, Grad rockets and some two tons of TNT every month.

Israeli forces have been battling the Hamas and its supply routes for the last three days.

According to our intelligence and Iranian sources, the pacts that were signed were compiled in September down to the last detail by three Revolutionary Guards generals stationed in Syria since the Lebanon war, as Hizballah’ s forward command, and the Dama

scus-based Hamas politburo head, Khaled Meshaal.

Hamas’ military wing is accordingly undergoing a process that within months will transform the Palestinian terrorist group into one of Tehran’s overseas operational military arms, the second after Hizballah in Lebanon.

This will enable the Islamic Republic to ignite two simultaneous wars against Israel – from Gaza in the south and from Lebanon in the north.

This development is the direct consequence of this summer’s Lebanon War. It was made possible by Israel’s evacuation of the Gaza Strip in September 2005.

The Gaza maneuver shows Iran’s rulers striking with speed, efficiency and ruthlessness in their determination to isolate the Jewish state and draw a military noose around its borders.

Instead of resistance, they encounter inertia on the part of Israel’s political and military leaders. Prime minister Ehud Olmert has eyes for nothing but broadening the base of his government coalition.

He has offered to create for Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the (Russian immigrant) party Israel Beitenu, the new post of Deputy Prime minister for Strategic Threats. Defense minister Amir Peretz thinks it is more important to prepare the armed forces for the evacuation of unauthorized West Bank settlements than for the next war. By the time they find a moment from these preoccupations, they will find Iran, Syria and Hamas have perfected a real strategic threat. By then it will be too late to repel except by a major campaign to recapture the Gaza Strip and crush the Hizballah-style force threatening southern Israel.

This campaign may be even tougher than the Lebanon war because it will have to be fought mainly in densely built-up areas against a staggering volume of war materiel.

But Tehran will win the chance of repeating its successful ruse of July and August, 2006: Whenever the UN Security Council comes close to a sanctions debate, an Iranian surrogate is sent into action to start a new Middle East war. Now, the Iranians have bought themselves the option of a double-barreled offensive from two of Israel’s borders.

DEBKAfile Article Number 2

Iran’s supreme ruler Ali Khamenei delivers war sermon, symbolically totes Kalashnikov

October 14, 2006, 8:54 PM (GMT+02:00)

A recent photo, suppressed in Iran’s media coverage, shows Khamenei speaking at Tehran University on Oct. 13, the third Friday of Ramadan,. He is holding an automatic AK 47 rifle in his right hand in a pose reminiscent of Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein at their most belligerent. His sermon was tantamount to a declaration of war by Iran and its Middle East allies: Syria, Hizballah and the Palestinian Hamas against the United States and Israel. The Kalashnikov accentuated his words.

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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.

The Sukkot Parallel

October 15, 2006

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The months of late August to November are jam packed with important Jewish religious activities. Since we do use their Old Testament in our services, there are some item parallels from their religious observances, which we can use as

illustrations in New Testament parables.

Rabbi Dr.

Shlomo Riskin presents some of the items used during Sukkot in the extraction from an Arutz Sheva article, which follows. I do draw an interesting parallel from the first recorded parable Jesus gave to his disciples. It involves the effect of learning the Torah (God’s Word) and its effect on the fragrance it produces in a person’s life when it is truly practiced. The same is true when the Word of God is learned and truly applied from the Old and New Testaments.

James 1:23-25 – For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: [24] For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

[25] But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth

therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Leviticus 23:39-44 – Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. [40] And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. [41] And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. [42] Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: [43] That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. [44] And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.

Beginning of Extract from Arutz Sheva Article

Sukkot: The Aravah and the Leviathan

By Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin

October 10, 2006

Arutz Sheva

One of the most beautiful aspects

of the Sukkot pageantry are the Four Species that we bring into our homes, our sukkot and our synagogues, and over which we recite our psalms and praise to G-d. Jewish law dictates that these four indigenous products of Israel are to be held together as we chant the blessings and wave the species: the etrog (citron), which has both taste and fragrance, and therefore symbolizes those Jews who study Torah and perform good deeds; the lulav (palm branch), which has taste but not fragrance, thus symbolizing the Jews learned in Torah but devoid of good deeds; the hadas (myrtle), which has fragrance without taste, symbolizing those Jews with good deeds but without Torah learning; and the aravah (willow), which has neither taste nor fragrance, neither Torah learning nor good deeds.

Jewish custom dictates that the latter three are actually bound up together with branches of the palm tree, while the etrog is held in close proximity (it would be awkward to include the etrog in the bond). In this sense, these four species become a natural continuation of the major theme of our High Holy Day prayer: “And may all Your formed beings be in awe of You, and may all Your creations bow down before You, so that they all may form a single and united bond to do Your will with a full heart.” Just as all of G-d’s creations must coalesce into one bond (agudah), so do these four species – representative of every kind of Jew across the Jewish spectrum – form together as one (eged).

End of Extract from Arutz Sheva Article

Parallel with the Parable of the Sown Seed and the Four Species

Aravah (willow) – has neither fragrance nor good deeds.

Hadas (myrtle) – has fragrance but not taste

Lulav (palm) – has taste but not fragrance

Etrog (citron) – Has both taste and fragrance

The Torah is the center of Jewish teaching and worship. If you want to know about it and its relationship to what we call the Bible, I advise you to check out the following link:

http://user.aol.com/lazera/torah.htm

The Gentiles honor all the books of both the Old and New Testaments as the Word of God. It is quite probable that the first New Testament parable Jesus gave to his disciples was the Parable of the Sown Seed.

I merely present the following comments as a parallel from the New Testament that is presented in the Torah parallel. I will use masculine singular gender in my comments on each verse for clarity.

Luke 8:11-15 – Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

[12] Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

(The Willow)

Since he did not believe the Word of God, he did not taste it to produce any fragrance in his life.

[13] They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. (The Myrtle)

There was a huge burst of fragrance from the great joy felt and shown, within and around him, the moment he received the Word of God and believed. The fragrance was the smell of great joy experienced by those who witnessed and heard his profession of faith in Messiah. But the fragrance was short-lived, and faded away when his faith was tested. He never allowed the seed to create in him a broken spirit and a contrite heart as a sacrifice of his life to God.

He never let the word develop patience (endurance) in him by continuing in it.

[14] And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. (The Palm)

He tasted the Word of God and went forth to produce a fragrance in his life, but the effects of the polluted things of the world upon which he fed, caused his fragrance not to reach the fullness of scent in mature fruit. He never allowed the seed to create in him a broken spirit and a contrite heart as a sacrifice of his life to God. He never let the word develop patience (endurance) in him by continuing in it.

[15] But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

(The Citron)

He tasted the Word of God and came to know the graciousness of the Lord to the extent he kept coming back for more and more of it, and from his broken spirit and contrite heart there came a fragrance that followed him all his life for others to experience and enjoy. He is the only one of the group who let the word develop patience in him, and he endured.

I Peter 2:2-5 – As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: [3] If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

[4] To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, [5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1-3 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [3] For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Psalm 51:17 – The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

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contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.

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Two UN Russian GRU Platoons will keep Hizbollah and Syria Advised of Israeli Activities along Israel’s Northern Border.

October 14, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Two Russian GRU cards are what one would call “down and dirty” in five-card draw poker, and they are not being dealt to northern Lebanon out of Russia’s good will or to help being peace to the region. And, even worse, the United Nations knows all about them and why Russia dealt them.

During the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israel Wars the Soviets kept the Syrian forces briefed on intelligence gathered by electronic intercept from tank chatter between Israel command centers and tank commanders. The next war along the northern Israeli border will have a repeat of 1967 and 1973, except the electronic intercept will be more sophisticated. I believe the DEBKAfile Exclusive, which follows, is on target when it indicates some of the foreign forces, operating under the guise of being involved in serving the UN, will be helping the forces opposing Israel, rather than remaining neutral.

Having worked in interpreting and plotting Soviet Union intercept in the Middle East in 1952-53 and 1967-71, I am somewhat familiar with their surveillance equipment and techniques, which are certainly more sophisticated than when I retired from the USAF-NSA. There is no question in my mind the Russians sent these two platoons to keep them, and their Islamic friends, supplied with valuable tactical information.

This electronic intelligence information will be used for their benefit, as well as Syria and all pro-Syrian military units in Lebanon, as an aid for making present and future decisions in military actions against Israel.

Since I anticipate queries as to what the Russian GRU is all about, I am including the following information to read before the DEBKAfile.

From Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia

GRU is the English transliteration of a Russian acronym, which stands for “Glavnoe Razvedyvatel’noe Upravlenie”, meaning Main Intelligence Directorate. The full name is GRU GSh (GRU GenShtaba, i.e. “GRU of the General Staff”). The GRU was created in 1918 by Lenin, and given the task of handling all military intelligence.

It operated residencies all over the world, along with the SIGINT (signals intelligence) station, in Lourdes, Cuba (22.995 N, 82.464 W), and throughout the former Soviet bloc countries, especially in Lithuania, Latvia, and most other power centers in the Soviet Union, most famously the CPSU and KGB.

At the time of the GRU’s creation, Lenin ordered the Cheka (predecessor of the KGB) not to interfere with the GRU’s operations. The rivalry between the GRU and KGB was even more intense than the rivalry between the FBI and CIA.

The existence of the GRU was not publicized during the Soviet era. It became widely known in Russia, and the West outside the narrow confines of the intelligence community, during perestroika, in part thanks to the writings of “Viktor Suvorov” (Vladimir Rezun), a GRU agent who defected to Britain in 1978, and wrote about his experiences in the Soviet military and intelligence services.

According to Suvorov, even the Communist Party general secretary couldn’t enter GRU he adqu

arters without going through a security screening.

The GRU still remains to this day a very important part of the Russian Federation’s intelligence services, especially since it was never split up like the KGB was. The KGB was dissolved after aiding a failed coup (1991) against then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

It has since been divided into the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service) and the FSB (Federal Security Service).

According to the Federation of American Scientists: “…Though sometimes compared to the US Defense Intelligence Agency, [the GRU’s] activities encomp ass those performed by nearly all joint US military intelligence agencies

as well as other national US organizations. The GRU gathers HUMINT through military attaches and foreign agents. It also maintains significant signals intelligence (SIGINT) and imagery reconnaissance and satellite imagery (IMINT) capabilities.” [1]

In 2002, Bill Powell wrote Treason, an account of the experiences of former GRU colonel Vyacheslav Baranov. Baranov had been recruited by the CIA and agreed to spy for them, but was betrayed to the Russians by a mole in either the FBI or CIA and spent five years in prison before being released.

The identity of the mole remains unknown to this day, though some speculation mounted that it could have been Robert Hanssen.

Begin DEBKAfile Exclusive

DEBKAfile Exclusive: S. Lebanon’s largest town, Sidon, is taken over as Russian-Syrian spy base and Hizballah stronghold

October 9, 2006, 10:09 PM (GMT+02:00)

The two Russian Chechen GRU platoons, Vostok and Zapad, revealed by DEBKAfile Oct.

6 as be ing deployed

in S. Lebanon, are setting up their headquarters and surveillance posts in the Lebanese port of Sidon and giving Syrian intelligence a window on their input.

Syria is drumming up local support in the strategic port-town, the largest in S. Lebanon, by pumping weapons to local branches of the two Shiite groups, Hizballah and Amal, and the two pro-Syrian clans which dominate the town.

The carve-up of South Lebanon since Israeli troops pulled out is unfolding as follows: The UN force mandated by UN Security Council resolution 1701 is centered in the Tyre region, whereas Hizballah, Syria’s supporters and the Russian intelligence platoons have taken control of Sidon further up the Mediterranean coast. The three elements are ideally positioned for Hizballah to control the south Lebanese coastal region and for the Russians

and Syrians to keep track of the military movements of the Israeli army, UNIFIL and the European naval units off the Lebanese shore.

Senior Israeli officers told DEBKAfile that the takeover of parts of Sidon by Hizballah and Syrian intelligence – plus a Russian intelligence presence – places the security of northern Israel in extreme danger. After lagging behind Hizballah for years, Amal, the Shiite movement headed by the Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is now being rewarded for backing Hizballah in the war with new weapons and training by Syrian and Iranian instructors in civilian dress.

Arms are also being lavished on the powerful and wealthy South Lebanese Bizeri and Saad clans which oppose the anti-Syrian Saad Hariri, whose father Rafiq Hariri was murdered in February 2005. Hizballah’s domination of Sidon, backed up by Russian and Syrian intelligence, is a blow which virtually wipes out any advantages Israel gained from the Lebanon war. It transforms UNIFIL and the Lebanese army into a buffer that sterilizes the Syrian-Russian effort to rebuild Hizballah’s military strength and intelligence capabilities.

What is most astonishing is the Israeli government and army’s passivity in the face of this gathering security deterioration which adds up to several blatant violations of the letter and spirit of Resolution 1701.

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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving

the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.

The Eventual Syrian Strike against Israel Still Looks Good for a Point in Time Between 2008 and 2012.

October 13, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

There are four different recent articles from sources in the Middle East that would tend to make one believe a war could occur in 2006 or 2007, but I seriously doubt that will be the case. I have given numerous reasons in many of my previous blogs as to why I believe it very unlikely that a war has much chance of breaking out prior to 2008. I am passing along the four articles for your consideration.

I know an Israel-Arab war will certainly occur, but not as early as the DEBKAfile report presents as a possibility in the following article. Syria, Iran, Lebanon are not, in my opinion, able to win such a conflict at the present time, and they know it. As I indicated some time ago, I believe 2008 is the earliest they might be able to defeat Israel, and they night not reach that capacity until 2012. They still have a lot of building up militarily before such an attack will be launched.

The excerpt, following the DEBKAfile Report, by Yaakov Katz in the Jerusalem Post on October 9, titled “IDF prepares Response to Possible Attack by Syria,” gives a skeleton assessment of Syria’s current military capabilities.

I believe Syria will want to build up its capabilities much more before they attack Israel, which is one of the reasons I originally guesstimated 2008 to 2012 as the most likely timeframe in which such an attack would occur.

Begin DEBKAfile Report

DEBKAfile’s sources: Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a pre-emptive Syrian attack on Israel to ward off a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.

October 7, 2006, 9:52 AM (GMT+02:00)

Our military and Washington sources read as preparatory justification the Syrian ruler Bashar Asad’s statement Saturday, Oct. 7, that he expects an Israeli attack. He was speaking in an interview to Kuwaiti paper al-Anba. Asad’s Iranian-backed war plan would serve the purpose of forcing the Americans to divide their military assets between a strike against Iran and the defense of their allies in the Persia Gulf, Israel and US forces in Iraq. Both are seriously looking at a Syrian attack on the Golan which would escalate into a full-blown Syrian-Israeli war and a second Hizballah assault from Lebanon.

Assad’s remark that during the Lebanon hostilities, he was under pressure from the Syrian population to go to war against Israel and liberate the Golan is the most direct threat of belligerency of all his four Golan statements in the last month. He is implying that he stood up to the pressure once but may not do so again. And for the benefit of the Americans, the Europeans, the Saudis and the Egyptians – all of whom are pretty fed up with him – Assad is posing as the picture of self-restraint; anyone else in his place, he implies, would have taken advantage of the Lebanon war and made a grab for the Golan. Therefore, he is saying, he deserves to be treated with the respect due to a strategic asset by Western and moderate Arab powers instead of being targeted for an ouster.

The Syrian ruler would not threaten war without guarantees from Iran.

According to DEBKAfile’s sources, Asad and Iran’s supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are prompted by the following motives:

1. Tehran is not prepared to wait passively for the Americans to build up their assault force in the Gulf and strike its nuclear facilities. A pre-emptive attack would suit them better.

2. Tehran and Damascus have not missed the debilitating crisis in which Israel’s political and military leadership are sunk since the Lebanon war. They do not propose to wait until the IDF pulls itself together enough to handle fresh aggression.

3. Both accept Israel’s deputy prime minister Shimon Peres’ assessment that Israel’s cities are not prepared for missile attack. Iran and Syria take it for granted that Israeli leaders understand they cannot afford to launch missiles against either one of them for fear of reprisal in kind.

4. Syria believes that if Hizballah could stand up to the Israeli army in Lebanon, its commandoes can capture sections of the Golan and walk off with an easy victory.

5. Tehran figures that the Bush administration is coming to the end of its patience in Iraq and preparing for a major review of its position there. The influential U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman, John Warner, said Friday that Iraq`s government had 60 to 90 days to control the violence that threatens civil war or the United States would have to reconsider its options. This gives the Maliki government in Baghdad up to December or January to de-escalate if not halt the sectarian war engulfing the country. Iran, Syria and Hizballah would not be averse to disrupting the American Iraq timeline by attacking Israel and putting the Bush administration on the spot, forced to address three warfronts simultaneously.

End DEBKAfile Report

Begin Excerpt from Jerusalem Post Article by Yaakov Katz

October 9, 2006

While Israel has uncontested air superiority over Syria – the IAF boasts F-16s and F-15s while the Syrian air force’s newest jet is the MiG-29 from 1987 – the Syrian military has built up a strong array of missiles including some that are capable of carrying warheads filled with nerve gas, such as Sarin and VX. Damascus is currently in a race to build up its army and has recently drastically increased its defense budget after some $14 billion in loans it owed were erased.

According to the Middle East Military Balance, published by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, Syria has several hundred Scud missiles, some of which it received in 2002, and close to 100 ballistic missile launchers.

On the ground, the IDF infantry and Armored Corps would face 12 Syrian ground divisions, equipped with 3,700 Russian tanks, including 122 T-72s upgraded by an Italian firm in 2003.

Syria also has more military personnel than Israel – 290,000 soldiers compared to almost 180,000.

At the moment, the IDF is at a heightened state of alert along the border with Syria and has deployed additional forces in the North in case of a surprise attack.

End Jerusalem Post Extract

Military Sources Intelligence Corps Warning – Reasonable Chance of War between Israel and Syria in 2007!

October 12, 2006

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Although my guesstimate for the likelihood of a war to begin with Syria is at some point in time between 2008 and 2012, it is interesting to notice the following Middle East News Letter excerpt reports a warning it is reasonable to expect it to begin in 2007. I certainly do believe each year that passes increases the possibility of it beginning the following year.

It certainly appears, from the two excerpts which follow, and numerous other articles from Middle East sources, that Middle East war is a sure bet eventually, but I doubt if it will occur before 2008. There has to be more preparation by Syria, Hizbollah, Lebanon, Fatah, Hamas, and Iran.

Begin MENL Excerpt

MIDDLE EAST NEWS LETTER

October 11, 2006

TEL AVIV [MENL] — For the first time in more than a decade, Israel’s military has raised the prospect of a Middle East war.

Military sources said the Intelligence Corps has warned of the possibility of war in 2007. The sources said the corps, in its annual intelligence assessment, has notified the General Staff that Syria represented the greatest danger of war over the next year.

“The main message was that the chance of war with Syria in 2007 was greater than during 2006,” a source said. “This does not mean that it will happen. It means that there is a reasonable change of it taking place.”

The annual assessment relayed to the General Staff was expected to be revised over the next few months. The Cabinet would receive the annual assessment toward the end of 2006.

End MENL Excerpt

Begin Arutz Sheba WND Excerpt

Fatah, Hamas Preparing for War with Israel

By Hillel Fendel

World Net Daily

Hamas has smuggled up to 1,300 tons of weapons from Egypt into Gaza and is preparing for the option of launching a large-scale conflict with Israel. So states a Fatah report quoted by WorldNetDaily.

The weapons, WND reports, include between several hundred and 1,300 tons of advanced rockets; anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles; rocket propelled grenades; raw explosives; rifles; ammunition; and other heavy weaponry.

Israel has long complained that the arrangements at the Egypt-Gaza border crossing are not satisfactory, and that the European monitors are ineffectual in stopping the smuggling.

Then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed to the deal last November, after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arrived in the region and gave her stamp of approval.

WND’s Aaron Klein quotes Abu Ahmed, leader of the northern Gaza chapter of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, as saying the terrorists are working towards, and succeeding in, turning Gaza into a Hizbullah-like threat against Israel.

“We learned from Hizbullah’s victory that Israel can be defeated if we know how to hit them and if we are well prepared,” Abu Ahmed said. We are importing rockets and the knowledge to launch them and we are also making many plans for battle.”

WND also quotes another terrorist leader – Abu Abdullah, reported to be a top member of the Izaddin Al-Kassam Brigades of Hamas – detailing the preparations for war against Israel.

“In the last 15 months,”Abu Adullah said,”though the fighters of Hamas kept the ceasefire, we did not stop making important advancements and professional training on the military level. In the future, after Hamas is obliged to stop the ceasefire, the world shall see our new military capabilities.” He said that Hamas and Hizbullah, which has cells in Sinai, are cooperating in importing rockets and guerilla training.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.