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UN Force to remain in Golan Heights

Jun 23, 2007

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The two articles which follow, the first from CHINA DAILY and the second from THE JERUSALEM POST, were extracted from internet sources. The two articles combined to bring to memory my last trip to Mt.

Hermon, and conversations I had with the UN Canadian troops on

the lower environments of the Golan Heights, the home of Mt. Hermon.

The third article articulates Israel�

��s claim that she has more ancient rights to the Golan Heights than Syria.

Begin Article 1 – The China Daily

Security Council extends mandate of UN force in Golan Heights

(Xinhua) China Daily

June 21, 2007

The UN Security Council extended on Wednesday the mandate of the UN force monitoring the long-standing ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights for a further six months.

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Council decided to renew the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) until December 31, 2007, as recommended by UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon in his latest report on the Force’s activities.

Ban said in the report that he considered the continued presence of the 1,000-strong Force essential although the situation in the Israel-Syria sector has remained generally quiet.

He added that the situation in the region was likely to remain tense “unless and until a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East problem can be reached.”

The Force has, for the past 33 years, supervised the disengagement accord between Syrian and Israeli forces after the 1973 war.

Begin Article 2 – The Jerusalem Post

Canada the brave

THE JERUSALEM POST

June 21, 2007

If it w

ere not so sad, it would be laughable. With great fanfare, the supposedly reformed UN Human Rights Council just finished its first year of operation, a

year in which its structure and agenda was to be determined. The new council replaced its predecessor, the discredited UN Human Rights Commission, infamous for being chaired by such lights as Libya, and for singling out Israel for abuse.

So how does the new council conclude this pivotal year? By removing two known human rights abusers, Cuba and Belarus, from its roster of “special mandates,” and by enshrining Israel as the only country in the world to receive permanent scrutiny. The council had inherited nine such “special mandates,” regarding countries like North Korea, Cambodia, and Sudan – and of course, Israel.

Cuba hailed the decision.

Indeed, it was quite a feat to obtain such a stamp of approval from the UN’s premier human rights body, given that this month, UN rights envoy Christine Chanet expressed “deep concern” over the health of some 60 Cuban dissidents jailed in a crackdown four years ago, adding that their plight represents the tip of the iceberg of human rights violations in Cuba.

Castro and other tyrants can rest easy now that the UN is back to what it knows best, going after Israel. Not only is the council’s mandate regarding Israel the only one that is not subject to periodic review, but it is unique in other ways.

The other mandates all concern the “situation” in each place, leaving the council free to consider and criticize both sides of a conflict. In Israel’s case, the council mandated itself only to consider Israeli actions, and not those of Palestinians, thereby rendering the whole exercise biased by definition. Further, only Israel is convicted in advance, since the mandate concerns Israeli “violations,” rather than entertaining the possibility that Israel is acting according to its legitimate rights and responsibilities.

Alejandro Wolff, deputy US permanent representative at the United Nations, summed up the situation by accusing the council of “a pathological obsession with Israel.” “I think the record is starting to speak for itself,” he told journalists.

This is certainly true, but the question remains who is to blame for this mess and what can be done about it. The answer lies in two small flashes of moral courage that should be recognized and built upon.

The first is the laudable pluck of Canada, the single nation that fought to the end against the outrageous “consensus” that was reached. First Canada opposed the package deal that included the singling out of Israel and the rewarding of Cuba and Belarus. The council chair ignored this, moving the item forward as if consensus had been reached.

Next, Canada, unbowed, called a point of order against the chairman’s action, forcing a vote. Finally, the council voted 46 to 1 (Canada), in effect retroactively and falsely deciding that consensus had been reached and blatantly violating, as Canada’s ambassador put it, “more than 60 years of established practice of the UN, which is based on the fundamental principle of equality of all of its member states.”

We can only hope that all who care about human rights and the integrity of the international system, for that matter, come to Canada’s defense. To their shame, democracies such as Germany, the UK, France, the Czech Republic, Poland and Japan were among the 46 nations who did not.

Some of them, such as Germany and the UK, explained themselves by criticizing the singling out of Israel, while claiming amorphous “achievements” that are, like the promise of the council itself, unlikely to pan out. Indeed, the skewering of Israel was done in violation of express commitments made in similar package deals that led to the council’s formation.

The other ray of light was the criticism of the council’s action by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who accused the council of “picking on Israel.” A statement said further that he was “disappointed at the council’s decision to single out only one specific regional item given the range and scope of allegations of human rights violations throughout the world.”

Once again, a band of dictators has hijacked the UN body that is supposed to stand up for the defenseless the world over. They are using Israel as their flak jacket, and in the process making a mockery of the concept of human rights and the institutions that free nations created and supposedly hold dear.

For what possible principle or gain do free nations allow their values to be so brazenly trampled? Why didn’t these nations, as was threatened along the way, simply walk out? Why, when Canada had the temerity to object, did they, in former UN ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s timeless phrase, “join the jackals?”

Begin Article 3 – The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Daily Alert

The Golan Is Israeli

Haaratz

Nadav Shragai

June 22, 2007

It is almost politically incorrect, practically heresy, to claim today that the Golan is not Syrian in the least nor a deposit or bargaining chip for negotiations. The Golan is a lot more “Israeli” than “Syrian.” It has been Israeli for 40 years, double the time it was in Syria’s hands. It has been under Israeli sovereignty for 26 years. It has neither a foreign people nor a demographic problem. The Golan has become a part of Israeli life. It is the most frequently visited part of the country, dotted with dozens of Jewish communities, agricultural fields, industrial areas and tourist resorts, nature reserves and wild landscape.

Whoever talks about “returning” the Golan to Syria is being misleading. The Golan was placed under a French mandate in the colonialist agreement that divided the region; Syria won independence only in 1946. In the brief period it was in the Golan – 0.5 percent of its territory – Syria turned the region into a launching pad for its attempt to conquer and decimate Israel. The Syrian army shelled the Israeli communities along the border, attacked the Lake Kinneret fishermen, tried to divert the course of its waters and made life “down below” a Sderot-style hell. The Golan was conquered in a justified defensive war. We paid for it with blood. The Syrians lost it fair and square.

In previous eras as well, the Golan was not considered a part of Syria, and it is replete with findings of Jewish heroism and sovereignty, starting with the reign of Solomon, through the Second Temple period, the heroic battle of the city of Gamla and the Talmudic period. It was no foreign land that we conquered.

The results of the Second Lebanon War greatly increased the Syrian appetite and led it to threaten a war against Israel unless the Golan is handed over. This is exactly the time to tell

the Israeli story of the Golan Heights. (Ha’aretz)

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The Bomb and the Bombers!

June 22, 2007

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This mornings Blog highlighted the arrival of reinforcing American Naval Carrier Strike Forces in the waters surrounding the Middle East.

We now have the largest armada of American vessels in these waters ever recorded, according to the DEBKAfile article on this morning’s Blog.

The American Air Forces have been conducting training exercises with the Israeli Air Forces (IAF) for some time.

Occasional reports of joint staging exercises in the Negev between Israeli Air Bases and American Carrier Forces have surfaced from time to time.

The production of a deterrent nuclear arsenal of numerous warheads mounted on Shihab missiles, spaced apart across Iran,

will not occur in the immediate future.

So, at the present time, I suspect a lot of what is going on is sword rattling, at least for the time being. I guesstimate the time of the beginning of the last three and one-half years of the great tribulation period as being at some point in time between 2008 and the end of 2012, with the most likely time of its beginning occurring during 2011 or 2012. This is a guess on my part, no more, and no less, but I am certain this is not a far distant event.

The two articles, which follow, are about the one making the bomb, and the bombers wanting to stop it from being created.

Begin Article 1

Iran enriches 100 kg. of uranium

Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST

June 22, 2007

Iran has produced 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of enriched uranium, the country’s interi or minister was quoted Friday as saying about the controversial process that can make fuel f

or civilian energy or fissile material for a bomb.

Experts say that about 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of enriched uranium would be needed for one bomb.

Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana will try to get Iran’s agreement on resuming talks over its nuclear program when he meets Teheran’s nuclear negotiator over the weekend, an EU official said Friday.

“Our intention is to continue exploring the possibility of launching formal negotiations,” Solana’s spokeswoman Cristina Gallach said.

In Iran, the semiofficial ISNA news agency carried comments by Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the interior minister, who said his country now has 3,000 hooked-up centrifuges actively enriching uranium.

“In the first steps, we were halted and they (the West) did not allow our only 20 centrifuge machines to work,” Pourmohammadi said. “But right now, 3,000 of the machines have been operational and more than 100 kilograms of enriched uranium has been ready and stored.”

Pormohammadi also said that more than 150 metric tons of primary materials of uranium gas have been stored in the Iranian nuclear facilities.

Centrifuge machines spin uranium hexafluoride gas and convert it into enriched

uranium.

Pourmohammadi did not elaborate on the percentage of enrichment of the stored enriched uranium.

The interior minister has no direct role in Iran’s disputed nuclear program and Iranian nuclear officials were not available Friday to comment on the figure he gave.

Solana is due to meet Ali Larijani, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator, in Lisbon on Saturday and possibly on Sunday.

“We need an agreed platform so that negotiations can start. At the moment we don’t have this,” Gallach said.

“They have to comply with UN resolutions,” she said.

Begin Article 2

Report: IAF preparing for Iran strike

JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST

June 22, 2007

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has been training on long-range flights, including refueling in mid-flight, in preparation for potential strikes against Iranian nuclear targets.

The training program has been taking place for some time but has only been released for publication Friday, the Ma’ariv daily reported.

Intelligence assessments received by the defense establishment concur that once Iran passes the point of no return in its nuclear efforts, the entire Middle East will enter a frantic nuclear armament race.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are expected to take the lead should such a scenario become reality.

At the end of 2007 the US and Israel are expected to hold a joint assessment to ascertain the influence of economic sanctions against Iran.

A new package of upgraded sanctions prepared jointly by Israel and the US, includes exerting pressure on European governments to cancel US $22 billion in loan guarantees given annually to European companies trading with Iran.

The new package also includes sanctions against banks working with Iran, non-renewal of oil infrastructure in Iran and a long series of economic actions that are meant to seriously hurt the Iranian economy.

Following the end-of-year assessment, Washington will decide how to move forward in the struggle against Iran’ s nuclear race.

Members of the international community – the US and Israel leading – are convinced that Iran’s race to enrich uranium is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic, on its side, insists it is looking for energy sources that would be an alternative to fossil fuels.

Iran has so far remained defiant in face of the demands voiced by the international community that it make its nuclear program transparent to UN-mandated monitoring.

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Shades of the Spanish Armada

June 22, 2007

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All these massive movements of U.S. Ships in the waters of

the Middle East bring to mind one of the oldest prophecies in the Bible on end time events, the last part

of the prophecy of Baalam the son of Beor.

Numbers 24:23-25 – And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! [24] And ships shall come from t he coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and

he also shall perish for ever.

[25] And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.

Some say “coast of Chittim” represents ships using the ports of Cyprus to launch attacks against the lands of Assur and Eber, while others say they represent ships using the ports of Italy, referring to the Romans as the “legions of the white knights.” I feel confident the ships are at least using the coastal ports of the Mediterranean to operate out of for their attack on Assur and Eber. The “Table of Nations and the Origin of Races” lists Asshur, whose sons were Mirus and Mokil, as the father of the Assyrians and northern Iraqis. The same source identifies both Jews and Sunni Arabs as descendants of Eber, the great-gr

andson of Shem.

Six generations down the line from Eber, Abraham was born in southern Iraq in Ur as a son of Terah, making Abraham both a Hebrew and a Shemite, born of the line of Eber and Shem. This would seem to indicate that these ships, in some way, would severely afflict the Arab world around Israel, when one considers that the Assyrian Empire, at its maximum extent, wrapped itself around the northern and western quadrants of Israel, while their descendant relatives, the Sunni of Eber, blocked their eastern quadrant. I am persuaded Numbers 24:23-25 is referring to a gigantic gathering of ships from the western hemisphere, aerially blasting the Islamic nations around Israel with aircraft and missiles at the final battle of Armageddon, which I believe will occur some three and one-half years after a Jihad of 10 Islamic nations comes against Israel from the north. (Please consult Archive Prophecy Update Number 74)

I do not expect this aerial plastering to occur when the initial Jihad attack is launched to drive Israel into the Negev Wilderness.

Begin DEBKAfile Article

DEBKAfile: A third US carrier, the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise Strike Group is speeding towards the Persian Gulf

June 21, 2007, 12:17 PM (GMT+02:00)

According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the US naval build-up off the shores of Iran marks rising military tensions in the region, accentuated by last week’s Hamas victory which has endowed Iran with a military foothold on Israel’s southwestern border.

The USS Enterprise CVN 65-Big E Strike Group, the US Navy’s largest air carrier, will join the USS Stennis and the USS Nimitz carriers, building up the largest sea, air, marine concentration the United States has ever deployed opposite Iran. This goes towards making good on the assurances of four carriers US Vice President Dick Cheney offered the Gulf and Middle East nations during his May tour of the region.

The “Big E” leads a strike group consisting of the guided-missile destroyers USS Arleigh Burke DDG 51, USS Stout DDG 55, Forrest Sherman DDG 98 and USS James E. Williams DDG 95, as well as the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg CG 64, the SS Philadelphia SSN 690 nuclear submarine and the USNS Supply T-AOE 6.

On its decks are the Carrier Air Wing CVW 1, whose pilots fought combat missions in the Gulf and Arabian Sea during 2006.

The Air Wing is made up of F/Q-18 Super Hornet strike craft, the Sidewinders Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-86,

the 251st Marine Fighter Attack Squadron MFA, and the Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ 137.

The 32nd Sea Control Squadron VS consists of S-3B Vikings. The Airborne Early Warning Squadron VAQ 3 flies E-2C Hawkeye craft.

The Fleet Logistics Support Squadron VRC is based on C-2A Greyhounds.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report Washington is considering deploying the fourth US carrier for the region in the Red Sea opposite Saudi Arabian western coast to secure the three US carriers in the Gulf from the rear as well as the Gulf of Aqaba and Suez Canal.

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No honor among Terrorist Thugs and One Day Egypt will be Sorry!

June 21, 2007

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The first article from the Jerusalem Post I read with tongue in cheek, for it is difficult to understand why Abbas was shocked to suddenly see the truth about Hamas being made up of “murderers and terrorists,” after having been aware of their activities for all these years. In fact, he has always known it and, by the time of the future attack by Islam from the north, Fatah and Hamas will suddenly become bosom buddies while they unite to help drive Israel into the Negev.

The second article from Middle East Online tells about Egypt blasting Iran, and is followed by Scripture showing why Egypt will regret one day for having done so.

PA Chairman: Hamas tried to kill me

Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST

June 20, 2007

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Hamas, calling it a bunch of murderers and terrorists.

His attack is the strongest since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip last week.

Abbas accused Hamas of trying to assassinate him.

“I received a video in which Hamas men are seen transferring a 250-kilogram explosive charge,” he said in a speech before Fatah leaders in Ramallah.

“They are heard saying that the bomb is for Abu Mazen,” he said, referring to his nickname.

Abbas said a Hamas official told him Syria-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was behind the assassination attempt. He did not say when the assassination plot was uncovered.

Fatah leaders said earlier this year they had discovered a booby-trapped underground tunnel in Gaza City that was supposed to be detonated as Abbas’ s convoy pa

ssed by.

“I tried many times in the past to solve our problems to avoid civil war,” Abbas said. “But Hamas did not halt its attempts to stage a coup against the Palestinian Authority until they finally seized control of the entire Gaza Strip, looting and destroying security headquarters.”

He accused Hamas of perpetrating crimes against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as well as PA security installations, figures and churches.

“There will be no dialogue with these murderers,” Abbas said. “There will be no dialogue with the forces of darkness.”

He said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh was responsible for Hamas’s atrocities in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas called on Hamas to apologize to the Palestinians for staging a bloody coup against the PA.

“The era of militias has ended,” he said. “We will impose law and order in all the Palestinian territories.

Hamas’s Executive Force, which carried out the coup, is illegal and must be dismantled.”

Abbas also hinted at the possibility of overriding the Palestinian Legislative Council, where Hamas has a majority, with the Palestine National Council, to give formal approval to his new cabinet.

The Palestine National Council last convened in 2004, after the death of Yasser Arafat.

Abbas said he would seek to reactivate the PLO, of which Hamas is not a member, presumably to bypass Hamas and strip it of legitimacy.

Earlier, the new PA emergency government headed by Prime Minister Salaam Fayad announced it would not recognize Hamas’s Executive Force. The decision means that the force’s 3,000 members will not receive salaries from the PA government.

The Fayad government also decided to cancel all Palestinian passports issued by the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.

It called on the international community to deal only with Palestinians holding passports issued by the PA in Ramallah. The decision means that residents of the Gaza Strip will no longer be able to travel abroad.

PA Minister of Sports and Youth Ashraf Ajrami said the government decided on a series of measures to consolidate its authority in the West Bank.

“We have approved a security plan to restore law and order to the West Bank and confiscate illegal weapons,” he said. “We want to strengthen the Palestinian Authority on the one hand and isolate Hamas on the other hand.”

Ajrami said the government decided to open a new Interior Ministry office in Ramallah. The ministry, headed by Abdel Razak Yahya, is formally in charge of all the Fatah-controlled security forces. He said the ministry would be entrusted with issuing passports and birth certificates and would replace the Interior Ministry that existed in the Gaza Strip.

Ajrami said his ministry was planning to open an office in the Gaza Strip to enable Palestinians there to apply for passports and other official documents. He said Fayad’s government was holding contacts with Israel to discuss the future of the border crossings into the Gaza Strip, saying he was opposed to giving Hamas any role in controlling them.

Meanwhile, five Kassam rockets were fired at Sderot on Wednesday night. Three people were lightly wounded by shrapnel and evacuated to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon for treatment. Two more rockets fell in the western Negev. In addition, one more was fired earlier in the day.

AP contributed to this report.

Begin Middle East Online Report

MIDDLE EAST ONLINE

Egypt blasts Iran over Hamas takeover of Gaza

June 20, 2007

Egyptian FM accuses Tehran of having encouraged Palestinian Islamist movement to control Gaza.

CAIRO – Egypt’s foreign minister accused Iran of having encouraged Palestinian Islamist group Hamas to seize neighbouring Gaza and said it posed a threat to the Arab world, in remarks published on Wednesday.

“Iran’s policies encouraged Hamas to do what it has done in Gaza and this represents a threat for Egypt’s national security because Gaza is a stone’s throw from Egypt,” Ahmed Abul Gheit said in Al-Masri Al-Yom newspaper.

“The Iranian influence in Iraq also represents a threat for Egyptian and Arab national security. This obliges Cairo to restrict its relations with Tehran,” which were already broken off in 1980, the foreign minister said.

Tehran severed ties after its 1979 Islamic revolution in protest at Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel and for having hosted the toppled Shah of Iran. The two countries have since had only interests sections in each other’s capital.

Egypt condemned last week’s takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas which drove out its secular Fatah rivals in fighting that cost 110 lives and has thrown its weight behind Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, the leader of Fatah.

On Tuesday, Cairo decided to transfer its diplomatic representation with the Palestinian Authority from Gaza City to the West Bank political capital of Ramallah where Abbas’s new emergency government is based.

EGYPT WILL ONE DAY REGRET CONDEMNING IRAN!

Daniel 11:42 – He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

Once the leader of 10 Islamic nations has driven Israel into the Negev, and secured the northern periphery of it to stop Israel from breaking out of it, he will leave Israel trapped in it, and then proceed to his most important military objective, the Suez Canal.

Zechariah 13:8 – 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.

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 thousand two hundred and threescore days.

There is no more important zone in the entire Middle East from a military, political, and economic standpoint than the narrow strip of water known as the Suez Canal. World shipping passes through it from the south into the Med

iterranean Sea on its way to European ports, and to the ports of the northern Atlantic. It carries southward through its banks the shipping commerce that services

the ports of the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, the Gulf of Siam, the South China Sea, and the vast Pacific Ocean.

The sudden lightning Jihad strike from the north will catch the western world by complete surprise. The short period of false peace in the Middle East, following a period of no peace since 70 A.D. for the Jewish nation, will lull Israel and those nations that are friendly to her into a false sense of security.

Daniel 11:43 – But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans

and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

Daniel 11:43 – But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

The antichrist is to be a tactical military genius. That being the case, he will follow the only logical way to conquer Egypt. Just what is Egypt geographically? It is bordered on the west by Libya, on

the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the south by Sudan, and on the east by the western border of the Gaza Strip, the Negev, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Red Sea. However, in reality, that is not Egypt.

Egypt, population wise, consists of the narrow strip of coastline (up to three miles inland) touching the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, and the Red Sea, plus its major population distribution along and 20 miles either side of the Nile River and its northern delta.

The antichrist will lead a Jihad coalition of 10 Islamic nations, two of which will be Libya and ancient Ethiopia, which now exists as Sudan along the southern border of Egypt. He will not want either of these nations to share in land acquisition rewards from the conquest of Egypt, but he will use them to make his victory much easier. He will instruct Libya to mass its troops along its northern coastal border with Egypt, and the Sudan to mass its troops where the Nile River enters Egypt from the south. This will force Egypt to move some of its troops to these areas in a defensive mode, and, as a result, the antichrist will take Cairo in less than a day. His troops will move rapidly west along the northern coastline, south along the eastern coastline, and down the Nile River to the Sudanese border.

This will complete his conquest of Egypt. All the rest of it has less than one percent of the population, and is virtual wasteland.

In his initial conquests only 10 Islamic nations will be involved.

As you may discover in volumes of previous Prophecy Updates, these 10 have been tentatively identified as being made up of Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Sudan, and Turkey. Nations and groups directly involved in the initial Jihad onslaught from the north will be Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, with the Palestinians attacking internally out of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and Turkey will be more involved in strategic and logistical positional support than in actual combat. However, after quick successes against Israel and Egypt, all the other Islamic nations will then immediately jump on his bandwagon, and suddenly all the aspirations of Mohammed, and the Biblical prophecies of a final evil empire, will be fulfilled. After all the Islamic nations climb on board a Caliphate will cover as far to the west from Cairo as Daniel’s fourth beast conquered, that is to Morocco, and as far to the east as his second and third beast conquered, that is to India. I am persuaded it will include the 10 already mentioned, plus Egypt, Palestine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. During the three plus years of antichrist’s reign, most of Europe will come under his control or strong influence, and in the final battle of Armageddon, which closes his reign, all the nations of Europe, Africa, Eurasia, Asia, and the Middle East will join him in a final massive attack again Israel in the Negev.

The antichrist’s empire will be an empire that dominates the known world in the days the prophets wrote from Isaiah and Micah in 700 B.C. to John in A.D. 95. They wrote to the people of their day and we are meant to understand it the light of how they perceived it. There is no question that God knew the world as we know it today, but I am convinced He meant for us, in the prophecies relating to the extent of the antichrist’s empire, to interpret it as meaning the world as the prophets knew it. So, as regards the size of his empire, when they used expressions like “the whole world, all the earth, wherever men dwell, etc.,” it does not refer to the earth as we know it today, but to the earth as it was known by the writers. These same expressions, when used as pertaining to such things as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20, do mean the earth as we know it today by implication of the directive. The believing world today waits for an antichrist that will dominate the whole world as we know it today and, quite frankly, they could be right. I am prepared for that! But I am also prepared for an antichrist that dominates the aforementioned areas I have outlined. There is a distinct possibility of this eventuality. So watch the Middle East, and if such an empire does arise, then don’t set on your duff waiting for an antichrist to arise out of Europe that will dominate all the world as we know it today. If I am correct in what I believe as to the size and dominion of his empire, then it will shatter end time teachings that arose in the early nineteenth century, and eventually solidified in the twentieth century.

In any case, I am convinced that the next six years will settle the question as to the correct interpretation.

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It is hard to keep three Pit Bulls from Fighting!

June 21, 2007

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Clay & Iron are fighting now, because they have never been able to hold together in peace among themselves very long since the great Caliphate, which came out of conquest after Muhammad’s death, but God will soon put it in their minds to hold together for a brief period prior to Armageddon.

Daniel 2:42,43 – And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. [43] And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Revelation 17:12-14,17 – And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

[14] These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

[17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

The two articles which follow demonstrate the principle of Islamic groups not holding together very long without pulling apart, like clay and iron will only hold together while the clay is moist. This is reflected in the number of splinter terrorist groups that have pulled off Fatah.

But God will eventually pull them all together long enough to hold together until Armageddon.

Begin Haaretz Article

Fatah rejects Hamas’ overtures

By Haaretz Staff and Agencies

June 20, 2007

Fatah flatly rejected a Hamas overture for dialogue yesterday, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas banned all contacts with the Islamic group.

Mohammed Dahlan, Abbas’s national security adviser and Hamas’s arch-nemesis, branded the Islamists an “occupation force” in Gaza, the phrase commonly used to denounce Israel.

“It is surprising that while they [Fatah leaders] are for holding a dialogue with the Zionists, they reject dialogue with us,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said yesterday.

Hamas also rejected Abbas’s decree outlawing the group’s Executive Force and said the real Palestinian government was still headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas. That force, along with Hamas’ military wing, spearheaded the group’s violent takeover of Gaza last week.

“Hamas rejects the decision by Abu Mazen [Abbas] to outlaw the Executive Force, because his decision contradicts the law,” senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya said.

“The current government of national unity is the legitimate caretaker government, and we do not recognize the emergency government.”

Nevertheless, Haya told reporters in Gaza that the Islamist group was ready to hold talks with Abbas’s Fatah faction to try to find common ground.

But the Fatah Central Committee said in a statement that it “decided today not to hold any dialogue, any contacts or any meetings with the Hamas movement.” And a senior Wes tern diplomat said Abbas’s office also made it clear that it does not want the international community to have “any contact or provide any legitimacy to Hamas in Gaza,” except to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. While the flow of water and power will not be affected, he added, Gaza will face severe restrictions, including a freeze on exports, while Hamas is in power.

Abbas’ aides said the emergency government believed it had a responsibility to pay any workers in Gaza, including members of the security services, who follow the new government’s orders rather than those of the Hamas administration.

“But it’s unclear how they would make that distinction,” the diplomat said.

Abbas might use Arab funds, rather than tax money transferred by Israel, to pay the Gaza workers.

A European Union aid program also plans to continue paying monthly “allowances” – approximately $360 each – directly to the PA’s non-security work force, including those in Hamas-controlled Gaza, EU officials said.

But an Israeli official said Israel wants to scale back the European program to pay allowances only to workers in Gaza’s health sector, to ensure hospitals keep functioning.

Israeli officials said that up to $400 million in Palestinian tax revenues will be transferred to Abbas’s emergency government in stages.

This is less than the $700 million sought by Abbas, but Israel says the rest of the money has been frozen by court order.

Majdi al-Khalidi, an adviser in Abbas’s office, told Western diplomats that the emergency government put in place by the PA chairman could remain for a period of two months.

Begin DEBKAfile Article

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Al Qaeda orders chief of its Palestinian wing not to free BBC reporter Alan Johnston or negotiate release of Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit

June 19, 2007, 11:43 PM (GMT+02:00)

The order appeared in an official al Qaeda Web site early Tuesday, June 19. It explains why Army of Islam leader Mumtaz Durmush is holding onto the British captive at

the risk of a clash with the 500 Hamas Executive Force surrounding his compound in Gaza City. Although Britain maintains no official ties with Hamas, the MI5 domestic intelligence chief asked the Palestinian Islamists to refrain from releasing Johnston by force for fear of his life.

In its statement, al Qaeda asks: Why is Hamas suddenly working for Johnston’s release when in Iraq and other places he would be executed? And how dare Hamas monopolize the Israeli Gilead Shalit and negotiate a deal with Israel?

DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that the communiqué accuses Hamas of cutting its partners in the kidnap, a reference to Durmush and his Army of Islam, out of the picture.

Al Qaeda’s statement and its order to the group’s Palestinian minion makes the situation of the British and Israeli captives worse than before and brings it out in the open. Both governments have refused to admit that the group which seized Johnston 100 days ago in Gaza and has been one of Shalit’s captors for a year now is a branch of al Qaeda. Now that Osama bin Laden’s organization has published its involvement first time and given Durmush space for a long interview, denial is no longer be an option.

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