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It’s Just a Matter of Time before the First and the Last Revelation Earthquakes Occur!

July 29, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Revelation 6:12 – And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Revelation 16:18 – And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

Unfortunately for those Islamic countries, as well as the Hizbullah and Hamas armies, plus the many terrorist organizations that eventually will attack the nation of Israel, the first and last great earthquakes on this planet are scheduled for the length of the Jordan River Valley at the beginning of the attack, and at its close at Armageddon. The big earthquake that affected Japan thi s mo

nth hit a country well prepared for earthquake events, but such is not the case for Israel, and the two Revelation earthquakes are going to do unbelievable damage to the forces of the Antichrist, particularly the Armageddon earthquake in Revelation 16.

BIRTH PANG NUMBER 2

January, 2000

CHAPTER 4 – FLEEING MOUNTAINS AND ISLANDS

To know that more than 95% of all earthquakes are associated with movement of the world’s tectonic plates, as outlined in BIRTH PANG NUMBER 1, can help us to better understand Revelation 6:12A & 14B, along with Revelation 16:18B & 20. Revelation 6:12A – “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake;” and 6:14B – “And every island and mountain were moved out of their places.” Revelation 16:18B – “And there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great,” and 16:20 – “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.”

There are several interesting correlations between God’s tectonic plates, his mountains and islands he formed on them, the earthquakes they produce, the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the islands and mountains that ride on them as they float on subterranean lakes of magma, and scriptures referring to islands and mountains in Revelation. Mountains and islands are mentioned TOGETHER only twice in the entire Book of Revelation, once in 6:14 and again in 16:20. The correlations are as follows: (1) The first earthquake in Revelation occurs on the opening of the sixth seal.

(2) The last earthquake in Revelation occurs on the pouring out of the seventh vial of God’s wrath. (3) All the terrifying earthquakes, fire, and brimstone of the tribulation period occurs between the sixth seal and the seventh vial.

That is not by chance, accident, or coincidence!

(4) All the mountains and islands begin to change their latitudinal and longitudinal positions on the opening of the sixth seal (the first earthquake), then continue to move in association with earthquakes from the seventh seal through all seven trumpets, and up to the seventh vial of wrath (the last earthquake). All the islands and mountains reach their final geographical positions on the pouring out of the seventh vial of wrath.

God will suddenly accelerate worldwide tectonic plate movement on the opening of the sixth seal. This will produce the fantastic holocaust described by John in Revelation from the first earthquake in Revelation 6:12 to the final earthquake in Revelation 16:18. The fleeing islands in Revelation 16:20 does not mean all the islands of the earth sank below sea level. It means literally what it says. A fleeing man is a moving man. It means the islands moved. Also, verse 20 does not mean all the mountains on the earth were leveled. It simply means they were not found in the same precise geographical location after the great shaking, which occurred between Revelation 6:12 and 16:20.

The first unleashing of a pattern of worldwide earthquakes begins in the Jordan River Valley, and eventually causes two things to occur: a noticeable movement of the tectonic plates on a worldwide basis, which produces horizontal movement and geographical relocation of all mountains and islands in microseconds.

Just how can every island and mountain on the earth’s crust be moved to new locations? The answer is found in the realization that every mountain and island is firmly attached to the earth’s crust, anchored to a fixed set of latitudinal and longitudinal geographical location coordinates, which are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds. Every mountain on this earth has a central peak set of geographical coordinates, and every island has a central focus set of location components.

There is only one way that every island and mountain can be moved to a new location. The microseconds of the geographical coordinates must be changed. That is precisely what will happen when God begins to noticeably shift these massive tectonic pieces of the earth’s crust during the last three and one-half years of the tribulation period.

It is worth noting what is also produced along the tectonic plate borders in conjunction with the earthquakes. Over 90% of all volcanic eruptions occur along the peripheries of the tectonic plates to produce fire, brimstone, and smoke. This certainly helps to explain the latter portion of Revelation 6:12 – “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.” The great earthquake, which starts the initial worldwide movement of the plates, is also accompanied by widespread volcanic eruptions, whose smoke causes the sun to be darkened, and the moon to take on a blood-red color. As the eruptions continue up to the pouring of the last vial, this ever accumulating volcanic smoke in the stratosphere will eventually cause the view of the heavenly bodies to depart from human eyes. The sun, moon, and stars will slowly disappear from view like the writing on a Hebrew scroll slowly disappears when it is gradually rolled together, as indicated in Revelation 6:14 – “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”

End Archive Birth Pang 2, January 2000

It is certainly noteworthy to mention that the Islamic countries are much less prepared for a series of major earthquakes than Israel.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article 1

Ben-Gurion University researchers urge earthquake preparedness

Aaron Magid

July 16, 2007

“The ground is shaking” is not just a political metaphor anymore; it may also be a reality soon in Israel.

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are predicting a major earthquake following the 80-year anniversary of the last destructive earthquake that hit Israel. Dr. Ron Avni, who specializes in the study of earthquakes, warned on Sunday that approximately 17 percent of older Jerusalem buildings constructed around the time of the state’s founding are likely to be harmed by the quake. In Tel Aviv, 9% of the buildings dating back to Israel’s independence are expected to be damaged.

Israel’s last earthquake struck the northern Dead Sea on July 11, 1927, and hit a 6.25 on the Richter scale.

The blast killed almost 300 people both inside the country and across the Jordan River. While the statistical data predicts another quake in 2011, 84 years from the previous upheaval, Dr. Avni urged caution.

“The 80-year birthday of the last earthquake brings us into a new period called ‘the range of statistical error,'” he said. “[From] what we know regarding the previous destructive earthquake, the time that another destructive earthquake will return, like what occurred in 1927, is about 100 years.”

Since Israel does not have much experience with earthquakes, Dr. Avni has based his assessments on statistical data from quakes in central Europe, where earthquakes occur about every 10 years.

The region is an appropriate model for determining potential building damage in Israel because the style construction there is similar.

Of the 17% of older buildings likely to be damaged, Avni expects 45% to suffer only light damage, such as cracks in the cement and plastic walls, but no structural damage; however, 5% would suffer heavy damage requiring immediate evacuation, as well as significant repairs and investments amounting to almost half the building’s value. Another 5% of the buildings would be completely destroyed, Avni predicts.

Of the newer buildings that are in good condition and are only 30 years old, only 11% are likely to be damaged. Of these, half would experience light damage and half would suffer heavy damage. In Beersheba, researchers predict that only 2% of the older buildings would be damaged.

Since the 18th century, Israel’s three most destructive earthquakes occurred in 1759, 1837, and 1927. The 1837 earthquake that obliterated Safed caused more than 5,000 deaths.

The government has appointed a committee to explain to the public how best to prepare for a major earthquake, whether at home, outside or in a car.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article 2

At least four killed in Japanese earthquake

Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST

July 16, 2007

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Japan’s northwest coast on Monday, killing at least four people. The quake injured more than 320 people, flattened hundreds of buildings and triggered a fire at a nuclear power plant.

Fire sirens could be heard in hard-hit Kashiwazaki city, and older buildings were reduced to piles of lumber. National broadcaster NHK reported more than 320 people were hurt, with injuries including broken bones, cuts and bruises.

Two women in Kashiwazaki died, an official at Kashiwazaki Central Hospital said on condition of anonymity, citing hospital protocol. NHK reported that the women were in their 80s and had been buried in separate buildings.

Flames and billows of black smoke poured from the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant, which automatically shut down during the quake.

The fire, at an electrical transformer, was put out shortly after noon and there was no release of radioactivity or damage to the reactors, said Motoyasu Tamaki, a Tokyo

Electric Power Co. official.

Some 2,000 people in Kashiwazaki were evacuated from their homes, city official Takashi Otsuka said.

NHK reported nearly 300 buildings in the city had been destroyed.

The force of the quake buckled seaside roads and bridges, and one-meter wide fissures could been seen in the ground along the coastline.

One of two people buried under a collapsed apartment house had been rescued, though the person’s condition was unknown, police said. Separately, TV footage showed rescue workers and firefighters hacking at the roof of a damaged home searching for anyone trapped within.

A ceil ing collapsed

in a gym in Kashiwazaki where about 200 people had gathered for a badminton tournament, and one person suffered minor facial injuries, Kyodo reported. The quake also knocked a train car off the rails while it was stopped at a station. No one was injured.

The Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings along the coast of Niigata prefecture, but the warnings were later lifted. Waves as high as 50 centimeters were believed to have hit the coast, but no damage was reported.

The quake, which hit the region at 10:13 a.m. was centered off the coast of Niigata, 260 kilometers northwest of the capital, Tokyo. The tremor made buildings in Tokyo sway and was also felt in northern and central Japan.

The agency initially measured the quake at a 6.6 magnitude, but later revised that up to 6.8. The US Geological Survey said the quake registered 6.7 magnitude.

A series of smaller aftershocks rattled the area, including one with a 4.2 magnitude. Koichi Uhira of the Meteorological Agency warned that the aftershocks could continue for a week.

Several bullet train services linking Tokyo and northern and northwestern Japan have been suspended. Officials said water and gas services for Kashiwazaki’s 35,000 households were suspended after reports of gas leaks, reports said. About 18,000 households in the quake zone were without power as of Monday afternoon.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, campaigning in southern Japan for parliamentary elections later this month, rushed back to Tokyo to deal with the quake, and the government has set up a task force.

Niigata Airport, which had suspended flights shortly after the quake, resumed services after finding no damage, Kyodo said.

Japan sits atop four tectonic plates and is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries. The last major quake to hit the capital, Tokyo, killed some 142,000 people in 1923, and experts say the capital has a 90 percent chance of suffering a major quake in the next 50 years.

In October 2004, a magnitude-6.8 earthquake hit Niigata, killing 40 people and damaging more than 6,000 homes. It was the deadliest to hit Japan since 1995, when a magnitude-7.2 quake killed 6,433 people in the western city of Kobe.

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Arms Race in Middle East goes Ballistic

July 29, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

With the Russians, Chinese, and

North Korea pumping billions of bucks worth of high tech military weaponry into Iran and Syria, part of which will end up in the hands of Hizbullah and Hamas, while the US and EU are funneling billions of bucks in sales to what they label as “moderate” Islamic regimes, the Middle East is being turned into a multiplicity of armed camps. For the radical regimes national interests focus on being a part of, or leaders in, an eventual Caliphate extending from Morocco to India and from Yemen to Turkey.

For “moderate” regimes national interests dictate survival of the existing governments. In the previous blog we discussed the massive flood of high tech weaponry flowing into the Middle East, most notably the billions plus dollar sale of 250 Sukhoi fighter-bombers and 20 fuel tankers to Iran by Russia, which was in the DEBKAfile Reports, under a title: ”Iran buys 250 long-distance Sukhoi fighter-bombers, 20 fuel tankers, from Russia.”

Begin DEBKAfile Report

America Refurbishes its Gulf-Red Sea Defenses against Iran Menace

July 28, 2007, 3:00 PM (GMT+02:00)

The US Secretaries of State and Defense are traveling together – unusually – next week for a mission weighty enough for the Bush administration to deploy a double-barreled top team.

Built around a massive $20 bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia, it involves a broad boost for US defenses against Iran by means of a three-line deployment strategy across the Persian Gulf and Middle East devised by Secretary Gates.

The system, according to DEBKAfile’s sources, has three powerful components or levels:

The Iraq Level: US forces remaining in Iraq after the withdrawal would redeploy to giant extraterritorial land and air bases located mainly in the central and northern regions.

The Gulf Level: The US would double in size the armies and air forces of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman, and augment its military facilities in the Gulf region by expansion and new bases.

The Red Sea Level: Jordan and Israel military strength would form the backbone of this line supplemented by new American bases.

On April 27, DEBKA-Net-Weekly 298 divulged the plan when it was still on the drawing board:

American military planners are in the throes of an unprecedented modernization and expansion project for the Gulf emirates’ air, missiles and air defense forces, DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military and intelligence sources report.

Its linchpins are the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and sultanate of Oman. At the end of the project, the Saudi air force will be the biggest in the Middle East, nearly the size of Israel’s, and equipped with the last word in avionics, electronic warfare systems and missiles.

The function assigned Saudi air fighters in the integrated US defense program is to take on the Iranian air force in an emergency, and prevent its antiquated, low-performance air force from providing support for Iranian naval forces and Iranian marines and saboteurs, should they attempt to seize territory in the Arab emirates.

Iran is known to command 600 bomber-fighters in operating condition.

They include outdated F-4E Phantom II, F5-E and F-14A Tomcats, French Mirage F-1EQ/BQ, Russian MIG-29, Mig-27, MIG-31 and Sukhoi Su-20, 22 and 25. Iran has produced two homemade models: Saeqeh-80 Owj and Azarakhsh. Iran’s most advanced fighting craft will be the Sukhoi Su-27 when it enters service in late 2008.

The Saudi air force, with 350 warplanes organized in 17 squadrons, is much smaller than Iran’s and not much more advanced. Its backbone of 134 Tornado aircraft includes 48 Tornado IDS.

Seventy-two F-15S were added in the second half of the 1990s, joining 41 F-15C/D aircraft which served the Saudi Air Fore from the early 1990s.

Washington plans to double the Saudi combat air fleet, by selling the kingdom front-line fighters, including F-16 C and D and F-15 E – or even possibly the F-22 Raptor stealth plane, to which Israel is strongly opposed, although most Saudi Arabian operational aircraft are piloted by Western aviators, some American.

Another key element in Gates’ Level 2 for the Persian Gulf is

the conversion of Camp Justice, the US air facility on the Omani island of Masirah, into the biggest American air base in the Persian Gulf and Middle East. An Arabian Sea island, 65 km long by 18 km wide, Masirah lies close to the Strait of Hormuz and the western coast of Iran.

A western military source in the Gulf also reports that a large increment of Marine forces is to be deployed permanently in Kuwait, which lies 130 km west of the nuclear reactor town of Bushehr on the southern Iranian coast.

End of quote from DEBKA-Net-Weekly.

DEBKAfile adds: Since April 18, when deputy secretary of state David Satterfield met King Abdullah in Riyadh and they went through the list of hardware on sale – marking down the king’s comments against each item – things have changed in US-Arabian relations; so too has the nature of the Iranian military menace hanging over Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and the Middle East.

These changes are marked in four aspects:

1. Washington and Riyadh are at odds on Iraq. In the beginning, the Americans approved of Saudi financial assistance to Iraqi insurgent groups to give them an incentive to pull away from al Qaeda. In recent weeks, however, the Saudis are equally active in undermining the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, calling him an Iran’s agent. This has brought the oil kingdom in direct conflict with the Bush policy.

2. A similar conflict has developed on the Palestinian question. King Abdullah strongly disapproves of US-Israeli backing for the Fatah’s Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad and imposition of an economic boycott against Hamas to overturn its rule in Gaza. The Saudis strongly advocate Palestinian reconciliation, unification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and acceptance of Hamas as a dominant factor in shaping Palestinian destiny.

3. As oil prices roar towards $80 – and the price of $100 not too far over the horizon – the Bush administration is increasingly critical of Abdullah’s refusal to raise sustained capacity production past its permanent 2.1 million barrels per day. If only Riyadh would relent, they say, world markets would be reassured and demand would cool.

4. Responding to the Bush administration’s Gulf plans for the Saudi air force and Bush’s plan to maintain a post-withdrawal military presence in Iraq, Russian president Vladimir Putin has stepped in with a move of his own: the sale of 250 long-range SU-30MKM fighter-bombers to Iran, as DEBKAfile revealed Friday, July 27.

As acrimony heats up between Washington and Riyadh over key issues, Rice and Gates will have their work cut out next week to talk Saudi leaders round to buying the US Gulf strategy.

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Not a Question of IF, but a Question of WHEN!

July 28, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Before the wars in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973 there was, as there is now, a flooding of weapons into the Middle East by foreign nations.

If that was the only indicator I had that a war MUST come out of the current military buildup by Hizbullah, Hamas, Syria, and Iran, then I would be willing to say we might see an end to this conflict between Abraham’ s off

spring, that has raged for centuries between the descendants of his son Isaac by Sarah, his son Ishmael by Hagar, and his last six sons by Keturah.

But that is not the case, and I know a final Major Conflict will terminate the present Age of the Gentiles at the final great battle known as Armageddon. Why? Simply because the Scriptures indicate that will be the case!

As a teenager I remember preachers saying over an over again that Hitler had to be the Antichrist and the Pope was the False Prophet. A few claimed that Mussolini was the Antichrist, and one or two said the Antichrist was the Japanese Emperor. But even as a teenager I knew we were a long way from the final war of this age, and felt sure I would be able to live most of my three-score and ten years or maybe fourscore if God allowed it. But in 1948 when I turned 16, Israel became a nation, and from that day forward my question has been WHEN will the final battle of this age begin? I knew the final war would not begin until the nation of Israel was in place in its God-given homeland.

Even a 16 year old kid could tell that from Ezekiel 37 and many other Scriptures which made that point quite clear. The WHEN I believed was also contingent upon the Old City of Jerusalem and its Temple Mount being in Jewish possession before God would let such a war break out. So, in 1967, as I listened to electronic intercept of its capture in June, I knew it was just a question of time before the final war of wars began in the Middle East.

Since it had been 40 years, a generation, from the time that Jesus said the temple would be leveled, until it actually happed, I speculated perhaps a 40 year period could pass before it fell again, beginning from the time it was recaptured by the Israelis, and I speculated the most likely time of an attack would be near the end of the 40 year period.

Well, it has been 40 years now since the Jews recaptured

the Temple Mount, and still no attack. But it has never been a question of IF –it has always been a question of WHEN! The time is certainly ripe for it, and all the ingredients and circumstances are now in place. From the time that the Temple was besieged by Titus in 70 AD until the fall of the last Jewish fortress at Masada in the Judean Wilderness by the Dead Sea, about three years passed. Perhaps the next three years will see the attack begin. In any case, the time frame of 2008 to the end of 2012 seems to be the best guess based on the existing Middle East scenario.

The three articles which follow, the first from DEBKAfile, the second from the UK Times, and the third from YNet News, describe the latest flood of trainers, personnel, and high tech offensive aircraft and missile defensive hardware into the turbulent Middle East.

It is not a question of IF these military offensive and defensive weapons will be used – It is a question of WHEN they will be used!

Begin DEBKAfile Report

DEBKA Reports: Iran buys 250 long-distance Sukhoi fighter-bombers, 20 fuel tankers, from Russia

July 27, 2007, 7:15 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tehran and the Russian Rosoboronexport arms group are about to sign a mammoth arms deal running into tens of billions of dollars for the sale to Tehran of 250 Su-30MKM warplanes and 20 IL-78 MKI fuel tankers. DEBKAfile’s military sources report Iran has stipulated delivery of the first aircraft before the end of 2007.

The transaction, Russia’s largest arms deal in 30 years, will endow Iran with a long-range aerial assault capability.

The Sukhoi can sustain a four-and-a-half hour raid at its maximum range of 3,000 km against long-distance, marine and low-lying ground targets across the Persian Gulf and Middle East, including Israel and Lebanon.

The fuel tankers extends the Su-30MKM’s assault sustainability to 10 hours and its range to 8,000 km at altitudes of 11-13 km. The closest comparable plane in the West is the American F-15E fighter bomber.

Iran’s acquisition of an exceptionally large fleet

of the Russian fighter-bomber will elevate its air force to one of the two largest and most advanced in the region, alongside the Israeli Air Force.

Iranian air crews are already training on the new Sukhoi aircraft, ready to start flying them early next year with only a short delay after delivery. DEBKAfile’s sources report that Moscow is selling Tehran the same Sukhoi model as India received earlier this year. The Iranians leaned hard on New Delhi to let them have the Israeli avionics and electronics the Indian Air Force had installed in the Russian craft. India refused.

Russia began delivering the same craft in June to Malaysia, which also sought Israeli avionics without success.

The Su-20MKM has won the nickname of “Islamic Version of Sukhoi.”

Its two-member crew shares the workload. The first pilot flies the aircraft, controls weapons and maneuvers the plane in a dogfight.

The co-pilot employs BVR air-to-air and air-to-ground guided weapons in long-range engagements, sweeps the arena for enemy craft or missiles and performs as command-and-control in group missions.

Some of the plane’s systems are products of the French Thales Airborne Systems company. Moscow’s contract with Tehran for the sale of the Su-30MKM must therefore be cleared with Paris.

There is no decision in Jerusalem about asking Paris to withhold its consent to a deal which would substantially upgrade the long-range air assault capabilities of the Islamic Republic whose leaders want to wipe Israel off the map. However, President Nicolas Sarkozy is in mid-momentum of a diplomatic drive in the Arab and Muslim world and unlikely to be receptive to an Israeli approach.

The only chance of aborting the Russian sale would be to route the approach through Washington.

Begin Times UK Article

Hamas Building an Army in Gaza

James Hider (Times-UK)

Hamas is now organizing its guerrilla forces into a regular army, training its men in various specializations and preparing to defend its newly won fiefdom from an Israeli invasion that many feel is never far away.

Among the footsoldiers who materialize only a few hundred meters from the Israeli border is an expert sapper who places explosives in the likely tracks of raiding tanks, then removes them again in the morning when his unit leaves.

Another is a sniper, while the man with the rocket-propelled grenade launcher is in charge of hitting armored vehicles. Each unit has its own paramedic.

There are scores of these cells of six to eight men dotted along the fence with Israel.

Part of the recalibration of Hamas is a change in philosophy, with less emphasis on a martyr’s death and more on achieving military goals

and returning alive.

“Our men know now it’s more important to keep fighting and not to become a martyr,” said Abu Ahmed, a 40-year-old commander in the armed wing of Hamas, the Iz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. “Our motto is ‘victory or death,’ but victory comes first.”

The new attitude had allowed Hamas to reduce its casualties and build a more experienced force, he said.

Some of the acquired skills can seem surprisingly high-tech.

Abu Bakr, another commander in Gaza City, claims to have hacked into unmanned drones that fly over Gaza with cameras, allowing them to see what the Israelis see.

Begin YNet News Article

U.S. to Fund Anti-Missile Systems for Israel

Yitzhak Benhorin (Ynet News)

On Thursday the House Appropriations Committee voted to give Israel $150 million in defense aid, $70 million beyond the $80 million requested by the administration, to either independently develop or purchase existing defense systems to counter possible ballistic rocket attacks.

The new systems would be in addition to Israel’s existing Arrow system, a project the U.S. continues to fund.

These funds are not part of the regular U.S. defense aid budget for Israel, which stands at $2.4 billion.

The funding will support Arrow missile co-production and integration, the purchase of a Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) fire unit, and a U.S.-Israeli short-range missile defense system dubbed “David’s Sling.”

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Gigantic New Bunker-Blaster Bombs Ready for Iranian Underground Targets!

July 28, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The General description of the Bunker-Blaster Bombs described in the DEBKAfile Report, which follows our heading, is as

follows:

BLU-109 / I-2000 / HAVE VOID

The 2000 lb BLU-109 was originally developed by Lockheed Martin to defeat the enemy’s most critical and hardened targets, secure command locations, protected weapon storage, and key transportation and communication resources. The BLU-109’s advanced technology case penetrates the target intact to get to the interior of hardened targets, where the warhead explodes, ensuring target destruction.

In 1985, Lockheed Missile and Space Corporation received a contract with the US Air Force to develop a Hard Target Weapon — an air delivered steel cased bomb that could penetrate up to six feet of reinforced concrete

in a shallow buried target. National Forge Company (NFC) manufactured the warhead case assemblies for Lockheed Missiles & Space Corporation, before becoming the Prime Contractor to the US Government, producing both the USAF (Model 110) and NAVY (Model 150) Penetrator Warhead Assemblies.
The BLU-109 improved performance 2,000 pound bomb developed in 1985 under the project name HAVE VOID.

The BLU-109 was designed for use against hardened structures and features a high-strength forged steel case and a new delayed-action tail fuze. It carries 550 pounds of high explosives and can penetrate more than six feet of reinforced concrete.

BLU-109 is a primary weapon for the world’s air and naval forces.

It can be delivered as either a guided or unguided weapon.

It has been certified on a variety of combat-proven precision guidance systems, and is available for international sale

in certified configuration or can be customized for flight on any aircraft capable of carrying 2000-lb stores.

The BLU series bomb bodies use PBNX-109 as explosive filler.

The BLU-109A/B used with the GBU-24 and GBU-31(V)4/B is a special purpose bomb comprised of steel alloy used for hardened targets.

The BLU-109/B (I-2000) is an improved 2,000-pound-class bomb designed as a penetrator without a forward fuze well. Its configuration is relatively slim, and its skin is much harder than that of the standard MK-84 bomb.

The skin is a single-piece, forged warhead casing of one-inch, high-grade steel. Its usual tail fuze is a mechanical-electrical FMU-143. The 1,925-pound bomb has a 550-pound tritonal high-explosive blast warhead. The BLU-109/B was always mated with a laser guidance kit to form a laser-guided bomb in Desert Storm.

National Forge Company became responsible in 1986 for the application of Statistical Process Control (SPC) to the machining operations of the BLU-109/B Warhead Case on a FSD contract for Lockheed Missiles & Space Company. The SPC data was utilized by manufacturing and quality control activities to analyze nonconformance unique to each machining center. In 1989, the company was the Quality Assurance Manager on the development of Hard Target Ordnance Package (HTOP) warhead materials and related processes, required to defeat targets identified by Eglin Air Force Base.

The company also worked that year on the proposal effort and the follow-on contract to develop a cast steel BLU-109/B or I-2000 that is equal to or better than the forged version of the I-2000 Warhead.

In 1992, National Forge Company was awarded by Hill Air Force Base the production contract (Ref# F42630-92-C-0273), for 1904 assemblies of the BLU-109/B. In 1993, NFC was awarded another production contract (Ref# F42630-93-C-0398) by Hill Air Force Base; this time for the production of 5569 assemblies of the BLU-109/B.

Begin DEBKAfile Report

DEBKAfile reports: US Air Force B-2 Stealth bombers will soon be fitted with newly-developed 15-tonne Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs

July 23, 2007, 10:05 AM (GMT+02:00)

American military sources say the gigantic new bunker-blaster is designed to hit fortified underground targets such as Iran’s uranium-enrichment facility

at Natanz.

It will be capable of drilling through many meters of earth or concrete. When it falls from a high altitude, the MOP – composed of 20% explosives, 80% hardened metal – will punch a hole in the toughest protective casing before exploding in depth. It is GPS guided.

DEBKAfile’s military sources reveal that Israel’s RAFAEL has upgraded its US-made SPICE air-to-ground missile, adding a stand-off precision guidance kit.

This kit has been cleared for the US-made BLU-109 penetrator warhead, carried by Israeli warplanes, which is rated one of the top-line US weapons capable of hitting fortified targets from the air or warship.

Its effective drop range has been extended from 60km to 90km enabling Israeli warplanes to release the missile to target from outside enemy territory without being exposed to air defense fire.

The Israel-made PGM cannot be jammed since it does not depend on coordinates which can be falsified.

After the targets are loaded into the bomb’s computer and dropped, it navigates and guides itself without pilot intervention and cannot therefore be diverted in mid-flight.

The unveiling of these super-weapons comes shortly after satellite pictures showed new digging efforts in the mountains just outside Iran’s Natanz facility.

Analysts worldwide believe a tunnel complex is under development.

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The First Calamity that Led to Tisha Be’av Mourning and Fasting!

July 27, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

THE PROPHETIC PREDICTION OF THE FIRST CALAMITY

Jeremiah 34:1,2 – The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, [2] Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: [3] And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

JERUSALEM AFTER THE FIRST CALAMITY FULFILLMENT

Lamentations 1:1-8 – How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people how is she become as a widow she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary [2] She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. [3] Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. [4] The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts: all her gates are desolate: her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness.

[5] Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy. [6] And from the daughter of Zion all her beauty is departed: her princes are become like harts that find no pasture, and they are gone without strength before the pursuer.

[7] Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths. [8] Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed: all that honoured her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness: yea, she sigheth, and turneth backward.

“BECAUSE THEY HAVE SEEN HER NAKEDNESS”

Those of the church age would do well to remember this quoted phrase from verse eight, because the nakedness

of unrighteousness of this final church age generation will soon be completely exposed to all of heaven at the battle of Armageddon. But Jerusalem and Israel will be restored to their finest hour in history following the terrible calamity described in Revelation 16:15 to 21. Just as surely as the prophecy of Jeremiah, predicting the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians was fulfilled, so also will the prophecies of John and Zechariah be fulfilled concerning the fall of Jerusalem to the enemies of Israel in this day and time. It is not a question of IF, but a question of WHEN!

“LEST HE WALK NAKED, AND THEY SEE HIS SHAME”

Revelation 16:15-21 – Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. [16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

[17] And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. [19] And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Zechariah 14:4-9 – And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward

the north, and half of it toward the south.

[5] And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. [6] And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: [7] But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. [8] And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. [9] And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. (See Birth Pang Number 10 in our Birth Pang Archives).

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Why the Ninth of Av still Matters

Eli Kavon, THE JERUSALEM POST

July 23, 2007

On Tisha Be’av, a traditional day of mourning and fasting in the Jewish calendar, Jews around the world remember the Babylonian destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE, the Roman razing of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and the fall of Betar – the last stronghold of the Bar Kochba Revolt – in 135 CE. Other disasters also occurred on the Ninth of Av in Jewish history.

On the eve of Tisha Be’av, Jews read from the Book of Lamentations, a work of mourning for a fallen Jerusalem ascribed to Jeremiah. The ancient prophet laments, “How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!”

Does Jeremiah’s lament have any meaning to Jews today? Is the Ninth of Av relevant in a world where Jews are sovereign in the Land of Israel, Jerusalem teems with people and is far from solitary, and Jews are able to pray in the Old City of Jerusalem at the Western Wall? Why is there a need to mourn when, in fact, Jews today should be celebrating the fact that after 2,000 years a Jewish state has again arisen in the Jewish homeland?

Do we re ally need to f

ast for our sins and the resulting loss of sovereignty – when, today, there is a Jewish state and a Jewish army and a Jewish parliament in the Land of Israel

?

I MUST admit that I have no easy answer to these questions. But I do know that Jews today still have important reasons to commemorate the destructions of the Ninth of Av.

First, we must remember that in ancient times the Assyrians, Babylonians, Hellenists and Romans persecuted our people, and defiled and destroyed the political and religious center of Jewish life embodied in the Temple. The Jewish people endured much suffering as a result of these tragedies.

Memory is a central component of Jewish faith. We must never forget our past, both the triumphs and the tragedies. If we do, we are doomed to repeat the past’s mistakes. Memory is a central component of Jewish life and theology. The past is always present.

Second, the Jews may have sovereignty over the Land of Israel, but we have not yet rebuilt the Temple. Only in an ideal age will a messiah from the line of King David lead the effort to reestablish the Temple and bring recognition of God as One to the world.

Yes, Israel belongs to the Jewish people. But we are far from the ideal world of a messiah. Israel today faces a crisis of lack of leadership and a great gap between rich and poor.

The State of Israel is the religious, political and cultural center of the Jewish world. But it is far from being the first flowering of messianic redemption.

Meanwhile, Jews all over the world are ignorant of their history, heritage, faith and culture. This crisis of ignorance leads to assimilation and the erosion

of Jewish life all over.

IN THE WIDER world, people are suffering from hunger and from theological and ideological fanaticism. The reality of death permeates the news in our papers and on TV. So we must mourn a defective world and hope for better times.

The Ninth of Av reminds us that we have not yet reached the ultimate goal of a world of peace and brotherhood. We have a long way to go.

Third, and perhaps most important, only two generations ago Six Million Jews died at the hands of

the Nazis and their collaborators. The Shoah is the worst disaster to befall the Jewish people in modern history. Today Jews have sovereignty over Israel. But the cost has been an enormous one.

How can we convert the Ninth of Av into a day of celebration when the survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen and Dachau still live to tell their tales of survival?

As I fast on Tisha Be’av, I will try to experience in a very small way, the starvation of Jews in the ghettos of Warsaw and Lodz during the Second World War.

Israelis and their friends abroad celebrated Jewish triumph on Israel Independence Day. Now comes the time to mourn for the Jews’ great loss. To connect the Ninth of Av to the disaster of the Holocaust in no way detracts from the mourning for the Temples destroyed by our ancient oppressors.

This connection to events of 65 years ago gives an immediacy to an ancient observance, reminding us that while the Assyrians, Romans, Hellenists and Babylonians are gone and we are still here, there are enemies today who want to destroy the Jewish people and the Jewish state. This reality gives us persuasive reason to continue to mourn on the Ninth of Av.

The writer lectures on Jewish history and thought for Nova Southeastern University’s Lifelong Learning Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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.