blog.Tribulationperiod.com

The Results of Diplomacy with Islam!

OR HOW TO INVIG

ORATE A DREAM OF CALIPHATE!

December 18, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

All four of the excerpts which follow our heading were extracted from the December 18 Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Daily alert. They come from different news sources, which are listed with each excerpt.

The first two excerpts demonstrate what diplomacy and a withdrawal of plans to attack Iranian nuclear facilities is accomplishing – a period of relative false peace, which is occurring while fanatical jihad rogue states and the many terrorist groups, bring the moderates into their camp by an orchestrated fear of what will happen to their rulers if the Caliphate crew does defeat Israel.

The last two excerpts demonstrate that the dream of a restored great Caliphate stretching from southern satellite nations of the former Soviet Union, which broke away after the uprising in the last century.

The populations of these countries contain a majority of those who are of the Islamic faith. This would be a gigantic Caliphate, stretching from west to east from Morocco to India, and from north to south from the border of southern Russia to the southern tip of Yemen. Oddly enough, this was, to the first readers of the Books of Ezekiel and Daniel, the known world of their day, which I have contended for some 30 years will be the extent of the last days Empire of the Antichrist.

It will be a C

aliphate Empire.

If you would like to read a full exposition of WHY I am so convinced the final world Empire of Antichrist will only c over

those areas of the world as it was known to the readers of Daniel, Ezekiel, and John when they wrote their prophecies, please take a look in our Archive at Prophecy Update number 77, 77A, 77B, and 77C.

If I am correct, it is going to make a “world” of difference, because the Antichrist will be able to being in his prophetic Empire, while this generation is still waiting for him to take over the entire world as we know it today.

Begin 18 December Excerpts from Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Begin Jerusalem Post Excerpt

International Aid to PA No Guarantee for Boosting Moderates

Khaled Abu Toameh

Since its establishment in 1994, the PA has received nearly $6.5 billion in international aid. The assumption was that economic prosperity would weaken radicals and boost the moderates among the Palestinians. But hundreds of millions of dollars went into secret bank accounts or to build villas for senior PA officials. The international community that was pouring money on the PA did not seem to care about the stories of financial corruption and embezzlement. Nor did the donors pay attention to the fact that Arafat was inciting his people not only against Israel, but also against the same “infidels” who were signing his checks.

While the billions of dollars promised at the Paris conference on Monday are likely to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians and strengthen their economy, there is no guarantee that the financial aid would have a moderating effect on many of them. This money is mainly designed to keep Fatah in power and prevent Hamas from taking over the West Bank. Unless the PA changes its rhetoric and starts promoting real peace and coexistence with Israel, the millions of dollars are not going to create a new generation of moderate Palestinians. The only way to undermine Hamas is not by channeling billions of dollars to the PA leadership, but by offering the Palestinians a better alternative to the Islamist movement.

(Jerusalem Post)

Begin New York Times Excerpt

America’s New Talk Policy with “Rogue” St ates

Helene Cooper

Americ

a is about to enter a new age of talk. Seven years of President Bush’s Don’t-Talk-to-Evil policy are over.

Now administration officials are openly making nice with Syria, holding round after round of talks with Iran over the fate of Iraq, and making preliminary plans for Secretary of State Rice to visit Libya.

“Will we talk to the rogues or not?” says Robert J. Einhorn, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He says the answer is clear: We will. (New York Times)

Begin Boston Globe Excerpt

The Algerian Terror Lesson

Editorial

The suicide bombings at UN headquarters and the Supreme Court building in Algiers this month were crimes against humanity.

They also offered clues about the aims of al-Qaeda and true scope of the threat from fanaticized jihadists.

The primary objective of al-Qaeda and likeminded groups is to overthrow Arab regimes they consider to be un-Islamic, such as the regime in Algeria. In the Algerian press, the bombings were seen as a sign that government efforts to co-opt violent Islamists by pardoning them have failed.

There remains a lingering threat from small bands of radicals intoxicated by a FANCIFUL VISION OF RESTORING THE GLORY OF A VANISHED ISLAMIC CALIPHATE AROUND THE WORLD. Yet when Muslim communities experience what it would be like to live under the al-Qaeda version of a restored caliphate – as in Iraq’s Anbar province – they recoil in horror. Boston Globe)

Begin MEMRI Excerpt

Al-Qaeda Leader: Restore the Islamic Caliphate from Chechnya to Spain

On December 14, 2007, the Islamist website Al-Hesbah posted an audio address by al-Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, titled “The Treason…of Annapolis.” In it, al-Zawahiri calls on Hamas to reject any political negotiation over the future of Palestine, and to declare its commitment to waging jihad until all Islamic lands – from Chechnya to Andalusia (Spain) – are liberated and subjugated to Islamic rule AND UNTIL THE CALIPHATE IS RESTORED.

(MEMRI)

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Magog-

Meshech- Tubal

Prophecy Is Awakening!

God’s Prophecy against a Land, the Land of Magog, and against a Man, who will be the Chief Prince of Meshech and Tubal during the tribulation period, is moving toward its time of Fulfilment

A Land of Magog Leader is setting the Stage for Future Help to the Chief

Prince of Meshech and Tubal, when the Prince One Day asks for it at Armageddon!

December 18, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

At the time Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, the land now occupied by Russia was a part of the Land of Magog occupied by the descendents of Magog, while the land now occupied by Syria and Lebanon was a part of the land occupied by the descendents of Meshech and Tubal. The stage is now being set for the prophecies of Ezekiel to begin to be fulfilled, with the beginning of its Middle East war likely to occur at some point in time between 2010 and 2015.

The two articles which follow, the first from the Jerusalem Post, and the second from DEBKAfiles, describe some of the events in Russia and the Middle East, which are the preamble to the events prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 38. The Two articles are followed by a full exposition of the first four verses of Chapter 38, which were extracted from our 2002 Web Site Prophecy Update Archives.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Putin says he’d accept role of prime minister after elections

Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST

December 17, 2007

President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he would agree to become prime minister if Dmitry Medvedev is elected as his successor – but that he would not seek to make the premiership more powerful.

Putin’s statement virtually ensures that the 42-year-old Medvedev, seen as business-friendly and not hawkish, will be elected March 2.

“If the citizens of Russia show trust in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him the new president, I would be ready to continue our joint work as prime minister, without changing the distribution of authority” between the positions, Putin told the congress of the dominant United Russia party.

The prime minister is a significantly less powerful figure than the president in Russia. But by remaining in a prominent position, Putin could continue to exert his enormous influence and personal popularity to direct Russian affairs.

He has previously said that a victory in parliamentary elections by United Russia would give him the “moral authority” to ensure that his policies are continued.

The party won the December 2 vote with an overwhelming majority of seats.

When Medvedev received Putin’s endorsement last week, he quickly proposed that Putin become prime minister after the election. Putin had not publicly responded previously.

Begin DEBKAfile Article

Putin Aims to Trump Bush’s Middle East Moves

December 17, 2007, 12:29 PM (GMT+02:00)

The foreign ministry in Moscow announced Monday, Dec. 17, the delivery of the first fuel shipment to power the Iranian nuclear reactor Russia is building at Bushehr. The announcement coincided with an international conference in Paris for 60 countries to consider the Palestinians’ application for $5.6 bn in aid. DEBKAfile’s Moscow sources report this was a deliberate ploy to steal the thunder of an event built up as the sequel of the US-promoted Middle East conference in Annapolis last month.

Our Moscow sources report President Vladimir Putin has adopted the strategy of matching – or topping – every US or Western move concerning the Middle East. He also plans, they reveal, to land in Syria in grand style on New Year’s Eve, a week before US president George W. Bush begins his Middle East tour.

Putin will be flown by Russian helicopter to inspect the Russian flotilla of six warships headed by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, which is due by then to dock in Syria’s friendly Mediterranean Tartous port.

The Russian company building the Bushehr reactor Atomstroiexport said Monday 180 fuel rods would be sent to Bushehr in the next two months, enriched to the same 3.7 percent grade as the product of the Iranian Natanz complex.

The company stresses it is below weapons grade and the containers were inspected and sealed by the UN’s nuclear watchdog. Tehran was said to have provided written assurances that the fuel would not be used anywhere outside Bushehr.

The Russian foreign ministry urged Iran to stop enriching uranium, but a senior Iranian official said this would not happen under any circumstances.

Putin, who plans to be filmed worldwide with Russian sailors on the deck of the aircraft carrier, backed by 47 Russian warplanes and 10 helicopters, will be challenging the US Sixth Fleet, the Israeli Navy and UNIFIL’s marine arm for control of the eastern Mediterranean.

He will also be marking the end of his eight-year presidency in March with a flourish.

Putin will take the opportunity to pay visits to select Middle East rulers. His bureau is still working on arrangements. The Russian president is reported to be interested in another official visit to Israel, his second, to outdo Bush who is due in Jerusalem and Ramallah on Jan. 9-10 for his first trip to Israel as US president.

Moscow is determined to host the next Israel-Palestinian peace conference next March or April, by which time Putin may have changed hats from president to super prime minister. That session is planned to embrace also Syria’s claim to the Golan held by Israel since 1967, as well as two enclaves, the Shebaa Farms and half of divided Ghajar village, to which Lebanon now lays belated claim.

Putin personally interceded with Syrian president Bashar Assad for a delegate to the Annapolis conference and expects to be paid in kind.

The rivalry between Bush’s Washington and Putin’s Moscow for influence in the Middle East is clearly more intense and sharp-edged than generally appreciated. He has made it clear that his government means to be co-opted to US-led moves in the Middle East, or else Moscow will put spokes in Washington’s wheels.

DEBKAfile’ s military

sources were first out On Dec. 5 with the exclusive disclosure of Moscow’s counter-action to Washington’s decision to whitewash Iran’s nuclear program from 2003, by authorizing completion of the Bushehr reactor and deploying a war fleet in the Mediterranean.

Begin Archive Prophecy Update 27 from 2002

PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 27

Ezekiel 38:1,2 – “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.” Gog (high extension) appears for the first time in Ezekiel. He is the Anti-christ of whom so much has been written. Please note that he is identified as the “chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” Many commentators, especially in the l ast 100 years, have not identified him

as the Antichrist, but have identified him as the ruler or chief prince of the land of Magog, which I do not believe Scripture justifies. Before the 20th Century, most identified him as the Antichrist. In verse 2 Ezekiel is told to set his face against two separate things, a person and a place. The person is Gog (Antichrist), and the place is the land of the descendants of Magog where it existed in Ezekiel’s day. If we do not locate the territories of Magog, Meshech, and Tubal as they existed in Ezekiel’s day, then we can have no idea as to where the Antichrist will soon rear his head, or the area from which his attack will be launched. Why? Because more than 2500 years have slipped by since Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, and the bloodlines of all three men been distributed across the entire planet. In order to correctly identify the area, from whence the Antichrist will attack Israel, we must identify where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were residing in 500 and 600 B.C. Why? Because the Antichrist is not the chief prince of Magog, he is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. He will come from the area where their descendants were settled in 500 and 600 B.C.

I will attempt to use two different sources to locate where the descendants of Meshech and Tubal were clustered at the time of Ezekiel’s writings. The first is found in the 27th chapter of Ezekiel, and the second is from the Assyrian monument stones of that period. Ezekiel 27:3 – “And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.” Tyrus (Tyre) was a seaport on the southern coast of what we know today as Lebanon, which is directly north of Israel. Tyrus built its first great sea wall to protect its harbored ships more than 3000 years ago, and was a thriving seaport in Ezekiel’s day. Its ships carried merchandise from the countries of the east across all the Mediterranean, and even as far north as the shores of the English Channel. Zidon (Sidon) was also a sea port, and less than 20 miles separated the two cities. The wise men of Tyrus were the navigators of the ships, and the men of Zidon were the deck hands, as portrayed in Ezekiel 27:8 – “The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.”

Now, bearing all this in mind, let us look at Ezekiel 27:13 – “Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.” Meshech and Tubal were warlike tribes, who often took their captives (persons of men) and the vessels of brass they had captured, or hammered out themselves, and carried them to the NEAREST seaport for trading. The captives were, of course, loaded on the ships and sold as slaves in foreign ports of trade. Why the NEAREST seaport? Because, in Ezekiel’s day, travel was by foot, donkey, camel, and horse. People always carried their trading goods to the nearest port, particularly slaves. Therefore, I conclude that Meshech and Tubal must have roamed in the area we know today as Syria, Lebanon, northwestern Iraq, and southern Turkey. Meshech and Tubal are the Mushki and Tabali of the Assyrian stone monuments. In the time of Sargon and Sennacherib (700 B.C.) the territory of Tubal adjoined southern Cilicia, while that of Meshech filled the highlands to the east of Tubal. Considering the locations derived from the Bible and stone tablets, it appears that the Antichrist, as the chief prince of the area once occupied by Meshech and Tubal, is likely to arise, and eventually to attack Israel, from Syria or Lebanon. And, since Lebanon is virtually controlled by Syria, it appears Syria is the best guess for his homeland.

But what about the land of Magog? Where were the Magogites settled in Ezekiel’s day? Lord willing, we will attempt to zero in on that area in Prophecy Update Number 28.

Begin 2002 Archive Prophecy Update 28 from our Web Site

PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 28

Ezekiel 38:1-3 – “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, [2] Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, [3] And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:”

In Prophecy Update Number 27 we established, from the Scriptures and the Assyrian stone monuments, that the descendants of Meshech and Tubal, at the time Ezekiel wrote his prophecies, were primarily located in what we know as Syria and Lebanon. We also established that the prophecy is again a person, Gog (Antichrist), and against a land, the

land of Magog. I am convinced that the Antichrist will attack Israel from Syria. But what about the “land of Magog?” Where were the Magogites located at the time of Ezekiel’s writings? Flavius Josephus, the noted Jewish historian makes the following statements concerning the Magogites in Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter VI, under the title, HOW EVERY NATION WAS DENOMINATED FROM THEIR FIRST INHABITANTS: “Japhet, the son of Noah, had seven sons.” “They called the nations by their own names.” “Magog founded those that from him were called Magogites, but who by the Greeks were called Scythians.” The Greek writers of the Classic Age said the Scythians occupied the area which today we identify as stretching from Moldova eastward across the Ukraine, southern Russia, and into Kazakhstan, then southward into Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan – Roughly the area north of the Black Sea, between the Black and Caspian Seas, and the area northwest, north, and northeast of the Caspian Sea.

I do not believe the nations in this area will join in the initial attack against Israel, but I am certain they will come down for the final battle of Gog’s war, which is the Battle of Armageddon. The Battle of Armageddon, found in Revelation 16:16, is the final battle in Gog’s war, which began 3 and ½ years earlier.

Verse 3 fails to include the “land of Magog,” and is a message directly pointed, and personally addressed, against the Antichrist Gog, who once again is identified as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Popular writers in the last century brought a teaching into play that is simply not true.

They said the word “chief” was “rosh” in the Hebrew language, which is true. But they said it meant “Russian,” which is not true. The Russian and Hebrew language have never overlapped in history to support such a claim. He is not a Russian prince. He is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, most likely having a Syrian father. The word “rosh,” in the KJV, is translated as “chief” 90 times, as “head” 349 times, as “top” 75 times, as “beginning” 14 times, as “company” 12 times, as “captain” 10 times, as “sum” 9 times, as “first” 6 times, as “principle” 5 times, as “chief man” 4 times, and as “ruler” on two occasions. At no time, in all of history, could it legitimately be identified as someone who is a Russian.

I am convinced this chief prince of Meshech and Tubal will come from northwestern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, or southern Turkey, but I will be very much surprised if his father is not a Syrian. He will be the leader of a multilateral Arab force that will carry out a surprise attack against Israel from the north. I believe this is spoken of in Revelation 17:12,13 – “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.”

Although he will have the support of ten Arab nations, I believe the nations directly involved in the initial attack will be Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran from without, and the Palestinians from within. I believe the other nations, which will then immediately become involved in the Jihad, are most likely Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan.

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A LONG TERM HUDNA IS A GREAT IDEA!

AS ISLAMIC CLAY & IRON NATIONS BOND TOGETHER!

December 17, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The two reports which follow our heading, the first a complete article from DEBKAfile, and the second an excerpt from a Jerusalem Post article, are the latest news releases demonstrating the prophetic events coming together for an eventual Middle East war.

I must confess my bias of anxiously desiring to see the Lord return to rule and reign does seem, at times, to fuel my desire for war in the Middle East to begin, which I am sure causes some who are not anxious for his coming, to think I am a fatalist. How could anyone possibly be excited to see reasons for the final great Middle East war of the Age of the Gentiles to begin at some point in time between 2010 and 2015? To many it must seem madness!

To rejoice in the results of Annapolis and the recent CIA Intelligence Estimate of Iran’s nuclear capability, which to me means we are finally in a period of time when the Arab nations will bond together as iron and clay, thereafter to attack Israel, driving her into the Negev Wilderness, seems to make some think I have a cruel and heartless attitude for the welfare of my fellow man.

Nothing could be farther from the truth! I long for all these things to begin, which God’s Word indicates will happen before Jesus’ Second Advent, for it means a true Peace and Safety will finally come to a world that has sunk to a level of ungodliness such as existed before the flood of Noah, and prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

BEFORE THE FLOOD

Romans 1:24-27 – Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: [25] Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. [26] For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: [27] And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error

which was meet.

BEFORE THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GORMORRAH

Genesis 19:4-7 – But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: [5] And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

[6] And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, [7] And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

The consequences of the Annapolis Peace Conference and the American Intelligence announcement, (that Iran stopped a part of their drive for nuclear weapons in 2003), has paved the way for a relative false peace in the Middle East, in what may seem to many to be oppo site

to what these two events were intended to produce. The two events are drawing Arab nations, classified as moderate, to establish better relations with those classified as fanatical, in order to have a favorable position with them in the event the jihad advocates win the coming Middle East war. All that is needed to complete a period of relative false Middle East peace, is a long term truce agreement, a hudna with Hamas, with is quite allowable under Islamic Law.

Because my saved soul is anxious for the end time horrors to begin, I hope a hudna is in the making, even though it may seem inhuman to desire such a thing, which will be a part of what leads to great end time terror.

Matthew 24:21,22,29,30 – 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. [29] Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

[30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Luke 21:25-28 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

[27] 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.

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 temporary bonding of iron and clay prophesied in Daniel 4 has begun in the Middle East.

Daniel 2:41-43 – And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. [42] 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. (See Our Archive Prophecy Update Number 233B)

Begin DEBKAfile Article

DEBKAfile: Ahmadinejad flies Monday to Jeddah to take part in pilgrimage at invitation of Saudi King Abdullah

December 17, 2007, 9:53 AM (GMT+02:00)

The Islamic Republic’s first president to take part in the annual hajj, he announced he would be meeting officials as well as “the Great Muslim community.”

DEBKAfile reported on Dec. 13: In Mecca, Abdullah and Ahmadinejad will be making their second public appearance together in two weeks.Their first was at the GCC summit in Doha, where they arrived hand in hand. DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly have closely tracked the unfolding of the Saudi-brokered Washington-Tehran dialogue, moving on now to the evolution of Riyadh’s own epic rapprochement with Tehran with the Bush administration’s blessing.

This development signals Saudi recognition of Iran and its president as regional powers and King Abdullah’s willingness to share his Middle East leadership role with an Iranian partner. The rug is implicitly pulled from under the international campaign to punish Iran severely for its nuclear activities, while Tehran’s ally Syria and surrogates, Hizballah, Hamas and Jihad Islami, gain new standing.

After several delays, Moscow has also agreed to finish Iran’s nuclear reactor at Bushehr complete with fuel, confirming DEBKAfile’s report of Dec. 4.

End DEBKAfile Article

I am hoping a hudna will eventually be agreed to by the nation of Israel and Hamas.

Begin Excerpt from Jerusalem Post Article

Neutralize Hamas

David Kimche, THE JERUSALEM POST

December 13, 2007

Hamas today is the one major factor that can stymie any move to an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.

It is, by every count, the joker in the Annapolis pack. The talks that began on Wednesday, the beginning of the official negotiations that were decided upon at Annapolis, will come to naught unless a solution is found for Hamas violence. Even on the assumption that we, on our side, will be able to overcome the objections of our own extremist “negationists,” the division of the Palestinians geographically and ideologically into two virtually enemy camps makes a settlement almost impossible unless Fatah and Hamas can come to terms with each other. There is no way that we can solve our problems with the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, and leave Gaza to fester under Hamas rule as a separate entity.

This fact is well understood by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad. Moreover, they know that they cannot, by force of arms, fulfill the demand of the road map to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and stop violence; the only way for them to do that is to reach an agreement with Hamas.

Both the Palestinians and the Israelis have to fulfill the conditions of the road map as a prelude to the implementation of any agreement they reach in the negotiations that began on Wednesday.

For these reasons we can expect one of two scenarios in the near future: either a renewed effort to reach a Fatah-Hamas unity government, despite the tremendous antipathy that exists between the two, or a massive Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, aimed at crushing Hamas. There are indications that both the Saudis and the Egyptians are already putting out feelers for a renewal of talks between the two Palestinian factions in an effort to bring them back together again.

Such a move would place Israel in a difficult situation.

Hamas is opposed to peace negotiations. Moreover, we have said that we will break off talks with the Palestinians if the PA unity government is resuscitated. However, given the fanfare with which Annapolis was initiated, President Bush’s commitment to it and the massive backing it has received from all corners of the world, it will be very hard for Israel to walk away from the Annapolis formula.

Should we, then, lay aside our objections to accepting Hamas, despite its refusal to recognize Israel and to forgo the use of violence against us? In my book, that would be the wrong message for us to send out, wrong from every point of view.

A preferable course of action would be to engage Hamas, not directly, nor even indirectly through Israeli peace groups unconnected with the government, but via third parties – Egyptian, Saudi or whatever – and to propose a long-term hudna, a cease-fire, in which Hamas (and Islamic Jihad) would cease Kassam rocket attacks and all other forms of violence against us, and we would halt our operations against them. There are strong indications that Hamas would not be adverse to such a proposal; on the contrary, it would probably welcome it. We had such an arrangement in the past, under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Hamas abided by it.

As I write these words I know that there are many readers who will say, “No cease-fire. The army should go in there and smash them.” Maybe that is what will happen. The army, however, is loath to do it. For one thing, it does not want to be bogged down for a lengthy time in Gaza; it knows that such an operation would only temporarily stop the Kassams (we have been there before), and it knows that there would be heavy casualties.

A long-term cease-fire would let the government off the hook – an inability to stop the Kassam attacks is something that no government should allow tolerate. Such a cease-fire would neutralize Hamas resistance to the peace negotiations, and enable the talks to continue.

One thing should be clear: the only way to weaken Hamas is to give the Palestinian people hope for a political solution. They will not support Hamas, not vote for it in the next elections, if they believe that the negotiations that began on Wednesday can bring positive results. If, on the other hand, the talks falter or fail, we will see Hamastan not only in Gaza but in Judea and Samaria as well, and no military operation will be able to prevent this.

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THE OLD COMMON MARKET THEORY!

A Crumbling Statue with 13.5 Toes on Each Foot!

December 17, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

I am hoping that by now many have finally gotten off the teaching that became prominent at the end of World War II, which advocated that the ten toes of Daniel’s Chapter Two Statue and the ten horns of his Chapter 7 Beast, represented ten European nations, and that the evil Antichrist would arise in Europe to lead the ten against Israel in the Tribulation Period. At the risk of offending my Brethren in the faith, let me assure you I am acutely aware I must answer for what I teach at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and I have spent a considerable part of my life on this particular area of prophecy. I am concerned because many prophetic teachers are still clinging to a belief the Antichrist and ten nations will come out of Europe. I have taught for 35 years this will not be the case.

Begin Archive Prophecy Update Number 74B

SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 74B

RETURN OF AN 18TH CENTURY ALBATROSS!

July 1, 2002

In Special Prophecy Update Number 74A, titled “Historical Rapture Teachings,” I gave a lengthy discourse that outlined the long search I have made to discover the truth as to when various teachings on “the rapture” first came into print. In this long period of invading the musty shelves of ancient religious book archives, I was not only trying to discover rapture teachings, but also books that discussed things concerning the antichrist. The thing I was most interested in was WHERE the ancient books taught he would arise. As I perused through many old books, a pattern began to evolve as to HOW the most popular teachings of today probably came into being, and it is a most interesting and revealing series of events that manifest it.

The Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815 with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo and the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Before the rise of Napoleon in 1803, I could not find a single book that had the antichrist coming out of Europe. I AM NOT saying that such a book does not exist. In fact, I rather suspect that one, or several, do exist, but I could not locate them. All the books that I encountered brought the antichrist out of the old Syrian Empire

that was one of the four divisions made when

the vast Empire of Alexander the Great was partitioned.

The majority made the false prophet of Revelation 13:12 represent the Pope of Rome. It was also apparent to some that the antichrist’s empire was connected with Islam because the conquest of the entire Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) by their forces in the eighth century, and the fact Islam was not driven out completely until 1492, when Christian forces drove them out, made it easy for the people of 1803 to believe the antichrist would come out of the old Syrian Empire, which was at that time, and is even to the present day, of the Islamic faith.

This natural fear across Europe of an Islamic antichrist, where most of the books were being published following 1455, is easy to understand. In addition to the Iberian penetration into Europe, part of which was still in place in 1455, there was an Islamic invasion of Europe going on when books began to be printed. In 1453 Constantinople fell to the great Muhammad II. The followers of Islam continued to drive into southeastern Europe under Suleiman I, and reached the gates of Vienna in 1529. During the 1700’s and 1800’s their decaying Ottoman empire fought against Russia, and Greece won its independence.

So how did the focus shift to Europe as the designated place of the antichrist’s rise to power? When the old Islamic Ottoman Empire let the Young Turk movement lead them to join with Germany in World War I, and were soundly defeated along with Germany, in a war dominated by great battles in Europe, then the antichrist watchers begin to look toward Europe. But most Bible teachers continued to bring the antichrist out of the old Syrian (Seleucid) Dynasty until World War II. The rise of Hitler in Europe, and Mussolini in Italy, gave rise to many new books saying that the antichrist would rise out of Europe, and the false prophet would be the Pope of Rome. Millions of books were thrown in trashcans when the Axis powers were crushed to powder.

But because two great wars had engulfed mankind in chaos, and both involved Germany and Italy, the fear of a third German uprising made what happened next inevitable.

The end of World War II left Europe in shambles, so the Marshal Plan was implemented to assure their economic growth. Six nations decided to link together to promote a more rapid economic growth.

In 1957, the countries of West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemburg signed the Treaty of Rome, and the European Common Market officially came into existence. It was a foregone conclusion that they would grow in number and reach 10 in a short period of time. It was at this time th

at a very well known book was written about them. It was probably one of the first books in religious book history written by a dynamic writer with a very readable style, and an exciting manner of expression. Up until World War II religious books were written by old stick-in-the-mud writers like myself, whose style of writing was designed to persuade their peers, rather than to gain the attention of the masses. But this well known book sold like wildfire, weaving its way into countless numbers of Sunday school classes, and into millions of the sermons proclaimed from pulpits across the world.

Today’s younger generation of preachers have no idea what a fantastic impact the book had on prophetic teachings. The writer indicated the European Common Market, or as it came to be called, “The Six,” would grow to 10 in number and, when this happened, the antichrist would arise in Europe and gradually take control of the entire world, as we know it today. He taught that these 10 European Common nations were the 10 toes of Daniel’s great statue, the 10 horns of Daniel’s fourth beast, and the 10 horns on each of John’s two beasts in the book of Revelation. Well, if that was the correct interpretation,

then at the present time the statue has 15 toes, and each of the three beasts has 15 horns.

We were also told that West Germany was a part of the old Roman Empire. Not even a bad historian will tell you that. In fact Germanic tribes eventually conquered Rome. Because of the rise in power of the Soviet Union at the same time “The Six” were used to gain prophetic attention, we were given a revised interpretation of the word “chief” in Ezekiel 38:2,3 and 39:1. We were advised it meant “Russian,” and that “Gog” would be a Russian prince. There is no way under heaven the Hebrew word “rosh,” translated as “chief” in Ezekiel, could legitimately mean “Russian.” Because this Hebrew word, when uttered, has the “R” sound of “Russia,” it was used as proof that it meant Gog would be a Russian prince. That is absurd. You might as well say that since the “A” in Artic proves Gog will come from his place out of the north, and that this distant northern place is the North Pole where Santa Claus lives. I agree that Magog is most likely what we call Russia today, but in all three of the previously listed Scriptures it clearly states that Gog is “the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.” The primary cluster of the descendants of Meshech and Tubal, when Ezekiel wrote, was centered in what we call Lebanon and Syria today. I make my case concerning the word “rosh” and the location of Meshech and Tubal in Prophecy Updates 27, 28, and 29.

Before the Civil War most expositors taught that there was only one war in the last days of this present age, the war of Gog and Magog, which was to last for 3 and ½ years and end with the final battle of this age, the battle of Armageddon. However, in order to justify the antichrist coming out of Europe, another war was added out of which he was supposed to arise BEFORE the tribulation period.

Please forgive this diversion. I will now return to the European events that gradually led to what most expositors now expound, that the antichrist will come out of Europe.

Napoleon was supposed to the antichrist. Kaiser Wilhelm II was supposed to be the antichrist.

Hitler was supposed to be the antichrist. Stalin was supposed to be the antichrist. But I do not believe we should ever have changed the teaching he was to come out of the area that we identify as Lebanon and Syria, and since Lebanon is a country on paper only, having been taken over by the 35,000 Syrian troops occupying it, and is now called “greater” Syria by the Syrians, I believe one could simply say that antichrist would come out of Syria (See Prophecy Updates 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69 in our Archives at the top of this Prophecy Update).

The Napoleonic Wars across Europe introduced modern man to new killing machines for battlefield destruction. World War I accelerated the process, and mass destruction by many more new destructive inventions produced even more widespread battlefield destruction, also allowing the destruction to begin to spread away from the local battlefields to civilian populations. World War II produced a fantastic arsenal of machines and weapons that terrorized on both land and sea, producing the massive worldwide destruction so well documented on TV.

So, it was only natural that, after the Napoleonic Wars, there would be a gradual change in Biblical teaching as to HOW the Biblical prophecies of horrific events would be fulfilled in the tribulation period.

Before 1760 prophetic virtually all expositors taught that the events of the tribulation period were God’s unleashing of his power in the form of natural catastrophes in the earth and the heavens.

I am convinced they were right. This viewpoint persisted as the majority teaching until World War II. But after the first two A-bombs on Japan, it rapidly became a minority viewpoint, and prophetic teaching of the destruction was matched to the new,

and still developing, killing technology and scientific expertise of man.

I also believe prophetic expositors have make a great mistake in expanding the antichrist’s empire since it was first described in the book of Daniel (See Special Prophecy Update Number 73A). As men spread north, south, east, and west across the earth, we expanded the size of the antichrist’s empire to the world we know today. Did God intend for us to do that? Possibly, but I seriously doubt it. I do not believe it will exceed the territory taken by the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans in the age of their maximum expansions.

In very recent times a series of new fictional books have arrived on the scene, and many more will follow. The 10 most popular of them, by the time you read this prophecy update, will have had more than 36 million copies taken off the shelves, and will continue to sell like hotcakes. The market is being flooded with them, and new follow up series will soon inundate it. All have many teachings contrary to those prior to the Napoleonic Wars. They have a 7-year tribulation period, the first part being a 3 and ½ time of peace, and the second 3 and ½ year period filled with tribulation. They all have the saved caught up to be with the Lord when, or before, the 7-year period begins, thereby escaping any part of the tribulation period.

I must confess that I don’t have any surveys to back up what I am going to say next. So make your own guess on the answer to this question. How many saved men and women on this earth believe they will be taken out before tribulation begins? My guess is more than 90 percent of them. If that turns out to be incorrect, then it would help to understand the two scriptures that follow. Bearing in mind that the Koine Greek word translated “fables” is “muthous,” which means “fictional tales,” and that most of this last generation is convinced he is coming the hour the 7-week tribulation period begins, please consider the verses that follow.

II Timothy 4:3,4 – 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.

Is that the case? I DON’T KNOW! I know I am saved, so I know I will be taken if He comes 7 years before the battle of Armageddon. If He comes during the tribulation period I know I will be taken. If He comes at the end of the tribulation period I know I will be taken. The most important thing for me, as a believer, is to be living for Him from now until He comes. We will be giving our opinions on WHEN He will come right up until He comes, but it is NOT an OPINION for the saved that he IS coming, and that we should be living for Him from NOW UNTIL HE COMES.

End Archive Prophecy Update Number 74B

The following article from THE AUSTRALIAN is typical of the many written about the European Union over the past twenty-five years. It has been a time of frustration, argument, many defeated votes, anger, and uncertainty. Europe has been filled with Islamic believers from the Middle East exodus following World War II, and is afraid of its own shadow. Believe me, they won’t come against Israel until the final battle of Armageddon, and it should be apparent by now the Antichrist and the “ten” are of Middle East origin.

Begin Article from The Australian

Extracted from World News

Treaty’s only clear promise is to muddy the legal waters

Bronwen Maddox

December 15, 2007

THE Lisbon Treaty is a muddle, and the worst consequence for Britain,

and Europe, is the legal uncertainty that will follow.

In nine-tenths of its prescriptions, it’s the same as the ill-fated constitution that the Dutch and French rejected in 2005.

The main reason given for its existence — that a European Union of 27 members would grind to a halt without it — is unconvincing. The longer that has passed since the accession of 10 new members in 2004 and Romania and Bulgaria at the start of this year, the clearer it is that this isn’t happening.

Nor has the final version satisfied the aims of simplifying the EU’s legal framework, handing back powers to member states and making its workings more transparent.

The new treaty does get rid ofthe convention that each country holds the presidency for six months. It also merges the two foreign policy posts into one foreign policy chief, shrinks the Commission, removing each country’s right to one commissioner, and ties voting weights more closely to population.

But the treaty scraps national vetoes in 50 areas, including parts of justice and home affairs, thus transferring some powers to Brussels that were previously in national capitals.

It is impossible to predict the effect as it is impossible to know what questions will be put to a majority vote in this way.

Most damaging, the treaty gives legal force to the Charter of Fundamental Rights, a list of supposed social and civil rights, and an enterprise of huge ambition and unclear application.

For example, in declaring a right to strike, the charter may clash with national labour laws. In stipulating a right of access to preventative healthcare, it is prescribing something beyond the EU’s powers to provide.

It is inevitable that these potential clashes between the treaty and national law will be tested in the European Court of Justice.

Britain has secured opt-outs from the parts of the charter and majority voting that appeared to pose the greatest risk of such a clash.

But it is inevitable that the opt-outs will themselves be tested in the courts.

Even if the supremacy of national law looks clear — for example, in employment law — cases are bound to be brought that test that.

It is that potential for legal contest — quite apart from the court verdict itself — which introduces unpredictability and expense, particularly into commercial life.

The Times

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Now We Can See a Time of False Peace and Safety!

WHICH WAS TO PRECEDE A TIME OF MIDDLE EAST WAR!

December 16, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The Annapolis Peace Conference and the recent CIA Intelligence info release of the 2003 Iranian halt in their nuclear program has, much as Osama Al Sharif indicates, let Iran off the hook.

I have covered a wide variety of incidents which indicate such is the case since the two events occurred. All of this produced a growing seeking

of affiliation by the moderate Muslim countries with jihad advocating nations and terrorist elements.

They want to be sure they are not left holding the bag when Middle East war breaks out, if they should see America leaving them alone to face the Islamic fanatical nations and terrorist groups.

The Excerpt from the Middle East Gulf News is quite representative of the viewpoint which arose, among moderate Arabs, after the Annapolis Peace Conference and the US Intelligence Report release.

Begin Excerpt from the Middle East Gulf News Article

Letting Iran off the Hook!

By Osama Al Sharif, Special to Gulf News

December 16, 2007

Excerpt from Article

It is now up to the IAEA to ensure that Iran’s efforts to develop a civilian nuclear energy program remain within that scope. The outcome of the Iran affair will help other countries that now seek alternatives to hydrocarbons such as Jordan, Egypt and the UAE.

The Iranian case must remain transparent and accessible, and the IAEA must get the international support that it needs to stay in control.

On the other hand, now that Tehran has been acquitted of charges of seeking to build a military nuclear program, its neighbors, among others, should pursue efforts to engage its leadership in serious dialogue.

The GCC’s historic invitation to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the Doha summit recently was a step in

the right direction.

Iran is an important regional player whose policies need to be clarified especially with regard to the future of Iraq and relations

with the Gulf region.

It would be prudent on the part of the Arab League to initiate dialogue with the Iranian leadership. The US intelligence reprieve should afford the Arabs the opportunity to engage Tehran and make sure that positions are clarified on Palestine, Lebanon, the Gulf and Iraq.

Furthermore, the Arabs must underline the fact that while the American influence in the region will not recede soon, regional stability and security require that important players see eye to eye and stay in touch on critical issues.

Israel has suffered a blow as well as a result of the US intelligence acquittal. Along with Washington’s neo-cons, the Israelis would have loved to see an escalation in crisis that could lead to a military strike against Iranian nuclear assets.

Of course there is always the possibility that the collapse of the hardliners’ case might do some good.

A triumphant Ahmadinejad noticeably sounded milder as he called for dialogue with Washington and dropped anti-US rhetoric a week after the US intelligence report was made public.

While a divided Bush team ponders its agenda for Iran, it is unlikely that the two enemies will soon embrace.

Having engaged in sabre-rattling for decades, Washington and Tehran will continue to pursue a mixture of diplomacy and brinkmanship to serve domestic interests.

And while Ahmadinejad represents a certain flank of fire-brand politicians, there are others in his country who promote a different approach on many issues. With his approval ratings slipping fast over the failure of his economic policies, the Iranian president may not last in office much longer.

It is not far-fetched that in the post Bush-post Ahmadinejad era, Washington and Tehran will find a way to patch up their ties and end decades of hostility.

That is one reason why the Arabs should not get sucked into the particulars of the US-Iran tug of war.

It is up to enlightened Arab leaders, as well as Iranians, to recognize the need to launch constructive dialogue between the two sides.

The temporary pause in tension with Tehran should provide an incentive to bring the Iranians to the table and press for concord over issues that have so far soured relations and created mutual suspicions.

America for once can be sidelined while people of the region talk about their common destiny.

Osama Al Sharif is a Jordanian journalist based in Amman.

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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.