Global Index Of Religiosity And Atheism Shows Increasing Scoffer Rise.
This is encouraging since it was Prophesied by Peter in his Last Epistle
And is one of the surest signs mankind is finally Living in the Last Days
The Kings of the Old World are on the go on Its Land and in Its Waters
And the Number Of Today’s Unbelieving Kings And Rulers Is Increasing
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh: He shall have them in Derision
And there will Be No more huge Political Conference Meetings in Tehran
After the Second Advent of the King of Kings comes to rule in Jerusalem
August 30, 2012
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
THE SCOFFERS ON THE EARTH IN THE LAST DAYS
II Peter 3:1-4 – This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: [2] That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: [3] Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, [4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
THE KINGS OF THE EARTH IN THE LAST DAYS
Psalm 2:2-9 – The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, [3] Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. [4] He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. [5] Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. [6] Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. [7] I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. [8] Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. [9] Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
KINGS-RULERS-REPRESENTATIVES MEET IN IRAN IN THE LAST DAYS
“PRESENCE IN TEHRAN OF NEARLY 150 COUNTRIES & DELEGATIONS”
The Non-Aligned Movement Conference In Tehran – A Show Of Strength Against The West; Kayhan: The Conference Is A Golden Opportunity For Neutralizing Sanctions And Instituting New World Order, And ‘A Ringing Slap Not Only To Israel’s Face, But Also To The Face Of The U.S. And The Entire 5+1’
Begin Excerpt 1 from YNet News
Survey: Fewer people believe in God
Recent Gallup poll shows 59% of men and women around the world define themselves as ‘religious’ – a 9% drop from 2005 poll. Judaism shows largest decrease in believers
Yoav Friedman
August 28, 2012
A poll conducted last February by the Guttman Center for Surveys of the Israel Democracy Institute shows a rise in the proportion of Israelis who define themselves as religious Jews, yet the world is heading in the other direction.
The latest Gallup poll the results of which were published on Monday show that 59% percent of the world’s population labeled itself religious, a 9% drop from previous surveys.
The poll, titled “The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism” included over 59,000 people from 57 nations, Israel not included. Each person was asked the following question “Irrespective of whether you attend a place of worship or not, would you say that you are a religious person, not a religious person, or an atheist?”
Results show that alongside the 59% “religious”,23% define themselves as “non religious”; 13% as “atheists” and 5% “without definition.”
Despite the large scope of the poll, only 106 Jews were interviewed. They turned out to be the most secular group compared to other religions. Only 38% of the Jews defined themselves as religious; 54% defined themselves non religious and 2% – atheists. In comparison, 83% of Protestants and 81% of Catholics defined themselves as religious. Some 74% of Muslims claim they are religious.
The low proportion of religious Jews coincides with a 2009 Poll by the Guttman center which found that 7% of Israelis define themselves as “ultra-Orthodox”; 15% as “religious”; 32% as “traditional”; 43% as secular and 3% as anti religious seculars.
The Gallup poll also shows that the poorer you are the more religious you’re likely to be. While the bottom 20% of the population (in terms of income) boasts 66% who define themselves as religious, the top 20% has only 49% religious.
Of the 57 countries who participated in the poll, the top 10 most religious countries were Ghana: (96%) Nigeria, Armenia, Fiji, Macedonia, Romania, Iraq, Kenya, Peru, Brazil (85%)
The top 10 atheist countries were China: (47% atheist), Japan, Czech Republic, France, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands and Austria, Iceland, Australia, Ireland (10% atheist each)
Vietnam displays the largest drop in self proclaimed people of faith – from 53% to 30% – in the past six years. France showed the biggest increase in “atheists” – from 14% in 2005 to 29% in 2011
The poll didn’t find a large gap between women and men who define themselves as religious (57% and 60% respectively) but there seems to be a link between education and religiousness. Of the interviewees who have only an elementary education 68% consider themselves religious compared to 61% and 52% of high school & university graduates respectively.
Begin Excerpt 2 from DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
Russia is disengaging from Syria: Arms shipments stopped, warships exit Tartus
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
August 29, 2012, 4:44 PM (GMT+0200)
Russian naval vessels have unexpectedly departed the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus and Russian arms shipments to Syria have been suddenly discontinued. DEBKAfile’s military sources reveal that those and other steps indicate that the Russians are rapidly drawing away from the Syrian arena to avoid getting caught up in the escalating hostilities expected to arise from military intervention by the US, Europe and a number of Arab states. Russian intelligence appears to have decided that this outside intervention is imminent and Moscow looks anxious to keep its distance for now.
According to our military and Russian sources, these drastic steps must have been personally ordered by President Vladimir Putin. He is believed to have acted over the objections of some of his army and naval chiefs. This would explain the mixed statements issuing from Moscow in recent days about the disposition of Russian personnel at the naval base in Tartus and Russian military personnel in Syria.
Wednesday, Aug. 22, Commander of the Russian Navy Vice Adm. Viktor Chirkov said that if the fighting in Syria reached Tartus, Moscow may decide to evacuate the base. He stressed that this decision would have to be taken on the authority of President Putin. He was the first Russian official to suggest the possibility of an evacuation.
A week later, Aug. 28, Russian chief of staff Gen. Nikolai Makarov denied anything had changed in the working procedures of Russian military personnel in Syria or that there were any plans to evacuate the Russian naval base in Tartus:
“I think it’s too early to draw conclusions [from the situation in Syria],” said the general. “No one is running away from there.”
When a Russian journalist pressed the general and ventured to ask whether Moscow was terminating its military involvement in Syria, Marakov retorted, “Why are you so worried about Syria?”
But he didn’t answer the question.
DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that the Russians have taken five significant military steps with regard to Syria in the last two weeks:
1. They cancelled a large-scale naval exercise dubbed “Caucasus 2012” scheduled to start mid-August in the eastern Mediterranean opposite the Syrian coast;
2. Warships from three fleets – the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea – concentrated opposite Syria have dispersed and returned to their bases;
3. Syrian President Bashar Assad was notified that Moscow was halting military aid to his army – except for intelligence updates and advice on logistics from Russian military advisers;
4. Moscow has not clearly announced a freeze on arms shipments, including replacement parts for Russian weapons, which make up the bulk of the Syrian army’s weaponry. Officials have only said, “There are no large Russian weapons shipments planned in the near future to Syria.”
5. The only Russian naval ship left in Tartus – a floating Russian Navy PM-138 shipyard – is also under orders to depart Tartus and return to the Black Sea in September.
A Russian source disclosed that all the remaining Russian personnel in Tartus have gathered on the floating shipyard, except for two officers on shore. This vessel and the remaining personnel are evidently packed up and ready to sail at any moment out of the Syrian port.
Begin Excerpt 3 from MEMRI
Middle East Media Research Institute
Special Dispatch No, 4915
August 27, 2012
The Non-Aligned Movement Conference In Tehran – A Show Of Strength Against The West; Kayhan: The Conference Is A Golden Opportunity For Neutralizing Sanctions And Instituting New World Order, And ‘A Ringing Slap Not Only To Israel’s Face, But Also To The Face Of The U.S. And The Entire 5+1′
Tehran is hosting this year’s Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) conference August 26-31, 2012;[1] the conferees are slated to include U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,[2] who is set to meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, along with top officials of the participating countries. These officials include Saudi King Abdallah’s son Abd Al-Aziz bin Abdallah, as well as the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait; the king of Oman; the presidents of Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Palestinian Authority; the prime minister of India; and the speaker of the Libyan parliament.
Tehran is attempting to use the conference as a show of political and diplomatic strength against the West, on two main levels: political-diplomatic and economic. On the political-diplomatic level, Iran is demonstrating that it is not isolated in the international arena despite the efforts of the West to make it so, while on the economic level it is demonstrating its ability to bypass the harsh economic sanctions against it by, according to Iranian officials, signing contracts totaling some $60 billion.[3]
With regard to the ideological aspect, at the conference Tehran will emphasize the “New World Order” as a replacement for the West’s hegemony and liberal-democratic system. It will urge the conferees to accept its agenda at the conference, focusing primarily on the crisis in Syria and on Israel as the source of all problems in the Middle East and in the world. Reflecting this direction, the Iranian daily Kayhan, which is close to Supreme Leader Khamenei, defined the NAM conference in Tehran as “a ringing slap not only to Israel’s face, but also to the face of the U.S. and the entire 5+1.”[4]
The following are the main points of an August 23, 2012 Kayhan editorial titled “Prelude to the Establishment of the New International Order,” that was published in advance of the conference:
The Americans Are Right To Be “Very Concerned” About The NAM Conference In Tehran
“Under the conditions of the awakening against the Western dominance of an extensive part of the territory of the NAM [countries], the NAM is drawing closer to its origins… Under the conditions of the undermining and reduction of the West’s economic and political supremacy in the [current] world order, particularly in the territory of the NAM [countries], the NAM – and especially its strong countries, such as Iran, India, and Egypt – now have an important opportunity to review [the movement’s] primary aims, and to redefine the movement’s approach, so as to adapt to these new conditions. In this way, they will establish an important bloc of strong [countries] – or, in other words, the largest international power bloc, because two-thirds of the world’s countries are NAM members.
“It is precisely for this reason that the holding of the 16th [NAM] conference in Tehran is especially important. This is because while Iran is the standard-bearer and the focal point of the Islamic awakening on the international level, on the economic and political level it has always been [i.e. since the 1979 Islamic Revolution] and remains the West’s most important challenger.
“For this reason, the Americans are [right to be] very concerned about the convening of the NAM conference in Tehran, and have taken a resolute stand against it. The Americans know that the process of change proves the justice of the Iranian position vis-à-vis the U.S., and they also know that if this trend continues, the number of countries severing relations with them and coming out against them will grow daily. By the same token, the number of pro-Iran countries, and of the countries siding with Iran, will also grow daily. In practical terms, this is the most natural thing that could happen, and the presence in Tehran of nearly 150 countries and delegations can demonstrate such an event and such a change in world public opinion…”
“The NAM Conference In Tehran May Be Essentially The Last Volley Against The Liberal-Democratic System”
“The NAM conference in Tehran may be essentially the last volley against the liberal-democratic system, and may pave the way for the ignition of a new process in the international arena. It will also yield new economic contracts between Iran and several of the strong NAM members – meaning that the neutralization of the West’s boycott against Iran will be one of the conference’s main accomplishments. The freezing of the sanctions on Iran can raise a question mark, and challenge the raison d’être of forums such as the U.N. Security Council…
“During the conference, Iran has an opportunity to make the delegations aware of Iran’s progress in the areas of science, economics, technology, the military, politics, and culture… The diplomatic delegations’ awareness of Iran’s great progress will bolster the [NAM] countries’ desire to disconnect from the unilateral international system and to establish an independent bloc – and this poses the greatest danger for the West…”[5]
Endnotes:
[1] The regime launched a conference website in Persian, English, Arabic and Urdu, namna.ir.
[2] The Jomhouri-e Eslami daily, which is close to Iranian Expediency Council chairman Hashemi Rafsanjani, stated that the U.N. has never had a secretary-general as disastrous and damaging as Ban Ki-moon. The paper emphasized that Ban Ki-moon had condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s declaration – i.e. that Israel is a cancerous growth – although this statement had been made three decades ago by the founder of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, while turning a blind eye to Israel’s threats against Iran, its occupation of Palestine, and its massacres of Palestinians. Jomhouri-e Eslami (Iran), August 22, 2012.
[3] Majlis National Security Committee member Avaz Heidar-Pour said, “So far, close to $60 billion has been allocated for economic contracts that are to be signed with Iran during the conference by the presidents and ministers of the countries that participated in the conference.” Javan (Iran)s, August 22, 2012.
[4] Kayhan (Iran), August 27, 2012.
[5] Kayhan (Iran), August 23, 2012.
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