The Latter Rain on the Horizon

The Latter Rain on the Horizon

What a day that must have been when Peter was privileged to stand before the multitudes gathered on the Day of Pentecost. It had been ten days since Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, ten days of waiting for the promised baptism to arrive. So astonishing was the outpouring of power that the crowds heard and saw the phenomenon. Peter stood, flanked by all the Apostles, and proclaimed the fulfillment of Joel’s ancient prophecy. (Joel 2:28-32a) It is the whole of the passage in Joel that concerns us.

As with many Old Testament prophecies, the Joel promise has proven to be a multiple-fulfillment passage, but its multiple fulfillments are not hidden. In fact, the text of Joel chapters two and three clearly demonstrate distinct phases of the Spirit’s outpouring.

It all begins with the Lord becoming jealous for his land and his people. Remember that not only was Abraham’s seed in Isaac covenanted with Jehovah, so was the land. Both are precious to God. Beginning in Joel 2:18, the Lord promises a return to the land and renewed blessings upon his wayward people.

“Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. The Lord answered and said to his people; ‘Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.” Joel 2:18-19

Joel prophesied from Judah some time after the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) had been destroyed and the people carted off into captivity. As with his contemporaries, Joel clearly saw coming judgment upon Judah, but his emphasis was directed at some future time when all the Jews would be gathered back to the homeland; when they would cease to be a reproach to the nations. Within one hundred years of this prophecy, the southern kingdom of Judah was destroyed by Babylon. No Jewish nation existed for twenty-five hundred years.

Suddenly, in a day, May 14, 1948, the Jews once again formed a nation that was recognized by the world. The first part of Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled, all except the promise of Israel losing its status as a “reproach to the nations.” They obviously remain the most universally hated entity on the planet. Still, God promised a great outpouring of his Spirit upon his people, whether Israel was a recognized nation or not. Of course, we understand the inclusion within the promis. Being named “God’s people” comes with receiving the sacrificial, atoning gift of Jesus Messiah. The dividing wall between Jew and Gentile was taken down in Christ. However, one must not forget that a restoration of national Israel is intertwined in the text with the outpouring of the Spirit, and that outpouring would come in two phases.

Phase One of the outpouring happened on the Day of Pentecost as confirmed by Peter. God described the phasing to Joel in terms of an early and a later rain. (Joel 2:23) As with the restoration of the land (grain, wine, and olive oil production) rain is the key. Planting would ideally occur before the time of the early (spring) rains. When that early outpouring occurred, the planted seed would be given the impetus to germinate. Life would spring forth and the precious plantings would grow. What a beautiful picture of Pentecost. The seed of Christ’s death and resurrection was empowered by the promise of the Father. The gardeners were empowered to do the work, to cultivate the new life, and continually work in mission fields of an advancing gospel. Though we cannot stretch an analogy beyond its intended purpose, the early rain wasn’t the only rain. It was simply the beginning of the seasonal rains. Likewise, throughout history the rain of the Spirit has continued from Pentecost to the present, including the great outpourings of the twentieth century.

What concerns us now is Phase Two…the Late (Latter) Rain. The late rain was the catalyst that finished off the grain. It was the pre-harvest kicker; the terminal moisture that brought a conclusion to the season. Can you discern the parallels? The question is when does that phase two latter rain begin? Again, let’s look at the elements found within the context.

First, Israel’s reproach would be removed. Second, the ‘northerner’ would be removed far from the people. Third, the Jews would never again be put to shame. And fourth, the people would know that Jehovah (I am) would be in the midst of Israel perpetually. As of today, none of those elements are in place. Only the restoration of the nation has been fulfilled.

Look now at two particular verses that correspond to the above elements.
“And it shall come to pass AFTERWARD,” Joel 2:28

Then,
“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.” Joel 3:1-2

Notice that the next outpouring of the Spirit (Peter confirmed the early rain in Acts 2) would not happen until after the Jewish nation is restored. It would also take place before the gathering of the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat…which is the gathering of Armageddon. (Megiddo was the ancient fortress at the foot of Mount Carmel that overlooked the Valley of Jehoshaphat.) These two passages give us a clear time frame for the late rain outpouring of the Spirit, the outpouring that would finalize the harvest at the end of the age.

But not only do we have the time frame. I believe we can pinpoint that latter rain to a particular event that is on the horizon. Again, Joel 2: 20 tells us; “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rearguard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great (not in the good sense) things.” To whom is God referring when he speaks of the northerner? What about the northerner’s vanguard and rearguard?

In the light of other passages of prophetic scripture, the northerner takes on a pretty clear shape. Ezekiel 38 describes that personage as “Gog, chief prince of Magog, Meshech and Tubal.” His vanguard and rearguards are also named; Persia, Cush and Put, from the south and east; Gomer and Togarmah from the north and west. All scholars are agreed as to the geographical descriptions of these people groups. Gog, Magog, Meshech, and Tubal graphically depict the meat of Russia. Gomer and Togarmah, forming the vanguard to a Russian coalition, are the peoples stretching from western Turkey all the way to the eastern Caucasus states. From the east comes Persia, modern day Iran. From the south come Cush….the Sudan and people from the Horn of Africa. From the west comes Put…the peoples of the north coast of Africa. The latter groups form the flanking elements of the coalition.

This great coalition will be drawn by God himself in order that the northerner might be removed, once and for all. (Read the whole of Ezekiel 38 and 39) Then, within the text of both chapters, God says he will erupt in wrath and destroy the invading nations. Afterward, “And the nations shall know that I Am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord God. That is the day of which I have spoken.” (Take particular notice of the use of the term ‘I Am.’) God will make himself known to the whole world.

From Joel 2-3, and Ezekiel 38-39, I believe we can clearly see that God will bring about the great bout of our time; Jehovah verses Allah, and Jehovah will win hands down. The immediate aftermath will be a harvest so vast it will be mind-boggling. It will come in a time of great trouble, but people will be drawn to the truth like never before. What will believers in Jesus Christ need in those days to bring in that final harvest? We will require nothing less than the latter rain of the Holy Spirit upon his people. Signs and miracles will follow those that believe and proclaim the truth in those days. “And this gospel shall be preached in all the world as a sign to all nations, then the end shall come.” (Matthew 24:14)

That moment is marching rapidly toward us. The planting, cultivating, and intermittent rains have been taking place since Peter proclaimed Joel’s prophesied outpouring. Israel has been re-gathered. (May 14, 1948) The Russians are forming their coalition. The Day of the Lord is approaching, and on the horizon, storm clouds are gathering. But that storm will produce the outpouring of all outpourings, and then the end shall come! Look up, your redemption is drawing close.

Jimmy Root Jr

Distant Thunder, Gog and Magog, Israel, Iran, Radical Islam, Ezekiel 38 and 39, Jimmy Root Jr, Rapture, Nuclear Weapons, Bible Prophecy, Russia, European Union, Lightning Chronicles, Terrorism, Ahmadinijad,

Where Have All the Real Heroes Gone?

It is a sad reflection of our fallen world! Michael Jackson is dead. Farrah transitioned into the afterlife. Ed McMahon expired (In reverse order, of course), and the world mourns. Part of me is sad as well. The part that grieves that three lives have slipped into eternity without the hope of the life assured by a relationship with Jesus. But what really saddens my heart is to see the glorification of these fallen 'pop-culture' icons. One was immersed in a hedonistic lifestyle marked by clouds of pedophilia. Another's claim to fame was driven by the designation of being a sex-goddess. Her veneration came with a spread in Playboy magazine after the age of 50. The great tragedy of her loss was that she didn't have the chance to finally marry her partner of thirty years. (My how time rushes by and strips us of opportunities!) The last lived in the shadow of a greater entertainer, never moving beyond the level of a faithful sidekick.

In the eyes of the public, these are a sampling of the HEROES of our day. Shallow individuals corrupted by self, money, and the pursuit of stardom. But it is only for Michael Jackson that people find themselves weeping uncontrollably in the streets...or should I say gutters.

Where have the true heroes gone? Yesterday, I saw a young man cleaning out a hotel swimming pool after a storm blew through the evening before. It was amazing. He manipulated that long net with dexterity, but it was obviously a gargantuan effort. He only had one arm. I couldn't help but wonder if he had lost it defending his country. He was the right age, and the way he carried himself screamed military. Sound like a hero? What about Neda. I saw it too. She lay in the streets of Tehran, bleeding through the mouth and nose after being shot by a goon riding a motorcycle. All she was doing was standing up to voice her desire for freedom. Hero? What about the hundreds of Christian Pastors who faithfully preach Jesus in places like Iran, Iraq, and other Islamically bound nations? Yes, they are there, risking their lives every time they speak. Heroes?

It will most likely come out today that Michael Jackson died of an overdose of prescription pain medication. He will have died for nothing; nothing beyond escapism. He was never able to live up to his fame. He never achieved the inner greatness of one the thousands of Sudanese Christian martyrs whose name will never be known. They will weep for Farrah, but who recognizes that lonely wife who has stuck with her husband when he has proven himself an unfaithful dweeb? Who will idolize that teenager who not only says NO to peer pressure, but offers the truth of Jesus to his lost friend instead?

Some day, the true heroes of the world will be lined up for all to see. Words of commendation and praise will usher them into the Kingdom. The only pat on the back they'll ever need will come from the King of Glory. The others? Shrouded in outer darkness, with the flames of the Lake of Fire licking at them for eternity, their voices will be heard by none. The only memories of their existence will reside in their own tortured minds, and in the eternal thoughts of the one who loved them enough to have offered them a way of escape. That way was rejected, and there lies the sadness in this week's deaths.

Jimmy Root Jr

Distant Thunder, Gog and Magog, Israel, Iran, Radical Islam, Ezekiel 38 and 39, Jimmy Root Jr, Rapture, Nuclear Weapons, Bible Prophecy, Russia, European Union, Lightning Chronicles, Terrorism, Ahmadinijad,

Obama Condemns Iran..."World Outraged"

Oh, can't you see Iran quaking in their turbans! Ooooo Our President usually displays a gift of timing. I think he missed it by 8 days on this one, and even then his words generate nothing but laughter. Might I say, with all due respect, we have a spineless jelly fish occupying the White House. Listen to this from the Jerusalem Post.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared the United States and the entire world "appalled and outraged" by Iran's violent efforts to crush dissent, a clear toughening of his rhetoric as Republican critics at home pound him as being too passive.

Obama condemned the "threats, beatings and imprisonments of the last few days."
"I strongly condemn these unjust actions," Obama said in a news conference at the White House that lasted slightly less than an hour.
Obama said his message has been consistent, and he shot back at Republican critics who are calling him timid: "Only I'm the president of the United States."

When asked if his strong language on Tuesday was influenced by pressure from such Republicans as Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, Obama scoffed: "What do you think?"
In Teheran, chaotic images of riot police beating and shooting protesters have seized the world's attention and heightened pressure on Obama to act - or at least speak out more strongly.

At least 17 people have been killed in protests since the election last week.
The eighth extended question-and-answer session of Obama's presidency ranged from Iran to the intricacies of health care to a revealing personal moment in which Obama acknowledged he still is an occasional smoker despite his efforts to quit.

In Iran, protesters have demanded that the government there cancel and rerun the elections that ended with a declaration of overwhelming victory for hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi says he won and has claimed widespread fraud.

"I have made it clear that the United States respects the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and is not interfering in Iran's affairs," Obama said. "But we must also bear witness to the courage and dignity of the Iranian people, and to a remarkable opening within Iranian society. And we deplore violence against innocent civilians anywhere that it takes place."
Obama noted the killing of a young woman, Neda Agha Soltan, whose apparent shooting death was captured on video and circulated worldwide.

"We have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets," Obama said. "While this loss is raw and painful, we also know this: Those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history."

Obama said he has watched the video. "It's heartbreaking," he said. "I think that anybody who sees it knows that there's something fundamentally unjust about it."

Asked if Iran will face consequences for how it has acted, Obama said the world is watching and Iran's handling of dissent "will help shape the tone not only for Iran's future but also its relationship to other countries."

Obama did not rule out shifting US strategy on Iran, which now calls for an opening of dialogue.
"We are going to monitor and see how this plays itself out before we make any adjustments about how we proceed," the president said.

Obama said the United States had provided a path for Iran to reach out to the international community and engage with global powers.

"It is up to them to make a decision about whether they choose that path," Obama said. He added that the outlook "obviously is not encouraging in terms of the path that this regime may choose to take."Obama forcefully countered the idea that he's been slow to forcefully respond to Iran's violent crackdown on dissent.

"I don't think that's accurate," Obama said. "Track what I've been saying."
The president said he quickly responded after the election results and after violence broke out in the streets of Teheran, and that the United States has frequently condemned infringements on the freedom of assembly and speech for Iranians.

"We've been entirely consistent," Obama said.

On Sunday, Sen. Graham, a Republican, said: "The president of the United States is supposed to lead the free world, not follow it. He's been timid and passive more than I would like." McCain, a Republican who challenged Obama for the presidency, said: "I'd like to see the president be stronger than he has been.

Earlier Tuesday, the US said that protests against the disputed Iranian presidential elections had begun to force change in the Islamic republic.

"I think the world is watching. I think they [the protesters] have accomplished something. They've drawn attention to what's going on in Iran," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told NBC. "I absolutely think we've seen the beginnings of change in Iran."

Gibbs reiterated that the White House would not intervene in the internal turmoil in Iran, when asked whether US President Barack Obama would back an opposition-led general strike.
"We're not going to get involved in endorsing or not endorsing specific actions inside of Iran," Gibbs said. "This is for Iranians to debate - their next leadership. I think the president wants to ensure that he doesn't become a political football that the regime uses against anybody that seeks justice in Iran."

However, speaking to Fox News, Gibbs if there is a tremendous escalation in violence in Teheran, the White House would intervene.

"Obviously if a tremendous escalation happens - if tanks happen - we would respond to that immediately," Gibbs said.

MY SHORT COMMENTARY TO THIS ARTICLE:


YEAH RIGHT!


Jimmy Root Jr
Distant Thunder, Gog and Magog, Israel, Iran, Radical Islam, Ezekiel 38 and 39, Jimmy Root Jr, Rapture, Nuclear Weapons, Bible Prophecy, Russia, European Union, Lightning Chronicles, Terrorism, Ahmadinijad,

Can There Be Peace? Part One

Can There Really Be Peace In the Middle East?
Part One

Peace has been a shifty little devil when it comes to the Middle East. Peacemakers have given themselves migraine headaches trying to sort out the myriad complications. I’m positive some have desired to slit their wrists while walking away from failed negotiations. Yet people, presidents, and pundits continue to call for peace at any cost. But can there be peace? In a one word answer, yes! But that is not the right question. You should be asking; “Will there be peace?” Again, the answer is yes. (Alright, I’m toying with you. Please accept my apologies.)
Let me give you a bit of a rundown, a chronology if you will, of the many attempts, accords, and affirmations that have been signed over the last twenty years. But first, a misnomer—myth that I must clear up before we start. The legal claim of the Jews over the land of Israel is not necessarily based on ancient rights given to Abraham. Now, as a Christian, I believe that covenant is eternally binding, but it won’t get us very far in a court of law. The truth is Israel’s right can be determined on the basis of continuous settlement in the land since ancient times. The Jews have been present in Palestine (The Holy Land) since Abraham. Add to that the fact that the Zionist movement developed the land in the mid-nineteenth century. They took it from deserted bogs right into productivity. Problem, the Palestinian/Muslim/Arab habitation also goes back over a thousand years. And there we have our problem. Now, enter the many attempts to solve the issues that divide these ancient cousins.

The OSLO Peace Process… Begun in 1993 when Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Declaration of Principles and the Oslo Interim Agreement. Administered by President Bill Clinton, the agreement created the Palestinian National Authority that would supposedly have the authority to negotiate with Israel and to govern the West Bank and Gaza. Israel was required to withdraw from those areas. For the most part they did. However, though required to denounce terrorism and recognize Israel’s right to exist, the radicalized Islamic organization known as Hamas began to expedite car bombings within Israel and the negotiations were derailed. The results of the Oslo Peace Process included the glorification of Yasser Arafat among the Palestinians, and the eventual assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a fellow Jew.
The Camp David Accords… July 2000. An attempt to re-start the Oslo Interim Agreement was derailed when the Palestinians insisted that refugees should have the right to return to Israel. This would have produced an Arab majority in Israel, and Israel said no. However, both sides agreed to an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. (This, of course, has proven itself to have been a horrible mistake on the part of Israel.)
The Saudi Peace Proposal and Palestinian State Resolution-- Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah proposed to end the long Arab war against Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights. Abdullah re-visited a 1947 UN Resolution that called for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. On March 12, 2002 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1397 affirming Abdullah’s proposal and calling for an end to the Intifadah. Result: Violence intensified and Israel backed away from the proposal.
UN Resolution 1402… After Colin Powell failed in an attempt to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the table, the Security Council called for an Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories. Instead, IDF forces blockaded Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah. The Un Security Council adopted Resolution 1403 expressing dismay that resolution 1402 had not been implemented. (Somebody threw a fit, evidently.) On April 19, 2002, Resolution 1405 was adopted, calling for an impartial investigation into the matter.
June, 2002… President George W. Bush made a long awaited speech on Middle East policy and called for a Palestinian state. However, he insisted on democratic reform of the Palestinian National Authority. Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon changed his hawkish position and agreed in principle. Result… and increase in car bombings, but also a call for elections among the Palestinians. Mahmud Abbas assumed the post of Prime Minister.
June 4, 2003, Aqaba. Sharon and Abbas shake hands and vow to fulfill Bush’s conditions found in the Road Map for Peace. Result, Hamas vows to continue the violence. Israel responded, and so on and so forth.
GENEVA ACCORD… Israeli opposition leaders and the Palestinians announce an agreement in principle for a final peace settlement. Israel would give up sovereignty of Arab controlled Jerusalem while the Palestinians would renounce the right of refugee return. Colin Powell supported the accord as did Yasser Arafat. Problem: Palestinian extremists stepped up bombings, and the Israeli government rejected the accord. Soon after, Israel began erecting the Security Barrier.
Sharm El Sheikh Conference.. February 8, 2005. Negotiations presided by Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah bring about an end to violence and the Intifadah. Agreement was made to resume the Road Map for Peace. Result: a Damascus controlled Islamic organization detonated a car bomb in Tel Aviv on Feb. 25th. However, the Israeli Knesset approved the plan for disengagement and a unilateral withdrawal from 21 settlements in Gaza and 4 in the West Bank.
June 21, 2005…. Sharon and Abbas meet in a long-awaited summit. No results beyond a resurgence of violence perpetrated by Islamic Jihad terrorists.
Hamas takes control of the Palestinian National Authority on January 26, 2006, after submitting to US pressure for a democratic election. Hamas immediately vowed never to recognize Israel and to never surrender their claim to all of Palestine. Qassam and Katusah rockets begin to rain down on Israel from the territories and the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert does practically nothing for nearly three weeks. Finally, Operation Just Reward is launched, but was ineffective in stopping Hezbollah rocket attacks.
TRUCE of November 26, 2006. Palestinians and Israelis announce a surprise truce that applied only to the Gaza strip. Olmert announces a new Israeli initiative offering peace. No peace followed.
Annapolis Conference, November 26-28, 2007. Palestinians and Israelis agree to renewed negotiations for a permanent status. The principle included Israeli withdrawal from occupied settlements, provision of military equipment to the PNA police, possible inclusion of the Temple Mount in an Arab-controlled annexation of Jerusalem, and recognition by the PNA of Israel’s right to existence and security. Result: Israel relinquished border crossings to the PNA in Gaza and the West Bank. Shipments of arms from Egypt into Gaza increase dramatically.
Israel Strikes Gaza… Feb. 27, 2008 in an attempt to stop weapons traffic and to destroy Hamas. The attempt ended with a truce on January 18th, 2009 when Israel, under pressure, declared a unilateral cease fire.
Since January, we have enjoyed President Obama’s pursed lips being given to the Islamic world in a speech made in Cairo. Then, ten days later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated a willingness for a certain level of recognition for a Palestinian state being created to exist side by side with Israel. Now the future:
There will not be true and lasting peace in Israel until the proper negotiations take place. For that to happen, a proper negotiator must take the lead. That negotiator will be the one and only Prince of Peace….Jesus, Yeshua, Yesu… the King of Kings. That will not happen for at least another seven years.
Stay tuned for PART Two of this article to find out what will happen next. Sorry to keep you waiting, but my fingers need a break.
Jimmy Root Jr

Distant Thunder, Gog and Magog, Israel, Iran, Radical Islam, Ezekiel 38 and 39, Jimmy Root Jr, Rapture, Nuclear Weapons, Bible Prophecy, Russia, European Union, Lightning Chronicles, Terrorism, Ahmadinijad,

Middle East News

As President Obama carries out an elaborately staged theatrical performance in signing an anti-smoking bill into law, the world of geo-politics continues to shift and re-position. Protests in Iran continue, and so does the crackdown. An estimated 600 have been wounded, and 19 have given their lives in search for freedom. (Our President is keeping his hands off, not even supporting those seeking liberation from the Mullah-dominated theocracy.) In the mean time, Israel continues to reach out diplomatically to its neighbors. The following is from the Debkafile.

Iran crisis tightens top-level Israel-Egyptian-Saudi strategic interaction
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
June 21, 2009, 8:49 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak said his talks in Cairo Sunday, June 21, with President Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian defense minister Gen. Tantawi and intelligence minister Gen. Omar Suleiman were interesting and wide-ranging. They covered Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, US president Barak Obama's Middle East peace initiative
and the case of the abducted Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit, now three years in Hamas captivity.
A round meeting of all four was followed by separate discussions with the key officials of the two governments five weeks after Binyamin Netanyahu traveled to Sharm el-Sheikh for a conference with the Egyptian president on May 11 shortly before he took office as Israeli prime minister.
DEBKAfile's political sources report The Cairo conference further solidified the understanding forged between Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia six months ago, which none of the parties acknowledge formally.
One of its aspects is Israel's willingness to take its Arab partners' interests into account in its military policy. This consideration guided Israel in ending its Gaza offensive in January short of wiping out the Palestinian extremist Hamas.
The three neighbors are bound by the common objective of halting Iran's Middle East expansion and curtailing its nuclear aspirations by means of diplomatic, military and intelligence cooperation, or alternatively, to minimize the menace posed the region from Tehran.
For most of the time, the three partners have worked together quietly and ad hoc. Then US President Barack Obama and Netanyahu used their speeches to bring the arrangement out in the open when they spoke of a breakthrough in Israel-Arab regional relations to accompany Israel-Palestinian peace talks.
There are no direct Israel-Saudi official contacts, DEBKAfile's Middle East sources report. They use Cairo as a letterbox with Gen. Suleiman hopping over to Riyadh to deliver messages as needed. Israeli and Saudi intelligence chiefs are thought to have had one secret meeting in an Arab capital.
Iran obviously figured high on the agenda of Barak's talks with Egyptian leaders. In fact it was the first time that the two governments had ever admitted to discussing regional affairs unrelated to bilateral or Palestinian issues. There is no doubt that both Jerusalem and Cairo urgently needed to trade views, intelligence input and evaluations on where the unrest in Iran is heading next.
Regarding Lebanon, Egyptian leaders and the Israeli minister explored the implications of the pro-Iranian Hizballah's loss of the March 8 election to the pro-western majory.
On the Palestinian issue, they talked about mending the fences between Fatah and Hamas, a sine qua non for progress in Israel-Palestinian peacemaking.
The Israeli prime minister remarked Sunday as Barak was on his way to Cairo that the demands he made of the Palestinians in his June 14 speech as necessary for peace were not pre-conditions was meant to smooth the way for the minister's talks in Cairo. In that speech, Netanyahu said he would accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel provided it was demilitarized and the Palestinians recognizes Israel as a Jewish state.
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In the midst of the turmoil great works by the Lord are taking place. Within the movement in Iran, though unreported in the national media, hundreds and hundreds of people are seeking out and finding true liberation in the person of Jesus Christ. Nothing less than a revival is taking place. (Go to joelrosenberg.com for an in depth story) The hand of God is shaping world events, but the heart of God is calling to the lost like never before. Jesus is gathering the lost sheep. He is appearing in visions and dreams. Harvest is happening. The most gladdening truth is the King is coming....SOON!
Jimmy Root Jr
Distant Thunder, Gog and Magog, Israel, Iran, Radical Islam, Ezekiel 38 and 39, Jimmy Root Jr, Rapture, Nuclear Weapons, Bible Prophecy, Russia, European Union, Lightning Chronicles, Terrorism, Ahmadinijad,

Being RAPTURE Ready

Can there be any doubt that the Rapture is imminent? Some still shirk away from coming to full expectation of an imminent rapture simply because a certain amount of prudence says that the Lord may delay his coming for a few more generations there just isn't any way to know for sure. If we are going strictly by prudence, I'm positive I would take out a membership in that club. However, a cautionary prudence can miss the details of scripture.

The signs have been converging since Christ relayed them to his disciples in Matthew 24. The key is not found in the signs, however. The key is found in the intensification and frequency of the signs. Wars...rumors of wars...terror....earthquakes and other natural phenomena....pestilence and disease.....false prophets and false christs....increased rejection of the truth by individuals claiming Christianity....and the list goes on. One cannot deny that the intensity of these "happenings" have arrived at what Jesus described as labor pains. When my wife was in that state of her pregnancy, I would have been a fool if I'd have shrugged my shoulders, spoken a disclaimer, and then gone about my business. (A slap on the back of the head would have been necessary.) Why then do so many ignore the obvious about the birth of the Kingdom of Christ? They do so at their own peril.

But even then, the biggest sign of all has taken place. Israel has once has become a united nation again after 2500 years of exile, slavery, and dispossession of the promised land. Ezekiel prophesied the return of an undivided people to the land....their name would be Israel...they would possess Jerusalem....they would be prospered and protected by God. (Ezekiel 36:8-15; 37:15-24.) Joel prophesied an outpouring the Spirit of God at a time AFTER the restoration of the nation of Israel. (Joel 2-3) Amos prophesied a return after God lifted his hand of discipline in Amos 9:11-15. All of these prophecies declare that Israel will become a nation again, and then God would judge the nations, once and for all. The SIGN of all SIGNS has been given.

What's next? I'm glad you asked. You see, before the great judgment of nations during the time we tag as The Great Tribulation, Paul says whatever power is restraining that period must be taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) Before the anti-christ can be revealed, the restrainer must be removed. Evil must be unrestrained. Arguments abound as to who that restrainer might be, but I am convinced it is the power of the Spirit of God operating in the Church. Remove the Church, you've removed the restraining influence that continues to hold back the flood tide of the evil being generated by Satan.

The RESTRAINER must be removed. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-13, that those who are believers/followers/lovers of Jesus will be snatched (caught up--raptured) from the earth, and then all hell would be unleashed. Of course, all heaven will be unleashed, and that is a whole lot more deadly and dangerous to the rejectors of truth. The only event standing between the return of Israel and the initiation of the Great Tribulation is the snatching away of the bride of Christ. Are you ready? Are you watching? Are you working for that day?

A Three-Part Action Plan will help you be prepared for a rapture that could happen at any moment. Here's the steps to that plan.

First.....BE PRAYERFUL

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard and pray (be alert in prayer)! You do not know when that time will come." Mark 13:32-33

Are you prayerful? Prayerlessness will bring about a lack or loss of moral and spiritual strength, the exact fiber that you need to have in order to survive these perilous days. Are you prayerful? Are you communing with the one who restores and renews? Prayerfulness provides an abundance of strength and boldness....ingredients that will provide you with a timely word or answer for those who are seeking. Prayerfulness will help you maintain an encouraged outlook. Prayerfulness will repel fear.

Second....SEPARATENESS

"Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters." Isaiah 52:11 & 2 Corinthans 6:17-18

Our separation is not from people in our culture, society, neighborhood, or world. We must, however, separate ourselves from their influence. We step away from the worlds way of doing things...its prinicples of self-delight...its seeking after self-elevation....its half-truths and rejection of all things godly. Rather, because of our prayerfulness, we push to be the influence. Anyway, why must we partake in activities that pull us away from the hope that we have in Christ? I see no reason.

Third....WATCHFULNESS

"When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.....therefore watch yourselves lest you be overcome with dissipation and the cares of this life, and that day take you unaware." Luke 21:28, 31

I love that...LOOK UP.... I think Jesus is telling us to stop meditating on the dirt...the death of this world, and start looking toward our future. Our future is forever, and it is secure. The snatching away of the people of God is fast approaching. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be ready. How? It is as simple as turning to Jesus. Fully commit yourself to his leadership. Believe wholeheartedly that he IS the ONLY begotten SON OF GOD, that he lived a sinless life where we couldn't, that he paid for our death by dying on a Roman cross, that God raised him from the dead, and that he is the rightful Lord and Leader of your life. Then follow after him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Only then will you be ready.

Jimmy Root Jr

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A Showdown is Approaching, But It Is Bigger Than You Think

The weekend was filled with dramatic events.

An election in Iran was stolen. Israeli Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu finally responded to President Obama's Muslim charade in Egypt. South Korea tried desperately to maintain a headline in world news. And the Obama Administration ignored it all in order to pilfer your freedom. HEALTH CARE? Come on. America has been hit with a "Stupid Stick" and the President is wielding it with finesse and expertise.

It all seems so dark. Islam is on the rise. Radical Islam is taking control. Christians are rolling over in America and playing dead. Where is God in all this? Well my friend, He is exactly where he said he would be.....IN CONTROL!

WAKE UP.... A SHOWDOWN IS COMING....and it is now visible on the horizon. Iranians can protest all they want, but the radical regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Kameini and monkey-faced president, Mahmoud Ahmadinijad is in place. It is entrenched. Talking with it will accomplish nothing but make us look weak. (Currently, we ARE weak.) But God is not mocked. He is about to respond...and though the rubber-spine American President will abandon Israel, Jehovah will not.

Psalm 83 has some powerful words...and it names names. READ IT. Edom and the Ishamaelites are the Arabs. Moab is Jordan. Ammon is Syria. The Palestinians are named according to area and city. Tyre is Lebanon. You are looking at the Islamic world that immediately surrounds Israel. Ezekiel 38 and 39 name some names as well. Meshech & Tubal is Russia. Gomer and Togarmah are Turkey and the Central Asian Republics. Persia is IRAN. Put is Libya. Cush is the people stretching throughout the upper Nile....Sudan, Ethyopia, and Egypt. These are Islamically dominated countries in a wider circle around Israel. (Russia may not be Islamic, but it has allied itself with Islam. Forty percent of the Russian Army is Muslim....Coups still happen.)

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is about to throw down against the false god of the Muslims. Allah the moon god can't hold a candle to Jehovah, God of the universe. It won't even be a fight. Every one of the afore mentioned countries will be destroyed...by Jehovah. Not by Obama. Not by Netanyahu, not by global warming...but by Jehovah. Islam will be defeated, almost in an instant.

What does that mean for you, believer in Jesus Christ? We are fast approaching the showdown, the event that will open the door to the greatest moment of evangelism the world has ever known. It will open for a short time....then it will be closed. Are you prepared to work while it is still day?

Get ready. Get your heart right. Get on board with Jesus. Stop playing around. Quit fiddling with sin. Get white hot. Be filled to overflowing with the power of the Spirit of God. Miracles are needed. Witnesses are being called. The time of harvest is here!

Jimmy Root Jr

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Is the Rapture Imminent?

Those who are watching for signs of the Lord’s imminent appearing to snatch away His saints, as commanded in Matthew 24:42-44, sense that the Rapture is quickly approaching. Although no sign is given in the Scriptures concerning “the day and hour” of the Rapture, some believe Hebrews 10:25 implies that we will be able to see the day of the Rapture approaching: “...Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is: but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.”

Anticipation of the approaching Rapture of God’s saints seems to be implied in Luke 21:28: “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near.” We are admonished in Luke 21:34-36, concerning the Rapture, to “...take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be weighed down with dissipation, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it [i.e., that day—the Rapture] come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch you therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:4 that “...you brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” These verses teach that the Rapture (sometimes referred to as “the great escape”) should not catch us off guard (“unawares”) even though we don’t know “the day or hour” that Christ will return for His bride, the Church. Let’s review one of the major Rapture passages before going further:
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The timing of the what Paul calls “blessed hope” in Titus 2:13, will be as a thief in the night to those not watching, but the “times and seasons” of the Rapture will not be a surprise to those who are looking for His return (1 Thessalonians 5:4, Matthew 25:1-13). Christ told His apostles, as recorded in Acts 1:6-7, that it was not for them “...to know the times or the seasons...” But Paul gave indication that we would know the season as it approaches. “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so will come as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction will come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Therefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).

The Thessalonians passage just quoted (5:3) provides clear evidence that our generation is now living in the “times and seasons” of the Lord’s return. The specific wording Paul used to link the Rapture with a specific generation that would see Christ’s return is “peace and safety.” Some translations say “peace and security” (ESV, ISV, Douay-Rheims, et al.). Paul said: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

In retrospect, the “peace and safety (security)” concept could not be understood properly until Israel had returned to its land during the 20th century and the current Middle East peace process had progressed to the point that Paul’s statement about “peace and security” was common usage among those who were promoting “peace and security.” The “they” and “them” in verse three refers to those who would be using the words “peace and security” frequently in “their” speeches when this prophecy was nearing fulfillment. The “peace and security” speeches “they” would be giving prior to the Rapture would also need to take place in a public setting (i.e., London, New York, Jerusalem, the White House, et al.) on numerous occasions so there would be no misunderstanding about whom the “they” referred to.

Further, we understand the season according to pertinent passages in the Old Testament that clearly demonstrate that the end times are triggered by the regathering of the Jews to the promised land of Israel. Ezekiel 36 tell of the ingathering. Ezekiel 37 (The Valley of Dry Bones) tells of the restoration of the covenant people. Verses 11-18 clearly specify that Israel would be drawn together, not as a divided nation as in pre-Ezekiel times, but as a Unified Israel never again to be destroyed. May 14, 1948 became the pivot point of all apocalyptic history. Knowing the the alignment of the Ezekiel 39-39 nations has occurred, we are sensibly led to conclude that the Rapture of the church is not only within our generational time period, but imminent.

Are you ready? Look to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ made for your sins and mine. Believe in his resurrection and provision. Seek to follow HIM instead of YOURSELF. Only then can you be assured of a quick and speedy exit when the trumpet sounds.
Jimmy Root Jr
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The Ultimate Back-Peddler

Australian journalist/blogger Andrew Bolt points us to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald by Jason Koutsoukis about a very interesting phone call between President Obama and Israeli PM Netanyahu.Apparently, the administration was worried that their campaign to undermine Bibi's government had gone "too far," and Obama was attempting a little damage control:

There has been widespread public concern in Israel about the country's relationship with Washington since Mr Obama demanded that Mr Netanyahu publicly endorse the creation of a Palestinian state and freeze all construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Mr Netanyahu has refused to accept either demand and will unveil his plan to restart the peace process with the Palestinians in a speech to be delivered on Sunday.Mr Netanyahu was scheduled last night to meet Mr Obama's special envoy to the region, George Mitchell, to try to mediate a way forward.Israeli media reported that Monday's phone conversation between Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu was conciliatory.Israel's biggest selling newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, quoted an unnamed aide to Mr Netanyahu who said the "conciliatory tone stemmed from the fact that the Americans realise they went too far and that, ultimately, Netanyahu is the partner that they have, and they must embrace him, not topple him".

You may want to duck....stuff has hit the fan again and is spreading your way. (You can decide what the stuff is.) Remember, Barack H. Obama has proven himself to be the master manipulator in just five short months in office. He sees behind the scenes in Israel, that Netanyahu needs to be soothed, not challenged. Smooch.

But in Obama's manipulative tunnel vision, he doesn't get the fact that people like Benjamin Netanyahu are smarter than he. They see through him. Netanyahu knows that Obama will betray Israel if Israel is forced to confront Iran militarily. Amazingly, I have friends who still believe, when it is all said and done, that Obama will come to Israel's aid should things go sour. It is not only frustrating to see the President backsliding toward the ultimate curse, but many Americans remain blind to the realities of today's world. WAKE UP AMERICAN CHRISTIANS!

Jimmy Root Jr

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New York Times says: "Iran Can Do It"

Iran Has Centrifuge Capacity for Nuclear Arms

The New York Times

By William J. Broad and David E. Sanger

June 6, 2009

A week before Iran's presidential election, atomic inspectors reported Friday that the country has sped up its production of nuclear fuel and increased its number of installed centrifuges to 7,200 - more than enough, weapon experts said, to make fuel for up to two nuclear weapons a year, if the country decided to use its facilities for that purpose.In its report, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that it had found no evidence that any of the fuel in Iran's possession had been enriched to the purity needed to make a bomb, a step that would take months.But it said that the country had blocked its inspectors for more than a year now from visiting a heavy-water reactor capable of being modified to produce plutonium that could be used in weapons.

It also said that Tehran had continued to refuse to answer the agency's questions about reports of Iranian studies obtained by Western intelligence agencies that suggest that its scientists had performed research on the design of a nuclear warhead.Iran is required under three United Nations Security Council resolutions to cease the enrichment of uranium and to provide answers to those questions.

The Iranian authorities have vigorously denied the authenticity of the studies on warhead design.The report, one of a series made quarterly to the agency's board, described how the pace of enrichment and the installation of new centrifuges is accelerating at an enormous underground bunker in the desert at Natanz. It said that nearly 4,920 centrifuges were currently enriching uranium, and that 2,300 more were ready to go. That represents an increase of 30 percent in the total number of installed centrifuges since a February report.

Campaigning for re-election next week, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed that he will never bend to demands from the West or the United Nations that Iran halt its uranium enrichment. His political opponents have largely agreed, but have urged a more cooperative attitude.Meanwhile, Israel is constantly assessing Iran's capability of producing a nuclear weapon. Last year, it asked the Bush administration for the equipment needed in case it decided to take unilateral military action against Iran. Mr. Bush declined to provide the equipment.

In a separate report released Friday, the agency said it had found new evidence to support the claim that the complex that Israel bombed in the Syrian desert in 2007 was in fact a clandestine nuclear reactor. The clue, it said, was information uncovered on Syria's procurement of "a large quantity of graphite," a material that American intelligence officials have said was central to the reactor's operation.The agency also reported its discovery of particles of uranium in a Damascus laboratory and their "possible connection" to uranium traces already discovered at the bombed desert site. Firming up that link, it added, would require further analysis.

Significantly, the agency's Iranian report disclosed an expansion not only in the number of centrifuges, but also in the production of nuclear fuel, said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a private group in Washington that tracks nuclear proliferation. "They're improving the output," he said. "And they can do better" by feeding uranium into the 2,300 machines that now stand empty.

Gary Milhollin, director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, a research organization in Washington, said Iran's 7,200 centrifuges, if suitably arranged, could annually produce enough nuclear fuel for up to two bombs. "The facts on the ground continue to change," he said in an interview, "and not in our favor."The report from the International Atomic Energy Agency noted that Iran is refusing not only to let inspectors visit a heavy-water reactor that Tehran has under construction, but also to let them verify design information about the sprawling project, as the agency's statutes require.The report also said Tehran had refused to give access to "relevant Iranian authorities" who could address allegations surrounding Iran's research on the design of nuclear warheads.

In the absence of that cooperation and enhanced powers of inspection, the report said, the agency "will not be in a position to provide credible assurance" about nuclear materials and activities. Jimmy Root Jr

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They Think He is God...A Rude Awakening Cometh

FROM THE BIBLE.... "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:9-11

This from the American Thinker, June 6, 2009.... FROM MSNBC
Evan Thomas on Obama: 'He's sort of God'
Rick Moran

Newsbusters Kyle Drennen has the hysterical details of Newsweek's Evan Thomas on MSNBC's Hardball going over the top with his gushing praise of Obama's Cairo speech that he actually said he was God:

Newsweek editor Evan Thomas brought adulation over President Obama's Cairo speech to a whole new level on Friday, declaring on MSNBC: "I mean in a way Obama's standing above the country, above - above the world, he's sort of God."

Thomas elaborated a bit on Obama as God:

"He's going to bring all different sides together...Obama is trying to sort of tamper everything down. He doesn't even use the word terror. He uses extremism. He's all about let us reason together...He's the teacher. He is going to say, ‘now, children, stop fighting and quarreling with each other.

This is the same guy who was honest enough to admit back in 2004 that liberal bias in the media was worth 15 percentage points to John Kerry.

This really isn't that much of a surprise when you consider that many media analysts are saying that Obama worship in the press is beyond anything yet seen in American politics. They like him. They agree with him politically. And because he's black, they badly want him to succeed.
Perhaps even more revealing of how liberals in the media view America, Thomas gives us this:
Matthews discussed Obama's upcoming speech marking the 65th anniversary of D-Day and compared it to that of Ronald Reagan. He then turned to Thomas and asked: "Reagan and World War II and the sense of us as the good guys in the world, how are we doing?" Thomas replied: "Well, we were the good guys in 1984, it felt that way. It hasn't felt that way in recent years. So Obama's had, really, a different task We're seen too often as the bad guys. And he - he has a very different job from - Reagan was all about America, and you talked about it. Obama is ‘we are above that now.' We're not just parochial, we're not just chauvinistic, we're not just provincial."

Yeah sure. What do we need a pro-American president for when we've got God on our side?

I think we realize how this is all going to turn out. The fraud will soon be revealed: The King has already been revealed...for all who will believe. However, professing themselves to be wise, they have become fools." Romans 1:22Jimmy Root Jr
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Iran, A Nuke, and Year's End

I hate to belabor the point, but President Obama has been somewhat lethargic in his opposition to Iran gaining nuclear capability stating that Iran has the need and the right to seek civilian use for nuclear power. (This on the number two oil-rich country in the Middle East.) In regards to Iran seeking to develop nuclear weapons, Obama has given Iran until the end of the year to begin getting series about abandoning their goals. Read the following and tell me we are not quickly approaching a moment in which Israel must send it's F-16 "Lightnings" to attack Iran.
(Of course, Obama has all but told Israel , "If you attack Iran, you'll be on your own."

I am convinced, if Israel attacks Iran, Russia will respond by pulling together its coalition for the purpose of destroying the Jews once and for all. We could literally be just a few months away from the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38 and 39. That would be about the same time the American economy goes over the edge of a cliff. Not to panic...God is in control. Read this from the Debka Files.

Enough fissile material for Iranian nuke by year's end - AMAN officer
DEBKAfile Report

Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, director of Israeli military intelligence (AMAN) research division estimates that Iran will have accumulated enough fissile material to build its first nuclear bomb by the end of this year.
He offered this estimate to the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee Monday, June 1, at the first session to be attended by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Iran's nuclear clock, said Baidatz, is ticking away faster than international diplomacy. Iran has rockets that can hit Israel, he said. As he spoke, the country's biggest civil defense exercise configured for possible rocket attacks from four directions, including Iran, was in progress.
"We shall not evacuate settlements, but we will remove illegal outposts," the prime minister stressed. The American demand not to provide for natural growth is not reasonable, he said.
This issue will not doubt figure in defense minister Ehud Barak talks in Washington. After taking off for the US capital Sunday night, he left his aides orders for the removal of 22 outposts. Three provisional structures were torn down Monday morning at Elon Moreh. Barak will be meeting vice president Joseph Biden, defense secretary Robert Gates and National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones.

My friend, now is the time to be about the Lord's business. (Not shooting abortion doctors, but interjecting life wherever and whenever we can...the life of Christ, that is.)
Jimmy Root Jr
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Sweet Talk and Misquotation

The deed is done. The speech has been made. It can't be retracted, it can hardly be interpreted. Sweet, honey-dripping words flowed from the mouth of the President, and all the world drank it in.

I am of the humble opinion that massive mistakes were made. For one, in the very use of the term "Muslim World," President Obama gave credence to existence of all Muslims, radicals included. Of course, he doesn't do that with Christianity. The only valid Christianity for Obama is his watered-down, liberation theology flavored religion. There is no place for right-wingers. No place for fundamentalists. They are a dangerous, practically terrorist off shoot of the real thing. (Have you noticed how they are attempting to pin the murder of John Tiller--abortion doctor--to the fundamentalist wing of Christianity?) Worse, Obama gave them the connection they were looking for. Here's what I mean:

Remember that in Islam, to have Islamic roots, then turn to Christianity, is punishable by death. Obama all but said his roots were Islamic, but that he was a Christian. What an invitation for derision and attack! It was a complete revelation of weakness.

President Obama then quoted the Koran in his speech. (Amazing that a Christian would validate the Koran by quoting it.) But even then, he did not quote the whole passage. What he said was totally out of Koranic context. Here is what he said;

"The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind." Yusufali 5:32

I really find it odd that neither Obama nor any of his advisers realized that the meaning of verse 32 is not clear until it is quoted together with verse 33 which follows it. Here is the whole of YUSUFALI 5:32; "On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that, many of them continued to commit excesses in the land."

What the verse is actually talking about is that if any child of Israel slays a Muslim, then he has slain all Muslims, meaning it becomes the right of all Muslims to take retribution. That is exactly what is said in the next verse, verse 33. Here it is:

"The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter." Yusafali 5:33

Obama then challenged Israel to change the way it deals with Palestinians (Muslims), and that the current form of Israeli administration is "intolerable." By quoting this half-verse, then chastising Israel, Obama has given a great big American NOD for jihadists to step up their attacks on Israel.....and for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and use them.

I'm sorry. We have a President that is either ignorant, or bent on bringing destruction to Israel and the United States. Worse, it is probably a combination of both. We not only need to pray for Israel, we need to do what Daniel did....REPENT on behalf of the sins of our people and leader.

Jimmy Root Jr

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Man Speaks With Forked Tongue

As President Barack Obama prepares to speak from Cairo, Egypt to the vast, peace-loving Islamic world on Thursday, I am reminded of the old T.V. westerns that depicted how Native Americans interpreted white man's speech. "Him speak with forked tongue." I'm pretty certain Obama has the concept perfected to a copyrightable form of art.

In a National Public Radio interview late Monday, June 1, he emphasized his differences with Israel when he said: "We do have to retain a constant belief in… negotiations that will lead to peace" and "I've said that a freeze on settlements, including expansion to accommodate successive generations of settlers, is part of that."

Earlier Monday, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that halting construction in West Bank settlements would be equal to “freezing life,” and, therefore, “unreasonable.”
"The United States special relationship with Israel requires some tough love," Obama went on to say. "Part of being a good friend is being honest," he said. "I think there have been times when we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction… in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also for US interests."

Right! There is enough slight of hand behind his words to keep everyone mesmerized, but it's not really hard to read between the lines. Obama is a master appeaser. He soothes the supporters of Israel with exactly what they want to hear, all while giving Islamic hardliners enough cookie crumbs to think he might be leaning toward them.

Problem, in the words of an old Texas pastor: "You can straddle a barbed-wire fence for only so long. Eventually you are going to slide down a not so slippery slope." Ouch! Friends, a massive OUCH is on its way. Obama's tongue can only do its magic for so long before Israel gets the short end of the ...... fork?

Jimmy Root Jr

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Obama...Israel....and a Great Big Bus

The plot thickens against Israel. We've seen it coming, and now it's almost here. Thursday, Barack Obama purses his lips in order to kiss Islam. But to make the smooch juicy, Obama will have to lean toward the side of the Palestinians and a Two State solution. Israel is getting the boot, not from the land, but in the teeth. The only true American ally in the entire Middle East is being betrayed. Suprised? I hope not. It is prophesied. Read the following from the American Thinker.

American Thinker
June 01, 2009
Are we about to ditch Israel at the UN?
Rick Moran
The Obama administration is making noises about withdrawing our unconditional support for Israel at the UN as a means to put pressure on the Israelis to 'freeze' settlement growth.This move is not unexpected, even if the freezing of settlements - whatever that means - were not an issue. Our UN ambassador Susan Rice has had a stone in her shoe regarding Israel since she walked through the UN doors and would have found some other excuse to stick it to the Jews.Not only is this move stupid on several levels, but according to this piece by Helene Cooper in the New York Times, the Obama administration is absolutely clueless about Israeli domestic politics as well as the danger such "smart diplomacy" entails:

Mr. Obama is to give a much-anticipated speech to the Muslim world from Egypt on Thursday. "There are things that could get the attention of the Israeli public," a senior administration official said, touching on the widespread belief within the administration that any Israeli prime minister risks political peril if the Israeli electorate views him as endangering the country's relationship with the United States. But, the official added, "Israel is a critical United States ally, and no one in this administration expects that not to continue." He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.White House officials said Mr. Obama would not make the Cairo speech entirely about the Arab-Israeli conflict, but would instead seek to engage Muslims on the panoply of issues facing Islam and the West, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.But the core issue, administration officials said, is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. "I want to use the occasion to deliver a broader message about how the United States can change for the better its relationship with the Muslim world," Mr. Obama told reporters last week. "But certainly, the issue of Middle East peace is something that is going to need to be addressed. On matters of national security - which most Israelis see the settlement issue - the public is supportive. The idea that the US-Israeli relationship is more important to the Israeli people than the security that the settlements give the Jewish state is almost certainly wrong. This is especially true if Netanyahu can paint the administration's demands on a settlement freeze as unreasonable and unachievable - as indeed they are. Obama's "no growth" demand is laughable. Not only has the Obama administration demanded that Israel stop construction but that there should be no allowance for "natural growth" of the settlements.

A frustrated Netanyahu has simply thrown up his hands according to Herb Keinon of the Jerusalem Post, and has decided to defy Washington on the issue:
Israel will not freeze settlement construction for natural growth, despite intense pressure from the Obama administration to do so, The Jerusalem Post has learned. While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has indicated that he will remove illegal settlement outposts, he is determined, the Post has learned, to continue building for natural growth in settlements beyond the security barrier. In Netanyahu's view, it is further understood that there is no reason housing units cannot be built inside the major settlement blocs for people who want to move there, as well as for natural growth.

In light of unequivocal comments made over the last week by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling for an end to all settlement construction, including for natural growth, as well as US and Israeli officials' failure to reach an agreement on this issue in London last week, there is a great deal of frustration over the matter in the Prime Minister's Office. I don't think anything that happens at the UN matters much to the Israelis although it might cause Obama some problems domestically. But with the anti-Israel crowd at State and the White House now fully in charge, we should expect more trouble for the strategic relationship between Israel and America in the future. Jimmy Root Jr
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