Quick Recap

Ok, I admit it, I've been pretty busy lately and have again neglected this blog. I could blame it on the pace of events, there's so much going on, it's difficult to single one even out for clever commentary. In just the last few days we have had (1) a series of major earthquakes in the Pacific; (2) a dramatic increase in tensions between the Israelis and Palestinians, with the U.S. Defense Secretary warning that the conflict could spread to the entire region; (3) a senior Chinese military official said that he believes there will be war over Taiwan in the next five years and they are preparing for it; (4) the Ebola outbreak in Uganda continues, as does the cholera outbreak in South Africa and in Europe, people are getting a bit mad about mad cow disease; (5) and finally, the Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend. I've probably left out some other major events, but that is a quick recap of some of the latest news of prophetic significance.

Left Behind Movie News

I'm starting to get some initial word of mouth from those who have seen the video version of the Left Behind movie. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so if you want to know what I've heard, e-mail me. Otherwise, you will just have to wait until February like the rest of us. No, I still have not seen it. I may post a review when I do, but I will probably wait until it's realeased.

Israeli Tells U.S. That Mideast Violence Could Spread

While the U.S. remained fixated on ballot counting in the state of confusion, er.., I mean Florida, the Deputy Defense Minister of Israel warned today that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians could lead to full-scale confrontation in the Middle East, dragging in Iran, Iraq and Syria. A regional war in the Mideast is a real possibility at this point. On the Arab side, there continue to be renewed calls for holy war, for a jihad to liberate Jerusalem. Great, another crusades, just what the world needs. But, of course, none of that really matters because it has nothing to do with Florida.

Clinton Meets Barak As Violence Rages On

So, the meeting between Clinton and Barak finally did happen. It looked for a while like it would be delayed because of the hijacking. Fortunately, that ended well and Barak proceeded to Washington. No real details yet on how the meeting went, but will keep you posted.

Barak To Meet With Clinton Against Backdrop of Violence

So, as the U.S. media give us all election news all the time, there is an important meeting coming up between Barak and Clinton regarding the stalled Middle East peace talks. The U.S. is in an interesting position, since we have already pushed Israel into concessions many thought were impossible. Arafat though, does not seem to be offering any compromises of his own. If anything, he seems intent on undermining the U.S. role by seeking a great UN or European role in the peace talks. It will be interesting to see if this meeting yields any new developments.

Election Free Zone

This blog is officially an election free zone. There will be no discussion of the American electoral system or how absurd it is to have the election process hijacked by voters too stupid to punch the correct hole on the ballot next to the black arrow indicating the correct hole to punch. Instead, I'll probably focus on the Middle East and the potential for war there, perhaps on Iraq's success in undermining international sanctions, or on the Ebola outbreak that refuses to be contained. There is so much going on in the world, and though you may not pick up on this from the major news media, very little of it has to do with the state of Florida.

Two Die of Haemorrhagic Fever In Pakistan

Here is an item for your pestilence files. Just as the World Health Organization is saying that the Ebola outbreak in Uganda has been contained, there has been another outbreak, this time in Pakistan. Two people have already died. So, the question is, are these outbreaks related, or are they separate incidents?

Officials Suspect New Ebola Case in South Uganda

It looks as if the Ebola virus continues to spread in Uganda. They thought they had it under control. I wonder how do you place an entire country under medical quarantine?

Two Dead, Gun Battle Rages Despite Mideast Truce

New fighting between Palestinians and Israelis broke out near Bethlehem today, despite the ceasefire agreement that was supposedly reached between Peres and Arafat. So much for the latest period of peace in this "peace process." Check out this photo of people fleeing from the fighting, it's positively surreal. It looks like it was staged, like something out of Hollywood.

Bomb Rocks Jerusalem Market; Truce Announcement Delayed

Well, I was debating whether or not to send news of the latest Middle East truce to the updates list, but I held off. I'm glad I did, because it looks like there is no truce at all. I have to admit, I was skeptical about the latest truce from the very start. I expected Peres to emerge from his meeting yesterday with Arafat, waiving a signed paper and saying "peace in our time." There is a new status quo now, and it's not peace.

People Get Ready: A Musical Collection Inspired by the Left Behind Series

I received the cd I ordered today called "People Get Ready." I had low expectations. This isn't the soundtrack to the Left Behind movie, it's a compilation of songs relating to or inspired by the popular book series. What can I say? Wow! There's not a bad song on the cd. It's an eclectic mix of styles and I usually don't like that, but in this case it works. Even if you are not familiar with the Left Behind series, or if you don't subscribe to that particular view of eschatology, it's still great Christian music. The lead song, "People Get Ready" by Crystal Lewis is a wonderful anthem that will have you singing along in no time. "Come Quickly Lord" is so upbeat and memorable is should be played on Top 40 pop stations, really, it could be a hit. Personally, I really like "New Body" by Audio Adrenaline, though you would probably find that on a college music station and not a pop station. The producers did a great job of assembling a diverse group of artists representing various styles of music who are joined together by one common theme: their faith in Jesus.

Wireless Tracking Device Coming Soon

The age of pervasive computing is about to begin, enabled by the wireless Internet, cell phones, digital implants and secure e-commerce. It will be revolutionary. Of course, these things tend to start small, usually with a novelty application, but the killer application is just around the corner, it will do for the wireless web and m-commerce what e-mail did for the Internet. The day is coming when you will have an invisible datasphere surrounding you, it can contain as much personal data as you like and as permeable as you like, but it will be there, surrounding your body like a wireless ethereal cloud of bits and bites, ready to interact with others and the net at large. Imagine going into a restaurant and placing your order, eating your meal, and leaving, all without reaching into your wallet. Your purchase, from initial order to final payment is conducted seamlessly over the wireless Internet using your previously established direct debit settings. Don't want to authorize that restaurant for direct wireless debit anymore (the service was terrible!), just change your system settings. Or, meet a new person at a business meeting and exchange personal contact info wirelessly all without those annoying PDAs that you actually have to hold in your hand. Forget yor palm, we are talking your body here. You are your data. That day is almost here. It's not the "mark of the beast" but it's a necessary step in the evolution of the technology.

Granny Arrested for Organ Sales

It's hard to measure the scope of human wickedness. It's one thing to say that wickedness will increase in the end times (Matthew 24:12) and that the love of most will grow cold, but how do you measure that? I don't think that the true measure is found in the acts of dictators and despots, but in the acts of ordinary people, or at least people who appear to be ordinary. I read recently about a Russian grandmother who was arrested for trying to sell her grandkid, or more specifically, sell his internal organs. She told him that they were going on a little trip to Disneyland, when instead they were going to meet his executioner. How can a grandmother do that? What sort of cold and inhuman heart can even think of such things?

There is so much going on in the world, I suppose it has always been that way. Some thing just seem to fall beneath the radar. Or perhaps it is just that the American public is preoccupied with the approaching presidential election. For whatever the reason, it seems our media has ignored several major stories in the last few weeks. For example, in the area of pestilence, I'm sure you have noticed a sudden increase in the frequency of disease outbreaks, particularly the extremely dangerous and contagious diseases that used to be considered rare. For example, just this weekend, there was a major outbreak of cholera in South Africa. Add to that the outbreak of Ebola in Uganda, Rift Valley Fever in Saudi Arabia and the worldwide spread of West Nile virus, you have some major outbreaks at roughly the same time. The public awareness of this seems to be minimal. Perhaps the media is trying to downplay these events so as not to cause a panic? Still, there is no denying that these outbreaks seem to be increasing in frequency and severity.

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I think I will change my strategy for this blog. I had intended to post a brief paragraph about a prophetic event in the news, and follow that with the link to the news article. I may still do that, from time to time, but posting the link was not easy, I have to put the actual HTML coding in for it to appear correctly on the page. So much easier to not post a link. Besides, I post plenty of links on the news page, that's where the real news is. So, anyway, just a small change in format, and hopefully I'll be posting more often. Blogs are supposed to be brief snippets of random thoughts anyway.

Well, this daily web log is turning into more of a weekly web log. I've just been so busy lately, and sometimes it seems like I'm lucky just to have time to update the news links on the prophecy news page. There is so much going on right now in the world, so much related to prophecy, that it would be difficult to comment on all of it. However, I don't have to, because it all comes down to Jerusalem. Anyone doubting that we are living near the end of the age needs only look to Jerusalem. Old and New Testament prophets agree, there is one and only one real news story at the end of the age, and that is, the battle for Jerusalem.

I should probably be paying attention to the Middle East and the nice little war that is about to break out there, but my attention was captured by a recent story that speaks volumes about the scope of modern wickedness and our desensitization to it. I'm speaking of a recent press report about a pregnant woman in Ohio who was murdered by another woman, who then cut open the victim and removed the child that she then hoped to pass off as her own. I can't even imagine the kind of cold blooded mind and cold heart the perpetrator of this crime must have had. Nor can I understand why such a heinous crime was not page one news in every newspaper and TV news show. That there shall be an increase in wickedness is a prophecy that is hard to measure, though in this case, I think we may have set a new benchmark.


Missing Pregnant Woman Found Dead

So, they are killing each other again in the streets of Jerusalem. I wonder how one would explain this to people not steeped in prophecy and Biblical history? After all, Jerusalem is not a strategic city from a military or economic standpoint, not a major port city, not the capital of a superpower, no real wealth to speak of, in short, no real reason to fight over it, no reason the Israelis and Palestinians can't just share the land. It's only in the religious and spiritual context that the conflict even begins to make sense. This recent quote from Dave Hunt sums things up nicely:

"The very fact that Jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible makes it worthy of special attention. This unique city is the only one upon which God has bestowed His distinctive blessing and protection (Ps132:13-14), and the only city for whose peace we are commanded to pray (Ps 122:6). God says He has chosen Jerusalem as the place where He has put His name forever (2 Chr 6:6; 33:7; Ps 46:4; 48:1-8; 87:3). The new heavens and new earth will contain "the city of my God...new Jerusalem" (Rv 3:12; 21:2). That there will be a "heavenly Jerusalem" (Heb 12:22) but no "heavenly" New York, Paris, London, Damascus, Cairo, etc. speaks volumes."

Anyone interested in how state sanctioned persecution might come to pass need only look to present day China and their treatment of Falun Gong. First, they arrested the leaders of that exercise/meditation group, then when that didn't work, they banned the group, called it a dangerous cult, and started rounding up and imprisoning members. Some members have died in prison under conditions which cause some to suspect torture. Meanwhile, the Church in China continues to meet secretly in house churches, while other join the officially sanctioned "patriotic churches." Pray for the Church in China, it is a dangerous time for them.


Banned Sect Stages Protest in Beijing on Holiday

The pilot of a U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet strike fighter that crashed into the Persian Gulf shortly after takeoff from the USS Abraham Lincoln on Friday has been declared dead, the U.S. Navy said today. As you know, the U.S. and Great Britain have been patrolling the "no fly" zone for years now (with little help from other "allies" like the French) and we regularly bomb Iraqi radar installations. This has gone on now for a decade with so little press attention that one would think the Gulf War had actually ended in 1991. The Gulf War ended with a cease-fire agreement, which has since been violated (many times), so technically, hostilities have resumed. This is not a "rumor of war," it's real and lives are being lost. Is anyone paying attention?


U.S. Navy jet crashes in Persian Gulf; pilot missing

This article is far too long to post here, but it's worth a look if you have the time. It's from the Washington Post and is about American generals and the regional distribution of their authority. It's of note because it compares the generals and their regional commands to the proconsuls of the Roman Empire. America as the new Rome, where have I heard that before? LOL.

A Four-Star Foreign Policy

So, there I was last night, it must have been around 11 pm, I was just about to shut down the computer and call it a night, when I received a breaking news alert from the CNN list - violence on the Temple Mount. I quickly sent that announcement to the news lists and then turned on CNN in time to see scenes of chaos - wounded being removed on stretchers, police standing guard, people shouting at each other. So, there it was, live on CNN, a major breaking news event on the Temple Mount. How long have we waited to see something like that? Seems like forever, but it was certainly inevitable. The news announcer managed a serious yet breathless tone as she informed viewers that the area is a "holy site" while somehow avoiding entirely any discussion of what exactly makes it holy, as if holy sites are so common that all one needs say is "it's a holy site." Sure, that explains everything. And yet, how closely all this talk of the "holy site" mirrors scripture, Matthews description of the abomination in the "holy place." For years there was serious discussion among prophecy experts as to just what exactly the "holy place" referred to. Can there be any doubt today?

Palestinians and Israelis Clash At Holy Site

Violence Erupts After Sharon Visits Jerusalem Holy Site

News: Shots Fired At Jerusalem Holy Site