More on the Palestinians and the U.N.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said he will petition the U.N. for independence in September even if negotiations resume with Israel.  This is change from the position previously taken that the U.N. would only be petitioned if peace talks did not resume. 

I believe this will be done by Abbas to continue to put pressure on Israel.  It will be interesting to see how many nations support the Palestinians.  Obviously the more that do, the more pressure Israel will be under.  The move in the U.N. will likely not go anywhere though due to the lack of support from the U.S.  It will however lead to more international pressure on Israel.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/27/palestinians-ask-for-un-independence-endorsement-even-if-negotiations-restart/

And so it begins...

The pleading and posturing before the U.N. by the Palestinians and in turn the Israelis has begun.  This is all preliminary leading up to the possibility of the Palestinians petitioning the U.N. for statehood next month.  In regard to Israel, unless there is a major development with Iran, this will be the dominant story to track over the next six to eight weeks. 

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-palestinian-envoys-square-off-over-un-recognition-1.375428

Israeli President calls for Syria's Assad to step down

Israeli President Shimon Peres has called for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down due to his treatment of the Syrian people. 

The following article talks about how the dynamic could change in the relationship between Israel and Syria if this were to happen.  Even though they are enemies, there have been decades of peace between the two.  A change in regime in Syria could disrupt this peace. 

Isaiah 17 tells us that one day Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed.  A breakdown in the peace between these two nations could lead to the war predicted in Psalm 83 in which Damascus could be destroyed. 

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/26/israeli-president-syrian-leader-assad-must-step-down/

Matthew 24:9-10

In the Olivet discourse of Matthew 24 Jesus listed several signs of His second coming and the end of the age.  I think ofter overlooked by students of end-time prophecy is the prophecy he gave in Matthew 24:9-10.  It reads like this:

 “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.  And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other."

The part I want to focus on today is where Jesus said many will turn away from Him and betray Him.  I believe many in the church are turning away from and betraying Him with the increase of liberal theology in our churches.  We can see churches denying the deity of Christ and turning the Bible into nothing more than "good moral teaching." 

We also see it in the number of churches that are accepting homosexuality as a normal, non-sinful lifestyle.  I really believe that this issue more than any other will be used to marginalize Christians in the coming days, weeks, and years.  The mainstream media has taken up homosexuality as the new civil rights issue of our times.  Anyone who has the audacity to call homosexuality a sin, or take a stand against gay marriage is labeled as bigoted, ignorant, intolerant, and a whole host of other derogatory terms.  I am shocked by the number of Christians who have completely compromised the dictates of scripture on this issue and approve and endorse homosexuality. 

I hope I am wrong but I truly believe we will see gay marriage legalized in all 50 states sooner rather than later.  Stories like the following one do nothing to sway my view on this. 

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1387802

Will September bring unrest?

Israel is preparing for unrest if among Palestinians if there is not a resumption of peace talks, or the U.N. does not unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.  I am of the opinion that there will be some sort of unrest in September. 

I do not believe there will be any kind of agreement to resume peace talks before September.  Normally the U.S. would be the driving force behind the resumption of such talks, but as of now the government is spending so much time resolving the debt crisis they have had little time to concern themselves with anything else.  All this could change after August 2, but that seems like too compressed of a time to get anything done.

Also, if the Palestinians do go through with their intent to petition for statehood, I believe the U.S. would veto this move.  Because of this, I think it is likely there will be some outbreak of violence in Israel in the September to October time frame. 

As Christians, we need to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem in all of this and for the wisdom for our leaders to stand beside Israel. 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/07/21/bloomberg1376-LOMDL20YHQ0X01-2QEJG5RAT43NFA9D1P6G3FLVKB.DTL

Netanyahu on Huckabee

There was an excellent interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tonight on the Mike Huckabee program on the Fox News Channel.  In the interview he discussed the following topics:
1.  The bond between the United States and Israel
2.  His reaction to speaking before a joint session of Congress in May.
3.  The prospect of the Palestinians petitioning the U.N. for statehood in September, and the U.N. in general
4.  The three standards that exist in the international community: one for democracies, one dictatorships,
     and one for Israel
5.  The desire for democracy in Islamic nations
6.  The Iranian nuclear program

I found it interesting that he would not unequivocally state he felt Israel had the support of the U.S. if they had to take military action against Iran.

Here was my favorite quote from Prime Minister Netanyahu tonight.  "We don't want to be perfectly dead....so we take action."

There will be more of the interview aired on next Saturday's installment of "Huckabee" on the Fox News Channel.  I would encourage everyone to try to find and watch the first part that aired tonight on foxnews.com, mikehuckabee.com, or even youtube.

From the "you don't mess with Israel" department

This past week Norway's Foreign Minister stated that Norway believed the Palestinians were right to petition the U.N. for statehood bypassing all negotiations.  This would of course seize land from Israel promised to them by God. 

We have seen the pattern here in the United States how bad things happen soon after our government takes a stance that would harm Israel.  The U.S. is not alone in this.  It does not matter who you are, or where you are, messing with Israel is the same as poking God in the eye.  You can not do so and not expect for there to be consequences. 

The individual who carried the attacks out in Oslo was a disturbed man completely wrong in what he did.  However, in response to the position Norway took this past week regarding Israel/Palestine, they supernaturally opened themselves up to this attack. 

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/07/20/the-quislings-of-norway/

Iran and nukes

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated his desire for Iran to progress with its nuclear program in open instead of being shrouded in secrecy.  This tells me that one of the following is true: a) he has no fear of the international community or their willingness to stand up to him and Iran, b) he is completely delusional believing the Mahdi is about to appear and he is protected and guided by Allah, c) a combination of the two. 

The following excerpt from the article linked below completely blows my mind.

A U.S. official cited one assessment he has seen suggesting Ahmadinejad may be more "moderate" -- more open to talks with the international community on resolving nuclear concerns than Khamenei. He asked for anonymity because his information was privileged.

How can anyone consider a man who advocated the destruction of the state of Israel while addressing the U.N. to be "moderate?"  How can a U.S. official believe Ahmadinejad is "moderate" when he has stated his desire for the annihilation of the Great Satan (the U.S.)?  If this official represents the attitude of the U.S government toward Iran, then Israel is truly alone is dealing this madman and this terrorist, anti-Semitic regime.

If the international community will not take action in dealing with Iran and Ahmadinejad, then the day will come when Israel will be forced to defend itself before being put in the position of staring down a nuclear missile pointed right at them. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/22/iranian-president-wants-to-openly-develop-nukes/#ixzz1SrfUQbWz

Netanyahu ready to negotiate

According to the following article Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to get back to negotiating and says anything and everything is on the table to negotiate.

A peace agreement involving Israel would certainly be interesting to end-time prophecy students. I wonder if this could be leading to the peace agreement that will be in place at the time of the Gog-Magog War of Ezekiel 38-39. If it is, we are certainly much closer to the end than many would believe.

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/07/21/netanyahu-to-arab-tv-israel-ready-to-negotiate-everything/

EU pushing for restarted peace talks

The EU is pushing for the restarting of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians with September looming and the possibility of the Palestinians petitioning the U.N. for an independent Palestinian state.

It will be interesting to monitor over the coming weeks how much pressure is exerted on the Israelis to come back to the negotiating table. Along with that, it will be interesting to monitor any repercussions felt by those applying the pressure.

http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=229865

Perry Stone conference begins tonight

I would encourage anyone able to attend the Perry Stone conference beginning tonight in Louisville, KY. During this conference he will be addressing issues relating to the end times. If you enjoy this blog, you will enjoy this conference.

For more information, click on the Voice of Evangelism link at the right of this page.

What Islam means by peace

As September draws near and we hear more and more about a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians leading to the creation of a Palestinian state, we need to fully understand the Islamic view of peace.

The word used by Muslims for peace is "hudnah." The meaning of it is more along the lines of a cease fire. It is not peace in the sense of the permanent cessation of hostilities. It is the Islamic idea of a temporary end to hostilities until they are strong enough to again successfully wage jihad.

The U.S., E.U., and U.N. need to realize that any peace made by the Palestinians will not be maintained. Israel is likely going to be pressured into making a deal that will put them in a difficult position in regard to defending their borders against an enemy who may say they want peace but really doesn't.

It is completely possible the seven year peace agreement between Israel and the Antichrist will be broken at the 3 1/2 year mark due to the Islamic idea of hudnah. Imagine the following scenario.

1. Much of the Islamic world is brought to its knees after the war of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39.

2. In an attempt to buy time to rebuild and re-arm for jihad the Antichrist makes the seven year agreement with Israel.

3. 3 1/2 years in to the tribulation following the dictate of hudnah the Antichrist breaks the agreement.

I am not saying this is what will happen, but it certainly could play out this way.

http://www.acpr.org.il/nativ/2002-2/2002-2-sharonxs.htm

Potential cause of Ezekiel 38-39

Many people have speculated on what will cause the Gog-Magog coalition of Ezekiel 38-39 to suddenly attack Israel. In answer to that several scholars have speculated it could be the discovery of a major energy source in Israel. IF that is the case, the following article becomes very interesting.

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2011/June/Jackpot-Israel-on-Cusp-on-Energy-Revolution/

Some 4th of July reading

This article is a very honest and sobering look at the current state of Israeli/U.S. relations. Two things in particular stood out to me.

1. The first was the comment that the attitude in Washington toward Israel is that she has gone from being an asset to a pain in the asset. I find that very concerning.

2. The second is the author's opinion that President Obama will be careful what he does to Israel prior to the 2012 election. I still think he will try to pressure Israel to make peace in the coming weeks, but if he does back off and subsequently get reelected I expect the gloves to come off after November of 2012.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/this-fourth-of-july-israel-american-kinship-is-thin-on-the-ground-1.371384

The story line for the next three months

This article gives a good outline of what the Middle-East story line is going to be over the course of the next three months. The implications of the Palestinian plan to petition the U.N. for statehood are far reaching. This is a major story to track in the days ahead. I will be commenting more on this in next few days.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/03/israelis-palestinians-brace-for-potential-outbreak-violence-after-un-vote/