This Coming War...What Do We Know?

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December 2, 2016

This Coming War...What Do We Know?

With all of the computer super powers we have I'm sure that they have calculated that we are going to war.

It's inevitable...it's going to happen.

We know who it is we are going to war with, and we know the likelihood of  where we are going to war, but we don't know when.

Look at this map. This is a very likely flash point.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Now, do you see that small spit of a place Kaliningrad?

 NATO, Latvia and Lithuania are also NATO, Kaliningrad is Russian.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is comprised of 28 countries who have agreed to the charters terms and agree to aid one another in time of war. Basically it works like this; attack one of us and we ALL will attack you. This group is expanding and represents a counter to Russia's aggression., whether real or imagined. NATO has had new life breathed into it since the 2014 Russian invasion/annexation of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine.

Back to K'grad,  (Im spelling it this way due to laziness in having to type it over and over) was recently in the news. Remember this?

Russia just sent this missile system into K'grad

This is the Iskander. A short range, maybe 300 miles, conventional and nuclear tipped weapon. This puts Berlin Germany, Poland and Sweden in it's sights. Russia has also set up their S400 anti-missile, anti aircraft defense system nearby. Remember the S400? that's the very same system Russia set up in Syria to protect their new airbase and warm water port.

This is the part of the world war that will probably go nuclear.

Now, lets look back at the war, yes I said war, in Syria.

Here is what God wants you to know;

1. Damascus Syria will be utterly destroyed, and overnight.

2. Russia will lead an attack on Israel, and will be backed by Iran, Turkey, Lybia, Sudan and quite possibly some of the European nations.

3. The US and Saudi Arabia will be on the sidelines, doing nothing.

4. Israel will not prevail against Russia.

5. God Himself will show up and destroy Russia's army and airforce.

6. All the world will know there is a God

Lets look at it.

#1 Damascus Syria. One of the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. The prophet Isaiah prophesied in

Isaiah chapter17 vs 1

“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,
And it will be a ruinous heap.

This has never happen in recorded history, we read in verse 12-14

Woe to the multitude of many people
Who make a noise like the roar of the seas,

And to the rushing of nations
That make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

¹³ The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters;
But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,

And be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind,
Like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

¹⁴ Then behold, at eventide, trouble!
And before the morning, he is no more.
This is the portion of those who plunder us,
And the lot of those who rob us

What we read is that the world will be all astir at this conflict, the battle over Damascus and their million plus inhabitants, then in the course of one night...gone. Did Isaiah foresee nuclear war? How would a prophet 2800 years ago describe something like this?

What would be a cause for Damascus to get nuked? What if chemical weapons were being amassed and prepared for use against Israel?

Far fetched?

The Syrian government thinks nothing of using chemicals against its own people. Do you think they wouldn't hesitate to use this against Israel to retake the Golan Heights?

Israel's response would be swift and nuclear. That's stating the obvious. World opinion against Israel would be overwhelmingly bad. Thats also stating the obvious. You can just  imagine what the UN would be saying, and the possibility of Barak Obama having a UN leadership role looks probable right now. Obamas disdain for Israel is readily apparent.

Lets look at #2. the Russian led assault

Another of the major prophets Ezekiel was given a vision of the end times and specifically the rebirth of the nation Israel and this war.

In his excellent work Gog-Magog, Nathan Jones presents a thorough and thoughtful analysis of this extremely import section of the Bible. If you get the chance, please take some time and read this. Lets look at the chapter and work through the problems.

Ezekiel Chapter 38

Gog and Allies Attack Israel

38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh,^[a] Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, ³ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. ⁴ I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. ⁵ Persia, Ethiopia,^[b] and Libya^[c] are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ⁶ Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.

⁷ “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. ⁸ After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. ⁹ You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: ¹¹ You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— ¹² to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. ¹³ Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”’
¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? ¹⁵ Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?

Judgment on Gog

¹⁸ “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. ¹⁹ For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, ²⁰ so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ ²¹ I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. ²³ Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”’

Who is Gog?

I am going to paste Lamb and Lion Ministries analysis. Please keep in mind, this analysis draws the very same conclusions that Biblical scholars have drawn for many years. The strange thing is, Russia didn't even exist during Ezekiels day

From Nathan Jones and Lamb and Lion Ministries:

The Nations
Ezekiel 38:1-6 gives the ancient names of the territories that comprise the invading nations in the Gog-Magog Battle: Rosh, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, Gomer and Beth-togarmah. If only Ezekiel had gone the extra mile and given the names of the invading nations contemporary to the battle, a lot of debate over their modern identities would have been saved. Never-the-less, God prefers students of Bible prophecy to do their historical research, and the following list of equivalent names is the fruit of that research.

1.     Magog = Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan (and possibly Afghanistan)

2.     Rosh = Russia

3.     Meshech + Tubal + Gomer + Beth-togarmah = Turkey (and possibly Azerbaijan, Armenia)

4.     Persia = Iran

5.     Ethiopia = Sudan

6.     Put = Libya (and possibly Algeria, Tunisia)

Noticeably absent from this list of Middle Eastern nations are those surrounding modern-day Israel, such as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Gaza, the Arab nations and Iraq. Ezekiel 38:13 describes these nations as just observing, for many of them originate as “Sheba and Dedan [Arab nations] and the merchants of Tarshish and all her villages.” Why these nations are not also actively involved in the Gog-Magog Battle is open to speculation, but a Psalm 83 scenario where Israel has subjugated their surrounding neighbors previous to the Gog-Magog invasion so that they are finally in the peaceful situation Ezekiel describes (Ezek. 38:11) is the most likely possibility.
One glaring similarity among all the Gog-Magog invaders put in a scenario today is that all but Russia claim their national religion to be Islam. Islamic religious fervor to destroy the Jewish people would unite the fractious Muslim nations into a coalition which has never existed in this form before. The obsessive drive for economic wealth would be the draw for Russia to join in and lead this doomed coalition.

I believe this to be the next installment on Gods plan for Israel and this world. In reading the Bible in its entirety, one gets a feeling for a big picture event.
Remember the old cowboy movies? The sweeping landscapes, the endless vistas, mesas, mountains and cumulous cloud filled skies? Then the story would drill down and unfold and get personal, very personal.
Keeping that analogy on mind, we have been on an almost 2,000 year intermission. Gods story has been getting personal with individuals for a long time.

 Its been fairly quiet on the earthly God front. Jesus has been building His church (translated from the Greek word Ekklisea) this literally means Called Out Ones and we have spread the Word across the globe like we were mandated to.

Now, its curtain time...and the show will go on.

Are you ready for it?

The Soon Coming War

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December 1, 2016

The Soon Coming War.

Yup...The Mid East...again.

Have you ever wondered WHY Israel? Think about it for a moment. Here is this small country, the size of New Jersey, that every time a building gets built or they try to be as normal as any other nation, the world media goes apoplectic over it.

As comedian Jerry Seinfeld used to say "What's the deal?!!!"

If you pull up any of the "Israeli News sites" you will find story after story of Palestinians attacking civilians. Other state actors like Hezbolla up north in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza area, and a cauldron of others who continually spring up with the express purpose to attack Israel, and kill Jews.

So, lets set the record straight. I'm not Jewish. Im Scotch Irish and as Gentile as they come. I am also a follower of Jesus Christ, Yeshua...you get my point.

So this land, Israel was one of the most important in world history. A couple thousand years ago, the God of the universe, created a people for Himself. They are called the Jews, or Hebrews, however you want to call it, the fact remains. These people were given a land in perpetuity, this small land we call Israel. Ok, so the nation of Israel rejected God and God kicked them out, scattered them all over the world, and promised to forgive them and in the latter days bring them back.

That happened in 1948.

From 1948 onward, the land of Israel went from a dusty rock filled swampy desolate place, to now a vibrant farming area. With water being as scarce as it is in that area, Israel leads the world in drip irrigation technology. Israel also is a world leader in technology. You have to admit a certain jealousy over the success of this Jewish nation. I wish our nation were as focused and prosperous as Israel.

Their advances in technology became life saving when the Palestinanians fired more than 4,000 rockets at civilians during July and August of 2014.  Israels Iron Dome anti-missile system performed admirably, protecting the locals much to the Arabs dismay. 

So, with this Iron Dome system, increased food production, Jews moving in from all over the world, Israel should be sitting pretty and safe right? They wish, and Bible believing Christians also wish, but it is not so Im afraid.

The battle lines were drawn in the Garden of Eden. The chief architect of rebellion, Satan, has his sights on opposing God at every opportunity. The main focus of Satan's wrath is the Jew.

Let's use another analogy from the Seinfeld Show. One of the characters George Castanza, was having rotten luck with work and relationships. So he decided to "do the opposite", lo and behold...it worked!

Just do the opposite.

That's Satan's game plan in a nut shell.

God authors peace and truth. Satan spawns confusion, deception and lies.

God blesses marriage between man and woman. Do the opposite...same sex marriage.

Do you want to live a peaceful life and raise kids to follow the Lord? Make it exceedingly difficult. Use the media to promote everything against God at every opportunity. Promote the dark forces, make the good seem evil and the evil seem good. In other words, do the opposite.

Here's one that we can relate to; Celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (you know Christmas?)...Satans plan? Turn it into a massive commercialized month long spending spree, void of Christ, full of Santa.

And so on and so on...you get the picture.

So, here we are in the year 2016. Israel has been back in the land for almost 70 years. The heat is now turning up in the Middle East.

Syria is the new Iraq/Lybia/Afghanistan.

The estimates on Syrian loss of life is about a quarter of a million killed. This country is ruled by Bashar Al-Assad. His rule is characterized as brutally murderous. He doesn't care how many die, just as long as he is in power. 

So Assad asks for some help. The Iranians are more than glad to help, especially if it means killing Sunni's or gearing up to destroy Israel. Assad gives right of way to Iran when it comes to weapons storage and transit towards Lebanon, where the de facto anti Israel army Hezbolla is in control.

Israel is now covertly attacking weapons depots and weapons shipments in Syria.

Assad also asked Russia for help. This is the 800lb gorilla in the room. It looks like Russia has been given carte blanche to do whatever it takes to keep Assad in power. They have been given total access to the port in Latakia and free reign of airspace.

What do you think would be Putins motivation for helping Assad? After all there has to be SOMETHING, right?

A news article posted in April said that Putin said that he intends to give the Golan Heights back to Syria.

A few days later Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said The Golan will remain a part of Israel forever.  

Ok so other than the Golan being militarily very, very important to the national security of Israel, what else is there?

Oil...and lots of it.

Now we know what's at stake.

Next up we will look at what the Bible has to say about this very time...its important and most likely you will see it come to fruition...soon, very soon.

Lord willing, see you tomorrow.

Shalom.

Jerry

One Step Closer Part 2

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November 30, 2016

One Step Closer Part 2

Yesterday I posted a piece on what I feel is another step towards, what I feel is, an inevitable confrontation between Israel and Russia.

I tried to identify some of the reasons, however, the more I write, the more it becomes apparent that this is a big wad of pasta noodles. To get to one point means untangling the entire mess.

Lets look deeper, ok?

There are some who say that we need to just be out of the Middle East. That to be involved is just a disaster waiting to happen. On the outside that would be a good assessment...however, its too late for that. We have to acknowledge that we screwed up and in a big way.

You see, President Obama ran on a promise to get out of the Middle East. If that is the case, why are we still there? Why are we providing so many weapons? So our Nobel Peace Prize President makes a claim that He's really good at killing people.

Please take a minute and watch the video

So now, who's our Daddy?

Saudi Arabia owns us, lets face it. Our addiction to oil has us scraping the barrel like a junkie. We had no choice...that is until we started to regularly produce our own supplies. Remember $3.00 plus a gallon gas? What happened? American ingenuity and the entrepreneurial spirit took over and we found ways to produce our own oil. We drilled and separated from shale and oil sand. Then our good friends the Saudis started dropping the price.

Generous weren't they? No, quite the opposite...they wanted to put small oil companies out of business. You know, eliminate the competition. It also looks like our own production killed off our own rally, Crazy as it seems, the oil companies were pretty leveraged out, meaning they borrowed money to lease or buy equipment. So when the prices started to drop...oops. They say over 175 oil companies could go bankrupt this year alone.

So what do the Saudis really want? Money? No, they have enough for many lifetimes. They want us to protect them, while they spread their radical terrorist Wahhabiasm. These wealthy elite cowards need protection from...drum roll please...Iran. Yeah the Shiite minorities want nothing more than to shove a nuclear weapon up The Saudi monarchies keister...and the Saudis know that, and they are afraid. Oh and the Iranians also want Israel destroyed and the US destroyed too, just had to add that.

I dont know if the House of Saud is fearful of President Donald Trump, but they better be mindful of him. President Trump isnt a globalist, they better  understand that if they want a relationship with the US. Its going to be a different game with Trump. I for one am really glad of it too. Lets leave that for a moment, and maybe that will be the topic for another time.

Sorry for my rant...

Back to Israel and Russia...

Now yesterday I posed a question. That was, if Mexico had intentions to protect their military bases and put a S400 system near the southern US border. How would the US respond?

We know how they would respond. The same way they responded when Cuba allowed The Soviets to use their island to base nuclear missiles. We were very, very close to nuclear war at that time.

If Russia wants to blanket Israel with radar and a very plausible threat to deny airspace, while giving Israel's enemies cover to move weapons and men...Israel will attack. You cant blame them either. You did notice that Russia moved their ONLY aircraft carrier off the coast of Syria, right?

The Admiral Kuznetsov, is a ski jumped looking behemoth. Vastly different than US aircraft carriers. It has also been reported today that Russia has blanketed the entire Syrian coast and inland with new missile batteries and weapons systems, designed not to go after ISIS...after all ISIS has no aircraft...but to protect against? Who then? Israel? The US? Turkey? Maybe all three.  

Now we are getting reports that the submarine game is going full steam ahead. Oh by the way Israel has the German made Daulphin class submarines. Very quiet and nuclear missile capable. Quiet enough to give our submarines a fit, and powerful enough to sink a certain smoke spewing aircraft carrier.

It was also reported that a Dutch sub, was chased out of the area by Russian ships. You read that right, a Dutch sub...operating off Syria, gathering intelligence on the Russians. Please pass the popcorn, this is getting exciting.

Its getting tight in Syria. For sure. All the players are unashamedly showing up...except for Iran. I expect that to change too.

Where is this leading? You would think that the God who put Israel back together would have something to say about all this, right? Im sure the backroom dealings, the intrigue and overall carnage would get the Creators attention, right?

Well, it has.

Lets step back for a minute. God spoke through his prophet Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus Christ walked this planet, that puts this about 2700-2800 years ago.

Isaiah 42: 8-9  I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.

⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare;
Before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

He told Isaiah that He alone is God, and there is no other, and that He will tell of things from the end to the beginning. That is one of Gods messages to man.

In the next chapter He tells Israel, 43:1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.

If there is any doubt about the status of Israel, lets put that to rest right now. Now, because of Israel's sin against God, He kicked them out of the land and scattered them across the world. It was this way til 1948, when Israel became a nation again, and the entire weight of the Jew hating world came crashing down on them. However, God raised up a nation to protect them. That nation was US. We had Israels back and sometimes that relationship was rocky, and sometimes sweet. But they were always, always special in our sight. As Christians we know the importance of Israel.

We read in Ezekiel 36, God told the land to get ready for His peoples return. Israel went from a dust and rock filled land to a green food producing nation, now exporting produce around the globe. In Ezekiel 37 we read that God told the "dry bones" to come together. This is the Israeli people.

In chapter 38, we read of intrigue. The Bible tells us that a coalition of forces, led by a nation to the North of Israel and called Rosh in a nation called Magog. Biblical scholars have for years identified as best that can be determined as Russia, Turkey. Iran, Lybia and Sudan. Notice that Saudi Arabia and the US are not listed in the attacking forces. They simply are on the sidelines.

This begs the question, how does our situation right now compare to the Biblical prophecy?

There is so much materiel that it becomes almost impossible to put this together in a simple blog format.

My brother-in-law and I were having breakfast at the local diner the other day. I talked with him about how our elections have changed the dynamic of the Middle East. He raised a point that stuck with me. He slid his coffee cup to the edge of the table and said "One day we will go off the edge, and maybe we are at the edge right now, but Gods hand is holding us back from crashing."

Good analogy.

Just because we have elected Mr Trump, and he has given us his word that Israel will not be treated like Obama treated them...our nation is set to crash.

I dont see a Make Us Great Again in our near future. Its not that we cant be great again, we certainly can, its that in order to be great again we need the hand Almighty God to guide us and there are too many in this land that hate that idea.

   

One Step Closer

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November 29, 2016

One Step Closer....

I guess its almost like we have to live our lives in denial if we are to maintain any semblance of normalcy. I mean, how involved in world events do we need to be to live a peaceful life?

Think about that for a minute. Who of us wakes up in the morning and prepares for a day of war, hunger, disease, political turmoil or international deception?

When I say "Us" I mean those numerically few folk who actually read this blog. I am not saying that we are special or protected or different...we are just not actively involved in the worlds horrors right now. I believe that will soon change.

This week something happened, which the folks who are watching, knew would take place. That is, ISIS has gotten to the Northern Israeli border and made an attack on Israel. Israel responded in the way Israel responds, aircraft blowing up the truck and killing the 4 ISIS thugs. 

To someone just taking a casual read of the news, we would give a fist pump and cheer on Israel.

However, there's much, much more to this and Id like to work through it with you.

First of all this Syria thing doesn't make much sense. I mean you have a country where the leader is being targeted by the US to be removed. Long gone are the days when our country would help nations by putting in water systems, establishing hospitals or generally being a help. No, we have made it our policy that either you accept our brand of lifestyle/politics or we will remove you...even if it means we will actively foment civil war in your country and kill hundreds of thousands of your people.

Sound far fetched? The stuff of fiction writers?

Thank you WikiLeaks.

Ok so lets take a step back. The major players in the Islamic thughood are Shiite and Sunni. Make no mistake about it, they HATE each other. Hate is bred into their souls from birth...its what they know and they dont care as it is their 'Honor' to hate their enemies.

Shiite are Saudis, Qataris, Indonesians....and are about 85% of total muslim population.

Sunni's are Iraninans...and are about 15% of muslim population.

Now, this entire Shiite vs Sunni hatred and murderous rage towards one another has to do with one thing...the legal right to be the leaders of the Muslim world. No joke.

A WikiLeaks email from the Clinton camp stated that the 'Government of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, our supposed "allies and friends" are funding ISIS directly. Let that sink in for a minute. ISIS is being funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Yeah the very people we went to war to protect are guilty of murdering thousands and thousands of people in a very brutal way. Heads hacked off? Burned alive? Sex Slaves? All funded by the Saudis and Qataris.

President Obama is as guilty as sin in this matter. It was his inability to lead in the Middle East and subsequent turning our backs on the people we recently died over...and handed them all over to this group. His bowing down to the Saudi king at the start of his Presidency was a slap to the face of every American.

Its stuff like this that makes my blood boil...but I know that this is not who we really are. I know that the majority of our people are proponents of the good and not the evil.

Ok so we know the divisions...Lets now look at why ISIS attacking Israel is so important.

Im posting a map to make it easier to understand.

Ok so lets look at a couple of areas that are important. First of all, notice that small area in northern Israel next to the Lake Tiberias, or as we Christians know it as the Sea of Galilee. The map reads, Golan Heights. This is important because this strip of land is vital to Israel's security. It is the high ground, if you hold it you can defend...if you lose it, everything below you is ripe for any and all artillery.

The Golan is also important because of one other thing...oil. Israel discovered a couple of years ago, the largest deposits of oil sands ever...ever.

Now, there is one country who totally covets oil, that is Russia. Russia has oil and natural gas, but because it is so hard to get to, its expensive. Russia also uses oil and natural gas to control those nations they supply...namely Europe.

So now, we have this tin pot dictator who rules brutally, that is Bashar al-Assad. This guy has stood up to the rebellion in his country, one that we probably had our hands in. He needs help, and along comes Putin and Russia.

The Russians desperately want and covet a warm water port...so they have been now given carte blanche from the port at Latakia. Look this up on the map...its important.

Now, Russia moved in and set up camp in a permanent way...they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Part of this permanence is their very good air defense systems. After all Russia has enemies. The system Russia installed at Latakia is their S-400 Triumpf anti aircraft missile system. The video below explains what this system is.

Notice the effective range of the radar and of the missiles. 400 Kms for the missiles and 600Kms for the radar. If you draw a line down from Latakia, due south...Jerusalem is 420 Kms. In other words, every time a jet lands or takes off in Israel, they are in the crosshairs of this missile system.

Lets put this in perspective. Lets say that Mexico wants to protect a military base near the US border. They install a S400 and it covers all the way to Phoenix Arizona or Dallas Texas....how do you think that would sit with us?

So Israel attacks a ISIS group near the Golan Heights...and a Russian radar technician is watching on a screen, his finger near the fire button.

Yes...one step closer.

What Are We Witnessing?

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November 28, 2016

What are we witnessing?

Yesterday I got into a conversation with someone on a "faith" type website. These sites draw all types, especially those to argue against God and those who liberalize God.

This person I talked with basically said to me, "Where did God say..." she then added "God...not Paul not Leviticus." In other words, she asked 'prove to me that God said it.'

My reply to her was that it didn't matter whether I could prove anything to her, what mattered was whether she believed it and what effect that would have on her life. So, nothing happened...

I have found that when people say, "Paul said this or that...so it doesn't mean anything," then it doesn't matter what is said after that, your argument is null and void.

So does God want us to stand up to these people and argue for what we believe? Yes He does. In Jude 1:3

          ¶

 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

So I accept that and will contend for my faith. The next question needs to be asked, to what end? What is the end result of contending for our faith? Is this thing we believe just some warm fuzzy? or is it a cool thing to do on Sunday, a way to make business contacts? Make friends?...why do what we do?

Well, lets look at what our world will look like WITHOUT Christ. The nation of Venezuela is a seething reeking crap hole right now. Venezuela used to be a prosperous country, until Socialism. Hugo Chavez came on the scene and did what Socialists do...they foment unrest and pit one group of people against another. When Socialists pit one group against another its usually along economic lines. It goes something like this: Dont you hate rich people? They stole their money, your money...Dont you hate paying college tuition?...Dont you hate paying for Medical? Dont you hate...just fill in the blank for the next social hot button.

So the people, the faceless masses, all in agreement...vote these liars and thugs into office.

Right now Venezuela is teetering on complete destruction. People scrounge garbage for food. As basic a need as food is, the very people who voted the Socialists into office cant get enough food for their families.  

And yet people in the US continue to entertain this philosophy.

Jesus said (Matthew 24: 1-13) that in the end times that we would see famines, earthquakes and disease in various places. He also added that these are the Beginning of Sorrows. A term used by Jesus to describe the times of pain, suffering and death.

Are we witnessing the time of the end?

I believe we are.  

Using The Bible To Further Your Own Agenda

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November 27, 2016

Using the Bible to further your own agenda.

Every day I receive a blast from Google on topics I have deemed important enough to highlight. Its a good way for me to have news articles based on Key words sent to me. One of those key words is 'Bible'

You would be amazed at the articles floating around the electronic universe with 'Bible' in the headlines.

After a couple of years of articles, its become very obvious that The Bible is used by both 'Liberal Left' and 'Conservative Right' to prove their points, justify their thoughts and actions, to bash those on the opposite end of the Scripture verse...and generally to make themselves sound more important than they really are.

Lets look at some of these headlines of articles or blogs from some of the websites;

7 Top Bible Verses about Immigration (This author has many articles called the 7 Best or 7 Most popular etc) This particular article will use the Bible to lead one to believe that ALL Immigration is to be protected. What the author fails miserably to say is that our nation has some of the best opportunities for Immigrants. If you are to take the author seriously, you'd be made to feel guilty for opposing "Illegal Immigration". Lets ask the Europeans how thats working for them...who are battling a massive crime waves from "Legal Immigration" Do you think God would approve of this? However, you do not see ANY Bible verses from this author concerning rape, robbery or murder.

The majority of the "news" I receive from Google on Keyword Bible comes from sites such as Patheos. This site bills itself as Hosting the Conversation on Faith. In examining some of the subsections, you'd think they were the ones who created the bumper sticker you usually see on Toyota Prius's "Coexist" The Blog areas are identified as; Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical, Progressive, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan and Athiest...yeah I guess Athiesm is now identified as a faith.

I am working my way through the Progressive Christian Channel. I don't agree with Progressives in 99% of what they preach, teach or how they rule. If we didn't have 8 years of Progressive leadership in Washington DC, it might be different. However, now that I've seen Progressives up close and personal, they hold nothing for me or other Conservative Christians. I find it difficult to side up to 'Christians', Progressive or Conservative, who knowingly take the Bible and its teachings and then exclude the teachings and examples that they find 'inconvenient' or not fitting into their personal or public narrative.

    

Post Thanksgiving

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November 25, 2016

Post Thanksgiving...a time for stretchy pants and leftovers

Its now 0400 and I am in my happy place. I've been up for an hour, made my strong freshly ground coffee with my Danish Technivorm coffee maker, read Matthew Chapter 14, prayerfully am still totally amazed how Jesus could feed over 10,000 people with just a few loaves of bread and some small fish...all of this after his cousin John was beheaded. I don't see that I would have been that gracious.

Yesterdays meal was over the top and I pulled it off without a hitch, thank you God! My digital thermometer went bonkers, so I had to go by time and feel with the turkey. If was a fear that this bird wouldn't have been thoroughly cooked, but it was. Here's a hint for next Thanksgiving. Those .39 a pound frozen rock solid turkeys, with a 3-4 day defrost AND a 18-24 brine, are NO DIFFERENT tasting than a fresh 1.29 a pound bird. We had a 24 pound bird that was flavorful, juicy and tender.

Blue Apron...my thoughts are they are good for certain situations. For a married couple who both work and want something different, good stuff. Also they will have you cooking things that you normally wouldn't use, and the eye-opening experience of have strange things explode flavor into your palates, is super cool.

Our new flavors are Butternut Squash, Persimmons and pickled onions.

I really feel for those who had family members who were so bent out of shape over the recent elections that it effected their holiday celebration.

It used to be that way with my Dad. My Pops was a Union Machinist, and a staunch Democrat from the word go. I grew up rebelling against that system and became an Independent voter and thinker. However, every year we delicately tred around politics. Both my Mom and I were "Born-Again Christians" and conservative in our ways, so naturally there was conflict not only during Thanksgiving, but during a political season.

My Dad, although a Democrat, would have hated this Democrat party. He was certainly old-school, and I miss him so very much. My Pops came to know the Savior later in life and I have no doubt that I'll get to see him again.

Change of subject....

I started doing some leather work recently. In doing so I found that I like it. So I decided to do some Christmas gifts. My first gift is a suede pencil roll for my daughters artist best friend, and the second is a lambskin bag for my daughter.

I found out real quick that you cant decently hand stitch soft leathers. They just flop around too much. A machine is required and with a machine comes sewing lessons on how to use the thing...ok So yesterday spend a few hours trying my best to CALMLY thread and use my new Janome machine on practice cloth, and I did...yeah!!!

Today I start leather.

Since Ive gone down this road, Ive had many thoughts on how I can use this machine to make stuff that might be useful to a gun toting, truck driving, Bible reading man or woman.

My daughter Jaden put a seed in my brain. She told me yesterday that she was followed by a strange guy as she was checking into a motel. Now Jaden is a pharmacist and has a pistol carry permit in Oregon. I asked her where her pistol was, and "I left it at home". That'll do you no good.

So Im thinking how about a nice leather hand bag with a built in holster? 

Im still pondering the possibilities.

Your thoughts?

Pre-Thanksgiving

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November 23. 2016.

The day before Thanksgiving. Arguably the largest family gathering and the most complicated meal of the year.

The easy part of this is a checklist meal. You know what I mean by checklist, a) Turkey 2) Stuffing etc etc etc

The hard part is to actually reflect on yourself over the past year. I would think that the Jewish equivalent to Thanksgiving would be Rosh Hashanah. However, we Gentiles simply have evolved (or devolved depending on your point of view) to the point of gorging ourselves on Turkey, pie and football.

Our families Thanksgiving celebration is nothing compared to what it used to be. My parents have recently passed away, and with that, the glue which held our clan together. My elder children are living on the Left coast, along with my grand children...so its our family of four...and memories.

Can we get back our spiritual connection with Thanksgiving? Can we make room for our Creator?

I have a confession to make. Two years ago, we started attending a church, Calvary Chapel of Baltimore. This church is down to earth, and is not concerned in the least with building projects, luncheons or cruises to the Promised Land. In some regards its a boring church, however quite a few of us are damaged goods, and this church is all we can handle. I thank God for this church. 

I was challenged a couple of years ago, by our Assistant Pastor Josh Plantoff, to do a daily reading of the Bible. A methodical reading through the ENTIRE  Book.

So I started to do just that. I had to mix it up and not get bogged down with the Begot this or Begot that...so I broke the Bibles 66 books into categories.

Historical

Prophetic

Gospel

Epistles

Other

I listed each book and basically read 1 to 2 chapters each morning, before any news comes on or even the TV gets turned on. To be honest my morning coffee and Bible reading has become the most important part of my day. Not that I've become a Bible scholar, but I have become centered, and not so focused on the daily political offerings or the beating of the war drum.

So here we are, day before Thanksgiving. Im making a apple pie and brining the turkey...yeah,, and giving Thanks.

The Battle Lines Are Drawn

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 November 22, 2016

The Battle Lines Are Drawn

Yesterday The Main Stream Media was meeting with President Elect Trump at Trump Tower. Dont think you will see this on NBC or CNN. The executives and reporters thought they were there to get an outline for future TV/Network coverage.

Instead they got this.....

President-elect Donald Trump met with top reporters and anchors from mainstream media outlets at Trump Tower on Monday, where he reportedly admonished them for their biased coverage during the presidential race.

The meeting was reportedly “off the record,” but a source told the New York Post that the scene was reminiscent of a “firing squad.”
The New York Post reports:
President-elect Donald Trump exploded at media bigs in an off-the-record Trump Tower powow on Monday, sources told The Post.
“It was like a f—ing firing squad,” said one source.
“Trump started with Jeff Zucker and said I hate your network, everyone at CNN is a liar and you should be ashamed….
“The meeting was a total disaster. The TV execs and anchors went in there thinking they would be discussing the access they would get to the Trump administration, but instead they got a Trump-style dressing down,” the source added.

This is totally different for the networks, as they have been part and parcel of the propaganda spewing from the Obama Administration and the recent Clinton campaign.

If you will recall that when Obama was first inaugurated, he hired a number of journalists. This set the tone for the next 8 years. The MSM has carried Obamas agenda without any critique.
The word 'propaganda'  comes to mind.

Next up on the media meeting list was the New York Times. That meeting was promptly changed and cancelled. I guess they had rather avoid the butt chewing they richly deserved.

Here's the thing. This is something that the MSM just doesn't get. Trump was voted in BECAUSE of the actions of the MSM. Everybody in American can see exactly what is going on...except the MSM.

Its a blindness, that is not uncommon. When Jesus walked among us, he taught truths. When He taught, he gave examples in Parables, stories designed to showcase what He was trying to get across. Those people who could understand, got it. He would also say something like, "Those who have ears to hear" meaning, sometimes a plain story gets overlooked or misunderstood.

I have a 10 year old son who loves video games. If he is in the midst of a game and I ask him to do something, like take out the garbage, he will nod and say OK....but immediately go back to the game and forget his mandate to take out the garbage.

The MSM is on the lookout for a boogeyman villain to blame for their candidates loss. Do you see the conflict here? The MSM should have NO candidate. They should be unbiased, they should be able to present without bigotry and prejudice the news. IF the MSM has a candidate, they will inherently be biased towards that person and against any challenger. 

The Wiki Leaks emails regarding the Clinton attacks on Bernie Sanders is a case in point.

So now the initial battle is underway. The battle for the minds and control of the American people. We as 'consumers' of news and media, need to be on our toes and not to be deceived or sidetracked by them.

The next battle is also forming up...that is the battle for our money. 

A Legacy

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November 21, 2016

A Legacy

The warm fuzzy talk over the past couple of months has been President Obama's Legacy.

To be sure, this means what will he be known throughout history as.

Will he be counted among the great men who led this nation through hard times like Depressions? or Wars? Or will he be scornfully remembered for scandal?

How will history view Obama? We do have a medical plan called Obama Care. Heck, even President Obama calls it Obama Care. Kind of strange if you ask me, as its true name is The Affordable Care Act.

Will Obama build a monumental library to himself, like other Presidents have done?

We can be sure that like the Clinton Clan, the Obama's will do all they can to influence and sway our thoughts and historical facts.

I ran across this image this morning, and am using it from Dinesh D'Souza and his film Obamas America.

This graph, and the resultant electorial win of Donald Trump clearly shows WHY the Republican won.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is telling.

This is a image of our financials, but what about our spiritual debt?

Has any president EVER tried as hard as Obama to force a religion on a nation? Obamas obeisance to Islam is undeniable. Wait, it is deniable according to the Liberal Main Stream Media. Who according to them, Obama is a good ole boy Christian.

Obama Says America is the #1 Muslim Countries of The World

Obama calls the US a large Muslim nation, Obama also said earlier that the US was not a Christian nation, though there is an 80% demographic that considers itself Christian. Now, after bowing down to the Muslim kind of Saudi Arabia, Obama claims the US Muslim population is one of the largest in the world making it a Muslim nation.

 http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/obama-says-america-is-the-1-muslim-country-in-of-the-world/

I dont know about you, but I am tired of these guys. So, lets close the Obama/Clinton door...for good.

What Do We Know?

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November 20, 2016

The past week is just that, past.

We have had 10 days to revel in the hopes of the next 4 years. We are seeing the promises made during this bitter campaign being kept.

We have all heard the crying and lamenting from the Liberal Left. We have seen the MSM (Main Stream Media) promote stories comparing President Elect Donald Trump to Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot and yes Satan himself. 

The MSM is guilty beyond measure. If the Liberal Lefties wanted to look at someone to blame, look no further than the Media. The Media, said with all of their authority, over and over, that Hillary was going to win. Why would the LL (Liberal Left) not believe them?

For those of us who claim our God, we KNOW that this election is merely temporary. It is a beautiful sunny day between storms. Gods grace is so beautifully evident and so uncalled for that to claim otherwise is as blind as the LL and MSM.

Lets look at the evidence;

God told His Prophets to pass a message along to the nation Israel. That message was this; due to the nations rejection of God, and their disobedience, He was going to scatter the people around the world and remove the nation Israel from the land. Bad news for Israel, yet God gave them opportunity after opportunity to repent or turn back towards Him, they refused and God kept His promise.

Israel ceased to exist after approx 100 A.D. However, Gods second part of His promise was that He would re-gather His children Israel, after their punishment.

About 600 years before Jesus came, God showed a Prophet Ezekiel a message, a vision of the future. This vision showed God miraculously breathing life back to a wasted nation, a deserted land, and breathing life back to a lifeless people. Read Ezekiel 36 -38

For almost 2,000 years the message of God was given to the Gentiles. A Gentile is a non-Jew, and is not broken down into the classifications we like to use. If you aren't Jewish then you are a Gentile. The Gentiles were tasked to spread the Word of forgiveness and new life in Christ. However, we were told that our time, the time of the Gentiles, is temporary.

You see, God is not finished with the Jew, quite the opposite.

1948 saw Israel become a nation again. If anyone says there is no God, just point them to this one miraculous well prophesied fact, the nation of Israel.

God says in exquisite detail, HOW the world will look at the time of the end. Israel will be back into the land, He will draw Jews from all over the world back to Israel, He will restore their original language, He will make the desert bloom and prepare the land for this massive influx of people.

This is happening now, we are witnesses to Gods fulfilled promise.

We are also going to witness Gods judgment of the nations that have oppressed, harassed and harmed Israel. In Ezekiel ch 38, God details this future battle between Russia, Iran, Turkey and a few others versus Israel.

Ezekiel Ch 38 is the next big event. God says He will take them all out, and it will be evident it was Him and not Israel. Personally my heart is heavy for those millions and millions of peoples who are fighting against Almighty God and His chosen people Israel.

That hasn't changed from our recent elections. I think we all could have seen that event taking place any day. But thankfully, prayerfully, and mercifully is may be postponed for a brief heavenly minute. But make no mistake it will happen.

Please make your peace with God. He is not accepting any other peace offer than thru His Son Jesus. Jesus paid the price we all owe. All you have to do is accept it.

Shalom