Illinois Financial Mess

We know that most cities, counties and states have spent way too much money over the past few decades. When credit was easy and consumers were unstoppable....many asked how the party could EVER end??

Of course today we know it has ended.

Earlier this week we posted about the coming bankruptcy of Los Angeles. Over the past few years we have posted about the looming disaster coming for California.

Today we have growing revelation that the state if Illinois is in SERIOUS trouble....and this trouble could come to a head by June 10.

Illinois lawmakers were in disarray Thursday as they groped for stopgap measures to address a $13 billion deficit equaling nearly half of the state's general-fund revenue.

The state faces one of the nation's worst budget crises, spilled over in part from the broader national economic crunch, and its current bond ratings lag only California's. But the confusion in the legislature indicates that serious steps to fix state finances won't be taken until after the November elections—if then.

Illinois lawmakers have little appetite for drastic spending cuts. An income-tax increase proposed by Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is going nowhere. Even temporary steps, such as borrowing to make pension payments, have stalled. Illinois is months late on many of its bills and has no plan for catching up.

Now check out how this article ends;

Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes said in his April report that the state's cash position for the quarter ending June 30 "looks exceedingly difficult." By June 10, Illinois must repay $1.75 billion, plus interest, in short-term borrowing.

Meanwhile, the state still owes billions of dollars to hospitals, universities, social-service providers and others. Mr. Hynes said the state's backlog of unpaid bills probably will exceed $5.5 billion at the end of June.

"Eventually, many providers of essential state services may be unable to continue their operations at current levels, and those vulnerable segments of the population to whom they provide services will suffer the consequences," he wrote.

See it here; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703686304575228582377071698.html?mod=WSJ_article_LatestHeadlines

Of course if we have California and Illinois bouncing checks, slashing pensions to police and cutting welfare all at the same time...it is a recipe for chaos...which is currently being foreshadowed in Greece.

Hal Lindsey Asks--"Are You Ready?"

Hal Lindsey is the author of the 1970's best seller, LATE, GREAT PLANET EARTH.

Today on his email he explains that everything is now in place for The Tribulation...which means the Rapture comes first...so is even closer.

He asks the most serious question in the history of ALL mankind....ARE YOU READY?

On this week's edition of "The Hal Lindsey Report": God promised Abraham that He would bless those who blessed him and his descendants, but that He would curse those who cursed him. God also promised Abraham that through him and his seed, all families of the earth would be blessed.

History seems to confirm this. Those people, nations, empires, and kingdoms who blessed and protected the Jews enjoyed the blessings of God. When they turned their backs on God's people, their national fortunes faded. Why should we think America is not subject to the same blessings and curses?

The Obama administration has been quietly assuring European and Arab leaders that if the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are still stalled in November, the President will personally convene an international peace conference to impose a solution on the region.

The latest target of the Obama Reformation League is Wall Street and the nation's bankers. But are the banks that were "too big to fail" a couple of years ago "too big to regulate" now?

Every industry and every special interest group has a lobbyist now. The Antichrist is no different. In fact, one of his chief lobbyists recently spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Think "The Tribulation" is years away? I'm thinking now that the conditions are ripe for the Tribulation to plausibly begin in days or weeks, not months or years. And if the Tribulation could be that close, how near does that make the Rapture? Are you ready?

Go to Gold

We have been discussing the paper money system that the U.S. uses for quite some time now. It's called a "fiat" money system....which means that the entire system is based on faith and confidence of the country issuing the paper. When the faith in the government vanishes...so does the value of the paper. If you read your history books you will quickly find out that this has happened MANY times throughout history....in fact it's an absolute certainty...it's just a matter of WHEN.

Yesterday we talked about the growing push to audit the Federal Reserve system which is ultimately in charge of our paper money...how much to issue and what interest rate they can invent to heat up or slow down the movement of that paper. Of course the Fed DOES NOT want anyone to see their books....as we might lose confidence in the paper.

Ironically, (coincidentally?) today's Wall Street Journal has a very intelligent article making the case for the USA to return to the gold system...because the world financial markets are getting VERY jittery as countries start mentioning the word "collapse" on a fairly regular basis.

Washington's elites are quietly preparing a post-election fiscal compromise that will fund much of President Barack Obama's domestic spending agenda with huge tax increases. They aim to create a value-added tax and will argue that there is no alternative even though doing so will leave the United States resembling the stagnant, bureaucratic nations of Western Europe.

But there is an alternative. The U.S. could return to a gold standard, a system that would not only prevent the government from running chronic budget deficits but would also curb attempts to manipulate the value of the dollar for political reasons.

But for the U.S., the dollar standard has proven to be less like a bed of roses than a whack-a-mole game. In the 1960s, the mole that popped up was a weak dollar, which triggered accelerated gold outflow from the U.S. to foreign governments. In the 1970s, the mole took the form of high inflation and stagnation. In the 1980s, high interest rates and big budget deficits that reared their heads. In the 1990s, regional or one-sector investment bubbles triggered emergency easing of interest rates by the Federal Reserve. Finally, reacting to deflation fears following the bursting of the dot-com stock-market bubble, the Greenspan Fed pushed the federal-funds rate down to 1% or less and kept it there for far too long.

This brought forth the Mount Everest of bubbles, a boom in U.S. residential real estate derivatives that spread all over the world. When credit-worthy investors and firms can borrow money for virtually nothing and aggressively leverage their investments in a market that seems headed in only one direction, no force on earth—not even an Obama-appointed regulator—is going to stop them from making that bet.

See it here;http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303695604575181693906532202.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion

Clearly, Milton Friedman was right....no one TRULY understands how money works. Why have rocks and shells worked in some civilizations...and others require coinage of gold and silver...but yet the biggest economy in the history of the world relies on paper?

I have one idea that actually is a well used saying...."Easy come, easy go!"

Can anyone find America anywhere in future Bible prophecy??....I didn't think so.

Staying Motivated

I plucked this from a men's ministry devotional;

The world says, “You are a religious fanatic.” God says, “You are a loyal son.” The world says, “People think you’re weird.” God says, “I think you’re incredible.” The world says, “You’re no fun.” God says, “I approve of the way you’re living.” The world says, “You’re intolerant and narrow-minded.” Jesus says, “I am the Way, and you will be blessed because you follow Me.”

Personal suffering – the real kind that creates loss for a believer – prompts many Christian men to run for the hills. We have a heart for Jesus, but we have no backbone when the going gets rough.

When God’s man fully identifies with Christ, things might get nasty. To keep us motivated, Jesus says, “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven” (Matthew 5:12).

Hat tip James L.

More Pressure from Obama

In our previous post we talked about pressure building on Israel and how Zechariah says that any nation that tries to move Israel will injure themselves.

Today we have John Bolton (ex US Ambassador to the UN) claiming that Obama may be in on this scheme to disarm Israel of it's only chance to protect itself from the Arab horde that surrounds her.

Former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton on Tuesday expressed concern over what he says is pressure being exerted by President Barack Obama on Israel to rid the country of nuclear weapons.

“Egypt and the Obama administration are negotiating right now on an Egyptian proposal for a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East, which certainly sounds good, except when you think about it, there is only one country that resolution is targeted at and that is Israel,” Bolton, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington, told Army Radio.

“When I was in the Bush administration we refused to even talk about these kinds of ideas,” he said. “I’d be quite worried about the possible outcome there.”

“The president is not happy with Israel’s nuclear capabilities. I think he would be delighted if Israel gave up its nuclear weapons,” Bolton asserted. “The only unknown answer at this point is exactly how much pressure he would exert on Israel to do just that. Part of that pressure is being exerted right now, by even considering the possibility of a conference on a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East.”

See it here;http://newsmax.com/InsideCover/bolton-israel-obama-nuclear/2010/05/06/id/358089

Oh my goodness!! President Obama is "not happy" with Israel's nuclear capabilities?? And the word "pressure" keeps showing up as it relates to U.S. President Obama relating to Israel.

Question; What do you think God meant when he said that nations would injure themselves when they try to move Israel? (Zechariah 12:3) How many ways can you think of that America could be ripped up or ham stringed if we don't quit pressuring (attempting to move) Israel?

Let us count the ways; earthquake in major cities, riots in Los Angeles and other major cities, power grid outages, major terrorist attack, severe storms and flooding, stock market crashes, loss of confidence in the U.S. government and it's treasury....or a combination of all of these things happening all at the same time. Kind of like a perfect storm sent by the Almighty himself.

It will happen....we just don't know exactly when. But today, we are closer than we have EVER been.

Atomic Chief Focuses on Israel

A few days ago we wrote about Israel being cornered by their Arab/Persian enemies. The tool they are using as the pry bar is the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. They want to know why they have to sign the treaty if Israel doesn't...and they claim Israel is the biggest threat to Middle East Peace.

The only folks who haven't signed the treaty are Pakistan, India and Israel. North Korea had signed the treaty but withdrew in 2003....so they could begin a process to blackmail the USA...but that's a WHOLE 'NOTHER STORY!

Now today we have this headline;

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY ASSOCIATION CHIEF FOCUSES ON ISRAEL

The head of the U.N. atomic watchdog is asking for international input on an Arab-led push to have Israel join the Nonproliferation Treaty, in a move that adds to pressure on the Jewish state to disclose its unacknowledged nuclear arsenal.

Israel, in turn, is suggesting efforts should focus instead on giving teeth to the nuclear treaty to prevent signatories like Iran from acquiring such weapons.

On Wednesday, The Associated Press disclosed that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano had sent a letter soliciting proposals from the agency's 151 member states on how to persuade Israel to sign the treaty. And the world's five recognized nuclear-weapons powers — the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China — reaffirmed the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East.

A string of Israeli officials, including a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the minister of atomic energy, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, the minister of strategic threats and the minister of communication, all refused to comment on the recent developments.

The latest pressure is putting the Jewish state in an uncomfortable position. It wants the international community to take stern action to prevent Iran from getting atomic weapons but at the same time brushes off calls to come clean about its own nuclear capabilities.

See it here;http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100506/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nuclear_agency_israel

You can see how the world is going to view this....they are going to say, "How come we are going to pressure Iran and North Korea to shed their nukes while ignoring Israel.?" Of course the answer is, "BECAUSE ISRAEL ISN'T THREATENING TO DESTROY ANYBODY!" or "BECAUSE ISRAEL DOESN'T SUPPORT DEATH CULTS LIKE IRAN DOES!" or "BECAUSE ISRAEL ISN'T RULED BY A PSYCHO WEARING A PANT SUIT WHO TORTURES HIS CITIZENS!"

But is won't matter. The world will view this Israeli action as an EXTREME double standard. If you put on your "third lens of scripture" to view this development....you can easily see where this is going. The world is going to unanimously turn on Israel...and we are watching the quickening movement towards that day.

"On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, (Israel) I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves."...says God. Zechariah 12:3

PLEASE DON'T AUDIT FED!!

Many have heard us talk about our Wizard of Oz word picture. If we all think back to the movie, Dorothy and her friends were terrified of the Great and Powerful Oz....until Toto went into the temple of Oz and pulled back the curtain only to reveal that Oz was really a short, bald man pulling levers behind a curtain.

We have wondered for years now if the Federal Reserve isn't really just a short, bald man pulling levers behind a curtain....and they DESPERATELY don't want anyone to reveal that secret to the world!

Today in the Wall Street Journal we have this headline;
Bernanke Warns Against Move to Audit Fed

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sought Thursday to head off legislation that would subject the central bank's monetary policy decisions to congressional audits, warning it could stoke inflation and threaten economic stability.

With U.S. senators moving toward a possible vote Thursday on an amendment to the financial regulatory bill that would significantly increase congressional oversight of the Fed, Mr. Bernanke warned of the consequences in a letter to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.).

"Such amendments, if enacted, would seriously threaten monetary policy independence, increase inflation fears and market interest rates, and damage economic stability and job creation," Mr. Bernanke wrote.

See it here; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704370704575228164133105390.html

Did you catch that?? If we open the books of the Fed (pull back the curtain) we may realize the Fed has no money and very limited power...and the breakdown in confidence of this once powerful, mysterious institution could lead to increased inflation fear, higher interest rates and damage stability and job creation.

Wait a second....you mean I shouldn't have put so much faith in this institution designed by man? And I shouldn't have had so much faith in the U.S. government to care for my every need from cradle to grave?

"Have faith in God alone"....says God.

Oh.

Doomsday for Charites

We have talked about the difficulty that churches would have if the government were to start pulling the 501(c) designation....which allows them to collect tax deductible dollars from their contributors, but also allows them to not pay ANY taxes...many times excluding them from Federal, State and Local property taxes.

Of course, this will probably manifest itself using some type of "anti-hate speech" billy-club that the Federal Government will wield. "If this church is caught saying that gays, adulterers, fornicators, bestiality proponents, etc... are sinful....this will be considered HATE SPEECH...and your charitable tax benefits WILL BE REVOKED!"

Today in the Star Tribune, we have this headline;
Charities face 'doomsday': Loss of tax-exempt status

More than 7,000 Minnesota nonprofits, and as many as 400,000 nationwide, are slated to lose their tax-exempt status next week -- an event being dubbed "doomsday."
At midnight May 15, any group that hasn't filed a new tax form will lose the tax break that is the lifeblood of most small nonprofits. It allows them to raise money tax-free and lets the public write off donations to them.

For decades, nonprofits that raised less than $25,000 a year didn't have to file tax returns. Thousands apparently don't have a clue that changed in 2006.
The affected nonprofits span the state and include well-known names. Athletic leagues. Boy Scout chapters. Labor unions. Social service groups. More than 50 chapters each of the Lions Club, Knights of Columbus, American Legion and other fraternal groups.

"This could be the largest loss of organizations in the last 80 years," said Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. "We're trying to get the word out."

See it here; http://www.startribune.com/politics/92926779.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUs

So this may be starting in a small way with some of these smaller charities...but it could be another wake up call that the government is going to start taking a close look at charities.

Koran--The Elephant in the Room

This morning The Today Show was again trying to figure out how the Times Square Bomber could have been radicalized.

After all, they ponder, he was educated at a fine American college, he had a good job, had bought a house in CT, was married with a few kids, etc.... What could lead this good looking young man to try and blow up America? In their clueless guessing...they wonder aloud if it could have been his despair from having his home in CT foreclosed on. Wow Matt Lauer....really?? If that's the case we better be on the look out for hundreds of folks from Buffalo, MN getting ready to blow up things...because they have been foreclosed on too!!

Next up, they show this dude's apartment that he had rented. They pan around the room looking at what is in it.

Meredith and Matt are looking at the things in the room,..."All we can see here is a bed on the floor, some weights for lifting, a little dining table, a KORAN, and really nothing else."

I jumped out of my chair and screamed at them hoping they could hear me through the TV,... "IT WAS THE WORDS IN THE KORAN THAT MADE HIM WANT TO BLOW UP THINGS!!!"

Of course, even if billions of people start to open their eyes and begin to wonder why all the suicide bombers have one thing in common....the KORAN....we are getting to a point where we will not be able to speak the truth about what is plain to see.

Cash Not Welcome

This morning I was watching The Today Show and they were reporting how the Times Square Bomber (radical Muslim from Pakistan) had almost escaped the country and was literally seated on an airplane heading for Dubai. The FBI ordered the plane back to the gate and they went on an arrested this dude.

Yes, that is interesting in and of itself.

Next they had Senator Chuck Schumer come on the show and start to talk about the clues that led to this dude's suspicion and arrest.

One of the most glaring clues, we were told, was that HE PAID CASH FOR HIS AIRPLANE TICKET.

It made me realize how the "mark of the beast" is being foreshadowed... so that if you don't have that mark....you will NOT be able to swipe your credit card....and will NOT be able to buy or sell one single thing. Either that or the mark stamped/tattooed/injected on your arm or forehead WILL BE your credit card.

Ask ourselves this question; What else could we purchase today with cash that WOULD MAKE US APPEAR SUSPICIOUS??

As credit cards continue to be the EXPECTED FORM OF PAYMENT in almost everything we buy....expect the use of cash to become more rare...except for the tiniest of purchases OR for purchasing ILLEGAL ITEMS LIKE DRUGS.

In fact the use of cash for illegal purchases and activities will probably be the main reason that Antichrist will make cash illegal to use...after he arises on the world scene to clean up the chaos and anarchy that will have erupted following the rapture of the church.

Israel Getting Cornered

We know that the Western world is concerned about a nuclear arms race in the middle east. If Iran gets nukes, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq will also want to acquire nukes....and in a hurry. When that happens, the world will be ten times more dangerous than it already is.

So Syria has come out with an idea....let's make Israel sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty!

Now here's the problem....Israel will NEVER sign it because we all know they ALREADY HAVE NUKES!

But team Obama has a tough row to hoe...because how can they come down hard on Iran's nukes while turning a blind eye on Israel's nukes? Of course you and I know the answer to that...we TRUST that Israel won't do anything stupid or threatening with their nukes....especially toward the USA. On the contrary, Iran is already threatening people with nukes EVEN BEFORE THEY HAVE THEM!

Here's how the Arab news is reporting this development;

Syria called on the international community to seriously work to compel Israel, the only party with nuclear military capacities outside the international supervision, to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and open all its nuclear facilities to the international inspection.

Syria submitted on Wednesday a work paper to the NPT conference in New York, calling for putting pressure on Israel to implement the international legitimacy resolutions as a major step towards achieving regional and international peace and security.

The work paper pointed out that the NPT couldn't achieve balance among the three main axes of its goals in stopping the horizontal and vertical proliferation of nuclear weapons, the whole and comprehensive dismantling of all kinds of nuclear weapons and giving countries their whole and inalienable right of using nuclear energy technology in various peaceful applications away from double-standard policy.

The Syrian work paper stressed the need for serious work to make the Middle East region free of nuclear weapons, underlining the importance of not linking this to the issue of achieving just and comprehensive peace in the region.

See it here; http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2010/05/05/286531.htm

If you think about how the game of chess works, the players maneuver the game pieces in an attempt to work their opponent into "check" (which means their king will be killed unless moved) and "check mate". (which means no matter where they move their king WILL be killed)

Now remember that the Iranians (who support the Syrians) invented the game of chess.

It certainly appears like Israel is being put in "check" by the nations of the world.

And the Bible tells us they will be in "check mate" pretty soon....and only God will be able to deliver them.

What we are watching is the foreshadowing of this coming event.

Praise God (again!) that we know how the story ends.

Los Angeles and Bankruptcy

Most longer time readers of this blog know that we have been watching California very closely as we believe it may be a foreshadowing of what is coming for the rest of the country.

Today in the Wall Street Journal we have an article written by the former mayor of Los Angeles. In the article he states that Los Angeles now has no choice but to file for bankruptcy.

Los Angeles is facing a terminal fiscal crisis: Between now and 2014 the city will likely declare bankruptcy. Yet Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have been either unable or unwilling to face this fact.

According to the city's own forecasts, in the next four years annual pension and post-retirement health-care costs will increase by about $2.5 billion if no action is taken by the city government. Even if Mr. Villaraigosa were to enact drastic pension reform today—which he shows no signs of doing—the city would only save a few hundred million per year.

The mayor can't control the economy, but he could have chosen to control spending to keep the size of government proportional to the size of the local economy. Instead he's done the opposite: squeezing the city's productive workers to fund the salaries, pensions and other benefits of government workers.

See it here; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704608104575218392603082622.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion

As we have asked before...what may happen if Los Angeles starts cutting pensions on all the police officers at the same time they start bouncing checks to the millions of people on welfare?

Can anyone spell the word C-H-A-O-S?

Currently we are seeing the Greeks REFUSE to face up to the facts that the past generation spent more money than they had and now their kids and grand kids are going to be the ones left to pay the piper. And rioting and chaos are currently happening there.

If Greece is 1/100 the size of the U.S. and their chaos is making the news....what may it look like when the U.S. is forced to make the same crippling cuts to avoid bankruptcy...and our chaos breaks out?

Remember the Good News. The Lord is going to allow all these restless events to happen, along with natural disasters and famines...so that people will wake up and realize they are in control of NOTHING...so that they will seek the Lord and turn to Him for salvation....before the door slams shut at the rapture of the church...which ends the Age of Grace.

He does this out of his infinite mercy and love for mankind....because blessings seem to put people to sleep, which results in apathy towards God and neglect of His Word. Obviously America is guilty of this neglect...and unless a serious revival of the Holy Spirit happens soon...we will all be going the way of Los Angeles.

This does explain why America is found NOWHERE in the prophecies regarding the VERY last days.

Prophecy Explosion

Here are just some of the headlines from today. One could speak for hours in adult ed on JUST THE HEADLINES FROM TODAY!

Iran, Syria, Turkey Cementing TiesIran made a point of declaring its solidarity with both Syria and Turkey in recent days, on the heels of joint Turkish-Syrian military exercises. Turkish and Syrian troops conducted three days of joint military drills and exercises last week, in the latest manifestation of the close ties between the two former adversaries. The exercises were aimed at increasing “cooperation and confidence between the land forces of the two countries, and rais[ing] border units' level of training and ability to work together," according to a joint statement.

Is Facebook a deal with the devil?Robert Cailliau, who co-developed the World Wide Web 20 years ago, recently commented in a video why he isn't on Facebook: "I can get in, but I can't get out. I don't know what happens to my data."

The Tripod of TerrorEven with the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Tripod of Terror - Iran, and its terror proxies Hamas and Hezbollah – has the power to prevent any transition towards a quiet state of affairs in the Levant.

Military Intelligence: Hezbollah Scuds tip of iceberg"Weapons are transferred to Hezbollah on a regular basis and this transfer is organized by the Syrian and Iranian regimes. Therefore, it should not be called smuggling of arms to Lebanon – it is organized and official transfer."

Pope All but Endorses Authenticity of Turin ShroudPope Benedict XVI all but gave an outright endorsement of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin on Sunday, calling the cloth that some believe is Christ's burial shroud an icon "written with the blood" of a crucified man.

Will Israel obey God or manThe rabbis have stressed the God-given right of the Jews to the Land. The biblical mandate clearly designates all the territory west of the Jordan River as the home of the Jewish people forever. Prophets called it “an everlasting covenant.” The rabbis claim that the covenant is still in effect following God’s miraculous re-gathering of the Jews and the restoration of their ancient nation.

Bolton: Obama pressuring Israel on nukesFormer US ambassador to the UN John Bolton expressed general concern Tuesday with the US President Barack Obama's pressure on Israel to rid the country of nuclear weapons. "Egypt and the Obama administration are negotiating right now on an Egyptian proposal for a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East, which certainly sounds good," Bolton told Army Radio."Except when you think about it, there is only one country that resolution is targeted at and that is Israel."

Nashville submerged after deadly stormsParts of Nashville, Tennessee, have been evacuated after a levee protecting the southern city sprang a leak. Nashville landmarks like the Country Music Hall of Fame and the symphony centre are surrounded by water. Officials say at least 27 people were killed in three southern states over the weekend.

EXCITING TIMES TO BE ALIVE FRIENDS!!

John Bolton Speaks Truth on Iran

We have been hearing rumors for some time that team Obama has been preparing for dealing with a nuclear armed Iran....because it is becoming obvious that Obama would NEVER use military means to deny Iran's nuclear ability.

Of course Iran knows of Obama's unwillingness to use force....and it is emboldening him to speak even harsher rhetoric towards Israel, the West and USA.

Sanctions are a colossal joke as China and Russia will not sign off on sanctions....so Iran has really nothing to fear and everything to gain by pushing ahead with it's nuclear weapons program.

In Congress, sanctions legislation also creaks along, but that too is simply going through the motions. Russia and China have already rejected key proposals to restrict Iran's access to international financial markets and choke off its importation of refined petroleum products, which domestically are in short supply. Any new U.S. legislation will be ignored and evaded, thus rendering it largely symbolic. Even so, President Obama has opposed the legislation, arguing that unilateral U.S. action could derail his Security Council efforts.

We therefore face a stark, unattractive reality. There are only two options: Iran gets nuclear weapons, or someone uses pre-emptive military force to break Iran's nuclear fuel cycle and paralyze its program, at least temporarily.

There is no possibility the Obama administration will use force, despite its confused and ever-changing formulation about the military option always being "on the table." That leaves Israel, which the administration is implicitly threatening not to resupply with airplanes and weapons lost in attacking Iran—thereby rendering Israel vulnerable to potential retaliation from Hezbollah and Hamas.

See it here; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703871904575216260958684670.html?mod=rss_Today's_Most_Popular

And there is the tiny country of Israel....mentioned again. The world is reeling as they try and figure out what to do with Jerusalem and "those Jews".

A showdown is coming....but praise God we know how the story ends!!

Currency Folly

Most of us probably know the name Steve Forbes. He is the president /CEO of Forbes Magazine and also ran for President of the U.S. some time ago.

He recently wrote about the central bankers printing and spreading money around...and the folly of believing that this practice is capable of fixing many of man's ailments.

[T]he notion arose in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that if wise men could have "flexibility" in issuing money without the constraints of its being tied to the supply of gold, or even silver, they could rid us of financial panics, the business cycle and other human ailments! John Maynard Keynes and others thought that if the economy looked to be slowing you should just churn out more money, like putting more logs on a flickering fire, and do the opposite if things looked to be overheating. But manipulating the amount of money or the cost of it, à la the Fed's fixing interest rates, gets in the way of prosperity. It does not facilitate prosperity but retards it. There is no way a handful of people—wise or unwise—in government and central banks can second-guess what markets made up of billions of people might need. We are living through a disaster that is the result of the latest Greenspan/Bernanke attempts to guide our economic destiny through central bank operations.

Imagine if the government decided to increase the number of minutes in an hour from 60 to 70. You can hear policymakers congratulating themselves: "People will work longer at the same pay. This will be a boon to productivity!" Or if Washington increased the number of inches in a foot from 12 to 15: "Home buyers will thus get more house for the same price and that will stimulate home buying!" Preposterous? It's no more foolish than what we and other countries routinely do with our currencies.

See it here; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704608104575220180522802678.html

Friends...I hope the doomsayers talking about the collapse of our paper money system are all dead wrong. I hope that our money system lasts until Christ returns...and that we will cheerfully be buying campers, houses, boats, and SUV's using our paper money system right up until we hear the trumpet blow.

However....there is a real possibility that the global financial system could collapse when it is revealed how much paper money has been printed...and as Greece, Spain, Portugal problems lead to Europe problems which leads to Japan, China and USA problems. At this point the IMF would step in and take over the entire system...as it is already doing in other shaky countries.

The Bible clearly says that a one world currency is coming. Think about it....how is that going to happen unless all the existing currencies of the world are revealed to be "folly"....and the confidence in the governments issuing such paper falls to zero?

WHEN this happens....we should literally be able to hear the hoof beats of the Antichrist marching onto the stage.

But the GREAT news is that Christ will come for His bride (the church) BEFORE Antichrist actually takes the stage. WE WILL BE GONE IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE!

Preacher Arrested

Yesterday in adult ed we talked about the growing persecution of Christians and how it WILL be coming to America if the Lord tarries.

Today we have the news coming out of the UK that a Christian street preacher for saying that he believed homosexuality went against the word of God.

Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships.

The 42-year-old Baptist, who has preached Christianity in Wokington, Cumbria for years, said he did not mention homosexuality while delivering a sermon from the top of a stepladder, but admitted telling a passing shopper that he believed it went against the word of God.

Police officers are alleging that he made the remark in a voice loud enough to be overheard by others and have charged him with using abusive or insulting language, contrary to the Public Order Act.

Mr McAlpine, who was taken to the police station in the back of a marked van and locked in a cell for seven hours on April 20, said the incident was among the worst experiences of his life.

“I felt deeply shocked and humiliated that I had been arrested in my own town and treated like a common criminal in front of people I know," he said.

See it here; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7668448/Christian-preacher-arrested-for-saying-homosexuality-is-a-sin.html

Some will say, "Yeah, but Dennis...that was in the UK. That will never come here!"

To which I would reply....."It's closer than you think."

It's ironic that the USA has been the freest place on the planet to learn about God's word, to study it, preach it, learn it, discuss it.....yet most of us know a shockingly small amount about ANYTHING that the Word of God has to say.

I hate to say it, but maybe some persecution is EXACTLY what we need to make us value, appreciate and fall in love with the Word of God.