Status Quo is Shaken

This is your friendly guest blogger filling in for Dennis while he's away.

There has been a revolution in Tunisia. The people, admit heavy rioting and fighting for the past month, has successfully ousted their President, Zein al-Abideen Bin Ali this weekend. As there are many riots in that part of the world, I didn’t really think much of it at first.

Until, while reading the news postings about the revolution, I came across this paragraph;

“Analyst Ahmed Lashin said he did not rule out the possibility that the entire Arab world would be engulfed in chaos in wake of the Tunisian “revolution.” He noted that anti-government demonstrations have already taken place in Algeria and Jordan.”

And this quote from the analyst;

“The Arabs have been repressed for too long,” he said. “They are eager for change and are on the verge of explosion.”

A writer for the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi wrote in an article,

…The Tunisian people deserved to be thanked twice – “for proving that the Arab street is not dead as many had expected and is capable of waging an intifada and making sacrifices for change, and for exposing the Arab regimes that claimed to care about human rights and the values of justice and democracy.”

Hamas in the West Bank is warning the leaders of the PA that they could be next. “The people of the West Bank can no longer accept humiliation.”

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=203717

And,

“In the Gaza Strip, hundreds of Islamic Jihad supporters rallied to support the uprising. Activists of the Islamic Jihad held Tunisian flags bearing the words "Revenge against tyranny" during the rally in the heart of Gaza City.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70D2OV20110115?pageNumber=3

This ousting is making other entrenched leaders in the area nervous. So far, there have been rumblings in Algeria, Egypt and Jordan.

The rioting was fueled by high prices, high unemployment and government corruption.
This first revolution may be the spark that ignites a firestorm of rioting across many countries.

The Point of No Return

President Reagan appointed a guy who helped to advise him on the budget back in 1981. Today he is speaking out....and basically he says we are financially doomed. We have reached the point of no return and it will spiral out of control until a massive global bond crisis overtakes the globes finances.

"The Cold War is long over," he continued. "The wars of occupation are almost over and were complete failures -- Afghanistan and Iraq. The American empire is done. There are no real seriously armed enemies left in the world that can possibly justify an $800 billion national defense and security establishment, including Homeland Security."

Short of that, he suggested, the United States has "reached the point of no return" with its artificial creation of wealth, and will eventually face a sharp economic decline.

But with the US national debt ballooning past $14 trillion in recent days, even a debasement of the military-industrial complex might be too little, too late.

Some analysts have warned the next debt crisis could be municipal bonds, where a $2 trillion market bubble currently exists. One, who correctly predicted the Citigroup credit crunch, even suggested that over 100 US cities may default in the process.

See it here; http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/america-has-reached-the-point-of-no-return-reagan-budget-director-warns/

Hang on folks! If we are still here because the rapture hasn't happened yet....it's going to be a bumpy ride...because what this guy says is VERY likely to come true.

Shia vs. Sunni on 12th Imam

For those of us who are a little familiar with Islam's expectation of the 12th Imam....this brief blurb is pretty interesting.

Of course we know that Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims have been whacking each other to death for centuries....and much of the hatred stems from different understandings of how everything is going to play out. It would be a little bit like Christians who are expecting the rapture and then hell on earth during the Tribulation....fighting to death with Christians who believe that we have to make earth a better place so that Christ can return.

If you care to read the below article that compares and contrasts the Mahdi (12th Imam) between Shias and Sunnis...understand that "dajjal" is Satan. Also understand that they believe Jesus will come back with the Mahdi....but he will just be a kind of lesser prophet.

See brief comparison here; http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?218449-Will-the-shias-follow-the-dajjal-as-their-mehdi

Also notice some of the attributes of the Mahdi...sounds like he may be the Antichrist as described by the Bible...notice they believe he will rule for 7 years.

Hat tip to Tom F.

Iran Coming to Iraq

Of course the Muslim extremists know the USA is withdrawing from Iraq. They know there is going to be a power vacuum and they are preparing to move in their and create an Eastern Front.

Also remember that Christian persecution is growing in Iraq...so we can know that something wicked is getting ready to come on that place.

And the terrorists who were in hiding while the Americans took over Iraq....they are coming back too.

The urgent phone call Jordan's King Abdullah II put in to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Wednesday Jan. 5 dealt only marginally with stalled diplomacy with the Palestinians. The king pressed for answers on what Jerusalem and Amman can do to curb Iran's advancing domination of Iraq in the face of America's inaction.

Referring to Hizballah's role, Abdullah commented to Netanyahu: First Iran's missiles had you jammed from the north and the south, now Iran and Hizballah are cornering you from the east. The Americans are not lifting a finger to stop this happening."

The call, which came through the day before the Israeli prime minister met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for lunch at Sharm al Sheikh, elicited no real practical replies. Netanyahu confirmed that Israel still stood by the guarantee of support its armed forces and security services had granted the Hashemite Kingdom and its ruler for the past 60 years.

Both the king and the prime minister appreciated that words are not enough. Since both their military and strategic policies are synchronized with Washington, the total disintegration of American strategic positions in Baghdad Wednesday, Jan 5, was an alarming setback to both Jerusalem and Amman.

On that day, the anti-US radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr, a close friend and ally of Hizballah's leader Hassan Nasrallah, came marching home from self-imposed exile in Iran, and the new Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi paid his first visit to Baghdad – both in full sight of 50,000 US troops.

See it here; http://www.debka.com/article/20524/

It appears that the pieces continue to fall into place for something large to happen in Iraq in these Last Days...just like the Bible said they would.

Hat tip to Tom F.

Ark Promises to Survive Biblical Flood

Last summer Pakistan had it's worst flooding in hundreds of years (possibly ever!). Currently, Australia is experiencing "Biblical" flooding. Now this morning we are told that almost 400 people have died in massive flooding in Brazil....which is the worst flooding seen in decades.

With all these floods, it was only a matter of time til some company started offering a doomsday ark...built to withstand some world-wide Biblical flooding.

And here it is; http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Ark-Eco-Building-Future/ss/events/sc/011011theark#photoViewer=/ydownload/20110110/photos_net_web_sc/1294694210

Hat tip to Seth H.

Lebanese Government Collapses

I will let you read about this collapse from the New York Times and also from Fox News;

Many here fear that “unknown” could turn bloody with street clashes in which Hezbollah is likely to prevail. An outbreak of violence might enable it to effectively seize control of the government and force a new reality on the streets of Beirut, at least until a new agreement can be reached under the auspices of foreign powers, who have long played an outsized role in the country’s domestic affairs.

Other analysts dismiss the prospect of violence, given Hezbollah’s strength. A more likely scenario, they say, is months of political stalemate, not unlike Lebanon witnessed between 2006 and 2008, before another deal is reached.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/world/middleeast/13lebanon.html?_r=1&hp&emc=na

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/01/11/lebanese-leader-says-deal-lebanon/

What does this all mean? Sounds like Hezbollah could be getting ready to take over Lebanon...which Syria and Iran both desire.

It also sounds like the clock is ticking off seconds as we close in on the war prophesied in Psalm 83.

Thanks Lisa H. and Jon R. for the heads up.

Hoodoo

In another sign as to just how far and how fast this country is sliding from it's Christian roots...we get an article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal explaining how people are turning to Hoodoo (think Voodoo) to help them find jobs and happiness.

Jennifer Forness, a 39-year-old in Groton, Conn., felt her life falling apart earlier this year. Her husband announced he wanted a divorce. She lost her job as a store clerk. She developed health problems from the stress.

Then one night she discovered a website selling products for hoodoo—an ancient belief system based on spells, potions, balms and curses that slaves developed long ago in the Deep South. Ms. Forness ordered several items and instructions for performing certain rituals. She also had a telephone session with a hoodoo "doctor" who specializes in employment matters.

Since then, things have turned around. Ms. Forness found work tending bar part-time and her health has improved. "There is a reason we believe in this stuff," she says.

For decades, hoodoo shops appeared to be dying off. But the Internet, and troubled times, have given rituals once performed only in backwoods cabins or shabby urban shops a new life. Hoodoo practitioners and retailers say sales are booming as people from across the country turn to them for help slashing debt, preventing foreclosures or finding jobs.

Now pay attention to this paragraph;

Younger blacks are also discovering hoodoo. Angela Allen, a 30-year-old African-American in Atlanta, said none of her older relatives would ever talk to her about hoodoo because they considered it anti-Christian. But she became interested in the practice about three years ago after falling into heavy debt. "I felt desperate and I had to do something," she says. Little by little, her financial situation improved, she says. Now she regularly buys hoodoo online.

See it here; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703989004575653102537901956.html

Holy Hoodoo! Can you see how Satan must be laughing out loud at how easily people are deceived? First, get people to buy something they can't afford by using credit...then get them all desperate....then lead them to hoodoo (Satan-deceptive spirits)....then give them a little Mammon (money) to make them feel better...and you have a lifetime customer of hoodoo!

And Satan then has one more passenger on that Long Black Train.

How tragic. How terrifying.

Pole Shift

I think we all remember from science class what the North Pole is. It's where our compasses point...and it's somewhere way up at the tippity-top of the globe. Some of us may even remember that the actual location of the pole moves around a few miles because of the earths iron core moving at a different speed than the earth's surface.

But last year the North Pole moved 40 miles closer to Russia. THAT'S 40 MILES! I first saw the story on NBC Nightly News and Brian Williams even seemed perplexed.

Today I found a news article to post; (interesting how he starts the article)

Don't think of this as another sign of the apocalypse, but Earth's magnetic north pole has been shifting enough that Tampa's airport has to repaint the numbers on its runways.

Tampa International Airport in Florida has closed its primary runway until Jan. 13 to change the numeric designations at each end, as well as the signage on taxiways leading to the runway. The Tampa Tribune said the runway had been designated 18R/36L, indicating its alignment along the 180-degree approach from the north and the 360-degree approach from the south. Now the numbers are being revised to read 19R/1L (190 degrees and 10 degrees).

For decades, the magnetic north pole has been migrating from Canadian Arctic territory toward Russia. That shift has accelerated in recent years, and current estimates suggest that the pole is moving at almost 40 miles a year.

See it here; http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/07/5787088-pole-shift-forces-airport-makeover

I guess we just add this to the list of strange things that man has no control over.

Maybe God wants us to trust in Him? Maybe he wants us to humble ourselves and realize that without Him we are worthless, weak, little blobs of flesh...hurtling through space on a spinning rock...that we have no capability of steering?

Biblical Flood Continues

The flood reports out of Australia continue to show more devastation. They are now reporting that potentially dozens of people have died in the recent deluge.

Floodwaters have begun inundating Brisbane homes after the city's river broke its banks this morning.

The inner-Brisbane suburb of Fairfield has been cut in half, with dozens of homes breached.

More than 50,000 customers in southeast Queensland are without power, including 22,000 in Ipswich and more than 15,000 in Brisbane.

As the rain of recent days gave way to blue skies in Brisbane, Premier Anna Bligh told Sky News the break in the weather would allow rescue workers to search for the 90 now missing.

She said it would be a "gruesome day for rescue workers and a heartbreaking day for families’’ who are still missing loved ones.

"I think we will all be shocked by what they will find,’’ she said.

See it here; http://www.smh.com.au/environment/weather/brisbane-homes-inundated-ipswich-cbd-closed-20110112-19my3.html

I think billions of people are going to be shocked when millions of God-fearing, Holy Spirit filled, followers of Christ one day vanish from planet earth. How many signs will the people of planet earth have to see before they repent and turn to Jesus...before that day happens?

Only a Threat of Force

Jerusalem was once again in the top headlines today...once again talking about Iran.

(Reuters) - Only the convincing threat of military action headed by the United States will persuade Iran to drop plans to build an atomic bomb, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.

Netanyahu appeared to downplay recent Israeli intelligence assessment that Tehran's nuclear program faced delays and urged foreign powers to pile pressure on the Iranian authorities.

Speaking to foreign journalists, he said that although the latest round of international sanctions were hurting Iran, they would not be enough to force a u-turn on nuclear weapons.

"You have to ratchet up the pressure and ... I don't think that this pressure will be sufficient to have this regime change course without a credible military option that is put before them by the international communitly led by the United States," he said.

See it here; http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70A64F20110111

And the rumors of war continue.....

Will Jesus Come on May 21, 2011?

We should expect more bogus predictions about what day Jesus is coming. Why? Because they serve to discredit serious prophecy watchers who are trying to warn people about getting sober and leading kingdom-centered lives.

And I'm guessing that on May 22, the scoffers will have one more reason to laugh and to further doubt that Jesus will EVER return.

I was just told at a luncheon that some fellow was on KKMS radio being interviewed...and claiming that Jesus is coming on May 21. Upon returning to my office, I see that Rapture Ready has a new article posted that refutes the May 21 bogus prediction.

There is a man by the name of Harold Camping who has postulated that we “can know the exact date of the Lord’s return” to paraphrase his position of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you do a Google search using this date, you will find a large amount of information on this unscriptural doctrine that directly challenges what Jesus spoke of in Mark chapter 13 quoted above.

This man and his followers believe that the bible has a “Biblical Calendar of History” that can show, quote “The genealogies of the book of Genesis, primarily in chapters 5 and 11, can be shown to be a precise calendar of the history of mankind in this world. The Bible’s calendar of history is completely accurate and trustworthy.” From this springboard the doctrine launches into a distorted view of end time prophecy by twisting the word of God into what they wish it to say. Their points about the history of the world, are as follows:

You can see it all here; http://raptureready.com/soap/taylor24.html

Now this is really sad;

“On Sept. 6, 1994, dozens of Camping's believers gathered inside Alameda's Veterans Memorial Building to await the return of Christ, an event Camping had promised for two years. Followers dressed children in their Sunday best and held Bibles open-faced toward heaven.

But the world did not end. Camping allowed that he may have made a mathematical error. He spent the next decade running new calculations, as well as overseeing a media company that has grown significantly in size and reach.” Mr. Camping is a mathematician and engineer by trade and conceded that he was wrong and set out to revise his formula to take another shot at predicting the return of our Lord. Of course, along the way, the man is going to make a lot of money from sheep who follow him and send him their tithes. Let us note that the Jehovah Witness have speculated the return of Jesus Christ since the late 1800’s and have been wrong every time. As they are in error, so is Mr. Camping.

It was the Conservatives Fault!

The top news of the day continues to be the killings in Tuscon. Of course the liberals are pointing at the Rush Limbaughs of the world and claiming that the "hate language" of the right had something to do with this tragic shooting. "And look at Sara Palin", they exclaim, "she put cross hairs on states where she wanted the Tea Party to win....and now these people in Tuscon are dead!"

I'm sorry.....WHAT????

If we are going to play this liberal game of cause and effect, then lets ask a few more questions.

The Fort Hood shooter who was in the U.S. Military and killed those 12 soldiers last year.....he was reading the Koran. Would the liberals believe we need to get rid of all Korans so this "hatred can stop!"?

Most rapists who are arrested have a porn problem. Would the liberals believe we should purge our society of all porn so we can eliminate rape? Of course not..."that would be an infringement on our freedoms!", they would exclaim.

But as soon as some unemployed, 22 year old with a gun, shoots a democratic congresswoman...it MUST be something to do with the Conservatives!

With that being said, George Will has a good column today that has some pertinent observations about the current situation. He explains that our society now has this deep desire to try and explain the reasons for why some shooter would do what he did.....and that is a fouled exercise.

The craving is for banishing randomness and the inexplicable from human experience. Time was, the gods were useful. What is thunder? The gods are angry. Polytheism was explanatory. People postulated causations.

And still do. Hence: The Tucson shooter was (pick your verb) provoked, triggered, unhinged by today's (pick your noun) rhetoric, vitriol, extremism, "climate of hate."

Demystification of the world opened the way for real science, including the social sciences. And for a modern characteristic. And for charlatans.

A characteristic of many contemporary minds is susceptibility to the superstition that all behavior can be traced to some diagnosable frame of mind that is a product of promptings from the social environment. From which flows a political doctrine: Given clever social engineering, society and people can be perfected. This supposedly is the path to progress. It actually is the crux of progressivism. And it is why there is a reflex to blame conservatives first.

See it here; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/10/AR2011011003685.html

Lest you believe this is all going to get better as soon as the nation can sit down and have a calm, collected conversation.....think again. The division is going to get worse. And as resources get even tighter and more people struggle with finances, failing schools, falling marriages, bankrupt counties, cutting coveted programs because of lack of funding, etc....the vitriol is only going to get worse.

Chip the Babies

A reader sent me these comments today;

Hi Dennis,

Thought this might interest you. A friend of mine posted this on her blog after another friend had told her what had happened just 7 weeks ago when the couples' new baby was born. When signing the hospital paperwork, the nurse asked our friend if she wanted their new son microchipped (they do not live in MN--they live in CA). She said she literally was shocked by this question and adamantly refused it. The nurse said that was fine but eventually this would become a requirement so they were offering it to parents of newborns when the child wouldn't remember the procedure. Yikes.

And here is a link from The Canadian that hints at what direction this world is going;
http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2007/01/08/01290.html

Remember, the Mark of the Beast is soon coming....for those left on planet earth. For the first time in human history the technology exists for this prophecy to be fulfilled.

As for me, my Blessed Hope is in my understanding that the Antichrist won't even be revealed until AFTER the rapture....so I will have already flown away when he rolls out his Mark of the Beast plan.

But the foreshadowing of this coming event is right in front of us.

Even so, Come Lord Jesus!

Hat tip to Becky M.

Trash Talking China

China has been in the news for it's military buildup quite a bit as of late. All this recent talk about China's new stealth fighter jet, aircraft carriers, nuclear subs and ballistic missiles has prompted the U.S. Secretary of Defense to start doing a little mild trash talking....just to make China knows we are the still the king of the hill.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has signalled his concern over China's rapid military modernisation.

His move is highlighted by the latest picture of a Chinese stealth bomber, as he begins talks aimed at repairing security relations in Beijing today.

But Dr Gates warned China not to underestimate the US or the continuing power of its military.

"I've watched this sort of cyclical view of American decline come around two or three times, perhaps most dramatically in the latter half of the 1970s," Dr Gates told reporters en route to China.

"And my general line for those both at home and around the world who think the US is in decline is that history's dustbins are filled with countries that underestimated the resilience of the United States."

See it here; http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gates-warns-china-not-to-underestimate-us-power/story-e6frg6so-1225984639589

Two things to observe; isn't it usually true that when someone is forced to open their mouths and verbally say how strong they are...that really they are starting to be insecure? Secondly, how do you go about continually threatening someone that you owe one-thousand-billion-dollars to?...and that you are going to need to keep carrying that loan for decades to come?