Michigan City Turns Off Lights

The evidence is starting to gather from around the USA that things are getting worse when it comes to living standards.  Yesterday we learned that 1 in 15 Americans are living below the poverty line...which is the highest percentage EVER.  Today we find this article that talks about a city being so far in debt that they can't pay their electric bill, so they ripped out their street lights and turned the place dark.

What??  This is America!

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. — As the sun dips below the rooftops each evening, parts of this Detroit enclave turn to pitch black, the only illumination coming from a few streetlights at the end of the block or from glowing yellow yard globes.

It wasn't always this way. But when the debt-ridden community could no longer afford its monthly electric bill, elected officials not only turned off 1,000 streetlights. They had them ripped out — bulbs, poles and all. Now nightfall cloaks most neighborhoods in inky darkness.

"How can you darken any city?" asked Victoria Dowdell, standing in the halo of a light in her front yard. "I think that was a disgrace." She said the decision endangers everyone, especially people who have to walk around at night or catch the bus.

Other towns have postponed roadwork, cut back on trash collection and closed libraries, for example. But to people left in the dark night after night, removing streetlights seems more drastic. And unlike many other cutbacks that can easily be reversed, this one appears to be permanent.

The city is $58 million in debt and has many more people than jobs, plus dozens of burned-out or vacant houses and buildings. With fewer than 12,000 residents, its population has dwindled to half the level from 20 years ago.

Here;  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45156970

America has always been the place where your dad had it better than your grandpa and you were better off than your dad.  It looks like that trend may have peaked 10-20 years ago and now we are in decline.  This shouldn't surprise us...because that's what happens to nations who turn from God....things get darker.

As far as this particular city in Michigan (suburb of Detroit) mentioned above....it makes me wonder if the fact that Detroit is one of the most populace Muslim cities in America...has something to do with the tearing down of  this once great city.  It's a spiritual fact that worshiping a false god may start out well, but ALWAYS ends in disaster and ruin. 

Threat or Scare Tactic?

The polls coming out of Israel show that the population is strongly behind a military attack on Iran to stop its nuclear ambitions.

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government would have significant support at home for an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear program, according to a poll published Thursday.

The poll was released following reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to persuade Cabinet ministers to authorize such a strike and after Israel successfully tested a missile thought capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to Iran.

Forty-one percent of those questioned by the Dialog polling institute said they would back an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, which many Israelis believe were built to produce bombs.

Here it is; http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/poll-shows-strong-israeli-1215436.html

So Israel succesfully tested a nuclear missile to Iran....that's helpful, except I remember a quote from one of the powerful Imam's from Iran saying they would sacrifice 50,000,000 Muslims if it meant the destruction of Israel.  It's kind of hard to deter someone who actually loves death.

But another article is asking whether Israel is serious about an assualt on Iran or if it is just bluffing and trying to scare Iran.  Remember that USA did transfer 55 bunker buster bombs to Israel....so I'm guessing they are locked and loaded.

Will they or won’t they? That’s the question bedevilling Israelis this week, wondering whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak will actually launch a military strike on Iran aimed at setting back Tehran’s suspected development of nuclear weapons.

There’s no doubt they’d like to, but for every argument as to why Israel should stage such a large-scale, long-distance raid, there are half a dozen good reasons why it shouldn’t.

Newspapers and electronic media have been full of speculation ever since apparent leaks from Mr. Netanyahu’s cabinet revealed that the Prime Minister and Mr. Barak were attempting to win the support of the majority of the government’s eight-member inner, security cabinet. It seems, these leaked reports said, that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has decided to support the option of a unilateral attack.

On Wednesday there was the test-firing of a new, long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead as far as Iran; there also came the news that Israeli fighter jets had recently staged aerial refuelling exercises over the Mediterranean; and on Thursday, a major civil defence drill was held in Tel Aviv, with citizens and emergency crews simulating a missile attack on the city. All this, people believe, points to the likelihood of an attack.

Here;  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/africa-mideast/threat-or-scare-tactic-israel-signals-that-attack-on-iran-is-possible/article2224954/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=World&utm_content=2224954

Will they attack or won't they?  Who knows?  What I do know is that wars and rumors of wars are in the news EVERY SINGLE DAY regarding the tiny country of Israel...and this is our sign, as believers, to keep looking up.

Her Church

2 Thessalonians 2:3 tells us, "Don't let anyone decieve you in any way, for that day (the day of the Antichrist) will not come, until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction."

Most prophecy watchers believe this "rebellion" that Paul is speaking of is a great falling away of The Church...meaning that our local churches of Methodists, Lutherans, Covenants, etc...which used to be places where one could go to hear The Truth, will start preaching false gospels and leading their parishoners away from Christ.

With that as a backdrop, let's look at what is being offered at an ELCA Lutheran church in San Francisco.

We are a diverse community, standing firmly within the Christian tradition in order to re-image the divine by claiming her feminine persona in thealogy, liturgy, church structure, art, language, practices, leadership, and acts of justice. Challenging the church’s restricted language of the past, we pay special attention to images and metaphors that attempt to embrace divine fullness and that offer a witness of holy nurture and inclusive justice, both to the church and to the world.

A new form of church is happening at Ebenezer Lutheran Church, 678 Portola Drive in San Francisco. Gather at 10:30 AM Sundays for a lively, engaging, thoroughly inclusive and feminist service of worship. Led by Pastor Stacy Boorn, the liturgy features images and metaphors that will enlarge understanding of and connection with the sacred. Music and readings further reflect this commitment to reclaiming the feminine persona of the divine. Come as you are – you’ll find hope, healing, and community. All are welcome at this table! Worship Sunday mornings at 10:30

Our Christian/Lutheran feminist prayers and liturgy reach back into the storehouse of tradition to bring forth names as Mother, Shaddai, Sophia, Womb, Midwife, Shekinah, She Who Is. They do so out of renewed insights into the nature of the Gospel empowered by the risen Christ-Sophia.

 

 

See it here;  http://www.herchurch.org/

 

Holy doctrines of demons!  The risen Christ-Sophia!?!?

 

Friends, hold on tight to the Gospel which has the power to save.  The deception is upon us....

 

Hat tip to Kevin W.

Why We Can't Escape the Euro Crisis

It's a mess over in Greece.  Protesters throwing fire bombs, politicians abdicating their leadership roles to voters and the world watches to see if Greece will spill over into Spain, Portugal, Italy and possibly France.

Some in America say, "Oh well....Greece has an economy the size of New Jersey...who really cares as it will only be a blip in the global economy."

Really?

When is a bailout not a bailout? When the bailor is short of funds. The recently announced debt plan in the European Union comes up short in almost all respects.

The debt crisis is not just an EU problem, but a trans-Atlantic financial crisis. The overwhelming debt problems on either side of the pond are interlinked through the banking system.

First to the EU. The underlying dilemma is that governments have promised their citizens more social programs than can be financed with the tax revenue generated by the private sector. High tax rates choke off the economic growth needed to finance the promises. Economic activity gets driven into the underground economy, where it often escapes taxation.

Nowhere is this truer than in Greece, which has a long history of sovereign defaults in the 19th and 20th centuries. There is a bloated public sector, and competitive private enterprise is hobbled by regulation and government barriers to entry. Successive Greek governments ran chronic budget deficits, and the Greek banks lent to the government. Banks in other EU countries, such as France, lent to the Greek banks.

In Greece and elsewhere in the EU, the banks support the government by purchasing its bonds, and the government guarantees the banks. It is a Ponzi scheme not even Bernie Madoff could have concocted. The banks can no longer afford to fund budget deficits, yet they cannot afford to see governments default. Governments cannot make good on their guarantees of the banks.

There is that word PONZI again.  NOW PAY ATTENTION TO THESE NEXT PARAGRAPHS.

Americans must not be smug about the suffering of Europeans—our financial system is thoroughly integrated with theirs. Moreover, the International Monetary Fund will most likely be involved in the event of future bailouts and will likely need large funds from its members, which ultimately means the taxpayers.

And, of course, the U.S. has its own large and growing public debt burden. We have not gone as far down the road to entitlements, but we are catching up. If you want to know how the debt crisis will play out here, watch the downward spiral in the EU.

Meanwhile, expect more volatility in financial markets. U.S. traders in particular simply have not grasped the enormity of the EU debt crisis.

See it here; http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970204394804577011721539943012-lMyQjAxMTAxMDAwMjEwNDIyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email

This article is ripe with foreshadowing.  And of course the IMF is mentioned again as it will be the lender of last resort to keep the Ponzi scheme going when Greece, Spain and others start to default.  Where will the IMF get their money to keep funding these massive bailouts of nations?

It is starting to seem clear to me that the Antichrist is close...and he is soon going to need to come on scene with an answer to fix these enormous problems.  But of course HE CAN'T COME ON SCENE UNTIL AFTER THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH. (2 Thessalonians) 

Can you imagine what is going to happen on earth if the rapture happens today and millions of Christians are gone?  The chaos that will ensue will be epic when thrown on top of already uncertain times.

But MAYBE they will use our money, wealth and real estate that we have left behind to come up with a solution to the financial mess the world is currently in?

Hat tip to Tim H.

UFO Over NFL Game

Is it a bug flying by the camera lens or is it a Satanic deception of inter-dimensional beings just getting more bold?  One thing for sure, the topic of UFO's and "aliens" continues to make major headlines.

For many football fans who watched the New Orleans Saints rout the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 23, the most unusual thing about the game was the lopsided final score of 62-7.

But for UFO aficionados and paranormal experts who tuned in, they may have seen something in the sky that was even more out-of-the-ordinary than the tossing of more touchdowns vs. incompletions.

As NBC's cameras returned from a commercial break and focused on the historic, triple-steepled St. Louis Cathedral in the city nicknamed the Big Easy, a couple of lit objects seemed to streak across the darkening sky -- and they've yet to be definitively identified.

Viewed in real-time, it's hard to see much more than something flashing across the screen. But a frame-by-frame scrutiny of the video reveals a rod-shaped object topped with brightly lit dots.
See article and video here; http://www.aol.com/2011/11/01/ufo-nfl-game_n_1069148.html?test=latestnews

What would Christians say if some sort of demon in disguise masquerading as an alien were to show up on earth and refute that Gospel that we all hold so dear?  Would we have an answer as to what we were witnessing?  Would we believe that they were who they were saying they were?  Could this be part of the reason the Bible says there will be a great "falling away" from the Christian faith?

Orrrr.....could this be just more foreshadowing of what is coming to earth after the Restrainer (Holy Spirit) is withdrawn in the rapture...and once the power that is currently restraining these beings from actually landing on earth...they will reveal themselves to a lost and confused world?

I think it may be option 2.

Hat tip to Tom F. and Jared F.

Syria Mines Its Border

When you hear of countries setting up mine fields along their borders, one assumes it would be to repel their enemies, but not so in Syria.  As stories like this multiply, it will be next to impossible for Assad to ever have a place among world leaders again....so will he try and destroy Israel on his way out to try and improve his reputation amongst Jew haters everywhere?

SERHANIYEH, Lebanon (AP)–Syria is planting landmines along parts of the country's border with Lebanon as refugees stream out of the country to escape the crackdown on anti-government protests, officials and witnesses said Tuesday.

A Syrian man whose foot had to be amputated after he stepped on a mine just across from the Lebanese village of Irsal on Sunday was the first known victim of the mines, according to a doctor at a hospital in Lebanon where the man was brought for treatment. He asked that his name not be published out of fear of repercussions by authorities because of the sensitivity of the case.

The Syrian exodus to neighboring Lebanon and Turkey has proven a deep embarrassment for increasingly besieged President Bashar Assad, who warned over the weekend that the Middle East will burn if foreign powers try to intervene in his country's conflict.

See it here;  http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-11-01/syria-border-mines/51025346/1

It's hard NOT to read articles like this and realize that the stage continues to be set for Damascus to be obliterated...just like Isaiah 17 says it will be.

Remember to pray for the people of Syria, that they will realize the futility, meanness and hatred that Islam produces and will accept Jesus before this life on earth comes to an end.

UNESCO Accepts Palestine

One has to wonder if this is the beginning of the end...as UNESCO accepts Palestine into it's membership and shouts of, "Long live Palestine" were heard as the results of the vote were announced.

With the vote coming in the United Nations in 10 days, is this a foreshadowing of what is coming?  Will this further isolate Israel and push her back against the wall as the illogical support for another Arab terrorist state gathers strength around the world?

PARIS — Palestine became the 195th full member of Unesco on Monday, as the United Nations organization defied a mandated cutoff of American funds under federal legislation from the 1990s. The vote of Unesco’s full membership was 107 to 14, with 52 abstentions. 

 Cheers filled the hall at Unesco’s headquarters here after the vote, with one delegate shouting, “Long live Palestine!” in French. The Palestinian foreign minister, Riad al-Malki, praised the organization, saying that “this vote will help erase a tiny part of the injustice done to the Palestinian people” and that it would help protect world heritage sites in Israeli-occupied territory.       

HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS...THE U.S. IS STANDING WITH ISRAEL AND HAS ANNOUNCED IT WILL WITHOLD THE $70,000,000 IN DUES IT HAS PLEDGED TO UNESCO.

The step will cost the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization one-quarter of its yearly budget — the 22 percent contributed by the United States (about $70 million) plus another 3 percent contributed by Israel. Victoria Nuland, a State Department spokeswoman, said that American contributions to Unesco, including $60 million scheduled for this month, would not be paid.       

 The Israeli ambassador, Nimrod Barkan, said that Unesco had done “a great disservice” to international efforts to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. “Unesco deals in science, not in science fiction,” he said, noting that a Palestinian state is not otherwise recognized by the international community. Unesco, he said, had acted on a “political subject outside of its competence.”

Yigal Palmor, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the vote would not give the Palestinians “any advantage on the ground” and called the Unesco vote “a big diplomatic car crash.”

Ghassan Khatib, a Palestinian spokesman in the West Bank, urged Washington to provide the funds for Unesco regardless of the law. He called the action on Monday “a vote of confidence from the international community” and said it was “especially important because part of our battle with the Israeli occupation” involves defining history and heritage.  

See it here;  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/world/middleeast/unesco-approves-full-membership-for-palestinians.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1   

We will need to continue watching to see how the "blessings and curses" promised in the Bible are carried out against those countries who continue cursing Israel.  And just MAYBE...the fact that we are standing with Israel may sustain this country in spite of our hideous balance sheet and our great falling away from Christ and our disdain for Truth....just MAYBE.     

China Can't Cure Europe's Financial Woes

The world is counting on China to cure every other country's debt binge, but China isn't so sure.

China, holder of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves at $3.2 trillion, said it wanted more clarity before investing. (in Europe)

The official Xinhua news agency, used to communicate Communist Party policy, said Europe must address its own financial woes. "China can neither take up the role as a saviour to the Europeans, nor provide a 'cure' for the European malaise," it stated. "Obviously, it is up to European countries themselves to tackle their financial problems."

See it here;  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8858816/China-warns-it-cannot-cure-eurozones-debt-crisis.html

What??  It's up to everyone else to solve their own problems??  That might take time and sacrifice.  Who ever heard of such a thing?  How is that going to work to bring back all of our economies that are 70% dependent on people buying more stuff?  Does China really think we should pay our own debts?....that sounds almost UnAmerican.

Millions Without Power After Rare Storm

First the Northeast had an earthquake, next they had a hurricane and now they just experienced the WORST October snowstorm EVER!  I wonder what is going on??

And as if the snow wasn't miserable enough...millions are still without power.  NBC Nightly News had stories of people grilling meet and heating water on their gas grills.  It could take weeks to get people's power back on.

BOSTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Devastation from a rare and deadly October snowstorm lingered in the U.S. Northeast where 1.6 million homes were still without power on Monday, schools were closed and downed trees and powerlines snarled traffic.

The storm that raged from West Virginia to Maine from Saturday until late Sunday was blamed for at least 13 deaths, most on slippery roads.

It will likely be days before power is restored to all residents in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and other states hit hard by the storm.

Despite a sunny Monday, several New Jersey Transit train lines going into New York City remained suspended.

Connecticut was particularly hard hit and Governor Dannel Malloy said 100 state roads were closed and about 200 more partially closed. He called the power outages in his state the worst in history. As residents escaped homes without heat and electricity, hotels in central Connecticut were sold out.

Here it is:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/31/usa-weather-idUSN1E79U1DG20111031

It is funny how when I see news stories like this I now think to myself, "I wonder what Washington D.C. was doing to Israel today?"

Kardashian Divorce

It is being reported today that Kim Kardashian and her NBA husband are getting a divorce.  After 2 months of marriage they ended up with irreconcilable differences.

This is so sad after they just spent $10 million dollars on a wedding!  They hadn't even opened all their gifts and now they are calling it quits!!

I wonder if they had invited Jesus Christ to be a part of their wedding?

I wonder if this is another sign that we are in the Last Days?

I wonder if they will send back the gift I gave them?

Syria Warns Whole Region Could Burn

I don't really believe I need to add too much commentary to this news article.

BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad warned against Western intervention in his country's 7-month-old uprising, saying such action would trigger an "earthquake" that "would burn the whole region."

Assad comments, published in an interview with Britain's Sunday Telegraph, were made against a backdrop of growing calls from anti-regime protesters for a no-fly zone over Syria and increasingly frequent clashes between government troops and army defectors, the latest of which left at least 30 troops dead Saturday.

"Syria is the hub now in this region. It is the fault line, and if you play with the ground you will cause an earthquake," Assad said. "Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans?"

The unrest in Syria could send unsettling ripples through the region, as Damascus' web of alliances extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, the militant Palestinian Hamas and Iran's Shiite theocracy.

Unlike Gadhafi, Assad enjoys a number of powerful allies that give him the means to push back against the outside pressure. A conflict in Syria risks touching off a wider Middle East conflict with arch foes Israel and Iran in the mix. Syria wouldn't have to look far for prime targets to strike, sharing a border with U.S.-backed Israel and NATO-member Turkey.

See it here;  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-20127658/syria-warns-whole-region-could-burn/

Remember, the Bible doesn't say the whole region will burn, like Assad is claiming....it clearly says that Damascus will be utterly destroyed....and many prophecy watchers understand that it is Israel who will have some part in its destruction.

Have you noticed that the rhetoric and words are heating up?  Where there is smoke, there is fire.