Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Revelation 13:7-8
Sep 6th, 2009
Exploring RevelationArt Sadlier
Categories: Commentary;Prophecy;Book Study

“And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

“It was given unto him”---“Power was given him”--- This is such a great assurance for the believer, Christ is in complete control. The power that was granted to Antichrist was given by our Lord to him. Our God is a sovereign Lord,  it is wonderful to rest in this great truth. We know the outcome, because we know the one who is in total control.  Romans 8:28 is a reality in our lives, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” We can face the future with great confidence, though Satan is set against us.

Satan is granted temporary victory, but Christ will be the final victor. Multitudes will believe Satan’s lie and perish in the end. There will be many who will believe and obey Christ and die as martyrs, but they will spend the eternal ages in Glory. There will be many others who will be obedient to the gospel and be saved and live through the tribulation period to go into the glorious Millennial Kingdom. It is these that are spoken of in Matthew 24:13, “But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.”  These tribulation saints, both Jews and Gentiles will go into the Kingdom in their natural bodies to re-populate the earth.

“And power was given  him”, Antichrist will come to power first over the Revived Roman Empire. That power will expand as the first 3 ½ years wear on. At the midpoint of the tribulation period he will be granted power  “over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

This is what Satan has sought so long, to rule over a kingdom of men.  He will have achieved his goal only to see it destroyed and torn from him.

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him,” Satan not only desires to rule over men but he also desires to be worshipped by men. That is embodied in his statement, “I will be like the most high.” That is the essence of the age long spiritual struggle that has ensued between God and Satan. The entire earth will worship him, they are identified, “Whose names are not written in the book of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The only exception to this group will be those who are saved by the blood of Christ and have their names written down, according to God ‘s foreknowledge, from the “foundation of the world”.

For some time now the spirit of Antichrist has been working in the world to form a one world church. A church that will worship Antichrist and in so doing will worship Satan. This ecumenical effort is growing today and is now reaching out to deceive Evangelicals and to draw them into this apostasy.

We see Rick Warren now pulling out all the stops to bring all religious groups together to make this world a better place. Only Christ can make this world a better place, all else is but an illusion. Warren’s “Peace Plan” is a bold attempt to unite all religions.  We see Brian McLaren uniting with Muslims to celebrate Ramadan. These two situations seem to be the final push toward a bride for Satan’s and his man, the Harlot Church of Revelation 17. The coming of our Lord must be near at hand!

New American Poll: Support Israel, Blame Hamas
Sep 6th, 2009
Daily NewsArutz Sheva _ Zalman Nelson
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Peace Process

 
A majority of Americans support Israel and blame Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to a new poll commissioned by The Israel Project.

Americans blame the PA for the current conflict in Gaza (56 percent to 18 percent) and “Hamas leaders who control Gaza” for the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza (66 percent to 17 percent), the Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll of registered voters revealed.

Nearly half of Americans say they have seen, read or heard “a lot” about the military conflict in Gaza Strip, and sided with Israel’s anti-terror efforts over the PA by a 57 percent to 8 percent margin. The figures are virtually unchanged from pre-Gaza War polling in November 2008 (57 percent to 6 percent).

“Americans accept Israel’s justification for acting in Gaza because they accept Israel’s stated obligation to defend the safety of its citizens and the understanding that no country would allow rockets to fall on its citizens without taking action,” said Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Dr. Stanley Greenberg.

Polled voters said they believe the Israeli-PA conflict is about ideology and religion (73 percent), and peace can only be achieved by acknowledging each other’s right to exist. Only 19 percent said they thought the conflict is really about land.

Americans also faired well when polled on their knowledge. Close to two-thirds of Americans knew that Israel withdrew all its troops and settlers from Gaza three years ago and that PA and Hamas terrorists have been regularly shooting rockets into Israel for years. A full 46 percent of Americans correctly identify Iran as a main supporter of Hamas’ terror activities.

Middle East peace can be achieved by getting the PA to stop shooting rockets into Israel (91 percent), getting the PA to stop teaching hate (90 percent), stopping Iran from arming, funding and training terrorists (87 percent), and getting Iran to stop its nuclear program (76 percent), said responders. In addition, stopping military incursions into Gaza (53 percent), opening all Gaza borders to the free flow of goods and services (55 percent), or stopping settlement expansion and giving up land to the PA (54 percent) are not necessary for achieving peace.

Despite tremendous domestic issues, nearly two-thirds of Americans believe their country must still work hard to bring peace to the Middle East and stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons (80 percent).

"Even in this time of war, while Americans are being confronted with difficult images and reports from Gaza, they remain supportive of Israel and concerned about the threat of Iran," said Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies.

Hamas Training Camps in the Judean Desert
Sep 6th, 2009
Daily NewsArutz Sheva - Hana Levi Julian
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Anti-Israel

 
A complex network of caves embedded in the hills of the Judean Desert have become the latest venue for individualized Hamas terrorist training programs.

Evidence that Hamas terrorists have been training operatives right under the noses of the Palestinian Authority was found by IDF soldiers in a complex network of tunnels and caves during a raid earlier this summer. Etzion Brigade Col. Eran Makov led the raid, which was carried out after military officials received a tip from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).



Empty bullet casings and cartridges were found in some of the caves, as well as other bits of evidence of military activity, according to a senior military official quoted in a report published Sunday by The Jerusalem Post.

This is not the first time that terrorist tunnels have been found in Judea and Samaria.



Eleven months ago, IDF soldiers uncovered a 150-meter-long tunnel packed with explosives under the southern Judean city of Hevron. The tunnel had not been completed, and was angled towards Route 35, near Tarkumiya, according to the report.

An entire network of tunnels used by terrorists to launch attacks against IDF soldiers was also discovered in 2007 in the Casbah, the inner part of the open air market in the Samarian city of Shechem.

Both the IDF and the PA have been working to crack down on the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. As a result, it is believed that only a few terrorists were trained together in the Judean Desert at any given time

Cave embedded into the hillside in the photo above left is not seen from the road only a few yards away, appearing as a simple rock formation. Escape route inside a similar cave is seen in the photo below right. (Israel news photos: Hana Levi Julian)



Much of Judea is honeycombed with caves, many of which provided shelter for Arabs who lived in the region even as recently as a generation ago. 

Just below the southern Hevron Hills, in fact, allegedly lie the ruins of most of the village of Iscariot, known in Hebrew as the "Kraiyot" -- an area marked by an entire complex of caves.

Many of the entrances have even been decorated by local Bedouin whose families lived in the caves, with stones taken from the remains of Byzantine churches, the descendant of one Bedouin tribe told Israel National News.



The same caves served in earlier centuries as living quarters for the ancient Jews during the Roman occupation and the Byzantine era.

"It is like the Tora Bora of the West Bank," said a senior Central Command officer. The appellation is a reference to the network of caves allegedly used by Al Qaeda terrorists and Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan.

Tour guide Younis Abu Hamad explains how the ancient residents of Judea "decorated" the homes they built from caves hidden in the desert hills. (Israel news photo: Hana Levi Julian)

Causes of a Dozing Church
Sep 6th, 2009
Thought for the WeekA. W. Tozer
Categories: Meditation;Inspirational

What is the present condition of the evangelical church? The bulk of Christians are asleep. I do not mean that the bulk of Christians who come to evangelical churches are not converted, because if I meant that I would say they were dead and never had been born again. But I say they are asleep. It is possible to be morally asleep yet mentally, intellectually, physically and theologically alert. The present condition is that we are asleep. These sleeping Christians do two things that God must grieve over. One is that they control church affairs. We are democratic, and if we do not like a pastor we give him the bounce or pray that he will get another call. Then when the time comes we vote in whom we want and vote out whom we do not want. Church people control church affairs because they are intellectually, mentally and physically awake, but they may be morally and spiritually asleep. That is, they are so far down in the rut that they do not see up. Many people who are asleep control church affairs. It gets into whole conferences. Representatives will meet at the expense of the local church people. They will read minutes and pass resolutions, but they are asleep. You know they are asleep by the way they talk as soon as the benediction is pronounced and they have adjourned. You know they are asleep by their conduct, the things they are interested in or lack interest in, yet they control church affairs. The second thing sleeping Christians do is set the standards for new Christians. When you bring in a newly converted Christian, he or she automatically takes on the coloration, general mood and temperature of the solemn seats around him or her. Pretty soon he or she is where they are, and once again there are no good examples of the Christian life.