Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. - Israel Arms Deal Sends ‘clear Signal’ to Iran, Says Hagel
Apr 21st, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Chana Yaar
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

A multi-billion dollar arms deal with Israel is designed to send a “clear message” to Iran, says U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

A major U.S. defense contract with Israel sends a “very clear signal” to Iran that military action remains an option on the table, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters on Sunday just before his arrival in Israel for a two-day visit.

The American official was asked if the multi-billion dollar arms package with Israel is intended to convey the message that the U.S. is willing to consider a military strike to stop from completing its nuclear military goals.

Prior to landing at Ben Gurion International Airport, Hagel told journalists, “I don’t think there’s any question that’s another very clear signal to Iran,” AFP reported.

The arms deal would provide Israel with missiles for its fighter aircraft, V-22 Osprey transport planes and KC-135 refueling planes that could be used in a long-range strike against a nation like Iran.

Hagel said the United States and Israel see “exactly the same” threat from Iran, although the two differ on the time line for the need to intervene with military action.

The defense secretary underscored his view that as a sovereign nation, Israel has the right to decide for itself whether and when to pre-empt any attack from Iran.

“Israel will make the decision that Israel must make to protect itself, to defend itself,” Hagel said while still on the plane prior to his arrival in Israel.

But although the two allies may differ on their view of the timing, he said there is “no daylight at all” between Israel and the U.S. on the primary goal of preventing Iran from completing its goal of creating an atomic weapon of mass destruction.

“In dealing with Iran, every option must be on the table,” he said.

The Blood Cries Out
Apr 21st, 2013
Weekly CommentaryArt Sadlier
Categories: Commentary;Persecution;Contemporary Issues

The first man born into this world was born with a fallen nature, inherited from his father Adam. Cain shed the blood of his brother Abel and God said to him, “...The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”

Because man was made in the image of God he was forbidden to shed the blood of his fellowman. “And surely your blood of your lives will I require ..... at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man” (Genesis 9:5-6).

The commandments of God stated, “Thou shalt not kill.” God has warned of judgment on all those who take another’s life. God’s payday does not come on Friday, but it will come.

In the book of Revelation we see a delay in God’s punishment for murder. During that awful coming time multitudes of tribulation saints will be slaughtered for their faith in Christ. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9). In verse 10 we hear them crying out for vengeance on those who have martyred them. “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” They cried out with a loud voice. They cried out how long. And they cried out avenge our blood. God‘s answer was rest yet for a little season.

The day will surely come when God will bring vengeance all those who have shed innocent blood. In this particular case we are told about that day of vengeance in Revelation 19:20, “...And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet ....These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”  In Revelation 21:8 we read, “But the ... murderers ... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Paul tells us that in the last day’s men will be fierce, despisers of that which is good. We are living in that day; we are seeing murder in our day such as the world has never seen before in all of history.

A new report by the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute, shows that over a billion abortions have been committed since 1970. Can you begin to fathom the monstrosity of that crime? There are only 7 billion people in our world and one billion have been brutally murdered in their mother’s wombs. These are children that were conceived but were considered an inconvenience. Children designed by God in eternity past, children made in the image of God. God says, “all souls are mine.” Our world is facing an awful outpouring of the wrath of God and that wrath will be poured out in the soon coming tribulation period.

The world has averaged 40-50 million abortions per year since 1970. This works out to more than one baby murdered per each second of the year. People in high places, common people, leaders, politicians and judges have planned and plotted and adamantly carried out this monstrous slaughter of humanity.  The world has never in all of history seen anything even remotely like this atrocity.

Currently there is a trial ongoing in which an abortionist, Kermit Gosnell is accused of murdering babies who survived an abortion attempt.
“A former clinic worker who grew up in Mt. Lebanon testified on Thursday that he routinely saw babies born and then killed with scissors in an inner-city Philadelphia clinic that catered to minorities, the poor and women with late-term pregnancies,” reported AP. The worker estimated the number of babies he saw killed at about 100.

Kareema Cross, a “medical assistant” who worked at Gosnell’s Women’s Medical Society clinic for four-and-a-half years, testified in a Philadelphia court today, telling of the horrors of babies who survived abortions only to have their necks snipped with scissors.

“Did you ever see those babies move?” asked Prosecutor Joanne Pescatore. “Yes, once in the toilet,” said Cross. The baby “was like swimming,” she said, “Basically, trying to get out.”

The shocking thing is that the mainline media have refused to cover this story, there seems to be a desire to protect the abortion industry from bad publicity. The voice of the blood of one billion dead infants cries out to God to avenge their murders.

Another area where innocent blood is being shed is in the area of Martyrdom. It is estimated that 159,000 Christians are murdered each year for their faith in Christ.

None of the above bloodshed is noted by the world, but it is noted by God and He will avenge these innocent victims, whose blood is crying out to Him.

Netanyahu Vows to Retaliate for Eilat Attack
Apr 21st, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Chana Ya'ar
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israel will “extract a price” from those who launched the terror attack against the Red Sea resort town of Eilat last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced Sunday.

The statement made it clear that Israel has decided to draw a line in the sand for terrorists from Gaza – and elsewhere -- operating against the Jewish State from the Sinai Peninsula.

Last Wednesday, the Mujahedeen Shura Council, a Salafi jihadist group claimed responsibility for firing two Grad Katyusha missiles at Eilat from the Sinai Peninsula and triggering activation of the Color Red rocket alert system in the city.

One of the missiles landed in a building site, the other in the backyard of a private home. No one was physically injured, and no property damage was reported.

A senior member of an unnamed Salafi terror group in Gaza was quoted by the London-based Arabic daily A-Sharq al-Awsat on Friday as saying that rocket fire aimed at Eilat is part of the Islamic concept of jihad (holy war) and will not stop.

Salafi Muslim groups, he said, are not obligated by the Egyptian-brokered cease fire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist rulers of Gaza following last November’s IDF Pillar of Defense counter terror operation.

Likud Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon toured Eilat just hours after the Grad attack on the city, visiting the neighborhood struck by one of the missiles and speaking to the residents. Although the Iron Dome anti-missile system correctly identified the missiles as they approached the city, Danon said, the battery did not activate. The minister added that the matter was under investigation.

Home Front Command has announced that it will hold a five-day defense exercise in Eilat beginning on Sunday, to include the opening of public bomb shelters and implementation of rescue operations.

Israeli planes departing from the Red Sea resort town will soon be armed with anti-missile systems, according to a report broadcast last week on Israeli television’s Channel 2.

Israel is installing the equipment on civilian aircraft to counter the threat of shoulder-carried anti-aircraft missiles that could be fired from the Sinai Peninsula, according to the report.

Speaking at the opening of the regular weekly government cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, “Israel will extract a price from what would appear to be Gaza terrorists operating from the Sinai who are responsible for the rocket attack on Eilat.”

Late last night Gaza terrorists again launched a rocket attack against southern Israel, striking the Eshkol Regional Council district.

The Color Red air raid siren activated prior to the attack, waking parents an hour after midnight and forcing them to drag children from their beds with a window of 15 seconds to race for shelter before the rocket landed.

No one was physically injured, and no property damaged was reported.

Two similar attacks occurred Thursday at about 11:00 p.m., but residents did not have the benefit of any warning at all, as the Color Red rocket alert warning system failed to activate for some reason.

Miraculously, no one was injured and no damage was reported.

Muslim Persecution of Christians: Update
Apr 21st, 2013
Daily Newsgatestoneinstitute.org
Categories: Today's Headlines;Persecution

Let the Headlines Speak
Apr 21st, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Kerry, Abbas, to Meet Sunday
US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian Authority (PA) head Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul on Sunday, the State Department said, as a US-led "peace" push focusing on the PA's economy steps up. Kerry and Abbas, who have met several times recently, will "continue the conversation that they've been having for several weeks now about how to get both sides back to the table," a State Department official said...

Iran's oil ministry says the country should export oil to North Korea
Iran's oil ministry says the country is considering exporting oil to North Korea as a way to improve its battered economy. The official IRNA news agency quoted on Saturday Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi as saying talks are underway between Tehran and Pyongyang on oil exports. An oil deal would bring the two nations deeply at odds with the U.S. and the West closer together.

Bombing, Aftermath Could Cost Boston Billions
The economic impact of the Boston Marathon bomb suspect manhunt could run into the billions of dollars, according to one expert, as a million city residents were stuck at home, stores were shuttered and public transit ground to a halt.

Gunfire erupts at Colo. pot event, 2 wounded
Authorities are hunting for suspects after shooting broke out during a massive marijuana celebration in Denver, leaving two people with gunshot wounds. The gunfire scattered thousands attending Saturday's 4/20 counterculture holiday, the first since Colorado legalized marijuana.

N Korea 'moves two more missile launchers'
North Korea has moved two more missile launchers to its east coast, where preparations are apparently under way for a missile test as tensions simmer on the peninsula, reports say. Expectations had been high that Pyongyang would carry out a test to coincide with celebrations marking the birth of North Korea's late founding leader Kim Il-sung on April 15 but it did not materialise.

Syria crisis: US steps up aid to rebels at talks in Turkey
US Secretary of State John Kerry has announced a doubling of US aid to Syria's rebels and told a Friends of Syria meeting its members were committed to a peaceful transition. Mr Kerry told the meeting in Istanbul that the US would provide Syrian rebels $123m (£81m) in new, non-lethal aid. He said President Barack Obama was committed to a "democratic, unified, post-Assad Syria".

China rushes relief after Sichuan quake kills 180
Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of China's Sichuan province Sunday after an earthquake left at least 180 people dead and more than 11,000 injured and prompted frightened survivors to spend a night in cars, tents and makeshift shelters.

Obama requests $580m. for Mideast ‘contingencies’
Built in to President Obama’s budget proposal for 2014 is a $580 million contingency fund to address the turmoil roiling the Middle East and North Africa, to be spent across the region over the course of the year at the discretion of the White House and the State Department. That sum is striking some members of the Congress as too large for an administration without a coherent policy toward the Arab Spring.

Introduction to the Seven Churches
Apr 21st, 2013
Exploring RevelationArt Sadlier
Categories: Commentary;Exhortation

As we come to Revelation 2 and 3 we see letters written to seven churches which are representative churches. These letters present God's truth to us from several different perspectives.

1. These churches existed in the 1^st century. They were churches chosen by the Lord because the message they would hear would be of great value to churches all down through the Church Age. They contain a message for churches of every period. They also contain a spiritual message for individual believers.
2. These seven churches also present to us church history in seven different stages or time periods.  Remember that these two chapters were prophetic in John's Day, but are now almost all history. Church history is portrayed, in that each letter to a specific church describes a specific era of church history. Today we can look back over church history and see how these letters prophesied events exactly as they have happened.
3. Another significant perspective is the message of apostasy in the church. This apostasy began in the early days of the church, (Acts 20:29, 30) and will be consummated in the world after the church is raptured. We see Satan constantly whittling away at individual churches. He cuts away at that which makes a church, a church, until finally the church becomes an arm of apostasy.

Apostasy is turning away from truth, an abandoning of what one once professed to believe. This is the greatest challenge that faces each and every church.

The decline of faith can be traced from the seven churches, right on down to the great apostate church of Revelation 17.

Apostates are those who were once inside the church, they had professed faith in Christ, were baptized and joined the church, but had never truly been born again (Matthew 7:21-23),

Sometimes they leave the church and sometimes they remain in the church. Down over the centuries the church has gradually been infiltrated with unsaved people, and as time goes on, the number of apostates continue to grow, until, many professing churches have no truly saved people in them. So, an appropriate title of chapters two and three might be, "The Great Apostasy of the Last Days traced from the beginning of the Churches' history."

The Letter to Ephesus reveals a picture of the powerful, dynamic, apostolic church of the first century.

The Letter to Smyrna describes the second and third centuries with the martyrdom and persecution of the church of that period.

The Letter to Pergamos reveals the compromise and corruption of Christian testimony by the union of church and state under Constantine.

The Letter to Thyatira reveals the period of the Dark Ages from the sixth to the fifteenth centuries under Catholicism.

The Letter to Sardis tells about the rise of Protestantism, and its ultimate corruption.

The Letter to Philadelphia and the Letter to Laodicea are for the last two churches. Many believe that these two churches are found running side by side in the world, in the years immediately preceding the Rapture. Philadelphia came first and was the church that was pleasing to the Lord, a church which received no condemnation, but only commendation. Philadelphia was promised that it would not go into the tribulation period (Rev. 3:10). Laodicea seems to have come out of Philadelphia, and through its lukewarmness and compromise, will ultimately be lost in the apostate harlot church in the tribulation period.

When we look at Christendom today, we see that the great apostasy is upon us, with Christ and His Word dishonored by those who profess to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ.