Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Vladimir Putin: We Must Stop a Ukraine - Style 'Coloured Revolution' in Russia
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsThe Telegraph
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Russian president says everything must be done to stop a "coloured revolution" such as those seen in Ukraine from reaching Russia

Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks with journalists  Photo: AFP

Unnervingly Human Androids Coming to a Future very Near You
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy News Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Chillingly life-like robots are causing a storm in Japan – where their creators are about to launch them as actresses, full-size mechanical copies for pop idol fans, and clones of the dearly departed.

Android Asuna was a star attraction at Tokyo Designers’ Week showcase earlier this month and she is one of a series of geminoids, as their inventor dubs them, that are ripe for commercialisation say their creator robotics professor Hiroshi Ishiguro.

Gobsmacked men attending the show told MailOnline that she was well made, very convincing and had a nice voice. One man joked that Asuna would make 'a good date; a cheap date!'

From others, covering their mouths in astonishment at Asuna’s realistic skin and facial expressions, the frequent response from the public was 'sukoi' which translates as 'amazing' in English. 

Asuna is so convincing that many bowed respectfully before requesting politely to take her photo or join a selfie.

Unable, for now, to use some of the advanced artificial intelligence (AI), face and voice recognition systems that some Japanese robots coming on the market now use, Asuna relies on a camera rigged behind her that is relayed to a remote human controller to give her life. 

This so-called tele-presence enables Asuna to come alive, taking on the operator’s personality.

A fully independent version of the geminoid is expected in 10 years using all the above technologies to make her virtually indistinguishable from humans says Mr. Takeshi Mita, CEO of A-Lab in Tokyo, the company working with Prof. Ishiguro to make Asuna and her kind commercial.

'We already have 20 year's experience making androids in the lab. So in 10 years we will marry AI and life like geminoids in perfection,' he told MailOnline.

'We had been focusing on perfecting her skin, facial expressions, and so on, so for now Asuna is really just a head. Now we are working on her arms and torso to give very natural, fluid body language.'

Everything about Asuna’s appearance has been painstakingly honed to make her more life-like. 

From the superior quality of her silicon skin to the secret animatronic muscles that move her eyes and drive her facial expressions.

Previous attempts by Ishiguro's team had been dismissed as unconvincing and prone to what is known as the 'Uncanny Valley syndrome'. 

This is a term coined by another Japanese professor of robotics, Masahiro Mori. It describes the response of revulsion and creepiness when faced with something that looks almost, but somehow not quite, human. 

As robots become as dexterous as Asuna at mimicking humanity, so the theory goes, the syndrome will erase itself.

Already Asuna and other androids from A-lab have had a taste of the limelight, appearing on stage and voicing actors lines using tele-presence. 

Asuna's next performance will be in an opera to prove her credentials as a singer. An Ishiguro geminoid is also appearing on stage in Paris now.

'One application we have is to turn her into an international pop idol,' says Mr. Mita.

Already Japan is in thrall to virtual idols such as Hatsune Miku, who is basically a hologram that 'sings' words and music created for her on a computer using 'vocaloid' technology.

Her tunes often outsell those sung by her flesh and blood musical rivals in Japan.

A-lab also hopes to tap into another big business in Japan - the popularity of fantasy figurines that appeal to Japan’s legions of nerdy men or 'otaku'. 

Most such dolls are just a few centimetres high and often represent an idol or a manga character often scantily clad.

As A-lab is working with highly respected Prof. Ishiguro, Mr. Mita says the company has ruled out producing androids that might be used for sex.

But a spokesman working with Ishiguro’s lab says it is not a great leap of imagination to think similar robots, given the advancement in robotics and silicone skin technology, will be used for sex.

'Physical relations will be possible in general with such androids,' said Takahashi Komiyama.

Lady Gaga was so impressed with their quality that she asked the Japanese firm to make dolls in her own image.

'It is not inconceivable,' said an Orient Industries spokesman, 'that we will be making android life partners in the near future.'

David Levy, author of Love and Sex With Robots predicts that as robots become more sophisticated, growing numbers of adventurous humans will enter into intimate relationships with these intelligent robots.

Speaking at the First International Conference on Human-Robot Personal Relationships, held last week, he says that AI will progress to the point where human-robot dating will be commonplace.

'Being loved by a robot?' Levy says. 'It sounds a bit weird, but someday, for many, many people, being in love with a robot will be just as good as love with a human.

'Real-life loved ones can also be reproduced faithfully by cloning them to comfort the bereaved', Mr Mita pointed out. 

Androids can now also take on a variety of human jobs such as receptionist and even news readers. 

To prove the point two fem-bots from Ishiguro’s stable have been working in those posts since June this year at Tokyo’s National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation.

The more mature 'Otonaroid' greets guests to the museum, making terrifying life-like eye contact as she converses while hooked to a tele-presence system that the public can also play with.

'Kodomodroid' (child android) is viewable at the museum through an art like installation in an all white room where she sits without rest all day lip-synching the day’s news perfectly from an AI source.

They are joined by the most compelling/repelling android of them all who incidentally happens to be the most popular among the Ishiguro droids on show.

The thoroughly unnerving baby-like Telenoid, sports a simplistic mannequin head with stunted arms and legs that also speaks by proxy from a control box maned by museum visitors.

Confronted with the rather formal reception-droid, Japanese housewife Koari IIda says she couldn’t decide if Otanaroid was human or not.

'If you have talk to her getting closer is a good idea, so she seems more natural and less creepy close up,' she said. 'But it’s great fun robo-chatting.'

Asked if she would like Otanaroid at home as a baby sitter if mum was out. Rika replied: 'No, Mum is my robot!'

U.S. Military Edge Waning Further
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsTom Olago
Categories: Contemporary Issues

Secret Surveillance Programs All Around U.S.?
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy News Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

If you thought that perhaps only the company that owns your cell-phone brand or your mobile network/telecom operator has any potential access to personal data on your phone, think again. Surveillance technology is quite literally now soaring to dizzying heights and pushing current privacy boundaries to new levels. According to recent reports, the Justice Department is scooping up data from thousands of cellphones through fake communications towers deployed on airplanes that are flown regularly. Although this operational process is intended to hunt down criminal suspects and terrorists, it also reportedly captures information from the cellphones of a large number of innocent Americans in a “minimally invasive” way. 

The operation, which is said to be within the ambit of the U.S. Marshals Service program, uses airplanes equipped with devices which mimic cell towers of large telecommunications firms, and trick cellphones into reporting their unique registration information. Cellphones are programmed to connect automatically to the strongest cell tower signal, and the mimicking devices are intended to produce that strongest signal.

According to other sources, information that can be collected also includes the cell phone holder’s general location. The devices can also jam signals and retrieve data from a target phone such as texts or photos. By taking the program airborne, the government can sift through a greater volume of information and with greater precision: technology can pinpoint location within about three meters, down to a specific room in a building. 

These devices are also known as "dirtboxes" to law-enforcement officials. The name "dirtbox" is said to have come from the acronym of the company making the device, DRT (Digital Recovery Technology Inc.), now a subsidiary of Boeing. 

The device data collection process resembles the NSA (National Security Agency) program in that it scoops up large volumes of data in order to find a single person or a handful of people. These developments were recently carried in the Denver Post after its original publication in the Wall Street Journal. 

Issues identified and highlighted relating to this program include the following aspects extracted from the report:

• The device being used by the U.S. Marshals Service identifies itself as having the closest, strongest signal, even though it doesn't, and forces all the phones that can detect its signal to send in their unique registration information. Even having encryption on one's phone, such as Apple Co.'s iPhone 6 now includes, doesn't prevent this process.

• The program cuts out phone companies as an intermediary in searching for suspects. Rather than asking a company for cell-tower information to help locate a suspect, which law enforcement has criticized as slow and inaccurate, the government can now get that information itself. People familiar with the program say they do get court orders to search for phones, but it isn't clear if those orders describe the methods used because the orders are sealed.

• Also unknown are the steps taken to ensure data collected on innocent people isn't kept for future examination by investigators. A federal appeals court ruled earlier this year that over-collection of data by investigators, and stockpiling of such data, was a violation of the Constitution.

• Within the Marshals Service, some have questioned the legality of such operations and the internal safeguards, saying that scooping up of large volumes of information, even for a short period, may not be properly understood by judges who approve requests for the government to locate a suspect's phone. 

• Some within the agency also question whether people scanning cell phone signals are doing enough to minimize intrusions into the phone system of other citizens, and if there are effective procedures in place to safeguard the handling of that data. It is unclear how closely the Justice Department oversees the program. 

• The existence of the cell phone program could escalate tensions between Washington and technology companies, including the telecom firms whose devices are being redirected by the program. This is essentially because the program bypasses or overrides mobile network operators’ signals while misleading their cell phone users.

The U.S. Marshals Service program seems to be taking Stingray surveillance technology to the next level. In the words of the sanfrancisocbslocal.com or KPIX 5: 
“Stingray is a cell phone surveillance device so top secret, law enforcement agencies don’t even like to admit they have it. But KPIX 5 has confirmed Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose police are using Stingrays to track suspects. Now, Fremont Police and the Alameda County District Attorney’s office are applying for federal grants to get a new version of Stingray, called Hailstorm. The use of the devices is increasing, potentially at the expense of your privacy.You may think you are private when you’re talking on your cell phone, think again. From an undercover car or even strapped to a detective’s chest walking down the street, police are using a device called a Stingray to gather the serial numbers of surrounding phones. They’re chasing a target, but sweeping up your identity, activity and location as well.” 

Stingray is said to monitor “Any communication that you initiate, a voice call, an SMS or an internet communication” according to Andrew Becherer, a security expert with ISEC partners. As could be expected, the Stingray has raised a number of serious issues related to its usage, much in the same way as its flying partner, the “dirtbox”. Some of the issues highlighted in relation to its usage include the following:

• Oakland police reportedly denying public access to related records, citing exemption from disclosure for security reasons. Similarly, according to San Jose police: “disclosure of technical information regarding the technology would enable law violators to escape detection.”
• According to Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties Policy Director for the ACLU of Northern California, law enforcement is using the devices without a warrant, making the practice hard to track, and violating state privacy laws. 

KPIX 5 also stated that the Alameda County’s DA’s office along with Oakland and Fremont police applied this year for a $500,000 federal grant to upgrade Stingray to something called Hailstorm, which could be even more powerful, and equally secretive. 

As usual, the arguments being made in favor of surveillance (and at the expense of privacy) tend to major on the benefits which are suggested to be so important that they are easily worth sacrificing individual privacy rights for.

The Alameda County DA’s office reportedly sent KPIX 5 the following statement on the benefits: “The electronic surveillance technology we are seeking to acquire is an important tool to use for the safety and protection of the public. This technology can be used to prevent or respond to a terrorist attack. It can be used to track and apprehend serious and violent criminals and fugitives from justice. It can help to locate and recover missing persons and kidnapping victims. It may also be used in search and rescue operations to help locate missing or trapped victims of a natural disaster or terrorist attack. The use of this technology would speed the ability of rescue workers to locate injured victims quickly and to speed up the administration of life-saving medical intervention. The technology allows Law Enforcement and Public Safety Officers to use up-to-date technology to promote public safety and law enforcement well into the future. It is important to remember that this technology would not be used without court authorization.”

It is also interesting how these arguments are essentially the same used by those advocating for the use of human micro-chipping and the gamut of biometric and related RFID technologies. It would seem that eventually, these enhanced surveillance systems will be the perfect complement to the biometric control systems that will ultimately destroy the freedom of every man, woman, boy and girl alive on planet earth (Revelation 13:16, 17).

Russian Bombers Threaten Guam
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsFox News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Two Russian strategic bombers circled the U.S. island of Guam last week in what U.S. defense officials say is the latest in a series of nuclear provocations by Moscow.

The bombers were identified by air defenses as Tu-95 Bear H nuclear-capable aircraft that circumnavigated the strategic U.S. military outpost on Friday—amid heightened tensions with Moscow regarding a new buildup of Russian forces in and along the border of eastern Ukraine.

“U.S. Pacific Command can confirm that two aircraft circumnavigated Guam on November 13th,” said spokesman  Maj. Christian Devine. “The aircraft were flying safely in international airspace and in accordance with international norms; as such, the decision was made to not intercept them.”

Friday’s flights were the second time in the past two years that Russia conducted unusual long-range bomber missions around the island. Two Tu-95s circled the island on Feb. 12, 2013 and were intercepted by F-15 jets.

The latest bomber flights around the island, located 4,000 miles west of Hawaii, appeared timed to coincide with the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia and come amid new tensions with Russia over Ukraine.

Russia Warns U.S. Against Supplying Lethal Defensive Aid to Ukraine
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsRT
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Members of the "Donbass" self-defence battalion attend a ceremony to swear the oath to be officially included into the reserve battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine near Kiev June 23, 2014. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

Moscow has warned Washington a potential policy shift from supplying Kiev with “non-lethal aid” to “defensive lethal weapons”, mulled as US Vice President visits Ukraine, would be a direct violation of all international agreements.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that reports of possible deliveries of American “defensive weapons” to Ukraine would be viewed by Russia as a “very serious signal.”

“We heard repeated confirmations from the [US] administration, that it only supplies non-lethal aid to Ukraine. If there is a change of this policy, then we are talking about a serious destabilizing factor which could seriously affect the balance of power in the region,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich cautioned.

Ukrainian army soldiers with an artillery field gun maneuver on the coastline near the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol on October 21, 2014. (AFP Photo/Alexander Khudoteply)

His remarks follow US deputy National Security Advisor Tony Blinken Wednesday’s statement at a hearing before the Senate Committee for Foreign Affairs, in which he said that Biden may offer the provision of “lethal defensive weapons” as he visits Ukraine. Lethal assistance “remains on the table. It's something that we’re looking at,” Blinken said.

“We paid attention not only to such statements, but also to the trip of representatives of Ukrainian volunteer battalions to Washington, who tried to muster support of the US administration,” Lukashevich said.

The Ministry made it clear that such a move by Washington would violate a number of agreements.

“This is a very serious signal for several reasons. First of all, this is a direct violation of agreements, including the ones achieved in partnership with the United States. I mean the Geneva Declaration from 17 April,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman. 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko requested lethal aid from the US during a visit to Washington in September.

The American Vice President who has arrived in Kiev late Thursday has not yet made any official announcement, but Reuters’ sources point to the possibility that US might increase a “non-lethal” aid package to Kiev instead of opting to supply arms.

Under the non-lethal aid package, the US could deliver to Ukraine first Humvee vehicles and radars but as officials pointed out such deliveries would unlikely alter the conflict. Previous non-lethal aid to Ukraine announced in September included military equipment such as counter-mortar detection units, body armor, binoculars and other gear worth $53 million.

At the same time the US diplomatic branch announced that it will continue to send advisers to Kiev and has allocated funds to Ukraine to battle what both the US and Ukraine see as a threat from Russia.

“The United States, as you’re no doubt aware, is providing about $116 million in security assistance to help Ukraine in this effort,”State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said Thursday. “This assistance also includes advising and training, and the United States will continue to send advisory teams to Kiev to help improve Ukraine’s combat medical care and to identify areas for additional security assistance.”

Rathke also said that lethal assistance to Ukraine is not yet “off the table.”

“Our position on lethal aid hasn’t changed. Nothing is off the table, and we continue to believe there’s no military solution. But we, in light of Russia’s actions, as the nominee mentioned yesterday in his testimony, this is – as he indicated, this is something that we should be looking at,” Rathke said.

For now all will be decided Friday when Biden is expected to hold talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and President Petro Poroshenko. Following the talks, Biden and Poroshenko will make a joint press statement.

Russia Has Moved MIG - 31 Interceptors Close to Ukrainian Border
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsThe Aviationist
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

According to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Russian Federation is continuing to amass forces at the border, including radar stations and Mig-31 Foxhound combat planes, interceptors capable of a maximum speed of Mach 2.83.

An unspecified amount of Mig-31s based at Perm have been deployed to Millerovo airfield, in the Rostov region, close to the border with Ukraine, a sign that Moscow may be preparing to actively control the airspace over Luhansk Oblast.

The MiG-31 is a two-seater derivative of the MiG-25 in service since 1983. Designed to face U.S. supersonic strategic bombers flying at low altitude (B-1B bomber), the MiG-31 has quite good low-level capabilities and features a radar with look-down-shoot-down capability. Equipped with a HUD (Head-Up Display), the Foxhound is older and less maneuverable than Mig-29 and Su-27, but it is still an amazing interceptor, with a top speed of Mach 2.83 and an operational range of 1,450 km.

Although the production of the Mig-31 ended in the early 1990s, the Foxhound interceptor is being upgraded to extend its operative life up to the 2028 – 2030, until a replacement will be available.

In the meanwhile, the Russian Air Force has plans to base the aircraft at Tiksi airfield, located on Russia’s Arctic Ocean coast.

According to Ukrainian Government, along with Migs and radars, Russian tanks have been reported crossing the border, whereas hundred pieces of military equipment have been deployed by the Russian Federation inside Ukraine.

Report: China Nuclear Forces Significantly Expanding
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsThe Washington Free Beacon
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Chinese vehicles armed with Dongfeng 31A missile / AP

China’s nuclear forces are expanding and details about the nation’s strategic weapons programs remain hidden by Beijing’s secrecy, according to the annual report of the congressional U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission.

New missiles, missile submarines and multiple-warhead systems will be deployed in the coming years, the report said.

“Despite the uncertainty surrounding China’s stockpiles of nuclear missiles and nuclear warheads, it is clear China’s nuclear forces over the next three to five years will expand considerably and become more lethal and survivable with the fielding of additional road-mobile nuclear missiles; as many as five JIN SSBNs, each of which can carry 12 JL–2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles; and intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs),” the report said.

China’s military also is expected to modernize its silo-based missile forces while hardening its nuclear storage facilities, launch sites and transportation networks against attack.

Additionally, the Chinese are also expanding the “already extensive network of underground facilities,” the report said.

China has a large underground nuclear system of tunnels for storage and production of nuclear weapons and missiles that is estimated to be 3,000 miles in length. It has been referred to as the “Great Underground Wall.”

China also is adding newer road-mobile missiles, including a DF-31B first disclosed by the Free Beacon.

“Unlike the rest of the Second Artillery’s

Intercontinental ballistic missile force, the DF–31 and DF–31A are road mobile, allowing for faster launch times and making them much more difficult for an adversary to locate and attack,” the report said.

“Furthermore, the new missiles use solid fuel instead of liquid fuel, increasing portability and service life while reducing maintenance costs.”

The DF-31A, with a range of nearly 7,000 miles, can hit most of the United States.

A new missile, the DF-41, could be deployed by next year with up to 10 multiple, independently targetable reentry vehicle warheads. Its range of nearly 8,000 miles will allow the missile to target most of the United States.

China’s sea-based nuclear forces are also expanding. China has three Jin-class missile submarines and is adding two more submarines by 2020. The submarine is equipped with the JL-2.

“The JL–2’s range of approximately 4,598 miles gives China the ability to conduct nuclear strikes against Alaska if launched from waters near

China; against Alaska and Hawaii if launched from waters south of Japan; against Alaska, Hawaii, and the western portion of the continental United States if launched from waters west of Hawaii; and against all 50 U.S. states if launched from waters east of Hawaii,” the report said.

The report noted the official Chinese newspaper Global Times reported in November 2013 that Chinese submarine-launched missile attacks against the western United States would kill 5 million to 12 million people through blast effects and subsequent radiation.

The report faulted the Pentagon for not releasing information on China’s nuclear forces since 2006, noting last year that China’s nuclear arsenal consists of between 50 and 75 long-range missiles.

“Estimates of China’s nuclear forces and nuclear capabilities by nongovernmental experts and foreign governments tend to be higher” than U.S. estimates, the report said.

China also has not disclosed data on its nuclear forces as part of a policy of creating “strategic ambiguity,” the report said.

“China’s official pronouncements about its nuclear policies and strategies are short, rare, and vague,” the report said.

The report also questioned China’s announced policy of not being the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict. Chinese officials and writings have suggested that the Chinese could in some circumstances carry out a surprise nuclear attacks without being attacked first.

PLA writings have suggested that China might considered an enemy nuclear attack to have occurred if a nuclear strike is imminent or if China assesses that an enemy is threatening the destruction of its nuclear forces with conventional arms.

“For planning purposes, Chinese strategists consider the United States as the principal threat,” the report said. “High-confidence assessments of the numbers of Chinese nuclear capable ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads are not possible due to China’s lack of transparency about its nuclear program.”

Preparing for Nuclear War
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy News Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;War;Commentary

The Russian Army's reform began in 2008 and was the largest in post-Soviet history. The military's command and control was significantly changed, the size of the Army and number of conscripts reduced, and the number of contractors increased. The salaries of officers were significantly increased and their housing problems were solved. It also became began undergoing a rearmament program, unprecedented by volume, which will continue until 2020.

Russia is also currently developing an array of new nuclear and conventional weapons to counter recent moves by the US and NATO, President Vladimir Putin said recently as the military successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile launched from a nuclear submarine.

Putin’s comments came as Russia’s relations with the West have plunged to their lowest point since the Cold War due to Russia’s role in the crisis in Ukraine. They appear to show that the Russian leader is determined to pursue a tough course in the face of more Western sanctions. 

Putin said Russia’s 2016-2025 weapons modernization program should focus on building a new array of offensive weapons to provide a “guaranteed nuclear deterrent”; re-arming strategic and long-range aviation; creating an aerospace defense system, and developing high-precision conventional weapons.

Putin also added that potential threats must be thoroughly analyzed to avoid overburdening the economy with excessive military spending. He would not elaborate on prospective weapons, but he and other officials have repeatedly boasted about new Russian nuclear missiles’ capability to penetrate any prospective missile shield.

Putin’s emphasis on high-precision conventional weapons reflected government concerns about the US and other NATO countries enjoying a significant edge in that area. Talking about potential threats, the Russian president specifically pointed at the US missile defense program and Washington’s plans to develop new conventional weapons that could strike targets anywhere in the world in as little as an hour with deadly precision.

Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin also recently announced that Russia is set to renew the country’s strategic nuclear forces by 100 percent, not 70 percent as previously announced.
The deputy premier, who is responsible for the Russian defense industry, also declared that in 2015 the army and the navy are to switch 30 percent of their weapons to "cutting edge" technology, and by 70 percent in 2020. Among other developments, the Russian military-industrial complex will replace all the Ukrainian supplies in two-and-a-half years.

The US, on the other hand, plans to invest $1 trillion in nuclear weapons arsenal over the next three decades to significantly upgrade its nuclear weapons capability as The New York Times reported last month. The article serves a definite political purpose. It is a warning to Russia, China and any other country that may try to stand in the way of the American ruling class that the US military is also preparing for nuclear war.

The newspaper quotes Harvard Professor Gary Samore, Obama’s former chief nuclear weapons advisor and a stand-in for the administration itself: “The most fundamental game changer is Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. That has made any measure to reduce the stockpile unilaterally politically impossible,” he told the Times. These confrontations, as well as other possible conflicts with European powers, pose the danger of nuclear war.

Nuclear energy is growing around the world. About 70 new reactors are under construction worldwide (NEI), with more than 600 others planned by mid-century. Five reactors are under construction in the United States.

The exact number of nuclear weapons in global arsenals is not known. With little exception, each of the nine countries with nuclear weapons guards these numbers as closely held national secrets. What is known, however, is that more than a decade and a half after the Cold War ended, the world's combined stockpile of nuclear warheads remain at unacceptably high levels, according to the World Nuclear Stockpile Report. 

Presently, there are nine nuclear weapons states with about 10,000 weapons, down dramatically from the 100,000 at the height of the Cold War, with Russia leading and followed, in order, by the United States, France, China, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India and North Korea. 

The only new nuclear weapons states in the last 25 years are Pakistan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the DPRK, formerly known as North Korea). South Africa, Kazakhstan, Belarus and the Ukraine dropped their nuclear weapons programs when the Soviet Union dissolved, and the old Soviet satellites gave all their nuclear weapons back to Russia. 

All through the Bible’s historical accounts, we see God sovereignly guiding the affairs of nations on earth to fulfill His plans and purposes, even through those who do not acknowledge Him.

Exodus 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Obama Offers Amnesty to 5 Million Illegal Immigrants, Defies GOP
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsThe Washington Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Let the Headlines Speak
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hayden: US Intelligence Probably Couldn't Detect Iran's Development Of A Nuclear Bomb
Former top George W. Bush administration official Gen. Michael Hayden said on Thursday that unless Iran provides the West with extensive access to its suspected nuclear facilities—a concession the Islamic regime has strenuously refused—U.S. intelligence agencies will be unable to detect its development of a bomb.  

Russian bombers threaten Guam
Two Russian strategic bombers circled the U.S. island of Guam last week in what U.S. defense officials say is the latest in a series of nuclear provocations by Moscow.  

U.S. Official: Washington Should Consider Lethal Aid To Kyiv
A senior aide to U.S. President Barack Obama has said that the United States should reconsider its policy of not providing lethal aid to Ukraine, which is grappling with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.  

Russia warns against US arms supply to Ukraine
Russia has expressed concern over a US official's suggestion that the US should provide arms to Ukrainian forces combating pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. According to The Guardian, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in Moscow that the US official's sent a "very serious signal".  

Moderate intensity earthquake hits Northeast India
Disaster management control rooms of Tripura and Mizoram governments said there was no report of casualties or damage to property.  

Earthquake tremors felt in Islamabad, parts of K-P
The earthquake measured 5.2 on the richter scale, according to the US Geological Survey. The epicenter of the earthquake was the border area between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.  

6.9-magnitude quake jolts Indonesia
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Indonesian islands on Friday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), but no tsunami alert was issued. The undersea quake, at 48 kilometres (30 miles) deep, struck in the Molucca Sea between Sulawesi and the Maluku chain of islands.  

Obamacare Sign-Ups Were Inflated With Dental Plans
The Obama administration said it erroneously calculated the number of people with health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, incorrectly adding 380,000 dental subscribers to raise the total above 7 million. The accurate number with full health-care plans is 6.7 million as of Oct. 15, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed today, saying the U.S. won’t include dental plans in future reports.  

Climate fund receives $9.3bn pledge
Thirty nations meeting in Berlin have pledged $9.3bn (£6bn) for a fund to help developing countries cut emissions and prepare for climate change. The Green Climate Fund was to have held at least $10bn by the end of 2014, so the pledge is just shy of the target. The South Korea-based fund aims to help nations invest in clean energy and green technology.  

Israel: 'Hamas plot to kill FM Lieberman foiled'
Four Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli security forces over an alleged plot to kill Israel's foreign minister with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). Israel's Shin Bet security agency said the group planned to assassinate Avigdor Lieberman during the Israel-Gaza conflict of July and August. It said the men belonged to Hamas, the group which runs Gaza. Hamas said it had "no information about this issue".  

Almost 1,000 dead since east Ukraine truce - UN
An average of 13 people have been killed daily in eastern Ukraine since a 5 September ceasefire came into place, the UN human rights office says. In the eight weeks since the truce came into force, the UN says 957 people have been killed, amid continuing violations on both sides. A new report by the office describes a total breakdown of law and order in rebel-held Donetsk and Luhansk.  

Japan PM Shinzo Abe dissolves parliament for election
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has dissolved parliament, paving the way for a snap election. Mr Abe is seeking a new mandate for economic reforms and is delaying an unpopular increase in sales tax. But opinion polls conducted by local media indicate low support for the PM and that many people do not understand why he has called an election two years ahead of schedule.  

Barack Obama enforces US immigration overhaul
Millions of immigrants living illegally in the US will be allowed to apply for work permits under a major shake-up unveiled by President Barack Obama. They include immigrants living in the US for five years who have children staying legally in the US. Up to five million are expected to benefit from a reform package forced through using executive orders, which allow Mr Obama to bypass Congress.  

US announces release of 5 Guantanamo prisoners
The Obama administration has released five Guantanamo Bay prisoners after an administration task force determined they no longer posed a threat. The Department of Defense announced Thursday that three of the men were sent to Georgia and two to Slovakia for resettlement. The Pentagon identified the three now former prisoners resettled in Georgia as Abdel Ghaib Ahmad Hakim, Salah Mohammed Salih Al-Dhabi and Abdul Khaled Al-Baydani. The two sent to Slovakia were Hashim Bin Ali Bin Amor Sliti and Husayn Salim Muhammad Al-Mutari Yafai.  

Earthquakes on the rise; scientists warn of larger quake possibilities
With 4,600 quakes this year alone so far, it averages to 14 quakes a day. "It's pretty remarkable how many significant earthquakes we've had," Holland said. While the state's biggest quake remains at a 5.6 that hit Prague back in 2011, large quakes are happening more often. Holland says the trend doesn't bode well for the state.  

Iran nuclear talks: Kerry says talks focused on a deal
US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that extending the deadline for a deal on Iran's nuclear programme is not being discussed. Negotiations in Vienna will instead focus on "driving towards" the outline of an agreement, he said.  

US lawmakers warn Abbas: Curb incitement or risk American aid to PA
Congressional appropriators pen letter to Palestinian Authority president warning him that aid predicated on PA commitment to countering incitement of violence against Israelis.  

Israeli mayor's ban on Arab workers ignites uproar
The mayor of a southern Israeli city sparked a national uproar Thursday by barring Israeli Arab construction workers from jobs in local preschools, citing security concerns after a rash of attacks by Palestinian assailants elsewhere in the country.  

Senior Islamic State figure killed in Mosul: sources
An Islamic State leader has been killed in an air strike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, residents and a local medical source said on Thursday.  

Israels Enemies Continue to Plot Her Destruction
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy News Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Commentary

“Join us, let’s wipe the entire nation off the face of the earth so no one will remember Israel’s name.” While this sentence could be an excerpt from a recent speech by any one of a number of heads of state or Muslim leaders, it is actually taken from the Psalms, written thousands of years ago, but meant for our day.(Psalm 83:4 VOICE)

It seems that daily, a new threat, from another of her enemies, surfaces and endangers the existence of Israel and the safety of her people.

In a recent Twitter post, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, who represents the latest in a long line of Iranian officials who have advocated her annihilation, called for the destruction of the State of Israel. 

Khamenei proposes a here to fore “unspecified plan” and referendum that would establish a government in Palestine responsible for deciding whether Jewish immigrants to the State of Israel can rightfully stay in Israel, or will be deported back to “their home countries.”

Khamenei states that his plan will be presented to the ‘international community”, and apparently, he is confident that the plan will be approved. 

Perhaps, revealing his true intent, Khamenei insists that until this “government “can be formed,” a powerful confrontation and resolute armed resistance “is needed and proposes that those “interested in the destiny of Palestine” should arm the Palestinians’ in the West Bank.

Not interested in mediation by the UN or any “peace” agreement, Khamenei believes that Israel would sabotage any attempts at peace, and only use them to take advantage of the Palestinians.

Khamenei, characteristically, accused the Israeli government of crimes against its Arab citizens including; homicide and infanticide, the destruction of homes and farms, and the murder of Yasar Arafat, who Khamenei states was most “cooperative with the Zionists.”

Elsewhere in the region, the call for armed aggression against Israel spreads like a virus. The Islamic State, a.k.a. ISIS, plans to establish a caliphate in Egypt, a nation still reeling from last year’s military coup which ousted Muslim Brotherhood affiliated Mohamed Morsi. 

Reportedly, the Egyptian security forces have been under attack from jihadists answering the call of the Islamic State which views establishing a caliphate in Egypt as “the first step toward the invasion of Jerusalem.”

Additionally, an insurgency appears to be operating from bases in Gaza on the border with Egypt, as the Ansar al-Maqdis, and other jihadist groups, team up with ISIS, providing intelligence.

The bases are believed to be staffed by Gazans and Syrians who have returned from the fighting in Syria and Iraq.” In other words, Sinai is no longer a dangerous region subject to periodic terrorist attacks. 

This is now a full-fledged insurgency,” according to Abdallah Schleifer a veteran American journalist and professor emeritus at the American University in Cairo. 

Meanwhile in Jerusalem, the past several weeks have seen an upsurge in the violence as clashes over the Temple Mount continue. 

In response, in Jordan, Israel’s neighbor to the right, with whom Israel has enjoyed a diplomatic relationship since 1994, violent protests escalated this week as Jordanians demanded their government sever ties with Israel and close the Israeli embassy in Amman. Some of these demands are coming from leadership in the Muslim Brotherhood.

Perhaps the gravity of these developments can best be seen in the Jordanian government’s suggestion that the crisis in Jerusalem could endanger the peace treaty between the two countries, something not previously proposed, despite much bloodier conflicts occurring in the city’s history.

And to the northeast, Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization, is also threatening Israel with an estimated” 100,000 rockets — 10 times as many as were in the Hamas arsenal — and that it’s 5,000 long-range missiles, located in Beirut and other areas deep inside Lebanon, are capable of carrying large warheads (of up to 1 ton and more), with precision guidance systems, covering all of Israel,” according to some estimates. Some IDF sources have estimated the number at more like 150,000 rockets.

It appears that war with Hezbollah is inevitable, although the timing is uncertain, but will certainly be more costly than the Gaza conflict of late summer.

As a result of the violent protests and deadly rioting in Israel over the past few days, the terror alert level was raised to the second highest on November, 9, and this in a country accustomed to violent terrorists acts and frequent rocket attacks.

Truly, Israel lives in a “dangerous neighborhood”, full of enemies, plotting her destruction and seeking to remove any remembrance of her from people’s minds. May we all continue to” pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:6)

Hating the Rapture
Nov 21st, 2014
Commentarywayoflife.org - David Cloud
Categories: False Doctrine

Evangelical bookstores typically feature many writers who hate the doctrine of an imminent Rapture of the saints, in spite of the fact that it is plainly described in Paul's writings and the early saints were living in expectation of it.

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 24:44).

"For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

James and Peter and John also taught that the Lord's coming is at hand.

"Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door" (Jam. 5:9).

"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (1 Pet. 4:7).

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand" (Rev. 1:3).

In contrast, consider the following heretical statements against the imminent return of Christ:

Tony Campolo hates dispensationalism and rejects the doctrine of Christ's imminent return. He calls it "a weird little form of fundamentalism." Speaking at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's annual meeting in June 2003, Campolo said: "That whole sense of the rapture, which may occur at any moment, is used as a device to oppose engagement with the principalities, the powers, the political and economic structures of our age" ("Opposition to women preachers evidence of demonic influence," Baptist Press, June 27, 2003).  

Brian McLaren mocks the "fundamentalist expectations" of a literal second coming of Christ with its attendant judgments on the world and assumes that the world will go on like it is for hundreds of thousands of years (A Generous Orthodoxy, p. 305). He calls the literal, imminent return of Christ "pop-Evangelical eschatology" (Generous Orthodoxy, p. 267) and the "eschatology of abandonment" (interview with Planet Preterist, Jan. 30, 2005, http://planetpreterist.com/news-2774.html). McLaren says that the book of Revelation is not a "book about the distant future" but is "a way of talking about the challenges of the immediate present" (The Secret Message of Jesus, 2007, p. 176).

Mark Driscoll mocks the idea of a Rapture for believers and a one-world government with an Anti-christ who makes people wear a mark to buy, sell or trade (Confessions of a Reformissional, pp. 49-50).

He adds that this kind of end-time "mission" is not a message from Jesus but rather one "concocted from a cunning Serpent" ("Mark Driscoll Rejects McLaren but Embraces Contemplative," Jan. 11, 2008, http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?p=931&more=1&c=1). Driscoll mocks the imminent Rapture. He claims that the Rapture doctrine is evidence of the sickness of American Christians and mocks those who have the goal of leaving "this trailer park of a planet before God's tornado touches down on all the sinners" (The Radical Reformission, p. 78). He libelously calls dispensationalists "nutty, Christian, end-times-prophecy Kaczynskis" (p. 165). [Ted Kaczynski was the "Unabomber" terrorist who murdered three people and maimed 23 others in his 18-year-long campaign against modern technology.]

Dan Kimball describes how that he rejected dispensational theology and the doctrine of an imminent Rapture and moved to his current position that "the kingdom of God is here, now" (Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches, pp. 87-90, 102). 

Ed Stetzer says it is wrong to worry about whether the Rapture is imminent. "When the disciples had an inordinate interest in the end times, much like we do today in North America among evangelicals, Jesus said, 'Do not get focused on that'" (Breaking the Missional Code, p. 40). Stetzer is referring to Acts 1:6-8. Jesus was not talking about the timing of the Rapture but about the coming of the kingdom of God. The disciples were expecting the kingdom to be set up immediately, but Jesus told them to focus rather on preaching the gospel and leave the coming of the kingdom to Him. This passage corrects the emerging church doctrine that we are building the kingdom of God in the world today, but it does not support the idea that we shouldn't be concerned about the imminent return of Christ. 

The rejection of the imminent Rapture is not a light matter. 

As we have seen, Christ, Paul, James, and Peter taught that the return of Christ is imminent and is to be expected at any time (Mat. 24:44; Phil. 4:5; Jam. 5:8-9; 1 Pet. 4:7). The early Christians lived in expectation of Christ's return and the literal fulfillment of the prophecies (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

The doctrine of a pre-tribulational Rapture is a great motivator for purifying one's personal Christian life. 

It encourages the believer in trials and persecutions (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18). It keeps the church's focus on the Great Commission (Mat. 28:18-20; Mk 16:15; Lk. 24:44-48; Acts 1:8). It teaches us that preaching the gospel, winning people to Christ, and establishing churches as the pillar and ground of the truth is the most urgent matter. D.L. Moody had it right when he said: "I look upon this world as a wrecked vessel. God has given me a lifeboat and said to me, 'Moody, save all you can.'" The imminent Rapture motivates us to be busy in the Lord's work (1 Cor. 15:58), to live obedient lives (1 Jn. 3:1-3; 1 Th. 5:4-7), and to separate from evil (Tit. 2:13-14).  

How many conservative evangelicals and conservative Southern Baptists have torn down the idol of the hatred toward the biblical Rapture and removed the high places where this heresy has spread?

Hamas Threatens: All Israeli Leaders 'Legitimate Targets'
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Sami Abu Zuhri

Flash 90

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri justified a foiled plan to assassinate Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) on Friday, claiming that while he does not personally know of information regarding the plot, "all the leaders of the occupation are considered legitimate targets for resistance." 

"The leaders of the occupation, who are responsible for the killing of women and children and the desecration of holy places, are legitimate targets," he said, in remarks translated by Channel 10 news.

On Thursday, the Israeli Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) revealed that three Hamas terrorists had been planning to assassinate Liberman during Operation Protective Edge over the summer by buying RPG missiles and then launching them at the foreign minister's car, in hopes that the attack would stop Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

The terrorists - Ibrahim Salim Mahmoud Zir, 37, Ziad Salim Mahmoud Zir, 35, and Adnan Amin Mahmoud Tzabih, 31 - were caught while carrying out surveillance on Liberman's Nokdim home. 

Less than twelve hours later, Palestinian Arab sources revealed that another series of attacks had been prevented after the ISA busted a large terror cell in Judea and Samaria - Hamas terrorists who had been conscripted via Hamas agents in Turkey to commit terror attacks in the region as well as in Jerusalem. 

Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar on Sunday declared that the group was intending to widen its terror scope throughout Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and that it intends to continue to lead the Palestinian Arab camp which advocates for armed struggle until Israel is destroyed.

Hamas has been escalating its incitement campaign against Jews and Israelis through heightened rhetoric and social media, releasing earlier this week a music video in broken Hebrew encouraging "car attacks" against Israeli citizens.

Evangelicals Favorite Heresies
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy News Watch
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary

Based on the numbers of denominations, sects and cults professing adherence to Christianity, it is not really surprising that there are wide margins of difference in how these different groups understand and interpret the Bible. Within Protestantism, there is still much theological debate and confusion around doctrines and principles – especially those not considered central or cardinal to the Christian faith. And even within mainstream church affiliations that hold fast to the central doctrines of Christianity, there is still considerable confusion and disagreement within church laity with regards to the understanding and interpretation of Biblical doctrine.

This conclusion is well exemplified by a recent survey of views about Christian theology conducted by LifeWay Research, which were summarized in an article by Bob Smietana. The survey feedback brought out some interesting and startling observations of what American evangelicals believe. Researchers asked 43 questions about faith, covering topics from sin and salvation to the Bible and the afterlife. They wanted to know how people in the pews—and the streets—understand theology. 

Of the survey’s initial 3,000 responses, this report looked at the 557 who came from Protestants who described themselves as evangelical—which would be about 19% of the American population. The online survey was commissioned by Orlando-based Ligonier Ministries and was intended to “take the temperature of America’s theological health.” The poll has a margin of error of +1.8 % with a confidence interval of 95 %.

Some highlights extracted from Smietana’s report, based on the LifeWay research are as follows:

• 67% of Americans say heaven is a real place. But they disagree about who gets in. 

• About half of Americans (53 %) say salvation is in Christ alone. However, just under half of Americans (45 %) say there are many ways to heaven—which conflicts with traditional views about salvation being linked to faith in Jesus.

• About 6 in 10 Americans (61 %) say hell is a real place - but you have to be really bad to go there. Overall, Americans don’t seem too worried about sin or being sent to hell. Two-thirds (67 %) say most people are basically good, even though everyone sins a little bit—an optimistic view of human nature at odds with traditional teaching about human sin.

• Most Americans (71 %), say people must contribute some effort toward their own salvation. 

• Two thirds (64 %) say in order to find peace with God, people have to take the first step, and then God responds to them with grace. 

• Many Americans also don’t mind being disconnected from a local church. About half (52 %) say worshiping alone or with family is as good as going to church. 

• Almost all (82 %) say their local church has no authority to “declare that I am not a Christian.” 

• More than half (56 %) believe their pastor’s sermons have no authority in their life, while slightly less than half (45 %) say the Bible was written for each person to interpret as they choose.

• About 7 in 10 (71 %) Americans believe in the Trinity (one God exists as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). However, more than half of evangelicals (59 %) and two-thirds of Americans (64 %) say the Holy Spirit is a force – not a personal being (despite scripture clearly referring to “He” and “Him”, as the third Person of the Godhead, and not “it”).

• About half of Americans (48 %) believe the Bible is the Word of God. Four in 10 (43 %) say the Bible is 100 % accurate, while a similar share of Americans (41 %) say it’s helpful but not literally true.

• About 4 in 10 (42 %) Americans—and more than half (55 %) of non-Christians—say churches should remain silent about politics.

• Less than half (48 %) of Americans say sex outside of marriage is a sin. Christian groups are split on the topic. 

A similar analysis of results conducted by Christianity Today concludes that most American evangelicals hold views condemned as heretical by some of the most important councils of the early church. The writer of the CT article, Kevin Emmert states that evangelicals did however score high on several points. Nearly all believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead (96%), and that salvation is found through Jesus alone (92%). Strong majorities said that God is sovereign over all people (89%) and that the Bible is the Word of God (88%). Almost all say they believe in the Trinity (96%) and that Jesus is fully human and fully divine (88%).

Some areas of controversial and erroneous belief extracted by Emmert from the research findings include:

• Four in 10 (41 %) say people who have never heard of Jesus can still get into heaven. 
• 3 in 10 (30 %) say people will have a chance to follow God after they die. 
• Fewer than 1 in 5 Americans (18 %) say even small sins should lead to damnation, while about half (55 %) say God has a wrathful side.
• 90% (9 in 10) evangelicals believe the local church does not have authority to say a person is not a Christian. 
• More than 1 in 7 Americans (15 %) say the Holy Spirit is less divine than God the Father and Jesus. A third (33 %) believes God the Father is more divine than Jesus. One in 5 (19 %) say Jesus was the first creature made by God. All of those run counter to Christian doctrine as found in historic creeds of the Church.

Christian leaders and theologians have expressed various views – mainly concerns -regarding these study findings. Excerpts from comments shared are as listed below:

• R.C. Sproul, founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries: “What comes screaming through this survey is the pervasive influence of humanism.”
• Stephen Nichols, chief academic officer of Ligonier Ministries: “The church in every age has faced theological confusion and heresy. In this survey we see a wake-up call to the church. We cannot assume the next generation—or even this present one—will catch an orthodox theology merely by being in the church…this study demonstrates the stunning gap in theological awareness throughout our nation, in our neighborhoods, and even in the seat next to us at church”.

• John Stackhouse, professor of theology and culture at Regent College in Vancouver: “We continue to hold adult Christian education in low regard…A sermon on Sunday morning and a conversational Bible study during the week won’t get the job done of informing and transforming people’s minds along the lines of orthodox Christian belief” adding that “We continue to have a severe public relations problem regarding the term evangelical”.

• Timothy Larsen, professor of Christian thought at Wheaton College: “What matters is not what self-identified evangelicals know or believe, but whether they are being discipled over time into mature believers…“If the answers are not getting better with more Christian discipleship, that would be alarming.”

• Howard Snyder, a former professor at United Theological Seminary, Asbury Seminary, and Tyndale Seminary: “Western Christianity, not just evangelicals, have viewed the Trinity as ‘a mathematical problem to be solved,’ not as a central revelation of the personal and tri-personal nature of God”.

• Beth Felker Jones, professor of theology at Wheaton College: "Orthodoxy is life-giving, and God's people need access to it.…Church leaders need to be able to teach the truth of the faith clearly and accurately, and we need to be able to show people why this matters for our lives."

To those brought up and raised on sound Biblical doctrine based on the final authority and infallibility of the Bible, it is shocking that Christians in general seem to hold so many erroneous and heretical ideas, not to mention the stark levels of ignorance regarding important tenets and doctrines of the faith. Clearly there are gaps and even heresies in teaching from many pulpits, not to mention that many Christians do not seem to be bothered to open the Bible and read for themselves what God has to say about these things. As stated by Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research, many Americans do get the basics right, but they’re often fuzzy on the details. 

No doubt it’s time for evangelicals and all other professing Christians to heed seriously the instructions so clearly laid out in the scriptures for every Christian to follow. Clearly we are each responsible to ensure that we study God’s word to share with others and apply it correctly to our own lives. We are in peril if we fail to do so and to check that spiritual leaders are not themselves deceived and misleading us. Listed below are just a few examples:

- These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so (Acts 17:11) 
- Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3)
- As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Peter 1:3-4)
- All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16)
- Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).
- “…that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—(Ephesians 4:14-15).
- Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

Abbas in Fiery Speech: We will Stay in Our Country
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas

Reuters

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Friday delivered a fiery speech in Ramallah, in which he reiterated his plan to ask the UN to set a deadline for Israel to “end the occupation”.

At the same time, Abbas said he was against violence and condemned recent terrorist attacks against Israelis.

“We are being shut down from all directions, we are forbidden to use sixty percent of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria -ed.)," Abbas claimed in his speech, according to Channel 2 News.

"We will not go, we will stay in our country," he declared, adding, "I'm going to ask the UN to set a deadline for the occupation, to say when it ends."

Alongside his harsh criticism of Israel's policies, Abbas condemned the recent wave of terrorist attacks, saying, "We are opposed to murder, we seek peace and want security. We do not want the death of innocent people on either side.”

Abbas and his aides have more than once announced that they intend to turn to the Security Council with a resolution setting a deadline for Israel to “end the occupation”, a unilateral move that is in violation of the Oslo Accords.

The move has been accompanied by threats, with Abbas having recently threatened to cut ties with Israel if his latest unilateral move at the UN fails.

"If all efforts fail, we will end relations with Israel and I will tell Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, ‘Come and take over’. However, I will not dismantle the Palestinian Authority and I will submit a request to join all the organizations belonging to the UN," he declared.

Fatah leader Nabil Shaath recently threatened Israel with a “political war” if there is a negative response to Abbas’s steps at the United Nations.

The United States, which has indicated several times that it objects to Abbas’s UN move, has the power to veto the resolution at the Security Council and will likely do so.

Earlier this week it reported that Secretary of State John Kerry had threatened Abbas with sanctions if the PA goes ahead with unilateral moves.

43 U.S. Senators 'Alarmed' By Reports of Obama - Iran Nuke Deal
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Marco Rubio

Office of Senator Marco Rubio

In a scathing two-page letter by 43 Republican senators to US President Barack Obama dated this Wednesdasy, the senators, led by Mark Kirk and Marco Rubio, warned that they were "alarmed" by reported plans to bypass Congress and reach a nuclear deal with Iran.

The senators were alarmed at "reports that your administration plans to circumvent Congress and unilaterally provide significant sanctions relief under a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Wednesday that the US and Iran would reach a nuclear deal by November 24, indicating the stage may be set for a titanic battle between the Obama Administration and the incoming Republican-majority US Senate on the exact terms of any Obama-Iran nuclear deal.

Most noticeably absent from the signatories to the senators' missive was Senator Rand Paul, who has a history of not signing any pro-Israel letters. By contrast Senator Ted Cruz, Paul’s likely Republican nomination presidential contender, was a signatory to the Rubio-Kirk Letter.

The Senate Republican letter goes on to state, “Reported plans to circumvent Congress suggest that your negotiators may be concluding a weak and dangerous deal which...would ensure the ultimate failure of any agreement, and runs directly counter to Secretary of State John Kerry's April 2014 statement to the Senate that your administration was absolutely obligated by law to come back to Congress in order to lift sanctions as part of the final deal with Iran.”

Arutz Sheva reported in October that Ben Rhodes, a senior White House adviser, had been secretly taped bragging that a nuclear deal with Iran was Obama’s foreign-policy “signature” equivalent of “ObamaCare,” and that they working to structure a deal that would evade any congressional approval or ratification.

The senators point out an even more alarming fact, saying that “the negotiators' objective disregarded clear expressions from the Senate emphasizing the need for a multi-decade agreement requiring Iran to fully suspend its enrichment and reprocessing activities, to dismantle its illicit nuclear infrastructure, and completely disclose its past work on nuclear weaponization.”

As Arutz Sheva also reported, Iran has failed to explain to the UN atomic agency its research into “neutron initiators” and “exploding bridge wires” which are the principal parts of the “nuclear military dimension” still outstanding.

And shockingly, in an Iranian letter to the IAEA dated June 4, Iran claimed that since the P5+1-Iran Joint Statement failed to reference the “Possible Military Dimension (PMD)” issue, Iran no longer has to answer any questions regarding any of its military nuclear experiments.

'Murdered Jews Atone for Generation, Messiah Must Come'
Nov 21st, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky

Yaakov Naumi/Flash 90

Rabbi Yitzhak Mordechai Hacohen Rubin, rabbi of the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue in Jerusalem that was brutally attacked on Tuesday, went to visit hareidi leaders on Thursday to ask their participation in a eulogy for the four Jews murdered in the attack, in which a Druze police officer was also murdered.

Rabbi Rubin visited Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the foremost rabbinical authorities in the hareidi world, and described the horrific attack.

The two Arab terrorists "came in with axes, with guns, they cut off heads...someone who was there from (United) Hatzalah told me they cut off the head completely, cut off hands, simply horrors," related the rabbi, noting the wounded included those missing arms, ears, suffering brain damage and lost eyes.

"I heard the story," replied Rabbi Kanievsky. "The Mashiach (Messiah) has to come."

The hareidi leader explained that "there needs to be an atonement" for the generation so as to merit the coming of the Mashiach, an atonement he argued the victims of the terror attack partially made.

In hearing how the congregants "shake like fish" in shock following the horrific attack, Rabbi Kanievsky stated "G-d will help. Those who shake (with fear) make repentance."

The rabbi agreed to take part in a eulogy for the victims. The meeting with Rabbi Kanievsky, in Hebrew, can be seen here:

Rabbi Rubin also visited Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, who is widely considered one of the leading rabbis of the Ashkenazic hareidi stream.

He explained to both rabbis how he came a few minutes late to the synagogue that morning because his stomach hurt, in a miracle that saved his life from the attack.

"I came to the entrance and suddenly I started hearing gunshots and people started to run outside," said Rabbi Rubin. "I personally had a huge miracle."