Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Tisha B'av: Jews Banned from Temple Mount
Jul 16th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Ari Soffer
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Jewish worshippers hoping to ascend the Temple Mount in commemoration of Tisha B'Av were bitterly disappointed as, once again, police prevented them from ascending.

The hundreds of Jewish worshippers who waited Tuesday morning to enter the Temple Mount were turned away by the Jerusalem Police, who informed them that the district commander had ruled that entry to the Mount is forbidden to Jews.

The group included Members of Knesset Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli (Bayit Yehudi) and Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud). Several yeshivot (religious academies) were present as well.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said in a statement that after "security assessments" the decision was made "to close the Temple Mount to all visitors, in order to prevent disturbances."

However, it appeared that only non-Muslim visitors were included in that decision.

This latest incident comes only a day after a group of Jewish worshippers were forced off the Mount by a Muslim mob, amid claims that the police were failing to protect Jewish worshipper's at Judaism's holiest site.

It comes as a national debate rages over freedom of religion on the Temple Mount where, despite its supreme importance to Jews worldwide, Jews are subject to draconian limitations, including a ban on praying, due to the presence of an Islamic complex administered by the Waqf Islamic Trust, and threats by Islamist groups.

Religious Jews who are allowed to ascend are followed closely by Israeli police and Waqf guards to prevent them from praying, or from carrying out any other religious rituals.

Non-Jewish visitors are not subject to such restrictions.

Tisha B'Av (9th of the Hebrew month of Av) is a day of mourning which commemorates the destruction of the two Jewish Temples in Jerusalem by the Babylonian and Roman empires respectively. The Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest place, is the site of the former temples, and Jewish groups have repeatedly sought to ascend to commemorate their destruction.

After being turned away Tuesday, between 100-150 people remained at the foot of the Mount to conduct the traditional Tisha B'Av prayers.

"National awakening"

Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute and one of the event's organizers, described the decision to ban Jews from ascending as "a reward to Islamic terror", but also had a positive take on the day's events:

"Despite the bitter disappointment and utter disgrace of the police's absurd decision - itself a reward to Islamic terror - to prevent Jews from ascending to the Temple Mount today, the hundreds of Jews who arrived this morning at the entrance to the Temple Mount are testimony to the great awakening taking place within the people of Israel towards the importance of this holy site to our nation.

"The sight of so many Jewish men, women and children coming from all over the country at great personal cost and converging on the holy mountain is the clearest indication that the plight of the beleaguered Temple Mount is becoming an important aspect of the national consensus."

Speaking afterwards to Arutz Sheva, Rabbi Richman explained that when he first began taking groups to the Temple Mount - 25 years ago - his movement was marginalized.

"If you would have asked me back then, I never would have imagined that a Deputy Foreign Minister, and other prominent government figures, would be addressing us as we gathered in our hundreds.

"What we saw today was the dedication of men and women of all ages, from across the spectrum, towards the Temple Mount."

Rabbi Richman is also the co-host of Temple Talk, a podcast that airs every Tuesday on Israel National Radio's streaming audio cast. The Temple Institute's new Tisha B'Av video The Children Are Ready II has gained about 25,000 views.

Others reacted angrily to the ban, including nationalist activist Noam Federman, who slammed the decision as a "grave" one which, in his view, "constitutes a surrender to the Arab marauders, on Tisha B'Av of all days."

"Freedom of religion means Jews as well"

Today's events come after another prominent Israeli minister called for an end to the ban on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.

Deputy Defence Minister Danny Danon insisted that freedom of religion "includes Jews [as well as Muslims]."

"We must take steps to ensure that Jews are not only able to visit the Temple Mount, but are also able to pray there. I see no logic in allowing Muslims to pray there, but not Jews. I am committed to this idea,” he added.

Responding to those who contend that asserting Jewish rights on the Temple Mount could provoke a violent backlash from Islamist groups, Danon retorted:

“We do not need a permit from the Muslim world to for every little thing we do. We do what is best for the Jewish people. It is the job of the police to take all scenarios into account and ensure freedom of worship for Jews at the Temple Mount,"

He continued,

“Our rights to Jerusalem are eternal, and not dependent on anyone else. During these days when we commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem we can put all the international pressures and threats in perspective. Anyone who believes in our historic rights will not be frightened off by these threats.”

Theology While the World Goes to Hell
Jul 16th, 2013
Daily Newswww.wayoflife.org, - David Cloud
Categories: Commentary;Contemporary Issues

In his speech after being re-elected to the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention, Fred Luter, Jr., said the time for arguing theological differences among church members should be used instead to reach unbelievers with the gospel. “Time is running out. We do not have time for debate. We do not have time for arguing. The world needs to know that Jesus saves” (“SBC’s Fred Luter,” Christian Post, June 12, 2013). To prove his point, Luter quoted from 2 Timothy 3 but misinterpreted the passage by saying that “this is an accurate picture of our culture today.” In fact, in 2 Timothy 3-4 Paul is describing the apostasy of professing Christians. He refers to those who have a form of godliness and who turn their ears from the truth (2 Tim. 3:5; 4:3-4). That is not a description of the world of unbelievers. It is a description of those who profess Christ but who pursue the lusts of the flesh and tickle their ears with fables and heresies such as those found on the shelves of SBC bookstores and in the personal libraries of SBC pastors and deacons and SS teachers: The Shack, contemplative prayer, the emerging church, modern textual criticism, salvation apart from faith in Christ (e.g., C.S. Lewis and Max Lucado), and acceptance of “Christian” homosexuals (e.g., Philip Yancey), Barthian Neo-orthodoxy, to name a few. I agree with Luter that it is time to preach the gospel. That is why the Lord is waiting. He is “longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). That much is clear, and we are personally devoted to preaching the gospel to as many people as possible while we have the opportunity. But 2 Timothy 3-4 demands that we also pay attention to sound doctrine (2 Tim. 3:14-16), reproof of sin and error (2 Tim. 3:16; 4:2), discipleship in all good works (2 Tim. 3:17), separation from false teaching (2 Tim. 3:5), defense of the faith (2 Tim. 4:7), and other such things, even while we give attention to evangelism (2 Tim. 4:6). I find it fascinating that the head of the Southern Baptist Convention holds the same basic philosophy of ministry as many of the most prominent leaders among independent Baptists, which is that we should get along and focus on evangelism.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jul 16th, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Sandwich Islands Today Prompts No Tsunami
A 7.3 magnitude earthquake has struck south of Bristol Island in the South Sandwich Islands. No tsunami alert exists, however. It was initially reported as a 6.8 magnitude quake before being upgraded.

John Bolton: Israel should have attacked Iran 'yesterday'
Former US ambassador to UN says every day that goes by "puts Israel in greater danger" as Iran's nuclear capability progresses. “Israel should have attacked Iran yesterday – every day that goes by puts Israel in greater danger, every day Iran makes more progress,” John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Monday.

England: Gay marriage is set to become law after clearing the House of Lords.
The Queen is expected to be asked to give her approval to the Bill – one of the most radical pieces of social legislation of her reign – by the end of this week. It opens the way for the first legally recognised same-sex weddings to take place in England and Wales by next summer and brings the centuries-old understanding of marriage as being solely between a man and a woman to an end.

Treasury: Debt Has Been Exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 56 Days
According to the Daily Treasury Statement for July 12, which the U.S. Treasury released this afternoon, the federal debt that is currently subject to a legal limit of $16,699,421,095,673.60 has stood at exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 56 straight days. That means that for 56 straight days the federal debt has remained approximately $25 million below the legal limit.

World Trade Center developer seeks billions in 9/11 damages from airlines
A federal judge in New York heard initial arguments Monday in a trial in which the developer of the World Trade Center argues that he should get billions of dollars from the airlines whose jets plowed into the Twin Towers almost 12 years ago.

How European courts are dismantling sanctions on Iran
In the years-long campaign to tie a web of sanctions around Iran and stall its nuclear program, the European Union may just have met its biggest obstacle: its own law courts. Fearing Tehran is seeking the means to make bombs, Europe's governments have been combing through Iran's political elites and businesses to find people and companies linked to the financing and technical aspects of its nuclear work.

Christian in Pakistan sent to prison for 'blasphemy' in spite of accuser's retraction
A court in Pakistan sentenced a Christian to life in prison for alleged blasphemy in spite of the complainant retracting the accusation and admitting police pressured him into making it, his attorney said.

Former NY Times writer ridiculed for being a creationist
Former New York Times technology and culture writer Virginia Heffernan, who now writes for Yahoo! News, recently told the world she's a creationist and she has become a lightning rod for ridicule because of it.

Security Council fails to back Iranian sanctions violations
The UN Security Council has refused to back a report by a panel of experts which unanimously concluded that Iran violated UN sanctions when it launched several ballistic missiles a year ago.

Portugal becomes 2nd country, after Israel, with a Jewish law of return
500 years after the expulsion of its community, Lisbon’s new legislation corrects a moral wrong, albeit with some ‘economic considerations as well’

Jennifer Lopez Slammed Over $10M Earnings From Performing for World's 'Worst Thugs'
Human Rights Watch is not exactly singing Jennifer Lopez's praises these days. Some members of the media and human rights groups have scrutinized the singer after reports that she performed "Happy Birthday" to Turkmenistan dictator Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on June 29. The most vocally opposed organization has been HRF, which estimates that J. Lo has received in excess of $10 million for what it calls, "serenading crooks and dictators from Eastern Europe and Russia."

Jason Riley: Race, Politics and the Zimmerman Trial
Any candid debate on race and criminality in this country would have to start with the fact that blacks commit an astoundingly disproportionate number of crimes. African-Americans constitute about 13% of the population, yet between 1976 and 2005 blacks committed more than half of all murders in the U.S. The black arrest rate for most offenses—including robbery, aggravated assault and property crimes—is typically two to three times their representation in the population.

Israeli Officials Now Warning Iran War Could Come in 2013
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is beginning to prepare the public in Israel and around the world for a "military option." This is why he appeared on CBS’s "Face The Nation" on Sunday. The PM called the Iranian a "messianic, apocalyptic" regime bent on genocide, a reference to the Shia eschatology Khamenei holds that Iran must annihilate Israel and the U.S. to usher in the reign of the Twelfth Imam. Netanyahu also called the incoming Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, a "wolf in sheep's clothing" who has bragged in the past about negotiating with the West while secretly advancing nuclear enrichment. What's more, Netanyahu vowed not to "wait too long" to stop Iran.

Israel: EU Attacks us Because We're Small
Jul 16th, 2013
Daily NewsINN - Gil Ronen
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israeli officials on Tuesday slammed an EU directive that will bar all 28 member states from dealings with Jewish communities located beyond the 1949 Armistice lines, including eastern Jerusalem.

A high-ranking official, who requested anonymity, described the European Union's move as a disproportionate "attack" on Israel.

"When it comes to disputed territories, the Europeans prefer to attack a small country like Israel instead of taking on more powerful states, because they're afraid of retaliation."

Israel was "only informed of the directive at the last moment," he added.

The directive, due to be published on Friday and take effect from 2014, forbids EU member states from funding or dealing with Israeli communities in the Golan Heights, Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, according to reports.

It requires a clear distinction to be made in all signed agreements, between Israel and the territories it occupied in the 1967 Six Day War.

EU spokesman David Kriss told AFP: "These are guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activity in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards.

"It makes a distinction between Israel and the entities in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights," he said.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin told army radio the Europeans had made a "mistake" and that the directive would undermine any return to peace talks with the Palestinians.

"It's a very worrying initiative launched at a bad time, because it only reinforces the Palestinians' refusal to restart negotiations," he said.

Kriss said the EU wanted Israel to cooperate fully with the directive to ensure its "participation in projects between 2014 and 2020."

But Elkin told the Haaretz newspaper: "We are not ready to sign on this clause in our agreements with the European Union," but admitted that the refusal could "halt all cooperation in economics... (and) cause severe damage to Israel."

Palestinian leaders say they will only resume direct negotiations with Israel if they are held on the basis of the lines that existed before 1967, and if Israel freezes all settlement activity in Judea and Samaria.

Israel insists they must be held "without preconditions."

Yesterday, Communications Minister Gilad Erdan accused the Palestinian Authority for setting unreasonable preconditions to talks, claiming they were seeking to start talks "from the finish line."