The recent war between Israel and Gaza has grabbed the attention of the entire world with the ad nauseum Poor Palestinians, Evil Israelis pablum that serves as news from the usual suspects in American media.
However, I need to get this off my chest at the beginning: Israel wouldn't have been in this mess had they retained possession of the Gaza Strip in the first place.
There is nothing worse than secular Israelis who haven't a clue of their own history, let alone a perspective through the "third lens". I love Israel and will support her to the end. But they succeed in making it very difficult for me to continue to do so whenever they engage in reckless policy decisions that will inevitably result in further attacks against her citizenry by an enemy that is sworn to their destruction. Hamas' charter calls for Israel's complete annihilation and refuses to recognize the existence of the Jewish state. This is like the Peanuts cartoons of Lucy and the football,in which she continually yanks the ball from Charlie Brown's foot with his every attempt to kick it. Every concession by Israel to appease the Palestinians always, always results in it backfiring against Israel. As a result her citizens suffer. Why Israeli Prime Minister Ohlmert continues to wade through the murky swamp of foreign policy with terror leaders and representatives, thinking that his humanistic view will result in a Kumbaya moment with them, is one of the baffling mysteries of our day. I'll discuss Ohlmert's political blunders at a later time.
Through the "third lens" perspective what is really at work here? This can be nothing more than the terror regime in Tehran working surreptitiously to undermine any "peace negotiations" and wage a proxy war through their puppet organizations like Hamas and Hizbollah. Consider this: As Palestinians continue to suffer through poverty, unemployment, and political chaos 24x7 where in the world are they acquiring the weaponry to wage this cowardly aggression lobbing missiles and mortars on unsuspecting Israelis into border towns near Gaza?
Koening's International News (http://www.watch.org/) recently reported that one missile discovered was originally from China. Interesting. Tehran has established a solid connection with America's "friends"in Beijing and it's not rocket science (no pun intended) to figure out the commodities on the negotiating table. Can we say, 'oil' and 'weapons', students?
Tehran's hatred for Israeli is well-documented and this is just a pre-cursor to the real showdown that awaits the world once the Gog/Magog coalition is finalized and is mobilized.
Though Gaza is not mentioned verbatim in Ezekiel's prophetic record as a member of the future coalition, it would be easy to speculate that puppet terror groups such as Hamaz, Hizbollah, Islamic Jihad, et. al. would be easily absorbed into this massive military coalition.
For now Tehran continues its continuous flow of weaponry into the hands of Hamas and Hizbollah and is making no effort to discontinue their proxy war against the Jewish state.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Is Vladimir Putin "Gog"?
This question is often raised when considering end times events and it is very difficult to answer at this time.
Suffice it to say that Vladimir (the name means "power over the earth") Putin is what one might refer to as Gog-esque.
The prophet Ezekiel refers to this monarchical figure nine separate times in chapter 38 & 39.
But who is Gog? A concise analysis of of this moniker reveals that this is a title of an individual and not a name.
Think of it as either Prince, King, or Tsar. We're not looking for a Dimitry Gog or Mikhail Gog.
As to its referring to Vladimir Putin evidence would suggest that his politics are displaying more of a dictatorial modus operandi than that of a benevolent democratic leader.
Consider the following:
During 2005 -2006 over an 18-month period Putin successfully derailed much of Russia's fledgling democratic reforms by centralizing power back toward the Kremlin and gradually transforming himself into an all-powerful Tsar-like politico.
He nationalized Russian TV networks, had political opponents imprisoned on suspect charges, and threatened to seize and nationalize one of Russia's largest petroleum companies.
He succeeded in eliminating gubernatorial elections, by which constituencies would elect their governors by popular vote, and reinstated appointments supervised by the Kremlin apparatchiks.
During the hotly-contested presidential election in the Ukraine Putin supported Viktor Yanukovych against a pro-democracy candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, even though the international observers of the process protested that Yanukovych was stealing the election. You may recall Yushchenko's mysterious poisoning that terribly disfigured
his once-telegenic face. Yushchenko fought Yanukovych to an electoral draw, however that did not deter Putin from declaring Yanukovych the winner and publicly demanded that the West not interfere.
In addition Putin has negotiated and signed multi-billion dollars arms deals with rogue Islamic states and terror regimes.
He also ordered a 40% increase in the Russian defense budget and spearheaded development of a new class of strategic nuclear missiles.
Still not convinced?
Observe these following headlines that have been printed during Putin's term as Russian president:
CZAR VLADIMIR - Boston Globe, Sept 15,2006
IS RUSSIAN GOING BACKWARD? - Commentary, Oct 2004
IS DEMOCRACY RUSSIA'S FUTURE? PUTIN AGAIN RAISES DOUBTS -USA Today, Nov 29, 2004
PUTIN SETS RUSSIA ON FASCIST PATH - Omaha Herald, Dec 16, 2004
RUSSIA'S DOWNHILL SLIDE TO DICTATORSHIP: RUSSIA'S REGIME PARALLELS WEIMAR GERMANY - LA Times, Jan 9, 2005
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: A CONFIDENT KREMLIN IS THROWING ITS WEIGHT AROUND
Newsweek, Jan 30, 2006
RUSSIA'S PUTIN RECLAIMING DOMINANT ROLE IN FORMER SOVIET UNION
Associate Press, Mar 20, 2006
Is Putin a man we must continue to watch? Here is additional commentary by author Joel C. Rosenberg posted 05 May 2008 the day prior to Putin "relinquishing" presidential power Dimitry Medvedev. Does this appear to be a farewell befitting a "retiring" head of state? I'll let you decide.
From Joel C. Rosenberg's Flash Traffic Blog:
(Washington, D.C., May 6, 2008) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered hundreds of state-of-the-art tanks, fighter jets and ballistic missiles to be paraded through Red Square last Friday, a chilling signal to Russia's neighbors and enemies, though Putin insists he bears no evil intent. "This is not sabre-rattling," Putin told reporters ahead of Russia's traditional Victory Day parade. "We are not threatening anyone and don't plan to." Oh really? Why then is Russia selling billions of dollars of weapons -- including missiles, fighter jets, submarines, nuclear technology and enriched uranium -- to Israel's enemies, and ours? Why is Russia building strategic alliances with enemies like Iran, Libya, Sudan and Syria? Why has Russia repeatedly threatened neighbors like Georgia and Ukraine? Why is Russia building vast new military and political alliances in Central Asia and Far East Asia? Tomorrow, May 7th, Putin will ostensibly hand over the reigns of the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev, the baby-faced former law professor whom Putin hand-picked and personally anointed to take his place as president. But it seems unlikely that Putin will actually give up much -- if any -- real political power. Putin says he plans on ascending to the role of Prime Minister. In the past, that has been a less powerful position, but in Putin's hands I expect it to become a vastly more powerful role. As I have written in the past, Putin seems intent on fashioning himself as the new Czar of Russia. He is centralizing power and wealth unto himself. He is silencing political and religious opposition. He is rebuilding the offensive capabilities of the Russian military. And he seems to be itching for a military adventure of some kind, an opportunity to show Russia's new might and reclaim the glory of Mother Russia. No wonder he has triggered the following headlines: CZAR VLADIMIR CBS News.com, October 3, 2007 CZAR VLADIMIR New York Post, October 7, 2007 PUTIN, THE CZAR Pravda (Moscow), November 26, 2007 CZAR PUTIN CNN Special Report, November 20, 2007 PUTIN FOR CZAR? Khaleej Times (Dubai), December 2, 2007 A CZAR IN THE MAKING: The Cold War is dead, but Vladimir Putin is very much with us Air Force Magazine, December 2007 And let us not forget that on December 4, 2007, Time magazine named Putin its "Person of the Year." The title of the cover story that followed? "A TSAR IS BORN." Now, could Medvedev eventually find a way to ice his benefactor out of the way and seize full control of Russia himself? It is conceivable, perhaps, but as of this writing seems unlikely. For starters, Medvedev is in every way Putin's junior. He is twelve years younger that Putin, just 42 at the time of his "landslide" victory in a rigged (read: sham) election in March 2008. Medvedev is three inches shorter than his mentor, clocking in at 5'4" as compared to Putin's already diminutive 5'7". What's more, while Medvedev has spent the last several years running Gazprom for Putin - the behemoth state-run gas monopoly that supplies 30% of Europe's gas and has a market capitalization of $345 billion - he has precious little experience in the cut-throat, winner-take-all worlds of FSB intelligence or Kremlin palace politics. Then, of course, no sooner did Putin select Medvedev for the job of president than his puppet blurted out that Putin would and should run the country anyway. "In order to stay on this path [of foreign and economic policy strength], it is not enough to elect a new president who shares this ideology," Medvedev told reporters. "It is not less important to maintain the efficiency of the team formed by the incumbent president. That is why I find it extremely important for our country to keep Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin at the most important position in the executive power, at the post of the chairman of the government." Putin, for his part, has made no bones about how long he plans to stay in power or whether he will be subservient to Medvedev. "I formulated the objectives for the development of Russia from 2010 to 2020," Putin has told reporters, and "if I see that I can realize these goals in this position [of Prime Minister], then I will work as long as this is possible." When asked if he will hang President Medvedev's portrait in his office? "I do not have to bow to [Medvedev's] portraits," Putin stated without apparent humor. One area to keep an eye on: Putin has been working quietly but steadily in recent years on creating a merger between Russia and neighboring Belarus. Is it possible that Putin could turn himself into a Czar of a new Russian-Belarus superstate? Or is this just a head-fake for a larger, even more ambitious power grab? "One of Putin's main characteristics is to never disclose his plan until the last moment," says Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a foreign policy journal. "He allows all sorts of misimpressions to thrive, while he bides his time and decides what he wants to do."
Though Putin is no longer officially president of Russia, he conveniently handles the strings of his puppet Medvedev. His pseudo-Prime Ministership is nothing but a cover. He is still very much in control and isn't going anywhere.
Watch and pray.
Suffice it to say that Vladimir (the name means "power over the earth") Putin is what one might refer to as Gog-esque.
The prophet Ezekiel refers to this monarchical figure nine separate times in chapter 38 & 39.
But who is Gog? A concise analysis of of this moniker reveals that this is a title of an individual and not a name.
Think of it as either Prince, King, or Tsar. We're not looking for a Dimitry Gog or Mikhail Gog.
As to its referring to Vladimir Putin evidence would suggest that his politics are displaying more of a dictatorial modus operandi than that of a benevolent democratic leader.
Consider the following:
During 2005 -2006 over an 18-month period Putin successfully derailed much of Russia's fledgling democratic reforms by centralizing power back toward the Kremlin and gradually transforming himself into an all-powerful Tsar-like politico.
He nationalized Russian TV networks, had political opponents imprisoned on suspect charges, and threatened to seize and nationalize one of Russia's largest petroleum companies.
He succeeded in eliminating gubernatorial elections, by which constituencies would elect their governors by popular vote, and reinstated appointments supervised by the Kremlin apparatchiks.
During the hotly-contested presidential election in the Ukraine Putin supported Viktor Yanukovych against a pro-democracy candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, even though the international observers of the process protested that Yanukovych was stealing the election. You may recall Yushchenko's mysterious poisoning that terribly disfigured
his once-telegenic face. Yushchenko fought Yanukovych to an electoral draw, however that did not deter Putin from declaring Yanukovych the winner and publicly demanded that the West not interfere.
In addition Putin has negotiated and signed multi-billion dollars arms deals with rogue Islamic states and terror regimes.
He also ordered a 40% increase in the Russian defense budget and spearheaded development of a new class of strategic nuclear missiles.
Still not convinced?
Observe these following headlines that have been printed during Putin's term as Russian president:
CZAR VLADIMIR - Boston Globe, Sept 15,2006
IS RUSSIAN GOING BACKWARD? - Commentary, Oct 2004
IS DEMOCRACY RUSSIA'S FUTURE? PUTIN AGAIN RAISES DOUBTS -USA Today, Nov 29, 2004
PUTIN SETS RUSSIA ON FASCIST PATH - Omaha Herald, Dec 16, 2004
RUSSIA'S DOWNHILL SLIDE TO DICTATORSHIP: RUSSIA'S REGIME PARALLELS WEIMAR GERMANY - LA Times, Jan 9, 2005
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: A CONFIDENT KREMLIN IS THROWING ITS WEIGHT AROUND
Newsweek, Jan 30, 2006
RUSSIA'S PUTIN RECLAIMING DOMINANT ROLE IN FORMER SOVIET UNION
Associate Press, Mar 20, 2006
Is Putin a man we must continue to watch? Here is additional commentary by author Joel C. Rosenberg posted 05 May 2008 the day prior to Putin "relinquishing" presidential power Dimitry Medvedev. Does this appear to be a farewell befitting a "retiring" head of state? I'll let you decide.
From Joel C. Rosenberg's Flash Traffic Blog:
(Washington, D.C., May 6, 2008) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered hundreds of state-of-the-art tanks, fighter jets and ballistic missiles to be paraded through Red Square last Friday, a chilling signal to Russia's neighbors and enemies, though Putin insists he bears no evil intent. "This is not sabre-rattling," Putin told reporters ahead of Russia's traditional Victory Day parade. "We are not threatening anyone and don't plan to." Oh really? Why then is Russia selling billions of dollars of weapons -- including missiles, fighter jets, submarines, nuclear technology and enriched uranium -- to Israel's enemies, and ours? Why is Russia building strategic alliances with enemies like Iran, Libya, Sudan and Syria? Why has Russia repeatedly threatened neighbors like Georgia and Ukraine? Why is Russia building vast new military and political alliances in Central Asia and Far East Asia? Tomorrow, May 7th, Putin will ostensibly hand over the reigns of the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev, the baby-faced former law professor whom Putin hand-picked and personally anointed to take his place as president. But it seems unlikely that Putin will actually give up much -- if any -- real political power. Putin says he plans on ascending to the role of Prime Minister. In the past, that has been a less powerful position, but in Putin's hands I expect it to become a vastly more powerful role. As I have written in the past, Putin seems intent on fashioning himself as the new Czar of Russia. He is centralizing power and wealth unto himself. He is silencing political and religious opposition. He is rebuilding the offensive capabilities of the Russian military. And he seems to be itching for a military adventure of some kind, an opportunity to show Russia's new might and reclaim the glory of Mother Russia. No wonder he has triggered the following headlines: CZAR VLADIMIR CBS News.com, October 3, 2007 CZAR VLADIMIR New York Post, October 7, 2007 PUTIN, THE CZAR Pravda (Moscow), November 26, 2007 CZAR PUTIN CNN Special Report, November 20, 2007 PUTIN FOR CZAR? Khaleej Times (Dubai), December 2, 2007 A CZAR IN THE MAKING: The Cold War is dead, but Vladimir Putin is very much with us Air Force Magazine, December 2007 And let us not forget that on December 4, 2007, Time magazine named Putin its "Person of the Year." The title of the cover story that followed? "A TSAR IS BORN." Now, could Medvedev eventually find a way to ice his benefactor out of the way and seize full control of Russia himself? It is conceivable, perhaps, but as of this writing seems unlikely. For starters, Medvedev is in every way Putin's junior. He is twelve years younger that Putin, just 42 at the time of his "landslide" victory in a rigged (read: sham) election in March 2008. Medvedev is three inches shorter than his mentor, clocking in at 5'4" as compared to Putin's already diminutive 5'7". What's more, while Medvedev has spent the last several years running Gazprom for Putin - the behemoth state-run gas monopoly that supplies 30% of Europe's gas and has a market capitalization of $345 billion - he has precious little experience in the cut-throat, winner-take-all worlds of FSB intelligence or Kremlin palace politics. Then, of course, no sooner did Putin select Medvedev for the job of president than his puppet blurted out that Putin would and should run the country anyway. "In order to stay on this path [of foreign and economic policy strength], it is not enough to elect a new president who shares this ideology," Medvedev told reporters. "It is not less important to maintain the efficiency of the team formed by the incumbent president. That is why I find it extremely important for our country to keep Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin at the most important position in the executive power, at the post of the chairman of the government." Putin, for his part, has made no bones about how long he plans to stay in power or whether he will be subservient to Medvedev. "I formulated the objectives for the development of Russia from 2010 to 2020," Putin has told reporters, and "if I see that I can realize these goals in this position [of Prime Minister], then I will work as long as this is possible." When asked if he will hang President Medvedev's portrait in his office? "I do not have to bow to [Medvedev's] portraits," Putin stated without apparent humor. One area to keep an eye on: Putin has been working quietly but steadily in recent years on creating a merger between Russia and neighboring Belarus. Is it possible that Putin could turn himself into a Czar of a new Russian-Belarus superstate? Or is this just a head-fake for a larger, even more ambitious power grab? "One of Putin's main characteristics is to never disclose his plan until the last moment," says Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a foreign policy journal. "He allows all sorts of misimpressions to thrive, while he bides his time and decides what he wants to do."
Though Putin is no longer officially president of Russia, he conveniently handles the strings of his puppet Medvedev. His pseudo-Prime Ministership is nothing but a cover. He is still very much in control and isn't going anywhere.
Watch and pray.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Natural Gas Discovered in Mediteraanean Sea off Israel's Coast
Houston-based Noble Energy announced today that a huge natural gas formation has been discovered off the coast of Haifa in the Mediterranean Sea.
Read more here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=115212&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1245705&highlight=
So what, you say?
Well, to the average reader this may not be the biggest news story of the day, given that most of today's global events were eclipsed by the inauguration of a new presidential administration here in the U.S.
However,this is very significant when viewed through the "third lens" of biblical scripture. Why is this?
In the 38th Chapter of the book written by the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, he describes in detail a huge coalition of forces led by a mysterious monarch named Gog. This is a coalition of forces that will be gathered against Israel in the "latter days" to come and destroy the them and to attempt to "...capture spoil and to seize plunder..." (Ezekiel 38:12). What on Earth would cause such a coalition to gather enmasse? Well, considering that the entire globe is starving for resources of oil and natural gas, would such a discovery set into motion a march toward Armageddon? The answer is an emphatic: Yes!
Consider Israel's industrial infrastructure for a moment. They produce diamonds, sophisticated electronics, and have some of the best agricultural science on the planet, not to mention their sophisticated weapons systems for their national defense, to name a few. However, none of these would be of any strategic value to the Gog/Magog coalition.
However, a natural gas field of 3 trillion (no that's not a misprint that's trillion) cubic feet of gas that is worth hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue? That alone would whet a few energy appetites. And what about the oil reserves rumored to be in and around Israel? Once those reserves are tapped and Israel becomes the largest exporter of both oil and natural gas, thus freeing them from energy dependency, you will see a flow of wealth into Israel that will make a few oil sheiks seem like they're sitting on welfare. According to the prophetic record, they're not about to go down as OPEC has-beens.
The prophet writes that although this coalition is superior to Israel's defense, it will meet with catastrophic defeat accompanied by a great slaughter when the Lord Jehovah divinely intervenes and overthrows Gog and his coalition. How great will be the slaughter? Ezekiel reveals that Israel will be burying the dead for seven months to cleanse the land of the stench of rotting flesh and carnage. (Ezekiel 39:12)
Yes, dear reader. This is very significant.
Well, to the average reader this may not be the biggest news story of the day, given that most of today's global events were eclipsed by the inauguration of a new presidential administration here in the U.S.
However,this is very significant when viewed through the "third lens" of biblical scripture. Why is this?
In the 38th Chapter of the book written by the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, he describes in detail a huge coalition of forces led by a mysterious monarch named Gog. This is a coalition of forces that will be gathered against Israel in the "latter days" to come and destroy the them and to attempt to "...capture spoil and to seize plunder..." (Ezekiel 38:12). What on Earth would cause such a coalition to gather enmasse? Well, considering that the entire globe is starving for resources of oil and natural gas, would such a discovery set into motion a march toward Armageddon? The answer is an emphatic: Yes!
Consider Israel's industrial infrastructure for a moment. They produce diamonds, sophisticated electronics, and have some of the best agricultural science on the planet, not to mention their sophisticated weapons systems for their national defense, to name a few. However, none of these would be of any strategic value to the Gog/Magog coalition.
However, a natural gas field of 3 trillion (no that's not a misprint that's trillion) cubic feet of gas that is worth hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue? That alone would whet a few energy appetites. And what about the oil reserves rumored to be in and around Israel? Once those reserves are tapped and Israel becomes the largest exporter of both oil and natural gas, thus freeing them from energy dependency, you will see a flow of wealth into Israel that will make a few oil sheiks seem like they're sitting on welfare. According to the prophetic record, they're not about to go down as OPEC has-beens.
The prophet writes that although this coalition is superior to Israel's defense, it will meet with catastrophic defeat accompanied by a great slaughter when the Lord Jehovah divinely intervenes and overthrows Gog and his coalition. How great will be the slaughter? Ezekiel reveals that Israel will be burying the dead for seven months to cleanse the land of the stench of rotting flesh and carnage. (Ezekiel 39:12)
Yes, dear reader. This is very significant.
The Third Lens
The world seems to have lost all equilibrium in the 21st Century.
As a native-born American living in the midwestern United States I am keenly aware of what has just recently transpired within this nation over the past four months.
Something is terribly wrong with America.
Crises, turmoil, and natural disasters, which seem isolated incidents decades ago, are now occurring more frequently and with more intensity. Many in the world are perplexed,confused, and fearful.
F5 tornadoes were few and far between even 10 years ago, but now seem to occur regularly, along with their devastating effects on infrastructure and financial loss.
Category 5 hurricanes are the norm, or so it would seem, and have resulted in catastrophic financial and material loss to hundreds of thousands in coastal regions.
Civility is at an unprecedented low and has slumped quantitatively even in my short life-time. The most recent presidential election is illustrative of this fact. Never have I seen the media and the body politic embark on profuse, ad nauseum ad hominum attacks against political rivals, even to the extreme of character defamation through misrepresentations, slander, and a complete fabrication of "facts" and "data". And to what end? To satisfy their lust for power at the cost of their own character and reputation. There is culpability on both ends of the political spectrum whether Republican or Democrat; Conservative or Liberal. It is discouraging, often disgusting, and serves to undermine the integrity of their professional credibility.
The recent financial debacles on Wall Street and Detroit with their subsequent pleas for government bail-outs to the tune of hundreds of billions of taxpayer funds was the proverbial nail-in-the-coffin to lay the American financial industry to rest, with little hope for recovery.
Is it I or is there something criminally negligent about destroying strong financial institutions that once backed and guaranteed retirement funds and/or mortgage securities in a few short months to satisfy a person's or group of arrogant elitists' greed? Funny. I never once saw footage or reportage describing the arrest and indictment of the perpetrators. What I did see was golden parachutes of hundreds of millions of dollars presented to the very CEOs and CFOs that contributed to the debacle in the first place. Must be nice to be able to play Monopoly for real, fail miserably by bankrupting the company, and walk away with $150 million as severance. Where does one sign up for that deal?
So why am I writing this? Is this just another disgruntled middle-aged American male with nothing better to do?
Well, no, actually.
The purpose of this blog is an attempt to go beyond the headlines and correlate these very events with a perspective that is desperately lacking in our main scream media, to borrow from other conservative pundits.
That perspective is what has come to be known as the "third lens of biblical scripture" and it is very critical if one is to truly understand global events be they political, cultural, financial, or spiritual.
Let me get my cards on the table here. This will not be a politically-correct blog nor commentary on daily global and domestic events.
That said, what is presented here will be from an evangelical Christian perspective using the "third lens" of biblical scripture with a strong pro-Zionist bias. I'll present the case for pro-Zionism later.
I'm well aware of the target I'm painting on my back with this undertaking. This is an unpopular perspective to many and may seem down-right reckless with wild speculations.
In other words, what you read here will be a challenge and, perhaps, offensive to secular thinking. That's exactly why I created this blog.
Some may find my rhetoric judgemental, insensitive, insulting, challenging, humorous...you fill in the blank. It is sure to strike a nerve and conjure up a myriad of emotions.
However, here is the central question around which this blog will revolve: Is there, or could there be an alternative explanation to what we see transpiring around us? Think about it.
It is not merely coincidence that what is happening compliments what was written in the prophetic record of the Bible. Yeshua (Jesus) was very specific about end-time events: what would happen, how it would happen, and why it would happen. Other than the reference to the "latter days", as it is often expressed in the biblical record, both Old and New Testaments, we are not told specifically when this would all come to pass. However, close examination with an open mind for wisdom and understanding will be greatly rewarded.
Before you begin this odyssey allow me to establish a few ground rules:
1. You must be willing to clear your mind of any negative assumptions or presuppositions about Christianity and Christian theology or dogma. If one approaches this with any prejudice based on the media's myopic perception of what Christianity is or who Christians really are, or opinions based only on the past abuses inflicted upon other ethnic groups or civilizations in the name of Christ then this will impede any type of dialog and will deteriorate toward mud-slinging. Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias said it best: If one wants to sling mud one not only gets their hands dirty, but they also lose a lot of ground. Sound wisdom, indeed.
2. The tone of any feedback or commentary must remain civil. Disparaging comments, derogatory and profane rhetoric will not be tolerated.
3. Don't emote. Engage your intellect and structure your arguments and provide evidence for same. Speculation and hear-say only robs one of credibility. To become a respected debater one must be willing to do scholarship if one intends to convince their opponent to reconsider their position(s).
4. For goodness sakes have fun. We need not become bitter enemies over indifferences. This is not a virtual Taliban that will slit your throat because of a disagreement. Although the theme of this blog is quite serious (your very eternity may well depend on it) I will inject humor and sarcastic whit as I see fit. Please feel free to do the same.
As a native-born American living in the midwestern United States I am keenly aware of what has just recently transpired within this nation over the past four months.
Something is terribly wrong with America.
Crises, turmoil, and natural disasters, which seem isolated incidents decades ago, are now occurring more frequently and with more intensity. Many in the world are perplexed,confused, and fearful.
F5 tornadoes were few and far between even 10 years ago, but now seem to occur regularly, along with their devastating effects on infrastructure and financial loss.
Category 5 hurricanes are the norm, or so it would seem, and have resulted in catastrophic financial and material loss to hundreds of thousands in coastal regions.
Civility is at an unprecedented low and has slumped quantitatively even in my short life-time. The most recent presidential election is illustrative of this fact. Never have I seen the media and the body politic embark on profuse, ad nauseum ad hominum attacks against political rivals, even to the extreme of character defamation through misrepresentations, slander, and a complete fabrication of "facts" and "data". And to what end? To satisfy their lust for power at the cost of their own character and reputation. There is culpability on both ends of the political spectrum whether Republican or Democrat; Conservative or Liberal. It is discouraging, often disgusting, and serves to undermine the integrity of their professional credibility.
The recent financial debacles on Wall Street and Detroit with their subsequent pleas for government bail-outs to the tune of hundreds of billions of taxpayer funds was the proverbial nail-in-the-coffin to lay the American financial industry to rest, with little hope for recovery.
Is it I or is there something criminally negligent about destroying strong financial institutions that once backed and guaranteed retirement funds and/or mortgage securities in a few short months to satisfy a person's or group of arrogant elitists' greed? Funny. I never once saw footage or reportage describing the arrest and indictment of the perpetrators. What I did see was golden parachutes of hundreds of millions of dollars presented to the very CEOs and CFOs that contributed to the debacle in the first place. Must be nice to be able to play Monopoly for real, fail miserably by bankrupting the company, and walk away with $150 million as severance. Where does one sign up for that deal?
So why am I writing this? Is this just another disgruntled middle-aged American male with nothing better to do?
Well, no, actually.
The purpose of this blog is an attempt to go beyond the headlines and correlate these very events with a perspective that is desperately lacking in our main scream media, to borrow from other conservative pundits.
That perspective is what has come to be known as the "third lens of biblical scripture" and it is very critical if one is to truly understand global events be they political, cultural, financial, or spiritual.
Let me get my cards on the table here. This will not be a politically-correct blog nor commentary on daily global and domestic events.
That said, what is presented here will be from an evangelical Christian perspective using the "third lens" of biblical scripture with a strong pro-Zionist bias. I'll present the case for pro-Zionism later.
I'm well aware of the target I'm painting on my back with this undertaking. This is an unpopular perspective to many and may seem down-right reckless with wild speculations.
In other words, what you read here will be a challenge and, perhaps, offensive to secular thinking. That's exactly why I created this blog.
Some may find my rhetoric judgemental, insensitive, insulting, challenging, humorous...you fill in the blank. It is sure to strike a nerve and conjure up a myriad of emotions.
However, here is the central question around which this blog will revolve: Is there, or could there be an alternative explanation to what we see transpiring around us? Think about it.
It is not merely coincidence that what is happening compliments what was written in the prophetic record of the Bible. Yeshua (Jesus) was very specific about end-time events: what would happen, how it would happen, and why it would happen. Other than the reference to the "latter days", as it is often expressed in the biblical record, both Old and New Testaments, we are not told specifically when this would all come to pass. However, close examination with an open mind for wisdom and understanding will be greatly rewarded.
Before you begin this odyssey allow me to establish a few ground rules:
1. You must be willing to clear your mind of any negative assumptions or presuppositions about Christianity and Christian theology or dogma. If one approaches this with any prejudice based on the media's myopic perception of what Christianity is or who Christians really are, or opinions based only on the past abuses inflicted upon other ethnic groups or civilizations in the name of Christ then this will impede any type of dialog and will deteriorate toward mud-slinging. Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias said it best: If one wants to sling mud one not only gets their hands dirty, but they also lose a lot of ground. Sound wisdom, indeed.
2. The tone of any feedback or commentary must remain civil. Disparaging comments, derogatory and profane rhetoric will not be tolerated.
3. Don't emote. Engage your intellect and structure your arguments and provide evidence for same. Speculation and hear-say only robs one of credibility. To become a respected debater one must be willing to do scholarship if one intends to convince their opponent to reconsider their position(s).
4. For goodness sakes have fun. We need not become bitter enemies over indifferences. This is not a virtual Taliban that will slit your throat because of a disagreement. Although the theme of this blog is quite serious (your very eternity may well depend on it) I will inject humor and sarcastic whit as I see fit. Please feel free to do the same.
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