War on religion ... or just Christianity? - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com

The Supreme Court is about to hear a challenge from a former divinity student who was denied a state scholarship because he wanted to study for ministry. The Court appears deeply divided over the case of Joshua Davey, who lost a state merit scholarship when he declared theology as his major.

The Supreme Court is split. At least four justices seem to agree that the state of Washington was within its rights to deny the money to Davey. The other four seemed, according to legal experts, to side with Davey. The swing vote is Sandra Day O'Connor, as is often the case.

The Davey case is critical, since the high court ruled last year that it is constitutional to allow parents to use public money to send their children to private religious schools. So, in this case, the question isn't whether the government can use public money to underwrite religious education. The Court has already decided it can.

What the Court has to decide now is whether or not, when the money is available, it is available equally.

The case began in 1999, when Davey qualified for a Promise Scholarship, a state-funded program for high-achieving students of modest means. The scholarship of about $3,000 never came through, because Davey decided to study for the ministry at Northwest College in Kirkland, Wash.

U.S. Solicitor General Olson told the Court that "the clear and unmistakable message is that religion and preparation for a career in the ministry is disfavored and discouraged." He added that "the person who wants to believe in God or wants to have a position of religious leadership is the one that's singled out for discriminatory treatment."

Justice O'Connor is apparently confused on the issue. She asked Davey's attorney: "How does this violate the student's right to free exercise of religion?" She went on, "Maybe it's more expensive to go to school, but why does that violate his free exercise of religion?"

It seems very obvious to me – and I never went to law school. Davey won the scholarship by the standards set up by the state. Once it was awarded, it was taken away for the single reason that he wanted to use it to study for the ministry. It is so clear that it makes me wonder if there is not a deeply ingrained bias against religion held by five members of the Supreme Court.

If the "free exercise of his religion" means he lost a scholarship – which he won fair and square – because he wants to use it to study for the ministry, then he is clearly being penalized for that particular choice. There is nothing in the Constitution that says a person should be penalized for choosing to study for the Christian ministry.

In fact, there is a clear pattern of precedent established by multiple Supreme Court decisions in past times that would favor such an individual choice. Schools like Harvard University and Princeton University were originally founded to prepare young men for Christian ministry. It is only in recent times that the U.S. government has developed such a bias against Christianity in particular.

Although the state argues that funding Davey's scholarship amounts to a government endorsement of religion, it isn't really "religion" the state is objecting to. It's Christianity. There is always plenty of federal money to promote Islam, Satanism, witchcraft or any other "religion."

Here is a case in point: In California, high-school students at the Byron Unified School District were forced to take a mandatory course in Islam. The course mandates that seventh-graders learn the tenets of Islam, study the important figures of the faith, wear an Arab type robe, adopt a Muslim name and stage their own jihad.

Nancy Castro, principal of the Intermediate-Excelsior School of Byron, claims the course "is not religion, but ancient culture and history. We do not endorse any religion – we just make students aware." All it takes is a reading of the course curriculum to confirm that Castro's denial is absolutely false.

The textbook used for the Islamic course, "Across The Centuries," is published by Houghton-Mifflin and has been adopted by the California school system.

This is a much more flagrant case of government endorsement of a religion than the issue of Davey using a scholarship he won to study for the ministry, wouldn't you say?

The real point is this: It isn't religion in general that is under fire in America. There are all kinds of religions that are untouchable. Government-funded schools allow students to study whatever religion they wish – just as long as it isn't Christianity.

The Bible predicts that in the "last days" the world will be very religious. In fact, all religions will merge into one and unite with a one-world government. Then this "unholy union" will go all out to wipe Christianity from the face of the Earth. We are in the "last days," and this scenario is rapidly developing.

The sad thing is, Christians are sitting back and doing nothing to stop it.

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Special Report: Is Christmas a Christian Holiday? - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

I know a lot of Christians who refuse to celebrate Christmas. And a lot more who do, but feel guilty about it before the Lord, whether they want to admit it or not. It is difficult to really identify Christmas as it is celebrated in our culture with a Christian holiday. There's a reason for that.

Although a majority of Americans polled identify themselves with Christmas, the greeting "Merry Christmas" grows more rare with each passing year, replaced instead with the secular (and meaningless) "Happy Holidays!"

What the heck does THAT mean? It applies equally to 'Happy Labor Day" or "Happy President's Day" so what does it have to do with Christ?

Let's take a look and see. And read carefully before you start firing off angry emails. I am probably NOT going where you think I am.

First, there is no Bible doctrine that tells us we are to celebrate Christ's birth. It is His Death and Resurrection that paid our penalty for sin. The celebration of a birthday is actually antithetical to Scripture. There are only two birthday celebrations recorded in Scripture.

The Bible tells us in Genesis 40:22 that on one of Pharaoh's birthdays he murdered his chief baker while a big celebration was going on. The other birthday celebration recorded was that of Herod, when he had John the Baptist murdered.

On the other hand, Ecclesiates 7:1 tells us: "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."

It is also clear that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th. It gets COLD in the hills of Jerusalem in December. Sometimes, it snows. Even during a mild winter, December is the middle of the rainy season.

Shepherds corraled their flocks from October to April. They weren't grazing in the fields, and the shepherds wouldn't have been out there with them at night in December.

But Luke tells us "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night . . ." (Luke 2:8)

Joseph and Mary were called to Bethlehem by order of Caesar to be taxed and for the census.

Travel in December would be difficult at best, and no thinking ruler who wanted to collect taxes would pick the worst time of the year to order mass travel of an entire population. Travel was hard enough already.

Jesus confirmed this, saying in Matthew 24:20, speaking to the Jews, "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day . . "

The choice of late December for the birth of our Lord predates Jesus by centuries. The celebration of the Babylonian sun-god, Tammuz, took place during the Winter Solstice (Dec 21 by our calendar).

Any reputable encyclopedia will verify these facts.

"Christmas- It was according to many authorities NOT celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of a remarkable person rather than their birth. A feast was established in memory of the Saviour in the 4th century. In the 5th century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol. The holly, the mistletoe, the yule log, and the wassail bowl are of pre-Christian times. The Christmas tree has been traced back to the Romans. It went from Germany to Great Britain." (Encyclopedia Americana)

After Constantine declared Christianity to be the state Church of Rome, there was considerable outcry from the pagan population who resented losing their feast days and traditions and myriad gods and goddesses.

Constantine didn't get to be Caesar by alienating his base of support. He simply replaced the gods and goddesses with statues of saints and incorporated pagan holidays into Christian ones.

Easter, for example, corresponds with the feast of "Ishtar" the goddess of fertility -- explaining all the rabbits and eggs (pagan symbols of fertility) associated with contemporary Easter celebrations.

Christmas replaced the celebration of the Feast of Tammuz. It kept the masses happy and the Empire intact.

To the world, Christmas is about Santa Claus, in whom our culture has invested all the attributes of Christ. "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows if you're awake. . ." etc.

So, should Christians celebrate Christmas? WHY NOT? Do YOU believe in Santa Claus?

Or in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world? Do you REALLY believe God can't tell the difference?

Why should we exclude ourselves from the merriment and the fun of family, Christmas presents and exclamations of 'peace on earth, good will toward men' because others don't see things as we do?

We celebrate Labor Day with picnics and hot dogs. We celebrate the Fourth of July, according to our unique American customs and traditions.

We KNOW that Jesus is the reason for the season - for us. Should we choose this date to celebrate the unspeakable Gift God has given us, we can do so without worrying about it.

On the other hand, if we choose not to celebrate Christmas because it is commercialized beyond recognition and not in keeping with the Bible, we find ourselves in a quandry. We are taking a stand on empty air.

The world has never celebrated Christmas because of Biblical principles -- neither has the True Church, since there are no Biblical principles upon which to base it.

In the Agony in the Garden, Jesus prayed for us so fervently that His sweat mingled with blood. What was it that He prayed?

"I pray NOT that thou shouldest take them OUT of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not OF the world, even as I am not OF the world." (John 17:15-16)

There is a difference between our physical state of being, which is currently IN the world, and our spiritual state of being, which is, as Blood-bought Christians, positionally ALREADY seated in the heavenlies.

Jesus kept the cultural feast days of His era. Some of them were religious, some were not. He knew He was 'in' the world, but not 'of' it.

Paul wrote in Romans 14:5; "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."

There is no sin in celebrating Christmas as the day we acknowledge God's Gift to the world of a Saviour. Neither can I see any Biblical basis for NOT celebrating Christmas because it isn't really His Birthday.

To some it is a day on the calendar. To others, it is a day of frustration and anger because others fail to associate Christmas with Christ -- a frustration so intense that it makes Christmas, for them, the least happy of all days.

Somehow, that doesn't quite connect with what Christmas is all about. It is merely a cultural reminder that there WAS a Day when the Lord of all Glory took on the body of a Man, lived the perfect life we are incapable of living, and paid the penalty on our behalf for that incapacity.

It doesn't matter if it really WAS December 25th. It doesn't matter if the world has a different agenda. We already know that. That is why we sought forgiveness for our sins, whereas the world loves its sin.

There is no sin in being happy. Even on Christmas. God knows who worships Him and who worships Santa Claus. He doesn't base it on whether or not you have a Christmas tree (unless you start offering sacrifices to it).

This isn't rocket science, but you needn't take my word for it.

"He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks." (Romans 14:6)

"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." (Romans 14:8)

Enjoy Christmas in all its joy and good will, according to your family customs and traditions. Go ahead and put up a Christmas tree. Christians don't worship a DAY -- we worship the Author of Days.

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Who Were the Magi? by Chuck Missler - www.khouse.org

Each year, as we approach the holiday season, our preparations for Christmas include revisiting the events surrounding the birth of Our Lord. Bethlehem, the shepherds, and the angels are familiar to us all. But not much is generally known about the mysterious "Magi" who came to worship the infant Jesus. The following background may be helpful to stimulate conversations around the fireplace as our thoughts turn to this incredible event from which we measure our very calendar.

Traditions

Most of what we associate with the "Magi" is from early church traditions. Most have assumed there were three of them, since they brought three specific gifts (but the Biblical text doesn't number them). They are called "Magi" from the Latinized form of the Greek word magoi, transliterated from the Persian, for a select sect of priests. (Our word "magic" comes from the same root.)

As the years passed, the traditions became increasingly embellished. By the 3rd century they were viewed as kings. By the 6th century they had names: Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa. Some even associated them with Shem, Ham and Japheth-the three sons of Noah-and thus with Asia, Africa, and Europe. A 14th century Armenian tradition identifies them as Balthasar, King of Arabia; Melchior, King of Persia; and Gasper, King of India.

(Relics attributed to them emerged in the 4th century and were transferred from Constantinople to Milan in the 5th century, and then to Cologne in 1162 where they remain enshrined.)

These are interesting traditions, but what do we really know about them?

The Priesthood of the Medes

The ancient Magi were a hereditary priesthood of the Medes (known today as the Kurds) credited with profound and extraordinary religious knowledge. After some Magi, who had been attached to the Median court, proved to be expert in the interpretation of dreams, Darius the Great established them over the state religion of Persia.(Contrary to popular belief, the Magi were not originally followers of Zoroaster. That all came later.)

It was in this dual capacity, whereby civil and political counsel was invested with religious authority, that the Magi became the supreme priestly caste of the Persian empire and continued to be prominent during the subsequent Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods.

The Role of Daniel

One of the titles given to Daniel was Rab-mag, the Chief of the Magi. His unusual career included being a principal administrator in two world empires-the Babylonian and the subsequent Persian Empire. When Darius appointed him, a Jew, over the previously hereditary Median priesthood, the resulting repercussions led to the plots involving the ordeal of the lion's den.

Daniel apparently entrusted a Messianic vision (to be announced in due time by a "star") to a secret sect of the Magi for its eventual fulfillment. But first let's review some historical background.

Political Background

Since the days of Daniel, the fortunes of both the Persian and the Jewish nation had been closely intertwined. Both nations had, in their turn, fallen under Seleucid domination in the wake of Alexander's conquests. Subsequently, both had regained their independence: the Jews under Maccabean leadership, and the Persians as the dominating ruling group within the Parthian Empire.

It was at this time that the Magi, in their dual priestly and governmental office, composed the upper house of the Council of the Megistanes (from which we get the term "magistrates"), whose duties included the absolute choice and election of the king of the realm.

It was, therefore, a group of Persian-Parthian "king makers" who entered Jerusalem in the latter days of the reign of Herod. Herod's reaction was understandably one of fear when one considers the background of Roman-Parthian rivalry that prevailed during his lifetime.

Rome on the Rise

Pompey, the first Roman conqueror of Jerusalem in 63 B.C., had attacked the Armenian outpost of Parthia. In 55 B.C. Crassus led Roman legions in sacking Jerusalem and in a subsequent attack on Parthia proper. The Romans were decisively defeated at the battle of Carrhae with the loss of 30,000 troops, including their commander. The Parthians counterattacked with a token invasion of Armenia, Syria, and Palestine.

Nominal Roman rule was reestablished under Antipater, the father of Herod, who, in his turn, retreated before another Parthian invasion in 40 B.C.

Mark Antony reestablished Roman sovereignty in 37 B.C. and, like Crassus before him, also embarked on a similarly ill-fated Parthian expedition. His disastrous retreat was followed by another wave of invading Parthians, which swept all Roman opposition completely out of Palestine (including Herod himself, who fled to Alexandria and then to Rome).

With Parthian collaboration, Jewish sovereignty was restored, and Jerusalem was fortified with a Jewish garrison.

Herod, by this time, had secured from Augustus Caesar the title of "King of the Jews." However, it was not for three years, including a five months' siege by Roman troops, that Herod was able to occupy his own capital city! Herod had thus gained the throne of a rebellious buffer state which was situated between two mighty contending empires. At any time his own subjects might conspire in bringing the Parthians to their aid. At the time of the birth of Christ, Herod may have been close to his final illness. Augustus was also aged, and Rome, since the retirement of Tiberius, was without an experienced military commander. Pro-Parthian Armenia was fomenting revolt against Rome (which was successfully accomplished within two years.)

The Tensions in Parthia

The time was ripe for another Parthian invasion of the buffer provinces, except for the fact that Parthia itself was racked by internal dissension. Phraates IV, the unpopular and aging king, had once been deposed and it was not improbable that the Persian Magi were already involved in the political maneuvering requisite to choosing his successor. It was conceivable that the Magi might be taking advantage of the king's lack of popularity to further their own interests with the establishment of a new dynasty, which could have been implemented if a sufficiently strong contender could be found.

At this time it was entirely conceivable that the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, culminating in the writings of Daniel, one of their own Magians, was of profound motivating significance. The promise of a divinely imposed world dominion at the hands of a Jewish monarch might be more than acceptable to them. (Their own Persian and Medo-Persian history was studded with Jewish nobles, ministers, and counselors; and in the great Achaemenid days, some of the kings themselves were of Jewish blood.)

The Entourage to Jerusalem

In Jerusalem, the sudden appearance of the Magi, probably traveling in force with all imaginable oriental pomp and accompanied by an adequate cavalry escort to insure their safe penetration of Roman territory, certainly alarmed Herod and the populace of Jerusalem.

It would seem as if these Magi were attempting to perpetrate a border incident which could bring swift reprisal from Parthian armies. Their request of Herod regarding the one who "has been born King of the Jews" was a calculated insult to him, a non-Jew who had contrived and bribed his way into that office.

Consulting his scribes, Herod discovered from the prophecies in the Tanach (the Old Testament) that the Promised One, the Messiah, would be born in Bethle-hem. Hiding his concern and expressing sincere interest, Herod requested them to keep him informed.

After finding the babe and presenting their prophetic gifts, the Magi "being warned in a dream" (a form of communication most acceptable to them) departed to their own country, ignoring Herod's request. (Within two years Phraataces, the parricide son of Phraates IV, was duly installed by the Magi as the new ruler of Parthia.)

Daniel's Messianic Role

Living six centuries before the birth of Christ, Daniel certainly received an incredible number of Messianic prophecies. In addition to several overviews of all of Gentile world history, the Angel Gabriel told him the precise day that Jesus would present Himself as King to Jerusalem.

It is interesting that Daniel's founding of a secret sect of the Magi also had a role in having these prominent Gentiles present gifts at the birth of the Jewish Messiah.

The Christmas Gifts

The gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were also prophetic, speaking of our Lord's offices of king, priest, and savior. Gold speaks of His kingship; frankincense was a spice used in the priestly duties; and myrrh was an embalming ointment anticipating His death.

In the Millennium, He will also receive the gifts of gold and frankincense; but no myrrh: His death was once and for all.

What gifts are YOU going to give Him this year? Discuss it with Him.
 

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Bethlehem's legacy - Hal Lindsey - www.omegaletter.com

Bethlehem is a sacred city to both Jews and Christians. It is sacred to the Jews because its greatest King, David, was born there.

It is sacred to Christians because Jesus, the Messiah, was born there, as was predicted some 700 years before:

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be numbered among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.

– Micah 5:2, NASB

Ironically, the real legacy of Bethlehem became one of hope mingled with mystery, intrigue and terror.

The conditions of Jesus' birth were set up by some of the great figures of history. Julius Caesar appointed a man named Antipater of Idumea as regent of Judah for his aid to Rome during a civil war. This was reconfirmed and enlarged later by Marc Antony. As a result, Antipater's son Herod became king over most of Israel from 31 B.C. to A.D. 4.

What is rarely observed is that Herod was not a Jew. He was a descendant of Esau (Idumeans were from Esau) and Ishmael through his mother who was a daughter of an Arab sheik. Herod studied Judaism, but he was never accepted as a Jew.

So the political atmosphere of that time and place was set up by the great power of the day, Rome. Herod's rule over the Jews was enforced by Rome – not popular and precarious. He clung to power by attempts to win the Jews favor – and when that failed – the application of ruthless terror.

You can imagine Herod's attitude when members of the ancient caste of master astrologers from Babylon known as Magi showed up asking where to find the one who has been born king of the Jews. To further add to the mystery, they said they saw his long-anticipated star in the sky and came to worship him.

How did these gentiles know to look for a certain star as a sign of the Messiah's birth? Why did they want to worship him? The answer is clear from the book of the prophet Daniel. He was a member of the same royal class of astrologers. He won many of them over to faith in the God of Israel and the hope of the coming Messiah. God apparently gave them the special sign of a certain star to signal when the Messiah had come.

The mystery thickens as we see that their news of the Messiah's birth "troubled all of Jerusalem" (Matthew 2:3). Here are gentiles who took a difficult and dangerous journey to worship "the King-Messiah of the Jews." Yet the Jews are "troubled" and Herod wants to destroy Him as a threat to his throne. Do your see the intrigue and contradiction?

The Jews, of all people, should have run with Magi to find and worship this king their prophets for centuries predicted would come. Yet they were only "troubled" by the news.

The Jewish religious scholars certainly knew the prophecy of where the Messiah would be born. When Herod asked them, they instantly quoted Micah 5:2 and said Bethlehem.

Herod asked the Magi exactly when the star appeared in order to determine how old the Messiah would be. He told the Magi to find Him and inform him where He was so that he could also worship him.

The Magi found Jesus and his family and worshipped Him. They presented gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. God was supplying the means for Jesus' family to flee to Egypt. For He sent an angel to warn them to flee from Herod's wrath.

After this, an angel of the Lord warned the Magi not to return to Herod. Enraged, Herod ordered the murder of all male babies 2-years-old and younger.

Note it well that it was a descendant of Ishmael and Esau that sought to murder the founder of Christianity.

This legacy continues today. When the Palestinian Authority took over Bethlehem, 97 percent of the population were Christian Palestinians. Today, only a few remain. The Muslims, who are descended from Ishmael and Esau, have driven them out. Arafat has even tried to rewrite history by claiming Jesus was a Palestinian and a Muslim.

But the most glorious mystery of Bethlehem is that it is the place where God stepped out of eternity and became a man. He did this so He could live a sinless life and thus qualify to die for the sins of all men. The Son of God said to God the Father at the time of His birth, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for Me ... I have come to do Your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:5).

In this body, Jesus willingly died in our place in order to purchase a complete pardon for our sins. He paid our penalty.

Christmas is a time of gifts. If you haven't received the greatest gift of Jesus the Messiah's pardon for your sins, do it now. You will instantly be forgiven and receive eternal life. Jesus will come to live in your heart and give you new life, inner peace and new hope. He will bring you into an eternal relationship in God's forever family.

Thank God for His unspeakable gift. Merry Christmas!

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December 29, 2003

In Defense of the Faith - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

The Bible is under attack, as it has been since it was first compiled, but with a special fervor and intensity unique to this generation. What makes this generation unique is that the principle attackers are believers themselves.

It is possible to be a believer in the Bible and not be a Christian, although it doesn't seem so until you think about it.

Personally, I know lots of people who say they believe in God, or believe in the Bible, but who have never surrendered themselves to Christ. Most other religions reference it among their sacred texts, from Buddhists to Jews.

And there are 'cultural Christians' as well. Most Americans were raised in a Christian culture, and identify with Christianity whether they are born-again or not.

It is actually quite easy to believe in the Bible without even having read it. Which makes it even easier to attack it. Just turn on A&E and watch some of the 'Mysteries of the Bible' series. After watching a couple of them, you'll conclude that the most mysterious thing about the Bible is that ANYBODY really believes it.

If you don't know anything about the Bible except that you believe in it, then it is pretty easy to plant misconceptions as part of an effort to discover the 'truth' about it.

After all, who doesn't want to know the 'truth' about a Book as mysterious as the Bible? Especially if it comes packaged as a TV program saving the effort of having to actually read its ponderous text?

The Scriptures say, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)

That anyone could attack the Bible escapes me. Especially when one considers that the Bible isn't one book, but is actually a collection of sixty-six books, written by forty different human authors. Reading through it, it seems to have penned by the same individual.

But the Bible's authors were shepherds and kings, intinerant preachers and traveling salesmen, tax collectors, tent-makers and fishermen, captives and slaves.

In most instances, the Bible's authors had never met one another and had no access to each other's works. Ezekiel and Daniel were contemporaries, but Daniel was held captive in Babylon. Ezekiel lived hundreds of miles away in what remained of Israel. Each book refers to the other, although neither prophet met to compare notes.

There were no libraries where each writer of Scripture could cross reference the other. But each book flows smoothly to the next, some books referencing passages written by the authors who came before, while others reference books not yet written for centuries.

It is obvious to any honest seeker of truth that the Bible actually has only one Author. The alleged 'quests for truth' about the Bible like "Mysteries of the Bible" are predicated by that fact.

What escapes A&E is the Identity of the Author, although the Bible clearly identifies Him. "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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The word translated here as 'scripture' comes from the Greek word 'gramma'. This means a 'letter' -- meaning even the smallest details are from God and are perfect.

The Bible is not just a body of unrelated religious writings on various subjects. It is a systematic revelation of history from creation that continues to unfold before our eyes and continues to outline human history to its ultimate conclusion.

The entire Bible revolves around only one central theme. The need for man's salvation and God's provision for it through Jesus Christ.

The Bible is a gift from God to all men -- a 'love letter', some say, from God to you. I like that synopsis, since that is how I have viewed it for most of my adult life. A love letter from God, that starts, "Dear Jack: In the beginning . ."

What a God we serve! As we prepare to welcome in 2004, llow yourself to dwell on the Bible's magnificence. Meditate on how impossible it would be for the Bible to have come into being through human effort, apart from God, as is now the popular angle of attack.

Many have made much of the alleged 'Bible codes' which indeed appear to be real, although not of any particular value apart from serving as the Signature of God for a high tech generation.

Jesus said, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign . . ." -(Matthew 16:4) and that is what the Bible codes are to this generation. A sign.

But the Bible proves itself by its very existence. The Bible wasn't divided into chapters until the 13th century by Stephen Langton. It wasn't divided into individual verses until the 15th and 16th centuries. But its contents have been debated by the best and brightest of every generation.

The King James Bible contains sixty-six books -- 39 in the Old Testament, and twenty-seven in the New. There are 31,173 verses, 774,746 words and 3,556,480 letters that make up the entire Bible. In all of that, nobody in all human history has ever disproved a single word.

Dead center in the middle of the Bible is Psalm 118:8:

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

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Special Report: Heaven from the Cesspool - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

It’s been observed that, ‘Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die’. It makes you wonder – why is that? Since the worst thing anybody can do to another human being is kill them and the most desirable outcome for any Christian is to go home to glory. . . what’s up with that, anyway?

The Bible describes heaven as a place where the streets are made from gold, and where the ‘pure river of the water of Life proceeds out from the throne of God and of the Lamb’ where there shall be no night, since God Himself with illuminate it and so on.

What kind of mental image does this give you?

To me, it sounds pretty neat, but . . . somehow, not.

Please don’t run screaming from the room screaming ‘blasphemy’ just yet – I’m not finished. Give me a few more lines.

I recall sitting between a couple of sand dunes, surveying the wind-swept beach on one of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, watching as the breakers crashed into the pilings on the nearby pier. The sun was shining, the breeze was warm; it was altogether an idyllic scene.

The beauty was breathtaking. Alone with the Lord, I mused about what heaven must REALLY be like, if this wasn’t it. Indeed, as I pointed out earlier, John’s description of heaven was, um, nice, but where I was sitting was pretty nice, too. There were no rivers of living water, but I know that I am saved and have eternal life already.

The sand isn't made of gold, but what value will gold have in eternity, anyway? It will pave the streets, as common as the sand. I like the sand.

And I LIKE the night; I’ve sat in that exact same spot at night, and when the breeze is warm and the stars are out, with the moon reflecting off the ocean it is no less idyllic than it is during the day.

I enquired of the Lord, and I began to get a bit of the Big Picture, as seen from outside of space and time. (No, I wasn’t smoking anything and I didn’t start to hear voices).

Instead, I thought about what the Bible said about heaven, and more to the point, what the Bible says about our Big Blue Marble.

The Bible describes the fall of Lucifer, his sin, and his ejection from heaven, together with the third of the angels who rebelled with him. When they were cast from heaven, where did they go?

The Book of Job says: “And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:7, 2:2)

It has been my experience in studying God’s Word that when He causes something to be repeated, as in this case, it is worth giving it an extra look.

When Satan and his crew cast from heaven, they were cast to the earth, what the theologians call the ‘cosmos diabolicus’ or literally, a world of evil. To the angels, it was the worst place they could imagine -- a place of involuntary and horrific exile.

Planet Earth is the one place in the universe where sin can exist without throwing the entire universe out of balance, thanks to the fact it has an environment that contains it.

Our environment, which sustains us, also contains us and keeps us from doing to the universe what we have already done to our planet.

Indeed, we managed to get to the outer fringes of our planet and what did we do? Filled it with orbiting space junk, some of which threatens OTHER orbiting space junk, such as the international space station.

Meanwhile, back on earth . . . when the fallen angels were cast to earth, it was an astonishing drop. “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12)

To the angels, the beautiful seaside scene I describe earlier is a cesspool of sin, a place of punishment to the angels who rebelled, a place so horrible, that seen from the heavenly perspective, merely being stuck here was enough to turn Lucifer the Archangel into Satan the Destroyer.

Imagine our planet from God’s perspective. Everything is stained by sin. The beautiful beach scene? Stained by sin. The ground we walk on? Stained by sin.

I tried to imagine that stain for what it is, and of course, I cannot. I can only defer to the Bible’s description of sin. It is so filthy, so repugnant, so disgusting, that God can’t bear to view it.

When God created Adam, He created a special place for him. The Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve fell, they were first cast OUT of the Garden, and into the cesspool where sin was allowed to operate freely.

Jerusalem sits in the middle of the cesspool. In the center of Jerusalem was the Temple, a place kept scrubbed of the taint of sin by the Levitical priesthood, and the Holy of Holies, a place scrubbed even more carefully.

The only place where God would commune with sinful man on this sin-stained planet was that tiny place where the muck of sin was scrubbed away as much as possible.

Until even that place became so buried in the muck and mire of sin that, after four hundred years of silence, He decided to Personally scrub it --and us -- clean of it, once and for all.

Scripture says the angels were astonished that the Lord of Glory would assume human form, step out of sinless and perfect eternity, and wallow in the mire of sin with sinful humanity. Every step for Him must have been an agony, like walking knee-deep in sewage.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9)

It is a measure of how disgusting sin is to God. The fact it was the place God cast the rebellious angels is revealing. To the angels, our beautiful planet earth is a leper colony. We mortal humans are little more than bugs, willingly wallowing in the yuck of sin, yea, REVELING in it.

Yet the Scripture says that the angels are fascinated by us, and by our plight, and astonished by our unwillingness to climb out of the muck. It amazes them that men love the world, since they see it for what it is, and have some basis for comparison between it and the things of the spirit.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us . . .” (Hebrews 12:1)

“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and TO ANGELS, and to men.” (1 Corinthians 4:9)

Scripture tells us that; “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

We cannot imagine heaven, we can only compare it to earth and all its beauty and wonderment, and realize that the earth is the universe’s garbage dump. Heaven is like the Bible describes it; but it is much more.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

What IS death, that we fear it? In a word, separation. Death separates us from our loved ones. Death takes our loved ones from us, separating us from them until eternity.

Sin is a form of death. It separated the fallen angels from fellowship with God. It separates the unsaved from God. Revelation 20:14 speaks of the Great White Throne Judgment in which unbelievers are cast into the Lake of Fire as ‘the second death’ -- a second – and permanent separation.

Sin separates us from God, our sin nature blinds us to that fact and so we love the world, and thereby astonish the angels. Picture the nastiest, gooeyest, smelliest substance you can think of, and imagine being in it up to your neck. From the angelic perspective, that’s where we are, and most of us are loving it, until we get saved.

Jesus said, “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10) The angels know what that sinner has just escaped from.

Jesus also describes what we become in eternity in Luke 20:26, “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”

Paul tells us that we will receive new, immortal bodies. “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1 Corinthians 15:49-50)

What is heaven like? I don’t know.

But I know what a beautiful, sunny day, a warm ocean breeze and the sights and sounds of the waves as they gently break on the shore is like.

And compared to heaven, it’s a cesspool.

To the angels, it is a place of exile, a leper colony, a place where the fallen angels were sent to await their fate at the Great White Throne. Our 'beautiful' planet is the angelic 'hell' to which they were cast to await sentencing to the Lake of Fire.

But we will be 'equal to the angels' says the Lord, in our immortal, sin-free bodies, and equal to the angels in understanding just HOW evil and repugnant this place really is, from the perspective of the spirit.

Why is it, then, that everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die?

Because if we knew what awaits us there, we’d all jump off a cliff tomorrow.
 

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Israel, the Wall and the Last Days - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

Until the 1980's the PLO's official position favored a 'democratic' Palestinian state covering what they term 'historical Palestine: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, forming an Arab nation.

The strategy was formally dropped when it became obvious they weren't going to get one and was replaced by the demand for an independent state including the territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war.

Prior to 1967, the West Bank was part of Jordan and the Gaza Strip was part of Egypt. Up until the 1967 war, Jordan could mass troops along its border, which included all the West Bank including the eastern half of Jerusalem itself.

Egypt could put its troops in territory along Israel's Meditterranean coastline, leaving Israel sandwiched in between the Jordan River and the Meditteranean Sea.

That was precisely what caused the 1967 Six Days War, and, after defeating the Arab invaders, Israel was determined to create a buffer zone to protect itself from being sliced in half. In some places between Gaza and the West Bank, following the pre-1967 'Green Line' borders, Israel was only nine miles wide, flanked on two sides by enemies.

The coastal city of Netanya was nine miles from the West Bank territory of Samaria, whereas it was only eleven miles from the Jordanian lines in Samaria to the then Israeli capital city at Tel Aviv.

It was eleven miles from Egypt's holdings in the Sinai destert to the Israeli city of Beersheba. To the north was Lebanon, and Syrian gunners looked down from the Golan Heights to Tiberias five miles away.

These are the pre-1967 borders the United Nations, the Europeans and the Arab world want Israel to accept in return for the promise of peace. It is to be remembered that the surrounding Arab states launched five separate wars aimed at annihilating the Jewish state during its first twenty-five years of existence.

And while promising peace in exchange for Israel's surrender of its defensive buffer zone, the Palestinian Arabs openly maintain that they will use the state the world is so anxious to give them as a platform from which to violently drive the Jews from what will be left of the land still under their rule.

"A legitimate Palestinian entity forms the most important weapon the Arabs have against Israel," states the official website of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

To summarize, a group of terrorists that bound themselves together 40 years ago have succeeded - through bloody violence and a Goebbel's-inspired propaganda campaign - in convincing the world that a people with no national history comprise a nation; that this "nation" has a right to its own land; that "its" land is the historical heartland of the Jewish people; and that Israel has an obligation to withdraw from this land and permit another (enemy) Arab state to be erected there.

The Western world wants a Palestinian state to placate the Arabs. The Arab world wants a Palestinian state to destroy the Jews. Bush is prepared to play midwife to this state in order to garner a feather in his cap and doubly secure his second White House win.

Everyone - Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Damascus and Cairo - want Jews to be uprooted so that Palestine can be born.

Palestinian Prime Minister and Arafat lapdog Ahmed Queria said last week that “Israel’s continued policy of building the (Apartheid) wall means that talk about a Palestinian state makes no sense”, and therefore, “If this Israeli policy continues, we are going to come back to the option of a single, bi-national democratic state.”

What this means is a formal return to the original (and never really abandoned) goal of a state instead of Israel, rather than a state beside Israel. Opposition to Israel's security fence is just a convenient excuse to bamboozle the world body into supporting the destruction of Israel. According to Israeli demographer Sergio Della Pergola, there are 5.2 million Jews between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean and close to 4.9 Palestinians, including 1.2 million Israeli Palestinians, living inside the Jewish state.

A demographic study conducted recently by the Palestinian national bureau of statistics showed that if the population growth continues at its current rate, Palestinians will outnumber Jews by 6.2 million to 5.7 million in 2010.

If after a few months “Israel has not proved its commitment to a two-state solution and continues its policies, we will dismantle the Palestinian Authority and go down the road of a bi-national state and make the demographic issue a political tool," wrote Palestinian political analyst Ali Jarbawi recently.

The international news media is aiding the Arab effort by depicting the Israeli security fence as a tall concrete wall. But only three percent of the planned 480 mile fence is concrete.

Fully 97% of the fence consists of ordinary chain link, hence the name 'fence' instead of 'wall'. The concrete sections are intended to keep the Palestinians from shooting at Israeli vehicles traveling on main highways alongside the pre-June 1967 line.

Quriea recently took an obliging international press corps on a tour of one of the concrete sections near Kalkilya, where he announced to the cameras, "From the edge of this racist separation wall, I call on the United States, President George Bush, Europe, and the United Nations to realize that this leaves no chance for the establishment of a Palestinian state."

"Our people will not give in," he said. "They have several options and they will carry out such options. The wall will not bring security to Israel, and it will collapse the same way as all racist walls in the world did."

Ah. Israel's 'racist' policies are the problem. Israel is a state in which 1.2 million Arabs live in Israel and enjoy full Israeli citizenship. On the other hand, Arafat demands a complete ethnic cleansing of Jews from the territories now controlled by the Palestinian Authority. But the global press corps dutifully quote Quriea's provable lie without comment, and, like magic, it becomes true.

PA Minister for Negotiations Saeb Erekat told Israeli Army Radio last week that; "If the Israeli government continues with the settlement activities, walling us, building walls around our towns, villages, and refugee camps, turning them into big prisons... these actions will undermine and destroy the two-state solution, leaving the option of the one state available."

Assessment:

The reality on the ground is this. The Palestinians oppose the barrier because it promises to end to their entire parasitic relationship with Israel. To the Palestinians, the equation runs this way; "We hate you — let us in" and "Destroy the Zionist entity — but let me earn some cash there first."

Suicide bombing was predicated on weakening Israeli will, ruining the economy, discouraging immigration to Israel, encouraging Jewish flight, tapping into latent anti-Semitism in Europe, and thus hoping that terror and demography would one day win what arms never could.

In contrast, early indicators suggest the fence will make it very hard for suicide bombers to continue to traffic in death, which is the preferred method of 'bargaining' with Israel.

Clearly, this conflict is being conducted in total denial of geopolitical reality. The geopolitical reality is that Israel exists, and that they are an identifiable nation that is one of the most carefully documented in history.

Conversely, the 'Palestinian Arabs' did NOT exist until June, 1967, when the Jordanian citizens of the West Bank were imprisoned in the Jordanian 'refugee camps' from which Yasser Arafat declared them a 'people' and banded them together as members of the 'Palestine Liberation Organization'.

Liberation from whom? The Jordanians who put them in concentration camps?

Israel's rebirth in the last days is a central theme of the Old Testament Scriptures.

"For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land." (Isaiah 14:1)

"And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem…" (Zechariah 2:12)

"'For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up…" (Jeremiah 24:6-7)

"I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God. (Amos 9:14-15)

The Palestinian dream of an Arab Israel was doomed by God from time immemorial:

"Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever." (Jeremiah 31:35-36)

"Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers." (Jeremiah 33:19-20)

Simplified, the Promise of God is this. As long as the sun shines in the day, and moon at night, the restored Israel of the last days will not be destroyed.

But in the natural, it appears that, given the current political circumstances, the Palestinians have a better than even chance of success.

The Jews were chosen by God, which is different than the covenant relationship with the Church. Christians choose to come to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. The 'elect' are not the Church, but rather the Jews.

The sense in which Jesus refers to the Church as 'those I have chosen' is in the sense of individual sinners from all nations, including Jews, that come to Him by faith. The purpose of the Tribulation Period, on the other hand, is to bring about Israel's NATIONAL salvation.

"And so ALL Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:" (Romans 11:26)

Of Israel, God says; "For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me." (Isaiah 45:4)

Jesus warned; "And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom HE HATH CHOSEN, he hath shortened the days." (Mark 13:20)

Do you see it? If the days are NOT shortened, Israel will be absorbed, its national Jewish character will be voted out of existence by the proposed Arab majority, and God's Promise will be broken.

Before that can happen, the Man of Sin must come upon the scene and 'confirm the covenant' spoken of in Daniel Chapter nine.

Daniel was told; "Seventy weeks are determined upon THY people and upon THY holy city, to FINISH THE TRANSGRESSION,(accomplished for the Church at the Cross) and to MAKE AND END OF SINS, (accomplished at the 2nd Coming) and to make RECONCILIATION FOR INIQUITY, (Individuals, not national Israel, were reconciled at the Cross) and to BRING IN EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS,(the 2nd Coming) and to SEAL UP THE VISION AND THE PROPHECY, (given to Daniel's people, Israel) and to anoint the most Holy." (which happens when Israel acknowleges their Messiah, 'whom they have pierced' -- [Zechariah 12:10] before He is anointed to rule the Millennial Kingdom from Jerusalem)

The final 'week' -- the 'time of JACOB'S Trouble' is for Israel and NOT the Church.

What does that mean for the Church?

"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)

The closer that Arafat's schemes come to fruition, the closer we get to that Day. For us, the chaos of the global situation remains proof positive that Christ remains on the Throne, and that what terrifies the world is, to the Church, a source of Divine comfort.

It is for this reason that the Omega Letter exists. To prepare those Christians who were called out specifically for these last days to proclaim the good news to a confused and terrified generation of unbelievers and skeptics.

We know WHO we are, even if we don't know exactly WHY we know it. Four hundred years ago, Sir Isaac Newton, (himself a student of prophecy), wrote;

"About the time of the end, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamor and opposition."

Newton wasn't a prophet. Like each of us, however, he studied the prophecies of the last days, and reached that conclusion as the result of his studies.

That is why each of you supports this unique work with your own time and treasure. Because to us, knowing the signs of the times represent a special blessing from God, bestowed upon this generation.

WE are that 'body of men' (and women) 'raised up' by the Sovereign Will of God to that express purpose as foreseen by Newton in the 17th century.

Because we know that we ARE the generation of whom Jesus prophesied; 'This generation shall NOT pass, until ALL these things be fulfilled.' (Matthew 24:34)

"Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

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A Tale of Two Peoples by Hal Lindsey

The Israelites can trace their history back to their founders, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible chronicles their historical attachment to a specific land as the nation of Israel that existed for some fifteen hundred years before they were destroyed by the Romans and scattered all over the world. They remained a distinct race in exile. Against all odds, just as their Prophets predicted would happen in the last days, the Israelites returned and became a nation again in the land of their forefathers. The religion of Judaism is the fundamental reason why the Israelites remained virtually a nation in exile.

The Kurds are also an ancient Indo-European people with their own history, language, and culture that can be traced in history for several thousand years. They are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, numbering between 25 and 30 million worldwide. But they have no modern nation of their own.

Their nation has always been organized into tribes to which they are fiercely loyal. There are approximately 800 tribes that make up the ancient nation of Kurdistan. Each tribe has a few special identifiable cultural habits and dress. In this regard, they are somewhat similar to the clans of the Highland Scots.

The Kurds are a proud nomadic mountain people that are primarily shepherds of goats and sheep. Historic Kurdistan appeared on maps until after World War 1. At one point, it covered 230,000 square miles and stretched across the modern countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Armenia.

Like the Israelites, the continued ethnic existence of the Kurds has caused no end of trouble in the Middle East. Also, like the Israelites, the Kurds have been relentlessly persecuted by the Muslim nations.

But the mystery of this situation is that unlike the Israelites, the Kurds are Muslim. The Arab led Muslims conquered the Kurds in the 7th Century. They have remained Muslims ever since. In fact, one of the most revered Muslim warriors of all time is Saladin, who was a Kurd. He was the one who finally defeated the European Crusaders and drove them out of the Middle East. Almost every Muslim ruler in the Middle East has aspired to be a modern “Saladin.” Yet they horribly mistreat his people.

With the break up of the Turkish Ottoman Empire that had ruled the Middle East for over 400 years, the Allied powers—consisting primarily of Great Britain, France and Italy—carved up the Middle East into new nation-states. They established borders that were oblivious to the ancient tribal lands. As an after thought, they sought to come back and carve out a place for Kurdistan. But with the rise of the Turkish military under Kemal Ataturk, the Treaty of Sevres (1920), which called for creation of Kurdistan, was so vigorously fought that it was not mentioned at the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), which superseded the terms of Treaty of Sevres. This left them a people without a country.

This was the beginning of a long bloody persecution of the Kurds by the Turks, Syrians, Iraqis and Iranians. They all fear a united Kurdistan. The Kurds are natural warriors. Because of this, the Kurds have been relentlessly persecuted, suppressed and rejected as citizens by the nations that sit astride their ancient homelands. Hundreds of thousands of them have been slaughtered.

For example, when the Ayatollah took over Iran in 1979, the Kurds thought they could get an independent state under the rule of the new Muslim government. In stead, the Ayatollahs conducted a murderous campaign of suppression against the Kurds.

In 1988, Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons on them to wipe out whole villages. All males were rounded up and executed. Over 200,000 of them were killed in that year alone.

The U.S. used Kurdish warriors to help them fight the Iraqis in the North in the recent liberation of Iraq. Turkey so feared that the Kurds would be allowed to unite that they threatened to invade Northern Iraq.

The Israelites began to return from all over the world to their ancient homeland in the mid-1800s. They bought land at horribly inflated prices in this region that had come to be known as Palestine. It was a land virtually without people and vegetation. Against all odds they began to reclaim the land that had become a total desolation of eroded rocky hills, arid deserts and malaria ridden swamps.

Because of their success, migrant Muslim workers from surrounding countries began to come and work for the Israelis. But the more successful they became, the more the Muslim clerics became alarmed. They began to sound the battle cry, “The Jews are stealing our land.” With the liberation of the Middle East in World War 1, the Muslim nations began to flood more migrant workers and terrorists into Palestine in order to contest the Jewish presence. The declaration of the State of Israel in 1948 became the final insult.

The United Arab armies of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Libya ordered all of the migrant workers in Palestine to leave until they drove the Israelis into the sea. They were promised that it would only be a few weeks until they could return and take over all the hated Jews had built.

Again, against all odds, the rag-tag, poorly equipped Israelis defeated their combined armies. One of the biggest lies of history is that these former migrant workers are somehow an ancient people with centuries of ties to the land of Palestine. There has never been a Palestinian race, people or nation.

When Jordan controlled the so called West Bank and Egypt controlled Gaza from 1948 to 1967, there was never any thought of giving the “Palestinians” a state. It is because these Muslim nations knew the truth—they are not an historic people to whom the land belonged.

On the other hand, the “Palestinian” people have been horribly mistreated by their fellow Muslims who use them as pawns in their effort to obliterate the nation of Israel.

Here is another mystery of the Middle East. The Muslims have ostensibly fought five wars to liberate Palestine. They have even lately said they want to restore the land to the “Palestinians” now that it fits their plan to use Western powers to help extract land from Israel through negotiations.

But the question I have is this, if the Muslim nations are so concerned about the rights of their fellow Muslim “Palestinians”, why are they not equally concerned about their Muslim brother Kurds? They have a true ancient history of being a people with and a specific country on well known lands.

It is transparent that it isn’t about fighting for the rights of Muslim brothers. It is about fighting for their own selfish interest against the Israelis and the Kurds. And the “Palestinians” are only a cause of convenience that currently serves their purpose.
 

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Secular Humanism and the "Death of God" - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

Secular Humanism is a religion -- the Supreme Court says so. In 1947, Harold Rafton wrote the following definition of a secular humanist:

"I propose to meet the issue squarely...by fostering humanism, a rationalistic religion based on science, centered on man, rejecting supernaturalism but retaining our cherished moral values." (“Released Time and Democracy” The Humanist Spring 1947 pg 294 cited in “Understanding the Times” David A. Noebel, Harvest House Publishers)

"The American Humanist Association “certifies humanist counselors who enjoy the same legal status as ordained priests, pastors and rabbis.”" (“Understanding the Times” David A. Noebel, Harvest House Publishers)

Humanism is not only accepted as a religion with full religious 501(c)(3) tax exemptions, but the Supreme Court upheld Daniel Seeger’s right to claim conscientious objector status exempting him from military service because of his religious beliefs. His ‘religious belief’ cited before the court was secular humanism.

Secular humanism is the only religious belief that can legally be taught in American schools. The slippery slope of Constitutional interpretation that reads 'freedom of religion' (a phrase not found anywhere in the US Constitution) as meaning 'freedom from religion' began with the case of McCollum v the Board of Education.

Humanist teachers recognize the potential for converts among the young and impressionable minds of students. They are careful to disguise their religious beliefs as ‘science’ teaching the ‘theory’ of evolution as ‘fact’ despite the total absence of any conclusive evidence to support it.

In 1948, the theory of evolution received two major boosts. The first was the introduction of the ‘Big Bang Theory’ that provided a pseudo-scientific explanation for the origin of the universe. Prior to the development of the so called ‘Big Bang’, evolutionists still had a major unexplained problem. Although they came up with explanations for the earth; (a spinning ball of magnetically charged particles that stuck together was one such;) and for life on earth (evolution or ‘natural selection) there was still no explanation for where the universe itself came from -- apart from an Intelligent Creator.

Still, there remained another problem. How to get this new ‘scientific’ information before the young impressionable students in American schools. Many students still believed in God, and often the school day began with a prayer to Him. Educators were faced with the problem of officially acknowledging a Creator at 9 am, then trashing Him for the rest of the school day.

The Supreme Court settled that issue in a decision entitled McCollum v. Board of Education, 1948, and further established it as a matter of law in the case of Zorach v. Clauson, 1952. They found in public schools a period of silence may be observed in which children may pray if they wish, but the schools may not conduct devotional exercises, compose prayers, read the Bible, or otherwise enter the field of religious instruction.

That was interpreted to mean acknowledging any Divine Hand in the creation of the Universe or its contents was “entering the field of religious instruction.”

It is interesting to note than in 1948, when God was still allowed to enter the classroom, the American students were among the best educated in the world. We now sit dead last. SAT scores fell so low the Supreme Court ruled the grading system “unconstitutional.” Students were ordered to be graded on a sliding curve.

The very next year, SAT scores skyrocketed! An educational miracle! On the other hand, American students rank #1 in self esteem! As David Barton put it in a lecture last year, “We may be stupid, but we feel good about it.”

Also, in 1948, the number one student problem cited by teachers was talking in class, closely followed by children chewing gum in class. Today, it’s guns in the classroom, followed closely by assault on teachers.

Evolution - A New Religion

The very word ‘theory’ means “An assumption based on limited information or knowledge; a conjecture” but it is illegal in the United States to teach any other explanation dealing with the origins of life. Even the ‘abrupt appearance’ theory, without the mention of God is forbidden, despite the fact the abrupt appearance theory has far fewer flaws than does evolution.

For example, a belief in ‘scientific evolution’ requires a suspension of the provable, immutable natural law known as the “2nd Law of Thermodynamics.” The laws of thermodynamics can no more be repealed than can the law of gravity, yet our children are taught one has no bearing on the other.

The 2nd law of thermodynamics incorporates the law of ‘entropy’ -- the measurable, systematic breakdown of all things into their component elements.

In other words, the fact everything ages, and everything breaks down with age. Even communications. The concept of entropy also plays an important part in the modern discipline of information theory, in which it denotes the tendency of communications to become confused by noise or static. The American mathematician Claude E. Shannon first used the term for this purpose in 1948.

Entropy is a natural law that can be observed, without scientific instruments or double-talk. A beautifully landscaped park, left untended, becomes an overgrowth of weeds. A new car left parked and untended gets rusty and falls apart. A baby becomes an old person and dies.

Everything decays, eventually. Even earth’s orbit around the sun has a measurable decay factor -- yet evolution teaches that -- with the addition of a billion or so years, the exact opposite happens! Evolution is a made-up explanation, constantly under revision, to explain the unexplainable -- apart from the existence of God.

Assessment:

The above is from a book I wrote more than ten years ago. Add a bit about gay schools, Islam in schools, etc., and the picture comes sharply into focus.

"When you see these things BEGIN to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28)

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What Are They Smoking in Washington? - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

According to the Washington Times, the Bush administration has begun issuing grants to help spread a United Nations-sponsored school program that aims to become a "universal curriculum" for teaching global citizenship, peace studies and equality of world cultures.

The plan is to teach "a set of culturally neutral universal values to which all people aspire," based on human rights, equality of the sexes and "open-mindedness to change and obligation to environmental protection and sustainable development."

The US Department of Education has already issued its first grant, worth $1.2 million dollars to this mad plan. It will implement the European-based International Baccalaureate (IB) program in middle schools in low income school districts.

According to the Education Secretary, the impetus behind the idea was the September 11 attacks in New York Pennsylvania and Washington.

"We are ever mindful of the lessons of September 11, one of which is that all future measures of a rigorous K-12 education must include a solid grounding in other cultures, other languages and other histories. . In other words, we need to put the 'world' back into 'world-class' education," says Education Secretary Ron Paige.

A former Reagan official quoted by the Times said, in a case of massive understatement, that he was a 'wee bit put off' by the idea. Just a wee bit?

One of Bush's education advisers was more to the point, calling it an 'educator fad' while a member of the National Science Foundation pointed out that the IB was championed by 'hard left leaners.' It was developed by the Europeans -- it could be nothing else but.

The IB curriculum is already in use in 502 schools in the United States, and costs an estimated $85 million to $100 million extra, over and above teacher's salaries and other expenses.

Students in the program are tested and all tests and written papers are graded by IB officials in Europe. An IB regulation says those tests and papers become the 'absolute property' of the Geneve-based organization.

Ian Hill, deputy director-general of the IBO, told a 2001 conference convened by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research that, "Teachers were concerned about the inappropriateness of national curricula for providing a truly global dimension and international experience in the academic program."

Assessment:

The program is part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Here are a few of UNESCO's Declarations of Principles that are being taught to American children.

"Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures.... It is not only a moral duty, it is also a political and legal requirement." 'Tolerance' is 'acceptance'?

Here's a dictionary definition of 'acceptance' for you to consider while you re-read UNESCO's principle of 'tolerance'. "The act of accepting; a receiving what is offered, with approbation, satisfaction, or acquiescence; esp., favorable reception; approval. . ."

Consider some of the world's rich 'cultural diversity'. Islam teaches that women are little better than slaves. Infidels are to be converted or killed. Israel is a nation of 'monkeys and pigs' and America is the 'Great Satan'.

UNESCO says of 'tolerance' "Tolerance ... upholds human rights, pluralism..... It involves the rejection of dogmatism and absolutism...."

This would be a good place to point out that the only majority voting bloc in the UN General Assembly is the Islamic bloc. There are fifty-seven members of the Organization of Islamic states that vote as one in the General Assembly.

The only Christian nation at the UN is the United States, and the only Jewish member is Israel. Guess which states will be viewed by the GA as 'intolerant'?

'Dogmatism' would include the religious dogma that Jesus is the only way to heaven. 'Absolutism' means there are fundamental, absolute definitions for what is right and what is wrong.

"Tolerance promotion and the shaping of attitudes of openness, mutual listening and solidarity should take place in schools and universities and through non-formal education, at home and in the workplace. The communication media are in a position to play a constructive role ... and highlighting the dangers of indifference towards the rise in intolerant groups and ideologies."

According to UNESCO, then, the way to achieve tolerance is to use the media (propaganda) and the schools (indoctrination) according to the UN's 'universal principles'. Does that include using the media and schools to teach that Israel is a 'racist' state that should be given to the 'indigenous Palestinian people'? Or that the Christianity is but one of many ways to God?

It would seem so, since the UNESCO principles of tolerance require schools to , "promote systematic and rational tolerance teaching methods that will address the cultural, social, economic, political and religious sources of intolerance - major roots of violence and exclusion...."

By this definition, the Bible is the most intolerant religious source known to mankind. It says that "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." (John 14:6)

In a New York Times article called "The Real War," by Thomas Friedman, he writes, "We're fighting to defeat an ideology: religious totalitarianism. . . a view of the world that my faith must reign supreme and can be affirmed and held passionately only if all others are negated.... and so, "The opposite of religious totalitarianism is an ideology of pluralism -- an ideology that embraces religious diversity and the idea that my faith can be nurtured without claiming exclusive truth."

Christians that accept the basic principles of Christianity are, according to this worldview, 'religious totatalitarianists' and therefore, the enemy. Evangelizing the lost is evidence of intolerance. And tolerance, according to UNESCO, is a 'legal and political requirement.'

UNESECO published 10-part series for teachers in 1949, under the title 'Toward World Understanding'.

According to that series, 'one of the chief aims of education today should be to prepare boys and girls to take an active part in the creation of a world society. ...' But government schools must stamp out love of country and the family must be viewed as the enemy: 'As long as the child breathes the poisoned air of nationalism, education in world-mindedness can produce only rather precarious results. As we have pointed out, it is frequently the family that infects the child with extreme nationalism. The school should therefore use the means described earlier to combat family attitudes that favor 'jingoism'.

In other words, love of country is 'jingoism'. Families 'infect' children by teaching their family values.

President Bush cited as his reason for rejoining UNESCO his contention that the organization has 'reformed'.

UNESCO proposed adoption of the New World Information Order (NWIO). Under the Orwellian NWIO scheme, UNESCO proposed to license and control all journalists, broadcasters, and media personnel worldwide — the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights notwithstanding.

UNESCO is fully supportive of the United Nations’ Population Fund (UNFPA) in its assistance to China’s brutal coercive population control program. UNESCO, under the guidance of former Soviet dictator Mikhail Gorbachev, is still dedicated to a Marxist world order.

UNESCO authored The World Declaration on Education for All, and The Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs.

UNESCO authored the Earth Charter which plans to 'transform humanity', using a new 'Global Ethic' to replace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a new 'Sixteen Principles' to replace the Ten Commandments.

Earth Scouts, a new national youth program, was launched last year "based on the Earth Charter: A Declaration of INTERdependence," with badges for the Charter’s 16 principles.

Writes William Jasper in the 'New American' magazine, "Although children are not allowed to pray in the government schools to the one true God who made the cosmos and everything in it (including our planet), they are being encouraged, under the new "global spirituality," to adopt the pagan religions of indigenous cultures and to worship the Earth itself. The UN-appointed high priest of the new Earth cult, Mr. Gorbachev, has declared his creed: 'Cosmos is my God; Nature is my God.' "

The Bible says that in the last days, a global government will come on the scene. Eventually, it will be taken over by a single leader whom Scripture calls the antichrist.

According to Daniel, he "shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not " (Daniel 11:38) That global government, says Daniel, will arise out of the revived Roman Empire (modern Europe -- author of the IB program).

Scripture says he will set into motion a new Holocaust, targeting both Jews and the Tribulation saints -- in the name of 'tolerance'. None of this seemed possible fifty years ago.

Today -- right now -- in 2004, the only thing missing from the Biblical description is the man of sin himself.
 

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Hate to say 'I told you so ...' - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com

The United States has "unsigned' the 1998 Rome Treaty that would put America under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court treaty that Bill Clinton signed on Dec. 31, 2000.

The Bush administration took the unprecedented step of "unsigning" an international treaty because, well, simply put, it doesn't trust the international community. Dubbed the "Rome Treaty," it puts signatory nations under the jurisdiction of the International Court at the Hague, grants ICC prosecutors extraordinary powers and grants ICC officials lifetime immunity.

The Rome Treaty would give the ICC the right to review U.S. court decisions and re-try individuals if the ICC determines decisions "were not conducted independently or impartially," or were for the purpose of "shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility."

The ICC also does away with rights granted Americans under the Constitution, like the right to confront one's accusers, due process, trial by jury, a public and speedy trial by an impartial jury, and protection from cruel and unusual punishments. So Bush "unsigned" it.

The Bush administration's "unsigning" of the treaty signed by Bill Clinton in the final days of his presidency caused the global elitists to choke on their caviar as they rushed to condemn the administration of "bad faith" in overturning the will of Bill Clinton.

The jurisdiction granted under the Rome Treaty to the ICC would put every U.S. serviceman and woman at risk. Even U.S. travelers, especially if they are or have been public officials, would be at risk of being grabbed for trial by judges from Sierra Leone, Sudan, Iran and other nations who will supply the ICC's international "judges."

The Rome Treaty says the ICC is accountable to no one, not even to the United Nations, whose charter recognizes the sovereignty of nation-states and where we have our Security Council veto.

The United States said it won't place itself under the ICC's jurisdiction, even though other democracies – like Great Britain – already have. The ICC has already been ratified by more than 60 nations.

And now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Eight international lawyers, – plus law professors from Britain, Ireland, France and Canada – are building a case before the ICC, charging Great Britain and the United States with "war crimes." They plan to turn it over to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo next month in the Hague.

From there, Moreno-Ocampo is expected to question Lord Goldsmith, the United Kingdom's attorney general, and Secretary of Defense Geoff Hoon. According to Britain's U.K. Independent, "... if he concludes that a prosecution has a "reasonable prospect of success," the case will go before the pre-trial chamber of the court, which has the power to try individuals and governments for war crimes. From there, it goes to a "full inquiry." A full inquiry could mean that British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his senior ministers could be called to face charges.

The British "war crimes" reportedly arise from its use of some 70 cluster bombs, each of which contained 17 "bomblets," as well as its use of artillery shells that also contained bomblets. In other words, they used weapons of war to conduct a war and fought to win. Under ICC rules, that is evidently a war crime.

The group compiling the war crimes accusations, called Peacerights, is also accusing the coalition of "stifling" the media for the way it dealt with such bastions of journalistic excellence as al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV.

A recent report from Human Rights Watch says that an estimated 1,000 Iraqi civilians were either killed or wounded by cluster bombs. That is out of a total of 13,000 cluster bombs used by the British and the United States during the war.

Doing the math, that means for every person wounded or killed, it took 13 of those cluster bombs to do it. Not very efficient, for war criminals. (Saddam was able to kill that many using only a thousand bullets.)

Following the ICC's definition of war crimes, all parties to World War II were war criminals. In World War II, enemy propagandists were war criminals. Now, they are victims. Enemy soldiers who committed genocide against their own people – and against the people they conquered – were war criminals. Now they are victims.

But thanks to the foresight of the current administration, the ICC has no jurisdiction over U.S. servicemen or the U.S. officials who prosecuted the war. Just over the British who thought, "Gee, what a great idea!" when it was presented to them.

I told you so

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Toward a 'Multipolar World Order' - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

Jacques Chirac has a new best friend. Chinese president Hu Jintao arrived in France on January 27 for an ambitious official 4-day visit. Hu is to meet with Chirac to sign a new bilateral agreement, before visiting the Eiffel Tower and the Toulouse Airbus factories.

Also on the agenda is his planned address to the National Assembly of the French Parliament and meetings with French businessmen interested in investing in China.

Hu's visit was timed to coincide with the anniversary of French recognition of Mao Tse Tung's People's Republic of China. Until the French broke the ice, Mao's government was internationally isolated, and Chiang Kai Shek's government-in-exile on the island of Tawian was internationally recognized as the only legal representative of the Chinese people.

The visit is another in a series of efforts by Chirac to develop a grouping of powerful nations that will counter-balance what Chirac views as the threat posed by US global supremacy.

Chirac has a pet name for the status quo. Chirac has been the chief critic of what he calls the 'unipolar' world since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the United States as the only global super-power. Chirac envisions a multinational superpower, led by France, to restore 'balance' through his 'multipolar' global vision.

French Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Hervé Ladsous, said that such a “convergence of visions” for a multipolar world is even stronger after the war in Iraq. France aims at strengthening its own economic investments in China, Hervé Ladsous referring to investments in the television and DVD industries and nuclear plants.

On the other hand China is looking for support for its new investments, new technology, environmental protection, cooperation in defeating Sars, the fight against crime and illegal immigration. France is an important intermediary for China’s relations with the European Union.

French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, met with other EU ministers to lift the arms embargo imposed on China as soon as possible. The embargo was set after the events of Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Last December, the European Parliament voted down Beijing’s request by passing a resolution on the issue. In it the European Parliament decided to keep the embargo, due to insufficient guarantees in terms of China’s human rights violations and threats made against Taiwan.

Germany also agreed with France to lift the embargo.

French authorities gave Hu Jintao “a royal welcome”, decorating the Eiffel Tower in red, criticizing Taiwan and keeping the special guest away from embarrassing situations concerning human rights issues. Figures considered “unwelcome” in Beijing were not present at the “Year of China in France” cultural event.

Figures like Francis Perrin, president of Amnesty International-France. He 'embarrassed' China by criticizing China's total disregard for human rights. He called for "consistency. . . between words and actions. French politicians often remind us that France is the home of human rights. The least they can do is face the issue of human rights of China.”

That made Perrin an embarrassment to both the visiting Chinese premiere, and to Jacques Chirac, who prefers to revise his history on the fly.

Beijing routinely blocks web sights, employs capital punishment for political crimes, as well as other human rights violations, like the oppression of minorities, the country's arrest and imprisonment of dissidents, and forced abortions and sterilizations as part of China's 'one child' policy.

Assessment:

France's dream of a French-led multi-polar world isn't just a Gaullist pipe-dream. In an Aug. 25 speech, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin called for a "new world organization" to replace the United Nations as it is currently structured.

At an annual conference in Paris bringing together 200 top French diplomats and Foreign Ministry officials, de Villepin reiterated his view that the United States must cede power to a new "collective-security" organization.

"[B]uilding a new world, founding a new order" was "urgent," he insisted, "an immense task that is incumbent upon us." It was France's role to lead Europe to become "one of the founding pillars" of the new system, he said.

The new collective-security system should be "founded on collective responsibility and world democracy," de Villepin said. In particular, he said that France was now looking favorably to the idea of enlarging membership of the U.N. Security Council and vesting it with expanded powers.

While he provided no specifics in his speech, aides later said that he believed Germany, Japan, India, Brazil and a major African power such as Nigeria all should be given permanent seats on the council, along with veto power over all Security Council resolutions, including those authorizing the use of force.

In a direct dig at the Bush administration, de Villepin insisted that no nation should be allowed to use force, even in the defense of its own interests, without specific approval from the Security Council.

"Using force is often tempting," he said, but "can only be justified if collective security or urgent humanitarian needs require it." Force must be "a last resort," and "only when the international community, through the Security Council, decides."

The French seldom ask for Security Council approval when it intervenes militarily in Africa, and in 1999 had no problem in joining a NATO coalition that bypassed the United Nations.

But when the United States assembled a "coalition of the willing" to oust Saddam Hussein, after France blocked U.S. efforts to win U.N. support that was "unacceptable." That's the French view of 'multipolar' -- do as I say, not as I do.

It isn't much different, really, than the US in this regard; with the exception that the French don't have the military might to back it up. Hence the drive to create a little global 'kingdom' led by King Jacques the first, who can mobilize his 'partners' who now include the EU, the Russians and the Chinese.

Dominique de Villepin said that no country should take umbrage at the French insistence on a new "multipolar" world order.

Sweeping aside the record of his own diplomacy, de Villepin said, "[T]he French vision of multipolarity does not aim at organizing rivalry or competition, but responsibility, stability and initiative." (Baloney, but it sounds good when he says it in French).

De Villepin hinted in recent speeches that France is gearing up for a new showdown with the United States and Britain over Iraq, this time disguised as an effort to transfer authority for the post-war military occupation from the United States to the United Nations.

"The new structures that eventually will be put in place cannot be simply an enlargement or adjustment of the current occupation forces. Instead, we must put in place a veritable international force under a U.N. Security Council mandate," he said.

Last June, US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice dismissed Chirac's vision of 'multipolarity' saying, "Multipolarity was never a unifying idea or vision... it was a necessary evil that sustained the essence of war but did not promote peace. Multipolarity is a theory of rivalry, of competing interests and, at its very worst, of competing values. We tried it before... it led to the Great War, to the Second World War and to the Cold War. Why should we try to divide ourselves?" Rice asked. "Only the enemies of freedom would cheer these divisions."

Why, indeed? For students of Bible prophecy, the answer is simple. Because that is the way God said things would develop as we get closer to the End of Days. The Russian newspaper, Pravda, dubbed the French vision a 'Multipolar World Order' -- evidently since the 'New World Order' thing never fully panned out.

The partners enlisted by France to create this 'Multipolar World Order' are interesting, to say the least. Let's look at an overview of the situation.

The French have pretty much taken over the core of the European superstate, exerting supremacy through the 10-nation Western European Alliance.

"In November 1988, a Protocol of Accession was signed by the WEU Member States with Portugal and Spain. The ratification process was completed in March 1990. Greece followed a similar process in 1992 and 1995 thus bringing the total WEU membership to 10. The transfer of the crisis management functions to the European Union has had no impact on WEU membership." - from the WEU website, http://www.weu.int/WEU_today.htm

The prophet Daniel predicted in the last days that a revived form of the old Roman Empire would be restored. (Daniel 9:26) Daniel characterized it as 'partly strong and partly week, like iron mixed with miry clay'. (Daniel 2:42-43).

The prophet Ezekiel predicted the rise of Gog and Magog (modern Russia) and says that, at some point during the 'latter times' it would ally itself with the Islamic nations of Persia (Iran) Libya, the North African Muslim states and Eastern Europe.

("Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee." - Ezekiel 38:6)

Currently, Israel is embroiled in a legal battle with the European-led World Court at The Hague, as well as with the United Nations, Russia and the Muslim world over the construction of what they call "Israel's apartheid wall."

Ezekiel foretold a time when the Gog Magog alliance will think 'an evil thought' "And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates." (Ezekiel 38:10b, 11)

The target will be Israel. "And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel. . ." (Ezekiel 38:16) Israel is also embroiled in a war of words with the United Nations, the Muslim world, the WEU and Russia over an ever-increasing level of anti-Semitism.

The Apostle John recorded in the Book of the Revelation that, out of this grand alliance will rise a leader, "having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."

(Although now unoffically dubbed the 'Group of Eight' the G-7 only invited Russia as an 'observer only' to give Russian pride a boost following the USSR's ignominious collapse. Russia's economy is in shambles and it is the Group of Seven (plus one) that sets the global economic agenda -- so both the 'ten crowns' and 'seven heads' are ALREADY in existence). (ref: http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/history/A0821954.html)

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)

The Apostle John also references a powerful army of two hundred million men (approximately the population of the known world in his time) that will march westward under the banner of the 'Kings of the East.' (Revelation 9:16, 16:12)

Chirac's vision of a 'multipolar world' mirrors the Bible's overview of the last days. Indeed, the only obstacle in his path is the United States of America -- the currently global superpower, but curiously, the only player in the current global drama not specifically mentioned in Bible prophecy.

It all began with the restoration of Israel (the 'fig tree') in 1948. 1948 was the year the Cold War officially began with Moscow's Berliner Blockade that first pitted the US against the USSR in a forty-year conflict of competing ideologies. The embryonic Western European Alliance was born out of the 1948 Benelux Treaty.

China's division into mainline China and the People's Republic of Taiwan occurred after Communist control of Manchuria was realized with the capture of Shenyang (Mukden) in Nov. 1948. The division of the Koreas and the birth of the North Korean Stalinist state took place in 1948.

So too, did the majority of the documents that set the stage for the efforts to build a global government, including the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the Venice Genocide Treaty (1948), the World Council of Churches (1948), the Venice Agreement on Treaties (1948) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1948), which has since grown into the World Trade Organization.

The players are all now on stage, awaiting their cues.

Jesus said, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall NOT pass, till ALL these things be done." (Mark 13:28-30)

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Who Is Banning Books Now? - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com

CNN reported, “A new book offering a non-evolutionist view of how the Grand Canyon was formed, featuring essays from 23 scientists (most with PhD's, many having conducted serious geological scientific research at the Canyon), is the object of an intense book-banning effort by leading evolutionists. They have demanded that Grand Canyon National Park remove the book, Grand Canyon: A Different View, from bookstores within the Park.

The book, which claims the famous area can be no older than a few thousand years (contrary to the claims of traditional secular science, which contends the canyon is millions of years old), was unanimously approved by a panel of park and gift shop personnel, the Los Angeles Times reported.”

CNN reported that the National Park Service (NPS) in Washington, D.C. is “preparing to draft a letter telling Grand Canyon administrators the book makes claims that fall outside accepted science... so it likely won’t be restocked.” Meanwhile, an NPS spokesman has confirmed that the book has been moved from the natural sciences section of the bookstore to an ‘inspirational’ one (which would thus downplay the book’s legitimate scientific message).

What is this if it is not blatant censorship? The Evolutionists have formed what amounts to a ‘cartel’ of influential liberals and agnostics who are bent upon silencing all challenges.

On the basis of elaborate non-proven theories, the Evolution Cartel now protects itself from scientific challenge by banning all books that don’t agree with their arrogant claims, which are fundamentally based on enormous assumptions that are then supported by circular reasoning.

Evolution Cartel Out of Step with Majority

According to recent poles, at least half of Americans believe in a recent “creation” of no more than 10,000 years. Some of the greatest names in science are among those who believe in recent creation.

In the 1960’s, I had the privilege of leading a scientist from the Rocketdyne Propulsion Laboratories to faith in Jesus Christ. Charles Morse then spent the rest of his life studying the Biblical account of creation and the universal flood.

Using some the world's most sophisticated computers, he set up models from scientific information that established a global flood had to have taken place.

From these models, he was able to interpret the geological records in scientific terms so that they supported a recent creation.

Evidence to Consider

Since Morse had been a naval officer in WW2, he had studied and had access to scientific oceanography data. This included the ‘mid-oceanic ridges’ with deep trenches traversing their length. These ridges extend along the length of all earth’s ocean. He also learned about the ‘river cones’, which are underwater river channels that extend along the ocean floor for over a hundred miles out from the mouth of every great river in the world.

Morse found that the Evolutionist’s explanation of the ‘river cones’ could never work. Evolutionists contend that the ‘river cones’ were etched into the ocean floor by slow moving currents that etched them out over ‘millions of years’.

(Whenever evolutionists are stuck for an explanation, they always seem to think that adding a few million more years solves everything.) But this could not explain how the underwater channels were formed.

These so called river cones are literally extensions of the rivers on the ocean floor. Only water moving at tremendous velocity would have the ability to carry the large rocks necessary to etch out such deep trenches on a line continuing out from the river on the ocean floor.

The same thing is true concerning the phenomenon of the Grand Canyon. If these were formed by slow moving currents over millions of years, why has this not taken place in other places where the rivers are about the same age?

Rivers such as Mississippi, Nile, Amazon, Euphrates, etc., should have produced similar phenomena. If the Grand Canyon is millions of years old, why has there not been more erosion of the steep cliffs?

The Biblical account of a universal flood better explains the geological phenomena of the Grand Canyon than does the evolutionist theory. If there was a universal flood, and it was caused to drain of the land rapidly as the Biblical account declares, then there would have been enormous amounts of water draining off at terrific velocity.

This would easily form the rivers and canyons we see today. And most important, it would also explain how the river cones were formed out from the mouth of every river into the ocean floor.

The fossil record is also explained best this way. Why do we find fossilized fish at the top of mountains all over the world? Why do we find evidence of sea life on land areas the world over?

Where Did The Water Come From?

Morse also dealt with the question of where the tremendous volume of water came from that would be needed to cover all the land mass of the planet.

The Bible says, “In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:11-12 NIV)

Morse observed that there could not have been enough water stored in the atmosphere to cover the whole earth. Most of the water came from what the Bible called “the springs of the great deep…” This is where the “mid-oceanic trenches” come in.

There is evidence that there were tremendously violent eruptions that took place in these Great fractures of the earth’s tectonic plates. There is also radioactivity coming from these areas. Morse reasons from the evidence that God used some kind of nuclear reaction to burst open the great fountains of the deep and release the water stored there.

Then Morse dealt with the problem of how that much water could be removed from the land masses of the earth. The geological evidence supports that God caused enormous forces under the continental plates to erupt and force them to rise upward. This caused the water to drain off with violent velocity.

This gives the best explanation of the evidence as to how the rivers, mountains and canyons were formed. The water velocity had the carrying power and force to move great rocks so as to quickly etch out what we see today.

In the final analysis, whether you are an evolutionist or a creationist, it takes faith to come to a conclusion about how the earth was created and formed.

I believe in creation because the God I worship has the power to do any of these things. And it explains the scientifically available fact better than the evolutionist theory.

Even Darwin Found a Better Way

As a matter of fact, even Charles Darwin came to that conclusion before he died. According to Frank Charles Thompson, God used the wife of the First Admiral of the British fleet to reach Charles Darwin with the Gospel. Here is what he reported:

“God used Lady Hope, wife of the first admiral of the British Fleet, to reach Charles Darwin with the Gospel during the last years of his life. He was bedridden, and she would often visit him. One afternoon, as he was reading this Bible, she asked, “What are you studying now?” “Still Hebrews,” he replied. “I call it the royal book. Isn’t it grand?”

When she mentioned how popular his theory of evolution had become he gave her an anguished look and said, “I was a young man then, with uninformed ideas. I thought out queries and suggestions, wondering all the time … and to my astonishment, those ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion out of them."

Later Darwin asked Lady Hope if she would share the Word of God with some of his friends in his summerhouse. She asked, “What shall I speak about?” He replied, “Jesus Christ and His salvation. Is that not the best theme?”

Dr. Victor Pierce, an Oxford scholar, says, “When some one tells you evolution explains everything, tell them that Darwin discovered a better theme — “Jesus Christ and His salvation.”

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The Temple Mount crisis - Hal Lindsey - www.hallindsey.com

According to the Bible, in the last days, several events regarding Israel would occur in a particular order in a short time frame.

The first, of course, would be the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland of Israel. "Say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and I will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land ..." (Ezekiel 37:21, New American Standard)

The second, the Jews would regain sovereign control over Jerusalem. The following verse necessitates that they would do this as the times of Gentiles drew to a close: "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Luke 21:24, New King James)

The rebirth of the state of Israel and the recapture of Jerusalem signal that the times of gentile world dominance is coming to a close, according to the Bible.

Following on the heels of these events, the Bible says the Jews will rebuild their ancient Temple on the exact same place where it stood until destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70. Several prophecies speak of the Temple and the reinstitution of Mosaic ceremonies. According to the Law of Moses, these can only be practiced in a Temple restored to its original foundation.

Paul writes to the Thessalonians concerning a very important event the Antichrist will perform in the Temple shortly before Christ's return. He writes, "Who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the TEMPLE OF GOD, displaying himself as being God." (2 Thessalonians 2:4 NAS) This also necessitates that there be a Temple rebuilt on its ancient site in Jerusalem.

While the Jews have returned to their homeland, and have been in possession of their holy city since 1967, the Temple Mount is dominated by the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosques. Muslims claim the entire Temple Mount as their third-holiest site.

The mosques have stood there for 1,400 years. But the Bible predicts that, in the last days, the spot will again be occupied by a Jewish Temple. Unthinkable?

Of course, the restoration of the Jews to the Land of Promise was unthinkable for centuries. Who could have dreamed in 1944 that four years later the Jews would have a state in their ancient homeland? Impossible! It certainly seemed so at the time. The world was just learning of the massacre of 6 million Jews in German concentration camps.

But against all odds, in 1948, the Jews, having existed for centuries without country, land or flag, declared the existence of the state of Israel. This was the most important single fulfillment of prophecy concerning the last days. It set in motion the whole scenario of predicted events.

The Jews brought to this new nation a culture unchanged by thousands of years of being scattered. Hebrew was resurrected as the official language of Israel  even though it had been a dead language for nearly 20 centuries.

They restored the land, changed the climate and created a garden spot out of an utterly desolate Middle Eastern desert.

Then, again against impossible odds, they won four wars aimed at their annihilation. In the process of winning the third one, they recaptured their holy city of Jerusalem.

But the Muslim Waqf retains religious authority over the Temple Mount. Still, the Bible says that eventually, somehow, during the generation that saw the first two fulfillments, Israel and Jerusalem, will also see the third fulfilled, a Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.

Following a moderate earthquake and a weekend snowstorm, the walkway leading to the Temple Mount from the Old City collapsed.

This news follows the news of the bulge in the southern Wall of the Temple Mount, which forms one of the outside walls of the Old City.

Israeli archeologists have repeatedly warned that the retaining walls and understructure of the Temple Mount have been so weakened by unauthorized Muslim excavations that they are in danger of a catastrophic collapse.

The Israelis have offered to do the work, but have been rejected out of hand.

No matter what happens, Israel will get blamed. If the wall collapses completely, Israel will be blamed for not fixing it. If Israel tries to fix it, it will be accused of tampering with an Islamic holy site. Most religious authorities realize that a collapse could trigger apocalyptic events.

But despite all of these circumstances, the Bible predicts that Israel will soon rebuild its Temple on its ancient site. Again I ask: Impossible?

In the light of all the prophecies that have been fulfilled in this land in the last 50 years  all of which were considered equally impossible  I believe the Temple will soon be built.

related links:The Temple Mount Faithful Movement Sent a Letter to the Pope Demanding the Immediate Return to Israel of the Temple Menorah, Vessels and Treasure

The Godly Prophetic End-Time Promises of G–d to Israel About an Earthquake Which Will Remove the Foreign Pagan Houses of Worship on the Temple Mount Continues to be Fulfiled

• Collapse of embankment near Western Wall shows danger facing Temple Mount

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The Amazing Accuracy of Ezekiel - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

"And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I
will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them
dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates. . (Ezekiel
38:11)

Some two hundred years after the political subdivision called the
'Kingdom of Israel' was destroyed by Sargon II, the prophet Ezekiel
from the Southern Kingdom of Judah wrote from exile in Babylon.

When Sargon destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, he did what
conquerors did in those days; he transplanted the population of Israel
to elsewhere in the Assyrian Empire, and then relocated elements of
other subjugated people in their place.

The purpose of this was to keep the populations docile. A people
without a land have little to fight for. After a generation or two,
they assimilate, and the new land becomes their land.

This is how the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel were lost to history, and
from the beginning of the 7th century BC, there was no place left in
the world called Israel.

The surviving kingdom of Judah, known as Jews, was captured and
partially assimilated by the Babylonians in the mid 5th century BC.
They survived their captivity in Babylon, and later, the
Medo-Persians, only because they were allowed to return to their own
land by Artaxerxes.

In Ezekiel's day, there was no place called 'Israel', had not BEEN a
place called 'Israel' for 150 years, would not be another place called
'Israel' for 2,520 years, and besides, Ezekiel was a Jew from Judah.

But Ezekiel's prophetic writings are filled with references to a
future place called 'Israel', one that he describes as "the people
that are gathered out of the nations" (38:12) and then further
describes as "my people of Israel" (38:18)

Ezekiel wrote of Israel's regathering in the last days. In Ezekiel 37,
the prophet is shown a valley of dry bones. Those dry bones, the Lord
explains, are the "whole house of Israel"(37:11) that the Lord says
would be restored in the last days.

Six hundred years BEFORE the remaining Jews of Israel were scattered
by the Romans, the Lord told Ezekiel of their regathering in the last
days.

"Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen,
whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring
them into their own land; And I will make them one nation in the land
upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all:
and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided
into two kingdoms any more at all." (Ezekiel 37:21-22)

The fulfillment of this prophecy could not be more obvious. The Jews
of the Diaspora have indeed 'come from among the heathen' from 'every
side and returned to the Promised Land.

In 1897, the first Zionist Congress petitioned the British Crown to
allow the ingathering Jews to set up a state in what was the British
colony of Uganda. At the time, Palestine was in the hands of the
Muslim Ottoman Empire. The British told them they should ask the
Ottomans to let them have their historical homeland and turned the
Uganda request down.

Ezekiel prophesied that the regathering of Israel would be on their
own land, "mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it
is brought forth out of the nations" (38:8)

Abba Ebban, one of Israel's Founding Fathers, wrote in his book,
'Personal Witness' that, right up until the last moment before issuing
their 1948 Declaration of Statehood, they were quibbling about what to
name the new Jewish State.

Some liked 'Zion' others 'Judea' -- and it was only at the last
minute, AFTER ben-Gurion had already requested the new state be
recognized by Washington, that they decided on the name 'Israel'.

Ezekiel foretold all this two and one half millennia before it
happened. He said his prophecy was for "the latter days." (38:16)

Assessment:

It is worth noting again that building moats and walls to protect
against invaders was a common strategic option in Ezekiel's day. For
that reason, Ezekiel's reference to a 'land of unwalled villages' was
generally interpreted as a metaphor for peace, rather than a literal
condition. The only modern equivalent would have been the Berlin Wall,
but it was built to keep people from escaping, not to defend against
invasion.

But Ezekiel's walls are clearly defensive -- the whole 38th chapter is
about a war of invasion against Israel. And today, in 2004, 2500 years
after Ezekiel foretold it, and nearly sixty years after Israel's
restoration, the Israelis are building a defensive wall around their
country.

It is an iron-clad certainty that the wall will be built -- it is
already partially completed and is proving its worth. Areas protected
by the wall are already experiencing fewer terrorist attacks. It is
equally certain that the wall will come down.

The entire world community opposes it (although they are having a hard
time explaining why) and Israel is already preparing to mount its
defense at an upcoming trial before the World Court in The Hague to
justify its continuation.

There will be no way the World Court can force the destruction of the
wall without some kind of peace guarantee the Israelis can accept and
the European diplomatic corps is hard at work trying to come up with
one. So far, they've had little success, but it is not from lack of
trying.

The wall is becoming a focal point of world attention, to the
exclusion of the terrorism that created it, and it can only have one
of two outcomes. Either the wall comes down before it is finished, or
it will come down at some point in the future. There is no way the
world community will learn to live with the status quo.

Once the wall is completed, the Palestinians will have their defacto
state, Israel will retain the high ground and more defensible borders,
and the Palestinians will have to achieve statehood the old-fashioned
way. By building one. You know, like the Israelis did.

That will never be acceptable to the world community. They were the
ones who created the Palestinians in the first place, and having
created a people, it is incumbent upon them to provide them with a
state.

Since the Israelis are not cooperating in giving up theirs, the plan
is to create one beside Israel and force Israel to support it by
providing jobs to the Palestinians.

Palestine had no independent status during the Ottoman Empire. As
European powers expanded their foothold in the region and as Zionism
brought Jewish immigrants to their ancestral homeland, no one could
define Palestine's contours. A picture emerged only in the early 1920s
under the British Mandate, which extended from the Jordan River to the
sea, from the upper Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba.

The 1948 war created a de facto partition, but no Palestinian state.
Jordan took the West Bank, and Egypt grabbed the Gaza Strip, filled
with refugees from Israeli areas that now included 78 percent of the
British Mandate territory.

When Israel captured the Egyptian Gaza and Jordanian West Bank in
1967, the 'Palestinian people' were created out of the displaced
Arabs.

The prophet Daniel, and both Paul and John foretell a peace agreement
with Israel that kicks off the Tribulation Period. Daniel says that a
leader of the revived Roman Empire confirms a peace covenant between
Israel and her enemies, which he breaks halfway through.

In context, one could assume the covenant involves a mutual defense
agreement, since, after the walls come down, Ezekiel says a
Russian-led Islamic alliance launches a sneak invasion against Israel.
Ezekiel 38:13 says Israel's 'allies' launch what amounts to little
more than a weak diplomatic objection.

The literal fulfillment of prophecies penned tens of centuries ago
continue to unfold in our generation. Right down to details such as
Israel's Tribulation status as a 'land of unwalled villages'.

The same Guiding Hand responsible for Ezekiel's unwavering accuracy
and attention to detail also guided those prophecies that yet remain
to be fulfilled. Don't let anybody steal away your excitement! We are
that special, chosen generation who 'shall not pass away, until all be
fulfilled."

You are not grasping at straws, or following vague and ambiguous
prophecies that can be explained away by calling them
'interpretations.' This is the real thing.

"And when these things BEGIN to come to pass, then look up, and lift
up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28)

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The Muslim 'Jesus' - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

One of titles given to Mohammed, the father of Islam, is simply that of the 'Prophet'. And there can be little argument that Mohammed claimed to be a prophet of God. The Bible commands us to test the prophets of God.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)

The Koran claims Mohammed is a prophet. It also says the Koran confirms the teaching of the Jewish and Christian scriptures.

"O ye unto whom the Scripture hath been given! Believe in what We have revealed, confirming that which ye possess. (Sura 4:47)

The New Testament preaches the fulfillment of what the Old Testament prophecied. That God would take upon Himself the sins of the world through His Messiah, who would be born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth and would die as a sin offering for the world outside Jerusalem.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is built around the salient facts that He died for our sins and rose again and is now alive forever. If Jesus didn't go to the Cross, our hope is in vain, and we remain dead in our sins, the Scriptures say.

"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:17)

According to the 'prophet' Mohammed, Islam is a continuation of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, God's final revelation to mankind.

But of Jesus, the Koran says, "The Jews say, 'we slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God' - yet they did not slay him, neither crucified him" (Sura 4:156-157)

"The Jews say, Ezra is the "Son of God"; the Christians say, "The Messiah is the Son of God." That is the utterance of there mouths, conforming with the unbelievers before them. God assail them! How they are perverted." (Sura 9:30)

"They say: "God has begotten a son" God forbid!" (Sura 10:68)

Assessment:

Mohammed may be a 'prophet' but his doctrine identifies him as the prophet of a different god.

"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:3)

Islam makes many other claims about someone in the Koran named Isa, whom they claim is Jesus. "His message was pure Islam, surrender to Allah." (Âl 'Imran 3:84)

Like all the Muslim 'prophets' before him, and like Muhammad after him, (says the Koran) "Isa was a lawgiver, and Christians should submit to his law." (Âl 'Imran 3:50; Al-Ma'idah 5:48)

The Koran teaches that "Isa's original disciples were also true Muslims, for they said 'We believe. Bear witness that we have surrendered. We are Muslims." (Al-Ma'idah 5:111)

The Muslim Jesus, Isa, received his revelation of Islam in the form of a book. (Al-An'am 6:90)

"Isa's book is called the Injil or 'gospel'". (Al-Ma'idah 5:46) "The Torah was Moses' book, and the Zabur (Psalms) were David's book. So Jews and Christians are 'people of the Book'. The one religion revealed in these books was Islam." (Âl 'Imran 3:18)

"Isa was simply a created human being, and a slave of Allah." (An-Nisa' 4:172; Âl 'Imran 3:59)

Islam claims that the Bible predicted the coming of Mohammed and the rise of Islam, and also claims Mohammed is the 'Comforter' spoken of by Jesus in John 16:7.

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." But Jesus also said the Comforter would remain with us until His return. That can't be Mohammed. He's been dead for 1400 years.

In fact, I believe the Bible DID predict Islam, and the coming of Mohammed, but in different verses than the Islamists are claiming. Of Ishmael, father of Islam, God said, "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

Of Mohammed, Jesus said, "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (Matthew 24:24)

Mohammed also prophesied the return of the Muslim Jesus on the last day. But the Muslim Jesus comes back to DESTROY the believing Christian Church -- not to redeem it.

Mohammed's end times' prophecy of the returning Muslim Jesus pictures him returning as "a man of medium height, or reddish complexion, wearing two light garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head although it will not be wet. He will fight for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill pigs, and abolish the poll-tax. Allah will destroy all religions except Islam. He ('Isa) will destroy the Evil One and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die'." (Sunan Abu Dawud, 37:4310)

The Sahih Muslim has a variant of this tradition: 'The son of Mary ... will soon descend among you as a just judge. He will ... abolish the poll-tax, and the wealth will pour forth to such an extent that no one will accept charitable gifts.' (Sahih Muslim 287)

The cross is a symbol of Christianity. Breaking crosses means abolishing Christianity. Pigs are associated with Christians. Killing them is another way of speaking of the destruction of Christianity.

Both of these verses refer to the abolition of the 'poll-tax' as well. At first glance, that sounds somehow positive. But the poll-tax refers to a tax paid by dhimmis (non-Muslims) in Muslim lands, in exchange for being allowed to live in peace.

The abolition of the poll-tax means jihad is restarted against Christians (and Jews) living under Islam, who should convert to Islam, or else be killed or enslaved. The abundance of wealth refers to booty flowing to the Muslims from this conquest.

The prophet Mohammed's revelations about Isa are, according to Islam, the real truth and continuation of Christianity and Judaism. The Koran claims Christians and Jews perverted the original text, and God sent Mohammed to 'get it right'.

Remember, we are testing a prophet, here. How much did Mohammed 'get right', anyway?

Mohammed's 'prophecy', the Koran, says of the mother of the Muslim Jesus, "Mariam the mother of Isa is called a sister of Aaron, and also the daughter of Aaron's father Imran (Hebr. Amram)". (Aaron's sister lived 2000 years before Mary, mother of Jesus.)

The Koran also says that Haman was a minister of Pharoh during the time of the Exodus. (Sura 28:38) But the Bible says that Haman was the minister of King Ahasuerus of Medo-Persia, a thousand years later. (See the Book of Esther)

The Koran has a Samaritan making the golden calf, which was worshipped by the Israelites in the wilderness (Sura 20:85) during the Exodus. In fact, THAT was Aaron (Exodus 34:1-6).

(The Samaritans did not even exist until several centuries later.)

The test of a prophet is to see if his prophecies are true. Mohammed didn't make the cut.

The Jesus of the Gospels is the base upon which Christianity developed. By Islamicizing Him, and making of Him a Muslim prophet who preached the Koran,Islam destroys Christianity and takes over all its history. It does the same to Judaism.

In the end times as described by Muhammad, 'Isa becomes a warrior who will return with his sword and lance. He will destroy the Christian religion and make Islam the only religion in all the world.

Finally at the last judgment he will condemn Christians to hell for believing in the Crucifixion and the Incarnation.

This final act of the Muslim 'Isa' reflects Islam's apologetic strategy in relation to Christianity, which is to deny the Yeshua of history, and replace him with a facsimile of Muhammad, so that nothing remains but Islam.

"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. . . .For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.' (2nd Corinthians 11:4,13-15)
 

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The Start of a Spiritual Revival? - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

Many Bible prophecy teachers anticipate a world-wide Christian revival in the last days, but just as many others believe it will be a spiritual or religious revival instead.

On the Day of Pentecost, at the birth of the Christian Church, Peter explained the miracle that took place when the preached and everyone who heard them heard the message in their own tongue;

"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:" (Acts 2:16-19)

In Scripture, the 'last days' refers to the whole of the Church Age, in the sense that it began with the Ascension of Jesus and it will end with His return at the Rapture. But the 'last days' have a starting point, and they have an ending point.

"And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:9-11)

Since Jesus could have returned at any time, in any generation, from the days of the Apostles until this moment, the 'last days' refer to the Dispensation before the Milliennial Kingdom is set up according to Isaiah 66.

So those who argue for a 'last days' Christian revival conclude that, just as the Church swelled at its birth at Pentecost, so too, will it swell with believers just before Jesus' return, as part of the general connecting of all the dots and tying up all the referential loose ends.

Those who argue AGAINST a true Christian revival in the last days point to the Scriptures for the last days that warn of a great 'falling away' and the rise of an apostate Church in last days.

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" (1 Timothy 4:1)

They argue that the spiritual revival of the last days refers to the counterfeit religion of Revelation 13:11: "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."

Assessment:

No matter which view you take, revival is in the news. A recent column published in Insight on the News carried the title, "Analysis: Start of a Spiritual Revival?"

The column relies on the findings of Christian pollster George Barna, who has determined "that we are witnessing a slow but steady development of more traditional religious behavior in the Western states."

According to Barna's survey, the share of adults reporting they had read from the Bible during the last week -- not including Sunday service -- rose from 37 percent in 1994 to 44 percent this year.

It was in this category that the increase was most noteworthy in California, Oregon and Washington state, where Bible study among residents rose from 29 to 44 percent in the last decade.

Similarly, participation in small groups for prayer, Bible study and fellowship shot up from 11 percent to 26 percent in the West, Barna reported. Nationwide, it rose from 12 percent to 20 percent.

But at the same time, Barna found, weekly church attendence has remained relatively stagnant over the same period. It also found that those who say they shared their faith with non-believers fell between 1999 and 2004 from 58% to 55%.

It would seem, from Barna's polls, that the revival sweeping America is divided into two factions. Barna calls them, the 'Mainstream' Church, and the 'Parachurch'. Bible study groups have more than doubled, but weekly organized church attendence is flat. The signs of the times have many people seeking Jesus, but they are bypassing pre-packaged religion and going directly to the Bible.

And no wonder. In many mainstream churches, God has many names, including Allah, or Buddha, as well as Jesus Christ. The Bible, as a doctrinal source, is secondary to church law or tradition. There are mainstream churches that embrace homesexuality, others that question the Deity of Christ, and still more that reject doctrines like the Virgin Birth.

Leaders of mainstream 'Christian' denominations have gone on record as doubting the Death and Resurrection.

There are two forms of Christianity in the world today. The cultural Christianity of the mainstream, and the growing Bible Christianity of the parachurch.

While the fields are truly 'white with the harvest' the labourers within the parachurch of one-on-one evangelists remain few, and the competition is fierce.

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it," Jesus said. (Matthew 9:37)

The enemy wants to keep that gate locked. That is the reason for the existence of the Omega Letter. To teach people how to teach people to find the key.

We are living in the last of the last days, and the responsibility we bear on our collective shoulders is enormous.

"But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand." (Ezekiel 33:6)

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UN Investigating Self - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

The United Nations has announced an investigation of itself to determine whether or not there was corruption in its administration of the Iraqi Oil-For-Food program, but Kofi Annan exonerated himself and his staff before the investigation started.

Unsurprisingly, the UN was initially somewhat reluctant to investigate itself, but has come under global pressure as a result of documents found in Iraq that proved that the U.N.-operated program, which let Iraq trade oil for food, was plagued by kickbacks to both Saddam and his top henchmen, as well as politicians and businessmen from 46 countries, not to mention UN officials themselves.

In a report on March 1, 2004, "U.N. Oil-for-Food Scam: Time for Hearings," the Heritage Foundation's Nile Gardiner, Ph.D., and James Phillips cited a New York Times story which reported, "Saddam Hussein's government systematically extracted billions of dollars in kickbacks from companies doing business with Iraq, funneling most of the illicit funds through a network of foreign bank accounts in violation of United Nations sanctions."

The former head of the Oil-For-Food program, Benon Sevan, allegedly turned a blind eye to the looting and even admitted to NBC News that 'some' of the money 'may have been' stolen. But he protested that,"Even if 10% was stolen, 90% got to the people it was supposed to go to."

Well! There you go! Maybe the oil-for-food program was a bit lax, but 90% got to the 'right' people. Lessee, who were the 'right people'? That would be Saddam, Uday, Qusai and their regime.

Ummm, how much is ten percent? According to NBC News, over the life of the Oil-For-Food program, that would amount to, roughly, SIX BILLION DOLLARS. That's Billion with a 'B' -- let's put that into perspective. A million seconds is roughly 12 days. A billion seconds is roughly 32 YEARS.

Under pressure from various circles, Annan has now asked for a "new audit" of the Oil for Food program's expenses.

The U.N. chief has mandated the investigation to the office of internal oversight services (OIOS).

Some U.N. insiders called the Annan action "incredible." The reason is simple. OIOS is the U.N. department which originally conducted audits of the Iraqi oil program.

Unsurprisingly, it reported no serious irregularities during its period of oversight of the fund. (After all, 90% of the money is accounted for)

Assessment:

Although the investigation hasn't really begun, the verdict is already in, judging from today's headlines. The mainstream are all reporting in horror that,"Saddam Stole Billions From Iraq's Oil-For-Food Program." Wow! Who knew?

On the other hand, one has to dig to find anything about the billions stolen by the UN before it had a chance to hand it over to Saddam so he could steal the rest.

Kofi Annan and his crew denied that this tidal wave of graft in any way seeped into their own shop. Besides, there is more than one way to loot a country.

Kofi's son Kojo was a partner in a private consulting firm doing work for Cotecna, which from 1999 onward worked on contract for the U.N. monitoring the shipments of Oil-for-food supplies into Iraq.

These were the same supplies sent in under terms of those tens of billions of dollars worth of U.N.-approved contracts in which the U.N. says it failed to notice Saddam Hussein's widespread arrangements to overpay contractors who then shipped overpriced goods to the impoverished people of Iraq and kicked back part of their profits to Saddam's regime.

Kofi Annan claims complete ignorance of any irregularities, despite the fact that the UN led the charge to keep Saddam Hussein in power and sanctions (and the Oil-For-Food program) in place.

But it was Annan, who in October 1997 brought in as Oil-for-Food's executive director Benon Sevan, reporting directly to the Secretary-General, to consolidate Oil-for-Food's operations into the Office of Iraq Program.

And it was shortly after Sevan took charge that Oil-for-Food, set up by Kofi Annan's predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, with at least some transparency on individual deals, began treating as confidential such vital information as the names of specific contractors, quantities of goods, and prices paid.

Beyond that, the U.N., during the final months of Oil-for-Food, gave every indication of knowing just where the problems lay. Last May, shortly after the fall of Saddam's regime, the U.N. Security Council voted to end the Oil-for-Food program and gave the U.N. Secretariat six months to tie-up loose ends before handing over any outstanding import contracts to the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority.

With Saddam's regime gone as a contracting party, the U.N. began a frenzied process of "renegotiating" billions in contracts, basically winnowing out the graft component that Oil-for-Food had previously approved.

There are only two conclusions, neither of which bode well for the future of the UN as it exists today. The first is the most obvious. The UN is as corrupt as it seems. The second, and more charitable, is that the UN is merely stunningly incompetent.

It is more than probable that when the UN is finished investigating itself, it will conclude that it did nothing illegal. The six billion will have simply vanished without a trace.

But it won't work. Over the course of its existence, the United Nations has proved two things. The first is that there is a genuine need for some form of global government. The second is that the United Nations isn't it.

The problem with an implosion of the UN is that there already exists a global infrastructure that cannot be allowed to collapse with the UN.

The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, most global treaties and thousands and thousands of smaller international organizations can't simply go away without something similar to fill the void.

Sixty years of infrastructure construction and planning, together with the integration of national governments into a supra-national body doesn't just vanish like Iraq's six billion dollars.

It is a matter of great convenience then, that there also exists a parallel organization that already has a supra-national infrastructure in place that could pick up the slack. The European Union is essentially a mirror image of the UN, but on a smaller scale.

The Bible says that eventually, the role of global governor will be filled by a revived Roman Empire, headed by 'ten kings' with 'seven horns'.

The ten-nations of the Western European Union, organized under the authority of the 1957 Treaty of Rome, remain the only members of the EU that are full members -- the rest are either 'associates' or 'observers'. (http://www.weu.int/ click on 'Organisation' on the left menu bar)

The global economy is run by the Group of Seven Industrialized nations. They include Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.

But the Bible makes no mention of the United States, so how does that work? Interestingly, Russia currently has a special 'observer' status. And Russia IS a major player in the last days.

The UN's days are numbered because it is NOT the global government envisioned by Daniel and the prophets. Something must happen to shift the balance of power from the UN to Europe, an event the United States is unlikely to support.

If it is still a player.

Taken together, it isn't a stretch to conclude that the time of Jacob's Trouble is fast at hand. And so is the Rapture.

"So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled." (Luke 21:31-32)

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Special Report: The American War - Jack Kinsella - www.omegaletter.com

A culture war has been raging in the United States for years. Unlike traditional wars, it cannot be won by military action, but it is a real war, being carried out on US soil by US citizens against one another.

For example, when San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied state law by allowing same-sex marriage licenses, a New York Times profile reported him sporting "a wide grin," "describing his motives as pure and principled," and cited his "business acumen, money, good looks and friends in the right places."

But when Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore also defied the law -- by installing a Ten Commandments display in his public building -- a Times profile said that "civil liberties groups accused Justice Moore of turning a courthouse into a church," while allowing that he had also become "an Alabama folk hero."

On the editorial page, the Times criticized Moore, likening him to George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door, but supports Newsom's protest and gay marriage.

America's culture war can be defined as conservative vs. liberal, Right vs. Left, rich vs. poor, Democrat vs. Republican but in reality, the war is between believers in Christ and believers in the world system, both inside and outside of mainstream Christian culture.

It isn't really a war between cultures so much as it is a spiritual conflict. For example, while polls show a majority of Americans oppose gay marriage, some of the country's top editorial pages support it.

"Same-sex marriages pose no threat to anyone but rather affirm a commitment of love, an emotion that is universal," says the Boston Globe.

"We believe that extending the benefits and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples would be fair and beneficial; we understand that many Americans feel otherwise," says The Washington Post.

"Clearly those who claim that it signals the end of civilization need to get their outrage odometers adjusted," says the Los Angeles Times.

Polls demonstrate the culture war between Christ and the world is taking casualties within mainstrean Christian culture as well: A poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life suggest that opposition to same-sex marriage is widespread among white evangelical Protestants (84 percent) and blacks (65 percent).

Other mainline Protestant Christians showed a 20-point drop in opposition to same-sex marriage (from 64 percent to 44) and a 19-point drop among white Roman Catholics (from 60 percent to 41 percent) but only a 1-point decline among white evangelical Christians and African Americans. Do you see a pattern developing?

Another front in the culture war is the battle raging over Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ." Before it was even released, it had ignited passions across the country.

"Too gory!" exclaimed movie reviewers. The same movie reviewers loved Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" and "Pulp Fiction." Not to mention "A Nightmare on Elm Street" "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Natural Born Killers" all of which have achieved 'cult film status' and are immune to criticism. The same reviewers who criticized "The Passion" for its gore cheered the historical accuracy of the first thirty minutes of "Saving Private Ryan."

The culture war isn't over the movie, but rather the subject material -- namely the Salvation of the human race. The world system doesn't like to think that it needs salvation, and it doesn't like to be reminded of the historical Jesus.

If the Passion of Jesus is real, then hell is real. And if hell is real, then it becomes decision time. And to the world, 'decision time' means giving up all the 'fun stuff' -- something they would rather not do.

So rather than admitting outright that their real objection is to Christianity in general, they fall back on whatever seems safe. Antisemitism, or too much gore, or historical 'inaccuracies' that didn't seem to bother anybody when reviewing "The Last Temptation of Christ" or "Jesus Christ, Superstar".

Abortion is another example -- recently the Los Angeles Times corrected a review about a play that celebrated fertility (a favorite subject of the world) in which the reviewer called the play 'pro-life'. Although the play had NOTHING to do with abortion, the LA Times' editors changed 'pro-life' to 'anti-abortion'.

The words 'pro-life' are forbidden by the Times' editorial board because it might give the impression that if those opposing abortion are 'pro-life' then those who favor it are 'pro-death' or 'anti-life'. 'Anti-abortion' strikes the right semantic 'balance'; who wants to be 'anti' something? Especially since the opposite of pro-life is, by definition, anti-life?

Last week, the UC Student Senate passed a bill to give $2,400 to send 10 buses of students to a pro-abortion rally in Washington. That is considered 'education' but you won't find public universities shelling out funds to send students to a pro-life rally.

Cincinatti's Xavier College ponied up $30,000 to pay lunatic left-winger Michael Moore to address the student body. Some students wanted to hear from conservative columnist Walter Williams. They even put up $10,000 of their own money. Xavier refused to kick in the balance of $3000.00 -- about ten percent of what they paid Moore.

That the world is well aware of the spiritual conflict is easily seen by the automatic assumption that anybody who is pro-life must be a Bible thumping born-again Christian, so financing such a student trip would violate the alleged 'Separation Clause'.

Polls show the majority of Americans are pro-life, but the world system equates being pro-life to Jesus Christ. And hates it.

Assessment:

The spiritual war raging in America is taking place at the same time a larger spiritual conflict has gripped the whole world. Unlike America's war, this one IS being fought using bullets and bombs. That war pits Muslims against Jews and Christians, which is what brought it to America's shores. Because America is rapidly becoming one of the last strongholds of Christianity left in the world.

While there are more Christians in China than there are Americans on earth, no nation on earth has more Christians per capita and no nation on earth exerts more global influence than 'Christian' America.

The culture war raging in America represent the opening skirmishes in the coming War of Armageddon that rages throughout the Tribulation Period.

Consider what would happen to America if suddenly, there were no Christians remaining to continue the spiritual conflict with the world system. What if the only worldview left in America were the one espoused by the liberal left and the God-haters?

What would it mean to America's global status? What if there was nobody to restrain Ted Kennedy or John Kerry or Jay Rockefeller's doctrine of internationalism? What if there were no Christians left for Islam to fight?

One of the spiritual wars taking place in America right now concerns whether or not America is really a Christian country to begin with. In America, pledging allegiance to one nation 'under God' is already illegal. So is displaying the Ten Commandments on public land.

If there were no Christians, America's culture war would be over and the stage would be set for the War of Armageddon to begin in earnest. The Armageddon War isn't against the Church, it is against Israel and the Tribulation saints.

What would happen if, suddenly, Christianity disappeared from the face of the earth is outlined by the Apostle Paul. Paul had taught in his first Epistle to the Thessalonians of the coming Rapture of the Church.

"For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)

In his Second Epistle, Paul is specifically addressing a heresy that was being taught in Thessolonica that the Lord had already returned for His Church and that they had been left behind.

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;" (2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3)

Paul outlines the spiritual conflict, saying that "the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He who now letteth will let, until He be taken out of the way."

The NIV translates this same verse, "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the One who now holds it back will continue to do so till He is taken out of the way."

The One Who 'holds it back' is the Holy Spirit of God indwelling the Church. The Holy Spirit is God. God is omnipresent, meaning He is everwhere. The Psalmist wrote; "If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there." (Psalms 127:8)

It is only AFTER the restraining influence of the indwelt Church is removed, Paul says, that the Antichrist can come to power. "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His Mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:" (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Note that the text makes 'that Wicked' a proper noun, and that he will be destroyed by the 2nd Coming of Christ at the conclusion of the Tribulation Period. The identification of 'that Wicked' as the antichrist is obvious from the context.

After the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is 'taken out of the way' Paul explains the 'strong delusion' that will cause the secular world to embrace the antichrist.

"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2nd Thessalonians 2:11-12)

The Rapture would decimate the United States, hand victory to the internationalists, the liberals, the homosexual movement, the God-haters and the abortionists in a war they undoubtedly will think they have won.

It is obvious that the only thing restraining evil today is the believing Church. For those to be left behind, the conditioning process has already begun.

The Rapture is at hand. That means there isn't much time left for us to fulfill our commission as watchmen on the wall.

The King is coming! Tell somebody.

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