Category Archive: Antichrist

Apr 04

Catholic And Protestant Journalists, Websites Abuzz About Coming False Prophet “Petrus Romanus”

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Antichrist, The Church

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April 4, 2012

The False Prophet is the forgotten figure in end time prophecy.  There is plenty of speculation about who the Anti-Christ is, but very little about his “promoter.” Yet if we look deeply enough, we can discover what evangelicals and Catholics have believed about this personality, although there seems to be plenty of room for multiple interpretations in both camps.

We begin by taking what at first glance appear to be bit of a rabbit trail, but it’s actually to establish historical context.  The early Protestant reformers were firmly united in the belief that the Pope was the Anti-Christ.  Actually, as John 2:18 tells us, there are many anti-Christs, but the term is usually reserved for the final one.  Although they had many reasons to believe this, perhaps the easiest to explain is the one tied to one of the Pope’s titles — the Vicar of Christ.  “Vicar” means “substitute” and “anti” can mean “instead of.”  One of the best-known defenses of this point of view is The Two Babylons,  by Alexander Hislop.  He published his work in 1853, after the “Pope as Anti-Christ” theory was no longer so popular among Protestants.

The viewpoint was rooted in the Historicist interpretation of Revelation, which presents amazing fulfillments of most of the prophetic book up to the present time.  However, in an effort to get the Pope “off the hook,” two Catholic theologians started promoting Futurism, which is the dominant evangelical view of Revelation today, and Preterism, which teaches that most of Revelation was fulfilled by the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  A good source for the Historicist interpretation is The Present Reign of Jesus Christ by Robert Caringola.  The main weakness I see in Historicism is a lack of appreciation for multiple fulfillments, which would open the door for common ground with Futurists.

It turns out that Preterism has historical roots planted long before the Protestant Reformation.  It’s strongly reflected in the writings of Eusebius and may be linked to Saint Augustine, John Chrysostom and Ignatius.  This variety is more properly termed “partial preterism” or “historical preterism” because it allows for more future fulfillment of Revelation than does standard preterism.  It works nicely with Saint Augustine’s amillenial position, which is still the dominant position of the Catholic Church, namely that the  thousand-year period of Revelation 20:3 is symbolic of a great number of years and is our present era.  A blogger, identified only as Nic, on CatholicForum.com equates the False Prophet with the Sanhedrin/Pharasaic elite.  It remains to be seen how many Catholics share this interpretation.

There’s a new interest among evangelical Protestants in determining the Pope’s place in end time prophecy, and some are taking another look at the forgotten figure, the False Prophet. Tim McHyde has written an article on EscapeAllTheseThings.com called Is Pope Benedict XVI / Joseph Ratzinger The False Prophet (a point of view the authors of the new research book Petrus Romanus disagree with). His arguments include the previously cited one, involving the meanings of “vicar” and “anti.”  He also says, “The pope’s mitre literally has two horns.  If you go to the Catholic Encyclopedia, they themselves call it a “two horned mitre” (hat).  Again, its plain meaning is fulfilled in the pope.  He is a like a lamb with two horns.”  Another Protestant site, RedMoonRising.com, takes the argument further, “Catholic commentators such as the late Father Malachi Martin, Kathleen Keating and numerous Catholic visionaries are united in the belief that the Catholic Church will at one time be led by a figure they call the Anti-Pope who will turn against the fundamentals of the Christian faith and accept the Antichrist.” 

There is a variation of this theme involving an extra-Biblical Catholic revelation called “The Great Monarch and Angelic Pastor.”  The anonymous author of An Analysis of Catholic Prophecy writes, “… as Catholics understand it, there will be a Great Monarch and an Angelic Pastor who rule together followed by the Antichrist and then Jesus Christ returns to bring the last judgment.”  The author warns that these two personalities are really the False Prophet and the Anti-Christ, which means that when Jesus Christ arrives on the scene, believers in this prophecy would misidentify Him as the Anti-Christ.

The theme of an anti-Pope is further developed in an article in Examiner.com which quotes from a Catholic audio recording called Reign of the False Prophet.  It mentions a Father John O’Connor.  “Father explains how God will and is punishing the world for sin, and that the Fathers of the Church all wrote that the False Prophet would be a Catholic Bishop who will become an invalid anti-pope while the real Pope dies a cruel death in exile.”

Finally, a Catholic friendly website called EndTimesLion.com fills in more of the details of the anti-Pope theory.  “This Anti-Pope will appear to be elected, but he will not be validly so. This Anti-Pope will physically reside in Rome, at least for a time until the “Anti-Vatican” is moved to Jerusalem.  The election will be done invalidly through electronic means, such as email, fax and phone, based on the excuse that it will be too dangerous to travel to Rome because of the wars and revolutions in the streets.”

It must be remembered that Saint Malachy’s Prophecy of the Popes (learn more by reading the series in the above left column) contains references to both Popes and anti-Popes. It would be entirely consistent with Catholic teaching and emerging Protestant interpretation, for Benedict XVI’s successor, the final pontiff known as Petrus Romanus, to be both anti-Pope and False Prophet.

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Mar 29

Union for the Mediterranean: Revives to meet the challenges of a New Middle East

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Antichrist, Global Economy

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March 29, 2012

The diffusion of innovations, resulting from the current and continuously evolving informational revolution has directly impacted socio-cultural living standards, and has influenced structural-sectoral shifts in the economy. These ‘shifts’ can be smooth or can create crisis and renewal, a process which Joseph Alois Schumpeter (8 February 1883 – 8 January 1950) an Austrian-American economist and political scientist called, “creative destruction.”

The present popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa give witness to the power of knowledge and technology and diffusion within a growing globalized society and its tremendous influence these have also, on political change.

Ten years ago, PM Benjamin Netanyahu in a speech at CPAC February 17, 2001 at the Ronald Reagan banquet, astutely observed and predicted, “It is the information revolution that is beginning to collapse the totalitarian regimes of our time. This is the first real change that is producing not only economic changes, not only social changes, but enormously important political changes. Because up to now, technology has really been at the service of dictatorships…

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“The greatest service that dictatorships have received in the 20th century was this thing, the microphone. And the microphone would give a single dictator the ability to control the minds and hearts of millions of people, to tell them who is the enemy, who are the well poisoners of the earth, who are the cancer that has to be excised. That’s how Israel was referred to in the Middle East. That’s how the Jewish people were referred to in the heart of Europe by the Nazis. It is the power of the microphone, the power of mass communications, controlled from above, that was the greatest threat to freedom in the 20th century.”

“We are witnessing the breakup of that monolithic control. Because you now have, or very soon will have, millions of people, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of people, ultimately billions of people, who can access networks of information and communication from below, who can become their own broadcasters, or narrowcasters and that is fundamentally eroding the power of dictatorships.”

The Biblical Prophet Daniel received the prophecy over 2500 years ago that there would be a remarkable increase in knowledge and technology in the last days:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Daniel 12:4

Daniel also received prophecy about the empires of the world (Daniel Ch. 2 and 7) and he prophesied that the last world empire to rule before the Messiah’s everlasting reign would be a (revived) Roman empire. Prophecy teacher Jack Kelley writes this warning in his study of Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks, “A ruler who will come from the territory of the old Roman Empire will confirm a 7 year covenant with Israel that permits them to build a Temple and re-instate their Old Covenant worship system. 3 1/2 years later he will violate the covenant by setting up an abomination that causes the Temple to become desolate, putting an end to their worship. This abomination brings the wrath of God down upon him and he will be destroyed.”

This last Gentile empire to rule is still future. It will be the empire of the Antichrist.

Thousands of years ago Daniel prophesied that the information revolution would herald or, occur simultaneously with a future world empire coming from a “revived” or “reborn” Roman Empire, like the one in existence at the time of Christ.

Dr. David Reagan wrote in his article entitled, Europe In Bible Prophecy:

“The most important prophetic development of the 20th Century was the regathering of the Jewish people to their historic homeland in the Middle East, resulting in the creation of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948. The second most important development was the formation of a European confederation known as The European Union. Both of these momentous historical events point to the fact that we are living in the end times, right on the threshold of the Tribulation and the Lord’s return.”

French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed to establish a ‘Mediterranean Union’ as part of his presidential campaign in 2007. The idea was anteceded by the Barcelona Process, also known as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.The aim of the 1995 Barcelona Declaration initiative is stated as “turning the Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue, exchange and cooperation guaranteeing peace, stability and prosperity.” Nicolas Sarkozy envisioned this Union to follow the model of the European Union with a shared judicial area and common institutions, and as a forum for dialogue between Israel and its Arab Neighbors. Turkey opposed the idea initially, skeptical that membership of the Mediterranean Union was being offered to them as an alternative to full accession to the EU. (Libya was also very hesitant) On the 13th of July, 2008 in Paris, France, the ‘Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean‘‚ was launched according to the Joint Declaration adopted at the heads of state and Government.

For the past 2 years the Union for the Mediterranean has not progressed as expected due to stalemates with the Israel-Arab peace process and cancelling of summits. This may soon change. As the revolts in North Africa, and Arab nations along the Mediterranean and in the Middle East proceed to overturn political systems, vacant areas of political and economic structure are left in need of leadership and direction. The EU recognizes this, and has plans to plant roots of ‘deep democracy‘  in the region. It is  interesting to this writer, who has been following the evolution of the Mediterranean Union – UfM since its inception, to see it now reviving in such a way with a framework in place that could possibly meet the needs and challenges of the ‘New Middle East.’ However, it is precisely for this reason – the fact that it is practical, makes sense, and involves Israel – that is concerning; a reviving roman empire signals the end of days, and the time to be on the alert.

Upon reviewing a map of the Union for the Mediterranean nations in comparison with a map of the Roman empire at or about the time of Christ 2000 years ago, those who study bible prophecy can not help but to be amazed at the similarity.

One possible obstacle holding back full implementation of the emergence of the revived Roman Empire, is competition from another set of nations vying for world power, wealth and domination.
Caroline Glick in her recent article entitled, The New Middle East points out that the Iranian regime are the main benefactors of the New Middle East that is taking shape due to long-developed ties and connections with opposition figures that give the Iranians the ability to influence the policies of post-revolutionary allied regimes. She predicts a very dark future should there be an Iranian takeover:

“If the mullahs aren’t overthrown, the New Middle East will be a very dark and dangerous place.”

Caroline Glick mentioned 4 nations that are named in the bible in future prophecies. She pointed out that Russia‘s (Natural Gas/Energy) Gazprom announcement to sell Syria the Yakhont supersonic anti-ship cruise missile was a testament to Iran’s rising regional power and the US’s loss of power – an important fact considering that for the EU empire to rise, the West would logically, decline from its former super-power status.

Glick also mentions the growing alliance between Russia and Turkey, “Russia’s announcement that it sides with Iran’s ally Turkey in its support for reducing UN Security Council sanctions against Iran indicates that the US no longer has the regional posture necessary to contain Iran on the international stage.”

This ‘obstacle’ of competive nations to a revived Roman empire may possibly be removed by the fulfillment of the Isaiah 17:1,14; Jeremiah 49:23-27; Amos 1:3-5; Zechariah 9:1-8 prophecy against Damascus,Syria and the Ezekiel 38 and 39 prophecy of the Gog Magog war; a Russian (Magog) and Iran (Persia) led coalition of muslim nations (Turkey (Meshech and Tubal/Gomer/Togarmah)  Libya (Put), Sudan/Ethiopia (Cush), who will attempt a doomed attack on Israel, greatly reducing their influence in the region.

“Rumors of war” and rumors of  ‘peace and security‘ seem to be the prevalent themes of the day.

In closing, the Bible warns of a ‘creative destruction’ of sorts resulting from the advances of man-kind in the realms of peace-making via the emergence of a union set to undermine the sovereignty of nations in the guise of ‘democracy.’ Israel is unlike any other nation in the world as it can not be contained by such a global union that will eventually be led by the Antichrist.

Israel is like a banner to the world that the Word of God is the truth, and Jerusalem as prophesied by Zechariah will be a burdensome stone to all the nations who attempt division or conquest of her.

 The conflict in the Middle East that brings Israel and her neighbors to the decision table is rooted in the spiritual realm and no corruptible man-made plan can bring lasting peace and security based upon unscriptural and dishonest means or motives. It is the confirming of the (false) peace treaty that initiates the time of Jacob’s trouble, and judgment upon all the earth.


“Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4

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Mar 29

We will insist on applying Sharia in Egypt, Islamist MP says

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Antichrist

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March 29, 2012

Egypt’s Construction and Development Party (CDP) “won’t give up the application of the Sharia [Islamic law]” in Egypt, an Egyptian MP representing the party told an Egyptian daily on Monday. CDP is the political party of Egypt’s al-Jamaa al-Islamiya.

Hani Nour Eddin said that his party “will defend the second article of the (1971) constitution,” which stipulates that the principles of Sharia are the main source of legislation in the country, Egypt’s al-Masry al-Youm quoted him as saying.

Nour Eddin said that there is no disagreement among Egyptian political powers over the second article of the constitution, adding that his party is open to suggestions that are in accordance with the principles of Sharia.

CDP has finalized a draft of the constitution to be introduced during the constituent assembly meetings, Nour Eddin said, adding that legal experts have contributed to the draft that the Shura Council of the group and its party leaders have made.

“We will respect all other points of view with the aim of drafting a constitution that embraces all Egyptians,” Nour Eddin added.

Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya engaged in armed confrontations with the government security forces in the 1990s, aiming to depose the Mubarak regime and establish an Islamic state. However, in the late 1990s, the group announced it would abandon its violent, jihadist ideology, and apologized for previous attacks that had killed hundreds of people.

“There is coordination between CDP, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Salafi Nour Party to reach a united vision shared with all political trends that goes also with the culture and identity of society,” he told the Egyptian daily.

 

 

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Mar 15

JOHN THE REVELATOR SAW THE NATURE OF THE ANTICHRIST (Five Dark Signs To Recognize His Nature)

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Antichrist

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March 15, 2012

THE MARK OF THE ANTICHRIST HAS MORE TO DO WITH HIS “NATURE” THAN THE TATTOO HE WILL DEMAND ON YOUR FOREHEAD OR RIGHT HAND! The Bible clearly identifies five aspects of the Antichrist that will deceive the world and cause an incredible multitude to be eternally damned. Many are concerned about his “MARK 666” but never give a thought to his nature. Notice how the Bible clearly warns us of this truth. As John watches he sees “… the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand… And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9,11) In both verses, we are warned that men will follow him in worship and receive his mark. There is no question but that our world is experiencing a deluge of the nature of this future beast. This article has one goal of helping you identify his nature. When the Rapture occurs, the world left behind will have already been prepared for his “MARK”.

HIS NATURE IS THE PRELUDE TO HIS MARK OR TATTOO. We call his nature that is gripping our world, “THE SPIRIT OF THE ANTICHRIST”. The Scripture says, “… this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (I John 4:3) We must recognize the spirit of this beast that is preparing our world for his mark. There are millions that have so surrendered to the nature that it will make no difference when they take the mark. The mark cannot be received until the Man of Sin, the beast himself, is revealed, but the nature and his worship can be experienced already. Let’s try to identify his nature to the best of our understanding of truth.

1. The FIRST expression of his nature is to dilute the Bible so that truth becomes relative instead of authoritative. Almost the entire church world has bought into the new Bible versions that shatter the infallible source of His glorious truth. This is clearly Satan’s design. The devil does not want to destroy the Bible, that would cause a revolution; he wants to create a spirit of denial of numerous parts of the Scripture. The Antichrist does not need for you to reject the whole Bible, just a small part of it. You will be just as eternally lost by turning away from some Scripture that you call cultural, outdated, or some other adjective as if you rejected the whole. This nature of the beast is on a binge to get you questioning God’s absolute Truth.

2. SECOND, the beast nature is to destroy the beautiful sense of our sacred temple of the human body. The body or the temple of every living person is a sacred creation intended to be the temple of His Holy Spirit. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (I Corinthians 3:17) The appearance, the dress, the morality, the language and the treatment of your body as a holy temple is a Biblical requirement; and you cannot serve God if you treat this truth lightly. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (I Corinthians 6:4-17) “Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.” “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (I Corinthians 6:13,19) The church world has rejected the beauty of a Godly life lived so tenderly that the temple/body is filled with His glory and power and looks like a light from His transforming grace. The world cannot see inside the temple, they can only see the outside reflection.

3. THIRD, the Antichrist nature is to deny all of the laws of God, and His commandments. The new religious philosophy says, “free as a breeze to do as you please.” It is from the enemy of truth, the beast. I call this “religious philosophy” because it surely is not “religious theology.” It’s the nature of the beast. The Bible says,“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (I John 2:3-4) Those words are utterly rejected by most of the church world because of the spirit of the Antichrist. This Antichrist spirit wants everyone free of any restrictions because restrictions are how we discern right from wrong, good from bad and darkness from light.

4. FOURTH, his nature is to promote Biblical knowledge without a Biblical experience. Our World is full of religious people that know a lot about the Bible but have no experience with the person of Jesus Christ. Religious colleges and universities are abounding. Religious books line the walls of religious bookstores and all types of communication methods are flooded with religious teachings. All of this is empty until the soul has a transforming experience of being born again – a radical change – and surrenders to a cross-bearing life with Jesus Christ. Satan and his beast love religion, but they are terrified by the Holy Spirit’s transformed relationship with the Lord of the church. Satan and his angels have never ceased to be religious. The Beast that gives life to the image has a nature of false religion. “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.” (Revelation 13:11) “Horns on a lamb” is the exact opposite of the Lamb of God.

5. The FIFTH nature of the new beast and his new religion is righteousness without Godliness. Righteousness is imputed; it is the work of grace; and no amount of good works can earn righteousness. The saving grace is His gift and we come to Him without trusting anything of ourselves. But, the new theology flooding the church is to deny the effect of that righteousness and to leave the religious man free of the radical change demanded by Scripture. Christ’s righteousness is not a head matter, it’s a heart matter; and it will totally alter your life. “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” (Hebrews 10:26) “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) Our churches are full of religion but very few are living examples of Jesus Christ. This is the design of the Antichrist. Can you hear it in John’s description of the Beast: “Horns like a lamb but sounding like a dragon?”

The nature of the beast is to promote programs without power and emotions without the supernatural works of His Holy Spirit. The life of the church is the resurrection life of Jesus Christ and that life is supernatural. The church must be alive with His presence or it becomes a tool of the new religion that the coming beast loves. It’s amazing to watch how quickly the church begins to welcome the strange fire of psychology, psychiatry, and even false spirits of witchcraft. Every action of Satan is only slightly removed from its original beauty in the Creator. Hypnotism is a counterfeit of the gifts of discernment, the strange fires of the Charismatic world are only slightly removed from the pure gifts of the Holy Spirit. Satan is a deceiver and can imitate the real very cleverly. The Word of God must always be the basis of discernment.

Conclusion! We are living on the edge of His coming and deception is everywhere. A pure Bible and a faithful church to that Word is our guide and hope. Be a radical Christian and cling to truth with all your life. The coming of our Lord can be expected at any moment. John saw this dark Antichrist spirit and a wide-awake Christian can certainly see the “Lurking” presence now spreading his venom.

 

 

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Mar 13

Petrus Romanus, the Antichrist, and the Years 2012 & 2016

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Antichrist, The Church

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March 13, 2012

Contemporaneous to the arrival of the False Prophet (Petrus Romanus) is a prophecy from what is widely considered the most important work of Jewish Kabbalah, the Zohar, a collection of books written in medieval Aramaic over seven hundred years ago containing mystical commentary on the Pentateuch (five books of Moses, the Torah). In addition to interpreting Scripture, the “Vaera” section (volume 3, section 34) includes “The signs heralding Mashiach,” or “The coming of the Messiah.” The fascinating date for “his” appearance is set in the Zohar in late 2012! Given the rejection of Jesus by orthodox Jews as Messiah, Christians understand this “coming” would herald the unveiling of Antichrist in 2012.

J. R. Church of Prophecy in the News called our office a couple years back and led us through verses 476–483 of this part of the Zohar to point out what nobody in the 2012 research community had written before—that the time of Jacob’s trouble (the Great Tribulation, which some Catholic scholars say begins with the election of Petrus Romanus) will commence according to this ancient text in the year 2012 when the “kings of the earth” gather in Rome, possibly during a papal conclave, and are killed by fiery stones or missiles from the sky.

The prophecy in the Zohar, given by Jews hundreds of years separate from the divination of “the last pope,” is amazing when compared with the Catholic prediction. The final pope, “Peter the Roman,” whose reign ends in the destruction of Rome, will assume authority during a time of great tribulation, and then “the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the terrible and fearsome Judge will judge his people.” But Dr. Church pointed out how in the Jewish Zohar, this vision of the destruction of Rome is repeated, though one prophecy connects it to the coming of the False Prophet, and the other, the Antichrist:

This ancient rabbinical dissertation claims that Rome will be destroyed in the Jewish calendar year 5773, which, in our calendar begins with the new moon of September 2012 and concludes a year later:

“In the year seventy-three [2012/2013] the kings of the world will assemble in the great city of Rome, and the Holy One will shower on them fire and hail and meteoric stones until they are all destroyed, with the exception of those who will not yet have arrived there.”

Is he hinting at the destruction of Mystery Babylon? He notes that not all kings will be destroyed. Of those remaining, he says: “These will commence anew to make other wars. From that time the Messiah will begin to declare himself, and round him there will be gathered many nations and many hosts from the uttermost ends of the earth.”[i][i]

  Thus the false messiah (antichrist) is predicted in a seven-hundred-year-old Jewish prophecy to appear in 2012. Similarly, the nine-hundred-year-old Prophecy of the Popes looks to be unfolding in parallel fashion to provide Petrus Romanus in 2012. To these, we could add numerous other strange attractors from throughout history that also assigned apocalyptic importance to the year 2012, including:

  • The Mayan calendar ends in 2012 with the return of their flying dragon god Kulkulkan.
  • ·         The Aztec calendar ends in 2012 and their flying dragon god Quetzalcoatl returns.
  • ·         The Cherokee Indian calendar ends in the year 2012 and their flying rattlesnake god returns. The “Cherokee Rattlesnake Prophecies,” also known as the “Chickamaugan Prophecy” or the “Cherokee Star Constellation Prophecies,” are part of a series of apocalyptic prophecies made by members of the Cherokee tribe during 1811–1812. Like the Maya, the Cherokee calendar ends mysteriously in the year 2012 when astronomical phenomena related to Jupiter, Venus, Orion, and Pleiades cause the “powers” of the star systems to “awaken.”
  • ·          According to ancient Mayan inscriptions, in 2012, the Mayan underworld god Bolon Yokte Ku also returns.
  • ·         The Hindu Kali Yuga calendar ends in the year 2012 at the conclusion of the age of “the male demon.”
  • ·         According to the book, Apollyon Rising 2012, the prophecy of the Cumaean Sibyl on the Great Seal of the United States (novus ordo seclorum) points to the coming of the Antichrist in 2012. (more notes on this below)
  • ·         Over two hundred sixty years ago, the leader of the first Great Awakening in America, Jonathan Edwards, tied the arrival of the Antichrist and Great Tribulation period to the timeframe 2012 and 2016.
  • ·         One hundred thirty years after that, in 1878, Reverend William J. Reid did the same, writing in his “Lectures on the Revelation” concerning the papal system: “…we are prepared to answer the question, When will the Papal system come to an end? [It] will be destroyed in the year 2012.”[ii][ii]
  • ·         Also of interest is the Web Bot Project, which was developed in the late 1990s for tracking and making stock market predictions. This technology crawls the Internet, much like a search engine does, searching for keywords and following “chatter” in order to tap into “the collective unconscious” of the global community for tipping points regarding past, current, and future buying patterns. In 2001, operators began noticing what looked like more than coincidences, and that the “bot” was taking on a mind of its own, accurately predicting more than just stock market predictions, including June of 2001 when the program predicted that a life-altering event would be felt worldwide and would take place within sixty to ninety days. On September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center fell. The Web Bot also predicted the 2001 anthrax attack on Washington DC; the earthquake that produced the December 26, 2004, tsunami; Hurricane Katrina; and more. The Web Bot has now foretold global devastation for late December 2012.
  • In 2008, Henry Kissinger predicted the arrival of the New World Order in four years – 2012 (watch video below)
  • ·         In 2012, the United States elects a President.
  • ·         In 2012, the United Nations gets new leaders.

·         And in 2012, Petrus Romanus is set to materialize during a Final Conclave


 

 

 

Juppe calls for action against Syria; U.N.’s Ban urges Assad to act ‘within days’

Monday, 12 March 2012

By Al Arabiya With Agencies
UNITED NATIONS

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Monday called for action to stop the killing of civilians in Syria and demanded that Syrian leaders face international court charges.

Speaking at the U.N. Security Council Juppe also appealed for Russia and China to hear the “world conscience” and agree on a U.N. resolution condemning the Syria violence.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to act within the “next few days” on U.N.-Arab League proposals to bring peace to the country where pro-democracy protests deteriorated into bloody turmoil.

“The Syrian government has failed to fulfill its responsibility to protect its own people and instead has subjected its citizens in several cities to military assault and disproportionate use of force,” Ban said. “These shameful operations continue.”

A popular uprising against Assad erupted a year ago. The United Nations estimates Syrian security forces have killed well over 7,500 people. Syria said in December that “terrorists” had killed more than 2,000 soldiers and police.

APPRISING MINISTRIES EXCLUSIVE ON RICK WARREN, JIM HINCH, AND ISLAM

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Mar 4, 2012 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Features, Rick Warren

Apprising Ministries has long been a leading critic of the semi-pelagian (at best) doctrine of Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Rick Warren.

In articles like Rick Warren And Teachings Of Demons I’ve also clearly documented his sinful ecumenicism as well.

Of course that’s merely one of the fruits festering within apostatizing evangelicalism because of its foolish fascination with corrupt Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism.

With this in mind, I previously told you that Christian Research Network contributor Christine Pack brought out in her piece Controversy Over An Article About Rick Warren’s Efforts to Bring Muslims, Christians Together:

According to our article posted just a few hours ago, Rick Warren, megachurch pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA, is currently working to build a “bridge” (through a document called “King’s Way”) between Christians and Muslims by claiming that the two faiths worship the same God. The “King’s Way” document, which is the foundation for these bridge building efforts, is not yet publicly available, but a December 2011 meeting at Saddleback Church has been documented here. From the article by Jim Hinch of the Orange County Register:

“The Rev. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest and one of America’s most influential Christian leaders, has embarked on an effort to heal divisions between evangelical Christians and Muslims by partnering with Southern California mosques and proposing a set of theological principles that includes acknowledging that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.” (Online source)

You might remember that Rick Warren then appeared in the comments section of Hinch’s report with a rather nebulous comment about apparent misinformation allegedly put out by Hinch. So in Rick Warren, Islam, And Jim Hinch I shared with you the result of my personal conversation with Hinch, as well as his subsequent clarification.

To God be the glory that online apologetics and discernment works He’s raised up were able to put enough pressure upon Rick Warren that Ed Stetzer of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Lifeway publishing arm would lament:

Once again, watchbloggers are accusing Rick Warren of heresy. Why? Because, Warren explains, a secular Orange County newspaper got something wrong about a religious issue. Some of the usual bloggers have done their usual job.

However, due to the nature of the story, some mainstream news organizations and bloggers, without the constant anti-Warren agenda, were asking questions and wondering what what was going on. I was. So, I emailed Rick and asked him.

Rick sent me this interview where he seeks to bring clarification. He gave me permission to share it here at the blog. I think it will be helpful. (Online source)

Since I am considered one of those “watchbloggers” this immediately caught my attention. Stetzer would go on to say, “I am sure those who quoted the OC Register will also quote this to clear up any confusion.” Indeed Daniel Neades of Better Than Sacrifice, editor of my CRN, did immediately cover this development.

Neades noted in his piece Rick Warren Categorically Denies OC Register Report:

In an ‘interview’ published by Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research, Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and one of America’s most prominent Christian leaders, has categorically denied an Orange County Register report that he had ‘embarked on an effort to heal divisions between evangelical Christians and Muslims by partnering with Southern California mosques and proposing a set of theological principles that includes acknowledging that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.’ (Online source)

Well, in the interest of fairness I decided to email Jim Hinch today. Remember, he is a veteran freelance reporter; not some “angry watchblogger.” I asked Jim if there’s any way I could get a copy of that King’s Way piece at the source of this confusion. I explained that without seeing it there wasn’t much more I can say.

I then told him that my guess is the wording of it does imply what what he had stated. I told Hinch it was my opinion, based upon 25 years in the field of Comparative Religion, that likely it’s wording is consistent with the original In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful A Common Word between Us and You, which says:

It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity. (Online source)

Now compare the Christian response to the above that Rick Warren actually signed. You’ll see it also, at least, implies that Islam is an Abrahamic faith believing in the same God:

A Common Word Between Us and You identifies some core common ground between Christianity and Islam which lies at the heart of our respective faiths as well as at the heart of the most ancient Abrahamic faith, Judaism…in responding to your letter, we ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world…

We applaud that A Common Word Between Us and You stresses so insistently the unique devotion to one God, indeed the love of God, as the primary duty of every believer… (Online source)

As I then told Jim Hinch in my email to him, sure, someone can hide in the weeds claiming all of this doesn’t exactly say that Muslims believe in the same God, but it’s my assertion this is the clear implication. I’ll also offer that if one doesn’t mean this then they’re actually being a bit disingenuous to followers of Islam.

The Lord be praised, Jim Hinch has given me permission to publish the following, which further explains his thinking in his report. It also includes a bit of the King’s Way document. I read it the same way as Jim Hinch:

1. The primary source for this story was a five-page document jointly drafted by Abraham Meulenberg, a Saddleback pastor in charge of interfaith outreach, and Jihad Turk, director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, a mosque in Los Angeles. The document was unveiled at a December, 2011 dinner at Saddleback Church attended by approximately 300 Saddleback members and members of Southern California’s Muslim community. At the dinner a Powerpoint presentation described the document, and the King’s Way outreach effort which inspired the document, as “a path to end the 1,400 years of misunderstanding between Muslims and Christians.” The document, which was given to me by a source for this story on condition it not be published in its entirety, outlines several areas of theological agreement between Christians and Muslims and commits members of both faiths to three goals: becoming friends; making peace; and sharing “the blessings of God with others.” Here is how the document describes the points of theological agreement:

I. WHO: we believe in

ONE GOD:

1. God is one (Mark 12:29; Muhammed 47:19)

2. God is the Creator (Genesis 1:1; Al Shura 42:11)

3. God is different from the world (1 Timothy 6:16; An An’am 6:103)

4. God is Good

a. God loves (1 John 4:16; Al Buruj 85:14)

b. God is just (1 John 1:19, Romans 3:26; Hud 11:45)

c. God’s love encompasses God’s judgment (1 Peter 4:8; Al A’raf 7:156; Al Ghafir 40:7)

The Register story based the phrases “same God” and “one God” on the phrasing in this document, which states that Christians and Muslims believe in one God.

2. Rick Warren initially posted a comment to the article claiming that the article contained “multiple errors.” That comment was later deleted, I presume by Warren. After seeing that comment I reached out to Warren’s director of communications. On Monday, Feb. 27 a Saddleback representative called and told me that while the Register story was factually accurate, folks at Saddleback would prefer that the opening paragraph read “Muslims and Christians believe that God is one.” Following a discussion with a Register editor Saddleback decided to withdraw its request for a clarification. At no time has anyone at Saddleback said to me or to anyone else at the Register that the story contains factual inaccuracies.

3. Warren states in his white paper that “no one even talked to me about that article!” I made numerous attempts to contact Warren, both by phone and by e-mail, before the story was published. I was eventually told by Warren’s director of communications that Warren was too busy with other projects to speak with me or to e-mail a response to the story’s main claims, which I had e-mailed to the communications director. Instead I was put in touch with Tom Holladay, an associate senior pastor at Saddleback. I ran all of the story’s claims by Holladay and he affirmed all of them, including the language of the King’s Way document and the fact that King’s Way was an effort to build bridges of friendship and cooperation, not an attempt to evangelize. During my conversation with Holladay I asked whether the King’s Way effort, including the December dinner and the theological document, was done with Rick Warren’s approval. “Of course it has his approval,” Holladay replied. It is neither fair nor accurate to claim that this story was published without attempting to solicit Rick Warren’s response.

4. Warren claims in his white paper that it is “flat-out wrong” that either he or members of Saddleback have promised not to evangelize the Muslims they are working with in the King’s Way effort. As I stated above, that was not what I was told by Tom Holladay. Also, every one of the Muslim sources I talked to for this story emphasized that both sides promised not to evangelize one another. Indeed Muslims told me that the promise not to evangelize was one of the things that enabled them to overcome their wariness toward evangelicals and build bonds of friendship. Again, no source for this story, including at Saddleback, ever told me that the intent of the King’s Way effort was to evangelize Muslims.

This story, obviously, has generated a great deal of passionate response. I respect Rick Warren’s desire to make his views and intentions clear. However I do not believe it is fair to question the accuracy of the Register’s story or the way it was reported. I have had several conversations with people at Saddleback following the publication of the story, including with the church’s director of communications. Everyone I have talked to from the church has told me that the story is entirely factually accurate but they wish certain phrases had been worded differently. However, since those phrases stem directly from a printed document whose authenticity no one has questioned, everyone agrees that there is nothing in the story to correct.

WND Exclusive

U.S. ‘seriously’ considers strike on Syria

Ever-growing international cooperative prepares for next military action

Published: 22 hours ago

by Aaron Klein

The Obama administration and its allies and international partners have begun “serious discussions” about possible military action in Syria, the Washington Post reported today.

Last month, WND was first to report NATO countries were strongly considering the possibility of an international deployment to Syria if the Syrian opposition does not make major advances.

The Post reported possibilities for international intervention include directly arming opposition forces, sending troops to guard a humanitarian corridor or “safe zone” for the rebels, or an air assault on Syrian air defenses, according to officials from the United States and other nations opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

WND, meanwhile, reported the U.S. and other countries have been arming the rebels for weeks.

Egyptian security officials outlined to WND what they said was large scale international backing for the rebels attacking the embattled regime of Assad – including arms and training from the U.S., Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Several knowledgeable Egyptian and Arab security officials claimed the U.S., Turkey and Jordan were running a training base for the Syrian rebels in the Jordanian town of Safawi in the country’s northern desert region.

The security officials also claimed Saudi Arabia was sending weapons to the rebels via surrogates, including through Druze and Christian leaders in Lebanon such as Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, Saudi-Lebanese billionaire Saad Hariri, who recently served as Lebanon’s prime minister, and senior Lebanese opposition leader Samir Farid Geagea.

Syrian sources claimed to WND that Jordan’s fingerprints can be seen on the opposition forces entering the country. They claimed that just this week they shot dead 15 armed smugglers coming into the country from Jordan and that Jordanian forces helped to cover the smugglers’ tracks on the Jordanian side of the border. They said the incident did not make it to the news media.

NATO war in Syria in March?

Meanwhile, according to the Middle Eastern diplomatic and security officials speaking to WND, the international community is considering launching NATO air strikes on Assad’s forces as soon as this month if the opposition does not make major strides toward ending Assad’s regime.

The NATO members, however, have been satisfied with the momentum of the opposition, which saw a number of defectors from the Syrian military join the rebels, a move that also precipitated the downfall of Muammar Gadhafi’s regime before the NATO campaign in Libya.

Similar to Gadhafi, Assad’s regime has been accused of major human rights violations, including crimes against humanity, in clamping down on a violent insurgency targeting his rule.

Mass demonstrations were held in recent weeks in Syrian insurgent strongholds calling for the international NATO coalition in Libya to deploy in Syria.

Last month, 50 foreign ministers from Western and Arab nations got together in Tunis to demand that Syria allow aid to be delivered to civilians in the absence of any international force to resolve the conflict.

Damascus officials claimed to WND that NATO troops are currently training in Turkey for a Turkish-led NATO invasion of Syria.

Any deployment would most likely come under the banner of the same “Responsibility to Protect” global doctrine used to justify the U.S.-NATO airstrikes in Libya.

Responsibility to Protect, or Responsibility to Act, as cited by President Obama, is a set of principles, now backed by the United Nations, based on the idea that sovereignty is not a privilege, but a responsibility that can be revoked if a country is accused of “war crimes,” “genocide,” “crimes against humanity” or “ethnic cleansing.”

Iron Dome Foils 90 Percent of Missiles

The Iron Dome system has intercepted 90 percent of missile attacks on urban centers during the latest rocket bombardment from Gaza.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 3/11/2012, 9:57 AM

 

 

Iron Dome anti-missile system

IDF Spokesman

The Iron Dome system has intercepted 90 percent of missile attacks on urban centers during the latest rocket bombardment from Gaza.

The expensive systems were inaugurated last year amid controversy over its worth. A primitive Kassam rocket costs terrorists only a few hundred dollars while each Iron Dome anti-missile missile costs $50,000.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated Saturday night, “We will continue to improve home front defense including by means of additional Iron Dome systems, the effectiveness of which was shown again over the weekend.”

The Iron Dome system intercepted about 90 percent of the rockets fired at Be’er Sheva, Ashdod and Ashkelon, including three on Sunday morning.

Despite the rocket barrage, Israel kept open the Erez Crossing for passengers and employees of international organizations operating in Gaza. Kerem Shalom was open for the delivery of 200 truckloads to Gaza residents.

Its deployment this past weekend appears to have defeated Hamas, at least for the time being. The terrorist organization has been talking with the new regime in Egypt for another ceasefire after failing to inflict mass casualties or property damage on Israel.

The problem with the Iron Dome is its cost and the lack of enough systems to defend all of Israel. The United States is providing funds to Israel to buy more of the made-in-Israel systems, each one of which costs more than $100 million.

The Iron Dome has been able to defend Israel’s three most populous southern cities, but if Hamas unleashes longer-range missiles that can reach Rehovot, Kiryat Gat and Kiryat Malachi, closer to metropolitan Tel Aviv, the IDF would lack enough systems to cover everyone. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday morning that expanding the system should be a national emergency project.

In addition to the defensive action of deploying the Iron Dome, the IDF also has taken the offensive against terrorists.

It targeted two members of the Popular Resistance Committee terror organization on Friday. The squad was responsible for planning a combined terror attack that was to take place via the Sinai Peninsula and the Israel-Egypt border.

In response to the ensuing rocket and missile bombardment from Gaza, the Israel Air Force targeted several weapons manufacturing facilitates and terrorist cells preparing to launch missiles.

 

 

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Mar 09

The United States of Islam

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Antichrist

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March 9, 2012

“‘A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of Communism.’ These were the first words of Karl Marx’s ‘The Communist Manifesto’. More than a century later a different specter has appeared on the threshold of the Old World – the Specter of Caliphate.

A year ago Muhammad Badie—the General Guide of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood – stated: ‘improvement and change that the Muslim nation seeks can only be attained through jihad and sacrifice and by raising a jihadi generation that pursues death, just as the enemies pursue life’.

According to Badie, the ultimate purpose of Arabs is to restore the true face of the Muslim world, which is the State of the Caliphate with Sharia Laws – the sacred and the highest form of human civilization.

A veteran member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Sheikh Ahmad Gad called ‘honorable Al-Azhar to rally the Islamic streams in order to unite the Muslim word and effort, restore the Caliphate… O Allah, guide us, open our hearts to faith, and restore this nation to its previous self—one united nation worshiping You and You alone’.

Dr. Kamal Al-Helbawy, former Muslim Brotherhood spokesman in the West named this future Caliphate—’the United States of Islam’. He implied that Arabs want to erase borders that were drawn up by imperialist nations and build global Islamic State.

This is how another Egyptian Islamic Scholar Ibrahim Al-Khouli has formulated the concept of the Muslim Brotherhood: ‘Forget about Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. That’s not what I’m talking about. I am talking about Jihad which is led by the Islamic scholars … I am talking about the Jihad of the entire nation. We must conduct jihad against the West, who are aggressors against the Land of Islam’.

One can talk about the democratization of the Arab world, the ‘Arab Spring’, and liberalization of the Arab society. However, this observation is only external – from another Time and another World – from the West of the XXI century. An internal perspective is completely different. It’s derived from depths of centuries, and it is reflected in the lexis of Badie and Gad, Al-Helbawy and Al-Khouli, Sheikh Yousef Qaradawi (‘Constantinople was conquered in 1453 by a 23-year-old Ottoman named Muhammad ibn Murad, whom we call Muhammad the Conqueror. Now what remains is to conquer Rome’) and Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Ahmad Hussein who said: ‘The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews…. Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e.,Jews) is a war of religion and faith’.

Lastly, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani declared that no efforts will be spared to spread Wahhabi Islam across the world, encouraging Jihad while investing ‚Ǩ50 million in restoring Sharia in the French suburbs where hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants reside.

Al-Thani is considered a moderate pro-western ruler. A year ago this type of discourse would have been considered unthinkable. Nowadays these words are not only uttered, but are also validated by donations and financial support. Why one may ask? It is because al-Thani wants to be on the ‘right side of history’. The time has come. All the obstacles, such as corrupt authoritarian regimes, towards the cherished dream have been scattered like sand dunes with the draft of khamsin.

Just like the Jews are coveting to return to Jerusalem, the Christians are longing for the Second Coming of Christ and the kingdom of universal justice so the Arabs are yearning to restore Caliphate for centuries. Caliphate – a theocratic state – was the first and only authentic state in the Arab history, the embodiment of the Divine will.

Sharia Laws determine the internal structure of this state, Jihad—its foreign policy. Recently only starry-eyed professors, charmed by the Sufi spiritual practices, have been talking about Jihad as a self-improvement. Jihad, however, is not a spiritual improvement, it is the fulfillment of the Divine will, and whatever is not a part of the ‘The House of Islam’ (Dar al-Islam) is actually the ‘The House of War’ (Dar al-Harb).

There hasn’t been any dispute about the supremacy of Sharia Laws and the divine destiny of the Caliphate. Dividing Islam into ‘moderate’ and ‘radical’ one is the flight of imagination of Western intellectuals who confuse, primarily, themselves. Islam (like two other Abrahamic religions) is a fundamentalist one, i.e., literally interprets holly scripture.

Only in the XVII-XVIII centuries in Christianity (and later, influenced by the Enlightenment, in Judaism too) more liberal directions, treating the Bible in allegorical terms, have appeared. In general, the orthodoxy does not accept any abstraction. It is based on the concrete prophetic word. Creator is anthropomorphic in all three religions; He is not an impersonal substance of Deists and harmonious deity of Neo-Platonists. He establishes the laws and obliges obeying them. Sacred texts about the triumph of Islam ‘by the means of Jihad’ are not a good will, they are a call to action.

Muslim theologians’ standpoint has its own logic. Why would the Arabs adopt social systems alien to them and imposed on them less than a century ago – whether it is democracy, market economy or socialism? Moreover, they are familiar with the consequences of political experimentation in the recent past. Liberal democracy? What is the practical meaning of it? The absence of Divine Basis, Shape, Content? Desecration of God and His order? Refusal of values as the supreme value? Rejecting roots as a sacred principle? Desperate loneliness: ‘We are left alone, without excuse’?**. The triumph of ‘the substantial emptiness’?*** Sexual laxity and perversions as an example to follow?

In order to understand someone you need to see the world through one’s eyes. The liberal freedoms are a blessing for the West and a mockery of the will of the Creator for Muslims. The Islamists’ victory in last elections in Egypt wasn’t the result of brainwashing, but of a deep inner conviction.

The Arab world is ready for the State of Caliphate . It will resemble the theocracy in Saudi Arabia and Iran : the rough laws of ‘dhimmi’ for the non-Muslims (who will survive the slaughter), the submission of women, stoning for adultery, prohibition of usury and homosexuality.

Creating a Caliphate will, obviously, take time. Primarily, it’s necessary to neutralize the resistance of the military junta in Egypt , to eliminate the anarchy in Libya , to sweep away the regime in Syria , to crush the Hashemite monarchy and overthrow the rotten Palestinian leadership, suppress ethnic riots and stop the advancement of the Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon. Secondly, it is essential to affirm the principles of Sharia Laws in the minds of people, since these still exist in the collective consciousness as vague ideas. Finally, only then the scattered islands will be united into a single religious and cultural realm with the main goal—the beginning of Jihad.

Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis are not in a hurry. Sheikh Ahmad Gad said ‘There is no hope for reform without a return to divine rule, which the Creator chose for man…There is no other way but gradual action, preparing the souls and setting an example, so that faith will enter their hearts…’.

Unlike the European people, the Arabs can wait, but they also know how to mobilize their forces. ‘Be patient if you are an anvil. Be swift if you are a hammer’ – says Arabic wisdom. It took Prophet Muhammad two decades to create Islamic Caliphate in the Arabian Peninsula, and it took his followers less than a decade to conquer Persia , Egypt , and to corner the mighty Byzantine Empire.

‘There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come’ – Victor Hugo wrote.

If you want liberal democracy for Arabs, you will get State of the Caliphate in your own house. ‘A specter is haunting the Middle East … the specter of Caliphate‘…”

 

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Mar 03

The Man of Lawlessness and the Burning of the Qur’an

Categories:

Antichrist

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March 3, 2012

Please read the article below. The Bible was written from an Eastern perspective and everything in regard to the time of the end revolves around Israel. Keep looking up!

The Man of Lawlessness and the Burning of the Qur’an

02/29/2012

 

By Jack Smith

Behind my desk is a newly framed picture that has special meaning to me. It is a picture of the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim religious shrine that memorializes Muhammad’s “night journey” and his heavenly rendezvous with Allah. Superimposed on the picture are the words, “…only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.  And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth…” 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8.

It was in my study of 2 Thessalonians 2 that God revealed the first “piece” of the “Islamic Paradigm” puzzle, that is, Islam is the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of an antichrist empire that will rise up in the last days to wage “holy war” against the world (Revelation 13:1-10). The spiritual meaning behind the Dome of the Rock was the first revelation of that Paradigm (see “Introduction, p XI, Islam the Cloak of Antichrist). The Dome of the Rock is not an Islamic worship center, i.e., a mosque. The Dome of the Rock is an octagonal, domed structure that “stands over” a massive rock (“Rock”) located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. There is nothing else located within the Dome of the Rock other than the Rock itself, and the marble, columned structure that foreshadows and encloses it.

When I began my personal study of Islam in the Fall of 2001, one of the first books I purchased on Muslim Holy War (and, in fact, the only book I found on the specific topic) was entitled, “Jihad,” by Paul Fregosi, Prometheus Books, 1998. The opening Introduction (page 19) states:

The Jihad, the Islamic so-called Holy War, has been a fact of life in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Near and Middle East for more than 1300 years, but this is the first history of the Muslim wars of Europe ever published. Hundreds of books, however, have appeared on its Christian counterpart, the Crusades, …. The Jihad has been the most unrecorded and disregarded major event of history. It has, in fact, been largely ignored. … In the New South Wales State Library, where I did part of my research while in Australia, there were 108 entries listed in their catalogue cards for the Crusades, but only two for the Jihad! The Jihad has been largely bypassed by Western historians, and this book is an attempt to right the situation, …   (Emphasis in italics, mine).

Jihad was published in 1998, three years before 9/11. Fregosi states, “this is the first history of the Muslim wars ever to be published… The Jihad has been the most unrecorded and disregarded major event of history.”  Why? Why have the Muslim holy wars not been reported in the same way that the Crusades have been reported? Why so meticulously report on the Crusades and use them as “fodder”  to malign Christianity, and report virtually nothing on Muslim holy war? Why have the pens of historians, both American, European, and Muslim omitted the murderous actions of the mujahideen of Islam for almost 1400 years?

In fact, it is embarrassing for me to admit it, but when I first began my study of Islam after 9/11, I was somehow either unaware of it, or had forgotten, that the Middle East at the time of the Quranic revelation to Muhammad (610 A.D.) was predominantly Christian. The land that Christ once walked, the lands that the Apostle Paul planted churches, the entire Middle East, north Africa, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, were predominantly Christian. Certainly, not a “unified” Christianity, but Christian all the same. In fact, the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 were all located in modern day Turkey.  Then, jihad occurred.  And, Christianity was “killed off.”  Here is how historian, Phillip Jenkins describes it in his book, “The Lost History of Christianity” (p. 30):

Given that the destruction of Christianity has not been much studied, we can make certain general observations, stressing above all the role of states. Though churches may lose political influence under Christian states or in predominantly Christian societies, though they might be secularized, they do not vanish. … In most of these cases, churches collapsed or vanished because they were unable to cope with the pressures placed upon them by hostile regimes, mainly Muslim. While religions might sicken and fade, they do not die of their own accord:  they must be killed.  (Emphasis in italics, mine)

Christianity was “killed” in the Middle East.  By Islam. After 9/11, there was a mantra that frequently appeared in public: “We will not forget.”  We may not have forgotten 9/11, but we have forgotten the Christianity that once predominated the Middle East. How have we forgotten?  I propose that the reason is because the prince of darkness, satan, has “restrained” the world’s understanding; he has covered it up much like the spirit of the antichrist has veiled the minds of humanity to the only Begotten God, Jesus the Christ (2 John 2:18, 21-22). The Apostle Paul puts it this way:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

This is precisely the meaning of 2 Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;” only “he who now restrains” will do so until he is “taken out of the way.” The one who “restrains” is the spirit of antichrist (satan and his “minions”). He “restrains” so that humanity will not know the identity of the instrument through whom he will practice his “mystery of lawlessness.”  The spirit of antichrist will continue to “restrain,” according to 2 Thessalonians 2:7, “until he is taken out of the way.” That occurred on September 11, 2001; when the world watched in unbelief as  the lives of thousands of innocent were taken.  On that day, President Bush referred to the perpetrators as “faceless cowards.” Not sure if I agree with that description. The “face” of the perpetrator was revealed that day: when the Islamists cried out in their last moments, “Allahu Akbar!” “Allahu Akbar!” “Allah is Great!” “Allah is Great!,” the face of the enemy was revealed, and, the mask that so completely covered his face was lifted ever so slightly — for the world was first made aware of the mystery of lawlessness that has so disguised itself in Islam for hundreds of years. The “restrainer,” having now been moved out of the way, will not only reveal the identity of satan’s instrument, but also use the very nature of the enemy, destruction, muck like a “fingerprint” left behind at a crime scene. The true nature of Islam will continue to be revealed to humanity – but only to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11; Revelation 13:4), until the return of the Lamb of God.

Afghanistan has filled our news lately.

Why do I mention this event in the context of 2 Thessalonians 2?  Because it is evidence of exactly what I am stating. The mystery of lawlessness is not being restrained anymore. Evil is having its way — the holy book of Islam was burned, and people are killed! The evidence of the removal of restraint is not only in the killings, but in our expectation that death will soon occur and claim another victim in honor of Allah.  We know this happens when Islam, its Allah, or its ”prophet” is blasphemed.  This is why the apologies came so quickly from every place in the non-Muslim West — to try and pacify the lust of death by prostrating ourselves in subjection, and immediate pleas of apology. Perhaps, if we hold those accountable for such despicable acts, we can satisfy the lust of lawlessness.  We know that when Muslims get “lawless,” people die. People get killed.

Here is a post I received on my blog in response to the article — What Does the Qur’an Say About its Burning?  Blogger “Blickmancin James” wrote:

it is 2012, everyone knows by now that burning a koran would lead to violent protest… its like someone ‘accidentally’ drawing a cartoon of muhammad.  innocent people in places like nigeria would be killed over this (after friday prayers)

My point? Yes, we all know — after all, its 2012, not 9/11/2001.  It has taken us over ten years, but for the one who has “eyes to see and ears to hear,” the violence of the “mystery of lawlessness” is shouting loudly.

One last point.  Did you realize that of the over thirty who have died in retaliation for the Qur’an burning, only 4 (at least from what I read) were non-Muslims? How do you explain the 26 Muslim deaths at the hands of other Muslims? Afghanistan is Sunni Islam. The Taliban is also Sunni Muslim.  This is not sectarian violence where Sunnis kill Shi’ites and vice versa.  This is death for the sake of death.  It is not death to Americans, but death to anyone, because the objective is not justice, but death for death’s sake.  Why so?  Because the hand behind it all is satan. Pure evil.  Evil that is only satisfied by evil; and the more it is satisfied, the more it will lust for more. It is this evil that is the root of satan’s masquerade behind Islam.

The mystery of lawlessness and the man of lawlessness, the antichrist spirit of satan, will become more and more bold. This boldness will escalate until the end of the tribulation period. Then, the “… Lord will slay [the man of lawlessness] with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of his coming.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

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Feb 28

Vatican wants to examine 1500-year-old Bible in Turkey: report

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Antichrist, The Church

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February 28, 2012

Here we go with this story showing how the faith will turn from Jesus being the Son of God. If the Vatican believes these lies then the false religion of Islam will be in bed with Catholism.

The Vatican has requested that Turkey allow it to examine a 1500-year-old Bible that was discovered by Turkish police during an anti-smuggling operation in 2000 and handed over to the Ankara Ethnography Museum, the Turkish Bugün daily reported on Thursday.

The daily said the Bible is reportedly written in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and is said to be worth TL 40 million. According to the report, the Bible was seized from a gang smuggling artifacts during a police operation in southern Turkey in 2010 and reportedly preserves its originality and many traces of the period it’s from.

The gang was reportedly convicted of smuggling various items seized during the operation, including the Bible, and all the artifacts were kept in a safe in the Ankara Courthouse. The Bible, which was reportedly kept in the courthouse for years, was only recently handed over to the care of Ankara Ethnography Museum.

The leather-bound Bible is written on leather sheets and is now under protection as it is regarded as a valuable cultural asset. Even a Xerox copy of pages from the book is reported to be worth as much as TL 3-4 million.

Another Turkish daily, the Star, has claimed that it may be a copy of the much-debated Gospel of Barnabas, which Muslims claim is an original gospel that was later suppressed — the oldest copies of this gospel date back to the 16th century and are written in Italian and Spanish. However, the Gospel of Barnabas is not included in the four gospels that currently comprise the canonical New Testament — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The Gospel of Barnabas contradicts the canonical New Testament account of Jesus and his ministry, but has strong parallels with the Islamic view of Jesus. Much of its content and themes parallel Islamic ideas and it includes a prediction by Jesus of the Prophet Muhammad coming to earth.

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Feb 28

PLANNING FOR ISLAMIC CALIPHATE TO BEGIN

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February 28, 2012

 

A senior fellow for a Madrid-based think tank is alerting freedom-loving people about a caliphate-planning conference being held by Muslims soon, a move he said was given a boost of support by the Obama administration recently when it allowed a three-day “Istanbul Process” conference in Washington.

That event, writes Soeren Kern, Senior Fellow for European Politics at Madrid’s Grupo de Estudio, “gave the [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] the political legitimacy it has been seeking to globalize its initiative to ban criticism of Islam.”

The coming event, Caliphate Conference 2012, is being organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir, which Kern describes as a “pan-Islamic extremist group that seeks to establish a global Islamic state, or caliphate, ruled by Islamic Shariah law.”

The 57-member OIC has been proposing a special international law that would make it criminal to speak ill of Muhammad or his followers for years, but it never was successful under its earlier plans that were portrayed as a ban on the “defamation of religions.” Actually, support for the idea had started waning.

But then it proposed Resolution 16/18, a plan for countries to “combat” things like “intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of … religion and belief.” The idea was adopted in the U.N. General Assembly just a few weeks ago and Kern’s analysis notes that it would be largely ineffectual as long as the West doesn’t jump behind it.

That is why it was a “diplomatic coup,” according to Kern, when Obama held the three-day conference in Washington, where Secretary of State Hillary Clinton committed to the key principal Muslims have been seeking for years: holding people responsible when “free speech” … “results in sectarian clashes.”

The critical question that has been among the reasons the so-called “anti-defamation” plans previously have failed is that such limits suggest, even require, that the blame be placed on the person making a statement if the situation is that someone else reacts to it violently.

Free speech advocates are worried over her comment that, “It’s one thing if people are just disagreeing. That is fair game. That’s free speech. But if it results in sectarian clashes, if it results in the destruction or the defacement or the vandalization of religious sites, if it even results in imprisonment or death, then government must held those – hold those who are responsible accountable.”

In Western civilization, the standard for responsibility would be to hold those accountable who do violence, not those who make statements that those who do violence blame for their actions.

The U.N. strategy, proposed by Pakistan “on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference,” again creates an open door to blame someone for making a statement about Islam to which Muslims would react violently, by raising concerns about “incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”

Further, it “condemns any advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.”

Repeated concerns have been raised by such statements, as they open the door for attacks on people making statements about their own beliefs, which someone else would choose to decry as “hatred.”

In fact, the resolution calls for “measures to criminalize” some related behaviors.

Sharona Schwartz at at the Blaze noted that the German-language promotion video for the conference starts: “The relentless decline of capitalism has begun. The time has come to fight against poverty. Time to obliterate the injustices. Time for the correct system.”

Which is identified as Islam.

In a report published by the Stonegate Institute, Kern said the “explicit aim” of the Istanbul Process is to make it a crime to criticize Islam.

He writes, “According to Steven Emerson, a leading authority on Islamic extremist networks, Hizb ut-Tahrir is emulating the three-stage process by which Muslims established the first Islamic caliphate after the death of the Islamic Prophet, Mohammed, in the year 632.

“During the first stage, Hizb ut-Tahrir builds a party by cultivating a small number of supporters to engage in recruitment and propaganda. In the second stage (which Hizb ut-Tahrir is now entering in Europe and the United States), the group educates Muslims in order to recruit a larger group of people to join Hizb ut-Tahrir and support its revolution. Finally, having won the support of Muslims, Hizb ut-Tahrir moves to establish a Shariah-ruled Islamic government.”

He notes the OIC just two weeks ago sponsored a symposium in Brussels to talk about “anti-Islamophobia.”

“Resolution 16/18, which was adopted at HRC headquarters in Geneva in March 2011, is widely viewed as a significant step forward in OIC efforts to advance the international legal concept of defaming Islam,” he reports.

He cited the report from the International Islamic News Agency, which stated, “The phenomenon of Islamophobia is found in the West in general, but is growing in European countries in particular, in a manner different from that in the U.S., which had contributed to drafting Resolution 16/18. The new European position represents the beginning of the shift from its previous reserve over the years over the attempts by the OIC to counter ‘defamation of religions’ in the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations.”

WND previously has written about the Islamic-led Defamation of Religions proposal in the United Nations. It was “nothing more than an effort to achieve special protections for Islam – a move to stifle religious speech,” according to an analysis by Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice.

According to the Human Rights First organization, the plan simply violates fundamental freedom of expression norms.

Tad Stahnke, of Human Rights First said the concept is “unfortunate for both individuals at risk whose rights will surely be violated under the guise of prohibiting ‘defamation of religions,’ as well as for the standards of international norms on freedom of expression.”

The issue also has been addressed by Carl Moeller, chief of Open Doors USA, in an interview with WND at the time, because of the pending threat to the freedoms in America.

“This is a battle for our basic freedoms,” he warned.

“This [U.N. idea] is Orwellian in its deviousness,” he said. “To use language like the anti-defamation of a religion. It sounds like doublespeak worthy of Orwell’s 1984 because of what it really does.”

He said Muslim nations would use it as an endorsement of their attacks on Christians for statements as simple as their belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, which Muslims consider an affront.

Worse would be the “chilling” effect on language that the U.N. plan would create worldwide, he said.

“This would be a huge blessing to those who would silence dissidents in their countries, Islamic regimes,” he said. “This stands as a monument to the gullibility of the masses in the United States and other places who don’t see this for what it is.”

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Feb 28

False Prophet Alert: Is the Church ready for an American pope?

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Antichrist, The Church

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February 28, 2012

Alot of people believe the False Prophet seen in Revelation chapter 13 is the last pope. He will be the one who denies that Jesus is God! It also makes it easier for a marriage with Islam when this happens. Keep looking up!

In just a decade, Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York City, has risen from a local bishop to becoming a prince of the Catholic Church. He returned from Rome after receiving his cardinal’s red hat and ring, like a rock star; a bevy of cameras and lights in tow.

Worldwide buzz around the newly minted Cardinal Dolan is that with his popularity, political savvy, and passion for the church, the question is being raised as to whether he could be the first American pope.

And it’s more than just wishful thinking.

“There is something qualitatively different about the speculation surrounding Cardinal Dolan in New York right now,” John Allen, senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, said.

Dolan, the shepherd of New York’s nearly three million Catholics, was coy when a journalist in Rome posed the question, answering only “Um, non parlo inglese,” meaning, “I don’t speak English”

And again on his home turf, he was equally evasive, pointing to his ears and claiming the jet lag was still affecting his hearing.

Predicting who the next pope is never a sure bet. In 1978 no one saw a Polish pope, Karol Woytyla, who became John Paul II. And in 2005, many thought Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict VXI, was too old, too European and too controversial.

Papal politics, says Allen, is not like the Iowa caucuses, candidates don’t declare themselves, you don’t have yard signs and bumper stickers. The cardinals choose the pope’s successor in secret conclave at the Vatican, after the death of a sitting pope.

Americans, though, have always been considered long shots. Conventional wisdom holds that the nation’s super power status runs counter to the Church’s outreach mission. And, Dolan himself lacks a mastery of foreign languages, useful skills that other popes possessed as head of a global church.

Still, the possibility of an American as the next Bishop of Rome has never been so strong Allen, whose latest book, “A People of Hope”, is a lengthy interview with then Archbishop Dolan, says,

“With Timothy Dolan there is some of the JP II magic (Pope John Paul II). This guy is a rock star in any room he walks into. He exudes charisma, it’s almost as if its charisma on steroids. At a time when the Catholic Church is suffering from an image problem I think a lot of people see in Dolan someone who can put a positive face and voice on the Catholic message.”

Right now the message has turned political as the nation’s bishops, headed by Dolan, are embroiled in a high stakes showdown with the Obama administration over the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Health Care Act. Allen concedes that if the bishops fail and lose this fight it might dim Dolan’s star. But, the perception is that Dolan has rung Obama’s bell, and the president is paying attention. As cardinal of the most prominent pulpit in America, Dolan has the platform to wield a powerful political punch.

In the end though, the next pope will only ostensibly be chosen by the cardinals. The faithful believe that ultimately God will raise up the man who is best fit for the task.

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