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Pietro Arnese, the founder and editor of Apocalypsesoon.org is available for speaking engagements, seminars and addressing church services on Bible prophecy.

First of all, please excuse the long delay in coming forth with the second part of this article, due to server stress. This is a modern "disease" which afflicts webmasters when their servers start playing around, so to speak. In short, the company in which we were hosted was sold to a competitor who decided they were not going to service the servers they had bought, but were advising all clients to "migrate" to their own product line, which unfortunately was not as good as the one it intended to replace. So I found myself, "migrating" and not at all happy. I immediately started the search for a new server, and within two weeks I had a about 4 alternatives. So, there I went with a new server, which turned out great, but so impossible to work with that I decide to take a loss and move to another one which turned out to be excellent even though it is more expensive for my overall activities, but thank God, we are home. Needless to say, I have had no time to sit down and collect my thoughts in order to write updates, having a bunch of sites in search of a good home. Well, now it's finished, at least temporarily. Hope to God that they do not plan to sell their business to someone else, eh eh!

The second disturbing trend I noticed, and not only I, is the very fast implementation of "security measures" and the proposed establishment of future ones. Regular readers may be aware of my reasoning about what event will bring the Mark of the Beast into gear, since it will be a revolutionary affair for mankind, in more ways than one. I have examined several possibilities, but I might have missed the most probable one: the war on terrorism.

Recent polls state clearly that Americans are "willing to trade some of their constitutional freedoms in order to achieve a better security." The nation is at war, and war like measures need to be implemented. So we are getting military tribunals for foreigners suspected of terroristic activities, and of course, the temporary suspension of the habeas corpus application. Border security is being increased, bank assets of suspected organizations and individuals are being frozen and possibly confiscated, and a host of other unthinkable at other times laws and proposals.

Business is not far behind in this new security push, with a host of hi tech companies pushing their latest gizmos and software, with the most blatant proposition made by Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison, who said last Tuesday that he has donated Oracle software to the U.S. government to create a database for national security. What a patriotic and unselfish gestures in times as these.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Ellison has championed the need for the United States to create a national standard for identification cards. During his keynote speech at Oracle's OpenWorld customer conference in San Francisco, Ellison said he has delivered Oracle's 9i database management software to a U.S. government agency for national security, but he declined to give further details, such as which agency or for what usage.

"We don't run those law enforcement agencies. We just provide them software," he said during a news conference.

Ellison had earlier offered to donate its database software, but charge for maintenance and upgrades as part of his goal of creating a national ID standard.

Ellison has suggested airport security would be improved by requiring travelers to provide their names and social security numbers to airport security personnel. Security personnel could then compared the travelers' thumb prints with those stored in a national security database to ensure accurate identification.

When Oracle started up nearly 25 years ago, it built databases for the Central Intelligence Agency. Database management software allows businesses, Web sites and government agencies to store and manage vast amounts of information. For example, Ellison said, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has more than 80,000 hand prints of travelers and foreigners with visas to enter the country. He said national security data is currently housed in multiple databases when it should be grouped together in one central repository.

"There is cooperation (among government agencies)," he said. "But there's a lot of data fragmentation."

During his news conference, Ellison added that a national standard for identification cards is important for national security reasons. "Our existing ID's should not be easily forged," he said. "Credit cards are based on a set of standards, why doesn't the government?"

Yes, how generous of Mr. Ellison. Formation, maintenance, updating, and all other peripherals come with a price, of course, which methinks will be large enough to cover the previous "donation" and then some. After all Oracle is not the Salvation Army.

I have been seeing reports of face recognition cameras to be installed in airports and strategic places in various cities. If memory serves me right, the city of London, England has experimented with such things in the last few years, and to no great advantage. It is a known fact that all cars that enter London have their licence plates checked out by computer-driven cameras, but that has not seemingly stopped the IRA.

I suppose that another batch of hits like Sept. 11 will have people screaming to be tagged, palpated, scrutinized and otherwise identified to their last fingernail. Fear is a big mover and motivator.

We have received lots of mail since Sept 11and I have to honestly say that 95% of those who wrote were in agreement that America has strayed from under the protecting hand of God. Sure, we have had some who have asked "how do we dare to say that America had this coming" and such. In truth, we only said America, by way of her public and private behaviour, has left the place of safety under God, anything else is of private interpretation. "What about World War 2" someone wrote, "was America under God's protection then?" Well, if someone does not see the difference from WW2 and the Sept. 11 events, it is not worth arguing about it. But a difference there is, and a mighty one at that.
"A friend tells a friend to his face" is part of a thank you note I received, and for me that says it all.

If there is some body to blame, it's the Christian Church in America since it has failed to overcome the moral decay which has gradually overtaken society, much to her shame. A sad epitaph and epilogue to her history. The Word has lots to say about this, if anybody bothers to look into it.

The week preceding the Sept. 11 attack, a business news report stated that showbusiness had become America's number one export item in terms of ($$$) revenue. Now, showbusiness is a small big word which encompasses anything from a love song to a porn movie. A peek at what society was "enjoying" during that previous week is disconcerting. Anywhere one could look, movies, music, the arts, fashion, television, the printed media, tv games, the internet ecc. there was very little material for edification to be found. The steady flow of filth from aberrant and corrupted minds, always ready to claim (pretend) freedom of expression for their vile productions had reached in all segments of society. A society which is continuously fed garbage, becomes morally likewise. Sept. 11 for awhile put a stop to most of this nonsense, as people were gathering their surprised breadth, but that did not last very long, indicating that the malaise has spread much too wide and far that not even a war and terrorism is enough to make people change their ways.

I say it again, what has happened on Sept. 11 is a defining moment in American history. Few are able to understand its causes and if they dare say something to that effect, they are bashed over and over. Americans do not want to be disturbed in their sinful ways. Unlike Nineveh, America cannot find in itself the willingness to repent before a righteous God. Too far gone. I don't see any signs of moral renewal to justify avoidance of Judgement. Here is a couple of items to illustrate what I am saying:

THE YOUNG AND THE GUTLESS
By ROD DREHER - NY POST

OUR enemies know what they believe.

They're willing to kill for it.

And, more importantly, they're willing to die for it.

Are the young men and women who may be called on to defend our civilization willing to make the same sacrifice?

Anecdotal information cannot conclusively answer that question - thank heavens.

If liberty had to depend on most of the young people I spoke to in Washington Square Park the other day, we'd all be answering to Osama by Christmas.

"I'm not big on war," says Patrick Mulryan, 21, an aspiring actor. "I'm gay, so I'm not big on the military."

Well, the Islamic extremists our military are preparing to attack are not big on gays.

In Afghanistan, Osama's Taliban supporters execute gays by crushing them under demolished walls.

Recent college graduate Philip Rosenbloom, 21, is also unwilling to put his life on the line to defend his country, which he says "to some extent, has been something of a bully."

NYU student Jonathan Chen, 20, thinks that war is wrong, wrong, wrong.

But as for terrorists, Chen insists that "we have to take care of them."

"We," but not "he"?

Does Chen mean that other men have to be willing to die to protect his freedom?

Yes. Some people are born for that purpose, he says.

"There are people who are more willing to fight, who have the mind set of killing people," Chen says. "Not everybody is meant to fight."

Chen has "hopes and dreams" of becoming a film maker, and he doesn't want to "endanger" them, he says.

Presumably, those brave firefighters who went to their deaths in those burning towers to save the lives of strangers had no hopes and dreams worthy of concern.

Perhaps, men and women who are willing to die to defend Chen's right to pursue his hopes and dreams have none themselves.

NYU student Justin Tables, 19, saw one of the towers collapse in front of his eyes.

Still, he is unwilling to risk his life to fight the terrorists because "this is all [America's] fault anyway."

Jason Toledo, 19, is the only draft-age man I can find who would be willing to die for his country in the coming war. He says he's not enthusiastic about fighting, but he would go if America called.

Toledo, an NYU student from Atlanta, says he's wondered a lot if Americans have the backbone to fight such a dedicated enemy. The terrorist-themed Bruce Willis film "The Siege" has been on his mind.

"There's a saying in that movie that the most committed wins. That's scary, because we're not about causes here. We're about individualism," he says.

Toledo cautions me not to take the young men in Washington Square as representative of the whole country.

"Man, we're in the Village. I don't know anyone who would go, even if there were a draft," he says.

Still, you have to figure that you could have gone into Washington Square Park in December 1941 and found plenty of liberal young men who were willing to go fight Tojo and Hitler, neither of whom had done what Osama bin Laden did: mount a sneak attack that murdered more than 6,000 in New York, live on TV.

That was then. This is now. Maybe the Muslim fanatics are right, and we in the free world have become decadent beyond all saving.

God help us. We may soon see.

e-mail: dreher@nypost.com

Here another:

Powell Acknowledges Homosexual Partner of Ambassador, Post Says

Secretary of State Colin Powell publicly acknowledged the homosexual partner of America’s new ambassador to Romania at a swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post’s “Reliable Source” in the Style section.

Michael E. Guest, a Foreign Service officer, won easy confirmation from the Senate in August.

“In a sign of the times, Powell publicly acknowledged Guest’s partner of six years, teacher Alex Nevarez, who was onstage yesterday with the ambassador’s parents and plans to join Guest in Bucharest,” the Post reported.

“That small gesture spoke volumes,” said David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s leading homosexual pressure group .

“Yes, it did,” agreed Robert Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture and Family Institute. “It put the Secretary of State on record as supporting homosexuality as if it were as normal, healthy and morally sound as marriage. This means that America will be represented to the Romanian people by an openly homosexual couple. How trendy. How decadent.”

Pro-homosexual organizations such as Amnesty International are pressuring Romania to eradicate all laws banning homosexual behavior, and its public expression.

“The Bush Administration continues to send signals that it is abandoning the idea of sexual morality and embracing the immoral view that two men having sex is perfectly all right. President Bush needs to revisit this appointment and to restrain Mr. Powell’s liberal tendencies,” Knight said.

I could cite many more cases, but I have limited my scope to these two examples because they represent two fundamentals in a society: the attitude of the young and the attitude of Government. Our society is an image led society mediated by signs and appearences, the result of power games. No, there is no repentance coming forth, and yes, I am not pessimistic as a hobby. I grieve and shudder to what is coming next. In closing I mention a few lines sent in by one of our visitors, who correctly perceives what lies under the events which have shaken us in these past weeks.

It is not much of a stretch to draw a correlation between the last days of the Roman Empire, and the current atmosphere within the United States. The Roman Empire self-destructed from excess and moral decay, however it degenerated in an imperceptible "boiled frog principle" manner (i.e. a frog will immediately jump out of hot water, but if it sits in comfortable water that is heated gradually -- the frog will remain until it dies).

Much of what is common-place in the 1990's would have been contemptible only a few decades ago: movies, television, pornography, song lyrics, styles of dress, morals, language, youth violence, drunkenness, drug usage, crime in general, and you name it...etc., etc.

The dupes of this world who attempt to manipulate the rest of us (while being manipulated themselves, all the while) do so in a manner which seeks to lead us into believing that we are actually being helped with some problem or another (ala Adolph). They attempt to lead us so far away from anything familiar, that we become lost. When we follow them, we lose sight of, "I Am the Way."

While leading us astray, they often lie to us with "technical" truths, double-talk, and reassuring tones. When we listen to them we lose hearing, "The Truth."

Three weeks and counting after WTC, after the incredulity, the shock, the anger, the tears and the media flood of images and words, we can draw some conclusions on what this despicable act of violence has meant and will mean to America in particular and the world at large. Moments like these remain etched in the collective psyche of a generation, but their aftermath is equally important as it has the uncanny ability to indicates the true pulse of a nation.
At first glance, all signs seem to indicate a nation reacting well under the obvious duress caused by the tragedy. Repeated calls for return to normalcy from public officials, continuous assurances that retribution is in the works and that justice will be done, public gatherings of remembrance and patriotism, and prayer meetings all over the land. It seems like a determined strong reaction by a nation which will not be subdued or bow down to anybody, the American spirit indeed.

But if we dare go beyond the facade, we discover that things are not quite as they appear to be.

Granted, my perspective, as a Christian, is different than most, even than most Christians. But those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, know and understand exactly what is going on and what I am saying.
My eyes have seen the future and I am shaken and distressed: the most amazing byproduct of this tragedy is the fact that it has opened the scenario for the Last Days events, the closing of the circle, as it is, the missing elements getting into place. Before I am called a fanatic, let me point out the principal disturbing trends I have noted:

• the official sanctioning of the one world religion
• the curbing of personal freedoms
• no signs of moral renewal

On friday September 14, I was, like many, tuned in to the Day of Prayer service appointed by President Bush, following the vicious attack on American soil. In shocked disbelief, I found myself gagging as the rector of the National Cathedral in Washington in his introductory homily addressed God as "the God of Abraham, the father of Mohamhed, and the father of Jesus Christ". While God IS the Father of all created men, this was not the sense in which the statement was made, and things became immediatly clear as Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, a Muslim cleric, intoned a prayer in Arabic, and then spoke briefly against the violence perpetrated. In religious sequence, we heard a Jewish rabbi, assorted "Christians" and I don't know who else, all praying to the SAME GOD, with the singular exception of Dr. Billy Graham, who at one point stated that he was speaking for the Christians in the audience. I beg your pardon.

Understandably there is a pragmatic necessity of approachment with the "moderate" Arabs and Muslims both at home and at large (of which Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi is definitively NOT a representative, being he, a HAMAS supporter, but this is another story), and there is the obvious psychological need of the American people to hear from the mouth of Muslims that they were indeed condemning such actions. But this does not justify nor condone the religious melting pot which was presented to the nation and the world. In these politically correct times why then did they not invite the High Priest of the Church of Satan? I can imagine how offended he felt at being left out. He should sue for discrimination and I am sure the ACLU would be very interested.

Before we proceed, let's make crystal clear that everybody can worship whomever or whatever they want, as this is not the point being made here. What is shocking and highly revealing, is how deep and advanced are the inroads that the New World Order agenda has made in America.
The same kind of carrying -ons and worse, were displayed in other services around the country, culminating with the New York Yankee Stadium memorial service for the WTC victims. Oh what a lovely service it was, even the talk show personality hosting the event prayed a wonderful, comforting (New Agish) prayer.

Even the Pope has given new vigor to the tired Catholic ecumenic movement, by praying that the three monotheistic religions should work united for peace in the world.

An article, written by a certain Peggy Noonan, which is circulating far and wide on the Internet typifies what I am saying. "God is Back" proclaims the headline, meaning that God is back big time on the American panorama. One question I would like to ask her: which God are you talking about, Peggy? Certainly not the God of the Bible. Here are some extracts from her article:

In the wake of an atrocity, he shows he hasn't forsaken New York.
God is back. He's bursting out all over. It's a beautiful thing to see.
Random data to support the assertion:
In the past 17 days, since the big terrible thing, our country has, unconsciously but quite clearly, chosen a new national anthem. It is "God Bless America," the song everyone sang in the days after the blasts to show they loved their country. It's what they sang on television, it's what kids sang in school, it's what families sang in New York at 7 p.m. the Friday after the atrocity when we all went outside with our candles and stood together in little groups in front of big apartment buildings. A friend of mine told me you could hear it on Park Avenue from uptown to downtown, the soft choruses wafting from block to block.

... In the early days after the blast, I visited several of the memorials that have sprung up around town, in Union Square and in the heart of Greenwich Village. I was struck, at first, by the all the religious imagery, especially traditionally Catholic imagery--mass cards, pictures of the Sacred Heart, little statues of St. Anthony and St. Francis, pictures of the Virgin of Guadalupe, votive candles, prayers written on envelopes and pieces of paper grabbed from a desk...

... On Sunday I watched Oprah Winfrey at the wonderful Spirit of New York special at Yankee stadium. She prayed aloud--a lot of people prayed aloud--and Bette Midler made everyone feel better just by singing...

... That morning I had gone to our local mosque, the biggest in Manhattan, on East 96th Street to show sympathy and regard for people who might be feeling frightened and defensive. I watched as men prayed on their knees facing Mecca...

However, this brings us to a delicate question: officially, which "religion" should a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural State like the US accept as legitimate and why?

I am still talking about the "civilized West" since in second, third, and so forth world countries, the question is purely rethoric. Just try to walk in Saudi Arabia with a Bible in your hands, or to speak of Jesus Christ in Afghanistan. Just try it, and these are certainly NOT the only two countries which strictly prohibit faiths other than their own.

In other times, in Western countries, this would not have been a question at all, but in the aftermath of the ideological, civil and moral revolutions and liberation movements, not to mention the large immigration fluxes of the past decades the question has become a sore point to deal with. A very sore point. Political correctness, the obvious fruit of these events, has produced a curious and peculiar mindset, fascist in its conception of reality, totally irreconcilable and obtusely blind and incapable to grasp alternative views other than its own to the point of self-extintion. Religious correctness is the equivalent of its political counterpart.
HOMO CORRECTUS, the new fronteer, the new and revised version of mankind to which we are all called to subscribe.

This "unity" theme suddenly is blossoming in other parts of society. In politics, the arts ecc.

September 29, 2001 - Los Angeles City Councilwomen Ruth Galanter and some of her friends on the council want to change, amend, add to, eliminate, co-exist with, or do something which we aren't quite certain of, to the existing Pledge of Allegiance. As a reminder, here is the pledge as published in 1892 with one change in 1954 adding "under God."

Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Councilwomen Galanter has written her own entitled "Pledge to the Earth". But, it doesn't end there. She introduced it to the city council on September 26 so that it may become part of the official proceedings at the opening of city council meetings, we presume.

Pledge to the Earth
"I pledge allegiance to the earth on which I stand, one world, one people, undivided, with food, shelter, and justice for all."

So what prompted this stroke of literary genius? Galanter was so struck by the September 11 World Trade Center attack that it seemed like an opportune time to write some pearls of wisdom that only a socialist would appreciate. In her motion she wrote: "the events of September 11, 2001, have dramatically demonstrated that ultimately we are all part of the same world community without national or ethnic distinction..."
source: www.calnra.org

Barbra Streisand, an aging songstress with delusions of grandeur, has recently recorded a song about god which she feels is "appropriate and timely" after the WTC events.

Millions of stars placed in the skies by ONE GOD
Millions of us lift up our eyes to ONE GOD
So many children calling to him
By many a different name
One Father ... loving each the same
Many the ways all of us pray to ONE GOD
Many the paths winding their way to ONE GOD
Brothers and sisters ... there were no strangers
After his work was done ...

For your God
And my God
Are one

Millions of stars placed in the skies by ONE GOD
Millions of us lift up our eyes to ONE GOD
So many children calling out loud
By many a different name
One Father ... loving each the same

Many the ways all of us pray to ONE GOD
Many the paths winding their way to ONE GOD
Brothers and sisters ... there were no strangers
After the work was done ...

By our God
Yes, your God
And my God ...
Are ONE!

It's started my friends, and we will be getting it shoved down our throats by popular culture, in schools, in the media and even in churches.

September 4 / 2001

We have all heard the popular saying (in any language) that there are only two sure things in life: death and taxes. Well, sorry for dismantling a cherished proverb, but it is definitively NOT so. But more on this later.

In these Internet days, I hardly read the local newspapers, but on occasion, like once a month, I do. In this part of the world where I live, newspapers place the obituaries at the end of the paper and these pages are full of notices, thanksgivings, photos (of the deceased), poems, Bible verses and such. I read carefully the dedications which most announcements have, and sometimes I am touched to tears by the beautiful thoughts expressed in praise or in memory of the deceased. Recently, someone told me that funeral parlors, have a list of such expressions of grief from which the bereaved relatives may choose. This was a blow to me. Why, people don't have the decency to write the memorials for their own dear departed. "It's because people are distraught at such times," it was explained to me. And this cleared another mystery since I did have a deja vu feeling while reading the obituaries. Well, one is never too old to learn new tricks.

• Last tuesday, John B, serenely breathed his last
• After a long and grave sickness, Mary B, has left us
• After a long and loving life, John B has returned to the Father's House
• Suddenly, in the flower of his youth, John B has left us
• Christianly, as she always lived, Mary B has departed from us
• Surrounded by the loving care of her family, Mary B returned her soul to God

It is amazing how when one dies, that he becomes a "good and loving father," or a "we will never forget you" guy, or a lady whose life was spent in "selfless service to her family and her neighbors." I mean, not a BAD person EVER dies. This explains why the world is so rotten, being populated by all the bad people that never die. Never mind that "only the good die young", here only the good die, period.

In keeping with our globalised, humanistic and politically correct times, a new trend has been emerging of late: the New Age funeral. Apparently started in London, these new type services have totally discarded the religious draping usually associated with such proceedings. Relatives and friends of the dear departed, get together and "shoot the breeze." Each will recite a pean about the departed and how good it was to have known him/her. No negativity allowed, no tears, no sadness, no feelings. Just a good and exuberant get together, like a pyramid scheme membership meeting.

"Jesus cried." These two words found in the Gospel of John, form the smallest sentence in the Bible and refer to Jesus reaction at the death of his friend Lazarus. Some do not understand why Jesus cried in that occasion since He knew that He was going to resurrect him. Jesus human nature was overwhelmed with grief at seeing the havoc that death provokes. He cried because he saw the ugly fruits that sin bears. Death is no joke, although man tries to exorcise its bite through laughing about it. Once I read a report styled by a nurse in which she described how horrible were the last moments on earth of some patients and how shocked she got at such moments. "It seems" she wrote, "that they see something terrible coming for them or happening to them from which they cannot escape." And the same nurse reported how beautifully peaceful the passing of other people was, and that these last were mostly Christians believers. These are the things that they don't teach in school, but they should.

Going back to the first sentence of this article, I don't know about taxes, but death is not a foregone conclusion for all men. The Bible tells us of at least two persons who crossed the Jordan without physically dying: Enoch and Elijah. Moreover, there will be a large number of Christian believers who shall not taste death: those alive at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

On another front, but still in the death theme, someone sent me a story about a particular postage stamp. Get a good look at this:

Postage stamp issued by the Palestinian Authority

It seems that some time back the Palestinian Authority had a Ba'al festival and a memorial stamp of the event was then issued. Now, this is a very curious and maladroit event (some may call it a Freudian slip). Ba'al (master,owner) was the god of the ancient Phoenicians and Canaanites. The Palestinians, trying to provide some "roots" material for their people, have unhappily chosen a divinity which they should have better left dormant, in the dustbin of fallen gods.

Each locality had its own Ba'al, which was worshiped on high places with "lascivious rites, self-torture and human sacrifice" - (Compact Bible Dictionary). Even children were sacrificed by their own parents to this barbarous god, so that they could receive blessings in their crops, flocks and fecundity in their families, a bit like supermarkets do today, pay one, take two.

Now, even if the Palestinians, much to their regret, have NOTHING AT ALL to do with the Canaanites, the choice to honor such a god, reflects directly on their state of mind. When we see how Palestinian children are thought to immolate themselves for the "good of the Palestinian people", when we see proud fathers and mothers boasting of their youngsters who have just blown themselves to smithereens, we must conclude that the choice to honor Ba'al was no mere accident. It remains to be seen if the choice was conscious or indirectly casual. The Palestinians should know that today there remains no trace of either the Canaanites nor the Phoenicians, not mentioning of the Ba'al they worshipped. And in closing, doesn't Islam strictly forbid to mess with other gods? How come we have not heard the guardians of Moslem orthodoxy intervene and condemn such a blasphemous display? It could be that they are still busy with the Buddha statutes in Afghanistan. Well, let's give them some time.

I will continue the chapter on DEATH in my next column. This week, we have a fresh on-site report from Israel. Pastor Charles Rizzo, a brother in Christ and a frequent visitor to this site, organises trips to Israel just about every year and with his band of musicians (Charlie Rizzo & the Emmaus Road Band), plays concerts around the Holy Land. I asked him to write his first hand impressions of present everyday life in Israel. This is his report:

In 1981 I began to take pilgrims to the Holy Land. I just completed my 25th journey and want to share my impressions with you all regarding my May pilgrimage.

The land of Israel is the land of prophecy. I have studied the Bible since 1970 and have been an ordained elder in the Church of The Nazarene since 1974. The first prophetic book I read was Hal Lindsey's “The Late Great Planet Earth”. What a mind blower! I grew up in a religious Italian Roman Catholic family but I never heard of the millennium or the rapture. Not to put down the R.C. church, but many protestant churches also do not take literally the prophecies of the Bible. As I began to study for the ministry I embraced the pre-millennial teaching regarding Christ's return. It just doesn't make sense to me to sing “O little town of Bethlehem” and mean it literally and historically and then spiritualize the lion and lamb prophecy. One day Christ will return and the lion will literally lay down with the lamb…. The lamb being beside the lion not IN THE lion! Enough bad humor and on to my original intention…. You can go to Israel today and see prophecy being fulfilled before your very eyes. If you are grounded in biblical prophecy you are at once in tune with the realization that things are moving along rather rapidly. I sat and viewed a film on what it would have been like for a Jew in the time of Jesus to come and offer an animal sacrifice at Passover. Where did I see this film? In a movie theatre in Tel Aviv? No! We viewed it right there near the entrance to the Temple Mount. Clearly, I was struck with the realization that people are being prepared for the re-institution of some form of ancient temple worship. I don't think thousands of lambs will be slaughtered as in the time of Jesus but a few could be, recalling the early days of the second temple. Where would such a ritual take place? In a rebuilt temple. No wonder the Moslems grow increasingly restless every time Israel makes a new archaeological discovery. For years I have heard to expect a rebuilt temple in Israel. Well it appears just such an event is just around the corner. Those who believe in pre-millennialism know that the anti-Christ will in fact mediate a peace and security agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors (See Daniel 9;24-27). This agreement will be connected with temple worship. Jesus also warned of, ”the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.” -Mt 24;15. That is the kind of prophetic drama that gripped our souls in Jerusalem. I sat on the Mount of Olives and looked at the Eastern Gate. Actually the gate from the time of Jesus is about 50 feet below the one we can see standing today. Be that as it may, the gate is sealed shut by the Moslems. There is even a little artillery gun behind it just in case the Messiah tries to walk through! In Eze.44;1-2 we read of the east gate being shut. Can you get any more literal than that? Jerusalem is the burdensome stone of the last days (Zech 12-14). The nations of the world will turn against her and the world will be filled with violence. Evil will be called good and good evil. The nations will be in distress. There will be famines, incurable diseases and natural catastrophes and yet many of us will live in relative peace and security. Israel is the key to End Times prophecy and you can go there today and see it happening.

Charles Rizzo - June 2001

The Timothy McVeigh's saga has come to an end. He was executed, on schedule, at 7 a.m. local time, on June 11, 2001 in the Federal detention centre of Terre Haute, Indiana. McVeigh acknowledged the crime for which he was being executed, even though his "explanation" for the Oklahoma City bombing, which left 168 people (19 of which, children) dead in the biggest mass killing ever perpetrated in the United States, at least in peace times.

We will not discuss his political motivations or his idealistic drive. In the light of what he has done, his ideology has lost any relevance it may have had. What we will examine instead are his final hours, and how he coped with them. Admittedly, I did not want to write an article on this story (we have all been saturated to nausea by the ever obliging media), but a few things that McVeigh said in the hours preceding his execution, did stimulate me to comment his inner core beliefs about death and the afterlife, which I believe, are shared by a large number of people in our times.

1) "That's the nature of the beast. It's understood going in what the toll will be"

2) the bombing was "a legitimate tactic" in his battle against the United States Government. 3) "sorry these people had to lose their lives"

4) An agnostic, he said he would "improvise, adapt and overcome" if he did find there was an afterlife.

"If I am going to hell, I'm gonna have a lot of company"

Bits and pieces of revelatory words spoken by McVeigh in the final hours of his life.
"HAD to lose their life?" , "a LEGITIMATE tactic?" With thinking such as this we can justify just about everything done under the sun, from stealing an apple, to the Holocaust. It's just a "matter of perspective isn't it?" And anyone's perspective is just as good and authoritative as anyone else.

But what really hit me were his words to the effect that he would "improvise, adapt and overcome" if he did find that there was an afterlife, after all. By now, Mr. McVeigh has found out that he can do none of that, namely, improvise, adapt and overcome. It's incredibly naive and bordering on the lunatic to say something like that, even for an agnostic. It has been reported that McVeigh took "last rites" (Catholic mumbo jumbo for unbiblical practice of oil anointing) before execution. McVeigh was baptized in the Catholic Church, but had stopped practicing and described himself as agnostic. Apart from the "last rites", I hope that McVeigh in his final moments on this earth plane found the courage and the humbleness to repent and to ask God's forgiveness for his sins. Like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, I hope he made that final plea, and if that has been the case, God, Who is rich in Grace, has granted forgiveness to him, just as to the thief on the cross. It only takes a true honest instant to realize our failures and to reach out for help, but some prefer not to face it and sadly, it becomes an eternity.

If we are to go by what has been reported, we can seriously doubt that McVeigh found salvation, what with his releasing of the William Ernest Henley "Invictus" poem as kind of a last will and testament and with his alleged defiant attitude in the execution chamber. But it is a known fact that man can become brutally "prudent" and honest, when face-to-face with death. It's that "very very special moment" which all of us want to keep as far away as possible from us. Sometimes it arrives unexpectedly, sometimes it approaches slowly, relentlessly, step by step. So, finally, the greatest of mysteries will be laid open.
Is there life after? Is there reincarnation? Is there Heaven? is there Hell? Will I see my loved ones? Is there God? IS THERE GOD?

There was a story about this fellow who frequented several churches while subscribing to all the religious faiths he could, thinking that in the lot, there could be the true one and he could make it alright in the hereafter. He! He!

"If I am going to hell, I'm gonna have a lot of company" - I have heard these words so many times in my life that I think it has become a slang, as if going to hell is a big never-ending rave party reunion. And sadly, the statement is true - i.e. there is going to be lot's of company.

"This was your life" states a popular Christian tract, showing all the salient moments of its depicted person's life flashing before his eyes as on a movie screen, on death's edge.

To all those visitors who have repeatedly asked when the Xfile article "DAMASCUS WILL NO LONGER BE A CITY" would be re-posted, I am glad to announce that it will be online within the next 24 hours. The author, Paul Robertson, a Gulf War veteran and a dedicated servant of God, had sent us the article about 3 years ago. It is a very long but complete study on the Isaiah 17:1 verse which states:

The burden against Damascus.
Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city
And it will be a ruinous heap

Given the worsening situation in the Middle East, this article has been one of the most requested Xfiles we carry. However, Paul, subsequently asked us to remove the article since he wanted to revise it since he felt some passages were not so clear and his comments could be misinterpreted. So, we did remove it and it's been over a year that we have been waiting for the revision. Sorry that many of you got upset at the delay, but it was not under our control. Recently, and sadly, we found out why the delay.

Paul has had a terrible auto accident, and his whole life has been turned upside down. When tragedy hits, we are all at a loss to explain what is happening, and pat answers are usually given and received. Truth is we don't know. But truth is also that God takes care of those who trust in Him, so, in all this, we know there is a higher plan being worked out in Kevin's life. One could spend all of his time asking God, "WHY ME?" or one could bounce back relaying in his own willpower or react in a lot of different other ways, but the proper way to look at disaster (for a true Christian) is as a learning experience. Whether it is correction, or the shaping of our character, or just simply being cast in a particular situation for His greater Glory, we must be sure that He is in control and that He knows how much heat to apply. I have known great Christians who, seemingly incomprehensibly have found themselves in a bed of pain, but who have kept all along and unto their death, their confidence in their Saviour Jesus Christ and a heavenly smile for the distraught visitors to their hospital room while leaving nurses, doctors and other patients puzzled and deeply moved.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face...
I Corinthians 13:12

Please pray for Paul Robertson as he has to undergo reconstruction operations, among other things.

And now a poem I received by e-mail. According to the credits it was written in 1986 and sadly, it still speaks volumes.

THE BROAD WAY GOSPEL 
Not for us the battlefield, 
The wounds, the Blood, the Cross, 
The Crown of thorns, the Narrow Way, 
The searing pain and loss: 
But we would follow gladly 
where the flowers gaily bloom 
along the sun-kissed meadows - 
Not the shadow of a Tomb! 

Prosperity's the pass-word 
for the many, not the few: 
Name it - claim, confess, possess - 
The Cadillac's for you. 
The Saviour had not anywhere 
that He could lay His head; 
But Christians go to Heaven 
slumb'ring on a feather-bed! 
Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" 
By the many now forgot, 
Would not appeal to most of us: 
This could not be our lot. 
For other prophets speak to us 
of gold and health and fame: 
If we only come to Jesus 
We can have them in His Name. 

The Tribulation's not for us - 
We shall be raptured out: 
When judgment falls upon the earth, 
We just won't be about. 
So we will sing our happy songs; 
Who cares about the rest? 
They have no faith, but we believe, 
So we deserve the best. 

Who has bewitched you, child of God? 
That you should think this way? 
Rise from your stupor while there's time, 
Repent and watch and pray! 
Take up your cross, the Saviour says, 
And follow after me; 
Forsake the world, its dross and shame 
And my disciple be. 
The lying prophets heed no more 
For God will judge them soon; 
And all who share their lying views 
Will share with them their doom. 
Be not deceived, God is not mocked: 
The Judge is at the door 
And judgment starts at God's own house 
When once His patience o'er. 

O God, forgive our errant ways, 
Our vanity and pride; 
Hold up your Cross before our eyes 
And keep us at your side. 
Help us to fix our gaze on you, 
Forgetting all that's past - 
And pressing on towards the Goal, 
Receive us Home at last.

Ruth Nessim, 
Nahariya, Israel 
25th June 1986 © 

To give a taste of the surreal times we are living, I have a brief list of recent news headlines, which I have come across. It is by no means exhaustive, and neither does it delve in scandalous or scurrilous press reports. We leave that to the tabloids. These are REAL news headlines.

Real corpses are a hit at Berlin art gallery
Controversial art exhibit exposes real cadavers (whole, in pieces, or sectioned) to enthusiastic crowds. Live and let die is new Dutch religion
Call it pragmatic tolerance. The Dutch appear to be world leaders in the field of progressive attitudes. The sale of limited amounts of soft drugs has already been tolerated for years. Last year, prostitution was legalized. Last week gays could officially marry. And now the senate has approved the legalization of euthanasia - under strict conditions, it should be said. Youths run riot in city
Three men have been arrested after hundreds of youths ran riot in Bradford, throwing petrol bombs and bricks at cars and pubs. Superbug 'beating' new antibiotic
Bacteria are already showing signs of resistance to one of the latest antibiotics to reach the hospital wards. Let us rid society of genetic defects, says DNA pioneer
James Watson, the "father" of DNA science, has called for the law to be changed so that scientists can alter the genes of sperm, eggs and embryos and so rid genetic defects from future generations. Suicide ship to cruise globe
A SHIP anchored off the Australian coast to perform voluntary euthanasia would also travel the world delivering death. Fifth-Graders Swapped Sex For Soda
The principle of Mount Airy School sent a letter home to parents Friday regarding the allegations that a fifth-grade class was swapping sex for soda money and other favors. The hills are alive with the sound of exploding cows
Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management FARMERS whose cows die in the Austrian Alps are resorting to dynamite to destroy the carcasses rather than pay the army £200 to remove the bodies by helicopter. Bikini-clad Virgin sparks anger
A row over a picture of the Virgin Mary wearing a floral bikini has broken out in the US state of New Mexico. Frankenstein fears after head transplant
A controversial operation to transplant the whole head of a monkey onto a different body has proved a partial success. Humans are next. MTV apologizes over 'Shower Rangers' incident
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- The MTV cable network apologized Thursday to two 14-year-old girls who were sprayed with excrement by performers during the taping of a television program called "Dude, This Sucks." 'Naked Jesus angers Giuliani
A photograph depicting Christ's last supper which features Jesus as a naked black woman has been described by the mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, as outrageous and disgusting. Genetic modified rabbit glows in the dark
Scientists produce a rabbit which glows in beautiful rainbow hues under black light. Scientists have decoded the genetic make-up of a bug that causes "flesh-eating disease".
The strep A bacterium is responsible for more human diseases than any other, including sore throat, scarlet fever and rheumatic fever. In rare cases, the bug is able to invade the whole body, triggering so-called flesh-eating disease, necrotising fasciitis, which rots the flesh away. Italian doctor to go ahead with human cloning
Controversial experiment to be conducted despite huge outcry. Hand transplanted man has it removed

It never felt as a part of me, I was ashamed showing it, says first ever hand transplanted man. Berlin Film Festival top prize goes to explicit sex movie
Prize sets shockwaves in industry for its hard core sequences entry into "legitimate" film making. Pedophilia ring smashed by Russian law enforcement agency
The children, from age 2 to 12, kidnapped from orphanatrophies or from baby sitters, were violented and often killed to satisfy the clients. The snuff movies were sold through the Internet at $2,000- each. Aussie scientists stumble across the Doomsday Bug
Australian gene engineers accidentally created a mouse virus that kills every one of its victims by wrecking their immune system, a discovery with the potential for making the ultimate terrorist weapon, New Scientist reports. "Christian" group in California wants to clone Jesus
"We feel it our duty to help out with the Second Coming" says member. Chinese sell human organs on internet
CHINA'S shadowy trade in human organs has moved onto the internet, where healthy but impoverished Chinese have begun offering to sell body parts through a network of middle-men. The web-based trade was exposed by a newspaper from the wealthy southern province of Guangdong. Yesterday, the Public Health Ministry refused to comment on reports that it is drafting a law to ban the trade in human organs and legalize organ donation, both at present in a grey area of Chinese law.

Parkinson's miracle cure turns into a catastrophe
Hopes of an early cure for Parkinson's disease by the implantation of foetal cells into the brain have been dashed by the devastating results of the first full trial of the technique, which found that a number of the patients were left with tragic side effects which cannot be undone.

I could go on, but this will suffice for our purpose. We are living in days of negative awe, where news come with a built-in shock content, where a person feels unable to cope with the incessant information stream of the media. No wander most people feel confused, exchanging reality with fantasy and vice versa. Is there life on Mars?

It's not a poetic sense of wander that is being evoked here. To the contrary, the surreal state produced by such events, further aggravated by economic instability makes for an extremely dangerous mix, (a script see and used before in history), creating a sense of unrest and disorientation which will have people clamoring for STABILITY through a rediscovered need of defined societal parameters, and a simpler reality to cope with, a need that someone, at present laying quietly in the shadows, is awaiting to fulfill. The unholy smoke rising from the holocaust of diseased animals occurring worldwide, a seemingly dark homage to him.

Recently I received a letter from a dear lady which stated that in these last times, her everyday living has assumed an aspect best described as "surreal". I thought that the word SURREAL, describes very well our present "reality." A surreal state can be described as a trance, dream-like state, where all is plausible, all is possible, including the worst nightmares. Of course, Christians who really conduct their life as their Lord directs, enjoy a different kind of surreal life. We are in the world, but are not of this world translates the fact that our thoughts and our minds do not follow the rythm of the world, but the leading of the Holy Spirit, thus isolating us from wordily evil influences and trends.

Notice well, I said only those Christians who stick close to their Lord enjoy this freedom. Alas, many, many Christians, live lives undistinguishable from non Christians. Whithout being critical or questioning their salvation, I can safely say that they are missing the mark and that they are certainly not bringing upon themselves the blessings of a sanctified life, and most important, sooner or later, they will find themselves face to face with their wrong choices. But for those who do follow their Lord's leading, surreal has another dimension: The chimera calling of the world is only an echo, a distant drum, a muffled sound, not their main or most immediate leit-motif. While nobody can escape the basic demands that living in a society requires, such as observing the laws of the land, another thing altogether is being immersed in its system. As "system," I intend all the cultural, recreational, financial, religious, political etc.., components that constitute a society. While we are not called to live as hermits, we are also called not to be partakers of such a system. This is the meaning of sanctification: being set apart (for God's service).

In Europe there is lots of apprehension about the "mad cow" disease and lately about the "foot and mouth" disease. England seems to be the country of origin for both diseases, with these having spread practically worldwide. People are very concerned. Meat consumption has dropped to less than half its regular level and in some countries even more. The other day, I was at the meat department of my local supermarket, an over 20 meter long counter stocked abundantly with beef, horse, pork and veal. Though the supermarket was crowded, I was the only one perusing the goods. I felt kind of weird. Surreal, yes. Everyone else was crowding the fish counter. These poor souls should know that they have been fed for years the same meats that they are now shunning. The Creutzfeldt-Jakob infected meat has been sold for over 8 years, while England and then the European Community health commission were hiding the facts. Now, there are mass killing (oh, they use the finer word, "culling") of both infected and healthy animals in a nervous attempt to eradicate both diseases.

ENGLAND - March 22, 2001
Total confirmed cases 705
719,000 animals due for slaughter
441,640 already slaughtered
323,213 carcasses destroyed

The Bible tells us that there will be famines in the Last Days and if we think about genetic modifications and intensive agricultural production and animal husbandry, we can see them neatly on the horizon. Men are being rendered mad by the greed to make more money, masked under the guise of "competition." Why should processed dead animal carcasses be fed to cows, which are notably VEGETARIAN? Why should animals be raised inside pens, immersed in their excrement, without ever seeing the light of day? Why should hormones be injected into them to make them grow faster and bigger? All of these practices (and many more) are a degeneration of what is the natural growing process of the animals. No wonder they are diseased and unpalatable.

There is a phobia developing, as people are treated nightly to the newscasts of burning or buried carcasses of these poor animals, guilty only of being true to their nature. And then every hint of news becomes a suspicion: it was just reported that the current foot and mouth disease started from the leftovers of a chinese restaurant which were sold to become pig swill. Apparently this restaurant imported meat illegally from China and this meat was infected and then was passed in the food chain of the pigs. Nobody is bothering to check how many people ate this corrupted meat. Sick people do not make news. Sick animals certainly do. Sure, health experts have been saying that the foot and mouth disease is not transmissible to man, but alas, would a smart person trust them? They have been wrong so many times and moreover it is highly questionable if they have the interest of the common people at heart when they affirm such things. So we are to believe that this global alarm (yes, it's now global!) is only to protect the animals. The news media must really believe that people are stupid.

In part one of this article (Jan 16, 2001) we have described what our position is, as Christians and editors of this site, regarding the Jews, and the Arabs, and in particularly, the Palestinians. Since this article touches many fronts, I have decided that, once it will be finished, I will revise it, re map it and transfer it to our X files section, so that it can be read in one breath, making it plainly understandable to all. For the moment here is a crash course in Middle East history:

NATIONHOOD AND JERUSALEM
Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C., two thousand years before the rise of Islam.

Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel. Since the  Jewish conquest in 1272 B.C. the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.  The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 A.D. lasted no more than 22 years. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital,   Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity.  Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. King David founded the city of Jerusalem. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem.

Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem.

ARAB AND JEWISH REFUGEES
In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews.  Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000.  The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated to be the same. Arab refugees were intentionally not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory.  Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than the state of New Jersey. THE ARAB - ISRAELI CONFLICT
The Arabs are represented by 22 separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won. The P.L.O.'s Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them with weapons. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths. THE U.N. RECORD ON ISRAEL AND THE ARABS
Of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel. The U.N was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. The U.N. was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

from: http://www.facts4peace.com

As far as the Palestinians claim on the land, we have pointed out repeatedly that it is a phony issue and that the real motivations reside somewhere else. The following report, by an Arab-American journalist throws much light on this subject:

MYTHS OF THE MIDDLE EAST
by Joseph Farah c 2000 WORLDNETDAILY.COM

If you believe what you read in most news sources, Palestinians want a homeland and Muslims want control over sites they consider holy. Simple, right? Well, as an Arab-American journalist who has spent some time in the Middle East dodging more than my share of rocks and mortar shells, I've got to tell you that these are just phony excuses for the rioting, troublemaking and land-grabbing. Isn't it interesting that prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, there was no serious movement for a Palestinian homeland? "Well, Farah," you might say, "that was before the Israelis seized the West Bank and Old Jerusalem." That's true. In the Six-Day War, Israel captured Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. But they didn't capture these territories from Yasser Arafat. They captured them from Jordan's King Hussein. I can't help but wonder why all these Palestinians suddenly discovered their national identity after Israel won the war. The truth is that Palestine is no more real than Never-Never Land. The first time the name was used was in 70 A.D. when the Romans committed genocide against the Jews, smashed the Temple and declared the land of Israel would be no more. From then on, the Romans promised, it would be known as Palestine. The name was derived from the Philistines, a Goliathian people conquered by the Jews centuries earlier. It was a way for the Romans to add insult to injury. They also tried to change the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina, but that had even less staying power. Palestine has never existed -- before or since -- as an autonomous entity. It was ruled alternately by Rome, by Islamic and Christian crusaders, by the Ottoman Empire and, briefly, by the British after World War I. The British agreed to restore at least part of the land to the Jewish people as their homeland. There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands. Israel represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass. But that's too much for the Arabs. They want it all. And that is ultimately what the fighting in Israel is about today. Greed. Pride. Envy. Covetousness. No matter how many land concessions the Israelis make, it will never be enough. What about Islam's holy sites? There are none in Jerusalem. Shocked? You should be. I don't expect you will ever hear this brutal truth from anyone else in the international media. It's just not politically correct. I know what you're going to say: "Farah, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem represent Islam's third most holy sites." Not true. In fact, the Koran says nothing about Jerusalem. It mentions Mecca hundreds of times. It mentions Medina countless times. It never mentions Jerusalem. With good reason. There is no historical evidence to suggest Mohammed ever visited Jerusalem. So how did Jerusalem become the third holiest site of Islam? Muslims today cite a vague passage in the Koran, the seventeenth Sura, entitled "The Night Journey." It relates that in a dream or a vision Mohammed was carried by night "from the sacred temple to the temple that is most remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might show him our signs. ..." In the seventh century, some Muslims identified the two temples mentioned in this verse as being in Mecca and Jerusalem. And that's as close as Islam's connection with Jerusalem gets -- myth, fantasy, wishful thinking. Meanwhile, Jews can trace their roots in Jerusalem back to the days of Abraham. The latest round of violence in Israel erupted when Likud Party leader Ariel Sharon tried to visit the Temple Mount, the foundation of the Temple built by Solomon. It is the holiest site for Jews. Sharon and his entourage were met with stones and threats. I know what it's like. I've been there. Can you imagine what it is like for Jews to be threatened, stoned and physically kept out of the holiest site in Judaism?

So what's the solution to the Middle East mayhem? Well, frankly, I don't think there is a man-made solution to the violence. But, if there is one, it needs to begin with truth. Pretending will only lead to more chaos. Treating a 5,000-year-old birthright backed by overwhelming historical and archaeological evidence equally with illegitimate claims, wishes and wants gives diplomacy and peace keeping a bad name.

Because of the Israeli election results and their aftermath, I will have to postpone the second part of "The Heart of the Matter" until I can give you a complete report. On the X files, this week we have a profile on Ariel Sharon, the new Israeli Prime Minister.
For the moment, here are some other items.

Global Telecommunication giant ORANGE, has, in years past, displayed very strange ads to promote its services. Their billboards would lead nobody to believe that they are selling phone services. Their quasi-esoteric images have had the semblance of social engineering, or as the ad people say, of branding (i.e.:pushing the name Orange). Their most recent campaign, follows the trend, but this time, their strange advertisement has raised a few eyebrows, of those in the know, of course. Here is the ad. What does it remind you of? Another step forward.

I use Orange for my cell phone service and they are not all that hot. I will be changing service in the near future but not on account of their ads. They are just as blind as anybody else. Nonetheless, we cannot cease to be surprised to see how events are aligning themselves according to the Word. As ORANGE would say, the future is here.

In recent historical periods, "illuminated" souls have pronosticated the demise of religion, or at least, the demise of the belief in an absolute or personal deity. Much to these inspired souls's chagrin, man is indeed an incurably religious being and if trends be true, we will witness an increase in "religiosity" as we approach the times of the end. For a sample of humanity's religious bent, read the following definitions and marvel. And by the way, I got these items from an atheist web site.

What is Animism?
Animism is the belief that everything in nature has its own spirit or divinity.

What is Theism?
Theism is essentially the belief in at least one god but maybe more.

What is God?
A god is a being, usually thought of as a person or having personal qualities, who plays a role in mythology and religion.

What is Agnostic Theism?
One can have a wide range of beliefs in gods and also not be able to or wish to claim to know for sure whether those gods definitely exist.

What is Impersonal Idealism?
Universal ideals are equated with the concept of a god.

What is Polytheism?
Polytheism is a system in which a plurality of gods are acknowledged and/or worshipped.

What are Henotheism and Monolatry?
Varieties of polytheism, they involve worship of just one god or primarily one god, but also the acknowledgement of other gods.

What is Pantheism?
Pantheism involves the belief that everything is God.

What is Panentheism?
Panentheism posits a god that interpenetrates every part of nature, but is nevertheless fully distinct from nature.

What is Monotheism?
Monotheism is founded upon the idea that there is only one God, typically regarded as the creator of all reality.

What is Deism?
Deistm is a type of monotheism which accepts the idea that the single existing god is personal in nature but rejects the notion that it is presently active in the created universe.

What is Paganism?
Paganism might be pantheistic or polytheistic, but is distinctive in that it relates to God primarily through nature.

What is Shamanism?
Shamanism is an animistic religion of certain peoples of northern Asia in which mediation between the visible and spirit worlds is effected by shamans.

What is Religion?
A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear.

I have also found another item not listed with the ones above: ZOOLATRY, which is ascribing to animals the same prerogatives as to humans, and in some cases ascribing divinity to them as in many primitive cultures or in Hinduism.

"The Heart of the Matter" will be continued next week. For the moment I have a couple of other things to report.

First of all, let's take a look at the devastating earthquake which has hit India. At this time of writing it looks like the victims could go over the 100,000 mark, making this one of the most deadly quakes in human memory.

In the church I frequent there is an Indian family. They have expressed some interesting observations about what has happened. According to them, the state of Gujarat, Gandhi's birthplace, has become in the last few years a focal point for many anti-Christian activities. India, a country long and widely known for its people's mutual acceptance and pacific living amongst their zillion deities, which in other countries would have given rise to religious wars, since the last election's victory and strong showing of the nationalistic Hindu party has become a hotbed of fanaticism such as were rarely seen at these latitudes. Strangely, the most persecuted group have been the Christians, which in India are quite a few, and of several denominations. It appears that the State of Gujarat has passed a law making it illegal to evangelize or for Hindus to convert to Christianity (or other faiths). Since I am not well informed about India's state laws, I am writing what this dear Indian family has publicly stated. I would like to hear from other informed people about this.

As for what has been in the news, these are some instances: shortly before Christmas a priest was stabbed on India's Andamane-Nicobar islands, and shortly before that a thirty-year-old priest was shot dead by insurgents in the state of Manipur. In November there were four incidents of violence on Christian targets in a matter of days. One priest was attacked by a mob and beaten with iron rods. In October, four chapels were burned down. Last July a Lutheran bishop was murdered at Guntur. That same month a priest who had been on a motorbike was found shot in the head. Before that an Australian missionary and his two young sons were burned alive. "The past thirty months have witnessed several hundred criminal cases ranging from rape, loot, arson, bombing, murder, molestation, and exhumation of graves to desecration of places of worship," lamented a forum of 29 Protestant and Orthodox churches last summer. And let's not forget the Australian evangelist and his son, barbarously burned to death in their own car by a mob, in the State of Horissa. It just so happened that some time after these last deaths, the State of Horissa was hit by a devastating cyclone, of record-breaking power, which caused an untold number of deaths and widespread destruction.

This earthquake is therefore seen as a sign of warning from God. Certainly, if we believe that God rules all things, we cannot evade the fact that this devastation has been allowed for some reason. We can argue about the reason, but not about the judgement itself, which is every bit incredibly terrifying. When I was 12, I personally experienced an earthquake, fortunately without consequences, and it's something I will never forget. I saw the room where I was in with other people shake up and down like a yo-yo. As I will not forget the erie sound that accompanied the quake, like a furious pounding beat of gigantic drums. So my sympathy goes to the survivors who will have to struggle with their memories and with the loss of their dear ones. Our wish is that they do not waste this second chance to life which God has given them.

It is also mighty interesting that this earthquake has happened in India's top feast day, (Day of the Republic), and while millions of faithful were bathing in the Ganges to "purify" themselves, in celebration of the Kumbh Mela, a once every twelve years religious festival. But on this I will write in a future edition.

Earthquakes are one of the signs that precede the End Times, and sure, there have always been earthquakes in history, but not with the frequency and intensity of late. I have heard people try to explain that since we live in an era of instantaneous information, it just "seems" that there are more quakes or disasters, since the news media are quick to report them. A little research will reveal that this is not so. I have seen a report which purposely demonstrates that in the past decade earthquakes have been occurring at less than the average rate. The report is flawed and it does not take into account several points. Others say that earthquakes kill more people because there are more people on earth to be killed. This also could be true, but it does not change the fact that earthquakes are happening. And the earth has not yet experienced the Big One as prophesied in the Word (Revelation 16:18).

On another front, it appears that Applied Digital Solutions, the makers and promoters of the Digital Angel technology, on which we have frequently reported, has dropped plans to pursue the subcutaneous implantation of their electronic device, replacing it with a less controversial wristband version. The following is an extract from the news story that reported it:

"We are not pursuing any applications for embedded chips and we have moved away from that for a couple of reasons," says a spokesman for Applied Digital Solutions. While he insists that the main reason is an economic one -- a small end market and the amount of time such a technology would take to get FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval are the reasons he states -- he also cites privacy worries and ethical issues. "We don't want the adverse publicity. There are a number of privacy concerns and religious implications -- fundamentalist Christian groups regard it [implanting computer chips] as the Devil's work," he says.

I wrote the Applied Digital and asked if this was true. The reply was very curt and to the effect that for the moment they are "focusing solely on applications where Digital Angel would be worn close to the skin, not implanted under it." So the news is correct and it is very interesting to examine the whys of their move. While their statement is obvious enough, methinks that spiritually speaking (to those who have ears, of course) we may be assisting to a deceleration of End Time events. Is it possible that the recent "election" of President Bush is staying the upcoming Judgement? President Bush has made no bones about his Christian faith, and about his government intentions, rising the ires of all the liberal media (the majority) who feel their "rights" may be threatened or curtailed by a "religious" Prez. The task is almost insurmountable, since the whole of society and not only the American one, has degenerated quite fast in the last few years, with regards to moral, ethical and just about every issues. But it could just be that we may have a brief respite. Just a thought.

Recently, we have received a couple of mails which, while overall praising the content of the site were critical of our supposed pro-Israel bias. I will now take some time to expose our position, so as to avoid misunderstandings and bad feelings.

First of all, we are NOT anti anybody, but we are FOR Jesus Christ and while it may seem that some of our stories and reports have an anti Arab bias, this is only so to the superficial reader. We have stated several times, that both the Jews and the Arabs need Christ for their salvation and without Christ they are just as lost as any other people on the face of the earth. Both people are dear to us, as they are dear to God, Who wants them saved and for whom He sent His Son to die on a cross. In our links page, we do have Christian ministries to both the Jews and the Arabs. Moreover, it should be understood that even when we simply say Jew or Arab, that can lead to misunderstandings, since both names involve much larger realities than the mere name implies.

This said, let's move on to the specifics of the case. As Christians, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, infallible and the source of all revealed truth. The Bible assigns a peculiar place to the Jews (and to the Christians). Like it or not, this is the basic reason why both Jews and Christians have been persecuted and are persecuted to this day. Both of these groups have powerful roles to play in the world and the enemy would like nothing more than wipe both of them out. Do I have to remind you the persecutions of the Jews, from Pharo to the Romans on to Hitler and all in between? Do I have to remind you of the persecution of the Christians, from the Romans, to the Middle Ages, to our days? Did you know that more Christians have been martyred in the last one hundred years than in all the 1900 previous ones?

Of course, this reality is hidden to the most, but nonetheless it is the driving force of humanity's history. There is a plan and there are players and "all the world is a stage", as old Willy so eloquently wrote and Israel is one of the main lead characters, despite itself. And we are at the last act.

When we report the ongoing fight between Israel and the Palestinians, we do support the struggle of the Palestinian people to a homeland, but NOT at the expense of Israel. Even without quoting all the Bible verses that assign that particular land forever to Israel, it is an historical fact that the Jews have been living continuously there for thousands of years. Even at the times of the mass deportations by conquering armies or at the Dispersion, there has always remained a Jewish remnant in the land. Jerusalem was the capital of Israel long before any Arab presumption of ownership. If saying these things makes us appear as anti Arabs, well, there is very little that we can do. If God has chosen the Jews to carry out some chores, it's nobody's business to interfere. This does not mean that people will not interfere anyway, but that their interfering is null and void as with what regards the matter. What God has spoken and has established no one can change. Some may not like it, some may hate it, some may not believe it. No matter, God is able to carry on without their approval.

- click to enlarge
Land comparison between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Click to enlarge.

Attentive readers will undoubtedly note that instead, we DO bash the Jews quite regularly. We have several articles that point out to their failures to live up to their calling. It's funny that Christians should remind Jews of who they are, as most of them seem to have forgotten it, or that they don't care.

The Jews have a right to that land not because they have endearing qualities or because they have fought wars for it (which could be a very good reason on its own), nor for any other motive, but ONLY because God has assigned it to them. God has promised the land to Abraham and his posterity in return for Abraham's obedient faith. So, as I have said before, it is up to God to make good on His promise. I have heard some Jews say that they would have preferred that God would have picked another "Chosen People" rather than the Jews. Again, this bitter-sweet comment reveals their peculiarity, a truth hard to bear, in light of their perennial sufferings. With honor comes responsibility or said in a more New Testament way, "much is required from those to whom much is given."

In Genesis we see the first pronouncement about the Promised Land. This is God, addressing Abram:

Then He said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to inherit it."
Genesis 15:7

On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:
"To your descendants I have given this land, from the River of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates
Genesis 15:18

Between these two verses, a most important fact happened.

(to be continued next week)