The anti-christ may be here.

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It seems that some on this forum are not really informed about current events,...so I would like to post some articles, to help them understand what is currently developing,...always keep in mind scriptures that are prophecied about the coming anti-christ and Daniel 9;27 , Isaiah 17;1, Psalms 83 and of course Daniel 9;27

February 2, 2010 ROME LEADER MAKES “HISTORIC VISIT” TO ISRAEL: SAYS HIS “GREATEST DREAM” IS FOR ISRAEL TO JOIN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Israeli PM Netanyahu and Italian PM Berlusconi toast during a gala dinner at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem
>> Libya signs $1.8 billion arms deal with Russia

>> Canadian company makes new discovery of up to 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off coast of Israel

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Italian cabinet for a series of joint meetings with the Israeli cabinet. He also hosted a gala dinner for the Italian delegation at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Netanyahu described the leader from Rome as “one of Israel’s greatest friends, a courageous leader who is a great champion of freedom and a great supporter of peace.” Netanyahu said this despite the fact that the Associated Press reports Italy is the leading trading partner with Iran in the E.U.

Berlusconi was one of only three leaders in Western Europe who voted against the anti-Israel U.N. resolution last fall regarding the Goldstone Commission Report (the other two were German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende). Rome was Netanyahu’s first stop on his first trip to Europe upon becoming Prime Minister in 2009, specifically to see Berlusconi. Likewise, Avigdor Lieberman headed straight to Rome to see Berlusconi as his first trip as Israeli Foreign Minister.

“I can think of very few nations who have made such a contribution to Western culture as our two nations. In Rome and Jerusalem, the foundations for Western culture were laid,” Netanyahu said Monday night.

Berlusconi, who brought eight senior members of his government, returned the compliment saying that Rome considers Jerusalem one of its closest allies and considers Israel a part of Europe. “As long as I am one of the shapers of politics,” the Roman leader stated, “my greatest dream is to include Israel among the European Union countries.” He invited Netanyahu to come to Italy for another round of meetings.

The meetings were described by some in the media as “historic.” They also had echoes of Bible prophecy. The Hebrew Prophet Daniel indicates that in the “last days” Israel will sign a peace treaty with her many neighbors that appears to be brokered or negotiated or confirmed in some way by a leader from Rome (see Daniel chapter nine). It’s too soon to say definitively that yesterday’s events were in any way part of those prophecies, but they were certainly intriguing to those tracking geopolitical events in light of End Times prophecies. Developing….

HEADLINES TO TRACK:


■AFP: Berlusconi says Israel should join EU
■AP: Berlusconi: Bring Israel into the EU
■Gulf Times: Berlusconi on “historic visit” to Israel
■Flashback to 2006: Time quotes Berlusconi saying, “I am the Jesus Christ of politics. I sacrifice myself for everyone.”
■Flashback to 2003: [Italian fascist dictator] Mussolini wasn’t that bad, says Berlusconi
■Flashback to 2006: BBC reports, “Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made an alliance with the party of the granddaughter of Fascist leader Benito Mussolini”
■Flashback to 2009: Newsweek reports, “Berlusconi clamps down on the press”
■Flashback to 2009: Time reports that Berlusconi’s power is growing despite the sex scandals he is involved with, and quotes the Italian PM saying, “I have never paid a lira, a euro, for sex. I say this also because, for those who love to conquer, the joy and the most beautiful satisfaction are in the conquest. If you have to pay, I ask you, what joy is there?”
By Joel Rosenberg

Berlusconi at Knesset: Goldstone tried to incriminate Israel
AP AND JPOST.COM STAFF
03/02/2010 13:08


Italian leader tells lawmakers world "cannot accept" nuclear-armed Iran, defends Israel's much-criticized Operation Cast Lead; Netanyahu: "We love you."
Talkbacks (4)
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lashed out at the Goldstone report on Wednesday during a special session at the Knesset, saying that the report tried to "incriminate Israel for its legitimate response" to Palestinian terrorists' rocket attacks.

The Italian leader also had strong words to say against Iran, arguing that the world "cannot accept" a nuclear-armed Iran and defended the Jewish state's much-criticized war against Hamas in Gaza last year.

Berlusconi expressed hope that Israel and the Palestinians would soon resume peace talks.

From the podium of the Knesset, Berlusconi called on the international community to pursue stronger sanctions against Teheran, which Italy, like Israel and the West, suspects is developing nuclear weapons.

"We cannot accept the nuclearization of a country whose leaders have explicitly expressed their desire to destroy Israel, have denied the Holocaust and delegitimized the Jewish state," Berlusconi said, in remarks translated into Hebrew simultaneously.

"We cannot make compromises," he said. "The path that must be taken is multilateral oversight, negotiations and sanctions" against Iran.

Berlusconi has repeatedly criticized the Islamic Republic during his three-day visit to Israel. On Tuesday, he announced that Italy had cut business ties with Iran by a third since 2007, noting that Italian energy giant ENI has decided not to extend an existing contract to develop an important oil field in Iran.

Berlusconi's speech before lawmakers, an honor bestowed on few world leaders, was a sign of the friendship between the two nations that has grown much closer under his stewardship.

The Italian leader drew a warm round of applause when he declared: "We, the free and liberal people across the world, thank you (Israel) for your very existence."

Before Berlusconi spoke, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed him "as a courageous leader who always stands by Israel's side."

He concluded a speech filled with praise for Berlusconi with a story of a heavily pregnant Italian woman who confronted a German officer during World War II and, at great peril to her own life, persuaded him to let an arrested Jewish woman go.

This woman's actions "saved the life of the Jewish woman and cast, if only for a brief moment, a scintilla of humanity and courage upon the great darkness that enveloped the whole of Europe at that time," Netanyahu said.


"That courageous woman's name was Rosa. And one of her children is called Silvio Berlusconi, today the prime minister of Italy," the prime minister said.

Netanyahu concluded his remarks by telling Berlusconi that, "We appreciate you. We embrace you. We love you.”

The two men embraced, and the Italian leader took out a white handkerchief to wipe tears from his eyes.

Wednesday marked the second anniversary of Rosa Bossi Berlusconi's death.


“A ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple.” Daniel 9:26 (NLT)

The City and the Temple were destroyed in A.D. 70 by Titus and the Roman legions, but Titus was not the ruler referenced in this verse. For Daniel 9:27 describes the ruler as one who will make a seven-year treaty with Israel, put an end to the sacrifices and offerings, and set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration. These are events that will be fulfilled in the life of the Antichrist. According to Daniel, the Antichrist will come from among the people who destroyed the Temple. Therefore, we can be certain the Antichrist is of Roman descent.

However, being of Roman descent does not automatically mean that the Antichrist will be Italian. It simply means he must come from among those people who were part of the Roman Empire of that time.
Berlusconi offers to help mediate Israeli-Palestinian deal (Roundup)
Feb 3, 2010, 15:52 GMT


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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Is it possible that Israel will join the European Union?
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was on an official visit to Israel, said Monday that his "greatest desire" is to see Israel join the European Union.
He wasn’t the first to think of that idea. Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief said last year that his organization's ties with Israel are stronger than those with candidate country Croatia:


“There is no country outside the European continent that has this type of relationship that Israel has with the European Union.


"Israel, allow me to say, is member of the European Union without being a member of the institution. It's a member of all the programs of the union, and participates in all of them. And I'd like to emphasize and underline, with a very big, thick line [that Israel participates] in [helping us deal] with all the problems of research and technology, which are very important."


"I am sorry to say, but I don't see the president of Croatia here," Solana continued, referring to Stjepan Mesic, who is also attended the three-day conference.


"His country is a candidate for the European Union, but your relation today with the European Union is stronger than [our] relation to Croatia.” The EU and Israel have committed themselves to establishing a partnership which provides for close political and mutually beneficial trade and investment relations together with economic, social, financial, civil scientific, technological and cultural cooperation. The Action Plan concluded with Israel has an objective to gradually integrate Israel into European policies and programs. Every step taken is determined by both sides. There is also a financial assistance element to EU-Israel cooperation - Israel is eligible for €14 million in European Community financial cooperation over the next seven years.



Seventy five percent of Israelis are interested in joining the European Union, according to a survey undertaken by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Israel. Quite a few leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Silvan Shalom, Avigdor Lieberman and others, are also talking about Israel joining the EU in the future. Meanwhile, some in Europe itself, including Silvio Berlusconi in Italy and the Transnational Radial Party in the EU parliament, are engaged in a campaign for fullfledged Israeli membership.


However, the support for the notion of Israel joining the EU completely ignores the possible contradiction between Israel's essence as the Jewish State and the Jewish people's country, and the basic idea the EU is premised on turning the continent into an open ,united space, devoid of internal borders, where there is no significant difference between the citizens of member states. The fact that Israel is a democratic, liberal country where humanistic universal values are part of the local spirit (although some may argue otherwise) does not change the Jewish State's reality and aspirations.


Israel is defined as a Jewish State and the Jewish people's country, which is radically different than other countries. This essential difference could prevent it from joining the EU, even if it were invited to join it. On the other hand, for a majority of Israel’s population, renouncing its uniqueness is akin to abandoning Israel's "raison d'etat".


It is easy to provide concrete examples, such as the contradiction that exists between the Israeli Law of Return, which enables any Jew from any place in the world to get an immediate citizenship, and the freedom of movement of people in the European Union. Israel's aspiration to constitute a central element in the prosperity of the entire Jewish nation is also incommensurate with the values of the European Union and its institutions. In terms of the political reality, as EU Commissioner for External


Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner explained, Israel is not perceived by official institutions as a candidate for joining the EU in the foreseeable future. Instead, it makes do with membership in the "European Neighborhood Policy," which aims to bring all Europe's new neighbors closer to the EU. Israeli aspirations and hopes to join the EU have serious difficulties both in terms of values and political reality.


A lot of people claim that there can be no such thing as a Jewish and democratic state. Either it is Jewish” or it is democratic. No doubt it is tough question to ask. But if the answer to the question is no than Israel has no right to exist in its current form. Surely Israel can be a democratic state where most of its residents have some awareness and some connection to their Judaism, but if its laws and definition discriminate against the rights of the Arab minority than it surely cant join the European Union. The question if Israel can be a Jewish and democratic state is not only vital to its existence but also is essential for any attempt of Israel in joining the European Union. Surely universal democratic principles do not require the denial of the right of the Jewish people to self-determination.


Over the last few years, the theory that there is an irreconcilable and fundamental contradiction between democratic values and the definition of Israel as a Jewish state has enjoyed important expressions of support from representatives of different academic disciplines including sociology, political science, law, philosophy, geography, and history.


Israel’s Law of Return, which welcomes Jews from all over the world to become citizens of Israel, is often cited by these critics as a glaring example of Israel’s inadequate democracy. However, in fact, as Israel’s laws of “kin repatriation” differ little, if at all, from those of many European states. Indeed, critics of the Law of Return and, more generally, those who question the fundamental soundness of Israeli democracy have interpreted the expression “the Jewish state” in far-reaching, highly negative ways.


They see the very definition of the state as a Jewish state as inherently an anti-egalitarian, alienating factor. And they doubt that it can sustain a properly functional liberal democracy. There is a storng objection to the concept of Israel as “the State of the Jewish People.” It argues that such a concept requires that the state belong to the Jews of the world, even if they are not its citizens. However, the weak point in these arguments is that there is neither need nor justification to interpret in this fashion a term whose only purpose is to point to Israel as the fulfillment of the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own.


According to modern democratic principles, national identity is self-legitimizing. Therefore, there should be no democratic shortcoming in Israel continuing to be the nation-state of the people whose right to self-determination was the reason for its creation.


Tension between values, in and of itself, is no indication that one of the competing values is illegitimate and ought to be given up. In fact, the European Union itself deals with the tension between the value of multiculturalism and many of the values of modern democratic liberalism.


The Jewish and democratic character of the state can create tensions and practical dilemmas. But this does not mean that it must choose one of these two values and reject the other one. If Israel neglects its democratic values than it has no place in the European Union.


As mentioned above, he Law of Return, a central component of the Jewish character of the State of Israel, is focus of much of the controversy over the Jewish nature of the Jewish state. Its critics accuse it of being discriminatory and antidemocratic.


But the Law of Return does not discriminate between citizens within the country. It does not make the citizenship of non-Jews in any way inferior. Rather it is directed entirely outward, to the Jews of the world. Therefore, implicit in the condemnation of the Law of Return is the assertion that Israel is forbidden to privilege Jews in its laws of immigration and citizenship. However, there is no basis in international law for such a criticism. In fact, it contradicts the practice of quite a large number of democratic states.


Once we recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people and as the realization of its right to self-determination, we cannot deny it the right to open its gates to members of that people. The Law of Return is a law of repatriation.It is the right of a nation-state to grant preferential treatment in matters of immigration and acquisition of citizenship to members of its own ethnicity who are citizens of other countries.


This norm is common and well-recognized in democratic Europe. In 2000 there was a law passed by Hungary that conferred certain economic privileges on ethnic Hungarians who are citizens of neighboring states. Romania complained to the Venice Commission, asserting that this law infringed Romanian sovereignty since it conferred privileges on certain citizens of Romania without prior agreement by the Romanian state and created inequality between Romanian citizens.


The decision by the Venice Commission recognized the relationship between ethnic-cultural minorities and their kin-states as legitimate and even desirable. It noted favorably the growing tendency of kin-states to concern themselves with the protection of rights of the ethnic cultural groups with whom they share these ties, The decision cites the agreements between Italy and Austria from 1969, signed with international support, that secured the rights of the German-speaking minority in Tyrol. The commission also cited the agreements signed in recent years between various Eastern European countries and between those countries and Germany.


Various all-European documents, including the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, encourage countries to negotiate arrangements regarding protection of the status of national minorities.All of these international agreements are based on the assumption that nation-states may have a legitimate interest in the fate of those it sees as members of its own ethnic-cultural people who live outside its borders.


In the 1950s the Germans expanded the right to automatic citizenship to include not just refugees and displaced persons, as provided in their constitution, but also any person of German extraction from the USSR and the nations of Eastern Europe. This applied to a large population of ethnic Germans living in those areas for hundreds of years, without any civic or geographic connection with the modern German state.


Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the law was revised so that the eligibility for citizenship was limited to emigrants of German extraction from the former Soviet Union. Germany’s current policy toward ethnic Germans in other Eastern European states is to encourage them to remain where they are and to assist them in preserving their German culture. It is, of course, important to stress that the Federal Republic of Germany is a distinctively liberal democratic state.


Moreover, in all the decades since its enactment, a half century in which Germany’s laws of repatriation granted citizenship to millions of immigrants of ethnic German extraction, along with considerable financial benefits, the laws of repatriation have never been challenged in the European Court of Human Rights.

I have my doubts regarding the Lisbon Treaty and its non- democratic natue and of course the common currency, the Euro, is a big problem beside the Lisbon treaty but as I wrote in 11 Big Surprises for The Next Decade, and in The Euro Crisis- Budget Cuts Are Doomed To Fail, I don’t expect the Euro to stay for much longer.


On the other hand, as a Libertarian I admire the Europeans for succeeding in creating a world where there are no boundaries among all EU countries, no passwords or visas, and there is easy travelling and the possibility for any European to move to any member country and find a job everywhere in a membership country.


The free transfer of goods, the freedom to provide services, and free transfer of capital are all beneficial to all the member states. The EU economy would open the EU borders into Israeli products and the Israeli market would open to the products of other European countries. This should lead to more competitive market and lowering the prices.


One can of course interpret the law of return and Israel’s definition as a Jewish state in a non democratic matter. Israel’s society is in constant tension regarding its own definition the Jewish State, and there are Israelis who by no doubt interpret the definition of a Jewish state in way that is not in line with Western Democratic values.


An acceptance in to the European Union will be a victory for those fighting that Israel will remain democratic.


Posted by Israel's Financial Expert at 10:12 PM
Labels: Geopoltical Issues, Israel's Economy

http://www.timesonli...o.uk/tol/news/w ... 023283.ece
(So what explains the endurance of the Berlusconi phenomenon? In part the answer lies in his control of the media. Eighty per cent of Italians get their information only from television, according to official figures. Mr Berlusconi not only owns the three main commercial television channels but as Prime Minister also exercises sway over RAI, the public broadcaster, which tends to be deferential towards him and downplay negative news about his actions.")

The Above ..Reminds you of the "left Behind Series"

Richard Owen in Rome 29 Comments
Recommend? (10) Outside Italy, Silvio Berlusconi is often seen as a gaffe-prone buffoon engulfed by sex scandals, who is using — or abusing — his power to change the law to avoid being put on trial for corruption. A leader who, many argue, is undermining the judiciary and endangering democracy in his attempt to avoid appearing in court.

Inside his home nation though, the Italian Prime Minister remains a popular conservative leader who has so far overcome all the scandals over escorts and tax fraud allegations and is likely to survive — if not triumph — at regional elections to be held next month.

At rallies this week Mr Berlusconi’s usual ebullience was restored. He showed no sign on his face of the injuries caused by an assailant who threw a souvenir of Milan cathedral at him in December. He dismissed speculation about the carve up of his business empire as the result of his impending divorce, saying that he had "nothing to repent" in his relations with women ("I have always acted with a sense of responsibility and respect," he said) and joked that he would be sending Valentines Day messages "to all my girlfriends".

So what explains the endurance of the Berlusconi phenomenon? In part the answer lies in his control of the media. Eighty per cent of Italians get their information only from television, according to official figures. Mr Berlusconi not only owns the three main commercial television channels but as Prime Minister also exercises sway over RAI, the public broadcaster, which tends to be deferential towards him and downplay negative news about his actions.

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Then there is the lack of an alternative: the Centre Left has been weak and divided since its defeat at the hands of the Centre Right a year and half ago and the departure from the political scene of Romano Prodi, the only man to have beaten Mr Berlusconi at the polls (in 1996, and again in 2006). Gianfranco Fini, co-leader of the ruling People of Liberty party and Speaker of the Lower House, is on frosty terms with Mr Berlusconi, but has yet to challenge him openly.

But the key to Mr Berlusconi's survival is his knack of being in tune with the popular mood. For all his wealth and power, he manages to convey an image of himself as an "ordinary guy", a self-made man who loves football and the company of beautiful women, and who gets away with breaking the rules in a country where out-foxing the state bureaucracy is a national sport.

He is also a consummate politican and communicator who turns setbacks to his advantage — portraying the Milan attack, for example, as the result of a "hate campaign" against him by the press and magistrates and turning it into a quasi-religious event by showing his bloodied face to the crowd and then forgiving his assailant.

The idea that the press and the judiciary are merely doing their job by trying to bring him to account is countered by the portrayal of Mr Berlusconi by his supporters as a victim under constant persecution. His use of escorts and parties involving scantily dressed showgirls from his television empire has engendered growing protests by feminists, as has his habit of offering political posts to attractive women with a showbusiness background.

But many Italians — and not only men — regard his divorce and sex scandals as "a private matter", saying they judge him by his political outlook, based on individual freedom and visceral anti-communism. As for corruption, well, Italy has a long history of shady politicians, and the system survives thanks to family ties and the black economy.

There are however clouds on the horizon: last year Italy suffered a 5 per cent drop in GDP, unemployment among young people is high, and today the Bank of Italy said that average family incomes had dropped by 4 per cent in two years. Mr Berlusconi has vowed to cut taxes, but has also admitted that there is no chance of doing so in the immediate future.

Caught off guard without his perma-tan make-up Mr Berlusconi, who will be 74 in September, sometimes appears tired (he suffers from chronic neck pain). His hopes of becoming head of state have been dashed by the scandals, and a poll this week in Corriere della Sera showed his approval rating had fallen back to 48 per cent after jumping to 56 per cent in a wave of sympathy after the Milan attack.

His attempts to push through new laws to restore his immunity from prosecution and annul the two revived corruption trials against him are running into opposition not only from the judiciary but also from President Napolitano. Mafia supergrasses continue to claim in court that Mr Berlusconi got his start in both business and politics thanks to Cosa Nostra backing — a charge he denies.

In a further blow Guido Bertolaso, one of Mr Berlusconi's most valued right-hand men as head of the Civil Protection agency, was this week placed under investigation over suspected corruption involving prostitution and kickbacks related to the building of facilities at La Maddalena in Sardinia at a cost of €327 million (£287 million) for last year’s G8 summit, which in the end Mr Berlusconi switched to L'Aquila.

Above all, the crunch will come in two weeks' time when the Supreme Court is due to decide whether to uphold the conviction last year of David Mills, Mr Berlusconi's former British tax lawyer and estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, for taking a $600,000 bribe from Mr Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf in corruption trials in the 1990s.

Mr Berlusconi is himself on trial for allegedly giving the bribe, and has said that he will make a rare appearance in court at a hearing in Milan two days after the Supreme Court verdict. If Mr Mills's conviction is upheld as definitive, Mr Berlusconi will need all his showman's skill to persuade Italians yet again that he is — as he repeatedly claims — the victim of unjust persecution by a politically biased judiciary.

 

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Israel in the Hands of Providence
Hal Lindsey

If ever Israel needed an ace-in-the-hole, it needs it now. With the Obama Administration's new Muslim favoring policy and the continued hostile attitude of the European Union toward the State of Israel, Israel has been left hanging in perilous winds without a friend.

Just the perception of the U.S. pulling back from supporting Israel has already begun to cause increased signs of attack by Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have recently received missiles that can hit Israel's major population centers.

As of today, the whole world is at best negative toward Israel, and at worst outright hostile toward its continued existence as a state. The odds of Israel continuing as a state for more than ten more years are next to zero.

Well, so much for the human viewpoint. Now let's look at what God has to say about Israel's future. Every aspect of what is happening in regard to the reborn State of Israel has been forecast by Bible prophecy more than two thousand years ago. When it comes to Israel and God's promises to her, there are no odds.

The LORD of Israel predicted the unfaithfulness that would cause their national destruction and exile throughout the entire world. When the LORD predicted their return from this exile to become a nation again in the last days, He acknowledged that they would still be unworthy, "When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name-when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.' But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. "Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD," says the Lord GOD, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land." (Ezekiel 36:20-24 NKJ)

God keeps His Word to Israel because the honor of His name is at stake. When God makes an unconditional covenant, it is absolutely binding and unbreakable. God chose Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob to create a nation through whom He could reveal Himself and provide salvation to the world that was bent upon removing His name from its memory. If the Israelites appear to be unworthy, remember this, all other nations and people are even more unworthy. Israel was not chosen and created because it was somehow more worthy. It was created by God's sovereign purpose and love to provide salvation for the whole rebellious world.

So how is God going to rescue and secure the Nation of Israel that at present seems to be headed for certain destruction? Once again, Bible prophecy gives us a hint, "... You will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.' Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?"" (Ezekiel 38:11-13 NKJ)

The attack that starts Armageddon is here predicted. Ezekiel refers to ancient tribes of his day that can be traced today to Russia, Iran and the various Muslim nations that surround Israel. What is very important to see is that the major motivation for this attack is envy over the enormous wealth that Israel has accumulated that has placed her at "the center of the world" in influence and economics.

I believe this article from the U.S. Geological Survey regarding the enormous potential for Israel striking it rich with over 122 trillion cubic feet of gas and 1.7 billion barrels of oil confirms where this enormous wealth will come from.

For years I have believed that Israel would have a major discovery of gas and oil. This is the one thing I could see that would give Israel the kind of leverage to force a hostile world to acknowledge it. Noble Oil and Gas has already struck a huge gas find off the coast of Haifa.

The Zion Oil and Gas Company sits in the midst of the same Levant Sub-Salt Reservoirs in which Noble Oil and Gas' discoveries were made. I have been a friend with Zion Oil and Gas' founder and driving force, John Brown, for many years. Against impossible odds he has believed that he would help Israel discover oil and gas. He absolutely believes on the basis of a supernatural calling from God and specific confirming Scriptures that he will discover a large reservoir of oil and gas. Zion now has exploration leases on 327 thousand total acres, all of which are geologically well placed within the Levant Reservoir.

I personally made a small investment in Zion Oil and Gas because I wanted to be a part of helping Israel receive this strategic commodity. I believe, based on my knowledge of prophecy, that Israel is going to hit it big soon. When Israel does, the EU and other nations will come with hat in hand to secure from her the desperately needed gas supply.

I believe this will change the entire political balance of power in the Middle East. As far as I can see, this is the one thing that could immediately change Israel's current vulnerable position.

The EU is now at the mercy of Russia for its supply of gas. Russia has been able to force its will on some of the EU's critical decisions by threatening to cut off their indispensable gas supply. Having Israel as a supplier would be far better for Europe.

And this would explain why the coming Antichrist from Rome will make a covenant guaranteeing Israel's security, as predicted by Daniel 9:27.

Buckle your seat belts all you who believe in Jesus the Messiah. We are in for an exciting ride soon

Obama praises Berlusconi as 'great friend' Tweet this
AP foreign, Thursday July 8 2010 MILAN (AP) — U.S. President Barack Obama says in an interview with an Italian newspaper that he has developed a "very strong relationship" with Italian Premier Sylvio Berlusconi.

In an interview published Wednesday in Corriere della Sera, Obama called Berlusconi "a great friend of the United States, and of mine." Obama said that the two leaders always joke when they get together but also get serious work done.

He also called Italian President Giorgio Napolitano a "very gracious person" whose view of Europe coincides with Obama's.

Obama also praised Italy for it contribution to the mission in Afghanistan, where it has some 3,000 troops, and emphasized the important role Turkey plays in Europe.

Lieberman: Israel hopes to upgrade its relations with the EU ‘as soon as possible’

by: EJP Updated: 20/Jul/2010 00:25

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (L) with Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief.



JERUSALEM (EJP)---Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel hopes to upgrade its relations with the European Union “as soon as possible”.

“I think that the timing is right and we have the opportunity to move forward with the action plan and implement the action plan that we confirmed two years ago,” he said Sunday at a press conference after meeting with visiting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Ashton emphasized the “strong bond” between the EU and Israel. “We have a solid vibrant partnership in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy across an extensive range of sectors,” she said, adding that “there is a huge potential to further develop these relations.”

Jerusalem/Bethlehem - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday said he was willing to meet a delegation from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and offered his country as mediator in a bid to help reach a peace settlement.

He told a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem that while in Israel he had felt a 'desire' to move forward to launch negotiations and reach an agreement quickly.

Peace talks between the sides were suspended in late 2008 and have not been resumed since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office at the end of March. Israel and the Palestinians are squabbling over the conditions needed to get the talks going again.

Abbas insists on a total freeze to all Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, but Netanyahu has only gone so far as to declare a a 10-month, partial moratorium on construction in settlements in the West Bank, and did not extend the halt to East Jerusalem, which Israelis sees as part of their united capital.

Berlusconi, who before his visit to Israel had called Israel's settlement policy 'a mistake' which could be an obstacle to any future peace agreement, told a news conference Wednesday that he understands the importance of halting Israeli settlement expansion, which he termed 'a basic condition to launching productive negotiations.'

He also renewed his call for a type of Marshall-plan for the Palestinians.

'I urge all countries to support the Palestinian economy. There will be no peace without prosperity,' he said.

Berlusconi's one-hour meeting with Abbas in the southern West Bank biblical city was the last stop on his three-day tour of Israel and the Palestinian areas.

Earlier Wednesday, in a rare gesture by Israel to a visiting foreign leader, he addressed parliament in Jerusalem and, touching on Israel's main existential fears, said the international community had to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions and the solution lies in sanctions and negotiations.

Speaking through a translator to a packed chamber, he said that while goodwill gestures from the Iranians should not be rejected, 'it should be clearly stated that the dialogue efforts will not suffer intentional stalling and wasting of time.'

'The international community must make a a clear, unequivocal and unanimous decision that it will not accept nuclear weapons in the hands of a state whose leaders have stated their wish of destroying Israel and at the same time denied the Holocaust and de-legitimized the Jewish state,' he said.

Israel regards Iran as its biggest existential threat because of Tehran's reputed nuclear weapons drive, support for militant groups which reject Israel's right to exist, and repeated statements by Iranian leaders that the Jewish state should be erased from the map.

Berlusconi told the legislators that terrorism was not directed solely at Israel and the United States, but against all Western democracies and all moderate Arab states.

He expressed the view that a United Nations report on Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip last year, which accused Israel and the Islamist Palestinian Hamas organization of committing war crimes, 'tried to incriminate Israel for its justified firing at Hamas rockets.'

Israel said it launched the devastating and much-criticized offensive in response to years of incessant rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on its southern towns and villages.

Netanyahu, who spoke before Berlusconi, dwelt on his Italian guest's friendship for Israel, and said he had helped 'bring Israel closer to Europe.'

He ended his remarks by telling the story of a young, pregnant young Italian woman who, during World War II, saved a young Jewish girl from a German officer in Italy.

'That courageous woman's name was Rosa. And one of her children is called Silvio Berlusconi, today the prime minister of Italy,' Netanyahu said, moving the Italian premier to tears.

Berlusconi arrived in Israel Monday, accompanied by a team of ministers. He met with Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, and President Shimon Peres, and on Tuesday the first-ever joint Israeli-Italian cabinet meeting took place in Jerusalem.

The visit saw the signing of at least nine economic agreements



Read more: http://www.monstersa...p#ixzz0eWBXl6Tw

Nato strategy to look at EU relations, says Albright
VALENTINA POP

28.01.2010 @ 17:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Relations between the EU and Nato are to be included in the new strategic concept for the military alliance currently being developed by a group of experts led by former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright.

"We need to maximise collaboration with the EU and make more use of political consultation," Ms Albright told MEPs in Brussels during a special hearing on Wednesday (27 January).


Ms Albright ® briefed MEPs about Nato's new strategic concept (Photo: EUobserver)
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Ms Albright was the US' foreign policy supremo during 1997-2001 when Nato launched its first military action in the former Yugoslavia. The 72-year old has now been appointed to chair an expert panel tasked to advise Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Ramussen on an updated "strategic concept" for the military alliance.

The document will outline new security threats ranging from cyberattacks to terrorism and energy security and the way the military alliance, founded during the Cold War to protect Europe from a potential Soviet invasion, can respond.

"With 20 plus members, Nato can be slow and caught flat-footed by change," Ms Albright argued, highlighting "internal complacency" as a major threat.

She said the founding principle of the alliance – the military defence of its members in case of an armed attack – would remain at the centre of the organisation.

But the alliance had to take into account new threats and its own enlargement to 28 members since the last strategic concept, dating back to 1999.

In addition, Nato must take into account the EU's own expansion and its military and civilian missions abroad.

In this era of "scarce resources," when national coffers are near empty and military budgets have been slashed, avoiding duplication between Nato and the EU is of particular importance, Ms Albright argued.

For their part, MEPs called for a clear division of labour and more co-ordination between the two organisations.

Polish centre-right MEP Jacek Saryusz Wolski, in charge of EU-Nato relations, said he was struck how the two institutions were working in "totally separate worlds," despite having the same concerns and roughly the same armies and citizens, on the European side.

Of the EU's 27 members, only Austria, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus are not part of the military alliance.

At the same time, Mr Saryusz-Wolski identified converging trends as Nato looks to developing a "soft," civilian side in Afghanistan, while the EU is going for increased military capabilities within its foreign and security policy.

"If the two are going more towards each other, the question arises how to make their roles complementary and avoid overlapping," he said.

UK Liberal MEP Andrew Duff asked Ms Albright if she was worried about the possibility of a "core group" of military-capable states establishing their own club within the EU – a provision enshrined in the bloc's new legal framework, the Lisbon Treaty.

Ms Albright kept her remarks general and pointed out that her team's work was still ongoing. A draft concept is to be issued by Nato's secretary general in time for the November summit in Lisbon, when Nato leaders are meant to adopt the final document.

 

[pre-trib]

Rome, EU, Israel Linkage Bears Watching
It is, in my view, more than interesting that Rome and the European Union (EU) seek to bring Israel into their orbit on a formal basis. This is especially fascinating, considering that the world of nations in general is more and more marginalizing Israel because of the Jewish state's perceived guilt in the matter of being the chief obstacle to Mideast peace.

The prime minister of Italy--at the heart of which sits Rome, whose people destroyed the Jewish temple and Jerusalem in AD 70, and out of which the "prince that shall come" is prophesied to emerge--is courting Israel's government, as is reported within the following news excerpt:

JERUSALEM--Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Monday he hopes to bring Israel into the European Union, at the start of a three-day visit to the Jewish state...

Under Berlusconi's leadership, Italy has become one of Israel's strongest allies in Europe. Berlusconi's efforts to strengthen ties with Israel followed decades of a pro-Arab tilt by previous Italian governments...

Speaking on arrival in Israel, Berlusconi told [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that "my greatest desire, as long as I am a protagonist in politics, is to bring Israel into membership of the European Union." (Aron Heller, "Berlusconi: Bring Israel into the EU," MiamiHerald.com, 1/2/10)

The fascination ratchets up when one considers the collateral dynamics making the linkage Berlusconi seeks understandable.

Europe for the most part is at the mercy of Russia and others to their east for keeping oil and natural gas flowing their way. In that regard, the EU is truly vulnerable to pressures from those regions that act sometimes less than civilized by middle European standards.. EU leadership would desperately like to have a source of natural gas, for example, that would assure at least a modicum of independence from Russia and the natural gas producing nations in its orbit over which Russia can exert hegemony.

Another interesting news item perhaps further illustrates the point of Israel's growing attractiveness to the courting Berlusconi and his EU colleagues.

The Canadian Bontan Oil and Gas Company, which has been exploring for natural gas off the coast of Israel, announced Tuesday that it had found prospective resources of up to 6 trillion cubic feet [TCF]of natural gas in Mira and Sarah Prospects off the country's coast. As defined on the company's website, prospective resources are "those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects." The two finds could be worth upwards of US $6 billion. ("Prospective Resources off Israel's Coast Could Be up to 6 Trillion Cubic Feet," Jerusalem Post, 2/2/10)

Some students of Bible prophecy have long speculated about the possibility of vast quantities of oil and gas perhaps one day being discovered in the small geographical area covered by modern Israel. There seem to be some indications due to recent exploration that the possibility exists. It seems, to me at least, that the Italian prime minister and others from the region out of which Antichrist is foretold to come might be thinking along the same lines.

Certainly, there is to be something that puts hooks in the jaws of Gog, the leader of the coalition of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. The western powers, as well as the Saudis and others of the region surrounding Israel, it seems, will send a diplomatic note of protest to the Russian leader, asking if he is coming to take "great spoil" from the area occupied by God's chosen people.

The attack, of course, will be satanically inspired, but it is logical to at least ponder whether it will be oil and natural gas that might be the geophysical "hook" that causes Gog and his Persian and other partners to think the "evil thought" foretold by the prophet Ezekiel. Israel's being brought into the EU realm by the leaders of the region prophesied to produce Antichrist would certainly be a spectacular stage-setting ingredient to the prophetic puzzle. The "beast" would, when coming to power, have legitimate claim to all that is Israel's, from the earthly perspective, if Israel were a member of the EU--and if, as many of us suspect, the EU is indeed the nucleus of Antichrist's future kingdom.

According to Daniel the prophet, Antichrist will at least for a time cause great industrial productivity that promises security. This will all quickly turn to hell on earth, of course, as Antichrist's luciferian rage and God's wrathful judgment begins. Antichrist will need, most likely, control of the oil and gas sources in order to "cause craft to prosper" (Dan 8: 25).

The attempts of the leadership of the EU to bring Israel into its sphere of influence by making it a member is a matter to watch.

--- Terry From RR
I would like to say that Terry from Raptureready.com makes a lot of sense in what he has pointed out about the current events of the Prime Minister from Rome Italy.
Well, today I came to realize something eles that could be added to what Terry has pointed out, if Israel should join the European Union as a full member, or how ever that may turn out.
I realized that if Israel did join the E.U.....that Israel would be basicly under the European Government and that it would cause the following prophecy to be fulfilled also.
"Daniel 7;25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
"Times and Laws"...in essence European Union Laws

 

[charisenexcelcis]

Interesting. I appreciate you posting this. I believe that any believer who is well grounded in the word, strong in faith, and diligennt in their relationship with God will be able to stand in the end times. Those who lack in these three things are in danger of falling, regardless of how well informed they are. Thank you for the information.

 

[Devolution]

He shall wear out the saints of the most High? Israel? Is that who you are referring to as the saints? Hosea 1:9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not My people, and I will not be your God... That is now. Have you read how God calls Israel Sodom and Egypt? Why? Because they rejected Christ and are spiritually desolate. They are under the curse of the old Law. That has not changed, Israel still practises the Law of Moses today. Hosea 1:10....that in the place it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God... Future. God keeping His promise to Abraham, a REMNANT will be saved. Not as the number as the sand of the sea in v 1:10. Thats all of spiritual Israel as the sand. Whoever follows Christ is considered spiritual Jew. Read Hosea 2:16-23. That is the first dominion. The kingdom of Christs 1000yr reign. Notice v18... and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth ! Does nations will beat their swords into ploughshares sound familiar? Gog and magog is after the millenium when satan is released Rev20:7-8. Yes Europe is the key. God does not call that wicked one anti-christ, for there are many anti-christs, He calls him the False Prophet. Point of interest: the Jews will never accept this False Prophet unless he meets one major criteria..and scripture tells us the whole world will accept him, the Jews will accept him before he deceives them, and takes over their country sitting in the rebuilt temple he commands rebuilt, the gentiles trampling them 42mths. F.P showing himself as God in that temple, so that criteria then that he must meet is this: he will have to have Jewish ancestrial blood in his veins. Prophets have to be Jewish to be accepted by Jews. A Euro-Jew. Blood criteria met !! Now they can accept their long awaited Messiah, since the true one they rejected.

 

[pre-trib]

He shall wear out the saints of the most High? Israel? Is that who you are referring to as the saints? Hosea 1:9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not My people, and I will not be your God... That is now. Have you read how God calls Israel Sodom and Egypt? Why? Because they rejected Christ and are spiritually desolate. They are under the curse of the old Law. That has not changed, Israel still practises the Law of Moses today. Hosea 1:10....that in the place it was said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God... Future. God keeping His promise to Abraham, a REMNANT will be saved. Not as the number as the sand of the sea in v 1:10. Thats all of spiritual Israel as the sand. Whoever follows Christ is considered spiritual Jew. Read Hosea 2:16-23. That is the first dominion. The kingdom of Christs 1000yr reign. Notice v18... and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth ! Does nations will beat their swords into ploughshares sound familiar? Gog and magog is after the millenium when satan is released Rev20:7-8. Yes Europe is the key. God does not call that wicked one anti-christ, for there are many anti-christs, He calls him the False Prophet. Point of interest: the Jews will never accept this False Prophet unless he meets one major criteria..and scripture tells us the whole world will accept him, the Jews will accept him before he deceives them, and takes over their country sitting in the rebuilt temple he commands rebuilt, the gentiles trampling them 42mths. F.P showing himself as God in that temple, so that criteria then that he must meet is this: he will have to have Jewish ancestrial blood in his veins. Prophets have to be Jewish to be accepted by Jews. A Euro-Jew. Blood criteria met !! Now they can accept their long awaited Messiah, since the true one they rejected.

Your post seems anti-semetic,....The Second return of Jesus is conditional,..that can only be fulfilled by Israel,..so you might want to make a jew your friend

 

[Devolution]

I have no discord with Jews for i follow Christ, therefore i am a spiritual Jew if i'm found worthy of His grace. That makes them my brothers in God, they make themselves our enemy in Christ (scriptually speaking) only, since they reject Him. Jesus Himself states this through His apostles, so is He anti-semetic??? Will you attack Him also now? Drag Him before the courts?I pray for them all to come to Him. So no, you are wrong in your sleight. You have judged me through spite. And attack me on subjects i have not yet touched. So many words. Just use scripture. Thats the only Word we can trust.

 

[pickles]

Thankyou for the info updates.
The interesting scripture in Revelations that always made me wonder was where the one that lived before will live again.
I always asked how this could happen, now with the abuility to use dna to begin life, one has to wonder if this will be the way.
Just a random thought I wanted to share.
But always, if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will be covered.
God bless, pickles

 

[pre-trib]

I have no discord with Jews for i follow Christ, therefore i am a spiritual Jew if i'm found worthy of His grace. That makes them my brothers in God, they make themselves our enemy in Christ (scriptually speaking) only, since they reject Him. Jesus Himself states this through His apostles, so is He anti-semetic??? Will you attack Him also now? Drag Him before the courts?I pray for them all to come to Him. So no, you are wrong in your sleight. You have judged me through spite. And attack me on subjects i have not yet touched. So many words. Just use scripture. Thats the only Word we can trust.

So you feel that I attacked you?
First of all,...it was Jews who were the first in the body of Christ Jesus.
But as a majority, yes, National Israel rejected the Lord,..Oh! how lucky for you!
What do you think would have happened if they as a nation accepted Him on the Day of their Visitation?
I wonder how many of our blood relatives have too rejected Jesus,...Our enemy in Christ?
I am not attacking you,...I am trying to help you see through it all.
So do not take offence,..are you not my brother in Christ Jesus?

 

[AgeofKnowledge]

Interesting. I appreciate you posting this. I believe that any believer who is well grounded in the word, strong in faith, and diligennt in their relationship with God will be able to stand in the end times. Those who lack in these three things are in danger of falling, regardless of how well informed they are. Thank you for the information.

Things have been moving so fast in our generation. To think when we were born almost the entire world was locked down in a Cold War with rigid lines drawn. We have seen so much in our lifetimes. It's very exciting. I'm glad I missed WWII though to be truthful. Talk about a bloody mess.

 

[pre-trib]

Things have been moving so fast in our generation. To think when we were born almost the entire world was locked down in a Cold War with rigid lines drawn. We have seen so much in our lifetimes. It's very exciting. I'm glad I missed WWII though to be truthful. Talk about a bloody mess.

I am so excited that I can barely contain myself,,...exciting times indeed!
May the Lord bless you and your family with Grace multiplied.

 

[AgeofKnowledge]

I am so excited that I can barely contain myself,,...exciting times indeed!
May the Lord bless you and your family with Grace multiplied.

Thank you for the blessing pre-trib and may the Lord increase his blessings to you .

I think the anti-Christ may be my last employer though... hrm.

 

[arabian_princess]

looooooooooooooooooooooool yeah maybe its me

 

[arabian_princess]

rebuilt temple he commands rebuilt, the gentiles trampling them 42mths. F.P showing himself as God in that temple, ??????
no any temple will be rebuilt

 

[pre-trib]

looooooooooooooooooooooool yeah maybe its me

There are multitudes of arabs who are coming to Jesus as their lord and savior,..even the son of a Hamas leader has done so...Praise the Lord and Creator of all things.

My Friend,..there is a major war brewing in the middle east,..even though Israel will be wounded,..she will destroy all her immediate surrounding neighbors.Damascus will cease from being a city.
In the Days after this war,..a false peace will settle upon Israel and all the world,..it is in those days that the Lord Jesus the Christ will come to take His Bride to heaven, and almost immediately,...it is then when Russia and the surrounding Islamic nations will advance to attack Israel,..But The God of Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob will destroy theses armies Himself.It is this war that will begin the last 7 years as we know it,..called the Time of Jacobs Trouble.

Somehow I sense that you will not believe that these things will happen exactly as I have told you,..So it is the Prophecy of Isaiah 17;1.Psalms 83 shall be your one and only sign from the Lord Jesus who Loves you more than you can imagine.You still have a chance to receive life eternal.

If for some reason you think that I am prejudice,..I am not,..My grand mother who was a christian before she passed away, her last name was Hashem.
This woman has raised the dead in Jesus name,..Healed the mute in Jesus name and healed her 8 day old brother ..in Jesus name,...I tell you the truth,..Jesus the Christ is exactly who He says he is>

But you must remember,..It is impossible to please God without faith.
May the Lord Jesus reign supreme in your Heart.

 

[arabian_princess]

There are multitudes of arabs who are coming to Jesus as their lord and savior,..even the son of a Hamas leader has done so...Praise the Lord and Creator of all things.

(i did to)
israel cant destroy us coz we will destroy it first

In the Days after this war,..a false peace will settle upon Israel and all the world

(its palestine not israHELL)
AND I LOVE JESUS ALSO

 

[pre-trib]

There are multitudes of arabs who are coming to Jesus as their lord and savior,..even the son of a Hamas leader has done so...Praise the Lord and Creator of all things.

(i did to)
israel cant destroy us coz we will destroy it first

In the Days after this war,..a false peace will settle upon Israel and all the world

(its palestine not israHELL)
AND I LOVE JESUS ALSO

Do not forget this day my friend
,..So it is the Prophecy of Isaiah 17;1.Psalms 83 shall be your one and only sign from the Lord Jesus who Loves you more than you can imagine.You still have a chance to receive life eternal.

 

[arabian_princess]

Do not forget this day my friend
,..So it is the Prophecy of Isaiah 17;1.Psalms 83 shall be your one and only sign from the Lord Jesus who Loves you more than you can imagine.You still have a chance to receive life eternal.

I TOLD U I ALREDY ECCEPTED JESUS AS GOD AND SVIOR

 

[pre-trib]

I TOLD U I ALREDY ECCEPTED JESUS AS GOD AND SVIOR

Well this is Good!
Now I ask you a question,..Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God ,...that men inspired of the Holy Spirit to what was written therein?