ITS FOUND IN THE BIBLE - PROPHECY

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Tropical Storm Noel strengthens, threatens Haiti By Michael Christie Sun Oct 28, 6:24 PM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Noel strengthened on Sunday as it crept over the Caribbean and threatened to lash impoverished Haiti with potentially deadly rains, U.S. forecasters said. The storm, with top sustained winds of 60 miles per hour (95 km per hour), was moving slowly toward Haiti's southwestern peninsula and was expected to head toward southeastern Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.While the storm's track was highly uncertain, the hurricane center forecast it was likely to curve back to the northeast near the end of the week and head out over the Bahamas into the Atlantic rather than into the Gulf of Mexico and its important U.S. oil and gas facilities.It was also unclear whether Noel, the 14th named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, would have an opportunity to strengthen into a hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph) because that would depend on whether it stayed over warm water or spent more time over land.

The amount of interaction with land during the next 2-3 days is still rather uncertain, but the official intensity forecast indicates strengthening since the cyclone will be mostly over water if the official track forecast verifies, hurricane center forecaster Richard Knabb wrote in a discussion piece on the storm.
It is not out of the question that Noel could become a hurricane prior to passing over Cuba.By 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), Noel was located around 125 miles.south-southeast of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and was moving to the north-northwest at 5 mph (8 kph), the Miami-based hurricane center said.Storms alerts were posted for Haiti, parts of southeast Cuba, and for Jamaica. Cuba also issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Granma, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours.The more immediate threat from the storm appeared to be its rains, especially to Haiti where the hillsides are denuded of trees because people chop them down for charcoal and where storms frequently cause devastating flashfloods and mudslides.

Around 3,000 people died in the port city of Gonaives in 2004 when heavy rains from Tropical Storm Jeanne buried the city in mud as it passed to the north of Haiti on its way to hit Florida as a hurricane.The hurricane center said Noel could dump 8 inches to 12 inches of rain, with isolated downpours of up to 20 inches, over Cuba, Jamaica and parts of Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.The six-month hurricane season runs until the end of November. The peak of the season, in September, was unusually quiet but the development of a La Nina weather phenomenon in the equatorial Pacific has the potential to make late-season storms more likely than in other years, experts say.
So far the season has spawned four hurricanes, two of which became potentially catastrophic maximum-strength Category 5 storms before slamming into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Central America.

Heavy rain floods capital of Congo, at least 30 killed and 100 injured Fri Oct 26, 6:05 PM - By Eddy Isango, The Associated Press

KINSHASA, Congo - Heavy rains swelled into a torrent of water that swamped Congo's sprawling capital, killing 30 people in less than 24 hours, the government said Friday. The death toll was likely to rise, an official at Congo's humanitarian affairs ministry said, because relief workers have not been able to reach many flooded neighbourhoods. Thirty dead and about a hundred injured have been registered, said Serge Mulumbe, the humanitarian affairs ministry official. The heavy rain started falling Thursday in the Central African city and continued into the early hours Friday. The rain led to landslides, and the overflowing of rivers. Even bridges have given way, Communications Minister Toussaint Tshilombo Send said. At least one bridge in the west of the city was impassable Friday, making it difficult for residents to evacuate. Regions outside the capital had already been suffering from heavy rain and flooding for three days. More than 200 homes were flooded in the village of Kisenge in central Katanga province, according to territorial administrator Kaumba Kabwebu. The Congolese Red Cross said flooding throughout the country has affected about 10,500 people. Spokesman Alphonse Mulowayi did not provide further details. Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga said he is organizing a crisis committee to deal with the disaster. A particularly heavy rainy season has flooded croplands and homes across central Africa in recent months. Since June, floods have killed at least 200 people and displaced hundreds of thousands in 17 countries, including Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo in the west, and Sudan, Uganda and Kenya in central and eastern Africa.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Calif. firefighters work to hold gains By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writer OCT 28,07

LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. - Firefighters Sunday hoped to hold on to the strong gains they made against Southern California blazes, despite a forecast of warmer, drier weather and a continuing threat to some homes. The blistering Santa Ana winds that whipped fires over more than a half-million acres earlier in the week were replaced by light breezes and even some rain on Saturday but another change in direction was expected to bring drier weather to Orange and San Diego counties.We're still cautiously optimistic of making progress, said Chris Caswell with the Orange County Fire Authority.The fires have torched 1,790 homes but more than a dozen had been surrounded and nine others were 40 to 97 percent contained.

Blazes continued to burn in the Lake Arrowhead resort region of the towering San Bernardino Mountains, 100 miles east of Los Angeles. They also burned in rugged wilderness above isolated canyon communities of Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles. A blaze 60 miles northeast of San Diego stopped its advance toward the mountain town of Julian.Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Saturday visited a command post near Orange County's Santiago Canyon fire to announce assistance for people with losses, warn of contracting scams, and pledge to find whoever set the nearby blaze that continued to threaten homes after destroying 14.Addressing controversy over state rules that caused delay in getting military aircraft into use against the fires, Schwarzenegger said it sometimes takes disaster to really wake everyone up.There are things that we could improve on and I think this is what we are going to do because a disaster like this ... in the end is a good vehicle, a motivator for everyone to come together, he said.

Seven deaths have been directly attributed to the fires, including those of four suspected illegal immigrants, whose burned bodies were found near the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday.Eleven Mexicans were being treated at a San Diego hospital for burns suffered in the wildfires after crossing the border illegally, the Mexican government confirmed Saturday. Four were in critical condition.
About 4,400 people remained in 28 shelter sites in Southern California, while others waited out the fires in makeshift encampments.In the Rancho Bernardo section of San Diego, mortgage broker Mike Bartholemew, 37, removed rotten food from his refrigerator Saturday as he waited for cleaners to vacuum soot from inside his home, which survived the flames.Bartholemew said it was eerie to be surrounded by ruined homes but he was anxious to come back home as soon as electricity was restored.I could move to Indiana, but they have tornados and floods, he said. Everywhere you go in the country you get something. Here we have earthquakes and fires.Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego, Aaron C. Davis in Orange, Peter Prengaman and Raquel Maria Dillon, and Steve Lawrence in Sacramento contributed to this report.

YES TURKEY WOULD NEVER LET ISRAEL USE ITS AIR SPACE TO ATTACK SYRIA BUT TURKEY WILL ALLOW CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST TO ATTACK ISRAEL IN THE FUTURE.

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

Olmert apologised to Turkey over Syria raid OCT 28,07

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has acknowledged for the first time that Israeli warplanes may have violated Turkey's air space during a raid on Syria last month, an official said Sunday. Olmert apologised to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan when the two men met in London on Tuesday, the official said.If in fact Israeli planes penetrated Turkey's air space it was never meant intentionally or in any event to damage or hurt Turkey's sovereignty which we respect, Olmert said, according to an Israeli official present at the meeting.During the meeting Olmert expressed Israel's apologies to the Turkish government and the Turkish people for any damage caused, the official added.

Israel had previously confirmed it launched an air raid against a military target inside Syria on September 6 but has provided no additional details, amid speculation that the target may have been a site storing nuclear materials.Turkey had demanded an explanation from Israel after it was embarrassed by the discovery of jettisoned fuel tanks on its territory in the aftermath of the raid.Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said during a visit to Syria that he was astonished by newspaper reports that Turkey had prior notice of the raid and allowed its airspace to be used by the Israeli jets.Turkey would never allow its territory to be used for an act hostile to the security of Syria, he said.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Oil sets record, surpassing $93 a barrel By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer OCT 28,07

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose above $93 a barrel to a new trading high in Asia Monday on growing political tensions in the Middle East, a weak dollar and worries about the supply outlook ahead of the winter. The strong price is due to supply concerns in general, on top of which we have the geopolitical news, said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz.Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as much as $1.34 to $93.20 a barrel, a new intraday record, in early afternoon Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before slipping back to $93.05.That was still up $1.19 from Friday's record close of $91.86 a barrel. The previous trading high was $92.22 a barrel, set Friday.A rumbling of tensions in the Middle East has worried traders about the disruption of oil exports.A sharp escalation in fighting between Turkey and Kurdish rebels has brought Turkey to the brink of sending troops south across the border into Iraq, and the United States last week announced harsh penalties against Iran — the world's fourth largest oil producer — in hopes of raising pressure on the world financial system to cut ties with Tehran.

Also, last Friday, gunmen in speedboats kidnapped six workers from an oil vessel off Nigeria's coast, the second attack on an oilfield in a week. Nigeria is Africa's largest oil exporter and the fifth-largest supplier of crude to the United States.The dollar's descent against major currencies has drawn investors to crude futures as a hedge against the weakening currency and made dollar-denominated oil futures less expensive to people dealing in other currencies, said David Moore, commodities strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.Meanwhile, U.S. supplies seem to be tightening. Oil futures have gained almost $8 a barrel, or 9 percent, since the U.S. Department of Energy reported last Wednesday a sharp drop in the country's crude stocks.
The (Energy Information Administration) data last week that showed a drop in U.S. oil inventories has renewed focus on the possibility of tightening oil market conditions, particularly over the northern winter, Moore said.Analysts note the price of oil is closing in on the inflation-adjusted highs hit in early 1980. Depending on the adjustment, a then $38 barrel of oil would be worth $96 to $101 or more today.In London, December Brent crude advanced $1.18 cents to $89.87 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.Heating oil futures rose 1.75 cents to $2.45 a gallon Monday while gasoline prices added 1.51 cents to $2.2891 a gallon.
Natural gas futures gained 7.7 cents to $7.295 per 1,000 cubic feet.AP Business Writer Thomas Hogue in Bangkok, Thailand, contributed to this report.

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)

REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.

REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

A ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION WILL COME FROM ROME THE EU DRURING THE 7YR TRIBULATION OR 7 YR PEACE TREATY

World religious leaders meet for peace summitBy Gina Doggett - October 22, 2007 09:25am - Article from: Agence France-Presse

LEADERS of the world's main religions kicked off an annual interfaith peace summit in Naples today with calls for a global organisation uniting their faiths.Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Israel's chief rabbi Yona Metzger and the imam of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Ezzeddin, were among those attending the gathering. Civilisations don't dialogue directly, but through those who carry their traditions and cultural values. So we should not speak of a dialogue of civilisations, but a culture of dialogue, Bartholomew told the opening. In a similar vein, Rabbi Metzger proposed a United Nations of Religions that would embrace the heads of religious communities that have a profound influence on their congregations. If we sit down together around one table ... surely we could arrive at effective solutions, he said.

Ibrahim Ezzedin, too, advocated a formal structure linking world religions, saying: This important grouping of God-fearing people cannot and should not limit itself to processions, conferences and seminars.We need to form a permanent and authorised executive machinery for ... executing any decisions we may make, he added.
The Muslim leader however spoke harshly of unjustified provocations in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan and ... unfair dealings in Palestine that have prompted some Muslim individuals and groups (to go) astray and wrong themselves by violent actions.
He added: We are dismayed by the behaviour of some great powers who continue to act aggressively against other countries, by means of military occupation under fabricated pretexts ... forced regime changes and blunt interference in other countries affairs.The Sant Egidio summits are meant to carry on the spirit of Assisi and were launched 21 years ago by John Paul II in the birthplace of Saint Francis. The first summit, dubbed a World Day of Prayer for Peace, was attended by the Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and other religious leaders. The Pope, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, stayed away, reportedly out of concern that it put all religions on an equal footing. Thus the timing of his pastoral visit to Naples has been billed as a happy coincidence by Sant'Egidio, a lay Catholic organisation that has mediated in several world conflicts.

A world without violence

The theme of this year's peace summit is A World Without Violence: Faiths and Cultures in Dialogue, with topics to include AIDS, immigration, the plight of Africa and the quest for peace in the Middle East. The Sant'Egidio community is the bridge in this search for common points and continues to work for dialogue in all parts of the world to build peace, said the Reverend Gijun Sugitani, the supreme adviser of Tendai Buddhism in Japan. Earlier today, the Pope celebrated an open-air mass as rain fell on pilgrims huddled under umbrellas in Naples main square. Lamenting the sad phenomenon of violence in the impoverished city, the pontiff said: It's not only a matter of the deplorable number of crimes of the Camorra (mafia), but also the fact that violence tends unfortunately to become a widespread mentality, insinuating itself into the fabric of society.

Prophecy found throughout the Bible - Commentary column
By WAYNE STEWART - The Palestine Herald

Occasionally I like to take a look at Bible prophecy and share it with others.A lot of folks out there look at just a few books as being prophetically significant in terms of our time. When they talk about prophecy they look at the books Daniel and Revelations.
There are so many more. There's Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah, some of the Psalms, many of Paul's writings, Jesus made comments on the end in the gospels, yes, even the book of Genesis contains end-time prophecies.They are all throughout the Bible. The Bible itself is a roadmap to Christ and ultimately his return to the world.We are seeing events unfold now that hold up prophecies such as the Gog-Magog war prophesied in Ezekiel 38, as Iran, Russia and Turkey come into an ever-closer alliance with each other.We also are looking at Israel possibly sitting down and talking peace with her avowed enemies over the coming weeks and months.

There is a lot of pressure on Israel to give in to demands being made by the Palestinians, but the Arab terrorists are being asked to give up very little, if anything.The main sticking point is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem — Israel's holiest site. The place where the first and second temples stood.In the small little book of Micah, we have an image of the last days. In chapter 4, Micah gives us an idea of what the restored kingdom during Christ's millennial reign from the New Jerusalem will be like when the nation of Israel is fully restored.Then Micah foresees the Babylonian captivity, before even the Assyrians had started ravaging much of Judah.Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. — Micah 4:10

We have seen this, it is recorded in history books. The captivity of Judah and their return 70 years later, as prophesied by Jeremiah.But beginning in verse 11 of the same chapter, it seems we are fast forwarded through the centuries.After the exile Israel was not much more than a province of different countries throughout the years, until the temple and much of Jerusalem's destruction in 70 A.D. at the hands of the Romans.They had no standing army during the centuries between the return from exile and the Roman conquest. While they tried to rebel several times over that 500-year span, the groups who did the fighting were not much more than guerilla groups. It wasn't until 1948 that Israel once again became a sovereign nation again with a standing army — and once again God's prophetic clock began ticking away toward Christ's return and rescue of his beloved land.

Verse 11 shows us something quite different, though.

But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion! — Micah 4:11.We see it in the news every day, whether it's the leader of Iran vowing to wipe Israel off the face of the map or the so-called peaceful Palestinian leader Abbas saying if this peace deal isn't just the way he wants it then the violence will only get worse. Israel isn't surrounded by friends, folks. She is surrounded by nations wanting to destroy her.The following verses, and chapter 5 of Micah spells out our hope — and that is through our Savior Jesus Christ.But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, he who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor. Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hoofs of bronze and you will break to pieces many nations. You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. — Micah 4:12-13

What is happening here? God is causing all nations to come before Israel. While the nations think they are coming to destroy it and at last take over Jerusalem, they do not know God's plans. They do not know that they have been drawn to this place so that Christ could exercise his final judgment over them.In chapter 5 we see who is leading this fight against the forces of the world — Jesus Christ. Micah saw Christ coming from Bethlehem, he saw him dying, but he also saw his triumphal return.Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times. Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace. — Micah 5:1-5 . This is more than a prophecy about the first advent of our Lord and Savior in Judah, it also talks about his triumphal reign on earth when he comes back.For a corresponding verse, let's go all the way nearly to the end of the Bible.The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever. — Revelation 11:15

This verse picks up after the Two Witnesses are taken back to heaven after their time in Jerusalem.These prophecies have been destined to be fulfilled from the foundations of the world. Christ will reign over all the earth. If we look about the world today we see the machinations and the alignment of nations taking place against Israel.Here are just a few examples from Associated Press stories from Thursday alone:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin warns against any sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program.

• Turkish prime minister says US objections will not stop Iraqi incursion against Kurds.

• Israel’s Olmert seeks to dampen expectations for Mideast peace conference.

• Lebanese troops open fire on Israeli warplanes flying over Lebanon.

Events are lining up just as the Bible has said they would, we must open our eyes and look to Christ before it is too late. He is our only means out of the coming tribulation.When Christ gets his bride, Israel will be left alone; because without Christians who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who will be left to defend her on earth? Don't despair, though, because Christ will. After being cleansed through the fires of the tribulation, the Bible promises all that's left of Israel will be saved.Read it for yourself — it's all in the Scriptures.