TORAH PORTION FROM AUG 17-23 2008

SINCE WHAT ISRAEL READS WILL BE FULFILLED IN THAT WEEK I WILL BE PUTTING THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION ON FOR ALL OF US TO KEEP TRACK OF ISRAEL HAPPENINGS.

TORAH PORTION FROM AUG 17, 2008 6PM TO AUG 23,2008

DEUTERONOMY 7:12 - 11:25

1st Portion
Chapter 7
12. And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that the Lord, your God, will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers.
13. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your oil, the offspring of your cattle and the choice of your flocks, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.
14. You shall be blessed above all peoples: There will be no sterile male or barren female among you or among your livestock.
15. And the Lord will remove from you all illness, and all of the evil diseases of Egypt which you knew, He will not set upon you, but He will lay them upon all your enemies.
16. And you shall consume all the peoples which the Lord your God gives you; you shall not spare them, nor shall you worship their gods, for that will be a snare for you.
17. Will you say to yourself, These nations are more numerous than I; how will I be able to drive them out? 18. You shall not fear them. You shall surely remember what the Lord, your God, did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt:
19. The great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm with which the Lord, your God, brought you out. So will the Lord, Your God, do to all the peoples you fear.
20. And also the tzir'ah, the Lord, your God, will incite against them, until the survivors and those who hide from you perish.
21. You shall not be terrified of them, for the Lord, your God, Who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God.
22. And the Lord, your God, will drive out those nations from before you, little by little. You will not be able to destroy them quickly, lest the beasts of the field outnumber you.
23. But the Lord, your God, will deliver them to you, and He will confound them with great confusion, until they are destroyed.
24. And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from beneath the heavens; no man will be able to stand up before you, until you have destroyed them.
25. The graven images of their gods you will burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is upon them and take it for yourself, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord, your God.
26. Nor should you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be are to be destroyed like it, but you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is to be destroyed.

Chapter 8
1. Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do, that you may live and multiply, and come and possess the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers.
2. And you shall remember the entire way on which the Lord, your God, led you these forty years in the desert, in order to afflict you to test you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
3. And He afflicted you and let you go hungry, and then fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, so that He would make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather by, whatever comes forth from the mouth of the Lord does man live.
4. Your clothing did not wear out upon you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.
5. You shall know in your heart, that just as a man chastises his son, so does the Lord, your God, chastise you.
6. And you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to go in His ways, and to fear Him.
7. For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains,
8. a land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey,
9. a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains you will hew copper.
10. And you will eat and be sated, and you shall bless the Lord, your God, for the good land He has given you.

2nd Portion
Chapter 8
11. Beware that you do not forget the Lord, your God, by not keeping His commandments, His ordinances, and His statutes, which I command you this day,
12. lest you eat and be sated, and build good houses and dwell therein,
13. and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold increase, and all that you have increases,
14. and your heart grows haughty, and you forget the Lord, your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,
15. Who led you through that great and awesome desert, [in which were] snakes, vipers and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought water for you out of solid rock,
16. Who fed you with manna in the desert, which your forefathers did not know, in order to afflict you and in order to test you, to benefit you in your end,
17. and you will say to yourself, My strength and the might of my hand that has accumulated this wealth for me.
18. But you must remember the Lord your God, for it is He that gives you strength to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your forefathers, as it is this day.
19. And it will be, if you forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, and worship them, and prostrate yourself before them, I bear witness against you this day, that you will surely perish.
20. As the nations that the Lord destroys before you, so will you perish; since you will not obey the Lord your God.

Chapter 9
1. Hear, O Israel: Today, you are crossing the Jordan to come in to possess nations greater and stronger than you, great cities, fortified up to the heavens.
2. A great and tall people, the children of the 'Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard said, Who can stand against the children of Anak?
3. You shall know this day, that it is the Lord your God Who passes over before you as a consuming fire He will destroy them, and He will subdue them before you; and you shall drive out them and destroy them quickly, as the Lord spoke to you.

3rd Portion
Chapter 9
4. Do not say to yourself, when the Lord, your God, has repelled them from before you, saying, Because of my righteousness, the Lord has brought me to possess this land, and [that] because of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord drives them out from before you.
5. Not because of your righteousness or because of the honesty of your heart, do you come to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and in order to establish the matter that the Lord swore to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6. You shall know that, not because of your righteousness, the Lord, your God, gives you this land to possess it; for you are a stiffnecked people.
7. Remember do not forget, how you angered the Lord, your God, in the desert; from the day that you went out of the land of Egypt, until you came to this place, you have been rebelling against the Lord.
8. At Horeb, you angered the Lord, and the Lord was incensed with you to destroy you.
9. When I ascended the mountain to receive the stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water;
10. and the Lord gave me two stone tablets, inscribed by the finger of God, and on them was [inscribed] according to all the words that the Lord spoke with you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.
11. And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the Lord gave me two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.
12. And the Lord said to me, Arise, descend quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have become corrupt; they have quickly deviated from the way which I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten image.
13. And the Lord spoke to me [further], saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.
14. Leave Me alone, and I will destroy them and obliterate their name from beneath the heavens, and I will make you into a nation mightier and more numerous than they. 15. So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were on my two hands.
16. And I saw, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord, your God; you had made yourselves a molten calf; you had deviated quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you.
17. So I grasped the two tablets, cast them out of my two hands, and shattered them before your eyes.
18. And I fell down before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sins you had committed, by doing evil in the eyes of the Lord to anger Him.
19. For I was frightened of the wrath and the fury that the Lord was angry with you to destroy you, and the Lord hearkened to me also at that time.
20. And with Aaron, the Lord was very furious, to destroy him; so I prayed also for Aaron at that time.
21. And I took your sin the calf, which you had made, and I burned it with fire, and I crushed it, grinding it well, until it was fine dust, and I cast its dust into the brook that descends from the mountain.
22. And at Tav'erah, and at Massah, and at Kivroth Hata'avah, you provoked the Lord to anger.
23. And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land I have given you, you defied the word of the Lord your God, and you did not believe Him, nor did you obey Him.
24. You have been rebelling against the Lord since the day I became acquainted with you.
25. So I fell down before the Lord the forty days and the forty nights that I had fallen down; because the Lord had said to destroy you.
26. And I prayed to the Lord and said, O Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance, which You have redeemed in Your greatness, and which You have brought out of Egypt with mighty hand.
27. Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; do not turn to the stubbornness of this people, to their wickedness, or to their sin.
28. Lest [the people of] the land from which you brought us out will say, Because of the Lord's inability to bring them to the land about which He spoke to them, and because of His hatred toward them, He has brought them out to slay them in the desert.
29. But they are Your people and Your inheritance, which You brought out with Your great strength and with Your outstretched arm.

4th Portion
Chapter 10
1. At that time, the Lord said to me, Hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to Me onto the mountain, and make for yourself a wooden ark,
2. And I shall inscribe on the tablets the words that were upon the first tablets which you shattered and you shall place them into the ark.
3. So I made an ark of acacia wood, and I hewed two stone tablets like the first ones, and I ascended the mountain, with the two tablets in my hand.
4. And He inscribed on the tablets, like the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain, from the midst of the fire, on the day of the assembly, and the Lord gave them to me.
5. And I turned and came down from the mountain, and placed the tablets in the ark which I had made, and there they were, as the Lord had commanded me.
6. The children of Israel journeyed from the wells of B'nei Ya'akan to Moserah; there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son served as kohen in his stead.
7. From there, they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Yotvath, a land with streams of water.
8. At that time, the Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him, and to bless in His Name, to this day.
9. Therefore, Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord, your God spoke to him.
10. And I remained on the mountain like the first days forty days and forty nights, and the Lord hearkened to me also at that time; the Lord did not wish to destroy you.
11. And the Lord said to me, Arise, go to lead the travels before the people, so that they may come and possess the land I promised their forefathers to give them.

5th Portion
Chapter 10
12. And now, O Israel, what does the Lord, your God, demand of you? Only to fear the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to worship the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul,
13. to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes, which I command you this day, for your good.
14. Behold, to the Lord, your God, belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth, and all that is on it.
15. Only your forefathers the Lord desired, to love them, and He chose their seed after them you, out of all peoples, as it is this day.
16. You shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, therefore, and be no more stiffnecked.
17. For the Lord, your God, is God of gods and the Lord of the lords, the great mighty and awesome God, Who will show no favor, nor will He take a bribe.
18. He executes the judgment of the orphan and widow, and He loves the stranger, to give him bread and clothing.
19. You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
20. You shall fear the Lord, your God, worship Him, and cleave to Him and swear by His Name.
21. He is your praise and He is your God, Who did these great and awesome things for you, which your eyes have seen.
22. With seventy souls, Your forefathers descended to Egypt, and now the Lord, your God, has made you as the stars of heaven in abundance.

Chapter 11
1. [Therefore] you shall love the Lord, your God, keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments, all the days.
2. And you shall know this day; that [I speak] not with your children, who did not know and who did not see the chastisement of the Lord, your God, His greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm,
3. His signs, and His deeds, which He performed in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh, king of Egypt and to his entire land,
4. and what He did to the army of Egypt, to its steeds, and to its chariots, that He caused the waters of the Red Sea to inundate them when they pursued you, and the Lord destroyed them, to this day,
5. and what He did for you in the desert, until you arrived at this place,
6. and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, that the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up and their households and their tents, and all the possessions at their feet, in the midst of all Israel.
7. But your eyes, which have seen all the great work of the Lord, which He did.
8. [Therefore] keep all the commandments that I command you this day, in order that you may be strong and come and possess the land to which you are crossing, to possess it,
9. and in order that you may prolong your days on the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers to give to them and to their seed a land flowing with milk and honey.

6th Portion
Chapter 11
10. For the land to which you are coming to possess is not like the land of Egypt, out of which you came, where you sowed your seed and which you watered by foot, like a vegetable garden.
11. But the land, to which you pass to possess, is a land of mountains and valleys and absorbs water from the rains of heaven,
12. a land the Lord, your God, looks after; the eyes of Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13. And it will be, if you hearken to My commandments that I command you this day to love the Lord, your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14. I will give the rain of your land at its time, the early rain and the latter rain, and you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil.
15. And I will give grass in your field for your livestock, and you will eat and be sated.
16. Beware, lest your heart be misled, and you turn away and worship strange gods and prostrate yourselves before them.
17. And the wrath of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will close off the heavens, and there will be no rain, and the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from upon the good land that the Lord gives you.
18. And you shall set these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand and they shall be for ornaments between your eyes.
19. And you shall teach them to your sons to speak with them, when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way and when you lie down and when you rise.
20. And you shall inscribe them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates,
21. in order that your days may increase and the days of your children, on the land which the Lord swore to your forefathers to give them, as the days of heaven above the earth.

7th Portion
Chapter 11
22. For if you keep all these commandments which I command you to do them, to love the Lord, your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him,
23. then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will possess nations greater and stronger than you.
24. Every place upon which the soles of your feet will tread, will be yours: from the desert and the Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates River, and until the western sea, will be your boundary.
25. No man will stand up before you; the Lord your God will cast the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land upon which you tread, as He spoke to you.

PROPHETS PORTION

ISAIAH 49:14 - 51:3
14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
17 Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee.
18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
22 Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

isaiah 50:1-11
1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.
4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
5 The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.
6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
7 For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.
8 He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.
10 Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
11 Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.

ISAIAH 51:1-3
1 Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.
3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

NEW TESTAMENT PORTION

MATTHEW 4:1-11
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

LUKE 4:1-14
1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:
10 For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:
11 And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

JAMES 5:7-11
7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

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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.

Typhoon Nuri in China after sweeping Hong Kong AUG 22,08 By James Pomfret James Pomfret Reuters

Australia 7 News HONG KONG (Reuters) – Typhoon Nuri struck southern China on Friday, killing three people after barreling through Hong Kong, shutting down most of the financial hub with gale-force winds and disrupting hundreds of flights.Downgraded to a severe tropical storm, Nuri made landfall in southern Guangdong in the late evening. Strong winds in the provincial capital of Guangzhou toppled an expressway traffic sign, which crushed a van and killed its three passengers, Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.Torrential rain is expected over the weekend as Nuri moves northwest, ebbing gradually, it added. The typhoon is now headed along the Guangdong coastline towards the gambling hub of Macau, where flights and ferries were also cancelled.Much of Hong Kong ground to a standstill on Friday with the closure of financial markets, schools and offices. Howling winds swept across the former British colony, uprooting trees and churning white-tipped waves in Victoria harbor.

Streets were largely deserted and shops shuttered, with trees and scaffolding toppled by winds of up to 94 kph (58 mph) recorded in parts of the territory.The last time a storm of such severity hit Hong Kong was typhoon Dujuan in September 2003. Around four hundred flights were cancelled or delayed by early evening, including those of the city's two major carriers, Cathay Pacific and DragonAir.The tropical cyclone signal was upgraded to a relatively rare No. 9, one short of a direct hit, as Nuri closed in on the city after wreaking a path of destruction in the northern Philippines.It was not immediately clear how the city would cope with a backlog of over 400 flights. A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Airport Authority said arrangements would be made with the airlines, with flights likely to resume after midnight.In China's Guangdong province, tens of thousands of people were evacuated from coastal areas and fishing boats called back to port. The Guangdong meteorological bureau warned it might be the strongest typhoon to hit the province this year.Hong Kong's Olympic equestrian events, however, were spared the worst of typhoon Nuri, with the last showjumping event successfully concluded on Thursday night as the weather began to worsen.(Additional reporting by Donny Kwok and Alison Leung; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Six Florida deaths blamed on storm Fay AUG 22,08

Reuters – Workers clear debris at the Palm Beach Equine Clinic after Tropical Storm Fay passed through Wellington.ABC News MIAMI (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Fay was blamed on Friday for six deaths in Florida as forecasters warned that its torrential rains threatened a large swath of the southeastern United States with flooding over the weekend.At 11 a.m. EDT the center of the storm, which had threatened to strengthen into a hurricane as it churned across the Caribbean, over the Florida Keys and on to the state's southwest coast, was about 40 miles northeast of Cedar Key in northwest Florida, U.S. forecasters said.The sixth storm of what experts predict will be a busy Atlantic hurricane season, Fay was moving west at just 5 miles per hour (7 kph) after making its third Florida landfall on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.The storm, with top sustained winds that had weakened to 45 mph (75 kph), was expected to move near or over the Florida Panhandle on Saturday and to dump heavy rain over northern Florida, southern Georgia and southeastern Alabama, the Miami-based hurricane center said.Regardless of its exact track ... Fay will be moving rather slowly during the next several days ... posing a significant heavy rainfall and flood hazard to a very large area, it said.There was a possibility the storm could steer farther south and strengthen over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It could then target an area where offshore rigs produce a large amount of oil and natural gas and also the city of New Orleans, which was swamped by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The storm brought rain of up to 21 inches to areas around Cape Canaveral, home of the U.S. space shuttle fleet.Emergency crews had to rescue some people from flooded neighborhoods and hundreds of homes were affected, local officials said.Before taking aim at Florida, the storm killed more than 50 people in the Caribbean, mostly in Haiti where a crowded bus was swept away by a rain-swollen river.In Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist said six deaths had been caused by Fay, including those of two women who drowned in heavy surf on Thursday in separate incidents along beaches off the state's Atlantic coast.The other deaths occurred in traffic accidents and an incident in which a man died of carbon monoxide poisoning while testing two power generators.Obviously this is a killer storm, Crist told reporters.(Reporting by Tom Brown; Editing by Jane Sutton)

Tropical Storm Fay leaves six dead in Florida AUG 22,08

FOX News MIAMI (AFP) – At least six people have been killed over the five days that Tropical Storm Fay has been pounding Florida with torrential rain and powerful winds, Governor Charlie Crist said Friday.This is a killer storm, said Crist. The six deaths were confirmed as storm-related.President George W. Bush declared an emergency in the waterlogged, wind-battered state on Thursday, opening the way for federal disaster assistance.As of 11 am (1500 GMT) Fay's center was located about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Cedar Key, in northeastern Florida, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.It was crawling west at a mere seven kilometers (five miles) per hour, and this motion is expected to continue during the next 24 to 36 hours, the Hurricane center said.At this rate Fay's center is expected to move over the far western Florida panhandle area on Saturday.The storm packed maximum sustained winds of near 75 kilometers (45 miles) per hour, with higher gusts.

Over the next 36 hours, Fay is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of four to six inches (10 to 15 centimeters) across northern Florida and the surrounding region, which includes southern Georgia and southeastern Alabama, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches (30 centimeters) possible, the Center said.The storm has dumped record amounts of rain, with water accumulations of 50 to 75 centimeters (20 to 30 inches) seen in some parts of the state, causing widespread flooding.One man died inhaling carbon monoxide as he tested an electricity generator, three others were killed in vehicle accidents on slick roads, and two more drowned, the governor's office said.As of Thursday, more than 1,500 people had been evacuated and moved into 61 shelters located across the state.Fay also caused tornadoes that earlier ripped through seven counties in south Florida, destroying 10 homes and damaging 50 others, local emergency officials said. Some 50,000 homes have been flooded, and it and knocked out power to 100,000 people.In the Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie area, overflowing rivers and canals forced residents to get around on boats and climb onto trees and on rooftops, local television reported.The heavy flooding resulted in alligators, water snakes and large spiders being pushed into urban areas, officials said.Since it powered up from the Caribbean just short of hurricane strength last weekend, Fay has crisscrossed the southeastern US state, first blasting the tourist-heavy Keys, then plowing up the west coast before making landfall Tuesday and crossing very slowly to the northeast.Earlier in the Caribbean, Fay left a trail of destruction and at least 40 deaths -- particularly in Haiti, where a truck carrying around 60 passengers plunged into a swollen river during the storm.

Monsoon death toll tops 700 in India Fri Aug 22, 1:57 am ET

Reuters LUCKNOW, India (AFP) – More than 700 people have died in flooding and storms across India since the monsoon hit in June, officials said Friday after reporting 27 more dead in Uttar Pradesh.India's most populated state has accounted for 660 deaths, relief commissioner G.K. Tandon told AFP in the local capital Lucknow.The majority of victims died when their homes collapsed, while lightning claimed 75 lives in the northern state, he said.The monsoon fury has affected 1.29 million people. A total of 3,173 villages are affected while 674 villages have been totally marooned, Tandon said.Northern Punjab saw 14 more deaths in August, with five of the state's 19 districts under water after incessant rain, officials said.Another 40 people died in torrential downpours in southern India during the month, Press Trust of India (PTI) said.Heavy rains had weakened levees and dam walls triggering more worries for flood control officials.A 500-yard (metre) breach opened in Erapul Thodandh dam, western Uttar Pradesh, earlier this week, marooning two villages, officials said.Work is going on to repair the breach and things are under control, Tandon said, adding that the state administration was running 268 relief camps for the homeless.Further downstream in eastern Bihar state, 700,000 people have been displaced by flood waters carried down the Himalayas from neighbouring Nepal, government officers told PTI.Hundreds of people die every year in India and millions are displaced during the June-September monsoon.

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Israeli editorial call for third party peace guranteeor foreshadowing of Daniel 9:27? AUG 22,08 PROPHECY NEWS WATCH

Last week Haaretz newspaper reported on the Olmert offer to the Palestinians. According to the report Israel has offered the Palestinians 93% of the West Bank, a territorial swap of 5.5% making the total Israeli withdraw from territories 98.5% of the 100% of the 22% of West Bank Palestinian land between the River and the Sea. The Israeli offer includes a corridor between the West Bank and Gaza that would remain under Israeli sovereignty but Palestinians would enjoy free passage without Israeli security checks. The main parcels of land to be swapped would be in the Negev and would enlarge the land area of Gaza.The report also mentions a deal on the refugee issue that rejects a Palestinian right of return and states that the refugees may only return to the Palestinian state, other than exceptional cases in which refugees would be allowed into Israel for family reunification. Nevertheless, the proposal includes a detailed and complex formula for solving the refugee problem.Apparently the detailed and complex formula resembles the Clinton parameters which were borrowed from the discussions on refugees at Taba in early 2001.Absent from the plan is any mention of Jerusalem. The report does not mention if the total land area in question include the Jerusalem area. In the past, Israel played with the percentages of land to be withdrawn from by excluding the greater Jerusalem area from the map. It is quite clear to me that the negotiators have been discussing Jerusalem, however, internal Israeli domestic politics do not allow for admitting that Jerusalem is on the table. Of course without Jerusalem, there is no possibility of a deal. Did Olmert already agree to Palestinian or Muslim sovereignty over Haram al Sharif/Temple Mount?

Or have Olmert and Abbas agreed to deposit the sovereignty over the Holy place to God? Will Palestinians have sovereignty over the Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem including within the Old City (as the Clinton parameters proposed?). Without answering these questions there is no peace treaty, no end of conflict and no change in the status quo.The territories that Israel plans to hold onto includes Gush Etzion, Maaleh Adumim, the settlements surrounding Jerusalem and the settlements in western Samaria – more or less according to the route of the separation barrier. Again it is not clear if the figures include all of the Israeli settlements/neighborhoods in Jerusalem such as French Hill, Ramot, Gilo, etc. The Haaretz report mentions that once Palestinian agreement is achieved on the plan, Israel plans to continue settlement expansion in those settelements that will remain under Israeli sovereignty. Is this Olmert’s way of removing US pressure on Israel concerning the settlement expansion already taking place under Olmert’s reign?

So far, there has been no official response from President Abbas. From the Israeli side, this may very be as far as any Israeli government can go. This plan would include an Israeli commitment to remove some 100 settlements which are east of the areas to be withdrawn from with an estimated population of about 80,000. The report makes mention that the government would sponsor the legislation for voluntary withdrawal and resettlement tabled in the Knesset by Colette Avital (Labour) and Avshalom Vilan (Meretz). The Israeli government has not been capable of removing even a single unauthorized outpost, how will it remove so many settlements and so many settlers? The only way for that to be possible is to have a clear majority of Israeli public support for the whole plan.This is a good basis for moving forward but there needs to be a lot of clarifications. What is the status of the land between Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem? Is it possible for the Palestinians to purchase Maaleh Adumim and to remove that large Israeli island in the middle of the West Bank? Would the Palestinians allow Israeli settlers to remain the West Bank as citizens of Palestine living under Palestinian law? Regarding the link to Gaza, Olmert has mentioned in the past that his preferred option for the Gaza-West Bank link is a tunnel of 40 kilometers from Tarqumia to Gaza, if there will be a tunnel, clearly, it does not have to remain under Israeli sovereignty.What will happen to the Jewish settlers in Hebron and to Jewish religious rights in Hebron? How long is the proposed period of implementation? When with the first Israeli withdrawals be made? What will be the future of Gaza? What will be the status of the coastal waters of Gaza? Will there be a Gaza seaport? Will the Palestinians have freedom to control their external borders? Will Palestine have an international airport? Do the sides agree to international peacekeeping forces on the ground? Who will monitor and verify implementation?

In addition to these questions there are the internal domestic political questions that need to be resolved: Will Hamas allow for the Palestinian elections based on a peace proposal? Could there be a referendum in Palestine on the plan? Would a majority of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza support the plan? What about the Palestinians in the diaspora – will they be counted as well? Will the plan gain the support of a majority of Israelis? It seems that the negotiations are continuing despite the difficult internal domestic political situation on both sides. Secretary Rice will be in the region next week. It has been reported that the Americans would like to see a draft of what has been agreed to. The Haaretz reports mentions Olmert’s objection to having a partial document that would/could serve as a point of reference in future negotiations after there is a new government in Israel. Olmert’s objection to such a document might be because it would expose the fact that Jerusalem has also been negotiated.Recently, the negotiators have been confronting Israel’s security demands and these have caused significant frustrations on both sides. Those demands include (according to rumors) Israeli refusal to the seaport in Gaza and the airports in the West Bank (Calandia in Jerusalem and the north of the West Bank in the Jenin area).Palestinians have indicated a willingness to meet all of Israel’s reasonable security demands, but without third party troops on the ground this will not be possible. Is Israel willing to have foreign troops stationed in Palestine to provide for Israel’s security demands? There are many other questions, one important one who is leaked the document and why? Haaretz correspondent Aluf Benn is known for his good contacts in the Prime Minister’s office – was his source Olmert himself?

Is leaking the plan a test balloon of Israeli public opinion?

Did Abass know that Olmert was planning to leak the plan?

Did leaking the plan have anything to do with the Kadima primaries?

Was it an attempt by Olmert to embarrass Tzipi Livni who is associated with the negotiations?

Certainly some of these questions will become clearer in the coming days, others will remain without answers.

There are two main observations that I would like to point to:

1 is that significant progress has been made and Olmert has come a long way since his days in the Likud; and

2, this same deal could have been reached years ago without all of the pain, suffering, death and destruction that we have seen since September 2000. An agreement is possible, the gaps have been significantly narrowed. There is now a need for a credible third party mediator to step in with bridging proposals to close the deal and to provide the guarantees that are required.

Monterey County Herald Israel warns against hasty peace accord
By ISABEL KERSHNER New York Times News Service 08/22/2008 01:41:50 AM PDT

JERUSALEM — Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister of Israel and its chief negotiator with the Palestinians, cautioned Thursday against expectations of a peace deal before the end of the year and suggested that too much international pressure could prove harmful. I believe the timeline is important, Livni told foreign journalists here, but what is more important is the content and nature of the understanding that we can reach with the Palestinians.Livni's remarks came three days before a scheduled visit to the region by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is eager to help push the peace process forward. Israeli and Palestinian leaders pledged last fall at an American-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Md., to make every effort to conclude an agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel before President Bush's term ended in January. But Livni said any attempt to bridge gaps prematurely or to reach anything less than a comprehensive agreement could lead to misunderstandings and violence. The circumstances, she warned, are in a way similar to 2000, when the second Palestinian uprising broke out weeks after a failed attempt at peacemaking at Camp David toward the end of the Clinton administration. Saying that her Palestinian counterparts agreed on the issue, Livni urged the international community to respect this stance. Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian negotiator, confirmed that the Palestinian team would also oppose any outside attempt to impose proposals or to press for a partial agreement.
We have agreed that nobody will make decisions for us, Erekat said in a telephone interview, noting that the point had already been conveyed to Rice. But he added, We appreciate the help of all third parties.

Livni said the sides had started to draft part of the agreement, but she refused to reveal any details about the substance of secret talks. The negotiations are taking place amid political turmoil in Israel that could set Livni on the path to the premiership. Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who holds his own private talks with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, is embroiled in a corruption inquiry and has pledged to resign after his Kadima Party chooses a new leader in internal elections scheduled for September. Livni is a front-runner to win the party leadership. She said Thursday that if she won she would prefer to try to form a broad unity government, believing that most parties in Israel could now find common ground on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.If the new leader of the centrist Kadima Party failed to form a governing coalition in the 120-seat Parliament, then early general elections would probably be held. Olmert will remain as a caretaker prime minister until a new government has been formed, a process that could take several months. Livni's main contender in the Kadima leadership race is the more conservative Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister and army chief of staff. In national elections, the main challenge would come from Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the rightist Likud Party, which Livni left in 2005. The political uncertainty has led to speculation that Livni may not be eager to reach an agreement with the Palestinians in the next few months, whether to deprive Olmert of the credit or to burnish her image as a tough negotiator, given the more conservative leanings of her main opponents. Livni expressed veiled criticism on Thursday of Israel's indirect talks with Syria, which are being handled by Olmert's office, saying that they in a way gave Syria international legitimacy while it continued to transfer weapons to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon.

REVELATION 13:16-18
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

Israel to be first in world to create biometric database for all citizens AUG 22,08

The government approved Sunday a motion calling for the establishment of a biometric database by the Ministry of Interior and the Public Security Ministry.The motion, dubbed the identification card, travel papers and biometrics database bill, will now be referred back to the various Knesset committees, which would ready it for its Knesset votes.The new bill called for embedding biometric data, such as fingerprints and computerized tags of facial features, in Israeli IDs and passports; as well as for the establishment of a database which would include biometric data on all Israeli citizens.The data would be used by the Ministry of Interior in its future plans to create smart, forgery-proof identification papers and passports; and would also allow authorities to identify people who are not carrying any means of identification, especially in cases of a mass disaster, should the need to identify fatalities arise.Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter told the government that the "need to create a unique (physical) bond between the person carrying an ID and the data which appears on it, is essential in order to fight the worldwide forgeries… Should we succeed we would be able to create a nationwide database controlled, as it should be, by the State.

Database detrimental to civil rights

The motion was carried despite the fierce objections of ministers who claim creating a biometrics database would be detrimental to civil rights, such as the right to privacy.The Israeli Bar Association sent Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann a letter to that effect last week, in which it asked him to postpone the decision on the bill, pending the Bar's further studying of the subject.Forming such a database would harm the citizens' basic right to privacy, read the letter; adding that such a database would be at constant risk of being hacked into by hostile elements, and would make potential criminals out of every law-abiding citizen.The existence of such a database – which includes every citizen – has yet to be sanctioned in any Western country, added the Bar. The Israeli Association for the Protection of Privacy and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel have also expressed their objection to the bill.

ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.

ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

EZEKIEL 47:13-23,48:1-35
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

WE SEE PROPHECY COMING TO PASS BIGTIME, WAKE UP PEOPLE, CHRIST, THE GOD OF ISRAEL AND THE WORLD CAN COME AT ANY SECOND FOR THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH TO HEAVEN.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU 1st time: Entire Lost tribe of Israel allowed home Indian group believes its lineage includes biblical patriarch Joseph August 22, 2008 12:05 am Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

Bnei Menashe men in India reciting traditional Jewish prayer (photo: Shavei Israel)
JERUSALEM – After years of diplomatic wrangling, the Israeli government has given permission to a community of Indian citizens who believe they are one of the lost tribes of Israel to move legally to the Jewish state.This decision, first reported in Israel's Maariv newspaper, clears the way for the arrival here of 7,232 members of the Bnei Menashe. They believe they are the descendants of Manasseh, one of the biblical patriarch Joseph's two sons and a grandson of Jacob.Yesterday the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz newspapers quoted an official in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office denying the government approved the immigration of the Bnei Menashe, stating Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, whose office oversees the process of immigration and absorption, refused to sign off on the deal.But a source close to the immigration negotiations affirmed to WND the Bnei Menashe indeed have been cleared to move to Israel. The source said government officials were upset the story was leaked to Maariv before the approval decision was formally announced. The source added Olmert's office even had a press release written and ready to go announcing the decision.Over the last decade, several organizations, most notably Shavei Israel, a Jerusalem-based immigrant organization working with the lost Jews, brought more than 1,000 members of the Indian group to the Jewish state, where they were successfully integrated into religious Israeli society, holding professional jobs, attending universities, becoming rabbinic leaders and serving in the Israel Defense Forces

The original batches of Bnei Menashe to arrive here came as tourists in an agreement with Israel's Interior Ministry. Once in Israel, the Bnei Menashe converted officially to Judaism and became citizens.But diplomatic wrangling halted the immigration process in 2003, with officials from some Israeli ministries refusing to grant the rest of the group still in India permission to travel here.To smooth the process, Shavei Israel's chairman, Michael Freund, enlisted the help of Israel's chief rabbinate, who flew to India in 2005 to convert members of the Bnei Menashe, a process stopped last year by India.Freund then coordinated with the Israeli government the arrival of batches of a few hundred Bnei Menashe as tourists who would later convert, but that process was halted after Sheetrit took office in July 2007. Apparently Sheetrit now has had a change of heart and has agreed to allow in the remaining Bnei Menashe.Tribe members live in the two Indian states of Mizoram and Manipur, to which they say they were exiled from Israel more than 2,700 years ago by the Assyrian empire.According to Bnei Menashe oral tradition, the tribe was exiled from Israel and pushed to the east, eventually settling in the border regions of China and India where most remain today. Most kept customs similar to Jewish tradition, including observing Shabbat, keeping the laws of Kosher, practicing circumcision on the eighth day of a baby boy's life and observing laws of family purity.In the 1950s, several thousand Bnei Menashe say they set out on foot to Israel but were quickly halted by Indian authorities. Undeterred, many began practicing Orthodox Judaism and pledged to make it to Israel. They now attend community centers in India established by Shavei Israel to teach the Bnei Menashe Jewish tradition and modern Hebrew.

WND Oh, my Gog August 22, 2008 1:00 am Eastern

More than 2,500 years ago, a captive of the Babylonian Empire named Ezekiel penned a prophecy, dated for some future era called the latter days, saying an alliance will arise, which Ezekiel calls collectively, Gog, the land of Magog, the ruler of Rosh, Meschech and Tubal. It, together with an alliance led by Persia, including Turkey, makes up much of the Baltic region and the Mediterranean Middle East.Without taking up too much time, Gog refers to modern Russia, from Moscow (Meshech) to Siberia. (Tubal). Magog refers to the states along the Black Sea, and in particular, the Republic of Georgia.I outlined Ezekiel's prophecy in 1969 in my book The Late, Great, Planet Earth at a time most of this territory was a well-entrenched part of the Soviet Union.After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. (Ezekiel 38:8)According to the prophet Ezekiel, this Russian-led alliance of nations would sweep suddenly down upon Israel in a surprise invasion that evokes only a weak diplomatic response from the West.

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say to you, Are you come to take a spoil? have you gathered your company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? (Ezekiel 38:13)When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, most of these republics broke with Russia to form new alliances with NATO and the West – an event for which I was widely ridiculed at the time.How could most of Magog, like Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey, all firmly allied with the West, also be part of Russia's Gog alliance? I didn't know. But I didn't pen Ezekiel's prophecy. I only reported it.

Now, Gog has evidently decided to reclaim its former Soviet empire, starting with Magog. Despite weeks of promising to withdraw almost any minute, the Russian military continues to dig in and consolidate its forces in and near the Georgian port of Poti on the Black Sea.The Russians introduced tight restrictions of movement on Georgian citizens, refusing to accept anything except Russian documents. Despite agreements to the contrary, the Kremlin now says that Russian forces will leave in their own time.When Poland was contemplating an agreement that would allow the U.S. to deploy missile interceptor batteries in its territory, Russia warned them that by entering the treaty agreement they ran the risk of a Russian nuclear attack. When the Poles signed the treaty in defiance of the Kremlin, Russia promised its response would rise above the level of diplomacy, a reference to the principle that war is the result of failed diplomacy.The Russian invasion and apparent occupation of Georgia is feared by many analysts, particularly those from former Soviet republics, that Vladimir Putin plans to re-conquer and restore the former empire.Russia has broken off all ties with NATO, and the NATO alliance is beginning to show signs of strain as analysts warn of a new Cold War – or worse.Then, as now, the proxy battleground for the Cold War between East and West is in the Middle. So it was no surprise to read that Russia has targeted Israel for retaliation after Israel refused to honor a military embargo against Georgia.

According to a report in the World Tribune, We asked Israel not to sell offensive weapons to a hostile neighboring state, but they said they're a sovereign state, a diplomatic source said. Well, Israel shouldn't be surprised if we sell offensive weapons to Israel's neighbors.In December 2007, Israel agreed not to sign new contracts for offensive weapons to Georgia. But the Israeli Defense Ministry, supported by the United States, maintained it would honor existing arms deals with Tbilisi.We told the Israelis that this was a very unwise move and that Russians were being killed because of Georgia's policy, the Russian source said. They didn't take us seriously, probably because they were encouraged by the United States.I don't want anyone to miss the point here. The point isn't that the Gog Magog War has begun. I don't know if it has. I can't say for sure that this is even it.The point is this. Two thousand, five hundred years ago, a Hebrew captive living in Babylon outlined in detail the scenario that has continued to unfold and take shape in precise detail for most of the past generation.Even when short-term political changes seemed to indicate otherwise, the scenario eventually resumes its original course, as if following a pre-determined script.Ezekiel predicted this alignment of nations could only take place after Israel was restored to its place among the nations of the world. And so it unfolds. So, if that isn't the point, what is? It's simple. Who told Ezekiel? Because the same One that told Ezekiel the future also extends you an offer of pardon, if you are ready to believe that He is and allow Him into your heart as your Lord and Savior.I pray that you decide well. Time is not on your side.

LUKEWARM CHURCHES

REVELATION 3:15-19
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue (VOMIT) thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

REVELATION 20:11-15
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

WHY WOULD I SAY A GIGANTIC BLACK HOLE COULD BE THE LAKE OF FIRE. BECAUSE IN JUDE IT MENTIONS THAT THE FALSE PREACHERS AND GODLESS WILL BE CAST INTO OUTER DARKNESS.

Black holes dodge middle ground AUG 20,08

Middleweight black holes were thought to be hiding in globular clusters
For black holes, there appears to be very little room for mediocrity, astronomers have found. A study suggests they come in either small or large sizes, but medium-sized ones are very rare or non-existent. A team of astronomers has examined one of the best hiding places for a middleweight black hole, and found that it cannot possibly host one. Details of the research are to be published in the latest issue of the Astrophysical Journal. Black holes are incredibly dense points of matter, whose gravity prevents even light from escaping. The least massive black holes known are about 10 times the mass of our Sun and form when colossal stars explode as supernovas. The heftiest black holes are billions of times the mass of the Sun and lie deep in the bellies of almost all galaxies. If a medium black hole existed in a cluster, it would either swallow little black holes or kick them out of the cluster

Daniel Stern, JPL

That leaves black holes of intermediate mass, which were thought to be buried at the cores of globular clusters.

Full of stars

Globular clusters are dense collections of millions of stars, which reside within galaxies containing hundreds of billions of stars. Theorists argue that these clusters should have a scaled-down version of a galactic black hole. Such objects would be about 1,000 to 10,000 times the mass of the Sun - medium-sized as far as black holes are concerned. Now, a team of astronomers led by Stephen Zepf of Michigan State University, East Lansing, has carried out a detailed examination of a globular cluster called RZ2109.The researchers' work led them to the conclusion that it could not possess a medium-sized black hole. Some theories say that small black holes in globular clusters should sink down to the centre and form a medium-sized one, but our discovery suggests this isn't true, said co-author Daniel Stern of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. In a previous study, Dr Zepf and his colleagues looked for evidence of a black hole in RZ2109, located 50 million light-years away in a nearby galaxy.

Elusive quarry

Using the European Space Agency's (Esa) XMM-Newton telescope, they discovered the telltale X-ray signature of an active, or feeding, black hole. But, at that point, they still didn't know its size. Stephen Zepf and Daniel Stern then teamed up with other researchers to obtain a chemical fingerprint, called a spectrum, of the globular cluster, using the WM Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The spectrum revealed that the black hole is petite, with roughly 10 times the mass of the Sun.

According to theory, a cluster with a small black hole cannot have a medium one, too. If a medium black hole existed in a cluster, it would either swallow little black holes or kick them out of the cluster, said Dr Stern. In other words, the small black hole in RZ2109 rules out the possibility of a medium one being there, too. The study does not quite represent the end of the road for medium-sized black holes. Zepf said it was possible such objects were hiding in the outskirts of galaxies like our Milky Way, either in surrounding dwarf galaxies or in the remnants of dwarf galaxies being swallowed by a bigger one. If so, he said, the black holes would be faint and difficult to find.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

CARIBBEAN LEADERS TO HOLD EMERGENCY SUMMIT ON EU TRADE PACT
Received Thursday, 21 August 2008 13:58:00 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Aug 21, 2008 (AFP) - Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders are likely to hold an emergency summit to discuss the refusal by several members led by Guyana to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union, Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington said Thursday.Carrington confirmed that on Wednesday Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson wrote Caricom Chairman Baldwin Spencer, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, requesting a meeting to discuss opposition to the EPA, which was scheduled to be signed on September 2.Guyana, Grenada and St Lucia have said they would delay signing the EPA, a successor accord to the Cotonou Agreement between Europe and its former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific.Carrington said that no date has been fixed for the special meeting, but most likely it would be held in Barbados.

I would expect that the heads (of government) would respond positively, he told AFP, welcoming efforts to hold this special summit.Guyana was the first Caricom member to say that it would not sign the EPA, saying that under it the EU threatens to impose higher tariffs on vital Guyanese exports like rice, rum and sugar.This would result in a loss of billions of dollars in revenue and unfair trading advantage in the area of services, Guyana maintains.There is very little that we can send into Europe and this will negatively affect our balance of trade and our balance of payment, said Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo.Jagdeo contends that the EPA would undermine the two-year old Caricom Single Market because the region would be obliged to give priority to implementing the EPA.The Guyanese leader further argues that the EPA has altered Caricom's foreign trade policy by compelling the region to offer similar trade agreements to the United States and Canada, and to give the EU the same treatment given to the large developing countries of India, China and Brazil.We have determined our foreign trade policy already for maybe decades to come by this agreement, Jagdeo said, saying it leaves Caricom members and leaders little flexibility on foreign trade policy.

THEY CAN SAY THEY WILL PULL OUT BY 2011 BUT I BELIEVE THE USA WILL BE IN IRAQ RIGHT TILL THE 7 YEAR TREATY SIGNING AND THE DESTRUCTION OF 5/6TH OF THE RUSSIA-MUSLIM INVASION OF ISRAEL IN THE FUTURE.

Iraq-US pact puts troop pullout by 2011: negotiator by Jay Deshmukh Jay Deshmukh – AUG 22,08

BAGHDAD (AFP) – Negotiators have finalised a deal which will see the complete withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by 2011, ending an eight-year occupation, the top official in the Iraqi team told AFP on Friday.Under the 27-point deal all American combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraqi cities by next June, said negotiator Mohammed al-Haj Hammoud.The agreement has already been approved by US President George W. Bush and now needs to be endorsed by Iraqi leaders, he added.Baghdad and Washington had agreed to withdraw the US troops from Iraq by end of 2011, said Hammoud.The combat troops will withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 2009. Both the parties have agreed on this, he added. The negotiators' job is done. Now it is up to the leaders.The security pact will decide the future of US forces in Iraq once the present UN mandate, which provides the legal framework for the presence of foreign forces in Iraq, expires in December.Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had agreed last November to formalise such an agreement by July 31.The arrangement was delayed by strong opposition from Iraqi leaders over key issues such as a timetable for withdrawal, how many bases Washington would retain and whether American troops would be immune from Iraqi laws.A US military official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP on Thursday that under the agreement the withdrawal of US forces from Iraqi cities could be as early as June, conditions permitting.

He did not say when it was envisaged that US combat troops would be pulled out of the country, but said the two sides had negotiated time horizons and general aspirations.The balance we're trying to reach is between Iraq's stated desire to have a more concrete view of US forces levels out through the years, and our desire it be based on conditions on the ground, the official said.Hammoud said all issues had been addressed in the deal.He added, however, that there was a possibility US troops could leave before 2011 or remain beyond the target date.There is a provision that says the withdrawal could be done even before 2011 or extended beyond 2011 depending on the (security) situation, he said.Hammoud said that even if the withdrawal is completed by 2011, some US troops could remain to train Iraqi security forces.He said the issue of how many bases Washington would retain in Iraq depended on the number of troops left behind for training purposes.A number of committees would also look into offences committed by American troops in Iraq. The immunity offered to US soldiers currently in Iraq was one of the main sticking points in the negotiations which began in February.In a surprise one-day visit on Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the two countries were very, very close to finalising the agreement but had not yet clinched the deal. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, however, said on the same day that the text of the deal was ready.

We are very close, we have a text, but not the final agreement. Everything has been addressed, he said. The deal has drawn sharp criticism from Iraq's political factions, especially from the anti-American group of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

After Friday prayers in the central Shiite holy town of Kufa, his followers denounced the deal. The suspicious agreement means eternal bondage. It violates the Iraqi constitution, said one banner carried by demonstrators. No, No to America! No, No to Israel! We will not allow Iraq to be an American colony, shouted the protesters, an AFP correspondent reported. Hammoud said the finalised draft would now be sent to Iraq's executive council comprising Maliki, President Jalal Talabani, his two deputies and the president of the northern Kurdish region, Massud Barzani. It also has to be ratified by the Iraqi parliament. The White House has said that US lawmakers would not be asked to approve the pact. With 144,000 American troops currently in Iraq, the issue is politically sensitive in Washington as the November US Presidencial election draws nearer.

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)

EZEKIEL 39:21
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

ISAIAH 18:1-2
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

JEREMIAH 50:11,37,12
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;(BACKSLIDERS)
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.(A NATION OF MINGLED PEOPLE)
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed:(MOTHER ENGLAND) behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

JEREMIAH 51:13,7,53
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

REVELATION 18:3,5,7
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK ATTACK)

REVELATION 18:10
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

U.S. at risk of cyberattacks, experts say AUG 22,08

The next large-scale military or terrorist attack on the United States, if and when it happens, may not involve airplanes or bombs or even intruders breaching American borders.Instead, such an assault may be carried out in cyberspace by shadowy hackers half a world away. And Internet security experts believe that it could be just as devastating to the U.S.'s economy and infrastructure as a deadly bombing.Experts say last week's attack on the former Soviet republic of Georgia, in which a Russian military offensive was preceded by an Internet assault that overwhelmed Georgian government Web sites, signals a new kind of cyberwar, one for which the United States is not fully prepared.Nobody's come up with a way to prevent this from happening, even here in the U.S., said Tom Burling, acting chief executive of Tulip Systems, an Atlanta, Georgia, Web-hosting firm that volunteered its Internet servers to protect the nation of Georgia's Web sites from malicious traffic.The U.S. is probably more Internet-dependent than any place in the world. So to that extent, we're more vulnerable than any place in the world to this kind of attack, Burling added. So much of what we're doing [in the United States] is out there on the Internet, and all of that can be taken down at once. This is such a crucial issue. At every level, our security now is dependent on computers," said Scott Borg, director of the United States Cyber Consequences Unit, a nonprofit research institute. It's a whole new era. Political and military conflicts now will almost always have a cyber component. The chief targets will be critical infrastructure, and the attacks will emerge from within our own computer systems.Hackers mounted coordinated assaults on Georgian government, media, banking and transportation sites in the weeks before Russian troops invaded. Known as distributed denial of service, the attacks employ multiple computers to flood networks with millions of simultaneous requests, overwhelming servers and crippling Web sites.

Hackers shut down the Web site of the Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, for 24hours and defaced the Georgian parliament site with images of Adolf Hitler. Saakashvili blamed Russia for the attacks, although the Russian government said it was not involved.Web sites and computer networks have been targeted by hackers for decades, although large-scale, coordinated cyberattacks are still a relatively new phenomenon. Some Internet-security experts believe that the Georgia conflict marks the first time a known cyberattack has coincided with a ground war, but others said that similar computer attacks have accompanied military operations in the Middle East and elsewhere.The challenge to U.S. security experts is that such attacks can be mounted anonymously, and relatively cheaply, from anywhere in the world. Georgia's attackers employed botnets, or malicious automated programs that take root undetected in far-flung computers and barrage their targets with useless data. By last Friday, some of those botnets were originating from Comcast Internet addresses in the United States, Burling said.It only takes a couple of experts; it doesn't take a whole cyber infantry division to pull something like this off, said Don Jackson, director of threat intelligence for SecureWorks, an Atlanta-based computer security firm. For a very small investment in resources, you can have a huge impact.

In the United States, government computer networks parry millions of attempted intrusions every day, Internet-security experts say. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security created a National Cybersecurity Center this year to coordinate federal cyberdefense efforts and quicken responsiveness. However, a recent Homeland Security Department intelligence report, obtained by The Associated Press, concluded that there are no effective means to prevent a coordinated attack on U.S. Web sites.When it comes to our government IT security, we're pretty strong in protecting against [attacks], Homeland Security spokesman William R. Knocke told CNN. But I wouldn't say ... we're 100 percent impenetrable.So what would a cyberattack on the United States look like? And where is the U.S. most vulnerable? It depends on who you talk to.Borg does not believe that the U.S. is susceptible to the kind of attacks launched at Georgia.We can command so much bandwidth that it's hard to overwhelm our servers, he said. We are vulnerable to more sophisticated attacks, but right now most of the people who want to do us harm don't have those capabilities.The Web sites of key government security agencies, such as the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, are difficult to bring down, experts said. So are the computer networks of large American banks. But experts say a successful, large-scale attack on U.S. computer systems could hobble electric-power grids, transportation networks and industrial-supply chains.You'd see some disruption of essential services, like electricity. You'd definitely see espionage, said James A. Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Would it be decisive? No. Nobody's going to win a conflict with the United States in cyberspace. But would it be disruptive and irritating? Yes.Federal researchers who launched an experimental cyberattack last year in Idaho caused a generator to self-destruct, prompting fears about the effect of a real attack on the nation's electrical supply.

And a May report by the Government Accountability Office found that the Tennessee Valley Authority, which supplies power to almost 9 million people in the southeastern U.S., had not installed sufficient cybersecurity measures. Spokesman Jim Allen said the TVA, the nation's largest publicly owned utility company, is on track to correct the problems.What frustrates computer-security experts is that the features that make the Internet such an invaluable resource -- its openness and interconnectedness -- also make it easier for hackers to do harm. As a staple of 21st-century warfare, cyberattacks will become increasingly sophisticated, forcing governments and private industry to build ever-stronger firewalls and other defenses, experts said.Also, vague international laws and a lack of accountability will continue to make tracking down and prosecuting cyberattackers difficult.

We don't know quite what the rules are for this kind of conflict. If it's spying, it's illegal. But is it an act of war? And who do you arrest? Lewis asked. We're much safer in the U.S. than we were a year ago. But we still have a long way to go.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Russia threatens retaliation against Israel for involvement in Georgia AUG 22,08

Russian security officials threatened retaliation against Israel for its weapons exports to Georgia including eight different aerial drones.Russian Deputy Chief of Staff Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn said Israel supplied at least eight different models of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Georgia. Nogovitsyn said Israel has also sold a range of weapons and sought to export main battle tanks to Georgia.

Russian diplomatic sources said the government of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was furious over Israel's refusal to impose a military embargo on Georgia. The sources said Putin's aides had urged Israel several times to halt weapons exports.We asked Israel not to sell offensive weapons to a hostile neighboring state, but they said they're a sovereign state, a diplomatic source said.Well, Israel shouldn't be surprised if we sell offensive weapons to Israel's neighbors.Already, Russia, in wake of its military victory over Georgia, has scheduled a summit with Syria to discuss offensive weapons sales, the sources said. Syrian President Bashar Assad was scheduled to meet Putin in Moscow on Aug. 20.Tbilisi has asserted that Israel continued to ship weapons and platforms to Georgia throughout the Russian war. But Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili reported delays in the supply of Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles to his country.The Israeli weapons have proved very effective, Saakashvili told a news conference on Aug. 13.So far, the diplomatic sources said, Putin has been careful to limit Russian military sales to Iran and Syria to defensive systems. In 2007, they said, Putin, who remains in charge of defense export policy, vetoed efforts by the Defense Ministry and the state-owned arms agency Rosoboronexport to sell the Iskander-E long-range rocket to Syria.

Putin will now offer Iskander to Syria, another Russian source said. Whether this will be a serious offer or something just to scare the Israelis we'll know in another few months.In December 2007, Israel agreed not to sign new contracts for offensive weapons to Georgia. But the Israeli Defense Ministry, supported by the United States, maintained it would honor existing arms deals with Tbilisi.We told the Israelis that this was a very unwise move and that Russians were being killed because of Georgia's policy, the Russian source said. They didn't take us seriously, probably because they were encouraged by the United States.In 2007, Israeli experts trained Georgian commandos in Georgia, and there were plans to supply heavy weaponry, electronic weapons, tanks and other arms at a later date, Nogovitsyn told a news conference on Aug. 19. But the deal didn't work out.Officials said Moscow's assertion was based on a review of weapons and military installations captured in Russia's invasion of Georgia. They said Israel also trained Georgia's military, particularly its special forces.At the news conference, Nogovitsyn did not identify the Israeli UAVs. Israel has acknowledged the sale of UAVs to Tbilisi.The Russian deputy chief said Israel also exported bombs, mines and mine-clearing systems to Georgia. He said the systems were comprised of munitions that could explode landmines.In late 2007, Israel agreed to end the sale of offensive military systems to Georgia. The decision by the Israeli Defense Ministry did not affect weapons already ordered by Tbilisi.On Aug. 20, Russia and Syria were scheduled to begin a two-day summit meant to focus on defense and military cooperation. Syrian President Bashar Assad was scheduled to meet Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in what officials said could result in arms sales to Damascus.

The significant military aid provided by Israel to Georgia in its war against Russia will affect in the future — probably in the near future — relations between Russia and Israel, as well as Russia's attitude toward Arab states, an unidentified Russian analyst said in an interview to Syrian state television on the eve of Assad's visit. Russia will reassess its relations with Israel, and it is likely that Moscow will decide to increase its military aid to Arab countries in conflict with Israel, including Syria.

Russia PM backs equal access to gas pipelines-paper. Reuters - Wednesday, August 20

MOSCOW, Aug 20 - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin supports the idea of equal access to pipelines for independent gas producers along with Gazprom , the anti-trust chief was on Wednesday quoted as saying.The head of Russia's anti-monopoly service Igor Artemyev said in an interview with Vedomosti business daily all the relevant agencies have approved a bill on equal access to Gazprom's pipelines for other gas producers that have long been fighting to get access to lucrative export markets.The service is going to submit the bill to the government for final approval this week and sees the chances of changes in the current system to be very high, he said.Firstly, premier Vladimir Putin has publicly said to [Gazprom's chairman Alexei] Miller that he supported the idea. Secondly, the position of vice-premier Igor Sechin is extremely positive, Artemyev was quoted by Vedomosti as saying.Independent gas producers, which produce around 16 percent of all Russian gas, have long been complaining that they often have to sell the fuel to Gazprom at local prices, some five times lower than the export price which is now around $400 per 1,000 cubic metres.The anti-monopoly service had earlier said that Gazprom should retain its export monopoly status but would have to buy gas for exports from independent producers on a pro-rata basis to their production.The rules on non-discriminatory access must be accepted, all independent producers, including oil companies should have equal rights with Gazprom and its subsidiaries, all voluntary actions by Gazprom should be excluded, Artemyev said.Analysts have suggested that the proposal, if approved, will increase gas sales revenues of independent gas producers such as Novatek and oil companies producing gas such as LUKOIL, by up to 60 percent.Artemyev also said his agency has suggested the government should set a fair formula price at which Gazprom would buy the fuel from independent producers.It will produce some average contract price which surely will not be $50 per 1,000 cubic metres, he said.

Foreshadowing of Ezekiel 38 as Libya Positions Itself in Russia’s Corner AUG 22,08

At a time when the U.S. is moving towards full normalization of relations with Libya, Muammar Gaddafi’s son has made it clear that the North African nation is looking to Russia as its strategic partner.In a little-noticed interview with Russia’s Kommersant business daily, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi said Moscow’s resurgence, demonstrated by this month’s military incursion into Georgia, was a positive development for the Arab world.What happened in Georgia is a good sign, which means America is no longer the sole world power setting the rules of the game, Gaddafi said.Now there is balance in the world. Russia is being reborn, and we value that. It is very good for us, for all of the Middle East, he said.Gaddafi, who runs a charity called the Gaddafi Foundation, has frequently undertaken diplomatic missions on behalf of his father. The second oldest of seven sons, the 35-year-old is sometimes named as a possible successor to the unpredictable Libyan leader but has denied ambitions to rule the north African country – a position he reiterated in the Kommersant interview.The published interview appeared on the same day that the U.S. government announced a breakthrough agreement with Libya on compensation for terror victims, paving the way for the full normalization of bilateral ties.David Welch, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs who negotiated the claims settlement agreement, said it was designed to resolve the last major historical issue that has stood in the way of developing a proper relationship with Libya.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday she hoped to visit to Tripoli soon. The U.S. and Libya have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1980, and it will be the first visit by a secretary of state since 1953.Asked whether his strong statements were not risking Libya’s newly-improved ties with the U.S., Gaddafi told the Russian paper that although his country has good relations with both the West and Russia, Libya chose Russia as its strategic partner.Of course, Russia is our strategic partner, and we cannot compare it with any other country for closeness. That’s obvious.Gaddafi said Libya backed Moscow’s position that Georgia had initiated the recent conflict – by mounting an offensive against separatists in a Russian-backed breakaway province – and forced a Russian military response.Libya would back Russia in the U.N. Security Council, he said. Libya, which has been improving relations with the West since pledging to stop supporting terrorism and shutting down its non-conventional weapons programs, in January began a two-year stint on the council. Its conduct there has at times drawn strong criticism.A key reason cited for some European countries’ reluctance to antagonize Russia – for instance, by supporting the further eastward expansion of NATO – is the E.U.’s reliance on Russian energy supplies, and Russia’s willingness to use its oil and gas for political leverage. Instability in Georgia, a critical transit route for Central Asian energy supplies bypassing Russia, has added to the concerns.Italy and other European nations look increasingly to Libya – with Africa’s largest oil reserves and fourth-largest natural gas reserves – to help ease its dependence on Russian supplies.But Tripoli’s deepening alliance with Moscow raises doubts about whether Libya will be the answer to attempts to break the Russian stranglehold, particularly as Russian energy monopoly Gazprom recently signed agreements to invest in Libya’s operations.Asked in the interview whether he thought Russia faced a threat of economic isolation over its actions in Georgia, Gaddafi said he doubted it.The whole world needs Russian gas, Russian oil. It is not expedient for Europe to let relations with Russia worsen. And then we, the Libyans, will do everything possible to work in Russia and invest in its economy. Because Russia is a great country.

Tightening relations with Libya appears to be a Kremlin priority. During a visit to Libya in April, then President Vladimir Putin agreed to write off billions of dollars worth of Soviet-era debt, in exchange for lucrative contracts with Russian companies.When Libya’s prime minister Baghdadi Mahmudi visited Moscow late last month, Putin – now prime minister under his handpicked successor, President Dmitry Medvedev – discussed cooperation in the oil and gas sectors and said Tripoli was also keen to buy Russian weaponry.The Interfax news agency quoted a defense ministry source in Moscow as saying Libya was interested in fighter planes, helicopters and surface-to-air missiles.

Palestinians to get cash boost from EU 20 Aug 2008 09:48:08 GMT
Source: Reuters

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The European Union will give a financial boost on Wednesday to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to help Prime Minister Salam Fayyad pay public sector salaries, EU and Palestinian officials said.The 40 million euro ($59 million) injection of funds comes on top of the 256 million euros in budget support disbursed so far this year by the European Union.Fayyad has struggled in recent months to pay government workers because many Arab donors have not met their financial commitments. The situation is very, very tight, for sure, a top official from Fayyad's office said this week.A Palestinian official said the EU money would help Fayyad meet the next government payroll, due in the first week of September. Fayyad has been waiting for months to receive $80 million pledged by Kuwait but it is unclear when the funds will arrive in the Palestinian Authority's coffers, officials say.Salaries were paid several days late earlier this month but only after securing a financial pledge from a telecommunications company seeking to speed its entry into the Palestinian market and a short-term bridge loan.At a conference in Paris in December, donors pledges $7.7 billion in aid to the Palestinians over three years.But only a fraction of that has materialised and most of it is earmarked for projects and not general spending. Fayyad wants more allocations to budget support.Delays in paying salaries would be embarrassing for Fayyad, who was appointed last year with Western backing when President Mahmoud Abbas fired a Hamas government after the Islamists violently took over Gaza Strip after routing his forces there. (Writing by Mohammed Assadi; Editing by Sami Aboudi)

WELL WE SEE THE EU IS GIVING ECONOMICAL MONEY TO ALL THESE NATIONS, SO WE CAN SEE WHY THE EU WILL HAVE ECONOMIC WORLD CONTROL. I BELIEVE THE UN WILL FOLD AND THE EU WILL THEN TAKE CONTROL OF THE WORLD ECONOMY LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS WILL HAPPEN. ALL THESE COUNTRIES THE EU IS FINANCING NOW WILL BE DEPENDENT ON THE EU TO CONTINUE, AND IF THE EU SAYS WERE GOING TO A MICROCHIP IMPLANT SYSTEM TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL PEOPLE AND ALL TRADING GOODS, I BELIEVE THESE COUNTRIES WILL EITHER SUCOME TO EU PRESSURE AND IMPLEMENT THE CHIP SYSTEM OR THEY WILL REBELL AND GO AGAINST EU PRESSURE. OF COURSE SANCTIONS WILL BE DONE BY THE EU AGAINST THAT COUNTRY AND IT WILL BE CUT OFF IF NOT WARED AGAINST. IT WILL BE EXACTLY LIKE RUSSIA BEING A DICTATORSHIP TO GET ALL THE SATELLITES BACK IN RUSSIAS CONTROL.

EU Announces EUR5 Million In Fresh Aid For Georgia AUG 22,08 Dow Jones Newswire

BRUSSELS (AFP)--The European Union on Friday announced EUR5 million in fresh aid to conflict-hit Georgia, urging Russia to allow the humanitarian help to reach the people who need it.The new package comes on top of EUR1 million of fast-track aid released by the E.U.'s executive arm Aug. 10, soon after fighting between Georgian and Russian forces broke out.We are now releasing additional funds following the United Nations' Georgia Crisis Flash Appeal and on the basis of our assessment of the evolving humanitarian situation on the spot, said E.U. Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel.However, he said access to the conflict-affected areas remains the most serious constraint to our humanitarian response.I call upon the Russian authorities to ensure that humanitarian aid workers have full and safe access to the people in need, he said.The new money will be spent on food, shelter, emergency water and sanitation facilities as well as clothes, blankets, cooking utensils, healthcare and protection, notably for women and children.Mine clearance and mine awareness training will also be funded.It is aimed at the worst-hit populations in Georgia, including displaced people from the flashpoint area of South Ossetia, the town of Gori and surrounding areas.Georgian refugees in the Russian Federation will also be helped.U.N. agencies, the Red Cross/Red Crescent movement and various non- governmental organizations will distribute the aid.The E.U. has activated its Monitoring and Information Center linking the civil protection authorities of 30 participating European States. Three MIC experts from the U.K., Denmark and France have been sent to Georgia to coordinate the assistance.

THERES NO WAY WITH RUSSIA IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL THAT THE WEST CAN WIN AGAINST IT. I BELIEVE HAPPENINGS LIKE THE RUSSIA-GEORGIA CONFLICT AND THE ISRAEL-ARABS CONFLICT WILL FORCE THE UN TO FOLD WHICH WILL PIT THE WEST LEAD BY THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES AGAINST RUSSIA-MUSLIMS AND CHINESE.

U.N. council still divided on Georgia resolution AUG 22,08

By Patrick Worsnip Reuters - Friday, August 22 01:39 amUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia pressed on Thursday for speedy adoption by the U.N. Security Council of its resolution endorsing a peace plan for Georgia but Western powers said they could not support the draft.The council, which has so far been unable to issue any resolution or statement on the crisis that erupted two weeks ago in the Caucasus, ended more than two hours of closed-door discussions still divided and without taking action.

The 15-nation body has been paralyzed since Georgia sent its military on August 7-8 to try to recapture the Moscow-backed breakaway enclave of South Ossetia and Russia responded with overwhelming force, sending troops and tanks far into Georgia.Russia had on Wednesday put a resolution before the council endorsing a six-point peace plan French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed with Moscow and Tbilisi. That responded to a brief resolution submitted by France on Tuesday that demanded an immediate Russian withdrawal.Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said his delegation would now put the resolution in blue -- U.N. jargon meaning the text is ready to be voted on. What needs to be done is to adopt a resolution, he told journalists.But he declined to say when he would call for a vote and Western diplomats said they doubted he would do so. They said Russia lacked a majority in the council, even without taking account of likely vetoes by the United States, Britain and France.Western countries say they support the six-point plan but that it is not enough for a resolution since it does not mention Georgia's territorial integrity or precisely where Russian forces will be deployed in future. Most importantly, they say, Russia has so far made no substantial withdrawal.The six points alone without clarifications, without signs of compliance with those six points ... raises the question why should we put the council in a position of enshrining something that is not being adhered to, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff told reporters.British Ambassador John Sawers said there was a good deal more work to be done.Wolff, Sawers and French Deputy Ambassador Jean-Pierre Lacroix all said most members of the council wanted a unanimous resolution.

Diplomats said the French draft submitted on Tuesday was likely to be quietly shelved and that France would work on one that was based on the six-point plan but included points missing from Russia's draft, including specific mention of territorial integrity.Moscow says that by attacking South Ossetia, Georgia has forfeited its right to rule the province and another breakaway region, Abkhazia. Asked why Russia had agreed to the phrase territorial integrity in all previous resolutions on Georgia, Churkin said, That was then. This is now.(Additional reporting by Daniel Bases; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE The age-old Question that everyone asks AUG 22,08

Why? Just three letters and a question mark. But it's the age-old question that everyone asks at one time or another and some people ask quite often. We are baffled by life's seeming inequities and scream out our protest, or we quietly move our lips and ask, Why? Oh, how it hurts to see our loved ones leave this world. How it tears at our hearts to see them suffering. Even though we might pray for them to be released from pain, we are never quite prepared enough for that final parting. Death is so final.

Or is it?

We ponder what appears to be senseless suffering - that emotional, psychological, physical, or spiritual affliction that comes in many forms. We wonder about death, especially the death of the very young. We feel they have not lived long enough. We speak of the waste of so much human potential. The whys escape from our lips - even from the lips of those who should have all the answers. We do not like to see suffering, much less encounter it ourselves.We shove thoughts of death from our thinking. When we do have to confront death, we find ourselves at a loss for words to express our deepest feelings.

Confronting the Eternal Question: Why?

Is there an answer to the eternal question, Why? Clergymen and men and women in ministries such as ours are often confronted with that question. Sometimes we have answers. More often we have no pat answers. And pat answers are usually what the one asking the question wants.The longer I live, the more I observe the human scene, and the more I study the Word of God, the more I am convinced that these difficult experiences we all encounter in some form or another are unique opportunities God has given us to help us grow in faith. There are no pat answers. That may seem too simplistic for some, but it's true.Because of your own experiences with pain, are you not much more sensitive to the pain of others? Because of your own encounter with tragedy, are you not much more understanding of the trauma others are enduring?

Because of your walk through the valley of the shadow of death, can you not enter into the grief of others with more compassion (see 2 Corinthians 1:4)?

Whatever your personal experience with human suffering has been, have you not found it to be a faith-stretching exercise? You had to use your faith because there was nothing else you could do. There was no one who could fill the void left by the death of a loved one. There were no medical procedures that could alter the situation for that one (or yourself) who heard the dread word cancer or some other irreversible condition. At those times you found yourself reaching out and crying, Oh, God, I need Your help! And can you honestly say it did not come? That help is there, always near at hand and always made adequate. Sometimes it appears slow at easing the heartaches, but even then, it is there. If you question that, ponder these truths: The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27).God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:2) .. . . I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).Pain, suffering, and death do not cancel out the truths of God's Word.Rabbi Harold S. Cushner caught the attention of the reading public with his book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. When bad things happen to otherwise seemingly good people, the first thought that comes to mind is, If there is a God, then what kind of a God is He to allow this to happen? Isn't God big enough to do something about the bad things? My wife and I have known sorrow and weeping. We stood clinging to each other outside the door of the Intensive Care Ward as the time for her father's death drew near. We, too, are so very human, and we long to hold onto those who have meant so much to us. We've been through the same kinds of things you have. So what I am saying to you in these pages is not without personal feeling and experience.Yet, I know that God is a good God. Bad things do happen - not because He is an uncaring and an unfeeling Vast Imbecility, as Thomas Hardy suggested in his pessimistic poem, Nature's Questioning. We have found Him to be a compassionate Heavenly Father. He is a God who loves and cares and feels for us when we are hurting or sorrowing.

Jesus Also Asked Why?

Jesus himself uttered an anguished, Why? Both gospel writers Matthew and Mark record His question, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (see Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34).With these words He was expressing His loneliness. It was an emotion with which we can all identify. All of us, at some time and possibly at many times, feel lonely and wonder about the why of things.Jesus was hanging on a cross when He cried out His Why? Is there any death more cruel and violent than crucifixion? In one sense, I believe Jesus was expressing grief because He was so very human as the God-man. He was showing us that grief is a very natural reaction to death. Remember, Jesus also wept at Lazarus' grave (see John 11:35). This shows us that we need to express our feelings, ask our questions, and get our thoughts out into the open. Doing so is healthier than putting on a pious pretense and holding back one's tears and grief.Even while Jesus was experiencing grief through agony, however, He was showing His concern and love. It was directed toward His mother and her immediate needs. As He hung there dying, He asked John, one of His disciples, to care for her. In a much broader sense, Jesus' cry of Why? was one brief word in a statement that was overshadowed by His love for all mankind.I heard the story of an angry young man who cried out at a memorial service, Where was God when this happened? It seemed there had been a tragic mid-air plane collision and some of his friends had been killed. The minister in charge of that service repeated the young man's question and then answered it. God was in the same place He was when cruel men took His only Son and crucified Him on a cross.For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

There is no place on the face of this earth where we can get away from the realities of suffering and death. We live in a fallen universe. It is the old, old story which took place in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and listened instead to the voice of the tempter. Because of that, the effects of the Fall of man are felt in every area of life. It is the conflict of the ages. We may not like it. Some may protest that God is an unfair God, and they may even shake their fists at heaven. But that will never alter the fact that because of our original parents' disobedience, the whole world forevermore will suffer. The apostle Paul explains it like this:Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many . . .)For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous . . . But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:12-15,19,20,21).So while there is conflict here on planet earth - and there always has been - with persecution, affliction, and death ever present, God has provided a gift of grace in Christ. We can go through these hard times, these battles, and the many devastating things that come our way. Through it all we can trust God, and we can help each other to trust Him more and more. We can be overcomers. Revelation 12:11 shows us how that can be accomplished:And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death (Revelation 12:11).

Why?

We will never know the answers to all the whys that are asked and that have been asked through the ages. But one thing we do know - we, too, can overcome. We are reminded daily that we have not been promised immunity from suffering and death. However, God has promised that we can abound (exist, survive) and be overflowing with hope, joy, and peace. How? By faith believing and trusting that what God says in His Word is true.And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore 1 take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (2 Corinthians 12:9,10).God has promised to provide strength for us in our times of weakness - His strength through the blood of the Lamb. His Son.(JESUS THE GOD OF ISRAEL AND THE WORLD).

FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

Let Me Cry

I've been doing some crying, lately.A while back I noticed that a young waitress who often serves Jack and me when we go out to eat seemed unusually quiet and withdrawn and there was a strain on her countenance. When I went to wash my hands in the ladies room, I had a chance to pull her aside and ask if something was wrong. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she told me her husband had just asked her for a divorce.

Imagine the pain of having your husband or wife look you in the eye and say, I don't love you anymore-I want out of this marriage. I can't even begin to comprehend the shock, sorrow, and grief one would feel in such a situation.I didn't know what to say to this poor girl -but I put my arms around her and comforted her the only way I knew how...with my tears.Also in recent months, I have felt an increased burden for my unsaved friends and loved ones. Bible prophecy makes it so clear that time on this old earth is running out fast and that surely Jesus is coming soon...perhaps today! So I have been praying...and weeping ...for my unsaved loved ones. It is the only way I know to minister to them!

What is a tear?

The great preacher, T. DeWitt Talmage, once wrote, Help me explain a tear. A chemist will tell you that it is made up of salt and lime and other component parts; but he misses the chief ingredients-the acid of a soured life, the viperine sting of a bitter memory, the fragments of a broken heart. I will tell you what a tear is: it is agony in solution.These are powerful, moving words. And perhaps all of us have either witnessed or personally experienced the truth Talmage sought to convey.But I suggest to you that there is more to tears than sadness, sorrow, regret, and pain. Tears can be a release from stress and anxiety, a vent for frustration, a safety valve for overpowering emotions. Tears can be the most sincere expression of compassion and love. And just as raindrops wash the smoke, smog, and impurities from the atmosphere, so tears can wash away the stains of bitterness and disappointment from our souls.

A time to weep

As Solomon, perhaps the wisest man who ever lived, once declared, To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...A time to weep, and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4).We live in a time when everyone wants to laugh all the time, but no one is willing to weep. And if someone does cry, it makes people really uncomfortable. Children are hushed and told not to cry. Men are taught that tears don't go with a macho image...that only sissies cry. And women who weep at some sadness or loss are interrupted and advised to wipe their eyes and get control of themselves.No! No! No! Let me cry. It's all right to cry. I need to cry. In fact, one of my goals is to minister to those who are weeping. I want to do all I can, to say what I can...and when there are no deeds or words that can help, to weep with them.Perhaps my resolution is best expressed in the words of the late Bob Pierce in his moving book, Let My Heart Be Broken With the Things That Break the Heart of God.When Jesus wept, His tears were for others. Both Matthew and Luke describe how He wept over the city of Jerusalem for those who would not hear and accept the Truth! We, too, should weep for others.

Weep over souls

Should we be less concerned over lost souls than our Saviour? Why are we not crying and praying for the lost to be saved before it is eternally too late? I've seen people moved to tears by the plight of fictional characters in a paperback book. A melodramatic film may jokingly be described as a two-hanky movie, and it's perfectly all right. But the same people who get involved and empathize with artificial stories can see real live people around them dying and slipping into eternity without God and never feel a twinge or shed a tear.I wonder-if the unsaved friends and loved ones I'm praying for don't seem to be any closer to the Lord than when I first started, could it be because I haven't shed any tears for them? The Bible says, They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalm 126:5, 6).

Weep over sin

Sometimes I can hardly watch the news on television or read the daily paper without crying. My heart breaks at what is going on in our nation and the world today. There is such evil and perversion, such wickedness and violence. How long will God allow men's hearts to be filled with such deliberate, willful sin before calling them to judgment? I believe we are to weep over sin, whether our own, our family's, or our nation's.The Apostle Paul wrote, For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10).I am reminded of how Peter, after denying the Lord during the awful hours before the Crucifixion, went out, and wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75). Those tears of repentance led to his being forgiven and restored.

Weep over sorrow

Just as there is a time to weep over souls and a time to weep over sin, there is also a time to weep over sorrow. Do you remember when Mary and Martha showed the Lord the tomb where their brother Lazarus was buried? The Bible says, Jesus wept (John 11:35).There is a time for sorrow... and when it comes, tears are appropriate. Paul instructed, Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep (Romans 12:15).Notice that the verse did not say to laugh with those who are laughing and to tell those who are crying to stop and cheer up. No, it says to cry with those who are crying! That means to share their sorrow-to get down under the burden with them. And when you share their tears-when all you can do is cry with them-you'll find it is a tremendously effective way to minister your compassion and love.I once interviewed a pastor who had suffered the traumatic loss of his little son. This man told me that in the midst of his grieving, the people of his church did not understand or know how to weep with him. They would come to him and say, Pastor, why are you crying? Don't you have any faith? After a while this minister wrote a book about what he had learned during his sorrowful experience. He called it, Jonathan, You Left Too Soon. But the main lesson I learned from his experience was that in the day of sorrow, it's okay to weep. In fact, for most people, it's a really good way to cope with loss and grief and begin to heal the broken heart and crushed emotions. Tears can be tremendously therapeutic.

I know I have been made acutely aware of the value of tears. And I pray that God will make me willing to weep with those who weep, whether they cry tears of pain, heartache, sorrow...or joy! I encourage you to consider whether God can also use you in a ministry of tears.Remember, though, that our tears will not -cannot-last long. The psalmist sang, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5).I'm here to tell you that a great morning is coming soon, when we will all be in the presence of the Lord. Oh, what a glorious promise and steadfast hope! For on that glad day, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).No wonder Jesus said, Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh (Luke 6:21).

The people of war-ravaged Georgia need relief AUG 22,08

Dear Friend of The Fellowship,

News reports tell only part of what's going on in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. We hear of rebukes from world leaders and ceasefires, and see images of tanks and soldiers scouring the region. We hear less about the tens of thousands of people displaced and traumatized by violence. Among them are thousands of poor, elderly, and disadvantaged Jews. They need shelter. They need medical treatment. They need food… they need your help.

The Fellowship is already responding…

Shortly after the conflict erupted, The Fellowship and its partners in the region sprang into action. Working with the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), we began providing emergency relief in the form of necessities like food, water, shelter, and medicine to hundreds of Jews most deeply affected by the conflict.

We also encountered many Jews who wanted to escape the war zone by making aliyah (immigrating to Israel).So, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), we helped more than 200 Jews secure the necessary paperwork to make emergency aliyah and provided them with transportation to the Holy Land.

…but the needs are still great

Even if the ceasefire held and the war stopped today, there would still be a tremendous need to provide relief. Thousands of Jews in Georgia are suffering, and many more want to make aliyah.

Please join us in providing emergency aid. Your gift to The Fellowship's Rabbi's Emergency Fund will be used to provide food, medicine and shelter to desperate Jewish refugees in Georgia, and to fund emergency aliyah for Jews who wish to escape the fighting and chaos to return to their biblical homeland. Please give today, so that we can be in a position to respond to needs as they arise quickly and efficiently. The people of Georgia are waiting for your response.

With prayers for shalom, peace,Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.