IMF TRANSFORMED TO GLOBAL FIN SUPER - NETH

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

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

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake shakes Guam Sun Nov 2, 2:20 am ET

HAGATNA, Guam – A moderate earthquake has shaken the island of Guam, but there are no reports of any damage or injury.The U.S. Geological Survey says in a preliminary report that the magnitude 5.1 quake struck at 3:34 p.m. Sunday at a depth of about 24miles. It was centered 16 miles northeast of Hagatna and 126 miles southwest of Saipan.A dispatcher from the Guam Police Department says she felt a light tremor at her office in the city of Tiyan, but there have been no reports of injuries or damages on the island.

Major quake strikes off Alaska's Aleutian Islands Sun Nov 2, 10:34 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A substantial 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck on Sunday just off the remote Aleutian Islands of the US state of Alaska, the US Geological Survey reported.The quake occured at 3:48 am local time (1348 GMT) about 53 kilometers (33 miles) underground, some 56 kilometers (35 miles) south-southwest of Atka Alaska and 1828 kilometers (1136 miles) from the state's largest city Anchorage, the USGS reported in a preliminary earthquake report.There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the Aleutians, a sparsely populated archipelago of hundreds of small, mainly volcanic islands that arc into the northern Pacific Ocean.The town of Atka nearest the temblor's epicenter had a population of 92 in the 2000 US census.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

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

Floodwaters start to recede in Vietnam capital Mon Nov 3, 5:26 am ET

HANOI, Vietnam – The death toll from nearly a week of flooding across northern and central Vietnam stood Monday at 54 and parts of the capital remained under water, but rains were easing and floodwaters receding in many areas.Hanoi alone recorded 18 deaths since heavy rains started lashing the city Friday, authorities said. Elsewhere, 34 deaths have been reported, authorities said.More rains were expected in the capital and some northern provinces Monday and Tuesday, but weather forecasters said they would be lighter than the downpours that soaked the capital over the weekend.That would provide welcome relief to residents of Hanoi, where many streets were under three feet (a meter) of water and scores of businesses remained shuttered.I have been stuck in my house for the past three days, said Nguyen Manh Hung, a businessman who lives on a street in southern Hanoi where water reached his waist. It's unbelievable to see people navigating the street in boats and by horse-drawn carriages.Vietnamese television on Sunday night quoted Hanoi Mayor Nguyen The Thao as saying it would take the city four or five days to pump excess water into the Red River — longer if heavy rains resume.More than 20 inches (500 millimeters) of rain have fallen on the city in the past three days, the heaviest rains in more than two decades.Authorities reported four more deaths Monday morning, with two bodies recovered in northern Vinh Phuc province and two more in Bac Giang province.

Floods have inundated more than 100,000 homes across northern and central Vietnam, the national committee for flood and storm control said on its Web site.More than 590,000 acres (240,000 hectares) of rice and vegetables have been destroyed and about 100 miles (170 kilometers) of rural roads have been damaged, it said.(This version CORRECTS Corrects typo in lede to remained)

China mudslides kill at least 22 Sun Nov 2, 10:09 pm

ETBEIJING (Reuters) – The death toll from mudslides caused by heavy rain in southwest China has risen from 15 to at least 22, with 45 missing, state media reported.Torrents of mud and rock hit near Chuxiong city in Yunnan province over the weekend, toppling or damaging nearly 1,000 houses, Xinhua news agency said.Yunnan is dominated by steep terrain, and many of its farmers live in villages on steep slopes. But there is also mining in some areas.Mountain torrents triggered by heavy rain hit Pingguo county in Guangxi, to the east of Yunnan, killing eight.Floods triggered by torrential rain in northern and central Vietnam, neighboring Yunnan and Guangxi, have killed dozens.(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie)

CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
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.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

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

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS MON NOV 03,2008

09:30 AM +13.94
10:00 AM +25.80
10:30 AM -18.72
11:00 AM +20.47
11:30 AM +7.64
12:00 PM +52.17
12:30 PM +47.95
01:00 PM +23.69
01:30 PM +6.93
02:00 PM -19.48
02:30 PM -36.40
03:00 PM -45.16
03:30 PM -23.18
04:00 PM -5.18 9319.83

S&P 500 966.31 -2.44

NASDAQ 1726.33 +5.38

GOLD 722.5 +4.30

OIL 64.26 -3.55

TSE 300 -41.50 9,721.26

CDNX +20.29 935.59

S&P/TSX/60 -4.35 586.93

Dow advances 5 days in a row if 6th never happened since DEC 2007.

NBC-WALL STREET JOURNAL POLL NOV 1-2 PRESIDENCIAL

TODAY O-51% M-43%
MID OCT 0-52% M-42%
AMOUNG DEMOC O-89% M-6%
AMOUNG REPUB O-5% M-92%
AMOUNG INDEP O-48% M-36%
CONFIDENT ON THE ECONOMY O-42% M-27%

ANNOUNCED BUYOUTS : Y&D 2008 US
-Convatec/Nordic Capital $4.1 BILLION.
-Booz Allen/The Carlyle Group $2.4 BILLION.
-Getty Images/Hellman & Friedman $2.4 BILLION.
-Apria Healthcare/Blackstone $1.6 BILLION.

PIPELINE CHECK : Announces US LBOS
-JUNE $3.6 BILLION
-JULY $4.0 BILLION.
-AUGUST $1.7 BILLION.
-SEPTEMBER $0.8 BILLION.
-OCTOBER $0.4 BILLION.
Crude Oil 55% below July record high.

HORRIFIC OCT - VEHICLES
-GM -47%
-FORD -32.7%
-HONDA -28%
-TOYOTA -25.9%
Chrysler says US OCT light vehicle sales down 35%.

Netherlands want IMF transformed into global financial supervisor
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today NOV 3,08 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Setting out their stall ahead of the upcoming emergency meeting of the G20 group of nations that is to focus on a global solution to the ongoing financial crisis, the Netherlands has called for the reconstruction of the International Monetary Fund into a new Global Financial Stability Organisation.

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenede and his finance minister, Wouter Bos, want the IMF to be given considerable new powers of oversight over national financial supervisors.The Netherlands will not have its own seat at the table at the 15 November emergency meeting of the G20 but will be represented by the European Union presidency.The G20 group of industrial nations brings together the G7, the EU and 12 other major economies: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey.Writing in the German edition of the Financial Times today, the two Dutch leaders said recent co-ordinated action in Europe to deal with the crisis was more the ad hoc result of powerful personalities coming together than the existence of any European crisis management system.Working on a global agenda is fine, but in Europe we also have an unfinished agenda in these matters, they wrote. Supervision in Europe is still fragmented and the recent rapid co-ordinated response by the European governments owes too great a deal to strong individual leadership.Europe must now accelerate progress towards an integrated European system of prudential supervision and crisis management.They added that even co-ordination at the EU level is still not enough, saying: We also need to build global power on world financial stability.The Dutch politicians want the IMF to be given a wider mandate and more robust competences, and more leverage over national governments.

As part of the international financial institution's annual assessments of countries' economic policies, the IMF, recast as a Global Financial Stability Organisation, should in the future include an obligatory check of the country's prudential supervisory arrangements, they say, the results of which should be made public.The Financial Stability Forum - the informal grouping of national finance ministries, central bankers, and international financial bodies - would also be brought under the aegis of the GFSO.The GFSO, in the Dutch view, would additionally have the authority to issue recommendations to international financial standard setters such as the Bank for International Settlements - the 'bank of central banks', the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) - the forum that brings together national stock market regulators, and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).Asked about the prime minister's thinking on the democratic accountability of a body invested with such substantial powers over national financial and economic decision-making, a source close to the Hague told the EUobserver: What sort of parliamentary controls the Netherlands would also like to see over such an institution have not been hammered, but it's certainly one of the questions that would need attention.

Additionally, with the elephantine salaries and bonuses of banking executives and traders freshly in the spotlight, the Netherlands would also like to see salary structures subject to scrutiny by domestic financial stability supervisors. And, if this proves to be insufficient, we could consider introducing claw-back clauses on bonuses, the Dutch prime minister and finance minister wrote.A number of banks that have recently been bailed out by public authorities have come in for severe criticism from citizens and politicians for using some of the monies intended to recapitalise the institutions instead to maintain the colossal salary structures of their employees.

Oil drops 5 percent on slumping demand By Edward McAllister Edward Mcallister – NOV 3,08

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil fell over 5 percent on Monday as further indicators of falling global demand linked to a potential recession offset OPEC plans to reign in output.U.S. crude fell $3.65 to $64.16 a barrel by 12.57 p.m. EST. London Brent crude dropped $4.18 to $61.14.U.S. factory activity -- a barometer for future oil demand -- contracted sharply in October, falling to its lowest in 26 years as the financial crisis racked the world's largest economy.The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity fell to 38.9 in October from 43.5 in September. A reading below 40 is exceptionally weak.The most devastating blow for crude oil today is data showing that U.S. manufacturing activity in October fell to the lowest level in 26 years, which means more worries for oil demand, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading, in Chicago.Manufacturing used to be a great forward indicator for oil demand, but if the manufacturing sector is down, it will be a struggle to keep oil demand up, he added.Profits evaporated at leading banks on Monday and authorities worldwide pressed on with efforts to temper a recession that policymakers said had become reality for much of the globe.French Bank Societe Generale reported an 83.7 percent drop in third-quarter net profit and Germany's second largest bank Commerzbank said it would take an 8.2 billion euro capital injection from the state and another 15 billion to secure refinancing.

Ford Motor Co's (F.N) U.S. sales for October were down 30.2 percent on last year, with Chrysler, Nissan and Volvo all reporting slumps year on year.Analysts said traders would now be looking for signs that Saudi Arabia was cutting back its crude production in line with OPEC's agreement in October to reduce output by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd).October saw the steepest monthly price decline ever for oil as global demand slowed.In three months, oil has wiped out gains that took more than a year to build. It is down more than half since prices struck a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11, as poor economic data added to pressure from weak demand reports in the United States and other key consumer nations.Societe Generale said on Monday it had lowered its oil price forecasts as global oil demand was likely to weaken further. The bank expects U.S. crude to average $72.50 a barrel next year. Its previous forecast was $114.17.OPEC members have no choice but to implement agreed output cuts and inform customers of the reductions if they want a stable oil price between $70 and $90 a barrel, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on Sunday.Khelil said Saudi Arabia was the key to the success of the reductions, and if the world's biggest oil exporter took its time over the operation, the oil price could be affected.(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Gene Ramos in New York, Alex Lawler and Ikuko Kao in London and Fayen Wong in Perth; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

France pushes for EU common front ahead of global financial summit
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 3,08 @ 17:32 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Finance ministers from the 15-strong eurozone are to meet in Brussels tonight (3 November) to discuss French-tailored ideas on how the international financial system should be re-regulated in the face of global market turmoil. The current crisis is both a macroeconomic crisis and a crisis of the regulatory and oversight architecture, reads a paper that France, currently chairing the European Union's six-month rotating presidency, hopes to turn into a common position for the union that would subsequently be presented to other world industrial powers at the mid-November G20 meeting on the ongoing financial crisis.

The G20 summit, hosted by the United States, will be just the first of a series of discussions aimed at closing what the French paper describes as loopholes in the current system. This Friday (7 November), EU heads of state and government are also to meet in Brussels to try to hammer out a position that can then be taken to the G20 summit.The French document says that regulation and surveillance schemes in some countries do not monitor a number of key financial actors. Additionally, the paper argues that incentives in financial markets lead to excessive risk taking in the short run and that domestic supervisors are failing to properly identify risk and prevent a crisis situation. It is important that the inaugural summit deliver a first set of decisions so as to initiate the right momentum around the process and build confidence in it, the French proposal says. Specifically, the document argues that governments commit to a range of measures assuring stricter supervision of financial markets. They include, for example, firmer oversight of rating agencies, which have been widely criticised for conflicts of interest that have exacerbated the current crisis; reinforcement of cross-border supervision of financial groups; and the introduction of codes of conduct that would tackle excessive risk taking in the financial industry. One EU diplomat has expressed discontent, however, that the document also mentions measures that have not been fully discussed within the 27-nation bloc. We should have a thorough debate at home before we announce something to the world, she said, underlining that the French EU presidency did not include any member states' objections in its paper. According to another EU diplomat, the Washington summit has become a matter of prestige for some countries.

The Netherlands has complained about the fact that Argentina with its crumbling economy will sit at the table, while Spain has objected to Nicolas Sarkozy speaking on behalf of the 27-nation EU unless he gains its mandate. This has been seen by some diplomats, however, as a way of pressuring France into giving up its extra seat to Spain. Paris has two seats at the November G20 meeting - both as a member of the G7 and as the current holder of the EU presidency.

Tough U.S. problems to hit Canada: Flaherty NOV 3,08

TORONTO (Reuters) – The economic turmoil in the United States will harm Canada, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday ahead of a meeting with the finance ministers of Canada's provinces on the global crisis.Flaherty, who says the crisis is harming federal finances, says Ottawa wants to limit the growth of a national program that transfers money to less prosperous provinces to ensure service levels are similar to those in rich provinces.We're in a time of significant economic turmoil ... The American situation remains very challenging, which will affect our Canadian economy as well, Flaherty told reporters at Toronto airport, where the meeting will be held.Flaherty says the equalization transfer program is growing at 15 percent a year, a pace he calls unsustainable.The program is likely to come under more pressure now that the province of Ontario, whose manufacturing base has been particularly hard hit by the slowing U.S. economy, is eligible for payments for the first time.Ontario Finance Minister John Duncan complained before the meeting that Flaherty should have put more effort into working out how to help the provinces live through the crisis.If you want to have a meaningful dialogue about an issue you'd think you might have a proposal in our hands in advance (that) we could actually look at and analyze -- and not a quick meeting at a hotel prior to catching a plane, he said.Flaherty told reporters separately that this is a time for pulling together as Canadians, not a time for bickering and discord.Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will address the meeting. He declined to comment when approached by Reuters.(Reporting by Frank Pingue, writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Peter Galloway)

Europe awaits new US president in time of crisis
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 3,08 @ 09:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Some 130 million American voters will elect on Tuesday (4 November) the new man to take over the White House. Be it Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama, the winner will significantly shape EU-US relations at a time of worsening financial crisis. The last 18 months have seen one of the most acrimonious and certainly the most expensive presidential campaign in US history, with Barack Obama currently ahead in all opinion polls. According to the latest CNN national 'Poll of Polls' (2 November), the 47-year old lawyer and the first African American nominated by a major political party for president has a seven-point lead over Mr McCain (53% to 46%).But up to eight percent of people remain undecided - enough to swing the result - while turnout is expected to reach its highest figure since 1960, with some 20 million Americans haveing already cast their votes. In the final hours on the campaign trail, both candidates are battling for must win states - Ohio with 20 electoral votes for senator McCain and Pennsylvania with 21 votes under the system for senator Obama. At the same time, they both were faced with undesirable surprises. Sarah Palin - the US vice-president hopeful in the McCain camp - found herself caught up in a phone conversation with a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy. During the six-minute chat, they discussed hunting, Carla Bruni's looks and Ms Palin's presidential prospects. Mr Obama, for his part, had to respond to a finding that his aunt from Kenya, stayed illegally in the US, despite immigration authorities turning down her asylum request four years ago.

Europeans for Obama

US elections are followed closely on the other side of the Atlantic for their enormous global impact - especially at a time when Europe needs America to help tailor a global reform of the financial sector and to boost the fight against climate change. If Europeans had a vote, Barack Obama would beat John McCain by large margin. He enjoys greater popularity due to the fact that he represents a more evident contrast to the politics of the outgoing president, Republican George W. Bush. Mr Bush's eight-year-long term has been marked by a unilateral decision to invade Iraq - something that his reputation has never recovered from, even though he later reached out to consult Europe on issues such as Iran. According to Tomas Valasek from the London-based Centre for European Reform, none of the presidential candidates will ignore the EU's opinion on major foreign policy issues, but each of them will bring different arguments to the table. Barack Obama has shown more willingness to judge countries on an individual basis, not strictly within a war on terror framework, Mr Valasek told the EUobserver, citing views on Iran and Russia as significantly different to those of Mr McCain.The Republican presidential candidate refuses to engage in talks with Tehran over its nuclear programme and he also adopted a more critical stance on Russia's military action against Georgia in August. McCain's views on Russia are more in line with a Polish and Czech foreign policy approach, while Obama would gain sympathy in Germany, France and Italy, Mr Valasek said.

Financial crisis

But the transatlantic agenda will be dominated by the financial crisis and poor economic prospects for both continents. On 15 November, the United States will host a Group of 20 summit, which should kick of talks on how financial markets should be regulated. Apart from the US, the group involves Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the EU representative.

According to Mr Valasek, Mr Obama seems to agree with Europe when it comes to a possibility of state interventions into economy, but the risk lies in his protectionist rethoric. This could worsen the current situation, he said. Daniel Gros from the Centre for European policy studies in Brussels described Mr McCain's approach on the financial crisis as more impulsive, while noting that Democrat Obama had a very good team of advisors. I am certain that Obama will very carefully listen to the very good technical advice he gets, the analyst said.

Murdoch: China, India will reshape the world By ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer – Sun Nov 2, 6:36 am ET

SYDNEY, Australia – Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch says the ongoing metamorphosis of China and India from historic backwaters into economic powers will help reshape the world in the next few decades.The News Corp. chief gave an upbeat assessment of the future and made a vigorous case for free markets despite troubled economic times and what he called naked, heartless aggression in the world.In the first of a series of speeches in his birth country of Australia, Murdoch spoke Sunday of the great transformation we've seen in the past few decades, the unleashing of human talent and ability across our world, and the golden age for humankind that I see just around the corner.He said China and India are great countries whose people are only recently emerging from long histories of being incarcerated by communism or caste. The rise of their economies is creating a new middle class that would be three billion strong within 30 years and that is setting a new benchmark for global competitiveness.The world has never seen this kind of advance before, Murdoch said. These are people who have known deprivation. These are people who are intent on developing their skills, improving their lives and showing the world what they can do.Murdoch, whose New York-based conglomerate includes Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News Channel, Dow Jones & Co. as well as newspaper stables in Australia and Britain and the online networking site MySpace, described the global financial crisis as one of many challenges facing Australia.He urged Australia to embrace internationalism and touched on a range of global issues, from international security to the commercial opportunities offered by the world's need for cleaner energy.Murdoch's remarks came in the first of six lectures to be sent out on radio nationally by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. — this year's edition of an annual series of talks by prominent Australians.Murdoch said that in another speech he would give his opinions on the future of newspapers, which are suffering a severe downturn, especially in the United States, as advertising revenue is lost to the Internet.He made a strong pitch for freer trade between countries, taking agriculture as an example and saying that reducing artificial barriers is a moral and strategic issue.So we must continue to leverage our connections and continue to push when others have left the conference table, he said. The global trade dialogue should echo with Australian accents.

Touching on security, he chided Europe for appearing to have lost the will to confront aggression and said NATO should be reformed into a group based on common values, not geography, and include countries like Australia as members.In this promising new century, we are still seeing naked, heartless aggression — whether it comes from a terrorist bombing in Islamabad or a Russian invasion of Georgia, Murdoch said.We can lament these developments, but we cannot hide from them, he said, noting Australia's contribution of troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.In an interview published in The Weekend Australian on Saturday, Murdoch said governments have only limited power to fix the financial crisis, though they could make it worse.

Murdoch warned that a rise in protectionism in the United States could add to all sorts of tensions in the world financial system and the world trading system and eventually all the way down to employment.

UPDATE: Russia's Medvedev, UK's Brown Discuss Upcoming G20 NOV 3,08

(Adds call to Germany's Merkel and background on G20 conference)

MOSCOW (AFP)--Russian President Dmitri Medvedev held phone separate discussions Monday with U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the forthcoming G20 meeting in Washington, the Kremlin said.The two sides emphasized the need to clarify positions before this major event, a statement said.

Brown and Medvedev also discussed bilateral issues. Relations between the two countries have been frosty since the poisoning in London in November 2006 of the former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko.The U.K. was also strongly critical of Russian actions in the conflict with Georgia.The Kremlin said the two leaders gave a positive evaluation of the latest Russo-U.K. contacts, emphasized the importance of maintaining a dialogue and agreed to pursue contacts in the future.In their discussions Medvedev and Merkel agreed to maintain contacts at the level of experts, a second Kremlin statement said.The G20, which meets Nov. 15, includes the seven major industrialized nations - the U.K., Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and the U.S. - plus Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.It also takes in the 27-nation European Union, represented by France, which holds the rotating E.U. presidency. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank also participate in its meetings. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http:// www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=2LpU7c%2BJJg4jXi7sz%2Fp3ug%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires

Israel Braces for a Showdown With West Bank Settlers By TIM MCGIRK NOV 3,08

ABC News The hill named Oush Grab lies a stone's throw away from the Shepherd's Field, near Bethlehem. Christian pilgrims flock to the place where the Bible says an angel tipped off a shepherd that Jesus Christ had been born, but most visitors are mostly unaware of the battle raging over this obscure hilltop. Oush Grab is an undistinguished rocky outcrop of limestone, dotted with thorny shrubs. And it has no political, strategic or Old Testament significance. That's why the Israeli authorities allowed the Arab Christians of Beit Zahour, with help from educational agency Paidia International Development, to build a little park on its slopes, featuring a rock-climbing wall and a picnic ground. There were also plans to construct a $9 million children's surgical hospital on the upper reaches of Oush Grab, which would be the only one of its kind in the Palestinian territories. Then, one day last May, over a hundred Jewish settlers showed up on this hill of no consequence. They brought guns and paint brushes so they could scrawl Death to Arabs on a concrete pillbox left by the Israeli army when it pulled out several years ago. (The phantom guerrilla artist Banksy also found his way to this same fortification, stenciling onto it a wistful image of a truck towing away an Israeli tank.) And with the settlers came a phalanx of Israeli soldiers to provide protection. Plans to build the desperately needed children's hospital - supported by Cure International, a worldwide charity helping disabled children - are now shelved. During one recent occupation of Oush Grab, a young Jewish extremist warned foreign aid worker Jason Pollack, We can't let you build the children's hospital here. Otherwise, we'll have to blow it up.

The settlers first arrived in May and have appeared a dozen times since, usually staying a few hours, blocking roads to the park, and raising an Israeli flag, which is inevitably torn down by the Palestinian villagers as soon as the settlers and their military escort depart. The settlers make a religious-Zionist claim to Oush Grab, saying that because it is inside the Biblical land of Judea and Samaria, it therefore belongs to Jews. It's one more piece of Jewish homeland that the Arabs are trying to take away from us, says Nadia Matar, co-chairwoman of a rightwing Israeli group, Women in Green. But legally, says Beit Zahour's Mayor Hani el-Hayek, Israelis never had ownership of the hill, which is surrounded on three sides by Arab villages and terraced groves of olive trees that are nearly a thousand years old. It used to be a Jordanian army outpost. After Israel conquered the West Bank in the 1967 war, it became a small IDF fort. And when the Israeli army vacated Oush Grab, it reverted to the Jordanian army. Jordan renounced all claim to the West Bank after the 1993 Oslo peace accord, but Beit Zahour's mayor is hoping that if he gets the Jordanian army to sign over the land deed to the municipality, it will give him a stronger claim in Israeli court to fight the settlers. And, of course, Israel's leaders recognize that the same West Bank to which the settlers claim a Biblical right is land on which a Palestinian state will have to be built if a two-state peace solution is to be achieved.Over the years, successive Israel governments have tacitly encouraged, and then failed to halt, the spread of Jewish settlements in the West Bank - a practice widely viewed as contravening international law. Often, the settlers' behavior toward Palestinian neighbors is marked by violence; video footage shows Jewish youths using baseball bats to club Palestinian families trying to harvest their olive trees or tending sheep. Nor do the settlers fear reprisals from the Israeli authorities: Human rights group Yesh Din says only 8% of Palestinian complaints of settler violence have led to indictments by Israeli police. But lately, the Israeli mood has shifted against extremist settlers. In Hebron last week, they clashed not only with Palestinians, but with the Israeli security forces as well, calling them Nazis and pelting them with stones. The settlers may rely on Israeli soldiers to shield them from attacks by Palestinians, but such is their rage against the Israeli state over the possibility that Israel could relinquish control over the West Bank in order to forge a two-state peace agreement with the Palestinians, that they have turned on their protectors.

The Hebron attacks on the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) at last stirred the Israeli cabinet into action against the settlers. In a Sunday cabinet meeting, Yuval Diskin, the chief of Shin Bet, the domestic intelligence agency, warned that settlers would probably shoot back if the Israeli security forces tried to dislodge them en masse from West Bank outposts deemed illegal even under Israeli law. Says Diskin, Their approach began with the slogan Through love, we will win... but has now reached Through war, we will win.After hearing the security chief's grim appraisal, the Israeli cabinet, reversing years of tacit support for the settlers, voted to cut off all funds and support for the one hundred or so renegade outposts in the West Bank. But it is probably too little, too late. No Israeli leader, least of all a lame duck like outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, will risk a bloody showdown between Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers. Officers warn that such a clash could lead to rebellion in the army ranks, since many of the IDF's gung-ho soldiers were raised in the West Bank settlements and share their messianic ideology. As the settlers like to say, it's facts on the ground that count. And as long as the Jewish extremists can hold on to the hilltop and the Israeli army dithers over evicting them, it remains doubtful that the planned Palestinian children's hospital on Oush Ghrab will ever be built.

Next US president may have shot at Israel-Syria deal by Lachlan Carmichael – Mon Nov 3, 10:47 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The next US president will probably find a settlement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as elusive as ever but might see an Israeli-Syrian peace accord come within reach, analysts say.Barack Obama or John McCain, they suggest, could use a Syrian-Israeli deal to start restoring US credibility in the region and put a bright spot on a dark horizon from the Palestinian territories to Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.And it emerged from interviews with several analysts that Obama would be more likely than McCain to help deliver a Syrian-Israeli deal and invest more energy in the even more difficult Palestinian-Israeli talks.Aaron David Miller, a former adviser to both Republican and Democratic secretaries of state, said the deal he and other former US officials let slip from their grasp between 1993and 2000 is back within reach.There is a very real possibility of an Israeli-Syrian agreement, Miller, now a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Institute, told AFP in a telephone interview.An Obama or McCain administration will have to be smart enough, tough enough and fair enough to seize such an opportunity, he said without actually predicting who best would fit the bill.In the last few months, Syria and Israel began indirect talks brokered by Turkey, drawing a cool response from President George W. Bush's administration which invested so much in the last year reviving Israeli-Palestinian talks.Egypt and other key Arab states look constantly for a US-brokered solution to the Palestinian problem, which they see at the core of the region's troubles and central to restoring US credibility.The problem, Miller and other analysts say, is that such a solution seems as distant as ever and it might make more sense to open doors with Syria.Patrick Clawson, an analyst with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, suspected that Obama would like to try to draw Syria away from its ties to Iran in order to work with the West in securing a peace deal with Israel.A McCain team would share an Obama administration's real excitement and enthusiasm about such a prospect but may be much more skeptical and spend less effort on it, Clawson said by telephone.

Peter Beinart, an analyst with the Council on Foreign Relations, also suspected Obama would support the prospect of a deal with Syria while a McCain administration would balk with skeptics in its midst.Miller, who said he is associated with neither campaign, insisted it is a fantasy to think such an agreement would drive a wedge between Damascus and Tehran.But it would undercut the radical Palestinian group Hamas, confront Hezbollah with a choice in Lebanon and begin to restore American credibility and give us some options against the backdrop of 16 years of failure, he said.Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat has urged the next president to waste no time in engaging with all Middle East peace tracks even though the US must also tackle the global financial crisis, military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a nuclear standoff with Iran.

Easier said than done, analysts say.

For either (McCain or Obama), there's strong logic in favor of pursuing an Israeli-Palestinian process, but there are also ... competing priorities, said Tamara Wittes, a Middle East analyst at the Brookings Institution.And the situation on the ground doesn't bode well for talks right now, said Wittes, who is also a volunteer adviser to the Obama campaign on overseas democracy issues. Initially, she said, the new US president must be careful to send out the right signal soon after he takes office on January 20, all the more so as Israel itself faces elections in February.

If he demonstrates a commitment to the peace process, that might give Israelis more reason to support a candidate on their side who favors negotiations rather than one who says we have no partner, said Wittes. Yet, Wittes wondered aloud how either candidate would embark on the massive undertaking needed to drive the peace process to uncertain success over the long haul. Not authorized to speak for the Obama campaign, she also refrained from predicting the positions of a McCain administration. But Clawson believed that in the face of competing priorities, Obama was more likely than his Republican rival to make a major push soon after taking office toward working with what will then be a new Israeli government.Analysts say keeping the talks from collapsing is a feat in itself and leaves the door open to future success.

Abbas sees no peace deal with Israel this year Mon Nov 3, 10:47 am ET

BBC BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Israel and the Palestinians will not be able to reach a peace agreement before Washington's target date of the end of this year, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday.I don't think it's possible to clear an accord by the end of this year as both the U.S. and the Israeli administrations are now busy with other matters and the very short time does not allow for striking such a deal, Abbas said at the start of a two-day visit to Romania.I would like to say after the election processes are over, we will resume negotiations and contacts to clear all the outstanding files in discussion. We will try to close these files because up until now none have been closed, he said, speaking through an interpreter.

The United States chooses a new president Tuesday and Israel is to hold a parliamentary election on February 10.Washington launched the latest peace drive at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland, last year with the hope of shepherding Israel and the Palestinians toward a peace deal before President George W. Bush leaves office in January.But Israel's failure to halt Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, divisions among Palestinians and political instability in Israel have made the prospects of meeting Washington's target date for a deal ever more elusive.

Sunday, the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators -- the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- plan to convene in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where negotiators will brief them on the peace talks.

Abbas, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni plan to attend.Last week, a senior Bush administration official said the Israeli election meant a peace agreement was all but impossible this year. Israeli President Shimon Peres said several weeks ago that both sides were unlikely to conclude a deal in 2008.(Reporting by Radu Marinas; Writing by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Israel far-right parties unite ahead of election Mon Nov 3, 8:21 am ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Two of Israel's main far-right parties on Monday announced they had decided to forces under a new list promoting settlements in the occupied West Bank ahead of a February general election.The still unnamed party unites The National Union and National Religious Party, which together have nine MPs in the current parliament.The new party seeks to lead a new national agenda, led by education for the Jewish character of Israel, social welfare... Jewish values, settlement and security and political issues, it said in a statement.The fate of the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967 and where the Palestinians wish to make their future state, remains one of the most contentious issues in Israeli politics.

Right-wing parties oppose the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and seek to bolster Jewish settlement there.There are some 460,000 Jewish settlers in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel in 1967 in a move not recognised by the international community.The party founders said they hope the new party will play a central role in any government formed after the February elections.After 27 years of division, we are going for unity, MP Zevulun Orlev of the National Religious Party told reporters.

SEX SINS

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9,14-18
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

GALATIONS 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Study links teen pregnancy to sexy TV shows By Andrew Stern Andrew Stern – NOV 3,08

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Exposure to some forms of entertainment is a corrupting influence on children, leading teens who watch sexy programs into early pregnancies and children who play violent video games to adopt aggressive behavior, researchers said on Monday.Researchers at the RAND research organization said their three-year study was the first to link viewing of racy television programing with risky sexual behavior by teens.Our findings suggest that television may play a significant role in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the United States, said Anita Chandra, a behavioral scientist who led the research at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

We're not saying we're establishing causation, but we are saying this is one factor that we were able to prospectively link to the teen pregnancy outcome, Chandra said in a phone interview.The researchers recruited adolescents aged 12 to 17 and surveyed them three times between 2001 and 2004, asking about television viewing habits, sexual behavior and pregnancy.In findings that covered 718 teenagers, there were 91 pregnancies. The top 10th of adolescents who watched the most sexy programing were at double the risk of becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy compared to the 10th who watched the fewest such programs, according to the study published in the journal Pediatrics.The study focused on 23 free and cable television programs popular among teenagers including situation comedies, dramas, reality programs and animated shows. Comedies had the most sexual content and reality programs the least.The television content we see very rarely highlights the negative aspects of sex or the risks and responsibilities, Chandra said. So if teens are getting any information about sex they're rarely getting information about pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.

TEEN PREGNANCY ON DECLINE

Teen pregnancy rates in the United States have declined sharply since 1991 but remain high compared to other industrialized nations. Nearly 1 million girls aged 15 to 19 years old become pregnant yearly, or about 20 percent of sexually active females in that age group. Most of the pregnancies were unplanned, the report said.

Young mothers are more likely to quit school, require public assistance and live in poverty, it said.Television is just one part of a teenager's media diet that helps to influence their behavior. We should also look at the roles that magazines, the Internet and music play in teens' reproductive health, Chandra said, acknowledging still other factors can influence teen sex habits.Living in a two-parent family reduced the chances of a teen getting pregnant or causing a pregnancy. Black teenagers, and those with discipline problems, had higher risks.The report suggested broadcasters provide more realistic portrayals of the consequences of sex and that parents limit their children's access to sexually explicit programing.A second study in the journal added to existing evidence that youths who play violent video games -- a worldwide trend with American children averaging 13 hours of video gaming a week -- led to increased physically aggressive behavior.Researchers from the United States and Japan evaluated more than 1,200 Japanese youths and 364 Americans between 9 and 18 years old and found a significant risk factor for later physically aggressive behavior ... across very different cultures.Aggressiveness in children is also associated with violence later on, according to the study by researchers from Iowa State University in Ames, the National Institute on Media and the Family in Minneapolis and Ochanomizu University and Keio University in Tokyo.(Editing by Todd Eastham)

METEORS HIT THE EARTH

REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!

Space junk falls harmlessly in South Pacific NOV 3,08

CANAVERAL, Fla. – A refrigerator-sized piece of space junk fell harmlessly into the South Pacific Sunday night, according to NASA.The junk was a tank full of ammonia coolant on the international space station that was no longer needed. Astronaut Clayton Anderson threw it overboard during a spacewalk in July 2007.Space station program manager Mike Suffredini said Monday that the debris splashed down somewhere between Australia and New Zealand Sunday night. The tank had served as a reserve supply of spare coolant at the space station since 2001.

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE (NOT THE WORLD) THE WORLD GOES ON FOREVER.

GENESIS 1:5,14
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:(ISRAELS HOLY DAYS AND SABBATH STARTS AT 6PM) And for SIGNS (PROPHECY SIGNS TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, OUR DAY)

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Strange Portal Connects Earth to Sun Senior Writer SPACE.com jeanna Bryner – Mon Nov 3, 8:31 am ET

AFP/NASA/File – File picture shows shows an ultraviolet image of the sun in something approaching true color. … Like giant, cosmic chutes between the Earth and sun, magnetic portals open up every eight minutes or so to connect our planet with its host star. Once the portals open, loads of high-energy particles can travel the 93 million miles (150 million km) through the conduit during its brief opening, space scientists say.Called a flux transfer event, or FTE, such cosmic connections not only exist but are possibly twice as common as anyone ever imagined, according to space scientists who attended the 2008 Plasma Workshop in Huntsville, Ala., last week. Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn't exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible, said David Sibeck, an astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

Dynamic bursts

Researchers have long known that the Earth and sun must be connected. For instance, particles from the sun are constantly whisked away via the solar wind and often follow magnetic field lines that connect the sun's atmosphere with terra firma. The field lines allow particles to penetrate Earth's magnetosphere, the magnetic bubble that surrounds our planet.We used to think the connection was permanent and that solar wind could trickle into the near-Earth environment anytime the wind was active, Sibeck said. We were wrong. The connections are not steady at all. They are often brief, bursty and very dynamic.Several speakers at the workshop outlined the formation of a flux transfer event. One idea is that on the side of Earth facing the sun, our magnetic field presses against the sun's magnetic field. And about every eight minutes, the two fields briefly reconnect, forming a portal through which particles can flow. The portal takes the form of a magnetic cylinder about as wide as Earth.Sibeck said to think of the FTE as a giant rolling pin that lies flat along the boundary between the Earth's and sun's magnetic fields. (He noted the rolling pin would have to be malleable so it could pierce through both magnetic fields while lying flat.)These FTEs kind of look like roller pins, and they form as little blob roller pins at the tip of the magnetosphere facing the sun, Sibeck told SPACE.com. They can't decide which way they're going to slide around the Earth, so they grow there into big roller pins and then they take off and sort of spirally roll along [Earth's magnetosphere] like you're pounding out dough.More than one FTE can form at once, he said, and they stay open for about 15 to 20 minutes.

More to learn

In order to measure such FTEs, spacecraft must not only catch them forming but also be on either end of the magnetic structures (either lengthwise or widthwise). In fact, the European Space Agency's fleet of four Cluster spacecraft and NASA's five THEMIS probes have flown through and surrounded these cylinders, measuring their dimensions and sensing the particles that shoot through, Sibeck said. While these measurements have nailed down the width of an FTE, the length is still uncertain though one measurement put it at up to five Earth radii. One Earth radius is about 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers).Astrophysicist Jimmy Raeder of the University of New Hampshire used those measurements to develop computer simulations of the portals. He found the cylindrical portals tend to form above Earth's equator and then in December, the FTEs would roll over the North Pole. In July, they roll over the South Pole.Sibeck thinks the events occur twice as often as previously thought, proposing two types of flux transfer events — active and passive. When the magnetic cylinders are active, they allow particles to flow through rather easily, forming important conduits of energy for Earth's magnetosphere, Sibeck said. When passive, the cylinders have more resistance to transiting particles. The internal structure of a passive cylinder makes it tougher for particles and magnetic fields to flow through. Sibeck has calculated the properties of passive FTEs and hopes he and his colleagues will hunt for signs of them in data collected with THEMIS and Cluster.The space scientists at the workshop still want to figure out why the portals form every eight minutes and how magnetic fields inside the cylinders twist and coil.

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 RUSSIA-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.

Report: Gadhafi offers Russia navy base Published: Nov. 3, 2008 at 9:43

MOSCOW, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Libya has offered to host a Russian naval base and plans to purchase billions of dollars in military hardware, Russian sources told the Kommersant newspaper.An unnamed Russian military official was quoted in the Moscow-based Kommersant business daily as saying Libya is ready to let the Russian Navy use a Libyan port as a guarantee of non-aggression against Libya from the United States, Med Basin Newsline reported Monday. The official told Kommersant that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is willing to host the Russians because the United States is not in a hurry to embrace Gadhafi despite gestures of reconciliation.Libya is also interested in buying air defense systems, combat aircraft and warships from Russia, Mikhail Dmitriyev, director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, told Med Basin Newsline. Gadhafi, who is on a three-day trip, was set Monday to meet with Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. Lukashenko greeted Gadhafi on his arrival in the country Sunday, RIA Novosti reported. 2008 United Press International, Inc.

Gadhafi seeks to build Russia biz ties
Published: Nov. 3, 2008 at 9:17

MOSCOW, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi says he wants to strengthen commercial ties with Russia, especially in the oil and gas sectors. After meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow over the weekend, Gadhafi told the Interfax news agency that he and Putin think alike about gas and oil policies and may be angling to play Russia off the United States for commercial and political advantages, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) quoted analysts as saying.

(Libyans) want to say, Look, we have options, Alex Turkeltaub, a managing director at Frontier Strategy Group, a risk consultancy firm, told the newspaper. This is a shot across the bow to the new administration in Washington.Putin said Russia and Libya were becoming closer and closer as Gadhafi made his first visit to Moscow since the fall of the Soviet Union. Gadhafi has been noncommittal on an offer by the Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom to buy all of Libya's natural gas production in a deal that could help Gazprom corner the European natural gas market, the Times said. Russia is reportedly trying to sweeten the deal by offering to provide Libya with a civilian nuclear research reactor.2008 United Press International, Inc

Iran marks U.S. embassy seizure, some ponder ties By Hossein Jaseb Mon Nov 3, 4:55 am ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iranians marked the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy on Monday, a day before Americans elect a new president, with some demonstrators indifferent to the U.S. vote and a few wondering if it could help rebuild ties.Iran has been a focus of the foreign policy debate in the U.S. campaign before Tuesday's vote. Both candidates, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain, say they will toughen sanctions. Obama says he is prepared to engage in direct talks.Kayhan International, a hardline English-language daily, said in a column that it did not matter who won the U.S. race.Hopefully either of the two would be presiding over the end of the U.S. domineering system, whose den of espionage was taken over this day in 1979 by Tehran University students, in a move that nipped in the bud the plots of the White House against the newfound Islamic Republic, it wrote on its front page.The United States cut ties with Tehran in 1980. Washington now says it is considering opening a U.S. interests section in Tehran, which would mean sending diplomats. It says this would show the United States was against Iran's government not people.But amid Death to America chants outside the former U.S. mission, some wondered if Tuesday's vote could bring change.There is a good possibility there would be a change in their outlook toward Iran with the coming of the new president. I am very optimistic, especially if Obama is elected, Ahmad Abdullahi, a 34-year-old school teacher, told Reuters.

He was among thousands gathered around the old embassy walls that radical students scaled on November 4, 1979, and then held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The Iranian date of the takeover was the 13th day of Aban, which this year falls on November 3.In my opinion, McCain will be president. Whoever becomes the president -- other than George Bush -- will be more logical, said Ramin Kermani, a 22-year-old chemistry student.Bush labeled Iran part of an axis of evil in 2002, a move that angered the Islamic Republic particularly after it helped in the 2001 U.S.-led war to topple Afghanistan's Taliban.Iranian analysts say officials in Tehran may privately prefer Obama but they are not counting on a major U.S. policy shift. Some demonstrators on Monday echoed that view.I don't think their imperialist instinct would allow any change in their behavior and demeanor toward Iran or any other country, said 71-year-old pensioner Aboutaleb Mirzaie.Debate in Iran about ties has grown as politicians start maneuvering before the Islamic Republic's own presidential race in June. Critics say President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has isolated Iran with his fiery speeches against Washington and the West.But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, put a damper on such discussion last week by saying Iran's hatred of America ran deep and differences were more than a few policies.

Yet Iranians insist their differences are with the White House not Americans -- a view shared by the Kayhan editorial.When a photographer tried to take a picture of one Iranian demonstrator, his subject shouted with a big smile: Don't take my picture, they won't give me a visa.(Additional reporting by Hashem Kalantari, Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

Libyan leader seeks arms and energy in Belarus By YURAS KARMANAU, Associated Press Writer NOV 3,08

MINSK, Belarus – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi joined Belarus' authoritarian president in lamenting U.S. dominance of world affairs Monday during a tour aimed at securing new weapons and energy deals in the former Soviet Union.Gadhafi is on a trip to Belarus, Russia and Ukraine that appears aimed at spurring competition between the countries for the best terms on arms and trade deals while seeking to rekindle the Cold War ties his energy-rich nation had with the Soviet Union.Gadhafi may also to be trying to increase the competitive pressure on Western companies, which have been seeking trading opportunities in Libya since it emerged from international isolation five years ago.Both Libya and Belarus have faced criticism from the U.S. and other Western countries for alleged violations of human rights.

The world has become unipolar because violations of the balance of power, Gadhafi said in the Belarusian capital. Nobody observes the principles of the United Nations, all international norms are being violated.Unipolar is a term frequently used in Russia, China and elsewhere to criticize U.S. foreign policies.We, like you, think that the world should be multipolar, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told Gadhafi.Russia's relations with Libya withered after the 1991 Soviet collapse, but Moscow has moved to rebuild ties.A leading Russian newspaper reported that Libya might offer to allow Russia ships to use the Mediterranean port of Benghazi — a deal that could soothe Moscow's irritation over slow progress in the weapons talks.

Access to the Libyan port would help Russia as its tries to revive a naval presence in the Mediterranean. A Russian naval squadron on its way to the Caribbean recently stopped in Tripoli and Russia naval engineers recently began restoring facilities at the Syria's port of Tartus.Western nations have also courted Libya, both for weapons deals and for access to its gas reserves.Attention from the West jumped after 2003 when Gadhafi ended years of international isolation by renouncing terrorism and efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month became the highest-level U.S. official to visit in 55 years.Russia faces competition from Belarus and Ukraine in selling arms to Libya. Belarus, meanwhile, seeking oil and gas from places other than Russia, has turned to Libya, Venezuela and others.

Lukashenko, who has been dubbed Europe's last dictator in the West, warmly welcomed Gadhafi, calling him Brother Moammar, and declaring that all ideas for cooperation are on the table between Belarus and Libya.The two leaders oversaw the signing of several agreements on taxes, communications and other areas. There was no mention of any weapons purchases or other military agreements.Still, former Defense Minister Pavel Kozlovsky said Lukashenko was likely to hide any potential military cooperation with Libya from public view.Warm relations with Lukashenko, and their status as world outcasts, can only help ... Belarus and Libya reach a deal, Kozlovsky told The Associated Press.

Chavez says Obama win could spur talks with US Sun Nov 2, 11:24 pm

ETCARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that he is willing to talk with Barack Obama if the Democratic candidate wins Tuesday's election.Chavez says that relations between Venezuela and the U.S., now at their lowest point in years, could improve in an Obama presidency.During a televised speech, Chavez said he would meet with Obama only on equal and respectful terms.

Alejandro Miyar, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, told The Associated Press on Sunday night that Hugo Chavez does not govern democratically and relations between our countries will not improve unless Venezuela respects democracy and the rule of law. That is the clear message that Barack Obama will deliver to Venezuela as president.Chavez ordered the U.S. ambassador out of Venezuela on Sept. 12, accusing the envoy of involvement in a purported assassination plot. U.S. officials deny it.He also recalled his ambassador from Washington and suggested that relations would not be fully restored until U.S. President George W. Bush leaves the White House.Hopefully with Obama, we will enter a new phase, Chavez said.

ISRAEL FREEDOM OF RELIGION

King Solomon's 3,000-Year-Old Copper Mine Discovered?

The wise Solomon was Israel's 3rd king from 965 BC to 925 BC, the son of King David (from the story of David and Goliath), and the owner of an enormous harem and incommensurate wealth gathered by means of mining and trading. H. Rider Haggard's best-selling novel, King Solomon's Mines, fueled the imagination of hundreds of treasure hunters searching for the hidden wealth of gold and diamonds described to have been contained in the depths of the mining shafts.During the 1970s and the 1980s, some digs in the region of the Jordan Valley known as Khirbat en-Nahas, (Arabic for ruins of copper) uncovered an ancient giant copper mine. The research performed at the time indicated that the metalworking activities took place on the site sometimes during the 7th century BC, ruling out the possibility of King Solomon's involvement in any way. Still, based on recent findings and technology, Dr. Thomas Levy from the University of California in San Diego, together with Mohammed Najjar from Jordan's Friends of Archeology, has managed to date the mine to the 10th century BC, in the time of Solomon's rule.The site is comprised of about 100 buildings and a fortress amidst a 24-acre (0.0375 square miles, or 0.097 square kilometers) area, all covered in black slag and large enough to be spotted by satellite. The dating was also backed up by the discovery of an Egyptian scarab and amulet from the same period. We have evidence that complex societies were indeed active in the 10th and 9th centuries BC, and that brings us back to the debate about the historicity of the Bible narratives related to this period, Dr. Levy explains.

The finding will shed new light on the old topic of the Old Testament's historical validity and accuracy, since it provides some interesting data that coincides both with Bible writings and with historical records. We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us. But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible, states Levy.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE----PRESS RELEASE----FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Moshe Feiglin Co-Founder & President Contact: Rob Muchnick, US Director
(516) 779-7420 (cell phone)rmuchnick@manhigut.org Shmuel Sackett Co-Founder & International Director

Israel Provides Freedom of Religion For All - Except Jews
October 29, 2008.

The Israeli Declaration of Independence guarantees freedom of religion in Israel for all peoples. Or does it? Last week, during the festival of Sukkot, the democratic and enlightened rulers of Israel arrested Rabbi Yehuda Glick, head of the Temple Mount Institute. His crime was simply that the police thought that he was going to pray on the Temple Mount - Judaism's holiest site. When the Israeli Defense Forces liberated Jerusalem from the Arab enemy in 1967, Moshe Dayan immediately ordered the Israeli flag taken down from the Mount. As he stated, it was not his dream for the Israelis to become attached to their Jewish roots. Dayan and the secular Israeli leadership wanted nothing to interfere with the new Jew that they had created in the state of Israel. They figured that if Israelis became attached to their biblical heritage, then they would be less inclined to vote for the ultra-secular, socialist Labor party and he therefore gave control over the site of G-d's house to the Islamic Wakf. Shockingly, none of the Prime Ministers since then have taken back the Mount, and to this day, a Jew will be immediately arrested by Israeli police if he dares to pray on the Temple Mount.Just as Rabbi Glick was waiting on line to ascend to the Temple Mount when he was arrested, Jews faithful to the Land of Israel, to G-d and to Am Yisrael are waiting in line for leadership that uses Jewish values to guide its actions.

Rob Muchnick, US Director(516) 779-7420 (cell phone)rmuchnick@manhigut.org
The Manhigut Yehudit website is www.jewishisrael.org

SPEECH BY SOLANA
http://www.girodivite.it/IMG/pdf/103646.pdf

Nato: speech by NATO Secretary General at the University of Chisinau Chisinau, Moldova - 30 October 2008 Chisinau, Moldova – 30 October 2008 Thursday 30 October 2008, by Emanuele G. - 78 letture

Ambassadors,Ladies and Gentlemen,Dear Students,

I am pleased to be back in Chisinau today. I was here relatively early on during my tenure as NATO Secretary General, and I have been looking forward to coming back. Thank you, Dr. Ciocanu, for welcoming me to Chisinau University, and thank you all for attending.The NATO Alliance that I have the privilege to represent will turn 60 next year. Most people will try to slow down a bit when they approach that age. But NATO is busier than ever. As many as 50,000 of our soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan alone, to provide security so that development and democracy can flourish. But we are also keeping the peace in Kosovo. NATO ships are patrolling the Mediterranean in an naval anti-terrorist mission. And, off the coast of Somalia, we have just recently started to escort World Food Program vessels and to help protect international shipping against acts of piracy.At the same time, the Alliance is also making its unique capabilities and experience available in other areas. We are assisting defence reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are training Iraqi and Afghan security forces. We are assisting the African Union, including with airlifts to Somalia and AU forces in and out of Darfur. And we have played a role in some major disaster response and humanitarian relief operations, including after the floods which hit Moldova this summer.But even as NATO focuses on challenges far away from our own borders, we are not forgetting that there are unresolved issues closer to home.It has been and remains a longstanding objective of the Alliance to help create a European continent that is whole, free and at peace – by reaching out to countries all across our continent, offering them assistance and encouragement, and helping them to find their own place in a peaceful, democratic Europe. Moldova deserves its place in a peaceful and democratic Europe. Moldova has a clear european vocation.

In the Balkans, that commitment is clearly bearing fruit. With NATO’s help, all the countries in the region are now finding their rightful place among the European family of nations. Several have joined the Alliance and the European Union already, while others have made good progress in that direction.Elsewhere in Europe, however, several countries find it harder to break with the past and to chart their own future – not least because others try to decide that future for them. Georgia is a case in point. NATO has stood by Georgia through the crisis in August. We have supported the settlement negotiated by the European Union Presidency - I commend the French European Presidency for that - with the Georgian and Russian Presidents and will continue to urge its full implementation. We will continue to urge respect for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. And we will continue to support Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.Like Georgia, your neighbour Ukraine has strong Euro-Atlantic aspirations as well, which NATO also supports. That is why we continue to engage in political dialogue with Ukraine, and to assist the implementation of difficult reforms, in particular the modernisation of its defence structures.Having said this, NATO is keen to assist and cooperate with all countries in Europe, and to pursue an active political dialogue with each, regardless of whether they wish or do not wish to join the Alliance. And this very much applies to the Republic of Moldova as well.We understand, of course, and respect, of course, the importance of Moldova’s constitutional neutrality. As a matter of fact, NATO has several neutral countries among its most active Partner nations – including Switzerland and Sweden.

And I am very glad that our political dialogue and practical cooperation with Moldova has increased as well these last few years, especially since your country concluded a first Individual Partnership Action Plan – or IPAP – with NATO back in 2006.Much of our cooperation is focused on the reform of Moldova’s defence establishment – to make it more effective, accountable and relevant to 21st century requirements. The adoption of a National Security Concept earlier this year was a major step forward. We hope that it will be followed soon by several additional documents to guide the reform process further, such as a Strategic Defence Review and a National Military Strategy.It will be important to keep the reform process going, to continue with the elaboration of these documents, to work on a new IPAP, and to build on the progress that has already been achieved – including in reforming your Military Institute and strengthening the Peacekeeping Training Centre. And so I sincerely hope for continued political support – before and after next year’s elections – to drive the process forward.Let me add that this will not only be in your own national interest, but also help to boost security more broadly. Moldova’s commitment of five helicopters to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan shows that even relatively small nations can help to provide security well beyond their own region. And Moldova is to be commended for that contribution.

NATO’s expertise is not limited to hard, military matters, and neither is our cooperation with Moldova. For example, we helped to coordinate assistance from a number of Allied and Partner nations following the floods which struck your country this past summer. Several NATO nations and agencies work together with the OSCE to repackage and destroy stocks of hazardous chemicals and fertilizers, so they do not harm your environment. And we have cooperated on the establishment of the NATO Information Centre here at the University of Chisinau, to promote the dissemination of information and improve understanding about NATO and what it does.In addition to our practical cooperation, NATO and Moldova have also engaged in closer political dialogue. President Voronin and Moldovan Government Ministers have come to NATO meetings and our Headquarters in Brussels several times. My Special Representative, Ambassador Simmons, has also maintained a continuous and active dialogue, that I was able to build upon in my own talks here today with the President, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence. And I hope that political engagement will continue after the elections next year, because it is vital to a further deepening and broadening of our partnership.Regrettably, the unresolved issue of Transnistria continues to cast a shadow over the future of your country. And it is on that issue, as well, that continued high-level political engagement will be vital, by all the different parties concerned.The NATO Allies have always expressed their support for the territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Moldova on a number of occasions. But the mandate and expertise to try and resolve the Transnistria issue rests with the OSCE and those involved in the 5+2 negotiation process, not with NATO. I will say that the Government of Moldova is to be commended for its strong commitment to a peaceful resolution of the issue, and its pragmatic attempts to put new ideas on the table. And we also appreciate its consistent position regarding the Adapted Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, which is crucial to maintaining military transparency and predictability throughout our continent.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

The NATO Alliance that I represent is changing fast. We are responding to a range of new security challenges. And we are reaching out to engage other nations and institutions in a comprehensive approach to those challenges.At the same time, we are not losing sight of challenges closer to home. We remain determined to contribute to the creation of a Europe that is whole, free and at peace. And we want Moldova to find its rightful place right at the heart of that Europe.You are the future of Moldova. You students, the younger generation, are the future of Moldova. Your generation has most to gain from the path of democracy, reform and integration. And so I hope that you – as well – will play your full part in keeping your country on that path, and heading towards a better future.I would like to answer your questions and engage in a debate with you, students, here today.Thank you.Nato

Saturday, 1st November 2008 Muslim scholars to meet Pope Benedict next week
Tom Heneghan, Reuters

Muslim scholars make a rare visit to the Vatican next week to discuss with Pope Benedict and Roman Catholic experts how to overcome mutual suspicion and ignorance between Christianity and Islam.Twenty-four signatories of A Common Word, a Muslim call to dialogue with Christianity issued last year, will assemble in Rome from around the Islamic world for talks between Tuesday and Thursday, the first annual meeting of a new Catholic-Muslim Forum.The meeting, following talks with US Protestants in July and Anglicans earlier last month, will take place one week before Saudi King Abdullah visits the UN to promote a parallel interfaith dialogue he launched last summer.These meetings reflect a new urgency Muslim leaders have felt in recent years after the September 11 attacks, the clash of civilisations theory and Pope Benedict's Regensburg speech showed a widening gap between the world's two largest faiths.Common Word signatories say their meetings have forged new bonds with Christians, including US evangelicals wary about Islam, and helped both sides shed stereotypes to see shared teaching about the need to love God and neighbour.We go to Rome with an open heart and good spirit and hope to achieve more and more in the months to come, said Libyan theologian Aref Ali Nayed, senior adviser to the Cambridge Interfaith Programme.

SAYS MILF LEADER Moro agency gets World Bank funds By Jeoffrey Maitem, Edwin Fernandez Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 07:57:00 11/01/2008

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao, Philippines -- (UPDATE) A non-government organization identified with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has received P21-million from the World Bank, an MILF leader said Saturday.The release of the fund came in the wake of claims by unidentified sources, which some newspapers except the Inquirer have reported on, that the Bangsamoro Development Agency has been buying firearms on behalf of the Moro rebel group.North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol said the World Bank assistance to the BDA, despite reports it was engaged in weapons procurement for the rebel group, was questionable.Why would the World Bank give funding to a rebel organization that we even wanted tagged as terrorist? I don't know what the WB intention is, Piñol told the Inquirer by phone.But Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, told the Inquirer that the money will be used for the rehabilitation of projects destroyed by the renewed armed conflict in Maguindanao and other areas.He said it was impossible for the BDA, headed by Danda Juanday, to divert the money to arms procurement as the development NGO does not even handle funds in the first place.Besides, Iqbal said the BDA was not put up to beef up the MILF's armory.He said the BDA, which was put up in connection with the peace process, only coordinates with other people's organizations for the implementation of development projects in conflict areas.We and the WB will also closely monitor the implementation of the projects. The BDA will not handle the money, he said.The WB also dismissed reports that the BDA uses World Bank and other funds to buy firearms for the MILF.A similar denial was also issued by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), which also assists the BDA in the implementation of social projects in conflict-affected areas.It's up to them. The WB is in a better position to assess their projects, Piñol said.

As this developed, the military said sporadic firefights continued in Maguindanao and the latest took place while Armed Forces chief General Alexander Yano was visiting the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division in Shariff Kabunsuan on Friday.Colonel Julieto Ando, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division, said three soldiers were wounded while 19 MILF rebels were killed in the clashes that occurred in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town starting at mid-afternoon on Friday.Ando said the clashes, which lasted until late in the night, started when Moro rebels attacked an outpost of the Army's 64th Infantry Battalion near the village of Tee around 2 p.m.

With more MILF rebels reinforcing, he said the military called in air support to push back the advancing rebels.Ando said the military also used artillery against the rebels.Colonel Marlou Salazar, commander of the Army's 601st Infantry Brigade, said MILF forces under Ameril Ombra Kato have shifted to hit-and-run tactics because their supply of ammunition was running low.Since August, the military has been pounding rebel positions in the marshy areas of Maguindanao following MILF attacks that killed nearly a dozen civilians in Aleosan and Pikit towns in North Cotabato.

A similar operation is also being conducted in the Lanao areas against MILF leader Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo for allegedly attacking several towns in Lanao Del Norte, also in August.More than 60 civilians have been killed since the renewed fighting erupted, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council. The new wave of violence was triggered by the cancellation of signing ceremonies for the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the MILF last August 5.About 600,000 individuals were also displaced in the affected provinces.The International Committee of the Red Cross said the number of evacuees continues to swell as punitive government actions against Kato and Bravo continue.

IMF,WB should be reformed to reflect contemporary realities'
1 Nov, 2008, 2025 hrs IST, PTI

TEHRAN: Citing the global economic crisis, India today said the approach of international financial institutions like IMF and World Bank was no more
relevant and these bodies should be reformed to reflect the contemporary realities.

Addressing the India-Iran Joint Business Council meeting here, External Affairs Minister Pranab Muikherjee said the financial crisis that has gripped the world threatens to be worse than that witnessed in the 1930s. We are meeting at a time when there is crisis worldover in the financial sector, he told the gathering of senior executives of top business establishments of the two countries here. Noting that the crisis had particularly hit the banking sector and stock markets, Mukherjee said if remedies had to found in real terms, there should be relook at the international financial and economic structures. He pointed out that the UN financial bodies like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank had been established in 1945 in the post-World War II era to provide help in reconstruction activities across the globe. Their approaches have lost their relevance in the contemporary situation, the External Affairs Minister said and stressed these should be reformed so that they are in tune with today's realities. Iranian Economic and Finance Minister Shamseddin Hossain, while referring to the financial crisis, said Iran and India had been left untouched by the meltdown because of their correct policies. He underlined the need for closer cooperation between the two countries to meet the situation and ensure their economic stability.

Russia, Libya ready to discuss major joint projects - Putin 01.11.2008, 19.52

MOSCOW, November 1 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia and Libya are prepared to discuss major joint projects and initiatives, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Libyan Revolution leader Muammar al-Gaddafi on Saturday. All of us present here today will discuss major projects and initiatives. I am confident that your visit will be a good stimulus for the development of relations in all areas, primarily trade, economic, scientific and technological fields, Putin said. Much has been done to not only restore but create the basis for progressive development of Russian-Libyan relations in the future, he said, adding that al-Gaddafi and he had discussed in a narrow format a number of strategic issues regarding the development of bilateral relations. These are not just talks. These are talks between strategic partners, the Libyan leader said. We express satisfaction with the level of bilateral relations and believe they need to be developed further, including in terms of actions on the African continent, he said. Al-Gaddafi said he talks with Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev inspired big interest.

* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * * UNCONFIRMED: WAS EARTHQUAKE IN IRAN A NUCLEAR TEST? Plus: Israeli elections coming soon. By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., October 31, 2008) -- Let me begin by saying I am hesitant to send this to you because it is an unconfirmed report, and I hope it is wrong. But I wanted you to at least be aware and we'll track the story together in the coming days. An Israeli news service is reporting this morning that an earthquake in Iran last weekend may have been triggered by an Iranian nuclear weapons test, citing an Iranian nuclear scientist working on the project as its source. This past Saturday night, southern Iran experienced what was reported as a significant earthquake - a seismic event measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, reports Arutz Sheva/Israel National News, attributing the story first to the Israel Insider website. Its epicenter was just north of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, which separates Iran from Abu Dhabi and Oman and which is the gateway to the Persian Gulf. The report quotes an Iranian nuclear scientist who claims to be working in uranium enrichment for the project, and who said that the 'quake' was acutally an undergound nuclear bomb test. Israel Insider adds that the test/quake was actually the second in a series. Nine days ago, a 4.8 Richter scale event occurred, with its epicenter only five kilometers away from the weekend tremor. The Israel Insider source reports that two nuclear rockets are currently ready - and are intended for use against Israel in the coming months. If the report is correct, it would belie previous speculation that Iran would not begin nuclear testing until it had more nuclear-bomb production capability.

Let me stress again that this is an unconfirmed report. While the Associated Press did report a 5.0 earthquake in Iran this past weekend, as of 7:30am eastern on Friday the allegation that the quake was connected to Iranian nuclear testing has not been picked up by other major Israeli news services such as the Jerusalem Post, Ynet, or Haaretz. At the very least, let's keep praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and preparing to care for those in the epicenter who would be severely affected if war is coming soon. Meanwhile, Israelis will soon head to the polls to choose a new prime minister and a new parliament (Knesset). Kadima leader Tzipi Livni was unable to put together a governing coalition to replace the outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. So Israel will hold national elections on February 10th. Livni, who is currently the country's Foreign Minister, will square off against former Prime Minister Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu. Please be praying that the Lord's will would be done in Israel as well as here in the U.S. with our own critically important elections coming next Tuesday. Americans and Israelis desperately need leaders like the men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. (I Chronicles 12:32) [By the way, on was on CBN's 700 Club yesterday to discuss the Iranian nuclear threat to Israel. I will post a transcript on the weblog when that is available.]

Iranian Nuke Scientist: Weekend Quake was a Nuclear Test

A weekend 5.0 Richter earthquake in Iran was actually a nuclear bomb test, says an Iranian nuclear scientist claiming to be working on the project.This past Saturday night, southern Iran experienced what was reported as a significant earthquake - a seismic event measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was just north of the strategic Straits of Hormuz, which separates Iran from Abu Dhabi and Oman and which is the gateway to the Persian Gulf.The report quotes an Iranian nuclear scientist who claims to be working in uranium enrichment for the project, and who said that the quake was actually an underground nuclear bomb test. Israel Insider adds that the test/quake was actually the second in a series. Nine days ago, a 4.8 Richter scale event occurred, with its epicenter only five kilometers away from the weekend tremor.The Israel Insider source reports that two nuclear rockets are currently ready - and are intended for use against Israel in the coming months.

If the report is correct, it would belie previous speculation that Iran would not begin nuclear testing until it had more nuclear-bomb production capability. The geographical location of the test has several advantages. It is exposed to significant seismic activity, which could serve to mask nuclear tests; it is believed to be close to Iran's nuclear development facility; delivery and transport of material and personnel can be effected easily through the Hormuz Strait; and Iranian enemies would hesitate to bomb the area because that would threaten the flow of a substantial percentage of the world's oil.Reuters reports Thursday morning that Iran has begun building a line of naval bases along its southern coast and up to the Straits of Hormuz.

Muslims behead Christian convert from Islam in Somalia

Among at least 24 aid workers killed in Somalia this year was one who was beheaded last month specifically for converting from Islam to Christianity, among other charges, according to an eyewitness.Muslim extremists from the al Shabab group fighting the transitional government on Sept. 23 sliced the head off of Mansuur Mohammed, 25, a World Food Program (WFP) worker, before horrified onlookers of Manyafulka village, 10 kilometers (six miles) from Baidoa.The militants had intercepted Mohammed and a WFP driver, who managed to escape, earlier in the morning. Sources close to Mohammed’s family said he converted from Islam to Christianity in 2005.The eyewitness, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the militants that afternoon gathered the villagers of Manyafulka, telling them that they would prepare a feast for them. The people gathered anticipating the slaughter of a sheep, goat or camel according to local custom.Five masked men emerged carrying guns, wielding Somali swords and dragging the handcuffed Mohammed. One pulled back Mohammed’s head, exposing his face as he scraped his sword against his short hair as if to sharpen it. Another recited the Quran as he proclaimed that Mohammed was a murtid, an Arabic term for one who converts from Islam to Christianity.The Muslim militant announced that Mohammed was an infidel and a spy for occupying Ethiopian soldiers.

Mohammed remained calm with an expressionless face, never uttering a word, said the eyewitness. As the chanting of “Allah Akubar [God is greater]” rose to a crescendo, one of the militiamen twisted his head, allowing the other to slit his neck. When the head was finally severed from the torso, the killers cheered as they displayed it to the petrified crowd.The militants allowed one of their accomplices to take a video of the slaughter using a mobile phone. The video was later circulated secretly and sold in Somalia and in neighboring countries in what many see as a strategy to instill fear among those contemplating conversion from Islam to Christianity.

Unconfirmed reports indicated that a similar incident took place in Lower Juba province of Somalia in July, when Christians found with Bibles were publicly executed. Their families fled to Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, and such killings are forcing other Christians to flee to neighboring Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The CARMEL ALERT Oct 31st 2008 A compilation of news reports from the past week for the information of those committed to praying for Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people.

Guest Comment: How Great is Our God ? Rolf Piller - Germany
Ezekiel 37:14 (a) I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, (b) and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it, says the LORD.(NKJV)

A partial fulfillment of this verse (b) is already taking place. How soon can we anticipate (a) to be fulfilled and the blindness as to Yeshua Messiah to be lifted? I don't know, but I guess it will go according to His plan and not to our limited expectations, because we are either too timid or rushing too far ahead, in any case we bring it not in line with His Word. I fully agree with what Errol Francis wrote in last weeks comment, the rapture, whenever it is going to take place is not a event exclusively for the Church, but for the whole body of the Messiah. Pre-tribulation seems to be a popular escape route amongst Christians, that is anti-semitic at its heart, amidst many scriptures that indicate that it is the very challenge for the believing Church to go through a terrible tribulation (see Matthew 24:4-12; Mark 13:10-26; Luke 21:8-28; John 15:18-20) and in doing so we will see His greatness revealed in and through us. I have come to believe that Ezekiel 36: 22-28 is at the core of His plan for the salvation of the Jewish people. v22 Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. We as the body need to understand that God's reason for doing this is based on His COVENANT, that will not be broken. He does it for His holy name's sake and in doing so it will have a dramatic effect on the gentiles, they will realize that God keeps His promises and they will turn to Him. v24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.

Bringing every Jewish person back to His land, the land of the forefathers, will be a great testimony to the nations. Now, some will think I am crazy but I am convinced this means all the tribes in full number and not just a represention of it. Where does my claim come from? Let us look at Ez 39:28, (Ez 39:28) then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. Now, none is none, or do I misunderstand something? That menas that every Jewish person on this planet will return to Israel. You will perhaps ask, Rolf, are you aware of the size of the present day country and all the problems with water, etc.? Yes, I am and I know that God has the answer to all this questions, so we don't need to worry about them. Look with me to Genesis 15:18: On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates ­ This makes roughly 2.5 million square kilometre, plenty of room for those living there and those joining them from across the globe! How God is going to do that? I don't know and I don't care,because that is His reponsibilty and I am not going to interfere with Him. You are still worrying, will that not creat a water problem? Yes, it would, but have you read that HE said, I will make rivers in the desert. My friend, when God plans somrthing HE takes care even for the smallest item, so rest in peace and enjoy what He is going to do with His chosen people. v25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Then indicates a sequence, first coming and that is then followed by the cleansing from sin, a new heart and a new spirit. God, how great thou art ! v26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. v27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. v28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.

So, to me that will be the time when Romans 11:25-26 will be fulfilled, and so all Israel shall be saved. And that their salvation would bring in the greatest soul harvest ever. The revival I anticipate is in line with the prophecy Yeshua did in Matthew 23:39 and Psalm 118.26, blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. They Messianic community will then already be accepting that Yeshua is the Messiah, before His coming. In anticipation they will be calling, well before that occasion, It will not be for them; that Israel will be in such a desperate position under antichrist, with Armageddon's armies gathering, that they have to make this call or perish. (Matthew 24:21-22)There will be still people from all nations that continue to resist the Lord (Rev 22:11) in the day of decision (Joel 3:14). But those that turn to Him now, will not be astonished when they view Him standing of the Mt. of Olives and acknowledge it is Him who their forefathers pierced. (John 19:37 & Zech12:9-13). And that the Christian Saviour is the Messiah of Israel as well! I am convinced that is the message a Rabbi friend tried to pass on, as he asked, Would it not be wonderful if we both could watch the Messiah coming in Jerusalem? In the meantime we should not grow tired to pray for the Jewish people who still have a blindness to Yeshua. This will be removed when the fullness of the gentiles comes in (Rom 11:25) and all His people are back to the land. The present shaking in the finacial world is a picture of what God could allow to happen to shaken the Jews in the West from flesh pots of Egypt. It could mean that the American nation will turn totally against the Jewish people, driving them out of the land, for they will serve as a scapegoat for the economic development.It is convincing that in Daniel 12:1 that when the end time deliverance comes to the children of thy people, (Israel) every one that shall be found written in the book. This confirms that they will have acknowledged Yeshua as their Messiah, just like Gentile Christians had to do. Their names will be in the Book of Life! There will be one redeemed body of God's people (Isa 65:9, Gal 3:28 & Col 3:11).The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to th Jewish people by the God of Israel Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for our son Jordan, and all of his fellow soldiers in the IDF. Shabbat Shalom .... David & Josie.

Anti-Israel Sentiment Grows in Germany

Israeli Foreign Ministry officials are concerned about increasing anti-Israel sentiment in Germany.While German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her country's strong support for the Jewish state, public opinion against Israel is beginning to sway government officials.Israeli officials fear that the public's anti-Israel mood will take its toll on Germany's willingness to stand behind Israel, especially with the increasing threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.The Germans are filled with prejudice against Israel. Our public relations delegates are pulling their hair out in frustration when they meet young and old people there, a senior official told YNet news.More than once, they hear remarks like,That's not your country,It's a shame that a Jewish country was established on stolen land,Israel is treating the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews, We are equally responsible for the Palestinians as we are for the Jews, he said.During a recent meeting of the Israel-Germany Friendship Youth Forum, a number of participants disagreed with isolating Iran despite the Islamic Republic's nuclear arms program, reported a staff member at the Israeli Embassy in Berlin.Germany does more business with Iran than any other European country, with projected exports of 4 billion euros in 2008.

Russia blasted at NATO conference - Summary Posted : Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:15:00 GMT Author : DPA

Riga - The foreign and domestic policies of the Russian government continued to receive a mauling in the Latvian capital, Riga, Saturday with a trio of presidents joining other political figures in criticism of the Kremlin at a NATO-sponsored conference. President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia claimed former Russian President Vladimir Putin had told him he would make us Northern Cyprus long before territorial disputes in South Ossetia turned into armed conflict in August.

Saakshvili reiterated that he was in no way to blame for his country's August war with Russia, calling accusations that he had acted first a total lie.He said that the consequences of the conflict were far from over. If Georgia was to fall, by 2013 Russia would control 60 per cent more oil and gas than they do now, Saakashvili predicted. Once they feel that they are through it, that they have digested it, that's when we'll have trouble.The Georgian president also warned his Latvian and Estonian counterparts, Valdis Zatlers and Toomas Hendrik Ilves, that the insurance policy of their NATO membership remains untested. I hope that it works, he said.

Earlier on Saturday afternoon, Boris Nemtsov, a one-time deputy prime minister of Russia under Vladimir Putin and now a leading opponent of his former boss, said: Putinism means monopoly. Monopoly means corruption, no competition and no transparency. The only way to improve relations with Russia is to democratize Russia, Nemtsov said, adding that television was the most important of the Russian government's monopolies to such an extent that even his own mother had been persuaded to back Dmitry Medvedev as president. He also claimed the Kremlin seriously intends the rouble to overtake the dollar and euro as the main world currency with Moscow as the financial centre of the world. Five presidents were originally slated to appear at the Riga conference but President Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania and President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine both cancelled to deal with pressing domestic matters, leaving presidents Zatlers of Latvia, Ilves of Estonia and Saakashvili of Georgia as the most prominent attendees. respective author or news agency

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE NOV 2,08

In the last two newsletters we have covered what the New Birth is, and have showed that God demands the New Birth for us. Starting this week we want to look as the results of the New Birth.John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, repeatedly preached on the subject, Ye must be born again. On one occasion a listener approached this servant of God and said, Don't you know anything else except, Ye must be born again? Wesley smiled and replied, Certainly, but the reason I preached on John 3:7, Ye must be born again, so often is because Jesus said, Ye must be born again.

Results of The New Birth

One can only be born again or from above if his theological concept of Christ is accurate. First John 5:1 states, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.... What a power-filled statement.Why? you ask.

Because Jesus means Saviour (see Matthew 1:21) and Christ means Sent One. Therefore, one must believe that the Saviour is the Sent One or a born again experience becomes impossible. Involved in the terminology, Sent One, is the eternal deity of Christ. One must believe that He always existed, yea was the preexistent God, the second member of the Trinity. One must believe that He was...from everlasting (Micah 5:2) and was sent to earth to inhabit a blood-filled body to die for sinners. That's why Galatians 4:4 states, But when the fullness of time was come [the time for God's plan to be enacted, see Revelation 13:81, God SENT [not created, but SENT] forth his Son.... If He sent Him, Christ preexisted, for one cannot be sent if he is nonexistent.Now this Sent One came to Bethlehem's manger to die upon Calvary's tree. Yes, He took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:7, 8). No other Christ suffices. He must be the virgin born, blood covered; resurrected God-man or salvation is impossible. Believing this and receiving Him makes one born of God. This in turn produces three results.

Holiness

First, the birth by the Spirit produces holiness. First John 3:9 declares, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Greek scholars teach that the word commit should be translated practice.This is so because a Christian may still slip or do wrong. Believers still have fleshly natures until the day of redemption. Then Christ raptures our old vile bodies into His presence (see Philippians 3:20).Presently, this old nature is constantly at war with the newly produced nature received at salvation. Paul described the battle in Romans 7 and also in Galatians 5:17. He says . . . the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that [you] cannot do the thing that [you] would. However, victory through the indwelling Spirit is possible for verse 16 states, Walk in the Spirit, and [you] shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.It must be obvious to all Christians that there is a constant battle to be fought. Paul wasn't whistling in the wind when he said, I have fought a good fight... (2 Timothy 4:71. He knew the danger of egotistically shouting, I could never do wrong. for he again declared in 1 Corinthians 10:12. ...let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.We see, then, that it is possible for any child of God to commit sin but impossible for the genuine believer to live a life of sin. This is true because his seed [the Holy Spirit] remaineth in him: and he cannot [practice] sin, because he is BORN OF GOD (1 John 3:9). When one is truly saved, Christ and the Holy Spirit enter one's heart and life simultaneously. That's right ... if any man have not the Spirit of Christ; he is none of [Christ's] (Romans 8:9). This blessed Spirit, living within the believer, becomes grieved (see Ephesians 4:30) and quenched (see 1 Thessalonians 5:19) when the smallest infraction of God's commands occurs. The Spirit's grief, in turn, becomes the believer's heartache as he feels what the internally dwelling Spirit experiences. This elucidates our previously discussed text which says, Whosoever is BORN OF GOD doth not commit sin; for his seed [the Holy Spirit] remaineth in him: and he cannot [practice] sin, because he is born of God (1 John 3:9).Let's go a step farther. If one is miserable over sin but continues to walk in disobedience to God, the offender gets a spiritual spanking. Hebrews 12:5-8 declares, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth EVERY SON whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you, as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof ALL are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

This spiritual spanking, administered to every son (verse 6), yea all disobedient children (verse 8), is for one purpose and one purpose only. ...that we might be partakers of his HOLINESS (verse 10). We see, then, that it is God's supreme desire that His children live holy lives. This is in accordance with their new birth experience. Salvation produces holiness. Second Timothy 1:9 states, [God] hath SAVED us, and CALLED us with an HOLY calling.... Again, .. .God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto HOLINESS (1 Thessalonians 4:7).That's why Romans 6:4 states that we have been raised unto ...NEWNESS of life, and why 2 Corinthians 5:17 adds ... if ANY MAN be in Christ, he is a NEW creature: old things are passed away; behold, ALL THINGS are become NEW. This is a direct result of receiving Christ. Let me explain this truth with an analogy of the physical birth. When one is born, he receives the nature of each parent. The mixture of the genes means that both parents' traits are combined in their co-mingled product. The mean, grumpy nature comes from dad, and the sugar and spice and everything nice traits from mom-to hear some ladies tell it! Ha! The combining of the two natures within the finished product results from human generation.Likewise, when one is 'born from above, or born of the Spirit, he receives God's nature through REGENERATION (see Titus 3:5). As the child received the nature of his parents through generation, the believer receives the nature of God through regeneration. This is what makes holiness possible. Since one has become a partaker of the divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:4) and since God is holy (see 2 Peter 1:16), the nature of God within the newly formed babe in Christ is divine and holy.It certainly does not take any ingenuity to see that God within produces holy living. HIS HOLINESS rubs off and must be reflected in His children. The Bible commands this holiness of life through conversion. ...[you] shall be holy, for l am holy... (Leviticus 1:44).... thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God... (Deuteronomy 7:6). They shall be called Thy holy people, The redeemed of the Lord... (Isaiah 62:12). Paul pleads with the people of God to walk according to their standing, saying, . . .yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness (Romans 6:19).The Apostle was concerned because he wanted all of God's people to share the joyous hour when Christ presents us holy and unblamable (see Colossians 1:22). Colossians 3:12 informs believers that they, as the election of God, are holy and beloved. They are ...holy brethren... (Hebrews 3:1). Elected to such a high calling, we are to, Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). One's holy walk and talk proves that genuine salvation has occurred.

Strange, is it not, that denominations who push election the hardest are usually the cocktail-sipping, tobacco-sucking crowd. Beloved, election is unto holiness! He chose us ...in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be HOLY... (Ephesians 1:4). Preaching and teaching about predestination and election is naught but empty platitudes and vain repetition if the life of holiness is missing. In other words-pardon my grammatical error-you ain't got it! Why? Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.Now back to the original premise. Genuine believers may slip and fall, but they do not remain in the mud of sin for months and years. The apostle John harmoniously ties the two teachings, already considered, together by saying, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. However, He that [practices] sin is of the devil... (1 John 1:8 and 3:8). Make the distinction God does, and the pieces of the puzzle fit the picture.In the light of what has just been discussed, let's consider the outcome of practicing sin. Multitudes think that walking an aisle, signing a card, and sending one's photograph for baptism constitutes a salvation experience. Soothed and salved by such religious pilgrimages to the altar or prayer room, they continue the practice of every abominable degradation known.Regardless of their decadent lifestyle, all is well because once-upon-a time they made a beeline to the altar. Unfortunately, all they gained by it was exercise, not an experience. The move made, the practicing sinners rest in an unexperienced experience and they will die as unconverted converts. How deceived they are! How sad they will be at the judgment when Christ cries, I NEVER knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:23).As I preach such convicting truth I realize that some sin-laden worldlings are angry. They are crying, Christian liberty, Christian liberty. Ah, but Christian liberty is never a driver's license to steer one's life into the pathways of sin! Others lament, We are under grace and thus are able to do anything and everything. Ah, but grace does not allow for a lifetime of disgrace! The Apostle of grace dogmatically teaches this.

Strange as it may seem to some, Paul's grace message concerning sin is identical to John's legalistic discourse about iniquity. Why not? God wrote all of the Bible. He used Paul, John, and others-even their personalities and vocabularies-but He guided every word into place (2 Peter 1:2 1). As a result, Paul, as well as John, makes it clear that one cannot love sin, desire sin chase sin, live in sin, and check into a sinless heaven. Though any Christian can commit any sin at any time, Paul nevertheless concludes that there must be evidence of a new nature constantly battling against an old nature if one has been born again. No evidence-no experience with God! It's that simple.This is so because the Spirit of God becomes grieved (see Ephesians 4:30) and quenched (see 1 Thessalonians 5:19) when believers sin. The believer, in turn, shares the grief produced by the indwelling Spirit. Then, if he continues in sin, he is spanked spiritually (see Hebrews 12:5) and may die prematurely (see 1 John 5:16), going home ashamed (see 1 John 2:28) and suffering the loss of all rewards-being saved ...as by fire (1 Corinthians 3:15). It is foolish, therefore, to teach that Paul's grace proclamation allows one to live in sin.If, at this point, one is still unconvinced, Paul's following warnings should settle it once, for all, and forever. Hear him in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not [SHALL NOT. That's right, shall not!] inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators [premarital sex experimenters and trial marriage proponents] nor idolators. nor adulterers [extramarital flingers and swingers] nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind [homosexuals], Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards [social tipplers who tipple one too many], nor revilers. nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.Paul again warns in Ephesians 5:3-7, But fornication [premarital sex], and all uncleanness, or covetousness [love of materialism and filthy lucre], let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints: Neither filthiness. Nor foolish talking. nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this [you] KNOW, that no whore monger [immoral sex practitioner], nor unclean person [smutty jokester] nor the covetous man, who is an idolater [money lover], hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. [None? None!] Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things [sins] cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. No doubt about it. Depraved, debauched, decadent practitioners of sin inhabit the lake of fire for all eternity (see Revelation 21:8).

One more judgmental alarm is sounded by Paul in Galatians 5:19-21. He says, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past. that they which do such things SHALL NOT [What? SHALL NOT!] inherit the kingdom of God. Such grammar is so simplistic and understandable that further comment is unnecessary. It all convincingly says, He that practiceth sin is of the devil.Does all this mean, then, that practicing sinners have no hope? Perish the thought! God loves sinners and sent His Son to Calvary's cross to shed His blood for a world of wicked inhabitants. This blood, which flowed so freely from a love-filled Saviour, cleanseth from ALL sin (see 1 John 1:7). Because of it, a great number of Corinthians described in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 as fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners were eternally forgiven as verse 11 proves. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus , and by the Spirit of our God. This is what the second birth did for them and will do for you today if you receive Christ. Remember, ...whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).
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FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE
LET THE DOVES SPEAK

I had the great privilege while I was growing up to sit under the ministry of a great teacher, Dr. H. H. Savage. He was the only pastor I ever had, a brilliant man with a great passion for souls and a far-reaching vision for missions. He was an articulate speaker who could reach out and touch one’s heart each time he entered the pulpit.He was one of the first ministers to start a Christian radio program in the state of Michigan, along with the Radio Bible Class in Grand Rapids. On the air or in person, he was able to make Christianity a dramatic and exciting adventure. For example, out of the 103 young people in my teenage class, more than twenty of us felt a call to enter the ministry and ultimately went into full-time Christian work.

Because my brothers and I were musically talented and began singing at a very young age, I had the privilege of singing in the church and on Dr. Savage’s radio program from the time I was five years old. He was such an encouragement and blessing to me. Yes, he gave me the vision of being part of God’s work.I have been so privileged and blessed from the beginning of my walk with Christ to be associated with people of excellence and having pure and godly motives. I was married very young, and when I left Dr. Savage’s church, I entered into the ministry with Jack Van Impe, who was already a marvelous preacher and well established in his evangelistic work. So I have been under some of the greatest preachers in the world with both my pastor and with Jack, my husband and ministry partner.For as long as I have known him, Jack has been a great student of the Word, and it has blessed my heart to see him develop into one of the greatest prophetical teachers and preachers in the world today. Truly I believe that God chose Jack to be born for this day and age, and I certainly know that I was born to serve with him. How wonderful that is!Recently in my personal devotional time, I read and reflected upon Matthew 5:3-11, the part of Jesus’ monumental Sermon on the Mount known as the Beatitudes. It had been some time since I’d read this passage, and it struck me that no one else could have given such a compelling sermon as this-not even Dr. H. H. Savage or Dr. Jack Van Impe.This powerful message is not legalistic or impractical idealism. Instead, it is a call for a new way of life. Our Lord would not have given it to us if it were not attainable and workable. If He has called us to do it-and unquestionably He has-then He also has provided the grace and the help of the Holy Spirit to enable us to achieve it in our daily practical living.Let’s take a look at these eight simple but profound statements-the Beatitudes. We will look at the first three this week and then conclude next week:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).

Each of the beatitudes begins with the word blessed, which means to be highly favored, honored, or set aside. It speaks of the deep soul contentment that comes not from what we experience as much as who we are. I want to be blessed, don’t you?

In this first Beatitude, I believe poor in spirit refers to humility, the authentic attitude of the heart that recognizes it is absolutely nothing-poor-without the Lord. It is the kind of spiritual poverty that is overcome only by total dependence upon Christ. At the same time, the person who is truly poor in spirit also recognizes that everything is his because of God’s great gifts.Jesus demonstrated true humility when He knelt down and washed the feet of His disciples (see John 13:3-9). I can hardly imagine the God of this universe kneeling to wash the feet of these men, including Judas; the man Jesus knew would betray Him. This kind of humility comes only from the Lord.The gospel account says that Peter’s initial reaction to the humility of Jesus was to refuse to allow his feet to be washed. But Jesus said, If I don’t wash you then you have no part with me. So impulsive, reactionary Peter then pleaded, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.Maybe the essential point of this whole exchange was the Lord’s declaration that experiencing His humility is essential to relationship with Him. If we don’t have that kind of humility, we have nothing. But if we experience it, we are blessed...and the kingdom of heaven is ours! What an amazing promise.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they
shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).

How can mourning be blessed? When it is for the needs and hurts of others! Our mourning is blessed when we are moved with a tender heart and compassionate spirit for the lost and those who suffer. Bob Pierce, the wonderful missionary who founded both World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, once prayed, Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God! That’s the kind of mourning about which this verse is speaking. And without it, it is almost impossible for us to give comfort-or to receive it.Do you remember Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30-35)? A traveler was attacked by thieves who robbed him, beat him, and left him for dead by the side of the road. A priest came by and then a Levite, but they passed by without helping him. Then a Samaritan saw him and had great compassion on him. He gave the man first aid, put him on his donkey, and carried him to an inn. There he paid for the man’s care.Perhaps the priest and the Levite felt pity for the unfortunate man, but they passed by. Pity says, Oh, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry. But the Bible says the Samaritan had compassion, which mourns with one’s suffering and says, Here, let me help!

During His earthly ministry, Jesus certainly demonstrated compassion to people everywhere He went. He once ministered to a crowd of 5,000, and when they became hungry, He fed them all. When He saw sick people, He healed them. When He saw lost sinners, He loved them. Do you see the pattern? Pity costs nothing. But compassion feeds, heals, and loves!Have you ever needed to be comforted? Is there a chance you will ever need it again? That blessing comes only to those who weep and mourn for the suffering of others...and give until it helps.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth
(Matthew 5:5).

Blessing comes to those with a gentle spirit and a calm attitude. Meekness is not weakness-it is the kind of strength that remains calm in the face of calamity. It is the person who can confront someone who has done wrong and keep his emotions under control, reaching out as a gentle servant of the Lord to lift up and restore the fallen.Jesus sent His disciples out to minister, telling them to be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). Have you ever heard the voice of a dove? Their singing may be soft and soothing, but it is persistent. The voices of doves will not be hushed. The wisdom of the Lord enables us to deal with problems, with opposition, with the pressures of the world in meekness-not with anger and violence, but with gentle strength.During one of the huge crusade rallies Jack and I conducted several years ago, a crisis situation arose. Jack was still speaking to people in the auditorium after some had already gone to the prayer room for counseling. Someone came to me and said, Several motorcycle gang members are causing trouble in the counseling room-can you come do something? As I entered the room I saw seven or eight big tough-looking guys, mocking and laughing at what had happened as another counselor spoke with them. I said, I’m Mrs. Van Impe, and in this room we ask everybody to stay in an attitude of prayer. One of them replied, Aww, your husband spoke on hell tonight, and there’s no such place-it’s just a joke!

With that, the Holy Spirit came on me, and I leaned close to the young man, looked him straight in the face, and said, You may not believe it, but one day you will feel it. Every word Jack spoke tonight is backed up by the Bible, God’s Word, whether you believe it or not.The biker and the rest of his friends looked startled - almost shocked. They didn’t know what to do with gentle strength. However, the Holy Spirit did His work and before they left the prayer room I led them all to the Lord. Praise the Lord! God blesses when we stand upon the Word and show gentle strength.

I believe we need to be different from the world. In the midst of the rush, let’s not forget to be gentle and have time for people. I believe once more we can experience what Solomon described-The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land (Song of Solomon 2:12 NKJV). Walking in the gentle strength of meekness, we shall inherit the earth.

TORAH PORTION FROM NOV 2 - 8, 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 NOV 02, 2008 6PM TO NOV 08,2008

GENESIS 12:1-17:27
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.
10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

GENESIS 13:1-18
1 And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.
2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.
3 And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;
4 Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.
5 And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.
6 And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.
8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
11 Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
12 Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
13 But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.
14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

GENESIS 14:1-24
1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.
3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim,
6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.
7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.
8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

GENESIS 15:1-21
1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

GENESIS 16:1-16
1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

GENESIS 17:1-27
1 And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.
2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.
13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.
16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?
18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
19 And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.
22 And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
24 And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.
27 And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

PROPHETS PORTION

ISAIAH 40:27-41:16
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

ISAIAH 41:1-16
1 Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
3 He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.
4 Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
5 The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.
6 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7 So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.
12 Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

NEW TESTAMENT PORTION

ACTS 7:1-8
1 Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

ROMANS 3:19-5:6
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

ROMANS 4:1-25
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
12 And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

ROMANS 5:1-6
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

GALATIONS 3:15-18
15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

GALATIONS 5:1-6
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

COLOSSIANS 2:11-15
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

HEBREWS 7:1-19
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
13 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
15 And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
16 Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
17 For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
18 For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

HEBREWS 11:8-12
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.