JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER.
1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)DISEASES-ANIMAL TO HUMAN ( 500 million DEAD )
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
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)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
AS OF MAY 28,20-THEIR ARE 356,606 DEATHS OF THE 5,731,837 COVID-19 CASES WORLDWIDE.
Israel’s Iron Dome deviser prepares to tackle COVID-19, with 100,000 daily tests-The Times of Israel-Danny Gold, who oversaw Israel’s best-known missile defense system, has four teams working on 60-second kits for detecting coronavirus-By Nathan Jeffay-may 28,20- Today, 5:26 pm
The former senior IDF officer who was the driving force behind the Iron Dome missile defense system, is working to facilitate 100,000 coronavirus tests a day across Israel by utilizing new express kits, he said Thursday.“We want to get to a target of results in 30 seconds or one minute, which is a breakthrough, and get to 100,000 tests a day which is a world game-changer,” said Brig. Gen. (Res.) Daniel Gold, head of Israel’s Defense Research and Development Directorate (DRDD).While only around 2,000 Israels are currently infected with coronavirus, health officials fear a second wave, and believe that widespread testing will be key to keeping it in check.Ben Gurion University announced earlier this month that its researchers are working to check the viability of a one-minute test, but it wasn’t known that this was one of several Israeli teams working under the DRDD, the Defense Ministry innovation arm, on express testing.
Magen David Adom staff performing coronavirus testing (Photo: Magen David Adom Israel)-Discussing testing during a webinar, Gold said: “We are on the way. We have about four groups that are working on this.”Gold described how the DRDD entered uncharted territory at the start of the pandemic, deploying 100 staff to find ways of helping the medical profession — including by visiting hospitals and repurposing defense technology to assist doctors.An Iron Dome Missile Battery near Tel Aviv, on the first day of Operation Protective Edge, July 8, 2014. (Photo by Flash90)-Gold said that the push to invent new coronavirus tests also involves deployment of defense expertise, though he didn’t provide details. “We take startups, whether from defense or the commercial [sector], and tune them to this,” he said. “We’re trying to detect the virus from the samples using radiation, electronics and chemical [means], and not biological means that are used today.” Currently, most testing involves taking swabs from a patient, and having the ribonucleic acid extracted and analyzed.During the webinar, CybertechLive Asia, Gold spoke of technology that “can sense what is going on in Israel” to warn of possible future spikes in coronavirus cases using big data and help inform decisions on lockdowns — though he didn’t discuss how the system gathers its information.“You can see a heat map where the corona is going to spread, when it’s going to spread, in what geographic location, at what time,” he said. “You can even cut it by what ages and other demographic parameters and you can plan where to close, who to release, what to do.”
EU must play global role in virus crisis, says Merkel-[AFP]-may 27, 2020
Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said the European Union should take more global responsibility in the coronavirus crisis, especially as ties with the United States were currently "difficult".In a speech outlining Germany's priorities when it takes over the EU's rotating presidency in July, Merkel said the economic and social upheaval from the pandemic has turned the world upside down.She welcomed the European Commission's proposed 750 billion euro coronavirus recovery fund for the bloc but said more should be done to help other countries."Especially in times of crisis I want the European Union to show solidarity on a global level too and take on more responsibility," she told the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung think tank by video link."In many places, the pandemic will intensify existing conflicts and problems and will therefore also become a stress test for the European Union."She called on the bloc to speak up for the values of "democracy, freedom and the protection of human dignity".Europe could not tackle the world's problems alone, however, and she said the United States remained Europe's "most important partner"."Of course I'm aware that the cooperation with America is currently more difficult than we'd like," Merkel said, pointing to differences with President Donald Trump's administration on trade, climate change and the importance of international bodies like the World Health Organization.Nevertheless, she said the transatlantic relationship was a "key pillar" of Europe's foreign policy and security interests that needed to be upheld and strengthened.Germany had initially planned to put relations with China at the centre of its six-month EU Council presidency before the pandemic pushed its way to the top of the agenda.The German leader, who is in the twilight of her chancellorship, said it was important for the bloc to maintain "constructive dialogue" with the increasingly assertive Asian giant -- seen as both a vital trading partner and a major rival.The European Union has "a great strategic interest" in working with China and "actively shaping" the relationship, Merkel said.The chancellor said she would push for progress on a long-sought investment agreement with Beijing, aimed at levelling the playing field between Chinese and European firms, as well as tackling climate and health issues.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Amid annexation plans, US warns its citizens against West Bank travel-The Times of Israel-Embassy tells citizens to avoid Palestinian regions, where ‘violence can occur with little or no warning’; IDF official has predicted ‘wave of terror attacks’By TOI staff-may 28,20-Today, 3:49 pm
As Israel continues to push US-backed plans to annex parts of the West Bank in July, Washington on Thursday issued a security alert advising its citizens to execute extra caution when traveling to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, anticipating potential violence.The US Embassy in Jerusalem advised US citizens to “maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.”It warned that “violence can occur with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, government checkpoints, markets and shopping facilities or government facilities.”US citizens should carefully consider risks to their personal safety and security when considering visits to sites and events that are potential targets,” it added.The alert barred US government personnel from “engaging in personal travel to the West Bank, with the exception of the portions of Route 1, Route 443 and Route 90 that traverse the West Bank.” It said they were prohibited from traveling to Gaza.Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians earlier this week warned the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff and the defense minister of a potential wave of violence if the government follows through with its plans to unilaterally annex portions of the West Bank.Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. (Courtesy)-According to Army Radio, Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun — formally known as the coordinator of government activities in the territories — told army chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi and Defense Minister Benny Gantz that annexation “was likely to lead to a wave of terror attacks.”Last week, PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced that his security forces were halting coordination with Israel.While Israeli security officials have confirmed the PA has ended security cooperation, Channel 13 reported that Ramallah had sent messages to Israel saying it would not allow terror attacks against Israelis or a mass popular uprising.Though not widely discussed publicly, Israel’s cooperation with Palestinian security forces has been credited with thwarting many major terror attacks and being a significant factor in the relative calm in the West Bank in recent years.The scene of a suspected car-ramming attack in the southern West Bank on May 14, 2020. (Israel Defense Forces)-On Monday, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the PA would prevent widespread chaos and public disorder in the West Bank despite the severance of ties. Israel’s security establishment, however, fears that the Hamas terror group will exploit the escalating tensions to step up its activities in the West Bank.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he has set a July date for when Israel will extend its sovereignty over West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, and informed Likud lawmakers he had no intention of changing it.The move would be coordinated with the US, in accordance with the Middle East plan US President Donald Trump unveiled in January, which endorsed extending Israeli sovereignty over roughly 30 percent of the West Bank.PA President Mahmoud Abbas heads a leadership meeting at his headquarters, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 19, 2020. (Alaa Badarneh/Pool via AP)Netanyahu’s vow to go through with annexation has led to condemnations from a growing list on countries, including Arab states such as Jordan and European nations like France and Germany.In recent days even Trump administration officials have appeared to seek to dampen expectations that Washington will quickly green-light the move without any progress in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.The State Department’s chief spokesperson said earlier this month that any action should be part of discussions between Israel and the Palestinians on the Trump administration’s peace plan.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Netanyahu: Palestinians in Israeli-annexed Jordan Valley won’t get citizenship-The Times of Israel-PM says he's 'convinced' Jordan won't alter peace treaty-In interviews, PM also rebuffs settler complaints, saying his annexation plan won’t mention Palestinian state, any settlement freeze will also apply to Palestinians in Area C-By TOI staff-MAY 28,20-Today, 3:47 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview Thursday that Palestinians living under Israeli rule in an annexed Jordan Valley would not receive Israeli citizenship.Palestinian towns and villages in the area will remain “Palestinian enclaves” under Palestinian rule but Israel security control, he explained.These Palestinian residential areas, which some estimates say are home to 50,000-65,000 Palestinians, “will remain as Palestinian enclaves,” he told the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom. “You don’t annex [the Palestinian city of] Jericho [which has a population of some 20,000]. There are one or two clusters [of Palestinian residential areas] where you don’t have to extend sovereignty; [their residents] will remain Palestinian subjects, but [overall Israeli] security control will apply there.”In a separate interview Thursday, Netanyahu dismissed fears increasingly expressed by settlers leaders regarding the US peace plan’s vision for the West Bank, saying that the mapping process is ongoing and that they were criticizing elements of the plan that still haven’t been determined and published.Vision for Peace Conceptual Map published by the Trump Administration on January 28, 2020.Speaking to the right-wing Makor Rishon newspaper, Netanyahu said he didn’t believe Jordan would annul the peace accord if Israel goes forward with his declared plan to annex some West Bank land including the Jordan Valley, and said any settlement construction freeze as part of the Trump plan would also apply to Palestinians in Area C — which is controlled by Israel.Netanyahu said he was committed to extending Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank in July, after a joint Israeli-US team completes a process of mapping the exact vision for the future of the territory based on a conceptual map released by US President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year.Many settler leaders have expressed concern about the Trump plan’s inclusion of a Palestinian state, even though it outlines many conditions for that state that are vehemently opposed by the Palestinian Authority, which has rejected the plan outright, calling it biased in favor of Israel.They are also roiled by the fact that at first, Netanyahu had indicated that Washington would immediately recognize Israeli sovereignty in all settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley within days of the plan’s announcement, before the administration clarified that the process would take many months.The settler leaders have drawn their own map, but that has reportedly not affected the committee’s work, leading to outcry and internal discord.Netanyahu said the declaration of annexation will not include a word on accepting a future Palestinian state, as some on the right have feared: “The issue is separate. There isn’t supposed to be any cabinet decision on the matter.”In his conversation with Makor Rishon, Netanyahu said the conceptual map for annexation “gave a general idea that has to be broken down into details, and that’s exactly what we’re doing at the moment. We will, of course, show it to the settlers.”The premier repeated that the important part of the plan was the paradigm shift in which “thus far Israel was always the one that had to compromise, give up and withdraw. That was the basic idea of every peace deal we were handed. Now President Trump and his people come and change the direction. They say Israel doesn’t need to compromise, the Palestinians do.”The Trump plan also includes a freeze for at least four years of all settlement construction outside existing settlements in Area C — which represents some 60% of the West Bank under full Israel civil and military control, where some 450,000 settlers live alongside an estimated 240,000 Palestinians.Netanyahu told Makor Rishon that any such freeze would equally apply to “both sides,” meaning also to Palestinian construction in Area C. He said that was written down in the plan, even though the interviewer noted that it isn’t written in its publicly released parts.Illustrative: Construction work in the Dagan neighborhood of the settlement of Efrat, in the West Bank on July 22, 2019. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)-The premier dismissed concerns that some isolated settlements will remain as enclaves inside Palestinian-controlled areas, saying that settlers already commonly drive on many West Bank roads surrounded on both sides by the Palestinian Authority.“People are talking about the plan without knowing it,” Netanyahu said. “What this plan says is that Israel and its security forces will militarily control all the territory west of the Jordan River. I stress: all the territory, with no exception. Tell me, when has there ever been such an American approach? They allowed us, at most, to conduct urgent pursuits of terrorists. Now there’s a profound paradigm shift.”Netanyahu insinuated that those on the right rejecting the Trump plan were similar to Palestinian leaders who in the past rejected peace offers “because they wanted everything, including Jaffa and Kfar Saba.”He also dismissed concerns that annexation would prompt strong retaliatory moves by the Palestinians and Arab and European countries. He said he was convinced the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan wouldn’t be affected, despite growing threats from Amman to annul or downgrade it.“The peace with Jordan is a vital interest not only for the State of Israel but also for Jordan,” Netanyahu said. “I don’t think it’s going to change. However, it is natural that such moves raise concerns.”Outside of the annexation push, Netanyahu also continued his attacks on the justice system and the media following this week’s opening of his corruption trial.“They thought I would come to court shamed and disgraced, but I came full of grit and strength,” he boasted, referring to his fiery speech before the hearing in which he asserted that the “entire right wing” was on trial due to a conspiracy by a corrupt, leftist legal system, as well as the police and media.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement before entering a courtroom at the Jerusalem District Court on May 24, 2020, for the start of his corruption trial. Among those alongside him from left are Likud MKs and ministers Gadi Yevarkan, Amir Ohana, Miri Regev, Nir Barkat, Israel Katz, Tzachi Hanegbi, Yoav Gallant and David Amsalem (Yonathan Sindel/POOL/AFP)-He rejected accusations that he was inciting against the law enforcement system and pushing for a civil war: “There won’t be a civil war, but there is a very fundamental debate. Criticism isn’t an attack and isn’t incitement — it is the beating heart of democracy. It cannot be that in a democracy one can’t express criticism.”The prime minister also lambasted the International Criminal Court for moving toward opening a war crimes probe into Israel at the PA’s request.“This is an archaic, anarchist body formed decades ago that aims to fabricate war crime convictions of IDF soldiers and the State of Israel,” he said. He added that Israel has taken action against PA President Mahmoud Abbas for filing a complaint at the court, but didn’t elaborate.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)
Russia in talks with world leaders to attend WWII commemoration parade in June-The Times of Israel-Putin says with 9,000 daily infections, his country has passed the peak of the coronavirus pandemic and Victory Day parade postponed from May can go ahead-By AFP-may 28,20-Today, 6:49 pm
MOSCOW — Russia is coordinating with countries including France to invite their leaders to attend a massive military parade in Moscow on June 24, the Kremlin said Thursday.President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced the annual May 9 Victory Day parade would be held in June after postponing the event last month to slow the spread of the coronavirus.He said it was possible to reschedule the event because Russia had passed the peak of the pandemic.The new date of June 24 is 75 years after the first victory parade in Red Square following Germany’s surrender to Soviet commanders on May 9.Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at military aircraft flying over the Kremlin and Red Square to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Moscow, May 9, 2020. (Alexey DRUZHININ / SPUTNIK / AFP)-“It’s quite a short period for compiling the schedules of international leaders,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, saying invitations would be “coordinated on a case-by-case basis.”“This will be coordinated with each country individually,” he said, adding that Moscow was already in touch with France.Peskov said invitations to several former Soviet countries were being renewed and Kyrgyzstan on Thursday confirmed its president would attend, TASS news agency reported.A foreign ministry official told RIA Novosti news agency earlier Thursday that participating countries including France were being issued “repeat invitations.”The postponement of the mass event had been a blow to Putin, who had hoped to gather world leaders to watch thousands of troops march on Red Square to celebrate 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.China’s leader Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron of France were among the most high-profile confirmed attendees with invitations sent to other world leaders including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump.After peaking in mid-May at more than 11,000 new coronavirus cases per day, the number of daily infections in Russia has dropped below 9,000.The country has the third-highest number of cases at 379,051 after the United States and Brazil.
How the Canaanites, Biblical frenemies of the Israelites, kept genetic integrity-The Times of Israel-ArchaeologyNot just shared ideas, but a people of similar ancestry-Major study shows Canaanites maintained coherent genetic mix even though they were widely dispersed, and it can still be discerned in modern Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations-By Amanda Borschel-Dan-may 28,20-Today, 6:06 pm
A new international, interdisciplinary study provides intriguing answers to the origins and history of the Canaanite people. In an article published May 28 in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Cell, scientists report that over thousands of years, the widely dispersed Canaanite people maintained themselves as a demographically coherent group.The study was performed through a genome-wide analysis of ancient DNA samples from the remains of 93 individuals at nine Bronze Age Canaanite sites throughout the Levant.“The Canaanites, albeit living in different city-states, were culturally and genetically similar,” said Hebrew University ancient DNA specialist Liran Carmel.For centuries, scholars have debated over who the Canaanites were and where they originated. Ancient “frenemies” of the conquering Israelites, the Canaanites were recorded throughout the Bible and in historical documents up to 3,500 years old as a group of peoples living throughout the Levant who were ruled by their own city/state kings.The study also discovered that they shared a genetic relationship with another group of people who slowly and continuously migrated from the far-away Caucausus and/or Zagros Mountain regions. This special genetic mix of Canaanite and mountain peoples can still be seen in some form with modern Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations, wrote the authors.“Our results in this new study show that the ‘Canaanite’ term that is known from the archaeological and historical literature in fact corresponded to a genetically mostly homogeneous group of people — it was not just a shared set of ideas, but a people of similar ancestry,” Harvard University Ancient Genetics Prof. David Reich told The Times of Israel on Thursday.Hebrew University Prof. Liran Carmel.Data from DNA samples that came from 73 new individuals from five archaeological sites throughout the Southern Levant dating to the Middle-to-Late Bronze Age, was added to previously reported data from 20 individuals from four sites. The study was completed by a large interdisciplinary team, including University of Vienna biological anthropologist Ron Pinhasi, Hebrew University geneticist Shai Carmi, Tel Aviv University archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, Hebrew University’s Carmel, and Harvard’s Reich.But while archaeological finds at identifiably Canaanite sites point to the far-flung peoples as having their own particular material culture, until now it was unknown whether they had a discernible genetic group as well.The results of the Canaanite samples were cross-checked with other ancient peoples, including Philistine DNA from recent academic studies. Carmel, who researches ancient DNA and human evolution, told The Times of Israel, “we see that genetically, the Canaanites are more similar to each other than other groups in the region were to them.”A continuous drip-drop of migration? In the paper, “The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant,” the authors write that they had three research goals in mind: “We sought to determine the extent of genetic homogeneity among the sites associated with Canaanite material culture. Second, we analyzed the data to gain insights into the timing, extent and origin of gene flow that brought Zagros- and Caucasus-related ancestry to the Bronze Age Southern Levant. Third, we assessed the extent to which additional gene flow events have affected the region since that time.”Decorated bone plaques discovered inside the 3,600-year-old Canaanite tomb at Megiddo that likely covered a box made out of wood or other perishable materials. (Adam Prins)-Carmel said that Bronze Age (circa 3500-1150 BCE) populations in the Southern Levant — today’s Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Syria — were not static. “Rather, we observe evidence for the movement of people over long periods of time from the northeast of the Ancient Near East, including modern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, into the Southern Levant region,” he said in a Hebrew University press release on the new study.In the Canaanite samples, Hebrew University Genetics Prof. Shai Carmi told The Times of Israel, “What we found is that the origins are a roughly equal mixture of people from the Caucasus/Zagros, along with local people from the Levant.”Carmi said that according to the data, “there was migration from the Caucasus/Zagros into the Levant that has replaced some proportion of the population between 8000 and 3500 years ago (and possibly continued)… We showed that people migrated from the Caucasus/Zagros and assimilated (genetically) in the Levant. That is to say, they didn’t remain as an independent and distinct group but merged with the local populations.”Carmi said scientists still don’t know the hows and whys of the migration based on the genetic data. “The process of mixing of populations was and still is very common across human populations,” said Carmi.-Hurrian ties and the color purple-A possible explanation of why the peoples may have continuously migrated to the Levant might be found in a theory on the Hurrian origin of the name Canaanite itself. Hurrian was a language spoken in the northeast of the ancient Near East, possibly including the Caucasus, according to the Cell article.Murex shells, Tel Shikmona, Israel. Iron Age II, 10th-7th centuries BCE (courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority/Moshe Caine)-The entry for “Canaan/Canaanite” in the Bialik Institute’s comprehensive Encyclopaedia Biblica states the name may be related to purple dye. It writes that in the Nuzi Tablets, some 5,000 tablets found in modern Iraq mostly dating to the Hurrian period (15th century BCE), the Hurrian word “kinakhkhu” was used for the biblical purple color argaman, which is made from murex snails.In a rather convoluted explanation, ties are made between this Hurrian word for “purple” to the ancient Greek word for the Levant, “Phoenicia,” which means “Land of Purple.” It also mentions ancient Egyptian correspondence speaking about the capture of purple dye merchants — the “kina’nu” — while Pharaoh was on tour in Syria in 1428 BCE.According to the online Ancient History Encyclopedia, “…Theories cite ‘Canaan’ as derived from the Hurrian language for ‘purple’ and, as the Greeks knew the Canaanites as ‘Phoenicians’ (Greek for ‘purple’) and as the Phoenicians worked in purple dye and so were called by the Greeks ‘purple people,’ this explanation is the most probable.”Assuming that the Canaanites were the “purple people,” or at least merchants for the very valuable purple dye, that may help explain the proliferation of Hurrian names of rulers in Canaanite settlements that are documented in the 2nd millennium BCE.Woolen fleeces dyed in different colors with dye extracted from Murex trunculus snails (courtesy of Ptil Tekhelet/Moshe Caine)-In samples taken from 35 individuals from Tel Megiddo (northern Israel), it was discovered that the influx of migration from the possibly Hurrian-speaking areas of the Zagros/Caucasus Mountains continued through a rise in the percentage of this foreign DNA in a few “outliers” found at the site.“The Canaanite society of Megiddo was certainly tolerant of foreigners and immigrants, as shown by the several genetic outlier individuals we detect there,” said geneticist Carmi.Archaeologist Finkelstein told The Times of Israel that these individuals were buried close to the palace in a tomb related to the fantastically preserved Canaanite “Royal Tomb” uncovered recently.Asked about the reasons behind the migration, Finkelstein wrote in an email, “Why is a good question, to which, for the time being, we don’t have an answer.”“We think that the origin of these people was the Caucasus. To just walk from there to Megiddo would take a long time, perhaps a month or more, but I don’t think that it worked that way. We are probably speaking about a gradual movement to the south, and one which continued ‘betiftufim; [in drips and drabs] for many centuries,” said Finkelstein.Gold torque necklace worn by an adult male buried inside the Canaanite tomb discovered at Megiddo. (Adam Prins)-Finkelstein referred to Bronze Age archaeological evidence found in the Levant that tie the material culture of the Caucasus Mountain people to the Levant from the Early Bronze Age, including the Khirbet Kerak (Beth-yerah) vessels. “For later, in the second millennium, Hurrian names of local rulers in the [14th century BCE] Amarna tablets, including the name of the ruler (king) of the city-state of Megiddo – Biridiya.”According to Carmi, “The strength of the migration from the northeast of the Ancient Near East, and the fact that this migration continued for many centuries, may help to explain why rulers of city-states in Canaan in the Late Bronze Age carry non-Semitic, Hurrian names… There were strong and active connections between these regions through movements of people that help to understand the shared elements of culture.”Views of Megiddo, the ancient city from where most of the Canaanite DNA samples for the 2020 Hebrew University study were taken. (Megiddo Expedition)-A Hurrian/Canaanite diaspora?In the article, the authors state, “We found that both Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations are compatible with having more than 50% Middle Eastern-related ancestry.” At the same time, the direct contribution of the Canaanites to modern populations cannot be accurately quantified, they write.So there is some genetic tie between the Canaanites and modern Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations? Hebrew University’s Carmel laughed when asked if his research team’s methods would be available to those who, for example, want to check if they have Jewish ancestry.“It would be a little bit of an overkill, to say the least,” he laughed, pointing the curious to the many online genetic testing sites available on the market.Image of Akrotiri, a Minoan Bronze Age settlement on Greek island of Santorini where the volcano Thera erupted, wiping out the island. (Gretchen Gibbs)-Harvard’s Reich said that there are other examples in the ancient world of a dispersed, but culturally and genetically close people.“The analogy I like is to two other famous ancient cultures that inhabited the eastern Mediterranean at around the same time as the Canaanites: (1) the people associated with the ‘Minoan’ culture of ancient Crete, and (2) the people associated with the ‘Mycenaean’ culture of ancient Greece,” said Reich. “Archaeologists studying the material remains these people left behind and the written records left by the Mycenaeans have put names on these ancient cultures, but there was always a question whether the material artifacts associated with these cultures were associated with homogeneous genetic populations.“In 2017, we published a paper showing that in fact, ‘Minoans’ and ‘Mycenaeans’ each corresponded to a coherent and relatively homogeneous genetic cluster (which were different from each other and also different from people both to the east and the west in the Mediterranean),” wrote Reich in an email.Illustrative photo of Ashkenazi Jews, taken from Nurit Ben Sheetri’s ‘The Redheads’ exhibit at Dizengoff Center (courtesy Nurit Ben Sheetrit)Talk of dispersed, but linked peoples brings to mind the idea of the Jewish Diaspora. Asked if the new study shows that the Canaanites were part of some similar type of diaspora stretching from the Caucasus Mountains, Hebrew University’s Shai Carmi demurred. “I’m not sure it’s really a diaspora. Maybe it’s more like Spanish people moving to the Americas a few hundreds of years ago and merging with the local populations,” said Carmi.There are also modern-day examples of similar relationships, said Carmi. “For example, Ashkenazi Jews from all over the world are genetically very similar. Druze live in multiple countries in the Middle East but are genetically similar… African Americans have been in the US for hundreds of years, but the vast majority of their genetic ancestry is shared with West Africans,” said Carmi.In general, people that lived thousands of years ago are remarkably similar to present-day peopleAs scientists are increasingly filling out the data set for ancient people’s DNA, one can only wonder if the differences between modern and ancient man are in any way remarkable. Apparently, that’s a matter of perspective.“In general, people that lived thousands of years ago are remarkably similar to present-day people,” said Carmel. “If you go sufficiently back in time, for example to the adoption of agriculture in Europe, you may track changes in adaptive alleles such as lactose tolerance. But this doesn’t really apply to populations, such of those of the Bronze Age, which are very close in time to present-day populations.”
Orthodoxy can withstand an unflinching, academic look at the Bible, says scholar-The Times of Israel-ShavuotWork is a bridge between Bible literalists and skeptics-In new book ‘Ani Maamin,’ Bar-Ilan University prof/Orthodox rabbi Joshua Berman faces crises of faith head on, using academic research to uphold the integrity of the biblical text-By Sam Sokol-M,AY 28,20-Today, 12:06 pm
Bible Prof. Joshua Berman says he has been “inundated with emails” in recent years from people in the middle of an existential crisis: They are seeking to square their religious faith with the results of academic scholarship calling into question the divinity and unity of the Masoretic text.The problem, he wrote in “Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith,” released in late February, is that the theological issues raised by such research are perceived as threatening in some corners. As a result, “many rabbis and educators would not dare broach this topic for themselves, and certainly not with their students and congregants.”And, Berman wrote, when members of the Orthodox community do inevitably run across scholarship in fields such as source criticism — which attempts to identify the putative original textual source texts that comprise the Torah — they often conclude that if their “teachers never acknowledged any of this, it must be because the tradition has nothing to say in its defense.”“Until about 10 or 15 years ago people could easily live in their own bubble and not deal with biblical criticism,” Berman, a professor of Bible at Bar-Ilan University and an ordained Orthodox rabbi, told The Times of Israel. But over the last decade or so, “even with the highest walls around you, it seeps in via the internet.”Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman. (Courtesy)When confronted with such challenges, “people with deep emotional commitments to tradition veer off to simplistic beliefs, and people who are more intellectually inclined give up on finding how tradition speaks to them,” Berman said.In response, Berman wrote “Ani Maamin” to present a third option to believers unwilling to either retreat into fundamentalism or give up on the basis of their faith. Based on years of scholarship, he insists that his book is not a work of rabbinic apologia but rather a popularization of academic findings vetted by colleagues and published in peer reviewed journals.His previous book, “Inconsistency in the Torah: Ancient Literary Convention and the Limits of Source Criticism,” was published in 2017 by Oxford University Press.The reigning paradigm in biblical studies is that inconsistencies in the biblical text hint at several previous textual iterations that were combined by an unknown redactor into the text we currently posses. By careful study the outlines of these previous documents can be identified.But Berman takes issue with the assumptions underpinning such an effort.“I’d call it a kind of pseudoscience,” he said, explaining that in no other field of study of ancient literature can one find an example of scholars attempting to reproduce source documents from a finished text without any outside documentary proof of their theories.Many of those studying the Bible also make the mistake of applying modern sensibilities to the text, making assumptions that repetition — especially when variant versions of a story exist in a text — are a sign of disparate texts being merged, he said.An ancient Yemenite Torah scroll and book at the Bible Lands Museum. (Shmuel Bar-Am)-However, Berman argued, there is another way to understand narrative inconsistencies, especially those in the Book of Deuteronomy, which are frequently at odds with retellings in previous books of the Bible.Noting that it is almost impossible to find a consistent agenda behind these retellings, he argued that the only thing they have in common is that in them, God tends to judge the Israelites more harshly than in previous accounts.When a reader begins to look at the Bible as modeled on ancient vassal treaties — compacts between lesser and greater kings in the ancient Near East — this begins to make sense, Berman said, noting that the standard format of such documents usually contained a narrative portion explaining the historical background of the compact.“There are many scholars that see Deuteronomy as a renewal of the treaty from Mount Sinai,” he said.There are many scholars that see Deuteronomy as a renewal of the treaty from Mount Sinai-Such stories were traditionally told “differently each time they renewed the treaty, and it was very clear to everyone there would be differences because these stories were diplomatic signalizing,” he said.The new versions, Berman said, were intended to “shape the perception of what was happening now between the king and the vassals” and were meant to be understood within the context of previously written narratives.This leads to another of Berman’s arguments, which is that by applying contemporary concepts of history and fact, readers are making critical mistakes about how the Bible would have been received and understood by the ancient Hebrews.Prior to the 19th century, much of what we now look back on as history was composed for hortatory purposes. It used history, sometimes embellished, to make a moral or political point, and the “essential nature of these compositions as exhortation leaves us today trapped unaware by our modern binary categories of fiction and non-fiction,” he wrote.“Many of these pesky questions arise from our modern eyes and sensitivities and [because] we’ve lost touch with ancient Mideast ways of writing and thinking,” he said.Illustrative: This undated photo provided by the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem shows tablets with cuneiform writing, one of the world’s earliest scripts, on display in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Avi Noam, Bible Lands Museum)As an example of this kind of embellishment, Berman cites the use of census numbers in the Torah, arguing that they were more likely symbolic than accurate demographic data and that their meaning would have been understood by early readers without taking away from their belief in the basic historical accuracy of the Exodus account.Berman defends this narrative in his book in several ways, including by pointing out that many of the major non-biblical events known through ancient writings “are archaeologically invisible.” Implying that there is a double-standard at work, he argues that the basic stories, if not many of the surrounding details, of such writings are usually accepted as having some historical grounding — even as many scholars cast doubt on the veracity of events recounted in the Torah.The Exodus: Illustration of Moses leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt in the Kaufmann Haggadah, 14th century. (Wikimedia Commons)-He also notes that there are multiple allusions throughout the Exodus narrative that “strikingly appear to reflect the realities of late second-millennium [BCE] Egypt” which “a scribe living centuries later and inventing the story of afresh would have been unlikely to know.”Using such an approach to understand the Torah “sounds very new but it goes back to deep roots in our tradition,” Berman said, describing how the 12th century philosopher Maimonides “wrote about seeking out all the literature he could find about the ancient Near East and lamented in the ‘Guide to the Perplexed’ that he couldn’t be certain that the more he learned, the more he’d understand the reasons for the Mitzvot.”Citing Maimonides’s dictum that many of the Torah’s laws and practices were commanded as part of an effort to combat pagan ways of thinking prevalent in the region at the time, he argued that many details in the Torah can be best understood in such a light, writing that one can discern the “dynamics of appropriation” in the Torah.From the form of the tabernacle in the wilderness, which he argues is based on the portable throne tent of Ramses II, to the use of terminology like God taking the Israelites out of Egypt “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,” which has precedents in ancient Egyptian literature, Berman believes that the Torah is full of cultural allusions which would have been deeply meaningful for contemporary Jews’ forebears but which can now only be understood through the lens of academic research.“If you are born in the 21st century there’s a ton you’re not gonna get about the Torah,” he said.Berman believes that it is his unique background that allowed him to grapple with ideas that others have shunned.6“My parents were not from Orthodox backgrounds, but in the euphoria after the Six-Day War they wanted me to have a Jewish and Zionist education,” which led him to decide that he wanted to adopt religious observance, Berman recalled.“This is important for understanding this book because my whole life has been spent examining the tradition from within and without, and I had to find a way of dealing with challenging issues because my acceptance of observance was a choice,” he said.I had to find a way of dealing with challenging issues because my acceptance of observance was a choice-Berman would eventually go on to spend eight years at Yeshivat Har Etzion in the West Bank, where he received his rabbinic ordination, with a break in the middle to study religion at Princeton University. After several years of teaching, he decided to “expand his toolbox of resources” and at the age of 32, started studying for a doctorate in biblical studies at Bar-Ilan.It was only a decade ago in his mid-40s that Berman began investigating the subjects that now constitute the core of his academic research as a result of seeing many of his contemporaries grappling with issues that had previously been largely limited to the academic elite.Joining a discussion group of Orthodox thinkers, Berman was shocked to discover that rabbinic figures he respected had simply accepted the basic approach of biblical criticism and believed that they had “to figure out how to get the handmaiden of the tradition to bow down to the master of the academy.”“Being myself already in the academy with tenured positions and reading journals and attending conferences, I realized this isn’t the way to go,” he recalled. “There are good questions from academia but the answers are by no means unidimensional or ironclad and we needed a much more nuanced approach.”Illustrative: A thousand-year-old Hebrew Bible, called the Washington Pentateuch, was unveiled to the public for the first time in a special exhibition at Museum of the Bible on November 7, 2019 (Courtesy).Out of the biblical boxWhile Berman is well respected, his approach is certainly out of the mainstream in his field.“He’s a serious scholar well informed in the Bible and ancient Near East, but I’m personally not convinced by his arguments against source criticism,” said Israel Knohl, professor of biblical studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.Israel Knohl. (Youtube Screenshot)-“I do believe that there are significant differences between parallel stories, for example in the beginning of the Torah where we have two very different narratives about creation,” he said.“Rather to try and make them into one I would prefer to see them as the two different divine voices.”Berman is a “trailblazer,” argued Jeffrey Woolf, a historian and professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University.“He is incredibly brave because, contrary to what some people might assert, in academia in every academic field there is a certain consensus about the truth of the field in which you operate and you work within the framework,” Woolf said.“It’s considered to be incredibly threatening and almost heresy to question a paradigm,” he said.It’s considered to be incredibly threatening and almost heresy to question a paradigm-While it is unlikely that Berman will change the direction of the field of biblical studies, he is starting to have an impact on elements within the Orthodox community.“His scholarship stands on its own. Everything he writes in the present book he has published in first-rate, A+ academic bible journals, so this is not a case of Orthodox apologetics or trying to fudge the truth or adapt things,” Woolf said. “He looks at the evidence straight on.”Dr. Jeffrey Woolf, from the Naftal-Yaffe Talmud Department at Bar Ilan University (courtesy)-There certainly has been interest and not just among the Modern Orthodox.“I had a Zoom meeting last week with five Satmar guys,” Berman recalled, describing a teleconference in which members of the insular Hasidic sect posed hard-hitting questions about the Bible, showing that the influence of academia has even penetrated into some of the more closed-off Orthodox communities.Time for a more confident Orthodoxy-But beyond taking aim at source criticism and arguing that knowledge of the cultural context of the ancient Near East can help believers better understand their own scriptures, Berman said that he had another reason for writing his book.“I wrote ‘Ani Maamin’ to advance a vision of Orthodoxy,” he told The Times of Israel. “This is about the Orthodoxy of confidence and courage, not the Orthodoxy of fear and escape.”When we hide from challenging questions we lose ourselves-“When we hide from challenging questions we lose ourselves,” he said. “Your conscience knows you are hiding. And when you cower in fear — in any realm — you forestall the capacity to realize your full potential and greatness.”By taking a public stand on such a contentious issue, Berman said that he hoped to not only answer people’s questions but to help inject a new vitality and confidence into the religion.“This is about returning honesty to its central place in our Orthodoxy as we stand before the Almighty in all realms,” Berman said. “This is about an Orthodoxy that embraces the world in which the Almighty has placed us, here and now, rather than wishing we lived in an idealized and imagined past.”
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Violent protests rock Minneapolis for 2nd straight night-[Associated Press]-DOUG GLASS-May 28, 2020
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody rocked a Minneapolis neighborhood for a second straight night as angry crowds looted stores, set fires and left a path of damage that stretched for miles. The mayor asked the governor to activate the National Guard.The protests that began late Wednesday and stretched into Thursday morning were the most destructive yet since the death of George Floyd, who was seen on video gasping for breath during an arrest in which an officer kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes. In the footage, George pleads that he cannot breathe and slowly stops talking and moving.Mayor Jacob Frey sought calm. “Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy,” he said on TwitterProtests also spread to other U.S. cities. In California, hundreds of people protesting Floyd’s death blocked a Los Angeles freeway and shattered windows of California Highway Patrol cruisers. Memphis police blocked a main thoroughfare after a racially mixed group of protesters gathered outside a police precinct. The situation intensified later in the night, with police donning riot gear and protesters standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of officers stationed behind a barricade.Minneapolis police said the violence contrasted sharply with a mostly peaceful demonstration Tuesday afternoon at the street corner where Floyd died.“They were chanting for things to remain peaceful,” police spokesman John Elder said. “Tonight didn’t have the same feel. And that’s sad.”Pockets of looting continued Thursday. A liquor store employee displayed a gun as he stood among the debris of broken bottles and beer cans inside the business.Amid the violence, a man was found fatally shot Wednesday night near a pawn shop, possibly by the owner, authorities said.Fire crews responded to about 30 intentionally set blazes during the protests, including at least 16 structure fires, and multiple fire trucks were damaged by rocks and other projectiles, the fire department said. No one was hurt by the blazes.Firefighters were still spraying water onto hot buildings Thursday morning, and some buildings still smoldered, sending a bitter smell into the smoke-filled air.Windows were smashed out of several businesses in a strip mall, including a department store, a charter school and other businesses, and the destruction was visible for blocks. A Wendy’s restaurant was damaged beyond recognition.Inside some of the stores, shelves were toppled and debris strewn about. Video taken inside a damaged Target that had been looted showed empty clothing racks. Obscenities were spray-painted on the outside of the store. Streets and parking lots were also covered in debris, and many businesses had been spray-painted.There was no sign of a police presence, except around the precinct building, where officers were in riot gear. One man standing outside the building was using a bullhorn to shout. “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe. Mama, I can’t breathe,” repeating some of Floyd’s pleas for relief.Across from the precinct, someone had spray-painted the sidewalk in red: “Where’s humanity?”Protesters began gathering Wednesday afternoon near the city's 3rd Precinct station, in the southern part of the city, where the 46-year-old Floyd died on Memorial Day as police arrested him outside a convenience store on a report of a counterfeit bill being passed. Demonstrators also skirmished with officers, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas in a repeat of Tuesday night’s confrontation.The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI in Minneapolis said Thursday they were conducting “a robust criminal investigation” into Floyd's death and making the case a priority. The announcement came a day after President Donald Trump tweeted that he had asked an investigation to be expedited.The FBI had already announced that it would investigate whether Floyd’s civil rights were violated.The officer who kneeled on Floyd and three others were fired Tuesday. On Wednesday, the mayor called for him to be criminally charged.Frey appealed to Gov. Tim Walz to activate the National Guard, a spokesman confirmed Thursday. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Walz tweeted for calm Wednesday night, calling the violence “an extremely dangerous situation” and urging people to leave the scene.The last time the Minnesota National Guard was called out to deal with civil unrest was in a backup role during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The most comparable situation to the current disturbances happened when the Guard was called up to deal with the riots in Minneapolis in 1967, a summer when anger over racial inequalities came to a boil in many cities across the country.The Minnesota National Guard was also called out during protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s and during a 1986 strike by Hormel meatpackers in Austin.___Associated Press writers Amy Forliti and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
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-CHEMICAL WEAPONS
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) 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,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
REVELATION 16:21 80-120LB HAIL ON HUMANS
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent:(80-120 LBS) and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
World-Iran outraged by 'honour killing' of 14-year-old girl Romina Ashrafi-[The Telegraph]-Our Foreign Staff-May 28, 2020
The killing of an Iranian teen by her father after she eloped with an older man sparked outrage on Wednesday, with local media denouncing "institutionalised violence" in "patriarchal" Iran.Iranian media covered the apparent "honour" crime extensively, with Ebtekar newspaper leading its front page with the headline "Unsafe father's house".According to local media, Romina Ashrafi was killed in her sleep on May 21 by her father, who decapitated her in the family home in Talesh in northern Gilan province.The reports said her father had refused her permission to marry a man fifteen years her senior, spurring her to run away, but she was returned home after her father reported her.The legal marriage age in Iran is 13 for women.Iranian media reported that after authorities detained the teenager, she told a judge she feared for her life if she was returned to home.But what most outraged public opinion was the lenient punishment the father is likely to face, Ebtekar wrote.The newspaper notes that Iran's normal "eye for an eye" retributive justice does not apply to fathers who kill their children.Accordingly, he is likely to face three to 10 years in prison, a sentence that could be reduced further, the newspaper wrote, denouncing the "institutionalised violence" of Iran's "patriarchal culture".With the farsi hashtag #Romina_Ashrafi focusing outrage on Twitter, President Hassan Rouhani "expressed his regrets" in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, pleading for the speedy passing of several anti-violence bills, his office said.On Twitter, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, said a bill on the protection of young people was in the "final phase" of validation by Iran's Guardian Council.The council, which vets legislation to ensure compliance with Iran's constitution and Islamic sharia law, has thrice previously called for changes to the law after it was passed by lawmakers, Ebtekar newspaper wrote.The publication fears that if the council sends back the bill, it will be buried by Iran's new parliament, which held its first session Wednesday and is dominated by conservatives and hardliners opposed to Rouhani.
Virus, heat wave and locusts form perfect storm in India-[Associated Press]-EMILY SCHMALL-May 28, 2020
NEW DELHI (AP) — As if the coronavirus wasn't enough, India grappled with scorching temperatures and the worst locust invasion in decades as authorities prepared for the end of a monthslong lockdown despite recording thousands of new infections every day.This triple disaster drew biblical comparisons and forced officials to try to balance the competing demands of simultaneous public health crises: protection from eviscerating heat but also social distancing in newly reopened parks and markets.The heat wave threatens to compound challenges of containing the virus, which has started spreading more quickly and broadly since the government began easing restrictions of one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns earlier this month.“The world will not get a chance to breathe anymore. The ferocity of crises are increasing, and they’re not going to be spaced out,” said Sunita Narain of New Delhi’s Center for Science and Environment.When her 6-year-old son woke up with a parched throat and a fever, housekeeper Kalista Ekka wanted to bring him to the hospital. But facing a deluge of COVID-19 patients, the doctor advised Ekka to keep him at home despite boiling temperatures in the family's two-room apartment in a low-income neighborhood in South Delhi.“The fan only makes it hotter but we can't open the window because it has no screen,” and thus no defense against malaria and dengue-carrying mosquitoes, Ekka said.In a nearby upmarket enclave crowded with walkers and joggers every morning and at dusk — some with face coverings, some without — neighbors debated the merits of masks in an online forum.In the heat, “it is very dangerous to work out with a mask. So a Catch-22 situation,” said Asmita Singh.Temperatures soared to 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.6 degrees Celsius) in the capital New Delhi this week, marking the warmest May day in 18 years, and 122 F (50 C) in the desert state of Rajasthan, after the world’s hottest April on record.India suffers from severe water shortages and tens of millions lack running water and air conditioning, leaving many to seek relief under shady trees in public parks and stepwells, the ancient structures used to harvest rainwater.Though many people continued wearing masks properly, others pushed them onto chins, or had foregone them altogether.Cyclone Amphan, a massive super storm that crossed the unusually warm Bay of Bengal last week, sucked up huge amounts of moisture, leaving dry, hot winds to form a heat wave over parts of central and northern India.At the same time, swarms of desert locusts have devastated crops in India’s heartland, threatening an already vulnerable region that is struggling with the economic cost of the lockdown.Exasperated farmers have been banging plates, whistling or throwing stones to try to drive the locusts away, and sometimes even lighting fires to smoke them out. The swarms appeared poised to head from Rajasthan north to Delhi, but on Wednesday a change in wind direction sent them southward toward the state of Madhya Pradesh instead.K.L. Gurjar, a top official of India’s Locust Warning Organization, said his 50-person team was scrambling to stop the swarms before breeding can take place during India’s monsoons, which begin in July. Otherwise, he said, the locusts could destroy India’s summer crops.Meanwhile, India reported another record single-day jump of more than 6,500 coronavirus cases on Thursday, pushing up the total to 158,333 confirmed cases and 4,531 deaths.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is preparing a new set of guidelines to be issued this weekend, possibly extending the lockdown in worst-hit areas while promoting economic activity elsewhere, with unemployment surging to 25%.The sudden halt to the Indian economy when the lockdown began March 25 has been devastating for daily laborers and migrant workers, who fled cities on foot for their family homes in the countryside.The government started running special trains for the migrants, but deaths on the rails because of starvation or dehydration have been reported. Others immediately put into quarantine centers upon their arrival in home districts have tested positive for COVID-19, adding to the burden of severely strained rural health systems.To jump start the economy, Modi’s environment ministry has moved to lower liabilities for industrial polluters and given private players the right to explore for coal and mine it. Cheap oil will fuel recovery efforts worldwide.Indian environmental journalist Joydeep Gupta said that the perfect storm of pandemic, heat and locusts show India must go green. He said the government should implement policies to safeguard biodiversity and offer incentives for green energy to reduce greenhouse gases that cause climate change.Instead, “the government is promoting the same sectors of the industry that have caused the multiple crises in the first place,” he said.But Narain said other government initiatives that expand federal agriculture employment, cash transfer and food ration programs help India deal more effectively with its threats.“It’s building coping abilities of the very poor to be able to deal with stress after stress after stress,” she said.
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth,(2 billion) of (8 billion) to kill with sword,(WEAPONS)(500 million) and with hunger,(FAMINE)(500 million) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES)(500 million) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)(500 million).
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH IN NOAHS DAY(BECAUSE OF SIN,VIOLENCE AND GODLESS PEOPLE)
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
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)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
DEUTORONOMY 28:22-24
22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.
23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
AS OF MAY 28,20-THEIR ARE 356,606 DEATHS OF THE 5,731,837 COVID-19 CASES WORLDWIDE.
Israel’s Iron Dome deviser prepares to tackle COVID-19, with 100,000 daily tests-The Times of Israel-Danny Gold, who oversaw Israel’s best-known missile defense system, has four teams working on 60-second kits for detecting coronavirus-By Nathan Jeffay-may 28,20- Today, 5:26 pm
The former senior IDF officer who was the driving force behind the Iron Dome missile defense system, is working to facilitate 100,000 coronavirus tests a day across Israel by utilizing new express kits, he said Thursday.“We want to get to a target of results in 30 seconds or one minute, which is a breakthrough, and get to 100,000 tests a day which is a world game-changer,” said Brig. Gen. (Res.) Daniel Gold, head of Israel’s Defense Research and Development Directorate (DRDD).While only around 2,000 Israels are currently infected with coronavirus, health officials fear a second wave, and believe that widespread testing will be key to keeping it in check.Ben Gurion University announced earlier this month that its researchers are working to check the viability of a one-minute test, but it wasn’t known that this was one of several Israeli teams working under the DRDD, the Defense Ministry innovation arm, on express testing.
Magen David Adom staff performing coronavirus testing (Photo: Magen David Adom Israel)-Discussing testing during a webinar, Gold said: “We are on the way. We have about four groups that are working on this.”Gold described how the DRDD entered uncharted territory at the start of the pandemic, deploying 100 staff to find ways of helping the medical profession — including by visiting hospitals and repurposing defense technology to assist doctors.An Iron Dome Missile Battery near Tel Aviv, on the first day of Operation Protective Edge, July 8, 2014. (Photo by Flash90)-Gold said that the push to invent new coronavirus tests also involves deployment of defense expertise, though he didn’t provide details. “We take startups, whether from defense or the commercial [sector], and tune them to this,” he said. “We’re trying to detect the virus from the samples using radiation, electronics and chemical [means], and not biological means that are used today.” Currently, most testing involves taking swabs from a patient, and having the ribonucleic acid extracted and analyzed.During the webinar, CybertechLive Asia, Gold spoke of technology that “can sense what is going on in Israel” to warn of possible future spikes in coronavirus cases using big data and help inform decisions on lockdowns — though he didn’t discuss how the system gathers its information.“You can see a heat map where the corona is going to spread, when it’s going to spread, in what geographic location, at what time,” he said. “You can even cut it by what ages and other demographic parameters and you can plan where to close, who to release, what to do.”
EU must play global role in virus crisis, says Merkel-[AFP]-may 27, 2020
Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said the European Union should take more global responsibility in the coronavirus crisis, especially as ties with the United States were currently "difficult".In a speech outlining Germany's priorities when it takes over the EU's rotating presidency in July, Merkel said the economic and social upheaval from the pandemic has turned the world upside down.She welcomed the European Commission's proposed 750 billion euro coronavirus recovery fund for the bloc but said more should be done to help other countries."Especially in times of crisis I want the European Union to show solidarity on a global level too and take on more responsibility," she told the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung think tank by video link."In many places, the pandemic will intensify existing conflicts and problems and will therefore also become a stress test for the European Union."She called on the bloc to speak up for the values of "democracy, freedom and the protection of human dignity".Europe could not tackle the world's problems alone, however, and she said the United States remained Europe's "most important partner"."Of course I'm aware that the cooperation with America is currently more difficult than we'd like," Merkel said, pointing to differences with President Donald Trump's administration on trade, climate change and the importance of international bodies like the World Health Organization.Nevertheless, she said the transatlantic relationship was a "key pillar" of Europe's foreign policy and security interests that needed to be upheld and strengthened.Germany had initially planned to put relations with China at the centre of its six-month EU Council presidency before the pandemic pushed its way to the top of the agenda.The German leader, who is in the twilight of her chancellorship, said it was important for the bloc to maintain "constructive dialogue" with the increasingly assertive Asian giant -- seen as both a vital trading partner and a major rival.The European Union has "a great strategic interest" in working with China and "actively shaping" the relationship, Merkel said.The chancellor said she would push for progress on a long-sought investment agreement with Beijing, aimed at levelling the playing field between Chinese and European firms, as well as tackling climate and health issues.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people(ISRAEL) and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.(UPROOTED ISRAELIS AND DIVIDED JERUSALEM)(THIS BRINGS ON WW3 BECAUSE JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED,WARNING TO ARABS-MUSLIMS AND THE WORLD).
THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS
Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:(7 YEARS) and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he ( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant (PEACE TREATY) with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE ANIMAL SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
JERUSALEM DIVIDED
GENESIS 25:20-26
20 And Isaac was forty years old (A BIBLE GENERATION NUMBER=1967 + 40=2007+) when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children (2 NATIONS IN HER-ISRAEL-ARABS) struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;(ISRAEL AND THE ARABS) and the one people shall be stronger than the other people;(ISRAEL STRONGER THAN ARABS) and the elder shall serve the younger.(LITERALLY ISRAEL THE YOUNGER RULES (ISSAC)(JACOB-LATER NAME CHANGED TO ISRAEL) OVER THE OLDER ARABS (ISHMAEL)(ESAU)
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.(THE OLDER AN ARAB)
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob:(THE YOUNGER-ISRAELI) and Isaac was threescore (60) years old when she bare them.(1967 + 60=2027)(COULD BE THE LAST GENERATION WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED AMOUNG THE 2 TWINS)(THE 2 TWINS WANT JERUSALEM-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM TODAY)(AND WHOS IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM TODAY-THE YOUNGER ISSAC-JACOB-ISRAEL)(AND WHO WANTS JERUSALEM DIVIDED-THE OLDER,ESAU-ISHMAEL (THE ARABS)
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Amid annexation plans, US warns its citizens against West Bank travel-The Times of Israel-Embassy tells citizens to avoid Palestinian regions, where ‘violence can occur with little or no warning’; IDF official has predicted ‘wave of terror attacks’By TOI staff-may 28,20-Today, 3:49 pm
As Israel continues to push US-backed plans to annex parts of the West Bank in July, Washington on Thursday issued a security alert advising its citizens to execute extra caution when traveling to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, anticipating potential violence.The US Embassy in Jerusalem advised US citizens to “maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.”It warned that “violence can occur with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, government checkpoints, markets and shopping facilities or government facilities.”US citizens should carefully consider risks to their personal safety and security when considering visits to sites and events that are potential targets,” it added.The alert barred US government personnel from “engaging in personal travel to the West Bank, with the exception of the portions of Route 1, Route 443 and Route 90 that traverse the West Bank.” It said they were prohibited from traveling to Gaza.Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians earlier this week warned the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of staff and the defense minister of a potential wave of violence if the government follows through with its plans to unilaterally annex portions of the West Bank.Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. (Courtesy)-According to Army Radio, Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun — formally known as the coordinator of government activities in the territories — told army chief Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi and Defense Minister Benny Gantz that annexation “was likely to lead to a wave of terror attacks.”Last week, PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced that his security forces were halting coordination with Israel.While Israeli security officials have confirmed the PA has ended security cooperation, Channel 13 reported that Ramallah had sent messages to Israel saying it would not allow terror attacks against Israelis or a mass popular uprising.Though not widely discussed publicly, Israel’s cooperation with Palestinian security forces has been credited with thwarting many major terror attacks and being a significant factor in the relative calm in the West Bank in recent years.The scene of a suspected car-ramming attack in the southern West Bank on May 14, 2020. (Israel Defense Forces)-On Monday, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the PA would prevent widespread chaos and public disorder in the West Bank despite the severance of ties. Israel’s security establishment, however, fears that the Hamas terror group will exploit the escalating tensions to step up its activities in the West Bank.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he has set a July date for when Israel will extend its sovereignty over West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, and informed Likud lawmakers he had no intention of changing it.The move would be coordinated with the US, in accordance with the Middle East plan US President Donald Trump unveiled in January, which endorsed extending Israeli sovereignty over roughly 30 percent of the West Bank.PA President Mahmoud Abbas heads a leadership meeting at his headquarters, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 19, 2020. (Alaa Badarneh/Pool via AP)Netanyahu’s vow to go through with annexation has led to condemnations from a growing list on countries, including Arab states such as Jordan and European nations like France and Germany.In recent days even Trump administration officials have appeared to seek to dampen expectations that Washington will quickly green-light the move without any progress in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.The State Department’s chief spokesperson said earlier this month that any action should be part of discussions between Israel and the Palestinians on the Trump administration’s peace plan.Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.
Netanyahu: Palestinians in Israeli-annexed Jordan Valley won’t get citizenship-The Times of Israel-PM says he's 'convinced' Jordan won't alter peace treaty-In interviews, PM also rebuffs settler complaints, saying his annexation plan won’t mention Palestinian state, any settlement freeze will also apply to Palestinians in Area C-By TOI staff-MAY 28,20-Today, 3:47 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview Thursday that Palestinians living under Israeli rule in an annexed Jordan Valley would not receive Israeli citizenship.Palestinian towns and villages in the area will remain “Palestinian enclaves” under Palestinian rule but Israel security control, he explained.These Palestinian residential areas, which some estimates say are home to 50,000-65,000 Palestinians, “will remain as Palestinian enclaves,” he told the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom. “You don’t annex [the Palestinian city of] Jericho [which has a population of some 20,000]. There are one or two clusters [of Palestinian residential areas] where you don’t have to extend sovereignty; [their residents] will remain Palestinian subjects, but [overall Israeli] security control will apply there.”In a separate interview Thursday, Netanyahu dismissed fears increasingly expressed by settlers leaders regarding the US peace plan’s vision for the West Bank, saying that the mapping process is ongoing and that they were criticizing elements of the plan that still haven’t been determined and published.Vision for Peace Conceptual Map published by the Trump Administration on January 28, 2020.Speaking to the right-wing Makor Rishon newspaper, Netanyahu said he didn’t believe Jordan would annul the peace accord if Israel goes forward with his declared plan to annex some West Bank land including the Jordan Valley, and said any settlement construction freeze as part of the Trump plan would also apply to Palestinians in Area C — which is controlled by Israel.Netanyahu said he was committed to extending Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank in July, after a joint Israeli-US team completes a process of mapping the exact vision for the future of the territory based on a conceptual map released by US President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year.Many settler leaders have expressed concern about the Trump plan’s inclusion of a Palestinian state, even though it outlines many conditions for that state that are vehemently opposed by the Palestinian Authority, which has rejected the plan outright, calling it biased in favor of Israel.They are also roiled by the fact that at first, Netanyahu had indicated that Washington would immediately recognize Israeli sovereignty in all settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley within days of the plan’s announcement, before the administration clarified that the process would take many months.The settler leaders have drawn their own map, but that has reportedly not affected the committee’s work, leading to outcry and internal discord.Netanyahu said the declaration of annexation will not include a word on accepting a future Palestinian state, as some on the right have feared: “The issue is separate. There isn’t supposed to be any cabinet decision on the matter.”In his conversation with Makor Rishon, Netanyahu said the conceptual map for annexation “gave a general idea that has to be broken down into details, and that’s exactly what we’re doing at the moment. We will, of course, show it to the settlers.”The premier repeated that the important part of the plan was the paradigm shift in which “thus far Israel was always the one that had to compromise, give up and withdraw. That was the basic idea of every peace deal we were handed. Now President Trump and his people come and change the direction. They say Israel doesn’t need to compromise, the Palestinians do.”The Trump plan also includes a freeze for at least four years of all settlement construction outside existing settlements in Area C — which represents some 60% of the West Bank under full Israel civil and military control, where some 450,000 settlers live alongside an estimated 240,000 Palestinians.Netanyahu told Makor Rishon that any such freeze would equally apply to “both sides,” meaning also to Palestinian construction in Area C. He said that was written down in the plan, even though the interviewer noted that it isn’t written in its publicly released parts.Illustrative: Construction work in the Dagan neighborhood of the settlement of Efrat, in the West Bank on July 22, 2019. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)-The premier dismissed concerns that some isolated settlements will remain as enclaves inside Palestinian-controlled areas, saying that settlers already commonly drive on many West Bank roads surrounded on both sides by the Palestinian Authority.“People are talking about the plan without knowing it,” Netanyahu said. “What this plan says is that Israel and its security forces will militarily control all the territory west of the Jordan River. I stress: all the territory, with no exception. Tell me, when has there ever been such an American approach? They allowed us, at most, to conduct urgent pursuits of terrorists. Now there’s a profound paradigm shift.”Netanyahu insinuated that those on the right rejecting the Trump plan were similar to Palestinian leaders who in the past rejected peace offers “because they wanted everything, including Jaffa and Kfar Saba.”He also dismissed concerns that annexation would prompt strong retaliatory moves by the Palestinians and Arab and European countries. He said he was convinced the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan wouldn’t be affected, despite growing threats from Amman to annul or downgrade it.“The peace with Jordan is a vital interest not only for the State of Israel but also for Jordan,” Netanyahu said. “I don’t think it’s going to change. However, it is natural that such moves raise concerns.”Outside of the annexation push, Netanyahu also continued his attacks on the justice system and the media following this week’s opening of his corruption trial.“They thought I would come to court shamed and disgraced, but I came full of grit and strength,” he boasted, referring to his fiery speech before the hearing in which he asserted that the “entire right wing” was on trial due to a conspiracy by a corrupt, leftist legal system, as well as the police and media.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement before entering a courtroom at the Jerusalem District Court on May 24, 2020, for the start of his corruption trial. Among those alongside him from left are Likud MKs and ministers Gadi Yevarkan, Amir Ohana, Miri Regev, Nir Barkat, Israel Katz, Tzachi Hanegbi, Yoav Gallant and David Amsalem (Yonathan Sindel/POOL/AFP)-He rejected accusations that he was inciting against the law enforcement system and pushing for a civil war: “There won’t be a civil war, but there is a very fundamental debate. Criticism isn’t an attack and isn’t incitement — it is the beating heart of democracy. It cannot be that in a democracy one can’t express criticism.”The prime minister also lambasted the International Criminal Court for moving toward opening a war crimes probe into Israel at the PA’s request.“This is an archaic, anarchist body formed decades ago that aims to fabricate war crime convictions of IDF soldiers and the State of Israel,” he said. He added that Israel has taken action against PA President Mahmoud Abbas for filing a complaint at the court, but didn’t elaborate.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)
Russia in talks with world leaders to attend WWII commemoration parade in June-The Times of Israel-Putin says with 9,000 daily infections, his country has passed the peak of the coronavirus pandemic and Victory Day parade postponed from May can go ahead-By AFP-may 28,20-Today, 6:49 pm
MOSCOW — Russia is coordinating with countries including France to invite their leaders to attend a massive military parade in Moscow on June 24, the Kremlin said Thursday.President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced the annual May 9 Victory Day parade would be held in June after postponing the event last month to slow the spread of the coronavirus.He said it was possible to reschedule the event because Russia had passed the peak of the pandemic.The new date of June 24 is 75 years after the first victory parade in Red Square following Germany’s surrender to Soviet commanders on May 9.Russian President Vladimir Putin looks at military aircraft flying over the Kremlin and Red Square to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Moscow, May 9, 2020. (Alexey DRUZHININ / SPUTNIK / AFP)-“It’s quite a short period for compiling the schedules of international leaders,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, saying invitations would be “coordinated on a case-by-case basis.”“This will be coordinated with each country individually,” he said, adding that Moscow was already in touch with France.Peskov said invitations to several former Soviet countries were being renewed and Kyrgyzstan on Thursday confirmed its president would attend, TASS news agency reported.A foreign ministry official told RIA Novosti news agency earlier Thursday that participating countries including France were being issued “repeat invitations.”The postponement of the mass event had been a blow to Putin, who had hoped to gather world leaders to watch thousands of troops march on Red Square to celebrate 75 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany.China’s leader Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron of France were among the most high-profile confirmed attendees with invitations sent to other world leaders including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump.After peaking in mid-May at more than 11,000 new coronavirus cases per day, the number of daily infections in Russia has dropped below 9,000.The country has the third-highest number of cases at 379,051 after the United States and Brazil.
How the Canaanites, Biblical frenemies of the Israelites, kept genetic integrity-The Times of Israel-ArchaeologyNot just shared ideas, but a people of similar ancestry-Major study shows Canaanites maintained coherent genetic mix even though they were widely dispersed, and it can still be discerned in modern Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations-By Amanda Borschel-Dan-may 28,20-Today, 6:06 pm
A new international, interdisciplinary study provides intriguing answers to the origins and history of the Canaanite people. In an article published May 28 in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Cell, scientists report that over thousands of years, the widely dispersed Canaanite people maintained themselves as a demographically coherent group.The study was performed through a genome-wide analysis of ancient DNA samples from the remains of 93 individuals at nine Bronze Age Canaanite sites throughout the Levant.“The Canaanites, albeit living in different city-states, were culturally and genetically similar,” said Hebrew University ancient DNA specialist Liran Carmel.For centuries, scholars have debated over who the Canaanites were and where they originated. Ancient “frenemies” of the conquering Israelites, the Canaanites were recorded throughout the Bible and in historical documents up to 3,500 years old as a group of peoples living throughout the Levant who were ruled by their own city/state kings.The study also discovered that they shared a genetic relationship with another group of people who slowly and continuously migrated from the far-away Caucausus and/or Zagros Mountain regions. This special genetic mix of Canaanite and mountain peoples can still be seen in some form with modern Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations, wrote the authors.“Our results in this new study show that the ‘Canaanite’ term that is known from the archaeological and historical literature in fact corresponded to a genetically mostly homogeneous group of people — it was not just a shared set of ideas, but a people of similar ancestry,” Harvard University Ancient Genetics Prof. David Reich told The Times of Israel on Thursday.Hebrew University Prof. Liran Carmel.Data from DNA samples that came from 73 new individuals from five archaeological sites throughout the Southern Levant dating to the Middle-to-Late Bronze Age, was added to previously reported data from 20 individuals from four sites. The study was completed by a large interdisciplinary team, including University of Vienna biological anthropologist Ron Pinhasi, Hebrew University geneticist Shai Carmi, Tel Aviv University archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, Hebrew University’s Carmel, and Harvard’s Reich.But while archaeological finds at identifiably Canaanite sites point to the far-flung peoples as having their own particular material culture, until now it was unknown whether they had a discernible genetic group as well.The results of the Canaanite samples were cross-checked with other ancient peoples, including Philistine DNA from recent academic studies. Carmel, who researches ancient DNA and human evolution, told The Times of Israel, “we see that genetically, the Canaanites are more similar to each other than other groups in the region were to them.”A continuous drip-drop of migration? In the paper, “The Genomic History of the Bronze Age Southern Levant,” the authors write that they had three research goals in mind: “We sought to determine the extent of genetic homogeneity among the sites associated with Canaanite material culture. Second, we analyzed the data to gain insights into the timing, extent and origin of gene flow that brought Zagros- and Caucasus-related ancestry to the Bronze Age Southern Levant. Third, we assessed the extent to which additional gene flow events have affected the region since that time.”Decorated bone plaques discovered inside the 3,600-year-old Canaanite tomb at Megiddo that likely covered a box made out of wood or other perishable materials. (Adam Prins)-Carmel said that Bronze Age (circa 3500-1150 BCE) populations in the Southern Levant — today’s Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Syria — were not static. “Rather, we observe evidence for the movement of people over long periods of time from the northeast of the Ancient Near East, including modern Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, into the Southern Levant region,” he said in a Hebrew University press release on the new study.In the Canaanite samples, Hebrew University Genetics Prof. Shai Carmi told The Times of Israel, “What we found is that the origins are a roughly equal mixture of people from the Caucasus/Zagros, along with local people from the Levant.”Carmi said that according to the data, “there was migration from the Caucasus/Zagros into the Levant that has replaced some proportion of the population between 8000 and 3500 years ago (and possibly continued)… We showed that people migrated from the Caucasus/Zagros and assimilated (genetically) in the Levant. That is to say, they didn’t remain as an independent and distinct group but merged with the local populations.”Carmi said scientists still don’t know the hows and whys of the migration based on the genetic data. “The process of mixing of populations was and still is very common across human populations,” said Carmi.-Hurrian ties and the color purple-A possible explanation of why the peoples may have continuously migrated to the Levant might be found in a theory on the Hurrian origin of the name Canaanite itself. Hurrian was a language spoken in the northeast of the ancient Near East, possibly including the Caucasus, according to the Cell article.Murex shells, Tel Shikmona, Israel. Iron Age II, 10th-7th centuries BCE (courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority/Moshe Caine)-The entry for “Canaan/Canaanite” in the Bialik Institute’s comprehensive Encyclopaedia Biblica states the name may be related to purple dye. It writes that in the Nuzi Tablets, some 5,000 tablets found in modern Iraq mostly dating to the Hurrian period (15th century BCE), the Hurrian word “kinakhkhu” was used for the biblical purple color argaman, which is made from murex snails.In a rather convoluted explanation, ties are made between this Hurrian word for “purple” to the ancient Greek word for the Levant, “Phoenicia,” which means “Land of Purple.” It also mentions ancient Egyptian correspondence speaking about the capture of purple dye merchants — the “kina’nu” — while Pharaoh was on tour in Syria in 1428 BCE.According to the online Ancient History Encyclopedia, “…Theories cite ‘Canaan’ as derived from the Hurrian language for ‘purple’ and, as the Greeks knew the Canaanites as ‘Phoenicians’ (Greek for ‘purple’) and as the Phoenicians worked in purple dye and so were called by the Greeks ‘purple people,’ this explanation is the most probable.”Assuming that the Canaanites were the “purple people,” or at least merchants for the very valuable purple dye, that may help explain the proliferation of Hurrian names of rulers in Canaanite settlements that are documented in the 2nd millennium BCE.Woolen fleeces dyed in different colors with dye extracted from Murex trunculus snails (courtesy of Ptil Tekhelet/Moshe Caine)-In samples taken from 35 individuals from Tel Megiddo (northern Israel), it was discovered that the influx of migration from the possibly Hurrian-speaking areas of the Zagros/Caucasus Mountains continued through a rise in the percentage of this foreign DNA in a few “outliers” found at the site.“The Canaanite society of Megiddo was certainly tolerant of foreigners and immigrants, as shown by the several genetic outlier individuals we detect there,” said geneticist Carmi.Archaeologist Finkelstein told The Times of Israel that these individuals were buried close to the palace in a tomb related to the fantastically preserved Canaanite “Royal Tomb” uncovered recently.Asked about the reasons behind the migration, Finkelstein wrote in an email, “Why is a good question, to which, for the time being, we don’t have an answer.”“We think that the origin of these people was the Caucasus. To just walk from there to Megiddo would take a long time, perhaps a month or more, but I don’t think that it worked that way. We are probably speaking about a gradual movement to the south, and one which continued ‘betiftufim; [in drips and drabs] for many centuries,” said Finkelstein.Gold torque necklace worn by an adult male buried inside the Canaanite tomb discovered at Megiddo. (Adam Prins)-Finkelstein referred to Bronze Age archaeological evidence found in the Levant that tie the material culture of the Caucasus Mountain people to the Levant from the Early Bronze Age, including the Khirbet Kerak (Beth-yerah) vessels. “For later, in the second millennium, Hurrian names of local rulers in the [14th century BCE] Amarna tablets, including the name of the ruler (king) of the city-state of Megiddo – Biridiya.”According to Carmi, “The strength of the migration from the northeast of the Ancient Near East, and the fact that this migration continued for many centuries, may help to explain why rulers of city-states in Canaan in the Late Bronze Age carry non-Semitic, Hurrian names… There were strong and active connections between these regions through movements of people that help to understand the shared elements of culture.”Views of Megiddo, the ancient city from where most of the Canaanite DNA samples for the 2020 Hebrew University study were taken. (Megiddo Expedition)-A Hurrian/Canaanite diaspora?In the article, the authors state, “We found that both Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations are compatible with having more than 50% Middle Eastern-related ancestry.” At the same time, the direct contribution of the Canaanites to modern populations cannot be accurately quantified, they write.So there is some genetic tie between the Canaanites and modern Arabic-speaking and Jewish populations? Hebrew University’s Carmel laughed when asked if his research team’s methods would be available to those who, for example, want to check if they have Jewish ancestry.“It would be a little bit of an overkill, to say the least,” he laughed, pointing the curious to the many online genetic testing sites available on the market.Image of Akrotiri, a Minoan Bronze Age settlement on Greek island of Santorini where the volcano Thera erupted, wiping out the island. (Gretchen Gibbs)-Harvard’s Reich said that there are other examples in the ancient world of a dispersed, but culturally and genetically close people.“The analogy I like is to two other famous ancient cultures that inhabited the eastern Mediterranean at around the same time as the Canaanites: (1) the people associated with the ‘Minoan’ culture of ancient Crete, and (2) the people associated with the ‘Mycenaean’ culture of ancient Greece,” said Reich. “Archaeologists studying the material remains these people left behind and the written records left by the Mycenaeans have put names on these ancient cultures, but there was always a question whether the material artifacts associated with these cultures were associated with homogeneous genetic populations.“In 2017, we published a paper showing that in fact, ‘Minoans’ and ‘Mycenaeans’ each corresponded to a coherent and relatively homogeneous genetic cluster (which were different from each other and also different from people both to the east and the west in the Mediterranean),” wrote Reich in an email.Illustrative photo of Ashkenazi Jews, taken from Nurit Ben Sheetri’s ‘The Redheads’ exhibit at Dizengoff Center (courtesy Nurit Ben Sheetrit)Talk of dispersed, but linked peoples brings to mind the idea of the Jewish Diaspora. Asked if the new study shows that the Canaanites were part of some similar type of diaspora stretching from the Caucasus Mountains, Hebrew University’s Shai Carmi demurred. “I’m not sure it’s really a diaspora. Maybe it’s more like Spanish people moving to the Americas a few hundreds of years ago and merging with the local populations,” said Carmi.There are also modern-day examples of similar relationships, said Carmi. “For example, Ashkenazi Jews from all over the world are genetically very similar. Druze live in multiple countries in the Middle East but are genetically similar… African Americans have been in the US for hundreds of years, but the vast majority of their genetic ancestry is shared with West Africans,” said Carmi.In general, people that lived thousands of years ago are remarkably similar to present-day peopleAs scientists are increasingly filling out the data set for ancient people’s DNA, one can only wonder if the differences between modern and ancient man are in any way remarkable. Apparently, that’s a matter of perspective.“In general, people that lived thousands of years ago are remarkably similar to present-day people,” said Carmel. “If you go sufficiently back in time, for example to the adoption of agriculture in Europe, you may track changes in adaptive alleles such as lactose tolerance. But this doesn’t really apply to populations, such of those of the Bronze Age, which are very close in time to present-day populations.”
Orthodoxy can withstand an unflinching, academic look at the Bible, says scholar-The Times of Israel-ShavuotWork is a bridge between Bible literalists and skeptics-In new book ‘Ani Maamin,’ Bar-Ilan University prof/Orthodox rabbi Joshua Berman faces crises of faith head on, using academic research to uphold the integrity of the biblical text-By Sam Sokol-M,AY 28,20-Today, 12:06 pm
Bible Prof. Joshua Berman says he has been “inundated with emails” in recent years from people in the middle of an existential crisis: They are seeking to square their religious faith with the results of academic scholarship calling into question the divinity and unity of the Masoretic text.The problem, he wrote in “Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith,” released in late February, is that the theological issues raised by such research are perceived as threatening in some corners. As a result, “many rabbis and educators would not dare broach this topic for themselves, and certainly not with their students and congregants.”And, Berman wrote, when members of the Orthodox community do inevitably run across scholarship in fields such as source criticism — which attempts to identify the putative original textual source texts that comprise the Torah — they often conclude that if their “teachers never acknowledged any of this, it must be because the tradition has nothing to say in its defense.”“Until about 10 or 15 years ago people could easily live in their own bubble and not deal with biblical criticism,” Berman, a professor of Bible at Bar-Ilan University and an ordained Orthodox rabbi, told The Times of Israel. But over the last decade or so, “even with the highest walls around you, it seeps in via the internet.”Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman. (Courtesy)When confronted with such challenges, “people with deep emotional commitments to tradition veer off to simplistic beliefs, and people who are more intellectually inclined give up on finding how tradition speaks to them,” Berman said.In response, Berman wrote “Ani Maamin” to present a third option to believers unwilling to either retreat into fundamentalism or give up on the basis of their faith. Based on years of scholarship, he insists that his book is not a work of rabbinic apologia but rather a popularization of academic findings vetted by colleagues and published in peer reviewed journals.His previous book, “Inconsistency in the Torah: Ancient Literary Convention and the Limits of Source Criticism,” was published in 2017 by Oxford University Press.The reigning paradigm in biblical studies is that inconsistencies in the biblical text hint at several previous textual iterations that were combined by an unknown redactor into the text we currently posses. By careful study the outlines of these previous documents can be identified.But Berman takes issue with the assumptions underpinning such an effort.“I’d call it a kind of pseudoscience,” he said, explaining that in no other field of study of ancient literature can one find an example of scholars attempting to reproduce source documents from a finished text without any outside documentary proof of their theories.Many of those studying the Bible also make the mistake of applying modern sensibilities to the text, making assumptions that repetition — especially when variant versions of a story exist in a text — are a sign of disparate texts being merged, he said.An ancient Yemenite Torah scroll and book at the Bible Lands Museum. (Shmuel Bar-Am)-However, Berman argued, there is another way to understand narrative inconsistencies, especially those in the Book of Deuteronomy, which are frequently at odds with retellings in previous books of the Bible.Noting that it is almost impossible to find a consistent agenda behind these retellings, he argued that the only thing they have in common is that in them, God tends to judge the Israelites more harshly than in previous accounts.When a reader begins to look at the Bible as modeled on ancient vassal treaties — compacts between lesser and greater kings in the ancient Near East — this begins to make sense, Berman said, noting that the standard format of such documents usually contained a narrative portion explaining the historical background of the compact.“There are many scholars that see Deuteronomy as a renewal of the treaty from Mount Sinai,” he said.There are many scholars that see Deuteronomy as a renewal of the treaty from Mount Sinai-Such stories were traditionally told “differently each time they renewed the treaty, and it was very clear to everyone there would be differences because these stories were diplomatic signalizing,” he said.The new versions, Berman said, were intended to “shape the perception of what was happening now between the king and the vassals” and were meant to be understood within the context of previously written narratives.This leads to another of Berman’s arguments, which is that by applying contemporary concepts of history and fact, readers are making critical mistakes about how the Bible would have been received and understood by the ancient Hebrews.Prior to the 19th century, much of what we now look back on as history was composed for hortatory purposes. It used history, sometimes embellished, to make a moral or political point, and the “essential nature of these compositions as exhortation leaves us today trapped unaware by our modern binary categories of fiction and non-fiction,” he wrote.“Many of these pesky questions arise from our modern eyes and sensitivities and [because] we’ve lost touch with ancient Mideast ways of writing and thinking,” he said.Illustrative: This undated photo provided by the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem shows tablets with cuneiform writing, one of the world’s earliest scripts, on display in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Avi Noam, Bible Lands Museum)As an example of this kind of embellishment, Berman cites the use of census numbers in the Torah, arguing that they were more likely symbolic than accurate demographic data and that their meaning would have been understood by early readers without taking away from their belief in the basic historical accuracy of the Exodus account.Berman defends this narrative in his book in several ways, including by pointing out that many of the major non-biblical events known through ancient writings “are archaeologically invisible.” Implying that there is a double-standard at work, he argues that the basic stories, if not many of the surrounding details, of such writings are usually accepted as having some historical grounding — even as many scholars cast doubt on the veracity of events recounted in the Torah.The Exodus: Illustration of Moses leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt in the Kaufmann Haggadah, 14th century. (Wikimedia Commons)-He also notes that there are multiple allusions throughout the Exodus narrative that “strikingly appear to reflect the realities of late second-millennium [BCE] Egypt” which “a scribe living centuries later and inventing the story of afresh would have been unlikely to know.”Using such an approach to understand the Torah “sounds very new but it goes back to deep roots in our tradition,” Berman said, describing how the 12th century philosopher Maimonides “wrote about seeking out all the literature he could find about the ancient Near East and lamented in the ‘Guide to the Perplexed’ that he couldn’t be certain that the more he learned, the more he’d understand the reasons for the Mitzvot.”Citing Maimonides’s dictum that many of the Torah’s laws and practices were commanded as part of an effort to combat pagan ways of thinking prevalent in the region at the time, he argued that many details in the Torah can be best understood in such a light, writing that one can discern the “dynamics of appropriation” in the Torah.From the form of the tabernacle in the wilderness, which he argues is based on the portable throne tent of Ramses II, to the use of terminology like God taking the Israelites out of Egypt “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,” which has precedents in ancient Egyptian literature, Berman believes that the Torah is full of cultural allusions which would have been deeply meaningful for contemporary Jews’ forebears but which can now only be understood through the lens of academic research.“If you are born in the 21st century there’s a ton you’re not gonna get about the Torah,” he said.Berman believes that it is his unique background that allowed him to grapple with ideas that others have shunned.6“My parents were not from Orthodox backgrounds, but in the euphoria after the Six-Day War they wanted me to have a Jewish and Zionist education,” which led him to decide that he wanted to adopt religious observance, Berman recalled.“This is important for understanding this book because my whole life has been spent examining the tradition from within and without, and I had to find a way of dealing with challenging issues because my acceptance of observance was a choice,” he said.I had to find a way of dealing with challenging issues because my acceptance of observance was a choice-Berman would eventually go on to spend eight years at Yeshivat Har Etzion in the West Bank, where he received his rabbinic ordination, with a break in the middle to study religion at Princeton University. After several years of teaching, he decided to “expand his toolbox of resources” and at the age of 32, started studying for a doctorate in biblical studies at Bar-Ilan.It was only a decade ago in his mid-40s that Berman began investigating the subjects that now constitute the core of his academic research as a result of seeing many of his contemporaries grappling with issues that had previously been largely limited to the academic elite.Joining a discussion group of Orthodox thinkers, Berman was shocked to discover that rabbinic figures he respected had simply accepted the basic approach of biblical criticism and believed that they had “to figure out how to get the handmaiden of the tradition to bow down to the master of the academy.”“Being myself already in the academy with tenured positions and reading journals and attending conferences, I realized this isn’t the way to go,” he recalled. “There are good questions from academia but the answers are by no means unidimensional or ironclad and we needed a much more nuanced approach.”Illustrative: A thousand-year-old Hebrew Bible, called the Washington Pentateuch, was unveiled to the public for the first time in a special exhibition at Museum of the Bible on November 7, 2019 (Courtesy).Out of the biblical boxWhile Berman is well respected, his approach is certainly out of the mainstream in his field.“He’s a serious scholar well informed in the Bible and ancient Near East, but I’m personally not convinced by his arguments against source criticism,” said Israel Knohl, professor of biblical studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.Israel Knohl. (Youtube Screenshot)-“I do believe that there are significant differences between parallel stories, for example in the beginning of the Torah where we have two very different narratives about creation,” he said.“Rather to try and make them into one I would prefer to see them as the two different divine voices.”Berman is a “trailblazer,” argued Jeffrey Woolf, a historian and professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University.“He is incredibly brave because, contrary to what some people might assert, in academia in every academic field there is a certain consensus about the truth of the field in which you operate and you work within the framework,” Woolf said.“It’s considered to be incredibly threatening and almost heresy to question a paradigm,” he said.It’s considered to be incredibly threatening and almost heresy to question a paradigm-While it is unlikely that Berman will change the direction of the field of biblical studies, he is starting to have an impact on elements within the Orthodox community.“His scholarship stands on its own. Everything he writes in the present book he has published in first-rate, A+ academic bible journals, so this is not a case of Orthodox apologetics or trying to fudge the truth or adapt things,” Woolf said. “He looks at the evidence straight on.”Dr. Jeffrey Woolf, from the Naftal-Yaffe Talmud Department at Bar Ilan University (courtesy)-There certainly has been interest and not just among the Modern Orthodox.“I had a Zoom meeting last week with five Satmar guys,” Berman recalled, describing a teleconference in which members of the insular Hasidic sect posed hard-hitting questions about the Bible, showing that the influence of academia has even penetrated into some of the more closed-off Orthodox communities.Time for a more confident Orthodoxy-But beyond taking aim at source criticism and arguing that knowledge of the cultural context of the ancient Near East can help believers better understand their own scriptures, Berman said that he had another reason for writing his book.“I wrote ‘Ani Maamin’ to advance a vision of Orthodoxy,” he told The Times of Israel. “This is about the Orthodoxy of confidence and courage, not the Orthodoxy of fear and escape.”When we hide from challenging questions we lose ourselves-“When we hide from challenging questions we lose ourselves,” he said. “Your conscience knows you are hiding. And when you cower in fear — in any realm — you forestall the capacity to realize your full potential and greatness.”By taking a public stand on such a contentious issue, Berman said that he hoped to not only answer people’s questions but to help inject a new vitality and confidence into the religion.“This is about returning honesty to its central place in our Orthodoxy as we stand before the Almighty in all realms,” Berman said. “This is about an Orthodoxy that embraces the world in which the Almighty has placed us, here and now, rather than wishing we lived in an idealized and imagined past.”
OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold,(7X OR 7-DEGREES HOTTER) as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people,(ISRAEL) and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened,(DAY LIGHT HOURS SHORTENED) there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)(THE ASTEROID HITS EARTH HERE)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Violent protests rock Minneapolis for 2nd straight night-[Associated Press]-DOUG GLASS-May 28, 2020
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Violent protests over the death of a black man in police custody rocked a Minneapolis neighborhood for a second straight night as angry crowds looted stores, set fires and left a path of damage that stretched for miles. The mayor asked the governor to activate the National Guard.The protests that began late Wednesday and stretched into Thursday morning were the most destructive yet since the death of George Floyd, who was seen on video gasping for breath during an arrest in which an officer kneeled on his neck for almost eight minutes. In the footage, George pleads that he cannot breathe and slowly stops talking and moving.Mayor Jacob Frey sought calm. “Please, Minneapolis, we cannot let tragedy beget more tragedy,” he said on TwitterProtests also spread to other U.S. cities. In California, hundreds of people protesting Floyd’s death blocked a Los Angeles freeway and shattered windows of California Highway Patrol cruisers. Memphis police blocked a main thoroughfare after a racially mixed group of protesters gathered outside a police precinct. The situation intensified later in the night, with police donning riot gear and protesters standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of officers stationed behind a barricade.Minneapolis police said the violence contrasted sharply with a mostly peaceful demonstration Tuesday afternoon at the street corner where Floyd died.“They were chanting for things to remain peaceful,” police spokesman John Elder said. “Tonight didn’t have the same feel. And that’s sad.”Pockets of looting continued Thursday. A liquor store employee displayed a gun as he stood among the debris of broken bottles and beer cans inside the business.Amid the violence, a man was found fatally shot Wednesday night near a pawn shop, possibly by the owner, authorities said.Fire crews responded to about 30 intentionally set blazes during the protests, including at least 16 structure fires, and multiple fire trucks were damaged by rocks and other projectiles, the fire department said. No one was hurt by the blazes.Firefighters were still spraying water onto hot buildings Thursday morning, and some buildings still smoldered, sending a bitter smell into the smoke-filled air.Windows were smashed out of several businesses in a strip mall, including a department store, a charter school and other businesses, and the destruction was visible for blocks. A Wendy’s restaurant was damaged beyond recognition.Inside some of the stores, shelves were toppled and debris strewn about. Video taken inside a damaged Target that had been looted showed empty clothing racks. Obscenities were spray-painted on the outside of the store. Streets and parking lots were also covered in debris, and many businesses had been spray-painted.There was no sign of a police presence, except around the precinct building, where officers were in riot gear. One man standing outside the building was using a bullhorn to shout. “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe. Mama, I can’t breathe,” repeating some of Floyd’s pleas for relief.Across from the precinct, someone had spray-painted the sidewalk in red: “Where’s humanity?”Protesters began gathering Wednesday afternoon near the city's 3rd Precinct station, in the southern part of the city, where the 46-year-old Floyd died on Memorial Day as police arrested him outside a convenience store on a report of a counterfeit bill being passed. Demonstrators also skirmished with officers, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas in a repeat of Tuesday night’s confrontation.The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI in Minneapolis said Thursday they were conducting “a robust criminal investigation” into Floyd's death and making the case a priority. The announcement came a day after President Donald Trump tweeted that he had asked an investigation to be expedited.The FBI had already announced that it would investigate whether Floyd’s civil rights were violated.The officer who kneeled on Floyd and three others were fired Tuesday. On Wednesday, the mayor called for him to be criminally charged.Frey appealed to Gov. Tim Walz to activate the National Guard, a spokesman confirmed Thursday. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Walz tweeted for calm Wednesday night, calling the violence “an extremely dangerous situation” and urging people to leave the scene.The last time the Minnesota National Guard was called out to deal with civil unrest was in a backup role during the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul. The most comparable situation to the current disturbances happened when the Guard was called up to deal with the riots in Minneapolis in 1967, a summer when anger over racial inequalities came to a boil in many cities across the country.The Minnesota National Guard was also called out during protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s and during a 1986 strike by Hormel meatpackers in Austin.___Associated Press writers Amy Forliti and Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
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-CHEMICAL WEAPONS
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(BIOLOGICAL/CHEMICAL/NUCLEAR) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(HEATING UP-SOLAR ECLIPSES) and in the moon,(MAN ON THE MOON-LUNAR ECLIPSES) and in the stars;(ASTEROIDS-PROPHECY SIGNS) 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,(TORNADOES,HURRICANES,STORMS) and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:(DESTRUCTION) for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.(FROM QUAKES,NUKES ETC)
REVELATION 16:21 80-120LB HAIL ON HUMANS
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent:(80-120 LBS) and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
World-Iran outraged by 'honour killing' of 14-year-old girl Romina Ashrafi-[The Telegraph]-Our Foreign Staff-May 28, 2020
The killing of an Iranian teen by her father after she eloped with an older man sparked outrage on Wednesday, with local media denouncing "institutionalised violence" in "patriarchal" Iran.Iranian media covered the apparent "honour" crime extensively, with Ebtekar newspaper leading its front page with the headline "Unsafe father's house".According to local media, Romina Ashrafi was killed in her sleep on May 21 by her father, who decapitated her in the family home in Talesh in northern Gilan province.The reports said her father had refused her permission to marry a man fifteen years her senior, spurring her to run away, but she was returned home after her father reported her.The legal marriage age in Iran is 13 for women.Iranian media reported that after authorities detained the teenager, she told a judge she feared for her life if she was returned to home.But what most outraged public opinion was the lenient punishment the father is likely to face, Ebtekar wrote.The newspaper notes that Iran's normal "eye for an eye" retributive justice does not apply to fathers who kill their children.Accordingly, he is likely to face three to 10 years in prison, a sentence that could be reduced further, the newspaper wrote, denouncing the "institutionalised violence" of Iran's "patriarchal culture".With the farsi hashtag #Romina_Ashrafi focusing outrage on Twitter, President Hassan Rouhani "expressed his regrets" in a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, pleading for the speedy passing of several anti-violence bills, his office said.On Twitter, Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, said a bill on the protection of young people was in the "final phase" of validation by Iran's Guardian Council.The council, which vets legislation to ensure compliance with Iran's constitution and Islamic sharia law, has thrice previously called for changes to the law after it was passed by lawmakers, Ebtekar newspaper wrote.The publication fears that if the council sends back the bill, it will be buried by Iran's new parliament, which held its first session Wednesday and is dominated by conservatives and hardliners opposed to Rouhani.
Virus, heat wave and locusts form perfect storm in India-[Associated Press]-EMILY SCHMALL-May 28, 2020
NEW DELHI (AP) — As if the coronavirus wasn't enough, India grappled with scorching temperatures and the worst locust invasion in decades as authorities prepared for the end of a monthslong lockdown despite recording thousands of new infections every day.This triple disaster drew biblical comparisons and forced officials to try to balance the competing demands of simultaneous public health crises: protection from eviscerating heat but also social distancing in newly reopened parks and markets.The heat wave threatens to compound challenges of containing the virus, which has started spreading more quickly and broadly since the government began easing restrictions of one of the world’s most stringent lockdowns earlier this month.“The world will not get a chance to breathe anymore. The ferocity of crises are increasing, and they’re not going to be spaced out,” said Sunita Narain of New Delhi’s Center for Science and Environment.When her 6-year-old son woke up with a parched throat and a fever, housekeeper Kalista Ekka wanted to bring him to the hospital. But facing a deluge of COVID-19 patients, the doctor advised Ekka to keep him at home despite boiling temperatures in the family's two-room apartment in a low-income neighborhood in South Delhi.“The fan only makes it hotter but we can't open the window because it has no screen,” and thus no defense against malaria and dengue-carrying mosquitoes, Ekka said.In a nearby upmarket enclave crowded with walkers and joggers every morning and at dusk — some with face coverings, some without — neighbors debated the merits of masks in an online forum.In the heat, “it is very dangerous to work out with a mask. So a Catch-22 situation,” said Asmita Singh.Temperatures soared to 118 degrees Fahrenheit (47.6 degrees Celsius) in the capital New Delhi this week, marking the warmest May day in 18 years, and 122 F (50 C) in the desert state of Rajasthan, after the world’s hottest April on record.India suffers from severe water shortages and tens of millions lack running water and air conditioning, leaving many to seek relief under shady trees in public parks and stepwells, the ancient structures used to harvest rainwater.Though many people continued wearing masks properly, others pushed them onto chins, or had foregone them altogether.Cyclone Amphan, a massive super storm that crossed the unusually warm Bay of Bengal last week, sucked up huge amounts of moisture, leaving dry, hot winds to form a heat wave over parts of central and northern India.At the same time, swarms of desert locusts have devastated crops in India’s heartland, threatening an already vulnerable region that is struggling with the economic cost of the lockdown.Exasperated farmers have been banging plates, whistling or throwing stones to try to drive the locusts away, and sometimes even lighting fires to smoke them out. The swarms appeared poised to head from Rajasthan north to Delhi, but on Wednesday a change in wind direction sent them southward toward the state of Madhya Pradesh instead.K.L. Gurjar, a top official of India’s Locust Warning Organization, said his 50-person team was scrambling to stop the swarms before breeding can take place during India’s monsoons, which begin in July. Otherwise, he said, the locusts could destroy India’s summer crops.Meanwhile, India reported another record single-day jump of more than 6,500 coronavirus cases on Thursday, pushing up the total to 158,333 confirmed cases and 4,531 deaths.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is preparing a new set of guidelines to be issued this weekend, possibly extending the lockdown in worst-hit areas while promoting economic activity elsewhere, with unemployment surging to 25%.The sudden halt to the Indian economy when the lockdown began March 25 has been devastating for daily laborers and migrant workers, who fled cities on foot for their family homes in the countryside.The government started running special trains for the migrants, but deaths on the rails because of starvation or dehydration have been reported. Others immediately put into quarantine centers upon their arrival in home districts have tested positive for COVID-19, adding to the burden of severely strained rural health systems.To jump start the economy, Modi’s environment ministry has moved to lower liabilities for industrial polluters and given private players the right to explore for coal and mine it. Cheap oil will fuel recovery efforts worldwide.Indian environmental journalist Joydeep Gupta said that the perfect storm of pandemic, heat and locusts show India must go green. He said the government should implement policies to safeguard biodiversity and offer incentives for green energy to reduce greenhouse gases that cause climate change.Instead, “the government is promoting the same sectors of the industry that have caused the multiple crises in the first place,” he said.But Narain said other government initiatives that expand federal agriculture employment, cash transfer and food ration programs help India deal more effectively with its threats.“It’s building coping abilities of the very poor to be able to deal with stress after stress after stress,” she said.
