Aug. 27….(FOJ) Well, they did it. They removed the 10 Commandments from Alabama’s judicial hall. While a chorus of demonstrators screamed, "put it back", the monument with God’s only personal writing to this world was hauled off out of sight, less it offend someone. This “is a tremendous victory for the rule of law and respect for religious diversity," the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, (and former ACLU counsel) said before the monument was rolled out of the rotunda. "Perhaps Roy Moore will soon leave the bench and move into the pulpit, which he seems better suited for." Lynne's organization was suing Judge Moore over the 10 Commandments monument.
As Christian and Bible prophecy student for 46 years, I have watched this country steadily decline from its strong Judeo-Christian heritage established by our founding forefathers based upon the righteous natural laws of God to where we are today, a secular humanistic society moving toward total outright paganism. Our nation is already under the judgment of God, but we are too blind to see it and that includes most Christians. When ancient Israel became apostate and abandoned God, the prophet Ezekiel explains to us that God began to remove His glory from the nation in testing-stages until it finally departed, and after that, judgement fell from on high and the temple was destroyed along with the city of Jerusalem. The glory of God is departing our nation and this latest test-case on his law is a repudiation on His holy name and Word and is evidence that he will soon be gone from our nation, and leave us to fight our enemies on our own! In my own personal opinion relative to end times prophecy, America has tempted God one too many times and is about to pass the point of no hope, especially with the looming issue of church condoned homosexual rights and marriage coming up. I see no revival or mercy for America, but only judgment and it is coming sooner than anybody thinks!

Aug. 27….(FOJ) Israel is threatening to move its target-killing campaign against Palestinian militants to the heart of Syria, where it claims Hamas and Islamic strategists and leaders are entrenched. Israeli army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon said that the Hamas' leadership in Syria and in the Gaza Strip is responsible for the breaking of the cease-fire and that if the Palestinian Authority is unable to eliminate the infrastructure of terrorists, we will." Israel has warned Syria that its military bases in Lebanon would be targeted if it failed to rein in Hizbullah. But Yaalon’s warning marks the first time an Israeli officer has suggested the targeted killings might extend beyond PA areas into Syria.

Aug. 27….(Middle East News Line) The U.S. intelligence community has identified Saudi Arabia as a leading financier of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. A CIA report on threats in Iraq has identified Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria as the leading supporters of the Sunni insurgency against the U.S. military. The report asserted that the three countries have contributed insurgents and funding to a range of groups, including Al Qaida and Hizbullah that are currently harassing American troops in Iraq.

Aug. 27….(Insight) Senior defense-intelligence analysts tell Insight that the Clinton administration falsely certified the People's Republic of China (PRC) as a nuclear non-proliferator despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Clinton officials went so far, sources say, as threatening to fire a senior defense analyst unless he changed his analysis, which was based on the overwhelming preponderance of all available intelligence sources that Beijing was proliferating nuclear technology and materials to rogue nations. This magazine has obtained a copy of an analysis written by Jonathan Fox, arms-control specialist for the Defense Special Weapons Agency, dated Oct. 23, 1997, which states: "This assessment concludes that the proposed arrangement presents real and substantial risk to the common defense and security of both the United States and allied countries." According to Pentagon sources, the analysis was ordered to determine whether President Bill Clinton could certify to the U.S. Congress that China was a nonproliferating nation, thus qualifying it for an exchange of nuclear technology with the United States - an agreement that the analysis refers to as "a technology-transfer agreement swaddled in the comforting yet misleading terminology of a confidence-building measure."Defense experts tell Insight that there was at the time so large a technology gap between the United States and China that the Chinese had little or nothing to offer the United States in such an exchange. So the agreement amounted to Washington providing a how-to treatise for Beijing's nuclear-weapons program. The ordered analysis was to assess the risk to U.S. national security likely to result from such an arrangement with China. And the analysis concluded, "It is further found that the contemplated action can result in a significant increase of the risk of nuclear-weapons-technology proliferation." A senior Department of Defense (DoD) analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, tells this magazine that since the Clinton administration ignored intelligence warnings and issued the "false certification" of China as a nonproliferating nation, "there has been undeniable evidence of transfers of nuclear technology from the People's Republic of China to North Korea and Iran." Both North Korea and Iran are considered by the Bush administration to be rogue nations already in possession of nuclear weapons or on the brink of having them. The Clinton administration allowed the transfers of dual-use technologies to China in exchange for campaign donations from the People's Liberation Army that were laundered into the Democratic National Committee for Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign.

FOJ Note: FOJ has closely followed the Clinton-China scandal for years and can verify this story. The result of the Clinton-China deal is that we are now living with a Chinese nuclear threat, and the Clinton era false certification not only China, but also made rogue nations (North Korea and Iran) that China does business with, more dangerous to the United States. FOJ has done an exhaustive amount of study into the China Mid-east connections and found that China is already well positioned to play its role of Revelation 9:14-16 and 16:12-16.

North Korean Defector Says Pre-emption is Only Way

Aug. 26….(World Tribune) A North Korean defector now living in Japan came to Washington this week with an urgent message. In a meeting with White House officials, he called for a pre-emptive strike on "selected targets" in North Korea before the Kim Jong-il regime succeeds in arming its missiles with miniaturized nuclear warheads. Park Gap Dong says that only a US pre-emptive strike can avert a nuclear nightmare in the Far East. Park meets frequently with senior military officials in Japan and South Korea and said the North Korean nuclear threat is credible. "Many North Koreans believe that the United States is their savior and the only nation that can liberate North Korea," he said. Park heads the National Salvation Front, a group of high-ranking North Korean exiles that includes five former generals of the North Korean army, the former vice minister of home affairs, the former vice minister of culture and the former superintendent of the North Korea Military Academy. Park warned that North Korea would use its nuclear weapons against Japan, South Korea and even the United States if given the time to develop them. North Korea will continue to develop and export nuclear weapons technology no matter what the U.S. does and despite whatever schedules of inspections are established, Park said. The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that China and North Korea have cooperated to produce and deliver components for missile and WMD programs to a number of Middle East clients, Geostrategy-Direct.com reported in its current editions. The intelligence finding led to the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on Chinese companies cooperating with North Korea in the fields of missile and WMD. After a lengthy debate within the National Security Council and State Department, the Bush administration approved the new sanctions to demonstrate a tougher policy toward Beijing, the officials said.

Aug. 25….(FOJ) Yesterday Israel responded to the hideous suicide bombing in Jerusalem last week that killed 21 innocent Jerusalem citizens. Unlike the Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PLO terrorists thugs that randomly kill anybody that happens to be in a selected vicinity, Israel pinpointed the militant leadership of the Palestinian merchants of murder. Israel, fighting a 5 decades old war on terror, exerted great time and care to specifically target the car in which these blood-letters, under Arafat’s nose move freely about Gaza City. Israel has announced that it will re-institute its pre-cease-fire policy of targeting terrorist leaders for assassination, a policy which may sound abhorrent, but is a policy which shows respect for innocent Palestinians, while carrying out justice and revenge on the actual perpetrators and promoters of the so-called cycle of violence.

Aug. 25….(Arutz) Israel's Air Force sent Syrian President Assad a loud and clear signal last week: "Keep your Hizbullah terrorists away from Israel." Israeli F-16 battle planes flew low for several minutes over Assad's palace in northern Syria, after easily getting through the country's radar defenses. Israel has attacked Syrian radar stations in Lebanon once since the IDF's withdrawal from the country three years ago. After a teenage boy was killed in a Hizbullah rocket attack in Shlomi last week, Israel settled for a symbolic over-flight, which demonstrated to Assad how easily Israel could hit Syria.

Aug. 25….(Washington Times) Iraq is becoming the new lead battleground in the war against terrorism as Islamic militants are being drawn there, a situation more favorable to the United States than having to battle terror at home. "From the point of view of the al Qaeda types, this is a pretty important battlefield for them," said L. Paul Bremer, U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq. Mr. Bremer called Iraq the new front line against terrorism. Mr. Bremer also said Iraq would be the logical arena for international terrorists to gather and make a stand. "It's a plausible argument, because the terrorists hate everything that we stand for, the United States, and they hate the vision we have for Iraq, because the vision we have for Iraq is fundamentally threatening to the terrorists' vision," Mr. Bremer said. We've got to win this fight here," Mr. Bremer said. The line in the war against terrorism appears to have been drawn in Iraq. It started for us in a big way in New York, but you could say it's in Nairobi and Dar es Salam. We've seen it in Somalia. We've seen it in Saudi Arabia. And we are now seeing a large number of international terrorists coming into Iraq." Senator McCain added that the American people fully would understand that we cannot protect our own borders, we have to go where the terrorists are. If they win here, then obviously we cannot win the war on terrorism, and the dictators in this part of the world are paying attention as well as the terrorist organizations. The foreign fighters are reportedly coming into Iraq from Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran. Bremer avoided answering whether the Bush Administration had set Iraq as a deliberate trap to capture terrorists, although he previously has stated that it is "better to fight it here than to fight it somewhere else, like in the United States."

FOJ Note: President Bush dispatched special envoy William Burns to Damascus last week to tell Assad to butt-out of Iraq or else!

Aug. 25….(Ha Aretz) The United States and Israel along with Jordan are checking on the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa. The Prime Minister's Office views the pipeline to Haifa as a "bonus" the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq. The new pipeline would take oil from the Kirkuk area, where some 40 percent of Iraqi oil is produced, and transport it via Mosul, and then across Jordan to Israel. The U.S. telegram included a request for a cost estimate for repairing the Mosul-Haifa pipeline that was in use prior to 1948. During the War of Independence, the Iraqis stopped the flow of oil to Haifa and the pipeline fell into disrepair over the years. Sources in Jerusalem confirmed yesterday that the Americans are looking into the possibility of laying a new pipeline via Jordan and Israel. (There is also a pipeline running via Syria that has not been used in some three decades.) Iraqi oil is now being transported via Turkey to a small Mediterranean port near the Syrian border. The transit fee collected by Turkey is an important source of revenue for that country. Turkey has warned Israel that it would regard the Iraqi oil pipeline development as a serious blow to Turkish-Israeli relations. Iraq is one of the world's largest oil producers, with the potential of reaching about 2.5 million barrels a day.

WEEK OF AUGUST 17 THROUGH AUGUST 23

Encouraged By Presence of Apostasy

Aug. 22….(Rev. Mark H. Creech) Just before the end of the Spanish Civil War, the rebel General Mola was about to attack Madrid when someone asked him which of his four columns of troops would be the first to enter the city. General Mola's answer was "the fifth." Since then, the General's answer has become famous. He was saying that his most important column was a band of rebel sympathizers already inside the city. They would be his most critical line of attack. Thus, the term fifth column has been used through the decades to describe the actions of a traitor, one who helps the enemy from within. Few things are as repugnant as betrayal, but it is very common in history. Even the church of Jesus Christ has had its traitors. In fact, today there is an entire fifth column within the church that attacks the authority of Scripture, denies basic Bible doctrine, and sows division. A bishop in the United Methodist Church, Joseph Sprague openly rejects Christian teachings such as the virgin birth and bodily resurrection of Christ. He delights in sowing discord within his own denomination by gleefully referring to his writing as the "Affirmations of a Dissenter." Episcopalians in New Hampshire just elected an openly homosexual bishop, whose selection is expected to be approved next month. A recent report by Religion News Service notes that the question of whether Jesus is the only way to salvation currently divides Presbyterians. In fact, only 43% of Presbyterian parishioners, 50% of the elders, and 39% of the clergy agree that salvation is exclusively in Christ. The Bible has a name for this kind of opposition from within the church. It's called apostasy, and those who make up the fifth column, so to speak, are apostates. The Greek word from which we derive the word apostasy simply means "a falling away, a rebellion or revolt." To apostatize in biblical times meant to desert one's station or post. The Greek biographer Plutarch used the word to describe a political revolution. In apostasy, those who profess to be Christians say to the church and the world at large, "The things that are seemingly clear in the Scriptures are not really as they appear. What seems to be true is not true. Sin is not actually sin. Hell is not a real place where the damned suffer eternally. Hope is not found in only one way. Truth and morality are not absolute." Distortions of the Christian faith are offered as substitutes. These may be similar in some ways to the Christian faith, but invariably they add, overemphasize, or leave something critical out. The source of apostasy is the mind and heart of Satan. Jesus revealed this fact in the parable of the wheat and tares, referring to the wheat as the true children of God and the tares as apostates who are "children of the wicked one," placed inside the church by the devil himself. On the Day of Judgment, Christ promises that He will separate the two; "gather the wheat" unto himself and "burn the tares."

The Scriptures also show that apostasy has existed from the church's infancy and will continue with its highs and lows through the ages. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul tells the church that Christ will not return until apostasy has reached its climax. The grand apostate will be the Antichrist. "Let no man deceive you by any means," he writes, "for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first [an apostasy], and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." In other words, turning away from the true faith never completely disappears but continues with its ebb and flow throughout history, until it mounts with such intensity it results in the coming of the Antichrist and the establishment of a one-world apostate religion. Then and only then will Christ return and establish His kingdom. I must confess, recently I've been terribly saddened by what I see as the apostasy of today's church. But I am also greatly encouraged, because I realize as apostasy sweeps on and takes its toll; God is using even this to accomplish His mighty purposes. Apostasy is separating true believers from unbelievers. Resistance to its wiles is strengthening true believers. And the fact of apostasy awakens genuine believers to vigilance and readiness for the Second Coming of Christ. Something tremendous is about to happen! Either the Church will revive and set the stage for something akin to another Reformation, or our salvation is at hand and Christ is about to appear on the clouds of glory! Granted, things may get much worse before they get any better. But for those of us who are on the front lines of Christian activism, there is every reason to be confident. Because whatever the finale, whether revival or redemption, the rise of apostasy indicates there is a very happy ending in the near future of all us who truly believe! By Rev. Mark H. Creech

Interested in Doctrinal Bible Study?

Aug. 21….(FOJ) Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy Ministry would like to invite anyone interested in a very good doctrinally sound study of the books Ephesians, James, Galations, John, and The Revelation, to take time to visit one of my favorite ministries. The web-site “Bibleone” is written and managed by my good friend from Texas, Mr. Charles Strong. Charles is very gifted in the doctrinal exposition of God’s word. His url address is (http://www.bibleone.net) Focus on Jerusalem has Bibleone listed as an Allstar link on the FOJ links page. Drop in to Bibleone for an in depth Bible study, and tell Charles that Focus on Jerusalem sent you.

The Amazing Prophet Ezekiel

Aug. 20….(FOJ) Ezekiel is one of the most fascinating and mystifying prophets of the Old Testament. Ezekiel was one of the Israeli captives in the second of three deportations under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Ezekiel was a contemporary of Daniel and probably knew of him since he mentions Daniel three times in his writings. Daniel had been in Babylon nine years before Ezekiel arrived, being taken in the first wave of captives. Ezekiel ministered, as did Jeremiah, to a nation experiencing judgment for their sins. While in Babylonian captivity, Ezekiel lived by the River Chebar, which was a great ship canal, a tributary branching off from the Euphrates River above Babylon and turning through Nippur to the Tigris River. (Daniel was probably held by the river Hiddekel) Ezekiel was born in approximately 627 B.C. and lived in a time of national moral decline, distress and finally national uprooting. Ezekiel’s famed vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones, in Chapters 36 and 37, has become unquestionably the most monumental Biblical landmark in Bible Prophecy. Beginning in the last half of the 19th century, the second gathering, which climaxed in the establishment of the State of Israel, is one of the most irrefutable evidences that we are on threshold of God's climax for the nations, and our Lord’s soon return to rescue Israel from the confederated armies of the Antichrist. Israel’s second gathering is mentioned throughout the Bible, but is remarkably detailed in the writings of Ezekiel. (There is even a possible chronological formulaic hint tucked into Chapter 4, which seems to identify the reestablishment of the nation of Israel on May 14, 1948, and the regaining of the city of Jerusalem on June 6, 1967.) Perhaps the most relevant prophecy of Ezekiel for our times today deals with the prophesied Russian-Persian invasion on the mountains of Israel. America’s current incursion into Iraq compels the avid student of eschatology to contemplate the future implications of the Iraq situation upon the EU, Russia, China, Persia, and indeed the whole world.
Ezekiel’s ancient prophecies regarding the Prince of Rosh (chapter 38/39) are probably being set in today’s events.

Master; The Tempest is Raging

Aug. 19….(FOJ) There is a lot of bad news that seems to surround us these days, and sometimes it can make one begin to wonder if God is paying any attention to things here in this old world. Just last week alone witnessed the Episcopalians selecting an openly practicing homosexual as a Bishop. Then, we saw that a smut peddler and a pornographer are up and running for governor in California. Then, also last week our nation slapped down the 10 Commandments one more time. But, I guess that is all practical since we had an adulterous intern-chasing liar for President for 8 years, and eradicated God and his word from our mindset some 40 years ago. And when you peer out on the horizon of world affairs and see the gathering storm clouds of Armageddon looming, you can really feel the sense of a great tempest about to strike any day. It can make you ask yourself, what is this world coming to? Well the good Lord may be away for awhile, but he is soon coming back to rebuke the storm the Devil is currently brewing up! It reminds me of the story of Jesus asleep in the belly of the ship on the Sea of Galilee when a great storm tempest began to rage. (Mark 4:35-41 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, “Master, Carest thou not that we perish”? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?)

        I remember and know that we are living in the perilous Last Days that Jesus spoke of just before he said that he would return to this world. I take special note of the fact that he said that the nations would rush against his anointed, and conspire together against Israel. Jesus also said that he would bring true peace after that storm, and I take great solace and comfort in knowing that just as he rebuked the sea and wind while aboard that old ship 2000 years ago, he will rebuke Satan and his Antichrist very soon. But every now and then when the going get rough, and this world seems like such an alien ungodly place, I feel like calling out to God, Master, The tempest is Raging! And then I hear a small still voice deep down inside saying……..”Peace-be still—I am coming soon”!

(Isaiah 17:13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.)

(Zechariah 3:2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee:)

Lets Learn a Lesson From Lassie

Aug. 18….(FOJ) I saved this little story to run on a rainy off news-day. A sheepdog recently pulled off a real-life rescue reminiscent of the feats of the famed Collie from the 1950s television show "Lassie." Police in Raducaneni, Romania, say the dog found a newborn wrapped in swaddling clothes in the middle of a remote field, reported the Romaneasca newspaper. Thinking on its paws, Vasile the dog carried the bundle in its mouth two miles to its owners' house to get help. Arriving in the middle of the night, Vasile barked and scratched at the door until it roused the attention of his folks inside. "He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and I got very scared. I thought Vasile stole the baby from somebody's house," owner Elena Florea told the daily. "I called the mayor's office immediately." Florea said the baby boy appeared to be only a few hours old. According to the paper, the mayor called an ambulance and alerted the police. Using the baby's clothes and traces of blood from the mother, detectives found the location where the infant was abandoned. Police searched for his mother, and later discovered that she had simply abandoned the infant because she didn’t want it. This story touched my heart. I recall as a young boy that preachers often used the phrase, “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” Preachers used to extol the fact that a Mother’s love was what kept the world from going completely nuts. Well, in today’s world with abortion on demand being so commonly accepted as a means to get rid of life’s responsibility, mothers around the world are not only not rocking the cradle anymore, they are throwing the cradle away, baby and all. Ironically, Vasile the sheepdog showed more of the natural love for newborns, (a love planted in Mom’s by God) than many human beings do anymore. Maybe we humans need to learn a lesson from Lassie. The loss of natural affection is another one of the many signs of the Last Days!

(Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.)

(II Timothy 3:1-3 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection,) (see also Romans 1:25-32)

WEEK OF AUGUST 11 THROUGH AUGUST 16

Turkey Asks U.S. To Stop Israeli Plans for Temple Mount

Aug. 15….(Ha Aretz) Turkey has asked the United States to intervene urgently to halt Israel's plan to allow non-Muslims to visit and pray on the Temple Mount. The request came after Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat appealed to the Turkish premier, saying that opening the Temple Mount to non-Muslims would rekindle violence in the Middle East. In a message delivered to the U.S. embassy in Ankara, Turkey warned that visits by non-Muslims to the Temple Mount could negatively impact on its ability to implement its recent decision to accede to a U.S. request to send Turkish troops to Iraq. (political-blackmail)"We do not need a religious struggle on the Temple Mount when we are facing an internal struggle in Turkey over sending troops to Iraq," a senior Turkish official said. "A religious eruption over this issue could cause anti-American demonstrations in Turkey, leading parliament to oppose assistance to the Americans.

FOJ Note: When will America learn that the Temple Mount is the whole issue, and that appeasing the enemies of God will not work. Turkey is one of the few so-called friends that Israel has in the world too. Turkey is a battlefront between the emerging EU and the Islamic Empire, and Turkey will play a part in the Tribulation scenario! The US just this week re-opened an oil pipeline from Iraq into Turkey.

U.S. - Economic Pressure Against Syria

Aug. 15….(Ha Aretz) The American administration believes that the economic pressure it is exerting on Syria will force it to change its behavior and stop supporting Palestinian terrorist organizations and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The U.S. has closed the oil pipeline from Iraq to Syria and also blocked the cross-border trade routes between the two countries. Since Washington estimates that trade with Iraq accounted for some 40 percent of Syria's gross domestic product, it believes that it will be difficult for Damascus to survive the loss of these revenues for long. As a result, the administration prefers not to confront Syria with any additional threats that it might have trouble backing up. The administration is, however, considering supporting the Syria Accountability Act in Congress. This bill would impose diplomatic and economic sanctions on Syria until it shuts down the offices and training camps of terrorist organizations in Syria and Lebanon, removes Hezbollah forces from south Lebanon and allows the Lebanese army to deploy in their stead, withdraws its own forces from Lebanon, stops developing and producing surface-to-surface missiles and chemical and biological weapons and embarks on a peace process with Israel.

Syria Nudges U.S. Over 'Expansionist' Israel

Aug. 15….(Reuters) Syria on Thursday demanded an even-handed U.S. policy to find a solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict and accused Israel of dodging peace efforts to seek expansionist goals through "terrorizing" Arabs. "It would be wise for the United States, the world's only superpower, to concentrate on viable political solutions," President Bashar al-Assad told U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns during a brief visit to Syria. "The picture should be looked at in full and not be fragmented to emphasize only the Arabs' , it is not acceptable for Washington to overlook the targeted killings and assassinations (as opposed to suicide random bombings) that Israel carries out," Assad said.

FOJ Note: Israel is expanding? They have tried giving away everything for peace!

Washington Worried Israel May Hit Iran's Nuclear Plant

Aug. 15….(Israel Insider) Israeli officials said today that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon did not mention the possibility of an Israeli preemptive attack on Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr when he met with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington last month. But Washington Post reports suggest that Bush administration officials were increasingly concerned over that possibility. Iran's atomic energy commission announced today that the Iranian government had approved the implementation of the second stage of plans for constructing a nuclear power plant in the city of Bushehr. According to Iran, the Bushehr plant will be operational in two years' time. Writing Wednesday in the Washington Post, columnist Jim Hoagland said Sharon's warnings to Bush that Iran was much closer to producing nuclear weapons triggered the American concern over a possible Israeli preemptive strike. "Sharon dramatized his forecast by bringing Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, a three-star army officer who serves as his military secretary, to a meeting with Bush in the Oval Office two weeks ago. Galant showered a worried-looking Bush with photographs and charts from a thick dossier on Iran's covert program! The Israeli officials quoted by Israel Radio said that the issue of Iran's nuclear capabilities had been on President Bush's agenda for some time. The officials noted that Israel and the U.S. see eye to eye on the subject.

Chief Justice To Keep 10 Commandments Monument

Aug. 15….(FOJ) Alabama chief justice Roy Moore is locked in a fierce battle with a federal court vowed yesterday that he would not remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the state's judicial building's rotunda. In a fiery speech given just six days before a federal deadline to remove the monument, Chief Justice Roy Moore said he would take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. "I have no intention of removing the monument of the Ten Commandments, the moral foundation of our nation's law," he said. The judge is right—the 10 Commandments were the foundation of America's law and Constitution, and its Declaration of Independence. But, America turned its back on God decades ago, and the judge will probably be made an example of by the anti-God court system of America. Then God will judge America!

The Way Arafat's PLO Government Works

Aug. 14….(FOJ) Yasser Arafat protégé and fellow PLO member and Al-Aqsa Brigades terrorist Khaled Shawish has warned fellow Arabs not to collaborate with Israeli authorities. His televised warnings include a graphic description of the punishment his gang hands out to such "collaborators". Just a few days ago, he said, a 20-year-old man accused of collaboration, Ahmed Sharour, was taken, bound and blindfolded, to Manara Square in Ramallah. Arafat's PLO Fatah terrorists then announced to passers-by that Sharour was working with Israel, after which they pumped at least a dozen bullets into his back and head. Such is the PLO idea of judicial process and government.

Roadmap Has Reached its Deadend

Aug. 14….(FOJ/Jerusalem Post) Israel has decided that it will not transfer to Palestinian control additional West Bank cities, nor release any more Palestinian prisoners, until the PA takes serious action against the terrorist infrastructure. Prime Minister Sharon and decided to freeze all diplomatic moves with the PA until Israel sees action against the terror organizations. Israeli officials also said not to expect to see "too much action" against illegal settlement outposts until the PA starts to move against the terror infrastructure. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is slated to meet US envoy John Wolfe today and make it clear to the US that Israel cannot continue down the road map's path if the PA does not take seriously its obligations to dismantle the terror organizations. Focus on Jerusalem Prophecy Ministry predicted this exact scenario at the outset of the so-called peace roadmap. Israel began implementing the process of dismantling settlement outposts in the West Bank, only to be reciprocated with nothing being done on the PA side about terrorism. The cease-fire has only been a charade for the PLO to enable the terrorist infrastructure to regroup from the insurgencies made by the IDF. The “Quartet” won't let the roadmap die its natural death however, as they will be ready to coerce Israel back into concessions sooner or later.

Bush Administration Gives Up on UN in Iraq

Aug. 14….(NY Times) The Bush Administration has abandoned the idea of giving the United Nations a bigger role in the occupation of Iraq as sought by France, India and other countries as a condition for their participation in peacekeeping there, Bush administration officials announced today. Instead, the officials said, the United States would widen its effort to enlist other countries to assist the occupation forces in Iraq, which are dominated by the 139,000 United States troops there. In addition to American forces in Iraq, there are 21,000 troops representing 18 countries. Administration officials said that in spite of the difficult security situation in Iraq, there was a consensus in the administration that it would be better to work with these countries than to involve the United Nations. The administration's position could complicate its hopes of bringing a large number of American troops home in short order. A meeting of potential donor countries has been scheduled for Oct. 24 in Madrid, and some of the big European countries that wanted a more significant United Nations role, are also hinting that they want the United Nations to have more of a say over reconstruction if they have to put up huge sums of money for that effort.

FOJ Note: The Bush Administration is basically saying that America can't trust the United Nations. The UN (especially the Security Council) has made the entire Iraq experience from 1991 to the present into a quagmire for the US.

Bible Under Attack in America!

Aug. 14….(excerpt-Hal Lindsay) Certain parts of the Bible are already being banned from public display in America. An Alabama Judge has been ordered to remove a two-ton stone display with the Ten Commandments on it from the courthouse. Even reading the Bible in most American public schools is forbidden. An extremely disturbing precedent has been set in Canada that homosexual activists in the U. S. are trying duplicate. According to a December 2001 decision by a Saskatchewan court of appeals, the Bible is hate literature if it is quoted verbatim and in context when it is used to condemn homosexuality as sin. The majority of Americans have rejected the Bible, which is the very basis of truth on which our nation and government was founded. So I don't believe it will be long before the Bible is banned from all public display or quoting. Those of you who believe the Bible need to fight for its inclusion in the public life of our country.

FOJ Note: America used to have an area that was often referred to as the Bible belt. Today, the grand old belt has become a tiny stitch, as America has gradually kicked the Bible out of its way of life. Sad to say, but America's churches long ago failed to buck this trend and have even joined the contemporary parade to multi-pseudo-religiosity!

Anti-Semitism Rising Around the World

Aug. 13….(FOJ/ADL) In the past few years, anti-Semitism has increased all over the world. Even in the United States, a new form of anti-Semitism seems to be taking root and it's gaining traction in an unexpected place, on university campuses. Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the globe. It shows up as Jewish stereotyping in the Arab media. In Europe, where there has been a dramatic rise in anti-Semitic activity, hate messages fuel daily acts of violence. In France, home to Europe's largest Muslim and Jewish communities, synagogues have been burned and Nazi and Islamic graffiti scrawled on homes and businesses. The Internet has been a force in the rapid rise of anti-Semitism, helping hateful ideas spread throughout the world more rapidly than ever before. Here, an old lie, that the holocaust was a hoax is gaining acceptance. And the rumor that Israel was responsible for the 9/11 attacks have spread like wildfire over the Internet. In some areas of the Middle East and Europe it's believed as a fact. "In Pakistan, the overwhelming majority of people believe that Jews, or the Mossad, brought down the World Trade Center. Negative attitudes toward Israel are also triggering the anti-Semitism that's creeping into American society. According to an ADL survey, slightly more than half of Americans (51 percent) said the U.S. has been tilting too much toward Israel in the peace process. It is becoming more and more fashionable these days to support the Palestinian cause, even in America, as people grow tired of the constant conflict in the Middle East and the concerns about terrorism.

Plot To Down Planes With Missiles

Aug. 13….(FOJ) US authorities have arrested three people, and foiled an international plot to smuggle into the US a shoulder-fired missile that could shoot possibly down commercial airliners. A British man was arrested in Newark, New Jersey, yesterday after agreeing to sell a sophisticated Russian SA-18 Igla missile to an undercover FBI agent posing as a Muslim extremist. I can't help but recall that many people testified that they saw a trail from a shoulder fired missile shoot down TWA flight 800 over Long Island in 1996. The government later explained that event away as an engine failure. A recently intercepted Al Qaeda plot revealed that terrorists had been recruited and trained to potentially shoot down Air Force One with a shoulder fired missile. Terrorist sleeper groups in the US equipped with shoulder fired missiles could wreak havoc on the American economy by traumatizing the airline industry. The September 11th attacks greatly staggered the commercial airline transportation system and caused many ripples throughout the American tourism and business sectors. This type of terrorist activity (Al Qaeda) was utilized last year against an Israeli commercial airliner over South Africa. Israel has long been concerned about the possibility of Palestinians acquiring shoulder fired missiles to use against commercial airliners in Israel.

The Temple Mount is Still Key

Aug. 13….(FOJ) The Temple Mount is supposed to be open to “visitors” of all religions according to Israeli law. Visitors are supposedly allowed under Israeli law, but not worshipers other than Muslims, precisely because the site has been a place of worship exclusively for Muslims for centuries and Israel fears that any pretense of worship on the site will inflame the Islamic world. The present arrangement was orchestrated by Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan immediately at the end of the fighting in the Six-Day War and it remained the arrangement until Ariel Sharon's visit to the site in September 2000. Since then, throughout the intifada, the Waqf has not allowed non-Muslims even to visit the mount, and in effect, the Israeli authorities have accepted it. The Temple Mount issue was one of the key elements over which the Camp David summit of 2000 failed, toppling the Oslo process. Any effort made in the future to solve this issue, and the peace road map calls for that effort in 2005, as part of the permanent solution in the 2-state scenario, will succeed only if it is based on an arrangement for a new condition of authority on the mount, a solution which the Bible indicates will play right into the plot of the Antichrist.

Terrorism: Greater Threat Than The Soviets

Aug. 12….(The Scotsman) The Edinburgh International Book Festival yesterday was informed that the West faces a greater threat of nuclear attack than at the height of the Cold War. Terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda are more likely to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" than the old Soviet Union ever was of launching a missile strike, Robert Hutchinson told an audience at the festival. Mr. Hutchinson, an expert with Jane's Defense Weekly, said: "The world has become an ever more perilous place and a clear and present danger comes from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." In a discussion entitled War, Terrorism and Mass Destruction, Mr. Hutchinson and historian, Andrew Sinclair, author of The Anatomy of Terror, argued that the current war against terrorism could be un-winnable. Mr. Hutchinson said: "Building nuclear weapons is no longer the closely-guarded secret it once was. The nuclear genie is out of the bottle and can't be re-corked, and that International disarmament is an illusion."

FOJ Note: II Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

UN's Kofi Annan Supports Homosexual "Marriage"

Aug. 12….(EWTN) United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has come out in favor of homosexual "marriage". Annan has demanded that international treaties such as the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights include rights for homosexual couples. Anan believes that the United Nations cannot condone any persecution of, or discrimination against, people on any grounds, and recalls article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the UN Declaration, without distinction of any kind.

Hamas Strikes Twice in Israel

Aug. 12….(Ha Aretz) Two Israelis were killed and at least 13 people were wounded in two separate suicide bombing attacks this morning, one in the Israeli town of Rosh Ha'ayin, a suburb of Tel Aviv, and a second at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ariel. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the Ariel bombing in a Web site announcement, naming the bomber as Islam Kafesh, 21. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel for the attacks, saying that Israel had provoked the suicide bombers.

FOJ Note: Just yesterday Mr. Abbas called for more Saudi funding for Hamas!

China is Behind WMD Threat in Mideast

Aug. 12….(FOJ) The United States has uncovered evidence that China is expanding missile exports to the Middle East. The Bush Administration has determined Beijing has violated its pledges to end the proliferation of missiles, U.S. officials said. The action is part of a Chinese campaign to increase exports and expand its Mid-east clients. China has been exporting missiles directly to Egypt, Iran, Libya and Syria and has transferred missiles via North Korea, the officials said. The State Department has accused China of transferring missiles to Iran, Libya, North Korea and Pakistan. The department's most recent Noncompliance Report said the exports violated China's commitments to the United States and calls into "serious question China's stated commitment to controlling missile proliferation." China is a key to achieving the administration's goal of stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology throughout the world. While there are many buyers in the market for weapons of mass destruction and missiles, there are only a handful of states with the capability to be dealers in that market. China's sophistication with many of these technologies has made it possible for Chinese entities to become key exporters of WMD and missile technology. China has provided what the US has termed significant assistance to the missile and WMD programs of Iran and Syria. The assistance included components and technology in liquid- and solid-fuel missiles. China has been using North Korea as its bullying front-man to counter US dominance in both the Mid-east and the Far East. It should be readily apparent to any prophecy student that the Kings of the East are preparing the groundwork for their prophesied Tribulation era incursion across the Euphrates River Valley against Israel and headlong into the forces of the Antichrist.

Abbas Approves Saudi Funds to Hamas

Aug. 11….(Middle East News Line) The Palestinian Authority has relayed its approval of continued Saudi funding to the Hamas terrorist group. PA officials said Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has expressed no objection to Saudi financial support of Hamas. The officials said PM Abbas regards Saudi support of Hamas as part of the Saudi kingdom's commitment to the Palestinians and the insurgency group's pledge to maintain the temporary truce with Israel. Saudi Arabia is reputed to provide more than $50 million a year to Hamas. PA Officials said Abbas was under intense pressure from Israel and pro-Israeli supporters in the U.S. Congress to halt Saudi funding to Hamas. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington has encouraged Arab allies in the Middle East to stop funding organizations that contribute to groups deemed as terrorist organizations.

FOJ Note: The Saudi Royal family says that Saudi Arabia provides no funds to terrorist organizations. Mahmoud Abbas is rally working on that terrorist problem isn't he?

Israel Threatens Damascus Over Hizbollah Shelling

Aug. 11….(Jerusalem Post) Israel has threatened Syria with massive attacks today after Hizbollah guerrillas in Lebanon fired anti-aircraft shells that killed an Israeli teen-ager on Israel's northern border, but said it hoped to defuse tension through diplomacy. Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said Israel held Syria, the main powerbroker in Lebanon, responsible for Hizbollah's actions. "Syria is definitely the umbilical cord from which Hizbollah feeds," he said. "If there is escalation from their side, there will be definitely be a clear military response from Israel that could inevitably be against Syrian targets. Israeli warplanes bombed an anti-aircraft battery on the edge of a south Lebanon village Sunday in retaliation for the Shlomi shelling. Israeli warplanes later flew over Beirut, breaking the sound barrier. Israel called the air raids a "warning signal" and Boim appeared to signal in his comments that Israel did not for now plan further military action. He said diplomatic pressure "could be an effective tool as well." In the Lebanese capital, Hizbollah threatened renewed anti-aircraft fire if Israeli aircraft entered Lebanese airspace again. Boim said Israeli flights, which he called reconnaissance missions, would continue. Tension has risen along the border since Hizbollah, which is also sponsored by Iran and controls southern Lebanon, fired salvos of rockets and mortar bombs at an Israeli military post in a disputed border area Friday. Israel's Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom demanded on Sunday that Syria and Lebanon restrain Hezbollah from "attacking its northern border", but did not specify the steps his country would take if they failed to comply. The Israeli Minister was quoted by AP as saying, "We say to Syria and Lebanon as responsible parties for Hezbollah behavior ... that if Hezbollah activities continue and constitute an undermining of security of the citizens of Israel, we will have no choice but to defend ourselves." "We don't want to use the language of threats now and say what we will do and how we will do it," Shalom said. "I think the regime in Syria knows very well what our capabilities are, and I don't think it's worthwhile for Syria to put us to the test."

Damascus Renews Support for Hezbollah Despite US Warning

Aug. 11….(Al Jazeera) Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass renewed yesterday his country's support for Hezbollah despite a US demand that Damascus rein in the radical Lebanese movement after it attacked Israeli Army positions. “Resistance is a legitimate right,” Tlass told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News. “We see the Lebanese national resistance, the Hezbollah and the uprising in Palestine in this perspective.” He accused “Israel, and the United States of exerting pressure on Syria to force it to accept “a settlement dictated by the Israeli enemy which harms our legitimate rights.” Tlass did not comment on Hezbollah's shelling on Friday of Israeli positions in the disputed Shebaa Farms area, but his remarks came after the US administration put both Beirut and Syria on notice to prevent further attacks. “The time has come for them to end support for Hezbollah,” deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said on Friday. The Hezbollah said it had carried out the offensive, the first in seven months, in retaliation for the death of one of its militants in a Beirut car bomb last week that it blamed on Israeli agents. The Shebaa Farms region was formerly part of Syria. It was occupied by Israel in 1967 and is claimed by Beirut with Damascus's accord.

Lebanon, Syria, Iran Directly Responsible for Hizbullah Terror

Aug. 11….(Jerusalem Post) Responding to Hezbollah's fourth cross-border terror attack in three days, Dore Gold, senior advisor to the Prime Minister's office stated that Israel holds Lebanon, Syria and Iran directly responsible for Hezbollah's new wave of terror. "Both Lebanon and Syria are acting in defiance of United Nations resolutions," the former United Nations ambassador, told The Jerusalem Post. "In May 2000, Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Resolution 425 to a physical line that was recognized by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN Security Council as a fulfillment of Israel's obligations," Gold said. "Resolution 425 additionally called for the restoration of international security along the Israeli-Lebanese border, a condition which is continually being undermined by Lebanon, Syria and Iran." Gold says that Israel finds itself in an "Orwellian paradox" where the current president of the UN Security Council is Syria and yet is a country which "harbors and sponsors" international terrorism. Gold believes that future developments on Israel's northern border will be very much effected by the extent to which leading players in the international community such as Russia, EU and Japan pressure Syria to desist from it's extremely risky behavior.

The Goddess Project of Rome

Aug. 11….(Catholic Exchange) Feminist leaders like Rosemary Radford Reuther and Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza have tried for years to invent a Goddess they could sell to the faithful. In her 1992 book, She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse, Catholic Sister Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, makes the fullest argument for a female image of God. Recapitulating what she calls the theological "trajectory" of her feminist predecessors, she begins from the premise that God, as pure spirit, has no gender. Reduced to its simplest terms, her claim is that to know one's deepest self is to know God; therefore revelation is the interpretation of one's own experience. Thus, calling God by masculine titles is an arbitrary choice, which has led people to think of Him as literally male, a situation Johnson denounces as inherently unfair. The patriarchs had their turn at the wheel, she says, and they used it to justify oppression of women. So now, in reparation, "classical Christian theology" must be passed "through the fire of critical feminist principles." Feminists (the only women deserving a voice) must mandate, at least for now, exclusively female names for God, like "Sophia/Wisdom" and "She Who Is." To avoid a risk that Sophia might be seen as an inferior feminine aspect of God, Johnson re-interprets the Blessed Trinity to make Sophia into all three Persons, whom she calls "Abyss, Word and Spirit." Johnson's suggestion swept through feminist ranks like a prairie fire through dry straw, and now updated religious materials are sprouting references to Sophia/Wisdom, Sophia Christ, Sophia-God, Spirit-Sophia, and Holy Wisdom, as a "Biblical" female divinity.

Wolves in Sheeps Clothing Gaining Access

Aug. 11….(FOJ) As the Apostle Paul warned, an enemy lurks near the door of every church, seeking to get inside it, and having gained entry always keeps alert for an opportunity to destroy the church, or even better to pollute the Gospel message. This destruction can take many forms, and it never ceases to amaze me that church leaders of all denominations devote so little time to performing one of their central duties, which indeed is perhaps one of their primary duties. That duty rests in guarding their flock from the wolves who would slip in amongst them. Evil always labors long and hard to sneak in the door and confound the good. A determined enemy of iniquity always works judiciously to exert its will within the church, and usually lies in wait for an opening. Such was the case with the Episcopalian Church, as evidenced through their acceptance of a gay bishop. This event could have never occurred had the church kept its first love and guarded the door! The Episcopalians aren't alone either. The Devil has crept in unaware, in many of America's churches, and that is due in large measure to Christians compromising with the doctrines of the world and leaving the doors open to the “wolves in sheep's clothing.” With the new wave of tolerance and enlightenment that is the hallmark of today's culture, the Church has rode right along with the popular tide, and thinks itself more knowledgeable, but they have not known the Truth.

II Timothy 4:1-5 (I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.) II Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.)

Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (KJV)

UN Promoting Gay/Lesbian Rights

Aug. 8….(World Net) Buoyed by growing political acceptance of homosexuals worldwide, a United Nations group promoting "gay" and lesbian rights met in New York to sharpen a multi-pronged strategy that includes a "showdown with Christianity." The meeting was sponsored by the U.N. Gay and Lesbian or Bisexual Employees, known as UNGLOBE. At a forum Monday, attended by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, panel members singled out Roman Catholics and evangelical Protestants as opponents. Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the San Francisco-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, or IGLHRC, announced a coming "showdown with religion" and vowed that homosexual marriage would be successfully promoted. The UN group is considering making it a world criminal offense to make public expressions against homosexual behavior, including making quotations from the Bible. The U.N. group that hosted the event is pressing the United Nations to recognize same-sex couples and treat their partnerships as equal to traditional marriages. Kofi Annan told panel members the world should become "much more tolerant and compassionate." "I think what is important is that we should stress those positive aspects in our society, the things that bring us together, and move away from discrimination and persecution," the secretary general said. At a news conference last week, the Atlantic Monthly reported, Annan was asked to comment on the debate over what constitutes a family. "I believe that individuals should be allowed to make their own choices and that we should be careful not to draw conclusions or adopt prejudicial attitudes towards people for their choices and preferences," he said.

Temple Mount Controversy Continues

Aug. 7….(Khouse) This Thursday marks Tisha B'Av, the anniversary of the day when both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed centuries apart. In Jerusalem, Jews will mourn the day in the midst of controversy over the Temple Mount. In September of 2000, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, unleashing a flood of emotion from Palestinians whose riots on the mount that day led to the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Since that time, Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount have been suspended and visits by non-Muslims severely restricted. This changed briefly last month when restrictions on Jewish visitors were eased. When it was suggested that Jews could again pray on the Temple Mount, however, the threat of violence from Palestinians led to a renewed ban on Christians and Jews visiting the mount. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat himself warned of "grave consequences" if Israel continued to allow Jews to visit the mount. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas called the Israeli act "provocative," and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa denounced the developments as "very dangerous" and "an insult to Muslims everywhere." Further fuelling Palestinian fears about control of the Temple Mount is the Temple Mount Faithful, a group led by Gershon Salomon. The Temple Mount Faithful would like to see a third Jewish temple built upon the Temple Mount and have been getting ready for that possibility over the past several years by preparing several hundred instruments required for proper temple worship. It was recently announced that their institute has finished preparing the priestly ephod garment according to biblical specifications. Efforts by the Temple Mount Faithful to observe a ceremony of mourning for Tisha B'Av by placing a cornerstone on the mount have thus far been refused by police. The group has filed a petition with the High Court over the issue and has ordered the state to provide reasons for the ceremony's denial within 24 hours. Salomon believes that one day they will be granted access to lay the cornerstone on the Temple Mount itself. Until then the group will try to lay the stone as close as possible. They intended to hold this year's prayer session at the mount's Mughrabi Gate entrance. Salomon plans to read from the book of Job and not only mourn the destruction of past temples, but also a Jewish government that continues to allow Palestinian control over the Temple Mount.

Bush and the Gay Debate

Aug. 7….(excerpt-MSNBC) Until recently, the Bush administration policy on gays has remained closeted. Bush, like most Americans, has gay people in his life; in fact, several of his closest advisors have gay family members. But, as is the case with many people, he hasn't wanted to discuss it. Call it the “don't talk, don't act” policy. But recent court cases in which gay issues have been hotly contested, and a reporter's question at last week's press conference, have forced the President to address one of the most thorny issues of all: “gay marriage.” No one should have been surprised that the President came out against gay marriage. He signed a bill banning it in Texas. He's been saying since his 2000 campaign that “marriage is between and a man and a woman.” What took gay Republicans by surprise was that Bush went an extra step, saying that White House lawyers were looking into “codifying” marriage for heterosexuals only. Gay marriage may become a divisive issue in next year's presidential election. Gays and lesbians are already upset over Bush's use of the word “sinners” in his press conference last week. But, as is often the case, the president's words need a little parsing. Bush's comment about sinners was vague enough that one of his top aides went running after him to double check his intended meaning. The president was taken aback that anyone would think he was labeling gays sinners. (note-Why?) His point, he told the aide, was that we are all sinners and only God can judge. His message was more for the religious right. That's why he paraphrased one of his favorite Bible verses from Matthew 7:3-5: “I caution those who may try to take the speck out of their neighbor's eye when they've got a log in their own.”

FOJ Note: Why do Christians worry about calling sin what it is—“sin”! It just plays into the Devil's hands.

The Saudi Arabia-US Alliance is Shaky

Aug. 7….(FOJ) The American political scene has seen the Bush Administration ridiculed a lot lately over the missing 28 pages of a CIA report on the September 11th attacks. But unnoticed by anybody is the fact that the Bush Administration sent a veiled warning to the House of Saud. 'The emperor has no clothes," (meaning that he has no defense against charges of terror complicity) was the message the US administration sent Saudi Arabia in deciding not to publish 28 pages of a voluminous report on acts of omission and commission by the American intelligence community. The classified pages relate to links between the Saudi Arabians associated with the Sept. 11th attack and representatives of the royal House of Saud. The stern warning from President Bush amounted to a strong public dressing down for King Fahd. Apparently, President Bush is unafraid of the Saudi's using the “oil weapon”, as it has done in the past. For more than two years a harsh exchange of words has been going on behind the scenes between US law enforcement authorities and the Saudi security services. The Bush administration could not permit itself to give the Saudis preferential treatment, turning a blind eye as previous administrations did, while Americans are being murdered and the US has declared total war on terror. The FBI and the CIA have demanded total transparency from the Saudi Arabians in the light of their double game: contributing, on the one hand, millions of dollars in "charity" not only to Hamas but also to other extremist organizations in their country, while at the same time ostensibly supporting the US in its war against terror. The classified report is only a weak echo of the struggle between Washington and Riyadh that is going on away from the public eye. It will now be easy to understand why, more than a year ago, Crown Prince Abdullah sponsored a Saudi initiative holding out an illusory solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Saudi "peace plan" was based on an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, after which Saudi Arabia would participate in achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and the Arab countries in general. Today, after the total, overt crisis of confidence between the White House and the House of Saud, it is completely clear that what the Saudis were doing a year ago was trying to divert attention away from their responsibility for Islamic Jihad terror and focus it on the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. In the spring of 2002 the State Department was looking for a way to get Israel to make concessions to long-time Saudi ally Yasser Arafat, and accusing Israel of "rejecting the Saudi peace initiative" was a lot easier than confronting the Saudi terrorist hothouse. It is now clear that the Saudi initiative was simple political duplicity. In any case it didn't help the royal house, and the American investigative report proves something is rotten in the desert kingdom. The time is past when Saudi Arabia could threaten the US with an oil embargo, as it did during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The current Republican incumbent has a detailed contingency plan for how to act in Saudi Arabia if its corrupt, unstable royal house falls. The Saudi's often refer to the “wedge” when talking about America's war on terror and the Israel-Palestinian Conflict. The Wedge is diplomatic double speak about the conspiracy of the terrorists to drive a wedge between the US and the Saudi Kingdom.

FOJ Note: Ezekiel identifies the Saudi kingdom in his prophecy about the Russian invasion of Israel. Ezekiel 38:13 pictures Sheba and Dedan asking of Russia; (Ezekiel 38:13 Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?) Very clearly, the American protection of Saudi Arabia has been removed at this point in history! (late-tribulation) By not publishing the sensitive 28 pages, America shows that it is clearly worried about the geo-political situation on the Arabian Peninsula!

Iraq Experiencing Christian Revival

Aug. 6….(Worthy News) The small groups of Christians in Iraq today find themselves being targets of attacks by Muslim extremists and are weekly risking their lives to attend church services, according to the ASSIST News Service. They race through the streets to reach their destinations every Sunday as an increasing number of believers have been killed or wounded amidst Muslim violence against Christians and Christian women refusing to wear scarves, believers and church officials say. Yet born again Christians, including church leaders and missionary workers, suggest Iraq is heading towards its biggest spiritual revival ever after decades of fear and hardship during the regime of Saddam Hussein. "People are hungry for Christ," says Iraqi pastor Ghassan Thomas, who preaches daily. The Iraqi Christians (less than 5% of Iraq's population) live in fear of the radical Shiite Muslim majority and their orchestrated persecutions.

Putin: UN Speech Will Call for World Unity

Aug. 6….(Moscow Times) President Vladimir Putin will use a speech at the next UN General Assembly session to call for global unity and strengthen the United Nations following a year of "difficult tests," the Kremlin said Tuesday, clearly referring to the U.S.-led war on Iraq. "The need for solid support from leaders of UN member states for the sole universal organization is more important than ever," Putin's press service quoted him as saying in a message to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan confirming his intention to address the session. "The main thing now is to strengthen the unity of the world community in resolving common tasks in the spheres of global stability and cooperation on the firm foundation of international law," Putin's message said. Putin strongly opposed the war to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, accusing the United States of jeopardizing international security and flouting international law by invading without UN approval. "The past year was full of difficult tests for the entire system of international relations," Putin's message said. It said he sees restoration of unity as "the main strategic goal" of the 58th General Assembly session, which opens Sept. 16. Russia, one of five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, has stressed the importance of the United Nations and repeatedly expressed concern about growing U.S. global clout since the Soviet collapse. "Mankind has no alternative" to working together to improve security and respond to new threats, Putin said. "I am certain that the role of the UN in this process will objectively remain central."

FOJ Note: The “Prince of Meshech” scenario is building in Russia! Putin is obviously seeking the destabilization of American sovereignty with his promotion of Globalism.

Episcopalians Approve Gay Bishop

Aug. 6….(CNN) The Episcopalian House of Bishops voted Tuesday evening to confirm the Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire, making him the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church's history.. "It's not so much a dream as a calling from God," Robinson said after the vote. "I'm really thrilled to be on my way to being the bishop of New Hampshire. "That is going to be a reason for great rejoicing, back in New Hampshire. It will certainly be something I will rejoice over, to be able to serve these people as God has called me to do and now they have called me to do." Church spokesman Daniel England called Robinson's approval "an important step for the church."

FOJ Note: How sick and disgusting can you get! God almighty has never “called” homosexual deviants to be preachers. However, the “god of this world” surely has, and it is he that is promoting this debauchery.

Same Sex Marriages Next for Churches?

Aug. 6….(FOJ) With the Episcopal Church convention's election of an openly practicing homosexual as a Bishop, it has been totally lost on most observers that this diabolical event has set the stage for yet another monstrous demonic evil. The next issue already gathering steam will be over the controversial proposal that acknowledges same-sex unions within the church world. While the Episcopalian event highlighted the homosexual movement inside of the churches, the next step in this mystery of evil is in conjunction with the quickly emerging political issue of next year's presidential election—“same-sex marriages”! I noticed that the Episcopalians (and many other denominations as well) were unmoved by the fact that Mr. Robinson lived with his homosexual partner without being married to him. Had a heterosexual man lived unmarried with a woman and sought to become a preacher-pastor, wouldn't' the church world have seen the obvious sin? Yet, the Episcopalians, and many others never even had a problem with a gay man simply shacking up with another gay man! Sin is sin, and the Episcopalian Church has just stomped all over Gods word by giving a rubber stamp to sin, debauchery, and perversion in its pulpits! But I am afraid that the move by the Episcopalians is just reflective of an overall assault on the Churches of America by Satan. If America's Churches can approve homosexual and lesbian pastors, and approve same-sex marriages, what can we expect the political world to do? The reason that America is going to the dogs is simply because America's Churches have gone to hell.

We Need to Take A Close Look at Syria

Aug. 5….(FOJ) The recent war in Iraq is causing many prophecy scholars to re-analyze the Armageddon scenario under the prophetic microscope. The Iraq campaign may be only the first in a series of similar conflicts. In its drive to the north, the U.S. Army quickly discovered that leaders of the Saddam Hussein regime had fled ahead of them, some finding asylum in Syria. In fact, Syria was acting as a channel, through which military supplies were being redirected to Iraq from outside sources. President Bush voiced a solemn warning that a continuation of these activities could warrant an American response. The President's message is clear. Syria must get in line with the new Middle East order of things, or suffer the consequences. Many political scientists believe that a showdown with Syria would inevitably lead to a major conflict. Will there be a U.S.-Syrian war? And if so, what part will Israel play, given that it shares a common border with southwestern Syria, and that Hezbollah (Iran) resides in Lebanon?

America Is Caught in the Middle
It must be remembered that the fragmented territory of Iraq is like the epicenter of a hurricane. The Bush U.S. administration now finds itself right at the center of a geopolitical maelstrom, in which the 22 nation Arab League continuously calls for jihad in the name of Islam and Allah. To the south, lie the Wahabi Moslem territories of Saudi Arabia and Yemen. To the east is the Shiite religious state of Iran. To the north is the Baathist (Social Democrat) terrorist-sponsoring state of Syria. To the west, Iraq shares a border with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which has waffled in its support of America, and has a long-standing anti-Israel track record. A little further west, Hosni Mubarak's Egyptian government harbors the leadership of many terrorist groups. In the middle of this hotbed of instability, America's role as peacemaker is a tenuous one. Like a lion tamer who enters a cage, then stands in the center with a whip and a chair, the U.S. must keep the lunging beasts at bay. The gasping audience watches in wonder, speculating about just how long this delicate balancing act can continue. The prophecies of the Bible say that it won't continue forever, perhaps for a very short time.

Damascus in Prophecy
One of the most readily understood prophecies in all of Scripture has to do with latter-day Syria, specifically with its current capital, the city of Damascus. Because it so easily conforms to what we imagine might be a nuclear conflagration, it has long attracted the attention of prophecy students. The ancient city of Damascus is now a thriving metropolis. The heart of Damascus is the Old City. It features the Damascus Citadel and the famed Umayyad Mosque, which was once a Roman Temple of Jupiter. Even under Islamic rule, the ancient heart of the city remains divided into four Quarters: The Old City, Muslim, Jewish and Christian Quarters. The latter two are bisected by the east-west "street which is called Straight" (Acts 9:11), where the Apostle Paul stayed after his meeting with the risen Christ. This famous thoroughfare is still in constant use. Since before the time of Abraham, Damascus has been an important city. It lies on the ancient trade route of the fertile crescent that leads from the Persian Gulf to the Holy Land. During its entire history, it has never been destroyed in the way Isaiah's prophecy describes: "The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. "The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. (Isaiah 17: 1-2). This amazing prophecy chronicles the total destruction of an ancient city. Today, this city is headquarters to a number of terrorist groups. This prophecy hasn't yet happened, but its coming is certain. Prophetic scripture ties this event to others in the same time period, and of course, the destruction of Damascus would be one of the judgments of the Tribulation Period. The destruction of Damascus may, in fact, be the catalyst that brings about the northern invasion of Israel by "Gog, the land of Magog," described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Ezekiel's Gog scenario is none other than Russia. If Syria's destruction indeed does act as the catalyzing factor that precipitates the Russian assault, it explains why Syria and Iraq each fails to appear in Ezekiel's list of the forces allied in the attack. Apparently, the calamitous end of the ancient city comes prior to Gog's action. In short, Damascus may be the trigger to the final explosions at Armageddon. We need to take a closer look at Syria.

The Abomination of Church Sanctioned Homosexulaity

August 4….(FOJ) Clergy and lay members of the Episcopal Church voted Sunday to approve the candidacy of an openly gay priest seeking to become a bishop in the church. A divorced father of two, Robinson has lived with his male partner for 13 years. Those who favor Robinson's election say he would make a fine bishop and that it would position the Episcopal Church as a forward-moving Church. (fast track to hell) They point out that Robinson and his partner share a committed, monogamous relationship that keeps them within the bounds of Scripture. However, his homosexual partnership is contrary to the word of God. Homosexuality is a sin, and that fact is not even debatable. The goal of those who have chosen the homosexual lifestyle is to justify their sinful choice, which incidentally is inherently destructive both to society and to the participants themselves. (The life expectancy of homosexuals in America is only 42) They are trying to force society to validate legally and ethically their choice of sexual behavior and relationships, and to enact laws that allow them to promote this sinful choice to our children as normal behavior. Of course, anyone that dares to speak up on this issue is labeled as "intolerant, and a small-minded homophobe. The Gay/Lesbian agenda is an agenda to celebrate a sin of depravity. People who commit adultery do not have parades to celebrate their sin. People who commit murder do not have political action committees to make murder legal. Gay and Lesbian activity is supposed to be a criminal act in a Christian country! That is why the term “closet” came into existence! People are normally ashamed of criminal behavior, but not the Queer crowd. Homosexuality is a SIN in the eyes of God and is something to be ashamed of, not proud of. Nobody is born as a homosexual. Sin is a choice! (Ever seen homosexual animals) Even animals know better. The two greatest lies the pro-homosexual community has put out are: (1) homosexuality is something that you are "born with", Theologically this is not even a debatable issue. All throughout the Bible, homosexuality is defined by God as a sin, period. God calls it an Abomination! But when "churches" begin accepting this sinful choice, and to ordain a ministerial body that accepts people as clergy who make this choice, it is a further abomination! It makes me sick every time that I hear of a "church" that accepts homosexuality as an acceptable sexual choice. It is nothing short of apostasy when a denomination or ministerial organization ordains people who choose to engage in this type of sinful sexual behavior to be in a position of spiritual leadership. Churches that tell people it is OK to engage in habitual sinful activity like homosexuality are an abomination! America will be judged over this issue sooner or later.

Syria: 100 Nerve-Gas Missiles Aimed At Israel

August 4….(World Net) Syria has aimed at least 100 long-range ballistic missiles equipped with VX, the most lethal nerve gas, at central Israel, according to a senior Israeli defense source. Damascus now has achieved its goal of balancing Israel's nuclear advantage, said the source, quoted by Jane's Foreign Report this week. U.S. and Israeli intelligence sources have said they believe Syria hid evidence of Saddam Hussein's deployment of weapons of mass destruction among its own arsenal of unconventional weapons. In April, the Defense Department said Syria had conducted a series of chemical-weapons tests to exploit the transfer of Iraqi expertise. A captured Iraqi scientist who worked in Iraq's chemical weapons program for more than a decade said Iraq had secretly sent unconventional weapons and technology to Syria since the mid-1990s, the New York Times reported in April. German and Israeli sources, according to Jane's, have asserted Syria possesses and can weaponize anthrax, botulinum toxin and the toxin ricin. Syria is also was believed to have received considerable help with its delivery systems from the former Soviet Union.

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