Canada on a Knife Edge

The following article is talking specifically about America but is completely true of Canada as well. Sadly, but not surprisingly, our society closely resembles 2 Timothy 3:1-5, and there isn't a political party in the world that can turn things around unless citizens themselves are willing to repent and submit:

A Knife Edge

Is the Pope Going to Survive Turkey this Week?

• ISTANBUL, Turkey Nov 26, 2006 (AP) — More than 25,000 people joined demonstrations Sunday against Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit, police said. [Source: ABC News]
• BBC Report: Stepping into the Storm

After reading Revelation 17 and 18 many times, I find it hard to believe that Pope Benedict is going to visit Turkey on Tuesday to express his "esteem for Islam" - we HAVE come a long way since the Crusades - WOW!

Since I'm 98% convinced that Rome is the "City on 7 hills" mentioned in these two chapters in Revelation (see Dave Hunt's comments), I would not be surprised if this upcoming trip resulted in a major clash between the beast (Leopard-Bear-Lion of Islam) and the Whore riding on the Beast (Catholicism). Is the Pope going to survive his trip?? Is Rome (especially the Vatican) soon going to be destroyed by the beast? Only God knows for sure. We'll see.

Did I mention that we're headed for another war?

DEBKAfile reports: Russia sells Iran sophisticated missile systems capable of repelling US or Israeli air or missile assaults: Debkafile

I had to post this just in case anyone's still wondering whose side Russia is on. Are we marching right into Ezekiel 38-39?

I've been reading Joel Rosenberg's book called "Epicenter-Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future" - a very interesting and intriguing book!

Joel has a video sermon online entitled : "Are We Living in the Last Days" that can be found here.

In the pull-down menu labelled "Search by Speaker" Select "Joel Rosenberg"

Twins!

As reported in www.irna.ir
Iran is now "one step away" from nuclear success and [Ahmadinejad] advised "our malevolent enemies to adopt a friendly attitude towards the determined Iranian nation."
"They should know that having friendly ties with the noble Iranian nation would be to their benefit, otherwise they would face disgrace and defeat."

That second line sounds to me like a threat. I was watching Glenn Beck's special last night on CNN (I think it was called "Extremists Exposed"). I find Glenn to be a bit of a loud mouth, not exceptionally bright (i.e. he keeps calling Ahmadinejad: Ahmadeemajob), but I do have to give Glenn credit for his assessment of “the extremists”. Of course by extremists he's really talking about Islamofascists. I know we're all dangerously politically correct in North America, but let's face facts and be honest with ourselves for at least one second: the extremist threat is coming directly from within Islam.

If you've been following the subject matter of this blog at all, you'll know that I believe the Leopard-Bear-Lion (LBL) beast in Revelation 13:2 is the revival of the Leopard, Bear, and Lion beasts of Daniel 7. The LBL beast in Revelation 13 shows up as a combined beast because Islam is the glue that holds it together. I also believe that the combined beast in Revelation 13 will, in combination with Satan and the False Prophet, call the world to battle in the final Day of the Lord (aka Armageddon).

Here’s a quote to think about:
13Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon (Satan), out of the mouth of the beast (Lion-Bear-Leopard beast) and out of the mouth of the false prophet (Mohammed). 14They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty. [Revelation 16:13-14, comments added in parenthesis]

If you're unfamiliar with what happens on "the great day of God Almighty", I recommend you get really familiar with it quickly. See Zechariah 12 and 14; Joel 3; Ezekiel 38 and 39, etc. I believe the Day of the Lord is closer than most think, or I should say "most don't think". I believe I'm not flying out on some wild tangent by saying most people are asleep to the warnings of biblical prophesy. People, inside and outside of the church, are generally so busy doing things that have NO ETERNAL SIGNIFICANCE, that they can't be bothered to read what they must consider “irrelevant Old Testament prophesy".

God said to Daniel that his prophesy will remain sealed up until the time of the end. Guess what? With the re-establishment of Israel on May 14, 1948, and with the end of Gentile rule over Jerusalem in 1967 - WE ARE LIVING IN THE END. The "time of the Gentiles” is over, therefore prophesy given to Daniel can only be properly understood now – post 1967.

This must sound pretty “flaky” to many of you, but in my opinion, the best interpretation of prophesy in the Old Testament and in Revelation comes from Ellis Skolfield [www.ellisskolfield.com]. As described by Skolfield in his free online book The False Prophet, he was frustrated by the lack of support for the traditional end time theory consisting of: Daniel’s 70th week; with Anti-Christ in the middle; a re-build, third temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem; and a 7-year peace treaty that goes very badly in the last 3.5 years.

Like Skolfield, I too was getting frustrated by what this traditional theory offered up as biblical support. I’ve read the traditional books (eg. John Walvoord) that specify, in 15-step chronological detail , what will happen in the end - with the first step being the rapture. What? How can the rapture be step number 1 of 15 when 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 states:

51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

These verses refer to the transformation that Christians will undergo at the last trumpet. Traditionalists say this transformation will happen at the rapture. But how can the rapture be the next event then if 1 Corinthians 15:52 says our transformation will occur at the last trumpet of Revelation?! To me, the traditional theory has gone off track with the imminent rapture prediction. I don’t believe that we will be transformed into our eternal bodies until the seventh trumpet sounds. To think otherwise contradicts 1 Corinthians 15!

In light of what the world has seen transpire since the end of Gentile rule over Jerusalem in 1967, it looks a lot more like the European Union is not the final kingdom that will war against Christians and the re-gathered Israelites before Christ’s second coming. It looks more likely that Islam and Muslims will be (are) warring against the followers of Jesus Christ and Jehovah God.

Ahmadinejad, Iran’s president, is almost on a daily basis threatening the very existence of Israel, who just happens to be the apple of God’s eye. God is not going to let Israel be destroyed, now that he has re-gathered Jacob’s children from the four corners of the earth – that’s for certain (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

The traditional “next stop: the rapture” theory is widely accepted as gospel truth. It is considered established Christian doctrine by many, and many think that to diverge from it is to blaspheme God. But when a theory, which has been built up on shaky assumptions, is starting to fail, it is important to go back to the bible (back to the drawing board, so to speak) and look for a better explanation. We are commanded by Jesus to watch for his second coming. Rest assured, most will continue to watch through the lens of the traditional theory, and consequently most will be unprepared and surprised by Christ’s physical reappearance:

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. [Matthew 24:44]

Does this verse support a 15-step chronologically ordered end times theory?

See - I'm not the only one talking about a naval buildup (and I'm not talking lint)

US naval war games off the Iranian coastline: A provocation which could lead to War?
by Michel Chossudovsky
October 24, 2006
GlobalResearch.ca

There is a massive concentration of US naval power in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Two US naval strike groups are deployed: USS Enterprise, and USS Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group. The naval strike groups have been assigned to fighting the "global war on terrorism." War GamesConcurrent with this concentration of US Naval power, the US is also involved in military exercises in the Persian Gulf, which consists in "interdicting ships in the Gulf carrying weapons of mass destruction and missiles" The exercise is taking place as the United States and other major powers are considering sanctions including possible interdiction of ships on North Korea, following a reported nuclear test, and on Iran, which has defied a U.N. Security Council mandate to stop enriching uranium.
The exercise, set for Oct. 31, is the 25th to be organized under the U.S.-led 66-member Proliferation Security Initiative and the first to be based in the Gulf near Bahrain, across from Iran, the officials said.
A senior U.S. official insisted the exercise is not aimed specifically at Iran, although it reinforces a U.S. strategy aimed at strengthening America’s ties with states in the Gulf, where Tehran and Washington are competing for influence" (Defense News, http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2171176&C=mideast) Tehran considers the US sponsored war games in the Persian Gulf, off the Iranian coastline as a provocation, which is intended to trigger a potential crisis and a situation of direct confrontation between US and Iranian naval forces in the Persian Gulf:"Reports say the US-led naval exercises based near Bahrain will practise intercepting and searching ships carrying weapons of mass destruction and missiles. Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted an unnamed foreign ministry official as describing the military manoeuvres as dangerous and suspicious.
Reports say the US-led naval exercises based near Bahrain will practise intercepting and searching ships carrying weapons of mass destruction and missiles.
The Iranian foreign ministry official said the US-led exercises were not in line with the security and stability of the region. Instead, they are aimed at fomenting crises, he said." (quoted in BBC, 23 October 2006)
USS Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG 5) to arrive in Arabian SeaThe USS Boxer (LHD 4), --which is the flagship for the Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG 5)-- which left Singapore on October 16, is scheduled to join the two other naval strikes groups. ESG 5 is comprised of USS Boxer, Bunker Hill, USS Dubuque (LPD 8), USS Comstock (LSD 45), USS Benfold (DDG 65), and USS Howard (DDG 83). ESG 5 also includes PHIBRON 5, the 15th MEU, Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WHEC 726). “We are about to enter a part of the world that can be very dangerous,” said Chief Aviation Ordnanceman (AW/SW) Jacques Beaver, Boxer’s flight deck ordnance chief. “We must be flexible and prepared to defend ourselves from any threats.”Boxer has been preparing for the weapons upload for two months by completing required maintenance and electronic pre-checks. Checks ensure that the ship’s missile and launching systems are up to standard and safe to load with live ordnance. “It has taken a lot of hard work for our people to get this done,” said Chief Fire Controlman (SW) William Lewis, combat systems, fire control division’s leading chief petty officer. “You cannot measure the importance of having these defenses guarding the lives of the Sailors and Marines in this strike group.”BOXESG is comprised of USS Boxer (LHD 4), USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), USS Dubuque (LPD 8), USS Comstock (LSD 45), USS Benfold (DDG 65) and USS Howard (DDG 83). The strike group also includes Amphibious Squadron 5, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WHEC 726) and Canadian Frigate HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341).BOXESG is currently conducting operations in support of the global war on terrorism while transiting to the Arabian Gulf [sic]." (http://www.c7f.navy.mil/news/2006/october/3.htm) USS BoxerCanada is part of the Expeditonary Strike Group (ESG 5)Canada is formally participating in this military deployment under the disguise of the "war on terrorism". The Canadian Navy has dispatched Frigate HMCS Ottawa, which is now an integral part of ESG 5, under US Command. It is worth noting that particular emphasis has been given to medical evacuations and combat medical support suggesting that a combat scenario could be envisaged. Boxer and Ottawa, both operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility, know that they can play a vital role to aid humanitarian assistance operations, medical evacuations or combat medical support that would rely heavily on the medical capabilities of the Boxer strike group. Cross training Sailors from ship to ship helps ensure the success of the strike group should BOXESG have to respond to any medical scenario, according to Richardson.“Training is a necessary part of any evolution,” said Richardson. “Anytime you’re working with another nation, it’s important that we understand their capabilities just as much as they understand ours, so in the event anything occurs we know where our assets are.” The cross training also fostered cooperation between the two allies which provided Verville and Boxer corpsmen a forum to learn about each other’s navies and each other’s culture." (Military.com October 2006) Dangerous Crossroads: Tonkin II? "An incident" in the Persian Gulf could be used by the US as a pretext for war against Iran. A war pretext incident, similar to "the Gulf of Tonkin Incident", which triggered the Vietnam war, could be used by US forces, with a view to justifying retaliatory military action against Iran. In August 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson claimed that North Vietnamese forces had attacked US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. The Tonkin incident, which had been manipulated, contributed to unleashing a full-fledged war against Vietnam: "A phantom attack on two U.S. destroyers cruising the Gulf of Tonkin was staged by the Pentagon and the C.I.A. The bogus attack occurred early in August, 1964. That evening President Lyndon Johnson went on television giving the grim details of the non-attack. Later, however, it was revealed that navy commander James Stockdale flew cover over the Gulf of Tonkin that night. Stockdale disclosed that U.S. ships were firing at phantom targets—targets that didn’t exist. The Gulf of Tonkin Incident that drew the U.S. into the quagmire of Viet Nam simply didn’t happen. Johnson, as presidents so often do, lied to the American people. The result was the rapid passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which was the sole legal basis for the Viet Nam War. As a result of Johnson’s lie, three million Vietnamese people and fifty eight thousand U.S. soldiers died." (Charles Sullivan, Global Research, January 2006)Revised and updated Oct 25, 2006. Note: Since this report was first published, we have been advised that several press reports concerning USS Eisenhower are incorrect. US military sources have confirmed that USS Eisenhower was in Naples on Oct 23. We have made appropriate corrections.