``For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.'' (Hag 2:6-7)
It has been an eventful summer. After Yitzhak Rabin's assassination last year, Shimon Peres continued to pursue land-for-peace policies. But Peres' short reign ended on May 29th, following Benjamin Netanyahu's surprise victory. Netanyahu won by the slimmest of margins (.5%) over Peres. This has called into question the continued viability of the peace process, especially given the recent riots in Jerusalem. Of prophetic significance was Netanyahu's campaign slogan -- ``Netanyahu - Oshim Shalom Batoch'' which means: Netanyahu - we bring peace and security (Ezekiel 38:11, 1Thes 5:1-3).
Boris Yeltsin has had problems, as well. He faced a serious re-election challenge, and prevailed, but not without cost to his health and not without loss of power to hard-line communist factions within the Duma (holding just over 1/3 of the seats) and in his own administration.
In America, Clinton vetoed the partial-birth abortion bill and, in what may well prove to be a political maneuver to garner support, initiated ``Desert Storm II''. Meanwhile, negotiations with Syria have broken down and Iran is still preparing for an Israeli invasion.
Will these events help bring about the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel and God's subsequent judgment of Russia and possibly the United States?
Perhaps. The dynamics currently being played out on the world stage are complicated, but the end result of these events could easily bring us one step closer to the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel. It is a far more dangerous time than most people realize. In order to fully grasp the prophetic implications of what is going on, it is suggested that you re-read the three-part series entitled ``What in Heaven is Happening to America'' and parts 4-6 of the seven-part series entitled ``Peace in the Middle East -- A Prelude to War'', before reading this two-part series.
In what may prove to be a pivotal event in American history, the Senate
has failed to override Clinton's veto of the partial-birth abortion
ban. Both Houses of Congress passed the bill banning partial-birth
abortions but Clinton, failing to represent the majority (71%) of
Americans opposed to this particularly barbaric form of abortion,
vetoed the bill. The House passed an override to Clinton's veto, but
the override attempt failed in the Senate.
Partial-birth abortion involves delivering the baby naturally, feet first, up to its head. Scissors are then forced into the back of the baby's head and the baby's brain is sucked out through the opening -- all without anesthesia.
Senator Dan Coates from Indiana stated on a recent ``700 Club'': ``If we can't stop this procedure, there is nothing we can stop. We have, as a nation, so devalued life, whether it is Jack Kevorkian and the elderly at the end of life or this procedure at the beginning of life, that we are setting a lower standard as to what life is. I think this is a dangerous, dangerous situation for the future of this country.''
In December, a Miami resident was sentenced to five years in jail for killing a puppy. The prosecutor said he should have gotten more time because of his indifference. This writer loves dogs and believes that this man should have been punished, but isn't there something wrong with a country that is indifferent to the murder of 1 1/2 million children a year but makes a man serve five years for committing puppycide? What is wrong with this picture when individuals passionately defend sucking out another living human being's brain?
Representative J.C. Watts from Oklahoma stated on CBN's ``700 Club'': ``We are going to be doing a lot of praying. I think this is going to be a very defining moment for this nation concerning what we do on this issue...'' Indeed! These words may well prove to be prophetic as America continues down the slippery slope to judgment (see the three-part series ``What in Heaven is Happening to America?'').
It is inconceivable that our President and elected representatives have allowed this heinous procedure to stand. Perhaps proponents of the partial-birth procedure have been misinformed. The standard line is that this procedure is performed only 400 to 500 times per year and then only in rare cases to protect the health of the mother. This procedure is much more prevalent, however, than proponents of this barbarism would have us believe. Representative Charles Canady reported that a single New Jersey clinic performs this procedure 1500 times per year. How many other clinics are performing this ``procedure''? And how often?
Furthermore, the argument that this procedure is performed only in rare cases, that is where the fetus is severely deformed or the life of the mother is in danger, is simply not true. The ``Washington Post'' (September 17, 1996) reported that physicians who perform this procedure indicate that candidates are typically young, low-income women who have healthy fetuses, but have delayed having an abortion sooner...and not for medical reasons.
There is also an argument circulating that this procedure is performed to protect the future fertility of a woman. This ``statement of fact'' is refuted in an editorial by Drs. Nancy Romer, Pamela Smith, Curtis Cook, and Joseph DeCook which appeared in the September 19th issue of the ``Wall Street Journal''. According to their findings, this claim is totally and completely false.
``Contrary to what abortion activists would have us believe, partial-birth abortion is never medically indicated to protect a woman's health or her fertility. In fact, the opposite is true. The procedure can pose significant and immediate threat to both the pregnant woman's health and her fertility. It seems to have escaped everyone's attention that one of the five women who appeared at Mr. Clinton's veto ceremony had five miscarriages following her partial-birth abortion.''
To make matters worse, in September, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it will approve the controversial abortion pill RU-486, labeling it safe and effective, in spite of claims to the contrary. Recent news articles have also disclosed that certain cancer drugs are being prescribed to induce abortions. Now you can conveniently pop a pill and kill a child. How many more abortions will occur when surgery is no longer necessary?
But abortion is only the first signpost on the road toward the devaluation of human life. The slaughter of over 1 1/2 million babies each year in this nation effectively demonstrates that we are now ready for the next step -- the acceptance of euthanasia of the elderly.
Jack Kevorkian has not been stopped by either the court system or Congress from performing doctor-assisted suicides. Recently, however, he brought euthanasia to a new level with the death of a patient who was only clinically depressed, rather than terminally ill. How long will it be before the mentally challenged or the physically handicapped will be targeted for elimination? Where will it end if we cannot even stop partial-birth abortions?
``That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what
will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.'' (Eccl 1:9)
George Santayana once observed: ``Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' Has America forgotten the past? America's pattern of the devaluation of life is not new.
William Brennan, an author who chronicled the medical atrocities of Hitler's final solution, wrote: ``The cultural environment for a human holocaust is present whenever any society can be misled into defining individuals as less than human and therefore devoid of values and respect. First, it is only a small class of people who are directly effected, inevitably; however, the entire society is destroyed.''
Consider the parallels between America's devaluation of life and that of Nazi Germany in the following comparisons. Note the similarity of terms used by the Nazis to describe the Jews with those of the abortion supporters. In each scenario, the targeted group is dehumanized through the use of language.
A) ``The Reichsgricht itself refused to recognize Jews living in Germany as `persons', in the legal sense.'' (German Supreme Court, 1938)
B) ``The word `person,' as used in the Fourteenth Amendment does not include the unborn.'' (U.S. Supreme Court, 1973)
A) ``The Jews are a parasite.'' (Adolph Hitler)
B) ``The unborn are a parasite.'' (Boston Feminist Group)
A) ``The Jew is a repulsive, yet characteristic, sub-humanity.'' (Dr. August Hirt)
B) ``The fetus is sub-human and relatively close to a piece of tissue.'' (Dr. Amital Etzioni)
A) The Jews are ``all kinds of trash.'' (characterization of Jews in Poland)
B) The unborn are ``so much garbage.'' (English abortion chamber spokesman)
``We are already witnessing the erosion of the idea of man as something splendid or divine, as a creature with freedom and dignity. And clearly, if we come to see ourselves as meat, then meat we shall become.'' Dr. Leon Kass; ``Public Interest'', Winter, 1972, page 53. How much more has society degenerated since this statement was published?
After the German public was desensitized and legal sanctions provided, crimes against the Jews included human experimentation. After all, the Jews were legally not human, so how could these actions be considered immoral? The body parts resulting from experimentation and genocide ended up in soap, lamp shades, paperweights, etc. In America, the brains, organs and bodies of aborted babies encased in a ``paperweight'' type of plastic block were sold by a Chicago biological supply firm.
How timely that the recently-released movie, ``Extreme Measures'', deals with human experimentation. The advertising line for the movie is: ``If you could cure cancer by killing one person, would you not have to do it?'' Will the media and the film industry be the instrument used to prepare us for this next step on the road to destruction, as they have so many times before?
God is not mocked. He will only let sin go so far before judgment comes. If you need Biblical evidence that America is now under God's chastisement, read the aforementioned three-part series on America. As discussed in that series, the increase in frequency and intensity of natural disasters is just one warning that God is preparing to pour out severe judgment unless a nation repents (2 Chronicles 7:14).
These warnings, called ``signature judgments'', are continuing to escalate. Blazes in 14 western states have pushed state and federal resources to their limits, making 1996 the worst year on record for wildfires in the U.S. About 82,400 fires have burned 4.8 million acres to date this year. And there are still 2 months to go.
In the first half of this decade, we averaged 11,634 tornadoes per year. In the 1980's, the average (based on the entire 10-year period) was only 819 per year. Even California (a state not known for tornado activity) has experienced 63 tornadoes over the last five years, more than the entire previous decade.
Floods, snow, winds and ice have also contributed to making 1996 a year of disasters. In the first six weeks of 1996 alone, there were 27 disaster declarations. Adverse weather is one reason why food reserves in the U.S. are currently at record low levels.
The number of big hurricanes hitting the East and Gulf coasts in the first five years of this decade has already matched the total for the decade of the 1980's. Experts fear we are moving into a dangerous weather pattern, causing ``damage like we've never seen before,'' says hurricane watcher William Gray.
This writer recognizes, based on clear Biblical principals and admonitions, that God is warning America. His ``signature judgments'' keep increasing. With the failure to override the partial-birth abortion veto, this writer believes that America is on the threshold of even greater chastisement -- perhaps at the hand of Russia (read ``Peace in the Middle East -- A Prelude to War'' for additional information on America's possible role in the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel).
There are dynamics currently being played out on the world stage that
are very complicated. The end result of these events could easily
bring us one step closer to the Ezekiel 38 invasion of Israel. It
is a far more dangerous time than most people realize.
Yeltsin's prolonged absence from the public eye has lent credence to the speculation about a power struggle in the Kremlin between Lebed, Chubais and Chernomyrdin. Yeltzin, who had another heart attack during the presidential election, is now scheduled for heart surgery at the end of October. This means that control of ``the button'' will have to be passed to another member of his administration. This will be a dangerous time; not only from the risk of heart surgery to an already-failing Yeltsin, but from the many opportunists involved in the Kremlin power struggle.
Strange stories are being reported from Russia which are indicative of uncertainty and in-fighting. On September 12th, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov described Yeltsin as a weak man and said that rumors were circulating that Yeltsin had surrendered Russia's ``nuclear button'' to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Apparently Kohl met privately with Yeltsin on September 7th. The rumor was spawned that the other leaders were not included because Kohl had only come to remove the nuclear button from Russia. One would hope that this could not possibly be true. If it were true then that would mean that Yeltsin is extremely concerned about what might happen should he not remain in power. In any event, this type of activity highlights the political maneuvering that is going on. In reality, there are three ``buttons'', the other two being held by the Chief of the General Staff and the Defense Minister.
Yeltsin might not even make it to surgery, let alone survive it. Already the cry of the opposition can be heard as they demand that Yeltsin resign if he is too sick to carry out his responsibilities. In any event, situations of uncertainty are ideal opportunities for a coup. If this happens, a more openly militant Russia will likely emerge.
On September 10th, Yeltsin yielded control of several ``power'' ministries, such as the Ministry of Defense, to Chernomyrdin. This move was viewed as an attempt to curb the political ambitions of national security advisor Alexander Lebed.
General Lebed might be a likely successor to Yeltsin. In June, after Yeltsin removed General Grachev (he actually resigned, having become the scapegoat for the botched Chechnya war) to consolidate his internal support, Yeltsin named Lebed National Security Advisor and Secretary of the Presidential Security Council. Lebed, who came in third in the presidential run-off behind Communist candidate Zyuganov, was purportedly named to his influential post to keep him from migrating to the Communist camp. However, there is speculation that he offered to throw his support to Yeltsin, assuring a Yeltsin victory. This may be why Yeltsin named him as his likely successor.
It is no coincidence that after Yeltsin consolidated his power with Lebed's support, that he cleaned house of any threat to his position. The New York Times reported that ``the dismissal of the seven generals followed charges by Lebed that most of them were plotting to force Mr. Yeltsin to reinstate General Grachev.'' It is no wonder that a July 1st ``Newsweek'' magazine article referred to this hawkish, military traditionalist as the ``Terminator.'' Yeltsin, however, at a June announcement, confirmed reports that he saw Lebed as the best man to succeed him, making Lebed his heir-apparent. General Lebed is ambitious, and his drive to control the security forces was given a major boost with the naming of another hawkish general, Igor Rodionov, as Russian Defense Minister. Lebed had been his most public supporter and protege. With this appointment, Lebed has his own man in a position of power.
General Robionov, Russian Defense Minister, served in the bloody, inhuman Afghanistan campaign. He is more recently renowned as the Butcher of Tbilisi for his handling of a peaceful demonstration of 10,000 people in Tbilisi's central square in support of a hunger strike for Georgian independence. Paratroopers were ordered into the crowd swinging sharpened, folded shovels (part of their standard equipment) and spraying gas which Georgian toxicologists asserted was poisonous. Five thousand people were sick for weeks from the effects of the gas and 21 people, mostly women, were killed. General Rodionov defended his actions to the Russian Duma by telling them that the protesters were ``fiercely anti-Soviet and deserved what they got''. General Robionov holds one of the other two ``nuclear buttons''.
Given the ambitions of Lebed, the reason Yeltsin indicated his preference of Prime Minister Victor Chernomrdin to control the ``button'' is obvious. Although General Lebed has publicly supported Yeltsin's choice, the in-fighting continues and is likely to intensify if Yeltsin is incapacitated for any length of time.
``Intelligence Digest" (September 27 edition) reported that Lebed ``is relying on the success of his Chechnya peace plan to propel him to the presidency on President Yeltsin's retirement/demise.'' They have also reported his veiled threat of a popularity-backed coup: ``If I am sacked for Chechnya, the people will call me to the throne..."
Recently, Yeltsin withheld support for Lebed's controversial peace deal with Chechnya. This was again seen as a move to keep Lebed in check. Not wanting to turn Lebed into a dangerous enemy, after weeks of delay, Yeltsin did come to Lebed's defense over Chechyna only to chide him just a few hours later on television for not working closely enough with the government.
Lebed's was recently quoted in the July 8th ``Time Magazine'' where he ``blasted foreign religious sects as mold and scum.'' He has displayed anti-Semitic tendencies, having accused one journalist of sounding ``too Jewish'' when asked a difficult question. Should Lebed gain control, now having considerable influence over the military since the appointment of his protege, General Robionov, to Russian defense minister, what action might he instigate to justify his position?
Given Russia's strengthening ties to Iran, Iraq, and other militant Muslim nations, the unwelcome Western involvement with Iraq, Russia's increased need for hard currency, coupled with their desire for a warm-water port and the oil reserves of the Middle-East, might such a period of political upheaval be the long-awaited ``opportunity'' to invade Israel (Ezekiel 38 & 39). And if that invasion occurs, America might be at risk from a deliberate or accidental nuclear strike (Eze 39:6).
On Wednesday, September 25, 1996 General Lebed, Russian Security Chief, issued a dire warning of imminent mutiny in Russia's armed forces. There have been numerous reports about the deteriorating state of the Russian army, including plummeting morale, hunger and a dramatic increase in suicides. Russian Defense Minister, Igor Rodionov, also spoke about possible dire consequences of underfunding and not paying the soldiers: ``People go mad sometimes...Who can guarantee that in such circumstances one can expect good? On the contrary, one can expect anything to happen.'' Prophetic words from Igor Rodionov?
On Sunday, October 6, Lebed visited NATO's Brussells headquarters. Lebed is opposed to NATO's eastern expansion, which he has called a threat to Russian Security. While in Brussells Lebed tried to dispel rumors that he threatened NATO with nuclear weapons should there be the slightest move of NATO to the east. He was quoted the week before by the Itar-Tass news agency: ``We have missiles which are rusty but still an effective deterrent.''
The thought of ``rusty'' Russian missiles is a deliberate attempt at deception, Russia continues to build its forces. The Russian navy spent over nine billion on submarine construction in 1995 and is now retrofitting its Typhoon-class nuclear subs to house the new SSN-24/26 ICBM's. It is also replacing many of its older ICBM's with a new three-stage variant of the SS-25 and is also developing a stealth bomber of its own, the Sukhoi-T60S.
The Russian Bear is not asleep. On June 28, the Russian Pacific Fleet carried out complex nuclear launch exercises in the Barents Sea. Three times in the last three years, Russia has conducted strategic weapons exercises which included mock nuclear attacks on the United States.
``Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.'' (Luke 21:36)
We will cover current events in Israel, Iraq, Iran and Syria next time.
Maranatha!
Intelligence Digest, Sep. 27, 1996, 1-800-237-8400, ext #76
Intelligence Digest, Oct. 4, 1996, 1-800-237-8400, ext #76
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"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." (1TH 5:1-8)
Remember Jesus is returning for a Holy and Spotless Bride.
Maranatha!
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