Is war on the horizon in the Middle East?  Iran is certainly arming for one.  In fact, what we are witnessing now could potentially be considered the greatest military buildup in the history of the Middle East.  Basically what Iran has done is they have pushed all of their chips to the middle of the table and have decided that they are going to develop nuclear weapons no matter what.  Now they are arming themselves to the teeth for the confrontation with Israel and/or the United States that they know is coming at some point.  We all know that there will be wars in the last days, but when war erupts in the Middle East, things are not going to be pleasant - especially if nuclear, chemical and biological weapons are used.

Iran and Israel are caught in a bizarre game of chicken, and Iran is showing no signs of blinking.  In fact, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has ordered his country's nuclear agency to begin the production of higher enriched uranium.  Iran seems to have no fear of sanctions or of anything else.  Perhaps they realize that Obama has absolutely no interest in a war with Iran.  Or perhaps they are just crazy.  In any event, Iran's leaders have set their course and they seem to have no intention of altering it.

In fact, they are arming themselves as if a coming war with Israel is inevitable....

*An Iranian air force commander said on Monday that Iran will soon unveil a domestically-made air defense system with at least the same capability as Russia's very powerful S-300 anti-aircraft hardware.  If this is true, it will be a major change in the balance of power.

*Iran has begun producing very advanced unmanned drones capable of carrying out devastating assaults "with high precision".   

*Iran has also announced that they officially started production of two new kinds of conventional missiles on Saturday.

*There are even persistent rumors that Iran is developing intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially carry nuclear warheads.  If that ever comes to fruition, the United States would be in much greater danger.

So what does all of this mean?

It means that Iran is desperately trying to develop strategic weapons that will enable it to close the gap somewhat between itself and Israel and the United States.

There is no way that Iran can achieve strategic parity with the United States military right now, but if they can put enough of a hurt on the U.S. and Israel they know that the politicians in those two nations will think twice before striking.

And that could buy time for Iran to make nukes.

After all, the destruction of Israel is one of the stated goals of the Iranian government.

In fact, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that he believes that the obliteration of Israel "is certain".

That is dangerous talk.

Tensions are rising all over the Middle East.  It is being reported that one Syrian government official recently said that Syria is ready for either peace or war.

And war seems more likely by the day.

According to one new report, Egyptian maritime sources say that the Israeli navy has deployed two missile ships to the Persian Gulf.

Not that there is anything too unusual about that, but it is yet another move that is raising tensions in the region.

As noted above, we all know that war is inevitable in the last days.  But we are also instructed in the Scriptures to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  So let us pray for peace even as things move ever closer to war.

We truly live in extraordinary times.  Bible prophecy is being fulfilled at a pace that is absolutely mind blowing.  There were so many news stories related to the last days this week that it was literally very difficult to try to keep up with them all.  In fact, there are so many events happening out there right now related to the last days that it is hard to know where to begin.  So today we thought that we would highlight a bunch of the key news stories from this past week....

*Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon is warning that Israel might soon have to use military force to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

*The Iranian ambassador in Moscow stated on Thursday that Russia has assured Iran that it still intends to deliver long-range air-defense missiles.

*A large shipment of North Korean weapons recently intercepted in Thailand was bound for an airport in Iran.

*One new report claims that Egyptian military sources have put out information outlining Israel's plans for a military strike on Iran.

*On Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar Assad directly accused Israel of "pushing the region towards war".

*Syria's foreign minister is warning that a future war between Israel and Syria would be a "comprehensive" clash that would "come to your cities".

*Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said this week that he hopes someday to see Israel as a member of the European Union.

*U.S. relations with China are quickly taking a big turn for the worse.

*On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved a record $1.9 trillion increase in the cap on how much the U.S. government can borrow.

*One newly released poll says that 86 percent of Americans are worried or angry about the growing U.S. budget deficit.

*Is "Housing Crash Part 2" on the way?  A massive "second wave" of home mortgages is scheduled to reset beginning in 2010.

*Some analysts are projecting that Social Security is going to be the next federal program in need of a massive bailout.

*The death toll for the earthquake in Haiti has swelled to approximately 200,000.

*Is California next?  Northern California was rocked by a magnitude-6.0 earthquake on Thursday, but officials said there were no immediate reports of major injuries or damage.

*Over the last two weeks, more than 100 earthquakes a day, on average, have rattled Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

*The CIA is telling Congress that "homegrown extremists" working for Al-Qaeda will strike the U.S. in the next three to six months.

*Pressure from radical Muslims has forced the closure of two Christian churches on Indonesia’s Java island.

*Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl that was apparently buried alive by Islamic relatives in an "honor" killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys.

*Barack Obama used the "National Prayer Breakfast" as an opportunity to promote his "gay" and "green" agendas.

*U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen told Congress on Tuesday that overturning the ban on gays in the military is the "right thing" for them to do.

*The Archbishop of York is warning that traditional Christianity in the U.K. is being wiped out from public life in the name of equality.

*There are concerns that the U.S. military is going way too far in attempting to create "super soldiers".

*Hasbro and Toys-R-Us are actually marketing a new pink Ouija board for girls ages eight and up.

*Last of all, a U.S. Tax Court has ruled that a Massachusetts woman should be allowed to deduct the costs of her sex-change operation.

One of the things that we love about running a website is all of the great comments that we get from our readers.  Even if we don't always respond to each one, please be assured that we do read each and every one of them.  Today there were several comments that we wanted to respond to, so we thought that we would make a post out of our responses.  The readers below have brought up some controversial issues, and that is perfectly okay.  As we follow the Lord God and look forward to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the truth is that we are not going to always agree on everything.  And that is okay.  If we let divisions over debatable issues divide us, then we are not going to be able to stand together when it really counts.  So let the major things be major and the minor things be minor.  There never will be a time when all of us agree 100 percent on every single detail in Scripture.  But we all should be able to agree on the major things such as who God is, what God's Word is and what the plan of salvation is (hopefully). 

In any event, we have posted some reader comments and our responses to them below.  If you find something that you don't agree with us about, that is okay.  In fact, we would love for you to send us your thoughts.  Hopefully we can all learn from each other.

So here we go.... 

A reader named Nuncio recently commented on our article entitled "The Equality Bill: Will A New Law Essentially Outlaw Evangelical Christianity And Roman Catholicism In The U.K.?" 

His comments about this article are posted below....

This is absolutely ridiculous, I have no problem with homosexuals but when did the minority get to speak for the majority? The same applies for the new smoking regulations, is the british government hell bent on waging war agaist those who do not agree with them. I was never a tory but I am now willing to change my mind.

Can you imagine the reprocussions in Northern Ireland? Unionists are mostly members of ProtestanT churches which condemn the act of homosexuality and the Nationalist/Republicans are mostly Roman Catholic, if the government think any laws which persecute the churches right to preach and follow the laws of JESUS CHRIST, they are in for a rude awakening.

This all stinks of aethiest militancy.

Anglicans as a majority do not agree with homosexual clergy and they are meant to be the state religion in the UK.

It all appears that Labour are trying to save their necks by appealing to the minorities.

God help us all, I will not remain in this country if the state decide they can control the churches.

Any act against God is an act of war against the Lord of All Authority, yes I will willingly join all the sons and daughters of Christ in jail when they speak out against what is unnatural.

In our opinion, Nuncio is absolutely right.  This new "Equality Bill" threatens to systematically destroy traditional Christianity in the United Kingdom.  Political correctness is completely out of control over there right now, and this new law would open the door for a flood of discrimination lawsuits against churches and Christian organizations.  It would force churches and Christian organizations to hire gays, transvestites, porn addicts, swingers and every other kind of deviant that you can possibly imagine.

The dangers of this bill should not be underestimated.  In fact, this bill is so incredibly bad that even the Pope spoke out about it recently.  Now, we don't put much stock in what the Pope has to say, but the fact that even he is speaking out about it shows just how alarming this piece of legislation is.

Moving on, a reader named Michael was thankful for our use of the name "Yahshua" but was concerned about our use of other English names for God....

I couldn’t agree more. Very insightful. I am so glad to see you use The Name of our Savior (Yahsuah). It would be equally respectful to do the same for our Creator (Yahweh) as well. Thank You. In His Name.

The truth is that this is a very controversial area.  When Yahshua (Jesus) was on this earth, His disciples did not call him "Jesus".  In fact, the letter "J" was not even in the Hebrew alphabet.  Neither was it in the English alphabet until the Middle Ages.  So what did His disciples call Him?  Well, they called him "Yahshua" which means "God saves" or "God is our salvation". 

However, there is much disagreement over the exact spelling and exact pronunciation of that name.  Some people believe it should be "Yeshua".  Others believe that it should be "Yahushua". 

Well, we believe that "Yahshua" is the correct rendering, but we certainly respect people who feel differently.  In addition, the reality is that sometimes we use the name of "Jesus" as well. 

You see, the truth is that God does miracles in the name of "Yahshua" and in the name of "Jesus".  People have been raised from the dead in various areas of the world in recent years in the name of "Jesus". 

So we do realize that this is a complicated issue, and we do try to use the proper Hebrew names, but there are times when we also use the English version of the names.  We hope that this will not cause too much confusion, and if you disagree with us on this point we certainly do understand.   

A reader named Terri was excited to see our support for the nation of Israel....

At last!!!! Someone who knows the truth and is happy to declare it for others to also read.

Thanks to folk like you who can see EXACTLY what is going on and how it relates to Biblical prophecies.

At last someone is speaking out to put the real picture of God’s heart and intentions for Israel into focus. God loves the Palestinians but the land of Israel was for Israel and is for Israel and always will be for Israel – for the Jews – His chosen ones. This means it can never be divided up or given away to anyone else for ANY REASON no matter how WE humans may look at it with our extremely limited understanding!! God will seriously judge anyone and any nation who will try to tamper with His plan. God’s ways are not our ways. When will people realise and respect this!!

If Christians read and BELIEVED their bibles they would start to defend the rights of the Jews to their own land – Israel belongs to God’s chosen people – the Jews. Let’s do things GOD’s way instead of getting caught up in the world’s ignorant, unbelieving ways!! There is a BIG difference. The truth sets you free.

Bless ya and keep up the great work!

Thank you Terri - we definitely stand with the state of Israel and we try to highlight the fact that God has a big plan for the land of Israel in the last days. 

Giving away the land of Israel (and especially the city of Jerusalem) is something that is very displeasing to God, and yet politicians all over the world seem determined to do it.

But not all readers agree with our views on the land of Israel.

For example, Gamla recently shared a unique perspective about the Palestinians....

“Israel should not be giving away one square inch of the land that God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

I agree…but the Jews who are occupying the land currently are descendants of only 2 (mostly) 3 tribes of the old nation of Israel which comprised of 12 tribes. The Jews have been named after the House of Judah (Judah, Benjamin, Levi) who ruled the southern kingdom after the split of the Combined Kingdom (ie 12 tribes) from the northern kingdom which included 10 tribes. The northern kingdom was actually called House of Israel because Jacob(Israel) has given the “birthright” of the kingdom to his son Joseph through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh (2 of the 10 northern tribes). See Genesis for a detailed explanation of the blessings Jacob/Israel gave his sons (the patriachs of 12 tribes of Israel) before his death.

Some of the people of the southern kindom of Judah returned to Palestine after their Babylonian exile but the 10 northern tribes NEVER returned after being taken captive by the Assyrians…we read in the Bible that these tribes were “lost” into the nations of the world.

so, to make a long story short…Biblically speaking, the house of Judah can never claim the whole of Israel as their land, for they would need to be re-united with the House of Israel (the 10 lost tribes of the north) for it to be accepted before God.

Further, through DNA evidence it has been shown that the current day palestinians are direct blood relatives of the northern kingdom…

the only solution in the eyes of God which would be just, would be for the Jews and Palestinians to live in ONE land…diverse in culture and language but united as a nation (see South Africa as reference on how divided “tribes” became one nation)

We agree with Gamla that the Jews living in the land of Israel today are descended primarily from the Southern Kingdom that returned from exile in Babylon, but we fundamentally disagree with the notion that the ten lost tribes are the Palestinians.  The truth is that much of the Northern Kingdom escaped the invading Assyrian armies by fleeing by sea to other points throughout the Mediterranean.  In fact, colonists from the Northern Kingdom (often in conjunction with their northern neighbors the Phoenicians) had been settling in areas around the Mediterranean Sea for centuries even before the Assyrian invasion.  Other groups from the Northern Kingdom were able to travel by land into Europe.  A large group was taken into exile when Assyria did finally conquer the Northern Kingdom, but they never came back. 

So while there may be a few Palestinians that are related by blood to the Northern Kingdom, the truth is that it is probably very, very few.  As far as "DNA tests" go, where did they find a descendant of the ten lost tribes to test to compare with the Palestinians?  We believe that it is a fundamental error to try to connect the Palestinians with the ten lost tribes of Israel.  They are primarily Muslims of Arabic descent and they have no claim on the land that God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

If you have other comments or questions for us we would love to hear them.  We will try to do a better job of answering them as we move forward.  We thank all of you for being readers of our site, and we hope that you will help us by spreading the word about our site to as many people as you can.

Michael & Meranda

Even as Israel hands even more land over to the Palestinians, there are persistent rumors that Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Lebanon are preparing for war against Israel.  According to one disturbing new report by DEBKA, U.S. intelligence has discovered 5,000 Hezbollah terrorists that have been trained to take over and seize towns in Galilee during a future invasion of Israel.  Apparently the invasion plans that have been drawn up involve sending five Hezbollah brigades sweeping across the Israeli border to seize key towns in the region of Galilee.  Hamas would open a second front in the West Bank and Gaza, and Syria would then step into the conflict at that point.

Think that it can't happen?

The truth is that Hezbollah has been arming to the teeth since the last war.  Hezbollah has acquired chemical and biological warheads since then, and there have been reports that they have stockpiled over 40,000 rockets near the border of Israel.

Just in the past few weeks, Hezbollah has deployed advanced Syrian-made surface-to-surface M-600 missiles which have the range to cover the entire nation of Israel.

Hezbollah militants regularly receive training in Syria and Iran and the terrorist organization is essentially in control of large areas of Lebanon at this point.  They are a highly organized and increasingly dangerous military threat.

The United States government is even beginning to take notice.  U.S. State Department official Jeff Feltman said in remarks published on Sunday that the U.S. is concerned that the continued flow of arms to Hezbollah could prompt a war between Israel and Lebanon.

For years, Syria and Iran have used Hezbollah to wage a proxy war against the state of Israel, and Israeli officials are starting to get sick and tired of it.

In fact, one top Israeli official recently made it perfectly clear that in the event that a war between Israel and Lebanon does break out, Israel would hold Syria just as responsible.

The truth is that someday a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah will involve Syria and it will be an incredibly destructive war.  Let us just hope that it does not happen any time soon.

Meanwhile, Israel just keeps giving away their land to the Palestinians.

Under what is being called "intense" American pressure, Israel has silently agreed to allow the Palestinian Authority to open official institutions in eastern sections of Jerusalem.  This is an intermediate step towards officially giving the Palestinians East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

In addition, Palestinians sources said Sunday morning that Israel has agreed to hand over additional West Bank areas to the Palestinians as a trust-building measure.  Apparently the intent is to coax the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

But don't these politicians understand that they are cursing themselves when they giving away the land of Israel?

Israel should not be giving away one square inch of the land that God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

But they are going to continue to do it.

In fact, a Palestinian state is almost certainly on the way.

But it won't stop the war that is coming.

Israel will not ever achieve peace at the negotiating table.  It is impossible.

The only time that Israel will experience lasting peace is after Yahshua (Jesus) the Messiah returns.

What do you all think about these recent developments?  Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion....

Prior to World War 2, Adolf Hitler made all kinds of inflammatory statements, but most world leaders dismissed them.  They simply refused to believe that the madman was actually serious about what he was saying.  We can look back now and see what a big mistake that was, but the truth is that current world leaders have not learned from the mistakes of the past.  Today Iranian leaders continue to publicly state over and over that they look forward to wiping Israel off the map, but over and over world leaders do not seem to be taking these statements seriously.

For example, the official website of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is reporting that he just told Mauritanian President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz that one day the Islamic nations of the world will witness the absolute destruction of the state of Israel.

Considering the fact that Khamenei is the most powerful person in Iran, you would think that someone would be alarmed by that statement.

The following is an English translation of an excerpt from Khamenei's statement....

"Surely, the day will come when the nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime... when the destruction happens will depend on how the Islamic nations approach the issue."

It is this kind of talk that is bringing the world ever closer to World War 3, and yet most of the world yawns when they hear statements such as this apparently because they don't believe that we should take people like Khamenei seriously.

But this is a nation that has one of the most powerful militaries on the planet and that is on the verge of getting nuclear weapons.

For religious madmen who openly sponsor and support terror groups to possess nuclear weapons is a combination that will endanger the entire world.

And they are religious madmen. 

For example, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is claiming that the United States is purposely attempting to block the return of the Mahdi.

Most politicians in the West simply cannot identify with this kind of thinking and so they just dismiss it and don't take it seriously.

But things are about to get a whole lot more serious.  Iran recently announced a plan for 10 new industrial scale uranium enrichment facilities and has earmarked approximately 20 million dollars for terrorist groups fighting the West.  Iran has also successfully test long-range missiles and there were recently reports that Tehran was close to reaching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan.

These boys are quite serious about getting nukes.

Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Israel will retain some parts of the West Bank forever.  That will surely not sit well in Tehran.

A confrontation between Israel and Iran is coming.  Iran is obsessed with getting nukes and with wiping Israel off the map.  Israel is absolutely determined to prevent that from happening.  Anyone who thinks that the current state of affairs can continue indefinitely is in a complete state of denial.

For more on why Israel must do something about Iran's nuclear program, please see the following article....

Why Israel Simply Cannot Allow Iran To Have A Nuclear Weapon