Is the war of Psalm 83 and a enlarged Israel imminent as in the book “Isralestine”?
One of the great mysteries for those who study Bible prophecy is the timing of the wars mentioned in Psalm 83 and the war described in Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. They are obviously different wars but which war occurs first and when? Are they pretribulational wars or tribulation wars? How can Israel be living in peace and security prior to the Ezekiel war as the prophecy clearly indicates? That is the ongoing debate.

Bill Salus in his book “Isralestine” offers a solution but the thesis is very difficult to accept in light of real world realities but that does not mean the thesis he offers based on his selection and interpretation of certain scriptures is wrong. I have had a very difficult time reconciling the issues in his book and think that you really need to read the book and judge the merit of this hypothesis for yourselves and not just rely on my review.

The thesis of the book is that the war of Psalm 83 is imminent. It occurs before the tribulation. The war brings about the defeat of the Arab nations and it allows a very large territorial expansion of Israel into the Arab states by conquest. After the war of Psalm 83 the greatly expanded Israel then lives in peace and security until the war of Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 where Gog (Russia) comes against Israel with Iran and other allies. At that time God intervenes for Israel and Israel expands to the entire land area promised to Abraham. Bill Salus also believes the Ezekiel war is before the “Day of the Lord” and that the rapture could be before or after the war of Psalm 83 but will be before the “Day of the Lord”.

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This is the kind of religious freedom you get in Russia under Putin’s fascism. The religions get liquidated if they do not file annual reports on activities and it seems that they still get liquidated if they do file annual reports of activity and the State and the Russian Orthodox church does not like the religious activities. Basically, this means that all religion outside of the Russian Orthodox Church will not be allowed to exist in Russia. Even if this is just a scare tactic as some imply, what makes anyone think this liquidation will not eventually take place under Putin?

Anatoly Pchelintsev,  believes the responsible officials are unaware of the complicated international ramifications of their actions but I think they know what they are doing. Putin wants a Church State that will support everything he does. Putin sees himself as a czar.

ReligiousLiberty.TV | BREAKING NEWS - Russia Moves to Liquidate Fifty-Six Religious Groups

On October 15 the Russian Ministry of Justice took steps to begin liquidating 56 non-Russian Orthodox religious organizations. The groups face dissolution, Russian news sources reported, because they failed to file required annual reports on their activities. Those targeted include a range of non-Russian Orthodox organizations and churches but hardest hit were various Christian groups, both Protestant and Catholic. Baptist groups were prominent on the list, but Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist and Pentecostal groups were also included. Well known humanitarian groups such as World Vision and Youth with a Mission were also named, as was the Russian branch of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Non-Christian organizations were also named, including Muslim and Buddhist associations.

According to the Slavic Legal Center in Moscow, many of the organizations believe they are in full compliance with filing requirements and are surprised to be included in the list. They are unsure if the posting is a scare tactic or if the Ministry of Justice indeed intends to pursue liquidations on a massive scale. Anatoly Pchelintsev, an attorney for the Slavic Center for Law and Justice, remarked that “such actions fly in the face of official Russian state policy on the freedom of worship and creed.” Pchelintsev believes the responsible officials are unaware of the complicated international ramifications of their actions and cites the possibility of “chaos and destabilization in church-state relations.” He added that in the case of most of the affected organizations, the threatened punishment goes too far. “In Russia there already are more than a dozen cases in which courts rendered decisions in favor of religious organizations since the punishment for their failure to submit information did not formally fit the crime committed.” Moreover, he added, “liquidation for failure to submit information is equivalent to sentencing a jaywalker to the death penalty. After all, liquidation means that the organization’s life is put to an end.” In addition, said Pchelintsev, “such actions are inconsistent with the policy of the Russian government, which guarantees freedom of conscience and religious confessions for each person. The widespread liquidation of religious associations for petty violations will lead to the crudest infringement of human rights in our country and to the self-isolation of the government.”

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Dr. David R. Reagan gives his discerning thoughts about the 2008 election. I totally agree with what he is is saying. I would point out that one of the reasons that only 59 percent of the eligible voters voted is that neither major party gave Conservatives and true Christians a candidate that we could vote for. We must never let that happen again.

We may only have one more national presidential election to get this right or in the out years we will find ourselves trying to elect an opposition leader in a fascist like climate of Putin’s Russia. Even in 2012 the playing field and the rules officials will give the Liberal home team a huge advantage. The only way we can succeed is by a huge grass roots conservative effort. That effort must start in the churches across the nation.

Christian Worldview Network - Brannon Howse - Thoughts About The 2008 Election

Thoughts About The 2008 Election

By Dr. David R. Reagan

Our nation has just elected the most pro-abortion, pro-homosexual, anti-Capitalist, and anti-Israel president in our history. In short, God has given us the kind of leader that we deserve — the kind we have been begging for. The new President now has the power to put his radical secular imprint upon this nation for decades to come through the appointment of activist liberals to the Supreme Court. I fear that our nation has been irrevocably changed for the worse.

Two factors in this election were particularly disappointing to me. First was the fact that only 59% of eligible voters bothered to vote. That was less than in the last presidential election. How could people be so apathetic in an election so important? The second voting statistic that hit me hard was the revelation that even among self-identified Evangelicals, the majority voted according to economic considerations rather than moral ones.

The financial woes of our nation are not going to be solved by any economic strategy, for they are rooted in our spiritual rebellion against God. We cannot kill babies in their mother’s wombs, promote same-sex marriage, produce filthy movies and TV programs, worship the dollar, and pressure Israel to give up its heartland, and expect God to bless our economy. Our economy will be healed only when we as a nation get right with God.

Our Recent Financial Collapse

In 2003 I wrote a book about the United States in Bible prophecy. It was entitled, America the Beautiful? In that book I presented several scenarios to explain why the United States was not mentioned in end time Bible prophecy. I stated at the time that the one I thought would be most likely would be a catastrophic financial collapse. That conclusion was based on the fact that the god of our nation has become money, and the true God of this world is a jealous God. I felt like our Creator would sooner or later touch our false god and destroy it if we did not repent.

As I pointed out in my book about the U.S. in prophecy, the Bible reveals that God has a pattern for dealing with nations. He is the one who creates them, and He is the one who decides when they are to cease to exist. He blesses as they are obedient to His Word, and He disciplines when they stray from His Word. His discipline will first of all take the form of raising up prophetic voices to call the nation to repentance. If this fails, He will resort to remedial judgments. Those judgments can take many forms, such as natural disasters, economic calamities, and defeat in wars. And sometimes a remedial judgment can take the form of giving to a nation the kind of evil leadership it deserves. If the nation still refuses to repent, God will deliver it from judgment to destruction.

What are we as Christians to do in the face of such set-backs for our nation? We are to pray and stand for righteousness. We must pray for national revival, and at the same time, we must be willing to take a stand for righteousness by speaking out boldly about the moral rot that has infected the soul of our country. We need to pray that God will frustrate, confuse, and defeat all the efforts to further secularize our nation and promote immorality.

We also need to pray for the salvation of our new President and all his family members. Despite his protestations to the contrary, Barack Obama is not a Christian, nor has he ever been. I can say that with confidence because he is a member of the most liberal Christian denomination, the United Church of Christ. This is a church that denies the divinity of Jesus and denies His statement in John 14:6 that He is the only way to God. No one can be saved apart from Jesus, and no one can be saved by putting their faith in a false Jesus

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It is nice to see Todd Strandberg and Terry James Rapture Ready website make the national media again. All the exposure helps to get the message out about Bible prophecy and that we are very near the prophetic end times on earth. If you have not visited the site I highly recommend it. For years RaptureReady has been the top Bible prophecy website in the world and I still very much appreciate the link they have up to my website.

Rapture: Distress about wars and the world economy feed apocalyptic warnings - Salt Lake Tribune

Strandberg, founder and editor of raptureready.com, the largest Christian prophecy site on the Internet, spends his days linking current events with biblical passages. He created a Rapture Index, modeled after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which consists of 45 categories of prophetic indicators from the occult to inflation and the crime rate. Each is assigned a value of one to five depending on the level of activity in that category. The numbers are adjusted weekly, and the higher the number, the faster the world is moving toward its end. Just before the time known as the Great Tribulation, some believe there will be a “Rapture,” where Christ takes the righteous to heaven without their tasting death.
In recent weeks, traffic on Rapture Ready site spiked to 50,000 hits a day.

In his 22 years working on Rapture Ready, Strandberg has seen an “avalanche” of anti-Christ suggestions, including Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. Obama doesn’t fit the bill, he says, but he could be a type of “anti-Christ,” which simply means too many people see him as a replacement for Jesus.
Still, Strandberg believes the end is at hand and Jesus’ Second Coming will surprise everyone, coming as “a thief in the night,” according to the Bible, but close observers will at least know “the season.”
He points to tensions between Israel and Iran, Russia’s invasion of Georgia, and the possibility of global depression as some of the top indicators.
“We are one big event from triggering a cascade that will not stop,” he says. “There are so many indicators that are active. It’s like an overhang of snow on a mountain top. Cracks are forming on the ridge and once the ridge breaks free, it will tumble down the mountain and nothing can stop it.”

full article

I list here two articles by two astute Christian teachers that also voice my concerns about America. We are at a turning point in America but we are turning toward a philosophy that we fought against during the entire cold war period - Marxist socialism.

In Jan’s article Joe Farah asked, were you polled on the recent huge leap into socialism when the government purchased banks with taxpayer money? The answer is yes and no.

It is yes because you were polled when you elected your Liberal leftist representatives to Washington. The American people can only blame themselves for the Congress they have and the pseudo Conservative President in office.

The answer is also no because when your representatives sold this bill to the American people they said it was going to be used to buy debt instead they gave Treasury Secretary Paulson dictatorial powers. He did not use the money to buy debt as he said, he used it to buy major interests in banks and the banks were given no choice. That is socialism and the power he was given and the action he took is not constitutional.

Of course the people still do have a recourse they do not need to reelect the people that voted for this bill but all indicators say that they will. I also want you to be aware that both presidential contenders voted for this bill. Not only that, from what the polls say America is about to vote in a Marxist leaning socialist to the office of President.

If that is not bazaar enough, America is also likely to give this socialist President a super-majority in the Congress so he can enact anything he wants with no viable opposition or fear of impeachment. The last two times there was a super-majority the nation took great leaps toward socialism that put us in the debt that we are now in. Now it looks like we are about to take the final leap that will make America as Far Left as Venezuela and put this nation on a completely different path than the path our nation has been on for 230 years.

Some people say the USSR lost the cold war and Communism was defeated but actually it now appears that we are becoming them. We are now on the same path that they took and we will suffer a similar fate - socialism and bankruptcy.

Nobody wants to call a small group of elite controlling the commoners Communists anymore but that is what they are. Either call the government they propose Communism or call it socialist fascism. There is little difference in the real world.

It seems the whole world is now under the influence of fascism. Russia is fascist, The EU in becoming fascist, China is fascist, Islamic nations are fascist, Now under big government socialism we also will become fascist. Soon other regional alliances in the world also will be under socialistic fascism.

The only world government the power elite want is one where they can totally control everything people do. The world is rejoicing about Obama because we were the last major hold out preventing the elitist socialist fascist New World Order.

The real question all Americans should be asking themselves is why are we allowing it to happen here? The world socialism plan is anti-Christian, anti-constitutional, anti-life, anti-liberty, and it is anti the pursuit of individual happiness?

Through subversive brainwashing America has become two nations. One nations wants the America we had for 230 years destroyed and replaced with a socialist collective ant farm run by queens. The others nation still believes in the nation our forefathers gave us. That nation urgently needs to locate an exterminator.

Socialism in America - A Revolution in the Making

Socialism in America

A Revolution in the Making

By Jan Markell

Olive Tree Ministries - www.olivetreeviews.org/

October 20, 2008

In recent weeks it has become more obvious that America is on the yellow-brick road to Socialism. In 1962 Russian Premier Khrushchev said,

“We can’t expect the American people to jump from capitalism to Communism but we can assist their leaders by giving them small amounts of Socialism until they awaken one day to find out they have Communism.”

He also said that Communism would take over America “without firing a shot.”

As it concerns some recent desperate moves to stabilize the economy Joseph Farah asks, ” Excuse me? Were you consulted? Do you recall having a national debate about this? Did your congressional representatives poll you on whether you liked this idea? Dare I ask, where would such a move be authorized in the U.S. Constitution? Or has America completely moved away from the idea of the rule of law and the will of the people being the key determinants in our supposedly self-governing society?”

Commentator David Limbaugh says, “Maybe I’m being too much of an alarmist, but I’m worried for the first time in my life that the election of a presidential candidate could lead to a fundamental change in our system of government. How many times must history repeat itself before we learn that Socialism and Communism cannot work?”

Karl Marx said, “A new revolution is possible only in consequences of a new crisis.” We have a crisis. As a matter of fact, unless the world stock markets stabilize, the entire world could be looking at a financial tsunami. Many nations, including America, could be ripe for being taken over by unsavory political efforts “without firing a shot.”

Sen. Barack Obama has declared himself a Socialist. The now-famous “Joe the plumber” brought the truth out. Joe may be the most important non-candidate in this race. He became globally famous in 24 hours. He challenged Obama’s tax plans on camera as Joe can’t buy a business he wants. It will be unrealistically taxed. Obama responded,

Full Article

Bible Prophecy Today • Bible Prophecy News And Commentary By Today’s Leading Bible Prophecy Scholars • News and Commentary From A Biblical Perspective

Monday, October 20, 2008
The Danger Of A Super-Majority

By Todd Strandberg

There has been a great deal of concern over the possibility of Barack Obama winning the White House in the November 4th election. In the past few weeks, I’ve received dozens of emails from people frustrated over how one of the most liberal senators is getting a free ride to the White House.

There has been very little media coverage of what could prove to be a far more dangerous political development. Polls indicate that the Democrats have a good chance of expanding their congressional majorities past the point of having a filibuster-proof Senate.

“This would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven’t since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s. If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media cheering it all on” (Wall Street Journal, 17 Oct. 2008).

During both previous times when there was a super-majority, it was possible to rewrite the rules at will. Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave us the New Deal and Lyndon Johnson created the Great Society–just fancy words for socialism.

The Democratic party of today is far more liberal than it was during any previous super-majority.

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I have not read the book “Isralestine”, by Bill Salus but it sounds like an intriguing prophetic explanation of end time events. Almost all futurist Bible prophecy students will agree that there are three end time wars involving Israel. However, we disagree somewhat on the timing of first two wars. Those wars being the Ezekiel Chapter 38 and 39 war where Gog comes down with a host of nations and the Psalms 83 war where a confederacy of nations attempts to cut Israel off from being a nation. In the mix somewhere is the destruction of Damascus since the prophecy has never been fulfilled yet.

I have heard enough about this book to know that Bill Salus makes a strong case for the war of Psalms 83 coming first. I believe the premise is that after the aftermath of the Psalms 83 war that brings the destruction of Damascus, Israel will expand its borders. That will allow Israel to have the security that is implied by Ezekiel at the time of the Gog invasion. At that time Russia will come down with a host of nations against Israel and God will intervene.

In the past, I have tended to put the Ezekiel war first and I placed the Psalm 83 war in the middle of the tribulation making that the reason why the Jews flee to the mountains. However, Bill Salus may be correct, it does answer a whole lot of questions.

If you have read this book I would appreciate your own insights.

Israel destroys Damascus, then Russia invades

Indeed Russia and Iran are ready to make their moves, but what about Syria? Oddly Syria, who today panders alongside Iran for Russian affections, is not included among the elite nine members of the Ezekiel 38 and 39 consortium of attacking nations. Why not? What knocks their quiver of missiles out of the Ezekiel military equation?

As I have documented in my recently released book, “Isralestine, The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East,” the Bible makes quite clear that in a distinctly separate Psalm 83 episode Damascus, the capital of Syria, soon ceases to be a city, and subsequently shortly thereafter Russia and Iran advance against Israel.

Furthermore “Isralestine” explains how the destruction of Damascus followed by the Ezekiel invasion sets the stage for the final tribulation period, whereby the Antichrist rallies his Armageddonites together in one last days ditch effort to destroy the Jewish race.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Thus there are three scheduled end time advances against Israel, not just Ezekiel’s. First comes Psalm 83, the Arab-Israeli war, followed promptly by the Ezekiel 38 and 39 Russian – Iranian invasion, and lastly the campaign of Armageddon by the Antichrist.

The destruction of Damascus will be such a powerful world event that Isaiah was instructed to boldly and succinctly state, the burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.” (Isaiah 17:1, NKJV) Isaiah further announces that the fortified cities of Syria will be forfeited into Israeli sovereignty. (Isaiah 17:9) This suggests that the dooming of Damascus and conquest of Syria results from of an Israeli Defense Forces campaign.

Amos and Jeremiah echo this 2,800-year-old Isaiah prophecy by prophetically uttering some additional details they were given. Amos declares that the capitol building of Syria will go up in smoke, and that the nation as a whole, will go into captivity. (Amos 1:3-5) Jeremiah concurs and furthermore declares the Syrian military will be decisively defeated, and in addition many young men will die in the blood-stained streets of Damascus. (Jeremiah 49:23-27)

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On the domestic front the author of this article should also have mentioned the amnesty no win program, terrorism, a run on the dollar, hyper inflation, high unemployment, riots, energy shortages, rationing, a draft, perhaps an EMP attack, thought police and maybe a police state. On the foreign threat he missed North Korea, Venezuela, and probably the next world war. Combine what Gerard Baker suggested in this article and what I just added, throw in a few unknown ingredients, turn the world upside down and let it simmer for a couple of years and what will come out of America’s melting pot?

This is the election you wouldn’t want to win | Gerard Baker - Times Online

It is highly probable that that moment, the very hour that he takes office, will be the high point of his presidency. Whoever wins on November 4 will be ascending to the job at one of the most difficult times for an American chief executive in at least half a century.

At some point reality will bite hard and politicians will discover that they simply cannot go on funding two wars, cutting taxes, creating vast new government health and pension programmes and doing the other essential things that the Federal Government does

The US is now indisputably entering the darkest phase of a period that will not only produce real hardship, but could send further shocks through financial markets and cause deeper fiscal damage.

Then there is energy policy. Weaning America off its oil addiction might actually need to be a policy rather than a slogan in the next four years; but that will place new burdens on the budget and require sacrifices difficult to make in good times, let alone in economically distressed ones.

Compared with all this, foreign policy looks like a doddle.

The next president has only to complete the process of transition in Iraq, win the war in Afghanistan, face down a resurgent Russia, continue to keep its foot on the throat of stateless Islamist terrorism, stop Iran from going nuclear and figure out what to do about the challenge from China - the most serious threat to US global hegemony since America became top nation.

Oh, and I didn’t mention Pakistan. Conversations this week with advisers to both campaigns suggest that both now see Pakistan - especially after last week’s terrorist attack in Islamabad - as perhaps the most intractable and serious challenge of all in the next few years: they candidly admit that no one has much of a clue what to do about it.

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I believe Hal Lindsey will be correct that Russia will now actively seek to regain its former empire. It might not be all the same nations of the former USSR at least at first. But Russia will intimidate the nations of Eastern Europe to join a regional alignment of states to counter the West. Especially if the West is mired in the economic and Islamic caused turmoil that looks almost certain to come. These Eastern nations were not in the original Roman Empire and they will not be in the revived.

My advice to the U.S. and Israel is not to wait too long to take out Iran’s nuclear capabilities because within a very short time Iran will be protected under a Russian nuclear umbrella (thou hast been to them for a guard., Ez 38:7, YLT) and then we will not be able to take them out without a nuclear war with Russia. The cold war between East and West is coming back fast. If NATO can claim that an attack on any of their alliance of states is an attack on them all, then Russia feels it can and will do the same with the nations in their sphere of influence.

Right now the U.S. can delay a nuclear Iran by 10 to 20 years by almost complete destruction of Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities. Israel cannot do this alone. The most Israel can do is set them back is a few years and there will not be any second chance because of the Russian umbrella that is about to open. If we get a weak president like Obama you will see Russia open this nuclear umbrella near the start of his term. If McCain gets elected they might not risk it just yet.

Oh, my Gog! (Hal Lindsey)

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, most of these republics broke with Russia to form new alliances with NATO and the West – an event for which I was widely ridiculed at the time.

How could most of Magog, like Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey, all firmly allied with the West, also be part of Russia’s Gog alliance?

I didn’t know. But I didn’t pen Ezekiel’s prophecy. I only reported it.

Now, Gog has evidently decided to reclaim its former Soviet empire, starting with Magog. Despite weeks of promising to withdraw almost any minute, the Russian military continues to dig in and consolidate its forces in and near the Georgian port of Poti on the Black Sea.

The Russians introduced tight restrictions of movement on Georgian citizens, refusing to accept anything except Russian documents. Despite agreements to the contrary, the Kremlin now says that “Russian forces will leave in their own time.”

When Poland was contemplating an agreement that would allow the U.S. to deploy missile interceptor batteries in its territory, Russia warned them that by entering the treaty agreement they ran the risk of a Russian nuclear attack. When the Poles signed the treaty in defiance of the Kremlin, Russia promised its response would “rise above the level of diplomacy,” a reference to the principle that “war is the result of failed diplomacy.”

The Russian invasion and apparent occupation of Georgia is feared by many analysts, particularly those from former Soviet republics, that Vladimir Putin plans to re-conquer and restore the former empire.

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It would seem rather bazaar that there would be no emergency action plan in place to deal with the aftermath of an EMP attack on the U.S. It poses the greatest immediate and near future danger to the survival of the U.S. other than an all out nuclear attack by Russia or China.

Both Russia and China have hinted at using an EMP against the United States and definitely have the capability. We also know from the missile tests of Iran and N. Korea that they could have that capability soon, not to mention that terrorists could obtain the capability on their own if they have or acquire a nuclear bomb. So why is there no public plan in place when both Congress and the military clearly know of this EMP threat?

There may be an explanation. Perhaps there are plans in place but they are Top Secret Emergency Actions plans. Such plans would be found among the top secret plans of a nuclear attack against the United States from a foreign power.

Your not going to find these types of top secret military plans in the Department of Homeland Security’s Public Emergency Plan booklet. Most in Homeland Security would not even know of these plans because they do not have the required security clearance. Even the few that do know of them are not going to share top secret information with local governments and the public. There is quite a bit of classified information that the government does not make known to the public for good reason.

I think I can tell you the crux of EMP Emergency Action Plan in one sentence. The problem would be so devastating and so widespread that there would be the suspension of the Constitution, complete military marshal law, and government control over everyone and everything. The same as it would be after a massive nuclear attack on the U.S. by Russia or China. I believe the government already has these plans in place and if an EMP would occur they would implement them.

U.S. still naked to EMP threat

Electricity grids down, uncontrolled fires from exploding gas transport systems, no communication to call for help, no water to battle fires: It’s all part of a catastrophic scenario some scientists predict could happen under an electromagnetic pulse attack – and the Department of Homeland Security’s 83-page emergency plan includes no mention of EMP or how it might respond to such an attack.

When WND contacted the Department of Homeland Security, a representative explained why a course of action was not included in the National Emergency Communications Plan – a strategy that relies heavily on the ability of authorities at all levels of government to communicate using radios, computers and other electronic devices that could be disabled by an EMP attack.

“When we look at the strategic threat picture, when we look at patterns of criminal activity that all levels of government show, when we look at what is ultimately going to involve limited resources, we have to get to a point where we prioritize,” DHS spokesman Russ Knocke said. “We prioritize based upon threat vulnerability and consequence. As we speak today, there’s nothing in the threat picture that would suggest an imminent EMP attack.”

However, Congress has expressed concern regarding the threat of EMP. A top scientist warned the House Armed Services Committee in July that America remains vulnerable to a “catastrophe” from a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack that could be launched with plausible deniability by hostile rogue nations or terrorists.

William R. Graham, chairman of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack and the former national science adviser to President Reagan, testified before the committee and issued an alarming report on “one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences.”

He identified vulnerabilities in the nation’s critical infrastructures, “which are essential to both our civilian and military capabilities.”

Not taking the steps necessary to reduce the threat in the next three to five years “can both invite and reward attack,” Graham told the committee.

Full article

Russia is obviously now making its move against NATO expansion and has plans to show the nations around them that this NATO tiger will not venture out of its cage. The invasion of Georgia was well planned by Russia in advance. Russia simply could not have moved this quickly otherwise.

It looks to me like Russia was behind the unrest knowing that the Georgian President would have to react. When he did Russia started putting their expansion plans into motion. The main objective is not Georgia it is first reasserting itself in the former USSR states that have a Russian speaking population. They also intend to stop NATO expansion and to counter U.S. influence in what they believe to be their Russian Empire. The major immediate threat probably always was and now is to the Ukraine.

After Russia controls the Russian speaking areas she will expand elsewhere and form alliances with nations like Serbia and Iran. The Gog of Ezekiel is now rising to control this region of the world. NATO will do nothing but bluster and provide arms for any resistance. Old Europe and the U.S. are not going to risk their own necks for Eastern Europe. Those nations in Eastern Europe that are joining NATO and the EU thinking that the West will fight Russia for them are living under a very false hope.

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) — Now that Russia has humiliated Georgia with a punishing military offensive, it may shift its attention to reining in pro-Western Ukraine, another American ally in the former Soviet Union.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s first order of business likely will be to try to thwart Ukraine’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Medvedev, 42, and Putin, 56, say Russia began the offensive in response to a drive by Georgia to restore control over the breakaway region of South Ossetia. Now Russia has ousted Georgian forces from there and from Abkhazia, another separatist region, and destroyed much of the central government’s military.

Russia may find it convenient to raise the level of tension with Ukraine in the run-up to the December NATO review,” Citigroup Inc.’s London-based David Lubin and Ali Al-Eyd wrote in a note to clients. “If the conflict with Russia decelerates or reverses Georgia’s integration with the West, a similar fate could also affect Ukraine.”

Divided Country

Ukraine, a country of 46 million people that’s almost as big as France, has a large Russian-speaking population in the south and east that opposes NATO entry and looks to Moscow. Russian officials warn that if President Viktor Yushchenko pushes Ukraine into NATO, the nation may split in two.

A month ago, about 1,000 U.S. soldiers joined 600 Georgians and 100 from Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia in joint exercises at the Vaziani military base near Tbilisi. Russia repeatedly bombed the base during this month’s war.

“The American role in the region has been weakened,” Jan Techau, a European and security affairs analyst at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, said in a telephone interview. “It’s a reassertion of Russia’s dominant role in the region.”

It’s somewhat reminiscent, in 1939, when Stalin attacked Finland,” former U.S. national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski told Bloomberg Television. “I think this kind of confrontation is the best kind of answer as to why they are seeking to be members of NATO.”

This is a very good analysis of the Russian Georgian conflict by Terry James. I also think that this is the turning point with Russia to achieve its manifest destiny. From now on you will see Russia act militarily or at least forcefully on conflicts that support their national interest of building a counter force to the West and in doing so Russia will attempt to achieve control over much of Europe’s energy. Yes, Russia is now totally controlled by the old KGB and thugs and Putin’s groomed fascist brown shirts will soon be put into positions of power. There has been no real change in Russia since the cold war. They just got a fresh start thanks to the West and don’t use the term communism anymore. They never were pure Communists anyway they have been and are again very much Fascists.

The next major step for Russia may be the Ukraine. The people in the Ukraine are torn with many wanting to join NATO and many of the Russian ethnics wanting to join with Russia. Russia will prevail. I doubt if NATO will have the guts to really oppose a nuclear power like Russia. After the Ukraine goes to Russia expect other dominoes near Russia to again fall into the sphere of a new Russian Fascist Union.

By the way, Check out this Bible prophecy Today Blog as often as you can. This Blog actually does have the best collection of the very latest thinking of astute Bible prophecy teacher/thinkers. I have a link to Bible Prophecy Today Blog on my sidebar.

Bible Prophecy Today • Bible Prophecy News And Commentary By Today’s Leading Bible Prophecy Scholars • News and Commentary From A Biblical Perspective

Gog And The Magog Chess Match

By Terry James

Russian moves, begun this past Friday in the Caucasus region and other parts of what was the former Soviet Union, should sound the siren alarm of things to come for the spiritually attuned Bible prophecy student.

We have watched Iran’s posturing and repositioning during the past months, with the area of ancient Persia coming into focus as a predicted player on the regional chess board that will be part of the end game, as foretold by Ezekiel the prophet. Now, the nation-state that is at the heart of the coalition foretold to storm toward the oil-rich Middle East and Israel seems to be demonstrating intention to achieve its manifest destiny.

The Georgian’s are not in a good position. The U.S. really cannot help them. Geographically they simply live where Russia is going to do what they want. In the end I think they are going to have to realize that Russia has annexed their province and to fight them will turn out to be suicide. They better now hope the Russian’s don’t use this war as an excuse to re-annex all of Georgia. All of this of course will further deteriorate Russia’s relations with the U.S. Other former USSR countries have similar problems and might have similar fates they also have geographical areas in their sovereign nations that are now mostly populated by Russians.

FOXNews.com - U.S. Calls for Russia to Halt Attacks as Fighting in Breakaway Georgia Province Escalates - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili is expected to declare martial law within hours, according to the Georgian security council chief, Reuters reported.

This comes after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Russia Friday to halt attacks in South Ossetia, after Georgian troops entered the breakaway province in an attempt to crush separatist forces seeking control.

Rice’s announcement came as the European Union was working on a cease-fire with Georgia and South Ossetia separatists to end the violent conflict.

Georgia, a staunch U.S. ally, launched a surprise military offensive to retake South Ossetia and reportedly killed hundreds of people, triggering a ferocious counterattack from Russia that threatened to plunge the region into full-scale war.

Democracy is not in the future of the world. People always demand a king. God wanted ancient Israel to have a representational republic with the leaders following Him through the words of His prophets but the people said give us a King. Nothing has changed. All the nations will demand their king and reap the consequences. The vast majority of the population of the world today is not ruled by a republic or a democracy and those people who think they are in a democracy are usually living under a great illusion. The whole world will soon choose a king the book of Revelation calls him the Beast.

Democracy – a flickering star?

In a survey of 24 countries by Pew Research Center, the nation that emerged as far and away first on Earth in the satisfaction of its people was China. No other nation even came close.

“Eighty-six percent of Chinese people surveyed said they were content with the country’s direction, up from 48 percent in 2002. … And 82 percent of Chinese were satisfied with their national economy, up from 52 percent,” said the Times.

Yet, China has a regime that punishes dissent, severely restricts freedom, persecutes Christians and all faiths that call for worship of a God higher than the state, brutally represses Tibetans and Uighurs, swamps their native lands with Han Chinese to bury their cultures and threatens Taiwan.

China is also a country where Maoist ideology has been replaced by a racial chauvinism and raw nationalism reminiscent of Italy and Germany in the 1930s. Yet, again, over 80 percent of all Chinese are content or even happy with the direction of the country. Two-thirds say the government is doing a good job in dealing with the issues of greatest concern to them.

And what nation is it whose people rank as third most satisfied?

Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Moscow is today more nationalistic, less democratic and more confrontational toward the West than it has been since before the fall of communism. Power is being consolidated, former Soviet republics are hearing dictatorial growls from Moscow, and a chill reminiscent of the Cold War is in the air.

Contrast, if you will, the contentment of Chinese and Russians with the dissatisfaction of Americans, only 23 percent of whom told the Pew poll they approved of the nation’s direction. Only one in five Americans said they were satisfied with the U.S. economy.

Other polls have found 82 percent of Americans saying the country is headed in the wrong direction, only 28 percent approving of President Bush’s performance and only half that saying they approve of the Congress. In Britain, France and Germany, only three in 10 expressed satisfaction with the direction of the nation.

Liberal democracy is in a bear market. Is it a systemic crisis, as well?

This article on the dangers and effects of an EMP is quite informative. I wrote on this issue a few time already but I think we had all better become more aware of this danger.

A EMP attack is probably the prime event that could eliminate the U.S. from being a factor in end time Bible prophecy. When you read the below article take note that Dr. Graham thinks a EMP could reduce the population of the U.S. to about 30 million people. Dr. Graham is not a crackpot he is the foremost expert on EMP’s. He knows what he is talking about. The EMP will not kill anyone directly but it will make all our critical infrastructure systems fail without any hope of a recovery for months or years. We simply could not support most of our population and people would be dying in days.

This is not idol speculation. This danger is well known by our military and our government but congress just cannot seem to do what is right to protect America.

This article indicates that Iran is preparing for an EMP attack against America and if they had such a capability does anyone doubt that they would use it? For this reason alone we must NEVER allow Iran to ever build nuclear weapons. Some may say they would not dare launch an EMP against the U.S. because it would be the end of them. Well maybe that would be true if you were dealing with sane people. These people think that the Maudi would come and fight for them. Iran could also give a nuke to terrorists and it could be launched from a freighter. So then do we nuke Iran without proof that they were even behind it? So Iran must NEVER be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Some people say they would not be a threat to our nation but these people are not seeing the EMP picture. An EMP could bring the end of this nation.

We also could be done in by a single EMP weapon from China, Russia, or even North Korea. China and Russia have both reminded us of that possibility within the last decade. There are other dangers as well such as Pakistan and non state sponsored terrorist organizations.

I do have to disagree somewhat as to what is the defense against an EMP. This article only talks about a missile shield. An anti missile might intercept a missile fired from another state but it is not likely to intercept a missile from a ship near our coast. It also should be obvious that no state is going to launch an EMP attack on the U.S. and then announce that they did it. So, even if Russia or China were to launch a single missile or two fired from a sub or a surface vessel they will promptly destroy the evidence before we could determine who was behind the attack. So then do we attack everyone with a EMP capability?

Besides stopping unstable nations from getting nuclear weapons material the single most important thing we can do to protect ourselves from an EMP attack is to harden all our critical infrastructure from the effects of an EMP. It would not cost that much to do. It is simply putting a metal shield around electronic and electrical devices as they are being built. It could be largely accomplished in 5 to 10 years if we started now. However, this EMP threat has been known for decades. After the 9/11 attack Congress commissioned experts to report on the EMP threat and that report was given to them four years ago but nothing since has been done. The report reads much like this article but it goes into much more detail.

So with that in mind I would say we can expect an EMP anytime within the next decade and I would say we will still be completely vulnerable to an EMP attack because our government is irrational and it is not likely that they will take the action necessary to make our infrastructures survivable.

I will also say that this is most likely the way that America will be eliminated from end time prophetic events. That might be a bleak announcement but the probability of an EMP happening and causing the destruction of our population is more likely than not. Especially now that the U.S. government and most people in this nation are denying the God that made the U.S. prosper and endorsing debauchery.

Here is a link to a recent related story that tells how an EMP could also come from the sun.

Newsmax.com - U.S. Intel: Iran Plans Nuclear Strike on U.S.

“They’ve got [test] ranges in Iran which are more than long enough to handle Scud launches and even Shahab-3 launches,” Dr. Graham said. “Why would they be launching from the surface of the Caspian Sea? They obviously have not explained that to us.”

Another troubling group of tests involved Shahab-3 launches where the Iranians “detonated the warhead near apogee, not over the target area where the thing would eventually land, but at altitude,” Graham said. “Why would they do that?”

Graham chairs the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, a blue-ribbon panel established by Congress in 2001.

The commission examined the Iranian tests “and without too much effort connected the dots,” even though the U.S. intelligence community previously had failed to do so, Graham said.

“The only plausible explanation we can find is that the Iranians are figuring out how to launch a missile from a ship and get it up to altitude and then detonate it,” he said. “And that’s exactly what you would do if you had a nuclear weapon on a Scud or a Shahab-3 or other missile, and you wanted to explode it over the United States.”

The commission warned in a report issued in April that the United States was at risk of a sneak nuclear attack by a rogue nation or a terrorist group designed to take out our nation’s critical infrastructure.

“If even a crude nuclear weapon were detonated anywhere between 40 kilometers to 400 kilometers above the earth, in a split-second it would generate an electro-magnetic pulse [EMP] that would cripple military and civilian communications, power, transportation, water, food, and other infrastructure,” the report warned.

Within a week or two of the attack, people would start dying, Graham says.

“People in hospitals would be dying faster than that, because they depend on power to stay alive. But then it would go to water, food, civil authority, emergency services. And we would end up with a country with many, many people not surviving the event.”

Asked just how many Americans would die if Iran were to launch the EMP attack it appears to be preparing, Graham gave a chilling reply.

“You have to go back into the 1800s to look at the size of population” that could survive in a nation deprived of mechanized agriculture, transportation, power, water, and communication.

“I’d have to say that 70 to 90 percent of the population would not be sustainable after this kind of attack,” he said.

America would be reduced to a core of around 30 million people

Rep. Trent Franks, R, Ariz., plans to introduce legislation next week that would require the Pentagon to lay the groundwork for an eventual military strike against Iran, to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and EMP capability.

“An EMP attack on America would send us back to the horse and buggy era — without the horse and buggy,” he told the Claremont Institute conference on Saturday. “If you’re a terrorist, this is your ultimate goal, your ultimate asymmetric weapon.”

Noting Iran’s recent sea-launched and mid-flight warhead detonation tests, Rep. Franks concluded, “They could do it — either directly or anonymously by putting some freighter out there on the ocean.”

This is a very interesting prophetic development. We have been looking for the EU to fulfill the revived Roman Empire and the covenant of Daniel chapter nine but it turns out that it will actually be fulfilled by the Mediterranean Union (MU).

The EU has nations that were not in the original Roman Empire but the MU includes the right nations. It is looking like the exact same lands that were in the original Roman Empire will also be in the revived Roman Empire. Ireland was never in the Roman Empire and it is interesting that the voters of Ireland just turned down the treaty that would have federalized the EU. So it looks like Ireland will stay out.

It is also interesting that nations east of Germany were never in the Roman Empire. Perhaps they will start their own union or unite again in a union with Russia. I would bet on them uniting with Russia since Russia has the energy resources that they require.

Israel will be part of the Mediterranean Union so that sets the stage for the leader of the MU confirming the covenant with many for one week (7 years) spoken of by Daniel chapter nine.

The peaces are now rapidly coming together for fulfillment for that last week of years. We have the right alignment of nations and a likely peace agreement with all the old Roman Empire nations guaranteeing Israel’s right to exist. Now it is just a matter of God’s timing.

It also looks to me like the putting together of a federalized EU with the present members will fail and it will be replaced with the membership of the MU.

Bible Prophecy Today | Bible Prophecy News and Commentary by Todays Leading Bible Prophecy Scholars | News and Commentary from a Biblical Perspective

leaders from 43 countries comprising 756 million people met officially to form the “Mediterranean Union,” to fight terrorism, end WMD proliferation, enhance regional security, and promote free trade, economic development, and tourism.

The brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkzozy, the M.U. is certainly not a formal military or economic alliance by any stretch. Not yet, at least. But significantly, it does include all the nations of the European Union, Israel and all the countries of North Africa. The sole exception is Libya, whose leader, Muammar Gadaffi, denounced the organization as the rise of a “another Roman Empire.” Gadaffi is right. That’s precisely what we’re seeing

They see a unified Europe setting the model for a unified planet. A one world system, run by Europe. And the first step, in the eyes of the “Eurocrats” is to expand their territory southward. “The European and the Mediterranean dreams are inseparable,” Sarkozy said at the opening festivities. “We will succeed together; we will fail together….We will build peace in the Mediterranean together, like yesterday we built peace in Europe…not north against south, not Europe against the rest, but united….We dreamed about a Union for the Mediterranean, and now it is a reality.”