Thursday 5 March 2009

Prophetic Trends & Headline News

Click any of the headlines below to read the full article

1. Where is America in Bible Prophecy?

U.S. Army To Buy $6 Million Of Riot Equipment - Will The Economic Crisis Lead To Civil Unrest?
The U.S. Army is to invest $6 million in riot equipment, a fact that has furthered fears that troops will be used inside the U.S. in order to quell any civil unrest resulting from the ongoing economic crisis......................... read more

CIA Adds Economy To Threat Updates
The daily White House intelligence report that catalogs the top security threats to the nation has a grim new addition, reflecting the realities of the age: a daily update on the global financial crisis and its cascading effects on the stability of countries through the world......................... read more

This Prayer Approved by the White House?
Is the Obama White House vetting prayers? Dan Gilgoff of U.S. News and World Report reports that this represents a "new tradition" established by the administration of President Barack Obama......................... read more

Will the United States Abandon Israel?
Writers and speakers such have been reminding us for some time that eventually Israel will be separated from her long-time best friend and benefactor, the United States. When we heard such words, most of us agreed that it would happen sooner or later, but did not think it would be soon. Now, however, there are some indications that under the new US government it could happen more quickly than any of us thought......................... read more


2. Israel - God's Timepiece

Syria's Clenched Fist
Syria is building a new chemical weapons factory next to a long-range missile base, hiding evidence of its mushrooming nuclear weapons program and radically increasing military spending on conventional systems. These activities which are primarily funded by Iran suggest Damascus is preparing for war and not -- in President Obama’s unhappy terminology -- unclenching its fist. ....
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That Surreal Gaza Reconstruction Conference
Was I the only one rubbing my eyes in disbelief yesterday, as the Egyptian government hosted an "International Conference for the Reconstruction of Gaza"? A U.S. government pledge of $900 million from the American taxpayer to the Palestinians?. ...................... read more

'Israel seriously considering military action against Iran'
The report also says Israel's time frame for action is growing shorter, not only because of Iranian advances, but because Teheran might soon acquire upgraded air defenses and disperse its nuclear program to additional locations.. . ....................... read more


4. The Gog/Magog War

Iran missiles can reach Israel Nuclear sites: commander
Iranian missiles can reach Israeli nuclear sites and Tehran will respond firmly to any attack, a top commander said on Wednesday ..................... read more

Iran urges world Muslim 'resistance' against Israel
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Wednesday for world Muslims to join the Palestinian "resistance" against Israel as he kicked off a two-day summit in aid of war-torn Gaza.. . ..................... read more


5. Apostate Christianity

Presbyterian Pastor Fears Denomination is Compromising Witness
As Presbyterians in Charlotte approved an amendment that would open the way for the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals, one pastor is speaking out, concerned that the Church is compromising its witness in morally ambiguous times. "The approved amendment, in violating the teachings of Scripture and our confessional history, puts the church in the position of accommodating itself to a culture that is demanding permission for behaviors and patterns of life that, while self-gratifying, are not biblically permissible." ..................... read more

Anglican diocese to defy ban, perform same-sex blessings
The Diocese of Ottawa has said it will perform same-sex blessings, becoming the first Canadian Anglican diocese to make such a move since a ban was imposed on the practice by the international church. The diocese said it is developing a liturgy and protocol for the rite and once they are created it will start performing the ceremonies for gay couples on a limited basis. But critics of same-sex blessings say those steps will widen the schism in the Canadian church. .. ...................... read more


6. The Rise of Islam

Muslims protest full-head photos for Drivers license pictures
Muslims in Minnesota are speaking out over a bill introduced in the state's House of Representatives that would require all drivers licenses to include an identifying photo that shows the full head and face without any form of headwear...................... read more

U.N. to make ban on criticizing Islam mandatory?
Muslim-dominated nations at the United Nations are once again pushing a religious "anti-defamation" plan that would bar worldwide all criticism of their founder Muhammad and his teaching. According to a report by CNN's Lou Dobbs the proposal that has been repeatedly brought in recent years by the Organization of Islamic Conference states is expected to resurface as early as this spring. This time, however, the resolution wouldn't allow nations to opt out... ...................... read more


7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies

Virtual Reality Headset To Be As Convincing As Real Life - Will Mimic All Five Senses
A headset that harnesses all five senses will create such a convincing virtual reality that it will be indistinguishable from real life, designers promised. The Virtual Cocoon, unveiled today, will enable users to go on safari from the comfort of their own front rooms. The headsest will enable users to experience the smells, heat, sounds and sights of places such as Kenya's Masai Mara. ... .......................... read more

Radio chip coming soon to your driver's license?
Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly. The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security, would embed radio chips in driver's licenses, or "enhanced driver's licenses." ........................... read more

Holograms: coming soon to your living room?
I've done some daft things in my time, but inter­viewing someone who wasn't there for the best part of an hour must be in a class of its own. The person in question, Ian O'Connell, director of London-based Musion, wasn't invisible. I could follow his every movement, gesture and eye motions: it was just that he himself was somewhere else. I was chatting to one of his company's products, or maybe I should say non-products: a hologram............................ read more

Cashless system is now on the cards
Barry Langton is 71 and has paid bills with cash his whole life. So, you can imagine his surprise when a retail worker told him, “We don't accept cash.”............................. read more

Vaccines as Biological Weapons? Live Avian Flu Virus Placed in Baxter Vaccine Materials Sent to 18 Countries
There's a popular medical thriller novel in which a global pandemic is intentionally set off by an evil plot designed to reduce the human population. In the book, a nefarious drug company inserts live avian flu viruses into vaccine materials that are distributed to countries around the world to be injected into patients as "flu shots." Those patients then become carriers for these highly-virulent strains of avian flu which go on to infect the world population and cause widespread death. There's only one problem with this story: It's not fiction. Or, at least, the part about live avian flu viruses being inserted into vaccine materials isn't fiction. It's happening right now............................... read more


8. Christian Worldview/Issues

Survey: Parents Rely on Personal Experience Over Biblical Guidance
Although most parents say they are trying to improve their parenting skills, few look to the Bible or church for guidance, a new study shows. A majority of parents (60 percent) heavily rely on their own experiences growing up for parenting guidance but only one-fifth say they receive a lot of guidance from the Bible, the latest study by LifeWay Research found. Even fewer parents (15 percent) look to church as a source of guidance for parenting...................... read more

Despite opposition, Afghan Christians worship in secret
The worshippers close their eyes, bow heads, hold hands, and speak their hopes and prayers out loud. And then there is Ahmed. A recent convert to Christianity, Ahmed, who asked that his real name not be used out of fear for his security, has begun to join the hour-long church services at the Kabul Afghanistan International Airport (KAIA) base most Thursday evenings. Even without consorting with Westerners, Afghan Christians face consequences for practicing their faith................ read more

Evangelicals ponder Dobson's successor
The long-expected resignation of Focus on the Family's James Dobson highlights an open secret among America's roughly 70 million evangelicals: There are no obvious successors to the group of evangelical leaders who created massive organizations or built up media empires in the 1980s and '90s. Mr. Dobson, 72, who resigned last week as board chairman of one of the country's most influential evangelical organizations, is one of the last of a great generation of evangelical leaders................ read more

Christians in medical field face 'conscience' challenge
The Obama administration is moving to rescind a regulation that protects the civil rights and the exercise of conscience of medical practitioners. Under the regulation, medical workers were allowed to reject procedures if they violated their conscience. Dr. David Stevens says the move by the White House "exposes the myth of moderation" in the president's abortion policy by possibly forcing practitioners to perform abortions or euthanasia. And Stevens argues it is likely the most important bio-ethical issue that Christians face in the medical field. "Because if we lose our right of conscience -- then if we oppose embryonic stem-cell research, physician-assisted suicide, human cloning, or whatever -- it's not going to make any difference because we're not going to be at the table any longer," says the Christian physician. ............... read more


9. Other Events To Watch

China to increase defence spending by 15 per cent
The 14.9 per cent rise to 480.7 billion yuan (£50 billion), up 62.5 billion yuan from 2008 is slightly smaller than the increase in recent years, suggesting that the government is focusing its spending on boosting the wider economy. But after rises of 17.8 per cent in 2007 and 17.6 per cent in 2008, it still amounts to a rise of more than half since 2006. In addition, the United States claims that real spending is significantly higher, as many costs, including major arms purchases, are kept off the officially announced budget.......................... read more

Surprise Asteroid Makes Near-Miss of Earth
A small asteroid buzzed by Earth Monday, though only real astronomy geeks in the Pacific would have noticed. The rock, estimated to be no more than 200 feet wide, zoomed past our planet at an altitude of 40,000 miles at 1:44 p.m. universal time — or 8:44 EST. Forty thousand miles may sound like a lot, but it's only about one-seventh of the way to the moon, and less than twice as far out as many telecommunications satellites... ....................... read more