August 8, 2010
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Iranian intelligence officers tour Lebanese border, study IDF lines – www.debka.com
Saturday morning Aug. 7, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman visited the site of the Lebanese-Israeli border clash of Tuesday, Aug. 1. Twenty-four hours before him, a group of Iranian intelligence and commando officers toured the border area, debkafile reveals, for a good look at IDF positions on the other side. Their Lebanese army escort included heads of the 9th battalion, which started the clash by shooting across the border and killing Lt. Col. Dov Harari.
The president first visited the blackened house in Adeissa village that was torched by Israeli retaliatory tank fire. A former Lebanese chief of staff, he was also due to visit that same 9th battalion.
The Iranian visitors in civvies toured the border area openly in full view of Israeli spotters and walked through sections of the south Lebanese road which run south of the UN Blue Line border drawn in 2000 by mutual consent.
This was the first time Iranian officers had stepped into sovereign Israeli territory. The IDF made no response.
debkafile reports that they were part of a high-ranking Iranian delegation headed by spiritual ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's bureau chief, which rushed over to Beirut Thursday, Aug. 5 for urgent talks with Hassan Nasrallah and other Hizballah leaders in the wake of the Lebanese-Israeli armed clash - even though the Shiite terrorists claimed they were not directly involved.
They discussed possible the possible repercussions of that clash and also Nasrallah's scheme for shifting the blame for the 2005 Hariri murder onto Israel at a news conference Monday, Aug. 9. He is hoping to sidetrack the UN Hariri tribunal from its determination to indict some of Hizballah's most prominent operatives for the crime and order their extradition.
Velayati's party did not meet Lebanese government heads, a sign of how far Hizballah has carved out a state within a state. Yet the officers of the national army freely took Iranian military men around the most sensitive parts of the southern border for a close-up study of Israel's military positions and a consultation on tactics, 24 hours before Lebanese President Michel Suleiman was given his tour Saturday.
This order of events brings out the Lebanese army's two faces: One showing the US, West and the UN a responsible willingness to help the peacekeepers calm border tensions; the other, turning to Iranian experts for tactical advice on how best to engage the IDF.
Velayati himself quietly conferred with Hizballah's South Lebanon commander, Sheikh Nabil Qauq, on the next stages of the confrontation with Israel.
Iran: Lebanon has a right to defend itself against Israel's hostility – www.haaretz.com
Speaking at a joint press conference with Lebanon FM, Mottaki slams UNIFIL performance, saying it was not able to deter 'Zionist regime's aggressions.'
Lebanon has a right to defend itself in the face of Israeli aggression, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said to the official ISNA news agency on Sunday, following a recent border clash between Lebanon and Israel which resulted in the death of two Lebanese soldiers, a Lebanese journalist and one Israel Defense Forces officer.
Last week, Israeli officer Dov Harari was killed during clashes between Israel and the Lebanese army along the border. The 45-year-old father of four from Netanya was a reserves battalion commander in the engineering corps. Another Israeli officer, Ezra Lakia, was seriously wounded in the same exchange of fire.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami on Sunday, Mottaki said the "Lebanese nation and resistance have the right to end any aggression and pursue the issue through international circles to defend their rights."
The Iranian FM also condemned the performance of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), saying that "negligence and mistakes of these forces should not be disregarded."
"The forces are based in southern Lebanon to deter such aggressions, if UNIFIL is not able to deter the Zionist regime's aggressions, what is its duty in southern Lebanon? What is it doing along Lebanese and Palestinian borders?" Mottaki said.
Also speaking to ISNA at the joint press conference was Lebanese Foreign Minister al-Shami, who said that Israel did "not have the right to invade this region, the region is Lebanon's shared border."
The Iranian FM also commented on a rare Lebanon joint visit by Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah, underscoring the depth of Arab concern over the possibility that the potential indictment against Hezbollah members over the assassination of former Lebanon PM Rafik Harir would stir unwanted chaos.
Mottaki said that he viewed the joint meeting in a favorable light, adding that the "Islamic Republic of Iran's strategic policy seeks regional convergence and boosting regional cooperation."
"We regard regional convergence as a necessary element to strengthen bilateral and multilateral engagement and tackle enemies' conspiracies," Mottaki said.
On the subject of Iran's contentious nuclear program, the Lebanese foreign minister said he supported Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear program, adding that "the recent unfair Security Council resolution that tightened sanctions on Iran is another instance of double standards and we fully support Iran's legitimate right to civilian nuclear energy."
Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai also reiterated on Sunday his country's support for Lebanon against Israeli "violations," during a meeting with Lebanese Information Minister Tarek Mitri, the official Petra news agency reported.
The report stated that Prime Minister Rifai "renewed Jordan's backing to the brethren in Lebanon as well as keenness on the unity and sovereignty of Lebanon, rejecting any violations of the Lebanese sovereignty and stressing the need for all parties to abide by the UN Security Council resolution 1705."
Lebanese president vows to arm military with advanced weaponry – www. haaretz.com
President Suleiman lauds army's performance during Tuesday's border clashes with Israel, says 'it's necessary to resist Israeli aggression.'
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman toured Saturday the area where Lebanese and Israeli military forces clashed and vowed to arm the country's troops with advanced weaponry.
On Tuesday, while Israeli troops were trimming a tree on the border fence between Israel and Lebanon, Lebanese soldiers opened fire at an observation post some 300 meters from the fence in Israeli territory. A senior Israel Defense Forces officer was killed, and another was seriously wounded. Two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist were also killed in the ensuing clashes.
Speaking to Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) members in Adissyeh in southern Lebanon, where the clashes took place, Suleiman commended their performance during Tuesday's fighting, saying "it's necessary to resist Israeli aggression."
Suleiman said the cabinet will put forward a plan at its next session to arm the Lebanese military "with all that is necessary."
"Lebanon will work with friendly countries to provide it with more advanced equipment," Suleiman said. Arming the military is aimed at "protecting the dignity of the nation," he added.
Together with Defense Minister Elias al Murr, Suleiman inspected the army base in Adissyeh and met UN officers also present in the area.
Suleiman said Lebanon will "cooperate with UNIFIL in the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701."
UN Resolution 1701 of August 17, 2006 ended a 33-day war between Israel and Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah during which some 1,200 people, mainly Lebanese civilians, died.
Iran's navy gets 4 new Iranian-built submarines – www.news.yahoo.com
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's state media say the country's navy has taken charge of four new Iranian-built submarines as part of Tehran's efforts to upgrade its defense capabilities.
The official IRNA news agency says Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi and Navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari attended Sunday's ceremony marking the delivery of the vessels to the Iranian navy.
IRNA says the Ghadir class submarines can fire missiles and torpedoes at the same time and can operate in the Persian Gulf's shallow waters.
Iran has sought to upgrade its air defense systems and naval power, saying any possible future attacks against Iran will be air and sea-based.
Iran has also three Russian-made submarines.
New U.S. terror list: Iran, Sudan, Cuba, Syria – www.worldtribune.com
WASHINGTON — The State Department has cited four state sponsors of groups designated as terrorist, although two of the governments were said to have cooperated with the United States in the area of counter-insurgency.
On the list are Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. Iran was again deemed the "most active state sponsor of terrorism."
"With the exception of Hamas, whose members the Sudanese government considers freedom fighters, the government does not openly support the presence of extremist elements in this country," the department, in a report titled "Country Reports on Terrorism 2009," said.
The report, released on Aug. 5, said both Damascus and Khartoum have been working with the United States against Al Qaida-aligned insurgents. The department, however, said Sudan and Syria continue to harbor insurgency groups, including Al Qaida elements linked to Iraq and Somalia.
"The Sudanese government continued to pursue counterterrorism operations directly involving threats to U.S. interests and personnel in Sudan," the report said. "Sudanese officials have indicated that they view their continued cooperation with the U.S. government as important and recognize the potential benefits of U.S. training and information-sharing."
But officials said Sudan has been resentful of Washington's decision to keep Khartoum on the State Department's terrorist list. Still, they said, Sudan has not given any indication that it would reduce CI cooperation with the United States.
The report said Sudan has harbored such groups as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both designated by the State Department as terrorist. Sudan, however, was said to have limited Hamas's activities to fundraising.
"The Sudanese government has also worked hard to disrupt foreign fighters from using Sudan as a logistics base and transit point for terrorists going to Iraq," the report said. "However, gaps remain in the Sudanese government's knowledge of these individuals and its ability to identify and capture them."
"There was some evidence to suggest that individuals who were active participants in the Iraqi insurgency have returned to Sudan and are in a position to use their expertise to conduct attacks within Sudan or to pass on their knowledge to local Sudanese extremists," the report said. "There was also evidence that Sudanese extremists participated in terrorist activities in Somalia."
Syria was also reported as having helped decreased insurgency activity. The report said the regime of President Bashar Assad has sharply reduced the flow of Al Qaida insurgents into neighboring Iraq.
"In 2009, Syria increased border monitoring activities, instituted tighter screening practices on military-age Arab males entering its borders, and agreed to participate with the U.S. and Iraqi governments in a trilateral border security assessment of the Syrian side of the Syrian-Iraqi border," the report said.
But the State Department cited Syria's harboring of such groups as Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. The report said Syria has enabled these groups to conduct operations.
"In addition, the Syrian government has made no attempt to restrict the operation, travel, or movement of these groups’ leaders or members," the report said. "Syria allows terrorist groups resident in its territory to receive and ship goods, including weapons, in and out of the country."
Hezbollah: We have evidence linking Israel to Hariri assassination – www.haaretz.com
Ma'an report comes amid claims that a UN tribunal intends to indict members of the militant group in the 2005 killing.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is to reveal evidence implicating Israel in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, a spokesman for the militant group told the Palestinian news agency Ma'an on Sunday.
A United Nations tribunal was established in 2007 to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri, father of current premier Saad Hariri. The elder Hariri was killed in a massive bomb blast in Beirut, along with 20 other people. His allies have accused Syria and its followers in Lebanon of being behind the murder, a charge Damascus has repeatedly denied.
Late last month, Nasrallah indicated that he had been informed that the UN tribunal would indict some Hezbollah members, saying that "out of his keenness to ensure national unity, [Lebanese Premier Saad] Hariri told me that the UN tribunal indictment will be issued and will accuse some members of Hezbollah."
Speaking to Ma'an on Sunday, Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousawi said that the group's leader would reveal "thunderous news" in a press conference scheduled for Monday, presenting what he called "comprehensive, revealing conclusive information" linking Israel to Hariri's 2005 assassination.
Referring to rumors of an upcoming indictment of Hezbollah members, Nasrallah said last week that his organization rejected "reject the idea that Hezbollah members might be indicted," noting that the indictment does not accuse Syria.
The Hezbollah chief warned that "there's a new scheme that targets the resistance [Hezbollah], Lebanon and the region through the Special Tribunal for Lebanon."
Nasrallah in March confirmed that UN investigators had interrogated members of his Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement.
Last month, the Lebanese daily Al Akhbar quoted Syrian President Bashar Assad as saying that if a finger is pointed at Hezbollah for being behind the assassination, this may result in the destruction of Lebanon.
Assad said that in the past the court had blamed Syria, a claim later proven to have been baseless, but nearly destroyed Lebanon and the entire region, and now the same scenario is being repeated against Hezbollah.
According to a Lebanese judicial source, the tribunal will be issuing at least two rounds of the indictments starting from September and around the end of this year.
Lebanese media reports indicated that in the first round UN prosecutor Daniel Bellemare will indict "three to five members of Hezbollah and in the second round about 20 with various ranks including some key officials."
The reports added that Bellemare was informed by Lebanese military leaders in an informal way that the Lebanese army would not arrest any members of Hezbollah party if they should be indicted.
A report in the German news magazine Der Spiegel last year revealed a link between Hezbollah and the Hariri assassination.
The reports about the indictments against Hezbollah have raised fears in Lebanon that the security situation will deteriorate, and Premier Hariri on Thursday attempted to assure the Lebanese that there would not be a crisis or sedition in the country.
"There are political disputes - but nothing will happen," Hariri said.
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Iran's Ahmadinejad doubts Sept 11 attack toll - Robin Pomeroy and Ramin Mostafavi – www.news.yahoo.com
TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday the September 11, 2001 attacks were exaggerated in a fresh broadside at the United States just days after President Barack Obama voiced willingness to talk to Iran.
Well-known for his anti-American and anti-Israeli rhetoric, the hardline populist Ahmadinejad also repeated his denial of the Holocaust, on which the consensus of historians is that six million Jews were exterminated by Nazi Germany.
Ahmadinejad said the September 11 attacks with hijacked airliners on New York and Washington D.C. had been trumped up as an excuse for the United States to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
Speaking at a Tehran conference, Ahmadinejad said there was no evidence that the death toll at New York's World Trade Center, destroyed in the attacks, was as high as reported and said "Zionists" had been tipped off in advance.
"What was the story of September 11? During five to six days, and with the aid of the media, they created and prepared public opinion so that everyone considered an attack on Afghanistan and Iraq as (their) right," he said in a televised speech.
No "Zionists" were killed in the World Trade Center, according to Ahmadinejad, because "one day earlier they were told not go to their workplace."
"They announced that 3,000 people were killed in this incident, but there were no reports that reveal their names. Maybe you saw that, but I did not," he told a gathering of the Iranian news media.
There is a published list of September 11 dead from more than 90 countries available online.
A total of 2,995 people were killed in the attacks, including 19 hijackers and all passengers and crew aboard four commandeered airliners, according to official U.S. figures. The United States blamed the assaults on al Qaeda, led by Saudi-born Sunni Muslim fundamentalist Osama Bin Laden.
Ahmadinejad accused the U.S. government of exercising more media censorship than anywhere in the world.
He had previously said the "9-11" attacks were a "big fabrication" and has rejected the historical record of the Holocaust. On Saturday, Ahmadinejad repeated his belief that the Holocaust had been invented to justify the creation of Israel.
"They made up an event, the so-called Holocaust which was later laid as the basis for the innocence of a group," he said.
Ahmadinejad last week challenged Obama to a televised debate on global issues during his trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
Two years ago he asked to visit the site of the World Trade Center "to pay his respects" but New York police refused.
Washington succeeded in June in getting a fourth round of U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed on Iran to pressure it to suspend its disputed nuclear program.
Tougher U.S. and European measures have further tightened restrictions on doing business with the major OPEC country.
Obama signaled on Thursday he was open to talks with the Islamic Republic and was seeking "a clear set of steps that we would consider sufficient to show that they are not pursuing nuclear weapons." [nN05148192]
Ahmadinejad has said he is prepared to return to international talks, which were last held in October, but insists that Iran has the sovereign right to enrich uranium.
Western powers fear the Islamic Republic aims to stockpile the material for possible use, when more highly enriched, in nuclear weapons, and U.N. nuclear inspectors cite indications that Iran is researching how to build a nuclear-tipped missile.
Tehran says it is refining uranium only for electricity and medical treatments.
Israel considers the combination of Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial and his pursuit of nuclear technology a potential threat to its existence and has said it does not rule out military action to prevent Iran developing atomic bombs.
A Washington-based think-tank with access to intelligence said on Friday Iran had begun using recently installed equipment to enrich uranium more efficiently, a step it said could be justified nominally on civilian grounds but in fact made more sense in the context of learning how to make bomb-grade uranium.
Think tank: Iran begins enriching uranium more efficiently – www.haaretz.com
Institute for Science and International Security says Iran now using second set, or 'cascade', of centrifuge machines at its Natanz plant.
Iran has begun using extra equipment installed earlier this year to enrich uranium more efficiently, stepping up its nuclear work despite United Nations sanctions, a Western think-tank said on Friday.
The Institute for Science and International Security said on its website that Iran was now using a second set, or "cascade", of centrifuge machines at its Natanz pilot plant. It did not disclose the source of its information.
Iran has been producing low-enriched uranium for some time and announced in February that it had started enriching uranium to a higher, 20 percent, level to make fuel for a medical research reactor.
Analysts said the single cascade of machines Iran was using for the higher-level enrichment was inefficient because it left over a large quantity of low-enriched uranium alongside the highly enriched material.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, said Iran had subsequently installed a second cascade of centrifuge machines but had not begun using it.
A Vienna-based diplomat with knowledge of the IAEA investigation of Iran's nuclear program said the Iranians had been preparing the second cascade of machines for use in recent weeks.
Use of the second cascade allows leftover material to be re-fed into the machines more easily, obtaining its full potential and making the work more efficient.
"ISIS has learned that Iran is now using the second cascade at the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz to recycle the tails from the first cascade," ISIS said in its note.
ISIS said the use of the second cascade meant the plant now needed less low-enriched uranium (LEU) than before to produce the same amount of 20-percent enriched uranium. It did not mean the output or enrichment level would increase, ISIS said.
Western powers fear the Islamic Republic aims to stockpile material for possible use, when still more highly enriched, in nuclear weapons. Iran says its aims are purely peaceful.
Western diplomats have said in the past that the second cascade could be reconfigured to enrich uranium to the higher level needed for use in nuclear weapons, a concern echoed by ISIS.
"If Iran enriches to weapon-grade uranium, however, it is expected to use the same type of procedure," ISIS said.
"Thus, Iran's current actions, while superficially justified on civil grounds, mainly make sense in the context of learning how to make significant quantities of highly enriched uranium efficiently."
Tehran has said it was forced to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity after the breakdown of a deal with Western powers and the IAEA, under which it would have sent 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium abroad in return for fuel rods for its medical reactor.
It tried to revive the fuel swap in a deal with Turkey and Brazil days before a key UN Security Council meeting in June, but the deal did not prevent the Security Council from imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
Judging a nation – Dave Welch – www.wnd.com
Three judges, three abominable decisions within two weeks.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton (Clinton-appointee) struck down a major part of Arizona's S.B. 1070, claiming, "There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens under the new [law]."
U.S. District Judge George Karam Streeh (Clinton-appointee) upheld anti-Christian discrimination by Augusta State University in Michigan after Julea Ward was expelled from its counseling program for her religious-based beliefs on homosexuality.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker (Bush-41-appointee, recommended by Sen. Pete Wilson), homosexual judge who struck down California's Proposition 8, stating that "the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples."
Beyond these Three Amigos is the greatest affront to our constitutional republic since the confirmation of ACLU's own Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the 63-37 vote to place Elena Kagan, an even more unqualified and more liberal activist, on our highest court.
Judges – we can't live with them and we can't live without them. Ancient Israel discovered that judges had a vital purpose, albeit different than under our Constitution. The most evident truth of that period in their history is that the nation depended not so much on the quality of the judges, but the obedience to God among the people.
After the death of Joshua (recall the walls of Jericho came tumbling down?), Israel's general condition began a vicious cycle. The primary reason is given in Judges 2:
Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger (vv. 11, 12).
Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them (v. 15).
Over the next 325 years, ending when the prophet/judge Samuel anointed Israel's first king (refer to 1 Samuel 8 to see how that works out!), began a "series of cycles of sinning, worshipping idols, being punished, crying out for help, being rescued by a judge sent from God, obeying for a while, then falling back into idolatry."
It is really very simple. The further a nation drifts away from the God of our fathers, the greater the dominance of immorality, amorality, worship of false gods and the inevitable anarchy or tyranny produced by our own actions. In the cases of Bolton, Streeh and Walker, we the people chose the presidents and senators who chose the judges.
We the people made the above-referenced decisions through our proxies.
Like Israel, the root problem here is not the reprobate 63 senators who voted to destroy the Constitution, but the reprobate citizens who elected them by their vote or their absence. More to the point are the majority of God-fearing, Bible-believing Christians and pastors who have not shown up on game day far too often or at all.
In addition, when the well of potential jurists is so badly polluted by liberal, post-constitutional and post-Christian trained attorneys from law schools reflecting those values, it becomes much more difficult to find judicial prospects who go against that grain.
I pray that we are at the "crying out for help" or repentance phase. With the escalation of amoral anarchy birthed by the absence of transformational truth from the Bible coming from our nation's pulpits for so long, we had better be.
Over a quarter century in the trenches of the battle for Judeo-Christian values in culture and government proves my commitment to that mission. However, it is abundantly clear that if we do not reignite the historic power of the church as God's instrument of change through the bold, uncompromising preaching of His word – all our political action, tea parties, etc. will fail.
The great news is that when Israel was in dire straits, God did not go find a megachurch pastor, television evangelist or best-selling author to lead his army.
He went to those like Gideon, who described himself as the "least in Manasseh (the smallest tribe), and I am the youngest in my father's house" (Judges 6:15).
He had earlier raised up Joseph, the youngest son of Jacob, after allowing him to be sold into slavery, to save the nation.
He found the youngest son of an obscure man named Jesse, a shepherd boy, to raise up to become Israel's mightiest king.
Gideon led God's army, Joseph served as right-hand man of Pharaoh and David both ruled and fought. Compare those to our current "take the least confrontational path" leadership in most of the churches today. Pastors, it's time to step up and put it all on the line.
Our government, including our judicial branch, will ultimately reflect the spiritual and moral condition of the majority of the people. When the power of God once again becomes evident in our homes and churches, it will also manifest in our choices of governing leaders.
Then we will have the joy of placing judges like the Three Amigos and Kagan where they belong – back in private practice.
Harvest Crusade preaches forgiveness – David Olson - www.pe.com
ANAHEIM - The Rev. Greg Laurie spoke Friday night of the forgiveness, humility and sacrifice of Jesus at Angel Stadium of Anaheim before he urged people who had not done so before to "make a public stand for Christ."
Thousands of people streamed onto the outfield to do so.
Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, spoke at the 21st annual Southern California Harvest Crusade, which continues tonight and Sunday at Angel Stadium. About 126,000 people attended last year's Anaheim crusade.
Speaking on a huge stage where second base usually is planted, Laurie told about 30,000 people of the sins he and every other person commits. As he has done before to connect with people who he said may not feel worthy of forgiveness, Laurie talked of a difficult youth in which he used drugs.
"When I realized who Jesus was, I didn't want that junk anymore," he said.
Laurie's sermon was titled, "Who is Jesus?"
He talked of how Jesus was ordinary looking and blended in with others, and how, even though he was the son of God, he didn't hesitate to wash the feet of others. He told the audience that, no matter what they had done, Jesus died to forgive the sins of those who believe in him.
"You can put your sins behind you and have a fresh start -- tonight," Laurie said. "Would you like that?"
After Laurie prayed with those who had filled most of the outfield, "Welcome to the family of God" flashed onto a huge lighted sign as the Christian-music band The Katinas sang in the background.
Paula Diaz, 56, had been meaning to go to the crusade for years but was put off by the large crowds. She said she was moved to be among so many other believers.
Diaz, of Moreno Valley, said she met Laurie more than three decades ago when she was a saleswoman at a Riverside home-improvement store and Laurie regularly came in to buy paint.
"He shared the Gospel with us and told us of how Christ could do wonderful things for us in our lives, and all we had to do is accept him," she said. "He was very alive. You could tell he believed what he said. When he said, 'Jesus can save you,' you knew he meant it."
Monica and Ruben Hernandez, of Riverside, have gone to all but the first crusade. They brought their children two decades ago and on Friday, the couple were with three granddaughters and a godson.
"Everyone needs to bring up the family in the things of God, in the plan of salvation," said Monica Hernandez, 53. "Families are the center of God's creation."
"It's a blessing to bring them," Ruben Hernandez, 53, said of the children, aged 1 ½ to 9. "Our children love the Lord, and our grandchildren love the Lord."
The crusade will travel to Auckland, New Zealand, next week, to Chicago in September and to Seattle in November.
More than 4 million people have attended Harvest crusades in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Worth the Effort – Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org
When I am interviewed by reporters about Harvest Crusades, the question I am asked more than any other is, "Why do you do this? Why do you put all of this effort into these events?"
It is a lot of work to do these events. We do them out of our ministry through Harvest Ministries and Harvest Christian Fellowship, the church where I pastor. Some take more than a year to set up, with preparation work and training classes. They require a lot of effort.
So why do it? Because I am a man under orders. I have a Commander-in-Chief called Jesus. He has commanded me to go into all the world and preach the gospel.
As I have often said, it is not the Great Suggestion; it is the Great Commission. And I am not the only one who is called to do this. You are called to do this as well.
It isn't really an option for me to say, "I won't share my faith. I won't preach the gospel. I won't tell others about Jesus." For me not to do this, for me not to make an effort to reach others with the gospel can be sin, because there are sins of commission and sins of omission.
The sin of commission is doing what you should not do, while the sin of omission is not doing what you ought to do. The Bible tells us, "To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17 NKJV).
Let's say that somehow I had discovered the cure for cancer. Would it be wrong for me to keep that secret to myself and never tell anyone? Of course it would.
How much more wrong would it be to keep it a secret if we have the cure, if you will, for eternal damnation?
We have the solution to humanity's problems. We have the way for people to know God. If we only apply that in our own lives and keep it to ourselves and never tell others, then certainly that is falling short of what God would want.
Yet most Christians do not engage in evangelism. I read a survey that said that 95 percent of Christians have never led another person to Christ. I don't know what percentage you fall into, and I don't want to lay a guilt trip on you. In fact, it may be that you have been involved in more people coming to the Lord than you realize.
Every prayer that you have prayed for a lost person, every time you have given out a gospel tract, every time you have just been a good witness where you live or work, you have been, in effect, sowing a seed and engaging in the work of evangelism.
Evangelism is not only telling people about Christ—though evangelism includes that—it is also getting out there and letting your light shine.
You may sow a seed that another may water. Then again, you may water a seed that someone else has sown. Or, you may reap where others have both sown and watered. As the apostle Paul said, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6 NKJV). You play a part.
When we were in Hawaii a number of years ago for a Harvest Crusades event, one of our volunteers was out on the streets with his little boy, handing out invitations to the event. When his son spotted a very burly biker with tattoos up and down his arms, he said, "Dad, I am going to go give him an invitation."
His father told him no, but the boy insisted. Before he could stop his son, he was tugging on the biker's arm. The biker looked down, and the boy gave him the flyer. Then the biker crumpled it up.
The father and son quickly made their exit, but the encounter went better than they realized. That night when the gospel invitation was given, the first man on the field was that biker. He came because a little boy gave him a flyer.
The seed you sow today could turn into a tremendous harvest later. Remember, the Word of God will not return void, but it will prosper in the place where He sends it (see Isaiah 55:11). You may think your attempt to share the gospel went nowhere, but you never know.
So keep sharing your faith. And be patient.
Think you can't be effective at evangelism? You just might be surprised.
LIVING ON BORROWED TIME - DVD
A morally and spiritually bankrupt society …A worldwide economic meltdown…A planet racked with increasingly intense manmade and natural disasters…Are we the Final Generation?
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:42-44
Reviews: The DVD should be seen by small groups and youth ministries far and wide. The clear quoting and referencing of bible verses is especially strong. The collage of dramatic imagery - both in photography and artwork, grabs the viewers' attention and weaves the conclusion that God is about to continue His plan in a major way. The video is so fresh - the oil explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico is shown as one example of how this old world is wearing out and is in flames
The video next defends the authorship and reliability of the bible before showing eight unmistakable developments in our world that point toward the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The number one sign given to our generation is the return of the Jewish people to form the nation of Israel. Jesus Christ is now standing at the door waiting to take his beloved bride- His true believers. Like the admonition from the Book of Jude, verse 23, I pray that this DVD will be used by the Holy Spirit to pluck dying people out of the fire before the borrowed time runs out. - John Wicklund - Chair- Olive Tree Ministries Board of Directors - Maple Grove, MN
Great Job! We have watched all your DVD’s and we think this is the best one so far. After someone watches this DVD there is no way they could argue that we are not living in the last days! – Don & Cindy K. – Bakersfield, CA
The DVD came and it was great. GOOD JOB ! ! – Julie A. – Whitefish, MT
God bless you, the new DVD is amazing! I know that if there is anyone out there who doesn't know what the bible holds or has no clue about what is really going on after seeing this DVD they will surely be enlightened about what is truly going on in the world today. - The Taylor's - Bakersfield, CA
Now Shipping! New DVD "Living on Borrowed Time" for more information and to order your copy of this exciting new DVD, please click below!
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FREE MOVIE! – THE FEATURED DVD FOR AUGUST – “THE RAPTURE: IN A MOMENT IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE…”
Each month Prophecy Update is going to feature one of our DVDS’s that you can watch for free online. This month’s featured DVD will be “The Rapture: In a Moment in the Twinkling of an eye…” – To watch this DVD click on the following link:
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The Second Coming - This Week’s Feature Article by Jack Kelley – www.gracethrufaith.com
At the time of the 6th Bowl judgment, Satan will send 3 demonic emissaries with miraculous powers to persuade all the Kings of the Earth to gather their armies at Har Megiddo, known to us as Armageddon (Rev. 16:14,) Mt. Megiddo overlooks the plains of Jezreel in central Israel, where the world’s armies will come together for the battle of Jerusalem, less than 100 miles to the south. The anti-Christ will invade Israel and set up headquarters in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:41.45). According to Zechariah, the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. (Zech 14:2)
Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle (Zech 14:3). In Rev. 16:14 John called this the battle on the great day of God Almighty, and it will all be over in less than one day. But which day? Jesus said, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matt. 24:42) Let’s see if we can piece the various scripture references together to make some sense of the chain of events.
Lights Off
He told us that “immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” (Matt. 24:29)
480 years earlier He had Zechariah say, “On that day (the day of the battle) there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.” (Zech 14:6-7) That tells us this battle will follow on the heels of the Great Tribulation and occur during the time when there’s no light on Earth, on a day only the Lord will know. I think this time of darkness will be a brief one, perhaps just a few days long. It only has to last long enough to make the Lord’s statement that no one would know the day or hour of His return come true.
Picture the armies of Earth gathered in Israel knowing they’re going up against the King of Kings in the final round of the battle for control of Planet Earth. Babylon the Great will have just been destroyed (Rev. 18) and you’d think they would have had enough. But obviously they’ve been emboldened by Satan’s demonic emissaries. The miraculous signs these three display will convince them they have the necessary force to prevail. Then without warning the whole world will be plunged into absolute darkness with no Sun, no Moon, no stars to illuminate the endless expanse of the night sky. Everything will come to a standstill. Where is their enemy? Why doesn’t He come out and fight?
Suddenly the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. (Matt. 24:30) At that moment they’ll realize their mistake, their confidence will evaporate, and they’ll wish with all their heart they hadn’t listened to Satan’s emissaries. But it’ll be too late for that.
John described the ensuing battle this way.
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. (Rev. 19:11-15)
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Rev. 19:19-21)
The Armies of Earth will quickly discover that their worst fears have become reality. They’re no match for the Lord. The sword that comes from His mouth is obviously symbolic, standing for His Word. Having spoken the universe into existence, defeating this army with the word of His mouth will be no challenge. The armies of Heaven won’t even get their robes dirty. But the Kings of the Earth will realize they’ve been misled by Satan once again, and this time it will prove to be a fatal mistake.
On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half to the western sea, (Mediterranean) in summer and in winter. (Zech 14:8)
From Ezekiel 47:2 we learn that the water comes from the Temple, flowing south into a great ravine formed by an earthquake that will occur when the Lord’s foot touches the Mt. of Olives (Zech 14:4). This ravine will run west to east from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, forming the bed of the mighty River of Life (Ezek. 47:1-12, Rev. 22:1-2). Splitting the Mt. Of Olives means it will go straight through the current Temple Mount, eliminating all traces of it. Since the water flows south it means the Temple built at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week will have been located to the North of the current Mount. Last time we identified its location as Shiloh, 20 miles north of Jerusalem.
The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. (Zech 14:9)
This is a long awaited fulfillment of prophecy. Within a few short days, everyone on Earth will stand before King Jesus and agree that He is Lord of all the Earth. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11) Tragically, many will not have confessed Him as their Savior, and now it’s too late. As they depart to begin an eternity of torment they’ll have to admit that as Lord, He has the right to banish them. Even worse, they’ll know that He died for their sins, but they refused the pardon His death purchased for them, and the time for claiming it expired with His Coming.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. (Rev. 20:1-3)
Lights On
The anti-Christ and false prophet will have been cast into the Lake of Fire, and Satan will be bound. Finally peace will come to Earth. Zechariah said that in the evening of that day there will be light (Zech. 14:7), but Jesus said the Sun would go dark to mark the end of the Great Tribulation. Where will the light come from?
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev. 21:2-3)
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. (Rev. 21:23-25)
Believers who died before the Church age will rise from their graves (Daniel 12:2), accompanied by Tribulation Martyrs (Rev. 20:4). Together they’ll witness the Glorious Appearing of the Lord and join the grateful multitude in welcoming Him to Earth. The Creation itself will have been waiting in eager expectation of this day, when it will finally be liberated from it’s bondage to decay. (Romans 8:19-21)
The Lord’s first order of business upon returning will be to summon all the survivors of the Great Tribulation to determine their disposition. First the Jew,
Jesus said to them (the Disciples), “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matt. 19:28)
Then the Gentile.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matt. 25:31-32)
This prophecy first appeared in Joel 3:1-2. “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.”
The parables of the Faithful Servant, the Ten Virgins, and the Talents in Matt. 24-25 also describe this time of judgment that I believe will consume the Lord’s first 30 days back on Earth. The net result of these events is that surviving Tribulation believers will be welcomed into the Millennial Kingdom, while unbelievers will be taken away to begin an eternity of torment (Matt. 24:51, 25:30, 25:41)
Next will come the business of establishing His Kingdom. The Temple, defiled by the abomination of desolation, will be cleansed and made fit for service again like its predecessor of Maccabean days. The new levitical priesthood, led by the descendants of Zadok, will be installed (Ezekiel 44:10-16) to officiate therein. The promised Land will be divided and re-distributed to the Jews (Ezekiel 48:1-29) while believing Gentiles will be sent to re-populate the nations. Governmental and administrative systems will be put into place.
This will require an additional 45 days. These two periods were hinted at in Daniel 12:11-12.
“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.”
The Great Tribulation will be 1260 days long. 30 days to judge the survivors brings us to 1290 days and 45 more to set up the Kingdom totals 1335. Blessed is the one who reaches this time because he will be counted among those who’ve been judged worthy to inhabit the kingdom. Every one of them will be a believer.
So as the Millennium begins there will finally be peace on Earth, a peace so real they’ll be able to feel it. The Lord will be King of all the Earth and His name will be the only name (Zech 14:8). More next time.
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Maranatha!
(Lord Come Quickly)
"On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, All other ground is sinking sand."
"Let Us make the short time we have left count for all eternity!"
YBIC-Randy
