The following articles are compiled by:

Robert Hartsock

Robert@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

 

He calls himself God

Source:  Newsweek

 

January 28, 2007 - A Puerto Rican minister says Christ 'integrated' with him. Others call him a cult leader and a charlatan.  At first glance, the congregation gathered in a warehouse in Doral, Fla., seems like a typical Hispanic evangelical group. There's the 10-piece band, the singing and swaying, the whooping and hollering. But look a little more closely. There's not a cross in sight. In the rapturous eyes of his flock, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is, in fact, the second coming of Christ. As the head of the Growing in Grace International Ministry, he presides over a sprawling organization that includes more than 300 congregations in two dozen countries, from Argentina to Australia.

 

Comments:  I have read about this man before and now Newsweek has been so bold as to dedicate an entire article to him in their upcoming issue.  First of all, this man is not Jesus Christ, he is only a false prophet, a false christ, an “antichrist”.  He is nothing more than a pawn for satan to use against Christianity. 

 

This man has led more than 100,000 people away from Christ and it only grows stronger everyday.  We as Christians need to fight back by spreading the Gospel to everyone who will listen.  Jesus Christ of Nazareth is coming back and unfortunately it might already be too late for some of these people.  I pray that they will wake up and recognize the real Christ Messiah before it is too late. 

 

Matthew 24:24:  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

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Report:  Iran preparing to put satellite in Orbit

Source:  FOX News.com

 

January 26, 2007 - The reported Iranian space launcher, which U.S. intelligence agencies believe to be a derivation of the Shahab 3 ballistic missile, has recently been assembled and "will liftoff soon" with a satellite, according to Iranian officials.

Western officials fear that the Iranian space vehicle could lead to upgrades in Iran's missile technology, eventually leading to an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a range capable of reaching Europe, Russia, China and India, the magazine reports.

Comments:  So what else is new, eh?  Iran has been on the fast track to nuclear weapons for some time now and nobody is doing anything about it.  Why should it surprise anyone that they are now seeking space technology?  Of course they are!  That will only better their chances of a missile strike against Israel. 

Some things never change and will never change until Christ comes back to end all of this once and for all.  Tensions with Iran will keep increasing until someone strikes and unfortunately I think Iran is going to strike very soon and then we will enter a war to end all wars.  Keep watching…

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Prominent Theologian Debunks Apocalyptic  Doom, Gloom

Source:  The Christian Post.com

 

January 27, 2007 - A prominent German theologian urged Christians to rethink their expectations of “the final judgment,” reasoning that western Christianity and all of society has been instilled with images of a world-ending apocalypse centered on vengeance for evil-doers and unbelievers.

“The images we use are certainly apocalyptical. But are they Christian? No,” said Jürgen Moltmann at the 37th Trinity Institute national theological conference held this week. The emeritus professor of systematic theology at Germany’s University of Tübingen is widely considered to be one of the most important theologians of the last 50 years.

Comments:  You will have to read the entire article to understand what this man is trying to say, but let me sum it up for you:  Apparently he hasn’t read one word of the Book of Revelation.  While I do not share his beliefs I will say this:  Jesus Christ is full of love and forgiveness and He will be coming back.  However, the Book of Revelation tells us of a coming Tribulation period, a 7-year period of trouble and wrath against a Christ-rejecting world.  The Lord will pour out His wrath on the people who constantly reject Him and unfortunately there will be countless millions upon millions of people who will not turn to Him for salvation.  That is the cold hard truth of it folks.  Do not let people stray you from the Truth of the Bible, because the Bible is the Word of God everything in it is a promise from our Father.  I hate to use the Tribulation to scare people, but it is a very scary time nonetheless and it is coming.  I urge you to come to Christ and seek salvation from your sins if you haven’t already. 

John 3:16:  For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:17:  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 

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The following articles are compiled by:

Leo Wong

Leo@WatchmenWatching.com

 

 

Syrian Arar accepts Canada’s $10M as compensation for deportation and torture

Source: CanWest News Service

 

January 26, 2007 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to announce today the government has reached a legal settlement in the lawsuit filed by Maher Arar over his 2002 deportation to Syria, where he was detained on suspicion of being a terrorist and tortured.

 

The lawsuit, filed in 2004, initially claimed $400 million in damages against the government, but Arar reduced the amount in December to $37 million. Since then, lawyers for the government and Arar have been in mediation hearings attempting to strike a deal.

 

Harper is expected to make the announcement on Parliament Hill at about noon, when he will also address the continuing controversy over how the United States refuses to remove Arar from its security watch list.

  

Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian, was detained by U.S. authorities at a New York airport in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured. In his lawsuit against the federal government, the former Ottawa engineer alleged negligence, negligent investigation, defamation, false imprisonment, assault and battery and abuse of public office.

 

Last fall, a public inquiry report by Justice Dennis O'Connor found RCMP mislabeled Arar as an Islamic extremist with suspected ties to al-Qaida. The report also concluded the sharing of that misinformation with U.S. authorities likely led them to deport him.

 

The shock waves of O'Connor's report were immediate. Then-RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli resigned over the case and apologized -- the only Canadian official to publicly express regret to Arar and his family. Harper has deferred an apology until the civil suit is complete.

 

In the wake of the O'Connor report, when he reduced the amount of the money he was seeking in the lawsuit, Arar said he was willing to be reasonable in the negotiations.

 

Arar's case, meanwhile, has become a cause celebre among civil libertarians in the U.S. They cite his deportation as the most egregious example of the dangers of "rendering" individuals suspected of terror links to third countries for interrogation.

 

Earlier this month, the Bush administration rejected the Canadian government's request to remove Arar from an American terror watch list, saying its earlier decision to bar him from the U.S. remains "supported" by a recent re-examination of the case. The decision followed a formal request from Ottawa last year for the Bush administration to review Arar's case after O'Connor's inquiry.

 

Comments:  The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania are a sensitive issue with Americans.  In the aftermath’s President Bush’s war on terrorism, suspected terrorists were detained and thoroughly questioned.  Mr. Arar’s name came to the U.S.’s attention and although we don’t know the full particulars, the White House had legitimate reasons to do what it did.

 

Canada speedily caved into Mr. Arar’s lawsuit.  Why? (The Federal Government has historically dragged out lawsuits filed by ordinary Canadians that stretched out for decades.)  $10M plus $2M for legal fees incurred by Mr. Arar will no doubt infuriate the Canadian taxpayers.  It’s enough to topple Mr. Harper’s minority government and deservingly so.  Mr. Harper, although he professes to be a conservative Christian, has kowtowed to Islam and has had his Foreign Minister Mr. McKay pressuring Israel to make peace with the Arab world.  Mr. Harper is a master of the double speak.  Unlike his counterpart President Bush who won’t let up on his wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to flush out the terrorists, Mr. Harper dishes out gobs of Canadian like it were Monopoly money.  Whether it was a Liberal or Conservative Federal Government, Canada has not exactly been Israel’s best friend, but when it comes to the Arab causes, Canada has had a sympathetic ear and now, a loose purse string pertaining to speedy compensation to a Syrian who may very well have ties with terrorist cells in the Middle East.  The $10M given to Arar may later bite the hand that fed him as Canada is not immune to terrorist attacks even after protection money has been paid.

 

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End-times 'rapture' theology is nuts, says New Testament expert

Source:  ekklesia.co.uk

 

January 26, 2007 -- A leading scholar has said that the end-times rapture theology propagated by many fundamentalist Christian groups, and said to be an influence within the Bush White House, is unbiblical and basically “nuts”.

 

It is vital that Christians address apocalyptic questions and the proper handling of scriptural texts because there is a powerful sense of ‘an end’ right now in our culture, declared the Rev Dr Barbara R. Rossing at the Trinity Institute's 37th national theological conference on 23 January 2007.

 

Dr Rossing, who is professor of New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, is the author of ‘The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in The Book of Revelation.’ She has lectured, preached, and published widely.

 

Professor Rossing added: "Ads for the game online show gun-wielding soldiers marching here in New York City, helicopters floating overhead and people being killed all accompanied by the music of 'Amazing Grace'."

 

She asked, "is this how 'God's Unfinished Future' is about to end – right here in New York as ancient scriptures come to life? No, I think this theology is nuts and that we must say no to the 'Left Behind' fictional version."

 

However, faced with global climate change, depletion of the supply of oil, escalating violence from wars around the world, the threat of nuclear weapons, and the pain of those who are being left behind in today's globalized economy, Professor Rossing said saying "no" was not enough.

 

She continued: "If apocalypse means revealing, then the question for us today is what curtain did Hurricane Katrina pull back? What does it reveal? What do other events unveil for us?" she asked. "Whether the accelerating melting of Greenland's ice, the war in Iraq, or 9/11 and its aftermath, how do we read these signs of the times?"

 

“We need to read the Bible for the future; for the end of the world", said the New Testament scholar. We can learn from early Christians and New Testament communities about how to live in hope for the future "since they too believed that they were living at the end of the world, the end of the ages.

 

"As we frame our thinking for the 21st century," she said, "frame the question of 'God's Unfinished Future' in ecological terms [and ask] how can we as Christians find a biblical vision of hope for the future that address ecological economics; that addresses the future of this earth; our home; and is God's home and will not be left behind."

 

"As I think about the message of the Book of Revelation for today's crisis, I keep coming back to the medicinal leaves at the end of the book, the Tree of Life and its leaves for the healing of the nation – leaves that I need and you probably do, too," she explained.

 

Rossing said that the central message of the Book of Revelation is that "God's will is not to destroy our world but to heal it."

 

Comments:  The Rev Dr Barbara R. Rossing is not expert in the New Testament (NT).  The Book of Revelation is about the impending pouring out of God’s wrath against this sin stricken world, Jesus the Son of God returning to Earth to judge the wicked nations, Jesus saving Israel from all her enemies, Jesus’s establishment of His 1,000 year kingdom on Earth replete with peace and righteousness, the putting down of the final revolt of Satan and mankind, the judging and consigning the wicked dead to the Lake of Fire, the transforming of the old Earth into a new Earth, and the crescendo, the New Jerusalem descending upon the New Earth (i.e. the Eternal State).  Contrary to what Dr Rossing asserts, God will destroy the wicked world with fire.  The ecology will take direct hits from Heaven.  Whole mountain ranges and the Earth’s strata, waterways and trees and plants will be decimated.  No, mankind will never establish a paradise type kingdom for Jesus prior to His return.  No so called expert can spiritualize/allegorize the NT and be considered the absolute authority on its interpretation.  Only a Christian (not an unsaved person) can know much about the NT by taking the Scriptures literally.  (The learning never ceases; even in eternity, believers will continue to learn about God’s Word for in God’s school, there are no graduates.)

 

I would not be remiss if I say the Rev Dr Barbara R. Rossing is a mouthpiece of Satan.  Her pride gets in her way of ministering the truth.  Instead, she’s propagating Satan’s deceptive lies which her readers and listeners are assimilating.

 

In these last days, there are two camps of believers in a virtual spiritual war: the vast majority of professing Christians vs. the dispensationalists (Pre-tribbers, Mid‑tribbers, Pre-wrathers, Partial-rapture proponents, and Post-tribbers).  It seems that anyone who dares to promote the hideous idea that God will judge mankind and wreck havoc on the environment are deemed to be “nut cases”.  It goes contrary to their dream of Heaven on Earth, the world to get better and better, and Christ’s Kingdom will be brought about by man’s efforts.

 

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Pope Benedict may be invited to visit Iran

Source: adnki.com

 

January 27, 2007 -- Pope Benedict XVI could soon be invited to visit Iran, Iranian news agencies reported on Friday, citing foreign ministry sources. Though the Islamic Republic has not yet formally invited the pontiff, Iran's ambassador to the Vatican, Mohammad Javad Faridzadeh, allegedly told Benedict XVI that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme leader, Seyyed Ali Khamenei, would be happy to have him as a guest in Iran in what would become the first visit ever by a pontiff to the country.

 

The inauguration of the church of Hazrat Maryam - the most ancient Catholic Church in Iran in Isfahan, central Iran, which is currently being renovated - could provide the right occasion for the pope's visit, Iranian

sources say.

 

Comments:  On the surface, it would appear that Iran has a hidden agenda in this possible invitation.  It was just last Fall that the Pope infuriated the Muslim world by implying that Islam was a violent religion.  Although he eventually issued an apology, the hurt still lingers and you wonder if the Iranians plan to detain the Pope, try him in their court and sentence him to death.  British author (of Indian descent) Salmon Rushdie is still running and hiding from Muslim hitmen contracted to take him out due to his “Satanic Verses” book that invoked the ire of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.

 

I’m not so sure that Iran will attempt the above because the Pope is the spiritual leader to over 1 billion Roman Catholics (RCs) and as such, Iran would not want a 2007 Version of the Crusades.  Most likely, the purpose is for the Pope and Iran’s supreme leader to talk shop,  i.e. review what’s common between Roman Catholicism and Islam and forge ahead with inter-religion unity leading to a global world religion.  The commonalities are: Both revere the Virgin Mary; RCs and Islam highly regard Jesus; both religions are pagan in origin and idol worship (the Virgin Mary and the Prophet Mohammed) is prevalent; both don’t teach the way, the truth and the life that’s found solely in Jesus; both have had a bloody history.  Being that it would a first for a pope to visit the Persian Empire, it is something to keep a close watch on.

 

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Time to adopt "Madrid Model" (Saudi style)

Source: ynetnews.com

 

January 27, 2007 -- This is the time to abandon the attempts to reach separate agreements with "selected" partners around us. What worked in the past with Egypt and Jordan is currently inapplicable vis-à-vis Ramallah, Beirut, or Damascus. There's no choice but to return to the Madrid formula of 1991: The promotion of a regional and comprehensive agreement in the Middle East. We may fear that by returning to the multi-party channel, Israel will have to face many parties on its own. However, the international community will be there to balance the picture.

 

The one clear agreement among all participants in the latest Madrid Convention was that we should be going back to a comprehensive format based on the Saudi initiative (which was adopted in 2002 in the Arab League summit and was ratified again recently by Arab foreign ministers.) The tragedy of this special offer was the fact it was proposed during the second Intifada's most devastating suicide bombings of all times. Under such circumstances the Israeli government could not be expected to seriously address a new peace initiative.

 

Comments:  You know the revealing of the Antichrist is looming on the prophetic horizon when one Middle East peace proposal is being trumped by another “better” proposal.  This article’s concept favors the Arab League in that it will get the best of two worlds.  Not only has the Saudi initiative already been approved by the Arabs, but the Madrid Model is European and as such, slants toward the Arabs and leaves Israel with the short end of the stick.  Israel doesn’t trust the Europeans and with good reason.  Ever since the UN was formed, almost every European nation has sided with the Palestinian cause and railed against Israel for her “land grab” and persecution of the Palestinian people.  The U.S. has been the sole friend of Israel.  Madrid and Saudi Arabia will freeze the Americans out and gang up on poor tiny Israel.

 

It must be stated that if the Arabs truly want “peace”, they could have had it decades ago, but time in and time out, they emphatically said “No”.  They wanted all the land Israel possesses.  Israel, on the other hand, was willing to sign peace accords and advance to the Final Status talks re: Jerusalem since the 1993 Oslo Accords.  After the Rapture, the Antichrist (AC) will arrive at the negotiation table to lay out his bold proposal for peace and security.  Both Israel and her Arab enemies will ask where on the peace documents they can affix their John Henry signatures.  The AC’s miracle solution will have the Arabs’ blessings, thus peace will finally dawn on the troubled Middle East.

 

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Evangelical Anglicans helped create Israel

Source: Jerusalem Post 

 

January 28, 2007 -- Evangelical Anglicans of the 19th century played a central role in the process that led to the establishment of the State of Israel, according to documents to be made available for the first time next week by the Christ Church Center near Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem.

 

"It is impossible to understand the Balfour Declaration of 1917 without first understanding the theological developments that reached their peak in 1850," said Kelvin Crombie, a historian and member of the Christian Missionary Among the Jewish People (CMJ).

 

"In the 19th century, evangelical Christianity had a major impact on Britain's political leadership," said Crombie. "There was a strong belief among British political leadership that the second coming of Jesus would not happen until the Jews returned to the Land of Israel."

 

Comments:  How the times have changed.  It may be so that Anglicans helped create modern Israel, but what is the Anglicans’ position today toward the Jewish State?  The Anglican Church like many liberal mainline Protestant denominations prescribed to Replacement Theology, i.e. Israel has been replaced by the Church and Israel no longer factors in God’s plans for the present or future.  In other words, Israel hasn’t been set aside by God temporarily, but has been shunted aside permanently.  The Church is the New Israel.  Israel no longer curries favor with God due to her waywardness and rejection of Jesus.

 

In the 19th century, many Protestant denominations started out as being evangelical, i.e. they took the Bible literally and there was very little spiritualizing/allegorizing of Scriptures.  Today, the reverse is true.  Not only are verses being spiritualized, these liberal denominations are promoting homosexual ministers and pastors, believe that a pregnant woman should be the sole decision maker when it comes to abortion, are decidedly pro-Arab, and make the social gospel a priority over preaching the Gospel of God to every creature.  More recently, a conglomerate of such denominations called for the divesting of investments in Israel due to Israel’s “continued occupation” of Palestinian land and the persecution of the “poor” Palestinian people.  The complete turnabout in the Anglican Churches depicts the falling away from the truth that the Apostle Paul foretold in 2 Thessalonians.

 

The Balfour Declaration didn’t really do Israel or the Western nations any favors.  In fact, the Arabs ended up with all the oil. Israel was given land in a grudgingly way.  There were anti-Semitics in the British Parliament just like there are today.

 

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Faith & Football: Churches borrow Super Bowl enthusiasm to score some spiritual touchdowns

Source:  miami.com

 

January 28, 2007 -- The sign outside Pines Baptist Church along 102nd Avenue in Pembroke Pines didn't carry particularly pious messages: ''PLASMA TV.'' ''FOOD.'' ``NFL EXPERIENCE BLOCK PARTY.''

 

But it did the job.

 

On a recent Saturday afternoon, 250 church members and neighborhood residents flooded the church grounds, where Christian rock music blared from giant speakers, football fans in full Miami Dolphins regalia mingled with church volunteers, and dozens of people lined up for hot dogs, raffle tickets and autographs from retired Dolphins players Dwight Stevenson and Mark Higgs.

 

''We're trying to show that the people who go to church aren't all stuffy,'' said Gary Cromer, head of missions at Pines Baptist Church. “It shows them who we really are. It's not just a bunch of shirts and ties on Sunday mornings.''

 

Comments:  Now, some of you out there will say, “I bet you Jesus participated in sports and even attended some track and field meets in the Holy Land”. What you’re really saying is that it’s alright for a Christian to be just like the world. What about Christians ought to be different so that the unsaved can tell a believer from one who isn’t?  Now a day, professing believers dress, talk and walk just like everybody else. There’s no discernable difference.

 

Super Bowl Sunday is a big deal with the sport jocks out there.  Billions of dollars are expended for food, drink and parties.  This is an excuse to get drunk and act like crazed barbarians.  And all for what?  A boring football game pitting steroid fed testosterone saturated men trying to beat each other in the name of competitive sport.  Millions of eyes will be glued to scantily clad female cheerleaders and perhaps a half time show with a good looking female singer baring her breasts.  Some churches figure since so many people will have their minds on football rather than God and Jesus, they might as well cater to their male congregants’ wishes and to rationalize what they’re doing, put an evangelistic spin to it.  Come to our Super Bowl party at your friendly neighborhood church at no charge and you’ll see a different side to Christianity.  You’ll see that we Christians are no different than you commoners.  We have the same red blood, we’re not space aliens, and best of all, we chant “Go Bears Go!!” just like any football aficionado does.  What would Jesus think of His sanctuary being turned into a sports bar.  Maybe Bud Light will be served?  This is what Christianity has degenerated into.  It’s surprising when once reserved Baptist churches are throwing away the restraints and heading toward the camps of carnality and liberality.

 

 

 

 

 

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Keep watching (Matt 24:42)!

 

Until next time,

Shalom!

 

 

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