Author: Admin

Does the Bible compete with anything for time in your life?

On By AdminIn Christadelphians, Time3 Comments

Today’s generation is faced with a problem like no other – an unprecedented proliferation of opportunities to be entertained or indulged; each one playing a part in stifling and smothering the desirability and presence of God’s Word.

For thousands of years, the Word of God has been a captivating safe haven for people who have been confronted by war, disease and persecution. Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves in a societal landscape saturated with mind consuming distractions which range – according to whatever view you adopt – from ‘harmless’ to ‘insidious’. The reality is that however you see it, most ‘harmless’ activities can end up becoming ‘insidious’ by virtue of the amount of time we spend consumed in them.

For many of us, social media has successfully dominated our lives and taken large amounts of time away from our family or time away from Gods Word. For others the problem might be gaming, a hobby, holidays, having a TV in the lounge – you name it. Perhaps the problem exists, but is not yet known to you.

Even if we are convinced that our pursuit, habit or hobby is harmless, Christ’s words to the ecclesia of Laodicea should prompt us to constantly reassess our conviction. When Christ said to the Laodicean’s that he would “spue you out of my mouth”, he didn’t issue this stark warning because Laodicea had become subjected to some dark and insidious form of Baal worship, No! Their problem was not immorality, wrong doctrine, child sacrifice, or some other form of blatantly perverted evil.

The influence that repulsed Christ so much, was materialism; the Laodiceans lived amongst general prosperity and comfort, and they weren’t in any hurry to oppose it. Where the Smyrnan’s were incredibly thankful to have a loaf of bread on the table, the Laodiceans were complaining about the brand of the coffee they were just served. Where the Smyrnans suffered shocking persecution at the hands of the Roman authorities, the Laodiceans used wax to caress their shiny sports edition cars.

Transplant the Laodiceans to our age, and they would’ve had a rort! The deafening roar of the crowd as they cheer on the chariots at the Colosseum would be old-school entertainment when compared to the pounding roar of today’s V8 supercar. Better still, the vision of the elite cars projected onto the living room wall, complete with some ground shaking surround-sound would make for an adrenaline-on-tap experience which would leave the chariots in the dust.

The age in which we live today has had the benefit of thousands of years to master the art of stimulating every sensory, making todays offerings far more sophisticated than the classic Laodicean experience. Today’s selection of indulgence is highly customised to our unique taste, easily justifiable and always ‘in your face’; every minute of the day comes with an incessant and unrelenting invitation to lapse into an indulgent habit – the only remedy being a constant and determined effort, to make righteous decisions.

Sometimes (more than we like to admit?) we give in to mindless habits, and steal and plunder the time that belongs to God – and sometimes, we don’t even realise we are doing it. How do we know when we are plundering time that is due only to God? Perhaps one litmus test is to reflect on our growth in Christ. Paul talks about constantly growing in the word as a lifelong endeavour and you would recall he admonished the Hebrews for not progressing beyond a very basic understanding of scripture. The problem of not progressing beyond the milk of the word is a serious challenge for our ecclesia while faced by the constant allurement of materialism.

It’s a challenge that has seen brethren and sisters who, while hesitant to open their Bible and study the word, are studiously committed to their personal interests – be it sports, politics, gaming, hobbies or entertainment. In those fields of interest, study is not a problem, time is not an issue. For example, it might be a fanatical knowledge of the cricketing world has consumed time over many years, leaving scriptural knowledge to pay the price.

Perhaps Revelation has been consigned to the ‘too hard basket’ and instead we have reclined and enjoyed an entrancing TV series. A decision like this requires self-discipline no doubt, but as a brother recently pointed out, consider the implications of this; that Revelation is the bridegroom’s last impassioned letter to us, his bride – whom he loves. It would be difficult when our bridegroom comes to have to explain to him why we have not read his letter to us – what legitimate excuse could we possibly have? Consider how our Lord would feel if we allow our focus to become consumed on temporary things, while ecclesial resourcefulness is in deficit, with attendance dropping, welfare becoming consigned to the work of a few and gospel proclamation under pressure.

It’s not hard to flick on the TV, sit back and revel in the drama of sport. It’s not hard to become experts in retail products that we covet. It’s not hard to follow a TV season, or spend each evening flicking through social media. It takes effort and time to open to the word of God and develop a deep personal conviction of God, his expectations and his love. But despite the effort, this should be our ultimate aspiration in life, beyond anything else!

Christ has called followers who are prepared to dedicate themselves to him in every way possible and therefore reassessing how we spend our time in this age, needs to be a conscious, repeated effort. If a habit or hobby has consistently taken our interest, or time, or enthusiasm away from God’s word or ecclesia, than we must remove the roadblock and clear the way for time in service to God.

If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Mat 5:30

The most important commandment in the Bible calls for dedication from every fibre of our being – not just our spare time.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Duet 6:5-9

Let’s take every opportunity we can to indulge Gods Word – to meditate upon it day and night, encourage others to talk about it at the meeting, consider its principles together with our closest friends and family, and expound them to those who are yet to learn the truth.

Our sacrifice is not one made on the cross, the stake, or in persecution; the challenge which materialism presents to faith today is far more alluring than times past, but no less fateful as our Lord has made abundantly clear.

As each day brings us closer to his return, let’s determine to give Gods Word the premium time in our daily schedule that it deserves, for truly there is little in this life that should compete for time with the Word of God.

Russia is building a new military base – right near Israels border

On By AdminIn Israel, RussiaLeave a comment

This article has been published by Debka here.

The Russian engineering corps has started building a new base in southeastern Syria at a small village called Khirbet Ras Al-Wa’r in the Bir al-Qasab district. Until now, Moscow adhered to a policy of restricting its military presence to the western part of the country along the Mediterranean coast; no Russian troops were based further east than Palmyra.

The new facility is the first to be established since Moscow’s initial military intervention in the Syrian war in September, 2015. DEBKAfile’s military sources say it will provide Russia with a lever of control over the volatile Syrian southeast and its borders, where US-backed and Iranian-backed forces are fighting for dominance.

Russian forces will also stand closer than ever before to the Israeli border

Russian forces will also stand closer than ever before to the Israeli border – 85 kilometers from central Golan and 110 kilometers from southern Golan, not far from IDF military positions.

The new Russian foothold will be located strategically 96 kilometers from northern Jordan and 185 kilometers from the American and Jordanian special forces garrison at the al-Tanf crossing inside the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi border triangle.

Placing the new base just 50 kilometers from Damascus serves another primary function, that of securing  the strategic crossroads leading from eastern and southern Syria to the capital – in other words, propping up the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Our intelligence sources note that construction on the new Russian base began concurrently with the resumption his week of secret US-Russian talks in the Jordanian capital, Amman. They are led by Michael Ratney, the special US envoy for Syrian affairs and Aleksandr Lavrentiev, for Moscow.

There were reports on Thursday, June 22 of a trilateral accord reached between the US, Russia and Jordan for creating a demilitarized zone in southern Syria, that would also cover the Israeli and Jordanian borders. DEBKAfile sources assert that no such accord has been reached. According to our information, the Russians put on the table a three-part plan for de-conflicting the incendiary situation in southeast Syria.  We can reveal its main points:

  1. American forces will continue to hold the al-Tanf crossing. In return, they will agree to Iranian, Syrian and Hizballah forces capturing from ISIS – and holding – the border town of Abu Kamal, further to the north.
  2. Moscow will guarantee the withdrawal of Iranian troops, pro-Iranian militias and Hizballah forces from southeastern Syria region at some point in the process.
  3. A joint US-Russian administration will be established to conduct the day-to-day affairs of southeastern Syria, including the areas along the Israeli and Jordanian borders.

Washington has so far turned Moscow down on this plan for two reasons: First, the Syrian army’s conquest of Abu Kamal would strengthen Iran’s grip on the Syria-Iraq border area, the prevention of which is a primary US objective. And second, the Americans want Iranian and Hizballah forces out of the region before any other steps are taken – instead of later, as per the Russian guarantee. This, the Russian negotiators were not prepared to concede.

2017 – A Significant Year for Bible Prophecy

On By AdminIn Israel, Messiah, West Bank3 Comments

As we farewell what has been truly eventful year, I cannot but think that this year was just a precursor to even greater things next year.

For those who know and love the word of prophecy, 2016 was truly annus mirabilis. Having grown up in these amazing times it gives me great encouragement to hear brethren and sisters who have lived many years longer  and have greater hindsight, who are no less awed by the extraordinary nature of current events in the last few years.

However unprecedented these events have been, next year is already looking to be very significant on a number of accounts:

2017 –  a Year of Milestones in Israel

2017 will see three exciting anniversaries that all relate to Israels revival;

  • 50 years since Israel captured Jerusalem (and a Biblical jubilee)
  • 70 years since the UN resolution on the adoption of an independent Jewish state.
  • 100 years since the Arthur Balfour declaration in favour of an independent Jewish state.

God often worked with Israel in Jubilee periods. What will next years Jubilee bring for Israel?

Will Israel Annex the West Bank in 2017?

The annexation of the West Bank has been thrown into the limelight for the very reason that it recently became a real possibility.

The prophets talk extensively about Israel inhabiting the West Bank (“The mountains of Israel”) around the time of the second advent. Ezekiel 38 gives us an indication that Israel will be inhabiting this region at the time when Russia invades.

2017 will be the first year to see both unprecedented momentum within the Israeli government to annex the West Bank and significantly less international power constraining Israel from doing so.

Today, Israel’s government is more supportive of West Bank annexation than what any Israeli government has been in the past, and while every previous US administration have done their level best to stop Israel building settlements and claiming sovereignty over the West Bank, President elect Trump and his Israeli ambassador are about to free the shackles constraining Israel from doing so.

A guest author recently wrote an article on this blog entitled; “Will Israel Annex the West Bank“? Its worth reading in light of recent news.

Yesterday, US Secretary of State John Kerry held a press conference where he made his frustrations clear and for the first time, suggested that Israel is close to annexation.

If it happened in 2017 it would certainly be another incredible milestone and a witness to the fact that the Messiah’s return is very close.

Will 2017 bring Transformation in Europe?

An era of global stability is coming to an end; anti-establishment nationalism is fermenting in most countries, and thrusting this unwitting world into uncharted and volatile waters. Don’t let this be a distraction; beneath the bubbling surface is a number of key projects that the Angels are working on in preparation for the return of Christ.

One of these changes which is yet to take place is the transformation of Europe into the ten nations and leaders (Daniel 2, Revelation 17) who complete Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

Next year will see substantial change in the geopolitical sphere with elections due in many countries, and with that, many new political parties, party policies and foreign policies will be up for grabs. Nowhere will a transformation be more likely, and more pronounced than in Europe, which is facing a tidal wave of far right, pro-Russian, anti-EU elections. Such change in Europe would be more profound than the Brexit and is likely bring about the circumstances for the image of Daniel 2, where the image stand’s in preparation to oppose Christ.

Further Reading

President Trump would embolden both the Russian Nationalist agenda, and Israel’s Zionist agenda

On By AdminIn Israel, Trump, West Bank2 Comments

In an astonishing turn of events, Donald Trump, who has never held any elected office, will soon hold the most powerful office in the world.

Not only will the real estate tycoon and TV reality star have executive power over the state, but having secured hold of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Trump will have secured a level of power which not even Obama was able to obtain.

Yet throughout his campaign, Trump has defied every convention and turned the presidential race into a reality TV show.

His rash and ostentatious behaviour which is a matter of public record includes threatening to punch protesters, making vulgar statements about women, mimicking a disabled reporter, bragging about trying to have an affair with married women and broadcasting his admission of not paying tax.

While his primitive temperament has stunned much of the upper class, it is no surprise to Bible students who understand that God can – if he so desires – put in place rulers who are the basest of men.

What is of notable significance to Bible students, is his unorthodox approach to US foreign policy, particularly in relation to Europe, Russia and Israel.

Readers might recall that before the Brexit, most world leaders were calling for the UK to stay within the European Union, and many – like UK Prime Minister David Cameron – suggested that a Brexit could result in another World War. Ofcourse, Trump joined the chorus of those who supported the Brexit, despite its potential to significantly degrade peace and stability on the European continent.

Trump on NATO: “Congratulations, you will be defending yourself”

As if European security this was not a problem already, Trump believes that NATO (The European military buffer against Russia) is obsolete.

If we (the US) cannot be properly reimbursed for the tremendous cost of our military protecting other countries… then yes, I would be absolutely prepared to tell those countries, ‘Congratulations, you will be defending yourself.’

DONALD TRUMP – interview with the New York Times (July 20th)

Trump believes that Europe should shift its focus away from Russian deterrence and more toward combating terrorism and dealing with migrant flows.

Degrading NATO in the face of growing Russian Nationalism could very well empower Russia and her interests in Europe and the Middle East.

Trump would recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital

Since 1949 when Israel declared West Jerusalem its capital, and 1967 when Israel captured East Jerusalem, the United States has never once supported Israeli occupation of Jerusalem, or recognised its status as the capital city of Israel.

However, Trump has already told the Prime Minister of Israel that he would recognise Jerusalem as Israels united capital.

Trump acknowledged that Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years, and that the US, under a Trump administration, will finally accept the long-standing congressional mandate to recognise Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the state of Israel

– Trump Campaign statement.

Trump supports Israeli annexation of the West Bank

Perhaps the most internationally provocative of policies is that Trump would support an Israeli annexation of the West Bank which is opposed by virtually all of the international community.

At a time when Israels government under Netanyahu has become very Zionist and his cabinet ministers are publicly speaking about West Bank annexation, this will be a time of great opportunity for Netanyahu’s government who have acknowledged that without Abbas, the West Bank would fall into the hands of the Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas.

It also comes at a time when the Palestinians are using their voice at the United Nations to provoke Israel, and encourage UNESCO to ignore Jewish ties to the land including the Temple Mount, and even the Dead Sea Scrolls.

This is another provocative and audacious attempt by the Palestinians to rewrite history and to erase our connection to our land. The Dead Sea Scrolls are factual and weighty archeological evidence of the presence of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.

Israeli Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama-Hacohen.

There is no doubt that a Trump foreign policy would be a startling difference to the activist policy that has been promulgated under Obama & Hillary.

After the Brexit vote the world is moving into a new era, and one which could ultimately result in the Russian invasion of Israel prophesied in Ezekiel 38.

Russia’s Zhirinovsky threatens war – if Hillary is elected

On By AdminIn RussiaLeave a comment

Zhirinovsky… where to start!

For those not familiar with Russia’s second most influential politician, let me quote the man himself who said this in November 2015 during a parliament session after the incident of a Russian warplane being shot down by a Turkish F-16:

Russia must detonate a nuclear bomb on the Bosphorus to create a 10 meters high tsunami wave that will wipe out at least 9 million Istanbul residents.

Zhirinovsky is a fierce nationalist, notoriously antisemitic and a highly popular vice chairman of the Russian parliament who holds enormous influence amongst the Russian political elite.

At the time of the incident, he predicted – quite accurately – that Turkey would suffer the consequences of shooting down a Russian warplane through a military coup d’état. Within 12 months, Zhirinovsky’s prediction became a reality.

Putin at the time also is reported to have said the same thing – read more here – yet many seem to have forgotten that these threats were made at the time of the incident. Various coup plotters were blamed, but the instigators were never identified.

For two nations who have diametrically opposed religious, cultural and geopolitical interests, the relationship between Russia and Turkey seems to have quickly and awkwardly become very entwined. History would suggest that this will have serious consequences for Turkey.

The Last Break Southward (1995)

The last break southward is the magnum opus of Zhirinovsky in which he expresses his worldview.

“Since the 1980s, I have elaborated a geopolitical conception—the last break southward, Russia’s reach to the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean.”

This is “really the solution for the salvation of the Russian nation … It solves all problems and we gain tranquility.” Russia will rule the space “from Kabul to Istanbul.”

The United States would feel safer with the Russian rule in the region, since wars there would cease under the Russian rule. Perhaps, some people in Kabul, Teheran, or Ankara would not like it but many people would feel better. “The Persians and Turks would suffer a bit but all the rest would gain.”

His book asserts that the “bells of the Orthodox Church must bell from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.” And Jerusalem becomes close. It is necessary that “the Christian world reunifies in Jerusalem.” 

These aspirations are some of the founding principles of Russian nationalism which find their roots in the writings of men like Fyodor Tyutchev – a notable 19th century Russian poet. Tyutchev wrote these words which subsequently came to characterise the Russian nationalism of today:

“Moscow and Peter’s grad, the city of Constantine, these are the capitals of Russian kingdom.

From the Nile to the Neva, from the Elbe to China, from the Volga to the Euphrates, from the Ganges to the Danube, this is the Russian Kingdom and let it be forever,

…just as the Spirit foretold and Daniel prophesied”

~ Fyodor Tyutchev

Quite a grand statement all things considered!

Right in the centre of that aspiring empire, sits Israel and Jerusalem. As we know, Daniel certainly did prophecy that this would eventually happen – Daniel 11:44.

In the most recent turn of events, Zhirinovsky has decided to weigh in on the US presidential elections by saying that “if Hillary Clinton wins, it will be the last US presidency ever”.

In addition to the recent deterioration in diplomatic relations with the US, Russia is posturing for grander ambitions in the Middle East.

The imperialistic ambitions southward are as old as the Tsars themselves, who attempted to invade Turkey when it was global super power. Since then, Turkey has receded into a republic and is far more vulnerable to Russian interests in the middle east.

Whatever the result might be in the US elections within the next few weeks, Zhirinovsky will certainly be a personality worth watching.

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