The introduction of the Mark of the Beast into Australia and surprisingly it is not "a microchip implant".

The Matrix Data Bar-code - the Mark of the Beast

Rather than to bore and frustrate those who are reading this with an overload of information I will try to keep this as brief as possible. Instead, I will just point straight at the Mark of the Beast and identify it for what it is and let those who read this article decide one way or another as to the correctness of the information presented here.

Firstly, eventually we all make mistakes and I am no exception to that rule of thumb. There was only one man who never did anything wrong and that was the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect man. However, I am the only one who is making mistakes, and so in that sense I am not Robinson Crusoe.

As new and fresh information becomes known relative to the fulfilment of the remainder of the Bible prophecies information that I thought may have been correct today may not of necessity be correct.

However, whenever new and fresh information becomes known relative to the fulfilment of the remainder of the Bible prophecies I am one of the first ones to come forth with it, even though it may mean certain assertions that I, and so many others, may have made in the past were wrong.

The Mark of the Beast is now being introduced into Australia and even though I was one of those who had been saying for so long that it was going to be microchip implant, (or a conventional bar code) much to my surprise, it is not as I first thought it would have been.

Accordingly, those who had been saying (and are still saying) the Mark of the Beast was a microchip implant were wrong. As that is the case, I am no exception to that analogy.

The Verichip - a tracking and ID device

If the feedback that I am getting in my day-to-day activities is any indicator at all there is no one that I have ever spoken to who would readily accept a microchip implant under the skin anyway.

Certainly, there are now no doubts at all that a microchip implant under the skin is a very handy tracking device. A microchip is also an excellent form of identification when embedded under the skin.

Nevertheless, there is still nothing to indicate that a microchip implant is the mark of the beast otherwise buying and selling would have started with it a long time before now.

The mark of the beast is the iphone, or similar devices, and those applications that can be downloaded onto the iphone.

However, the problem has always been persistent now, just as it has in the past, with the fragility of human nature the phones can, and will be lost. There also may be the instance of those who do not have, nor have the desire to ever have an iphone.

To solve that problem the wallet application that is going to be initially used to buy and sell with on the iphones will be embedded onto the skin on either the forearm or the forehead and once there it will be able to be scanned for buying and selling with either the Iphone itself initially, or other specially designed devices.

The thought of taking a mark on the skin does not seem to faze too many people at all when tattoos have been around for centuries and centuries.

Be sure to pass this new and startling information onto your friends so that they may avoid taking the mark of the beast on the skin on either the forearm or the forehead.

Now here is an excellent article that explains the mark of the beast in its proper context and thanks to the writer at the following blog for his tireless work in its completion.

http://www.revelationversebyverse.com/2010/03/revelation-chapter-13-verses-16-18.html

Revelation Chapter 13 Verses 16-18
16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Verse 16 tells us that the beast marked his own people. Just as God marked his people in Chapter 7 to indicate that they were his, the beast marks his people in Chapter 13 for the same reason. God knows his people. Satan also knows his people. Everyone on earth then and everyone on earth today is wearing one mark or the other. Each of us belongs to someone.

Verse 17 tells us that no one could buy or sell without the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. When we discussed the letters to the seven churches in Chapters 2-3, we discussed the economic persecution that Christians suffered at the hands of the pagan guilds. A confession that Caesar is Lord was often required before one was allowed to buy or sell. Those who refused to make that confession were perceived as unpatriotic and suffered severe economic hardships.

Verse 18 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible, ranking up there with John 3:16. It has entered the public consciousness to a greater degree than any other verse in this book. People who can’t even name the four gospels can still tell you more than you care to hear (from them, anyway) about 666.

Verse 18 begins with a call for wisdom, and yet that verse has spawned a great deal of foolishness. Did you know that the modern barcode is the mark of the beast and an indication that we are living in the end times? Some say so. The two bars that denote ‘6’ appear at the beginning, middle, and end of every barcode found on the back cover of most books. Terry Cook in his book The Mark of the New World Order writes that “the entire [UPC barcode] system is very deceptively designed around the infamous numerical configuration, Biblically known as 666, the mark of the Antichrist or devil.” Mary Stewart Relfe in her book The New Money System 666 writes that “the Prophet John identified this Cashless System of Commerce 1900 years ago as one in which business would be transacted with a ‘Mark’ and a Number; the Mark will obviously be a Bar Code; the Number will be ‘666;’ the combination of the two, about which you will read in this book, will be an integral part of the ‘666 System.” Ridiculous? Yes, extremely so, but sadly not uncommon when it comes to explanations of 666.

Verse 18 tells us that the number of the beast is 666, a human number. What does that mean? The number 7 means perfection. By contrast, the number 6 means imperfection. The number 6 denotes something that had fallen hopelessly short of perfection. Man was created on the sixth day, and he fell from perfection. The number 3 is the number of divinity. Thus, three 6’s depict something that has fallen hopelessly short of divine perfection. It had aspirations of being a 777, but it fell far short.

Does that symbol accurately describe this beast? Yes! No symbol could describe it any better! This beast represents the false perverted religious side of Rome. It represents the man-made Roman religion that worshiped the creature rather than the creator. God is 777! Rome is 666! It is a beautiful symbol that shows the stark contrast between God and his creation. Nothing man-made can ever be a 777.
Hailey: “666 stands for the complete and total failure of all human systems and efforts antagonistic to God and His Christ — all are doomed to ultimate and complete defeat and failure.”

But can this really be all there is to 666! Surely it must be something more than that! We need to view this symbol in the proper perspective. The 666 symbol is just another symbol in this book full of symbols. It may stand apart from the other symbols in modern consciousness, but it does not stand apart from them in the text. Yes, 666 is a wonderfully descriptive symbol, but there are many other wonderfully descriptive symbols in Revelation. We must remember that this book was primarily intended to provide comfort to the first century Christians who were suffering intense persecution by Rome. If our interpretation of the book ignores that fundamental fact, then our interpretation is almost certainly wrong. The church needed to know that Rome was a 666! (Let’s keep all of this in mind as we get closer to discussing the 1000 year reign with Christ in Revelation 20.)

And the church needs to understand today that there are many, many 666’s in our own world. We are surrounded by man-made churches, man-made religions, and man-made philosophies — and all of them are just 666. There are many so-called churches today that should have 666 printed on their signs out front because they are a man-made church proclaiming a man-made gospel. Nothing made by man can ever be a 777. And on that great last day, the last thing you want to rely on is a 666. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) That name is 777!

Last week we considered several possible reasons why there are two beasts in Chapter 13. There is an additional possibility that we should consider as well. According to Roman mythology, Rome was founded by the twin brothers, Romulus and Remus. That same mythology tells us that Romulus was the first king of Rome, and that shortly after their birth the twins were ordered to be killed by exposure, but they survived and were nursed by a wolf — which is often depicted in Roman art and Roman coins.

Because Romulus was raised by a wolf, one early source called him “the son of the beast.” It is possible that the two beasts in Revelation 13 are pointing all the way back to the two mythological founders of Rome.

With regard to verse 18, one commentator has noted that “no verse in Revelation has received more attention than this one with its cryptic reference to the number of the beast.”

Last week we discussed the famous number 666 in verse 18, and we concluded that it depicts something that has fallen hopelessly short of divine perfection, which would be denoted by 777. As Lenski explained about 666:

In other words, not 777, but competing with 777, seeking to obliterate 777, but doing so abortively, its failure being as complete as was its expansion by puffing itself up from 6 to 666.

There is another possible significance for 666 that we should discuss, and it stems from something called gematria. Gematria refers to the representation of words by their numerical equivalents so that the number conveys a message.

We know that the use of gematria was common at the time. At Pergamum, inscribed stones have been found containing numerical riddles based on gematria. Graffiti from the ruins of Pompeii reads “I love her whose number is 545” and “Amerimnus thought upon his lady Harmonia for good. The number of her honorable name is 45.” A difficult passage in Suetonius is explained by noting that Nero is there numerically resolved into “matricide.” One commentator states that “gematria was widely used in apocalyptic [literature] because of its symbolic and enigmatic quality.”

Here are the questions we need to consider: (1) Is the reference to 666 in verse 18 an example of gematria? (2) If so, then to what or to whom does it refer? (3) And, again if so, is that meaning the primary meaning of the symbol or a secondary meaning?

Let’s start with the third question first. Earlier we discussed the symbolic meaning of 666 as something that has fallen hopelessly short of the divine 777, and we saw how that symbol perfectly depicted the second beast from the earth. That fit is so perfect and is explained so well in terms of the symbol 7 (around which this entire book is constructed), I am convinced that this symbolic understanding of 666 is the primary meaning behind the symbol. And so, if we determine that gematria is in use in verse 18, I submit it must be a secondary meaning of the symbol. And there is some additional evidence for that view — the verse itself begins with a call for wisdom, which may be an indication that a dual meaning is involved here. We have discussed before how difficult it is to determine secondary meanings for prophecies absent being explicitly told by God. There is no such explicit statement here, but there may nevertheless be a suggestion.

So, that leaves us with two questions — was gematria used, and, if so, to what or to whom does it refer?

Before we answer those questions, we should pause to consider an important warning. One has to be very careful when heading off into this direction in the Bible because right near the edge there is a very steep slope heading straight down into sheer speculation and utter nonsense. Those going down this road sometimes find themselves trying to read some numerical significance into every word of the Bible. Many books have been published that claim to have discovered a secret code in the Bible that predicts the names, locations, and dates of future events. What those books fail to tell you is that those same methods could be applied to almost any book to obtain similar secret messages.

We need to be particularly careful with gematria because, as we know, it is possible to prove anything with numbers if one is willing to twist the facts while ignoring the context and all other evidence to the contrary. Some people treat numbers and statistics in the same way that a drunk treats a lamppost — for support rather than for illumination!

Here are two quick examples: Here’s a numerical “proof” that Hitler was the antichrist. Let A = 100, B = 101, C = 102, etc. and note that 107 (H) + 108 (I) + 119 (T) + 111 (L) + 104 (E) + 117 (R) = 666! Or, consider the following numerical “proof” that Shakespeare translated the King James version of the Bible: How old was Shakespeare in 1611 when the King James version was published? 46. The 46th word in Psalm 46 is “shake.” The 46th word from the end of Psalm 46 is “spear.” Coincidence? Certainly. Silly? Yes. More silly than most of the crazy notions people have about 666? No. People need to quit looking for secret messages in the Bible and start obeying the message that is clear for all to understand.

But with that said, anyone who studies 666 and the history of its interpretation must be struck some strange curiosities. For example, we all know the six Roman numbers: I(1), V(5), X(10), L(50), C(100), and D(500). What do you get when you add up the values of the five Roman numbers? 666. Take the first seven primes numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, and 17) and sum their squares: 4 + 9 + 25 + 49 + 121 + 169 + 289. What do you get? 666. Spooky! (and irrelevant!)

So, going back to the text, is gematria used in verse 18? Possibly. We know that gematria was common at the time, and we know that some of the earliest commentaries on Revelation have turned to gematria to explain this verse.
But then what could 666 denote? There are a number of words and names that could be represented as 666, depending on the language we choose (Hebrew, Greek, Latin) and how we then associate letters in that language with numbers. Having this many variables makes it very difficult to determine which (if any) was the word or phrase that God intended for us to associate with 666.

We should probably not expect a perfect fit. Why? Because in my view the primary meaning of 666 does not rely on gematria but rather relies on the symbolic meaning of 666 as falling short of 777. That is, the number 666 was not chosen to represent a name but was chosen for its symbolic significance. It may also represent a name, but if it does we should probably not expect the same perfect fit we would have had if the number had been chosen solely on that basis.

There is evidence that some have tried to change the text to make what they consider a better fit. Some of your Bibles may have a footnote that says some early texts have 616 in verse 18 rather than 666. Lenski describes that textual issue:

This is not a faulty transcription but a deliberate alteration that was made very early and against which the strongest protest was at once raised. The alteration was made so that by gematria the number would fit the emperor [Caligula]. This was the man who made the effort to have his image erected in the Temple at Jerusalem...

Thus, those early texts that show 616 in place of 666 most likely represent someone’s attempt to make the number 666 a better fit for someone’s name by changing it to 616. The correct value is 666.

But those early manuscripts with 616 do tell us something important. Those changes from 666 to 616 confirm that from very early in its history commentators have understood verse 18 to include an example of gematria. We should not be too quick to discount viewpoints that are closely related in time to the original readers of this book.

So what could 666 represent? There are numerous candidates, but, not surprisingly, the leading candidate is Nero, whose name could also be said to denote Domitian as Nero Redivivus. Various numerical representations will give you 666 from either Nero Caesar or Neron (the Latin form of his name that appears, for example, in the subscript in the KJV at the end of 2nd Timothy), but other names can be made to fit as well. In short, no one can be certain that gematria is used, and if it is used, no one can be certain who is represented, but Nero is a likely candidate because of the context of verse 18.

Let’s next consider the other side of the argument. A very good case can be made for the proposition that no gematria at all is involved in verse 18. For example, verse 18 omits a definite article before “man,” which may indicate that no particular man is in mind. Also, as one commentator notes, “what is not generally stressed is that [the most commonly given] solution [pointing to Nero] asks you to calculate a Hebrew transliteration of the Greek form of a Latin name, and that with a defective spelling.” Lenski gives us other objections as well:

It is surprising to note how many men think that “666” is the product of gematria. ... Yet nowhere is Scripture, nowhere in Revelation do we meet with another case of gematria. ... A number that is produced by gematria would remain an insoluble conundrum; yet the very title of this book is “Revelation.” ... Take some name and set down the value of each of its letters, add these, write the sum. A hundred other names may produce the same sum.

Those are all good objections, and some of them are even compelling. But with those objections stated, I still believe it is possible that 666 has a secondary significance based on gematria, and I would point to verses 17-18 for support as well as the view of ancient commentators on that subject.

So, in summary, my opinion is that the primary significance of 666 is that it falls hopelessly short of the divine perfection denoted by 777. That idea fits perfectly with the context of this second beast representing the false perverted religion of Rome. I also think there is possibly a secondary meaning in which 666 denotes Nero.

What then is the setting at the end of Chapter 13? A terrible dragon has given his authority to a seven headed beast that has arisen from the sea. The beast is killed but comes back to life. A second beast arises and looks like a lamb but sounds like a dragon. The second beast performs signs and wonders and causes the earth to worship the first beast. The chapter ends with the whole earth in the spell of the dragon and the beasts.

What does the church need at this point? The church needs comfort and assurance, which is exactly what Chapter 14 provides.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

The Great Serpent, the Red Dragon, and the Soaring War Eagle

The book of Revelation gives us an incredible window into what is going on today and what is soon to transpire. Prophecy paints for us an awesome picture of three amazing symbolic creatures—a Serpent, a Dragon, and an Eagle.

What do these symbols mean? Is the meaning behind these symbols deeper than we can imagine? Why does God use symbols in the books of Revelation and Daniel?

Is the Great Serpent, the Red Dragon, and the Soaring War Eagle—Israel, China, and America?

If the following comments by a quite well known rabbi are any indicator, it now seems that is the instance? Now read on...

Iran calls Israel's existence an 'insult,' as prominent rabbi warns it's more than rhetoric

Aug. 17, 2012: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at the conclusion of an annual pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran. (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran – Israel's existence is an "insult to all humanity," Iran's president said Friday in one of his sharpest attacks yet against the Jewish state, as Israel openly debates whether to attack Iran over its nuclear program.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said confronting Israel is an effort to "protect the dignity of all human beings."

"The existence of the Zionist regime is an insult to all humanity," Ahmadinejad said. He was addressing worshippers at Tehran University after nationwide pro-Palestinian rallies, an annual event marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

The comments are "reminiscent" of a letter written about the Jews and signed by Adolf Hitler in 1919, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Founder and Dean of the Simon Wisenthal Center, says.

"Even though Ahmadinejad is attacking the state of Israel, we know what he means," Rabbi Hier said.

Israel considers Iran an existential threat because of its nuclear and missile programs, support for radical anti-Israel groups on its borders and repeated references by Iranian leaders to Israel's destruction.

Ahmadinejad himself has repeatedly made such calls, as has Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Rabbi Hier compares Ahmadinejad's comments to the notion found in Hitler’s letter referencing the "removal of Jews all together." "Twenty-two years later he implemented everything, and the same is true about Ahmadinejad," Rabbi Hier said.

"We assume it's only rhetoric, but we once paid a very high price for assuming Hitler was talking rhetoric," he said.

The leader of the Lebanese Shiite militant Hezbollah, which has ties to Iran, says his group will transform the lives of millions of Israelis to "hell" if Israel attacks Lebanon.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says the group has a list of Israeli targets that it can hit with few rockets.

"We can transform the lives of millions of Zionists in occupied Palestine to a real hell," he said.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a deadly, inconclusive monthlong war in 2006, when Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel.

Iran has denied allegations that it is seeking to build nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed at producing electricity and radioisotopes used to treat cancer patients.

Israel has been carrying on an increasingly public debate about whether to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel's official position is to favor diplomatic and economic measures to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, but Israel insists that Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons. Israeli leaders say "all options are on the table," a clear reference to a military strike, if they determine that other measures have failed.

"You are not going to make a deal with the Iranians, not under their current leadership," Rabbi Hier said.

Iran has warned it would hit back at Israel if it is attacked, also threatening to strike at American interests in the region.

Ahmadinejad called Israel "a corrupt, anti-human organized minority group standing up to all divine values."

"Today, confronting the existence of the fabricated Zionist regime is in fact protecting the rights and dignity of all human beings," said Ahmadinejad, with a black and white scarf many Palestinians wear around his neck.

Iran and Israel have been bitter enemies for decades. Khamenei has called Israel a "cancerous tumor" that must be wiped out.

"This is a threat to wipe out the state of Israel," Rabbi Hier said. "We should take these people at their word."

Tensions between Iran and Israel have intensified since 2005, when Ahmadinejad said in a speech that Israel will one day be "wiped off the map."

But Rabbi Hier said he does not "subscribe at all with those who say this is a legitimate form of rhetoric."

"The only way to stop what's happening in Iran is for at least the United States and her allies to say, 'How long are we going to sit by and take this threat?'" he said.

The Iranian president has also described the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were killed by German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II, as a "myth."

"Most intellectuals in 1939 and 1938 did not think Hitler was serious, they thought they knew better, but they didn't know better, and we paid a dear price that we were not on the right side of history," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

Can twitter help expose psychopath killers' traits?

Ted Bundy, most psychopaths are not Hannibal Lecters

Scientists are trying to discover if we can spot a psychopathic killer using anything he or she has written, from a tweet to a blog post. The researchers want to take methods used to analyze the language of psychopaths and apply it to the general population using social media, reports CBS News.

Professors Jeff Hancock from Cornell University, and Michael T. Woodworth and Stephen Porter from the University of British Columbia studied hardcore criminals, including “14 psychopathic and 38 non-psychopathic homicide offenders.”

According to the study’s abstract, psychopaths often use cause-and-effect descriptors like “because” and “since.” They tend to focus on material needs like money, food and drinks. There are fewer references to family or religion. There was a higher frequency of “uh” and “um,” which indicates that emotional events are difficult for them to describe. Finally, they tend to talk in the past tense, which indicates psychological detachment from an incident.

Because they take the text and calculate percentage, it makes it possible to use data as little as 140 character tweets. The study will be published in the Legal and Criminological Psychology journal.

 There might be one in your family. Just quietly, psychopaths make great CEO material

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

How Close Is Israel To Attacking Iran?

Security and Defence: Taking a ‘bridge loan’
By YAAKOV KATZ

Most security officials agree the IDF can hit Iran’s nuclear program.

Ramat David Air Force Base is located in the picturesque Jezreel Valley in northern Israel. If it were not for the occasional F-16 fighter jet that takes off there every few hours, a visitor would be forgiven for mistaking its rolling green pastures for those in Tuscany.

Due to its proximity to the northern border, Ramat David will be a prime target for Hezbollah and Syria in a future war. For that reason the base has put a strong emphasis over the past year on “operational continuity,” a new IDF concept aimed at ensuring that during a future war, planes will be able to take-off, land to refuel and rearm, and take-off again.

The base’s trademark, however, is the F-16 fighter jets that are parked in its hangers and whose job it is to protect Israel from threats originating in the North. Every day or so, the jets are scrambled to intercept incoming civilian aircraft that fail to respond to Israel’s air traffic control and raise concern of a potential 9/11-like attack.

In July 1980, Israel received its first batch of four F-16s, which were flown to Ramat David by American pilots.

The delivery of the planes was somewhat of a fluke since they had originally been intended for delivery to Iran.

But in late 1979, then-US secretary of defense Harold Brown came to Israel and offered his counterpart Ezer Weizman the opportunity to purchase the jets, since they could not longer be supplied to Iran following the Islamic revolution. Israel immediately agreed and later used the planes in Operation Opera, the bombing in 1981 of the Osirak reactor in Iraq.

“At least we gained something from the Islamic revolution in Iran,” a senior IAF officer recently said in jest.

In 2007, Ramat David again played a key role in the bombing of the second nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel.

According to a report in Der Spiegel, the planes which bombed the al-Kibar nuclear facility in northwest Syria also took off from there.

While the IAF still has some of the old-model F-16s it received from the US in the early 1980s, it has spent the past 15 years upgrading its fleet, the backbone of which consists today of the F-16I known as the “Sufa” (Storm) and the F-15I known as the “Ra’am” (Thunder). Israel has a total of 101 F16Is and 25 F15Is.

If and when Israel attacks Iran’s nuclear facilities it will be looking to cause a storm with a lot of thunder.

Ramat David’s location in the North could make it the base the IAF would choose to use in the event that Israel attacks Iran, enabling it to conserve fuel for a mission during which every drop will count.

ULTIMATELY, THERE are three major questions Israeli military planners need to ask themselves before embarking on such an operation.

Firstly, can IAF F-15s and F-16s fly to where they need to go with the appropriate munitions? Secondly, will they be able to overcome Iran’s air force and air defense systems? And thirdly, will they be able to penetrate the facilities, some of which – like Fordow and Natanz – have been built deep underground? This is why, when it comes to the viability of Israel’s military option, the answer depends on who you ask.

Either way, the general assessment within the IDF and shared by the three recent chiefs of staff – Dan Halutz, Gabi Ashkenazi and Benny Gantz – is that Israel has the ability to knock out some of Iran’s key facilities. However, they agree that the extent of the damage would set the Iranian nuclear program back by only a few years, rather than completely destroying it. For this reason, one IDF general has termed such an attack a “bridge loan,” in reference to the short-term bank loan homebuyers use to tide them over until they can secure permanent financing.

This is primarily because Iran has already mastered the technology. Even if Israel causes significant damage to a number of key facilities in the nuclear production line, it is just a matter of time before Iran makes the necessary repairs and has the facilities up and running again.

In 2006, Moshe Ya’alon, who had just stepped down as IDF chief of staff and was mulling an entry into politics, gave a lecture at the Hudson Institute in Washington, and provided crucial insight into how the IDF viewed such an operation.

Firstly, Ya’alon said, Israel would need to attack a few dozen sites.

Secondly, the strikes would need to be “precise, like a targeted killing” – in reference to the IAF’s expertise in striking terrorists with precise munitions in the crowded streets of the Gaza Strip.

Thirdly, Israel would have to “disrupt” Iran’s air-defense systems and could use other capabilities to do so, not just aircraft, Ya’alon said without elaborating. The assumption was that he was referring to Israel’s electronic warfare capabilities, rumored to have been used successfully when IAF jets infiltrated Syria in 2007 to bomb the country’s nuclear reactor.

Ultimately, Ya’alon concluded, such a strike would be difficult but feasible.

Ya’alon holds by this assessment today even though some six years have passed since the Hudson lecture.

While Defense Minister Ehud Barak has argued that just nine months or so are left for Israel to stop Iran – before it moves into the so-called “immunity zone,” following which a strike would no longer be effective – Ya’alon has argued that this is not the case.

“Anything built by man can be destroyed by man,” he said earlier this month, stressing that as a former chief of staff he knew what he was talking about.

What is certain is that Iran has learned the lessons from Iraq and Syria.

Instead of keeping all of its eggs in one basket, it has scattered its nuclear facilities throughout the country, some of them in eastern Iran, making the attack mission even more difficult for Israeli aircraft.

Military planners would also likely feel compelled to attack Iran’s centrifuge fabrication sites, since their destruction would make it extremely difficult for Iran to reestablish its program – although the destruction of Natanz, Arak, Isfahan and Fordow on their own would be enough to set back the Ayatollah’s dream of obtaining the bomb. Other targets would likely include Iran’s ballistic missiles and launchers.

While the operation would be done mostly by air, Israel could, according to foreign reports, also potentially utilize its Jericho roadmobile, two-stage solid-propellant missile, which has ranges varying from around 1,900 to over 4,800 kilometers and is capable of carrying a one-ton conventional or non-conventional warhead. The latest version of the missile – called Jericho III and tested in early 2008 – has enhanced accuracy and puts every Arab capital, including Tehran, within striking distance of Israel.

Israel also has three Dolphin-class German-made submarines, which according to foreign news reports, can carry cruise missiles capable of delivering a large warhead to ranges of over 100 km. Some reports suggest that the subs might be capable of carrying nuclear-armed Popeye Turbo cruise missiles, granting Israel second-strike capabilities.

But the question ultimately comes down to how close Israel really is to attacking Iran. Judging by the events that preceded the strike against the Syrian reactor in 2007, it is highly likely that the meeting on March 5 between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama will be critical for Israel as it nears a final decision.

What the two leaders say to one another in the Oval Office will have an impact not only on what decision Netanyahu makes but also what happens the day after he makes that decision.

If, for example, Israel decides to attack, Netanyahu will need to ensure that he can depend on US support – diplomatic and military – in the aftermath. If Israel decides not to attack, Netanyahu will need to walk away from the meeting with a commitment that Obama will stop Iran at all costs, even with military force.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

The Dark Night in Denver—Groping for Answers

By Dr. Albert Mohler
The news hit the airwaves like a sudden onslaught, and the truth began to sink in. It has happened again. This time, 50 people shot while attending the midnight premier of the last in the Batman sequence, “The Dark Knight Rises.” According to press reports, a 24-year-old man burst into the crowded theater, wearing a gas mask and carrying an arsenal. After deploying what is believed to be tear gas, he opened fire with a shotgun, a rifle, and two handguns. At least 12 people are dead, and dozens are injured, many critically.

Over 100 police officers responded to the scene in Aurora, just a few miles from Columbine High School, where in 1999 two high school students killed 12 fellow students and one teacher in a rampage that also injured 21 other students. That school massacre became a milestone in the nation’s legacy of violence. Now, yet another Denver suburb joins that tragic list.

The inevitable media swarm focuses on the data first—the who, what, when, and where questions. Then they, along with the public at large, begin to ask the why question. That is always the hard one.

The same vexing but inescapable question comes every time a Columbine happens or an Anders Behring Breivik attempts to justify his mass homicide. How could such a thing happen? How could a human being do such a thing?

There is no easy answer to this question. The easy answers are never satisfying, and they are often based in the confused moral calculus of popular culture. We assume there must have been a political motivation, a psychiatric disturbance, a sociological pressure...anything that will offer a satisfying explanation that will assure us. Wave after wave of analysis is offered, and sometimes some horrifying clues emerge. But the moral madness of mass homicide can never be truly explained.

Christians are driven by instinct to think in biblical and theological terms. But, how should that instinct be guided?

The Reality of Human Evil

First, Christians know that the human heart is capable of great evil. Human history includes a catalog of human horrors. The twentieth century, described by historian Eric Hobsbawm as the century of “megadeath,” included a list of names such as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, and Charles Manson. But those murderers did their killing from a distance, at least usually. Those who carry out the murders themselves are even more haunting to us. The young man arrested in this case, 24-year-old James Holmes, looks disarmingly normal.

The Fall released human moral evil into the cosmos, and every single human being is a sinner, tempted by a full range of sinfulness. When someone does something as seemingly unthinkable as this, we often question how anyone could do such a thing. The prophet Jeremiah spoke to this when he lamented,

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Human beings are capable of unspeakable moral evil. We are shocked by such atrocities, but only because we have some distance from the last one. We cannot afford to be shocked when humans commit grotesque moral evil. It tells us the truth about unbridled human sin.

The Grace of Moral Restraint

Second, we must be thankful for restraints on moral evil. Christians must not underestimate the potential of any human being—ourselves included—to commit moral horror. We know ourselves to be sinners, and we know ourselves to be capable of sins we do not actually commit. Why do we not commit them?

God restrains human sinfulness. If the fullness of human sin was set loose, humanity would destroy itself. God restrains human evil by several means. First, he has created us in his image, and at least part of this image is what we call conscience. The moral conscience is a powerful restraint on human evil, and for this we must be exceedingly thankful. At the same time, the human conscience is also warped by the Fall and no longer fully trustworthy. We have developed the capacity to ignore the conscience, torture the conscience, and even misdirect the conscience by moral rationalization. Nevertheless, the restraint of the conscience is fundamental, and for that we must be very thankful.

God has also established institutions and orders that restrain human evil. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 13, God gave us the institution of government in order to restrain evil and to punish the evildoer. He has also given us the institution of marriage and the family and the larger order of society in order to restrain evil. We are surrounded by a complex of laws and statutes and social expectations and civic associations. All these function to restrain evil.

At the foundation of these restraints is the fear of God, which, even in an increasingly secular society, still retains a more powerful force than is often acknowledged.

Evil Answered at the Cross

Third, we must admit that there will be no fully satisfying answer to these questions in this life. Christians know that God is sovereign, and that nothing is outside of his control. We also know that he allows evil to exist, and human beings to commit moral atrocities. We cannot deny the sovereignty of God to be denied and evil allowed its independent existence, and yet we cannot deny the reality of evil and the horror of its threat to be lessened. We are reminded that evil can be answered only by a cross.

Theologian Henri Blocher explains this truth vividly in these words:

“Evil is conquered as evil because God turns it back upon itself. He makes the supreme crime, the murder of the only righteous person, the very operation that abolishes sin. The maneuver is utterly unprecedented. No more complete victory could be imagined. God responds in the indirect way that is perfectly suited to the ambiguity of evil. He entraps the deceiver in his own wiles. Evil, like a judoist, takes advantage of the power of good, which it perverts; the Lord, like a supreme champion, replies by using the very grip of the opponent.”

We must grieve with those who grieve. We must pray for Gospel churches in the Denver area who will be called upon for urgent ministry. We must pray for our nation and communities. And we must pray that God will guard ourselves from evil—especially our own evil. And we must point to the cross. What other answer can we give?

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

World War Three has begun as the battle for Damascus escalates

If Damascus falls, Israel and its gas fields feared threatened

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 17, 2012, 2:32 PM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian military forces were gathered in Tuesday, July 17, to save Damascus.

Tanks and armored vehicles were positioned in strength in the capital’s centre and around government buildings. However, the noise and fury of battle in the Syrian capital Tuesday, July 17, were produced, Debkafile’s military sources report, by six battalions of Bashar Assad’s loyal Allawite militia in clashes with the rebels who captured the two southern suburbs of Meidan and Tadmon Monday. They are trying to pound the enemy into extinction before its forces reach central Damascus.

The two beleaguered districts are home to a quarter of the capital’s 1.8 million inhabitants.

The Syrian general staff has withdrawn its command headquarters to a well-fortified complex on Shuhada Street in the capital’s center.

If Damascus falls and Assad is cornered, the entire region stands in peril of wider repercussions, because neither he nor Tehran will take defeat lying down.

Debkafile’s military sources report their campaign will be paced and scaled according to the momentum of the Syrian rebels’ advance on Bashar Assad’s door-step, which could be drawn out and bloody.

On the Iranian-Hizballah list are Middle East oil installations as well as Israeli, US, Turkish, Saudi and Jordanian strategic targets.

Saturday, the Cypriot police captured a Hizballah terrorist before he could blow up an Israeli El Al flight and tourist buses in Limassol.

Tehran is feared to be focusing on the Mediterranean island as part of a plot to set Israel’s Mediterranean gas field Tamar on fire. The field is 80 kilometers west of Haifa

It would be a spectacular curtain-raiser for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and for strikes against Gulf oil installations.

Navy Commander, Maj. Gen. Ram Rothberg called last week for an extra five warships and submarines to safeguard Israel’s burgeoning gas fields at the cost of a billion dollars.

The Syrian ruler has stoked up the menace by moving out of storage missiles and shells armed with mustard gas, sarin nerve gas and cyanide stockpiled for years.

They are on operational readiness at Homs, Latakia and Aleppo and, according to Nawaf Fares,

Syrian ex-ambassador to Iraq who defected to the opposition, may already have been used against rebel concentrations.

The longer the battle for Damascus goes on, the greater the danger that the Syrian ruler will release his poison-tipped missiles against Israel, Turkey and Jordan.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

The End Game of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad: And What that Might Mean?

The sociopathic war criminal, Bashar al-Assad

By Tom Payne
Whenever I initially mention the name of Bashar al-Assad I refer to him as the sociopathic war criminal, because it is accurate. This unflattering estimate seems to be shared by a growing number of his closest associates and it points to the potential for a quick end to this sad son who followed too closely in the footsteps of his father, the equally brutal Hafez al-Assad.

There are reports that three generals in his inner circle have fled to Turkey for sanctuary. Two of the generals were leaders of the Shabiha paramilitary that was savagely attacking the opposition and civilian populations. These commanders are Gen. Mohamed Tatouh, Deputy chief of Syrian political intelligence, and Gen. Mohamed Kodissia, deputy chief of the “Palestinian” Intelligence agency.

Evidently, the “Palestinian” addition to his title is a ruse as he is concerned with other intelligence issues. Finally, the Sunni Maj. Gen. Adnan Nawras Salou, former head of the chemical warfare authority (until 2008) left with six other generals in tow. These revelations come from the DebkaFile, a Jerusalem based news agency specializing in intelligence in the Middle East and elsewhere.

This is impressive news, but here is the bomb shell. These defectors were able to get their families out of Syria as well. This means that they were planning for weeks on a complex operation, and successfully executing it, underneath the noses of the supposedly well-informed intel network protecting Assad and his interests. This in turn means Assad is exposed and vulnerable and probably as scared and dangerous as a cornered rat.

What might this lead to? The permutations are endless, but the first likely option is the intervention of Iran to protect one of its only allies, Syria, their lifeline to Hezbollah. If a Sunni rises to power in Syria, where is Hezbollah? Who will store their missiles, as Syria now does (unless they’ve recently been moved)? Syria’s influence in Lebanon has been strong for many years and if Assad, the member of a Shiite sect, falls, who will support Shiite Hezbollah in the region?

The Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran

Hezbollah’s importance to Iran is only this. They have few missiles that can reach Israel from Iran. But they have tens of thousands that can reach them from southern Lebanon. Therefore, expect Iran to intervene in some capacity. It could be in this one: they realize they are about to be check mated (shah mat, the king is dead; chess came from Persia/Iran) so they do to the West what the West has done to them: they hurt us economically by actually shutting the Strait of Hormuz for weeks and then slowing traffic for months with the occasional strike. And they could decide to use all of those missiles in southern Lebanon while they still can since they may never have a better chance to hurt the Little Satan, Israel.

America should never forget that in the minds of these Muslim extremists, we are the Great Satan. Their missiles might not reach us yet, but their terrorists can. What it comes to is this. You may hate Israel or you may love Israel, but what ultimately matters is whether or not Israel’s interests and ours parallel one another. Should Iran make a desperation play to destroy Israel (an unlikely outcome) and cripple the economy of the West (a more likely outcome), can their be any doubt who we need to be working with and who against?

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST; John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.