Bishops Take Heed

Ezekiel 38 on the Horizon?

Rabbis: Flotilla Clash Foreshadowing of Gog and Magog Prophecy

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/

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The Rabbinical Council of Judea and Samaria issued a statement Thursday in which it said that the results of the incident in which Israel intercepted a flotilla trying to break the naval blockade of Gaza seem like the Biblical description of "the beginning of the Gog and Magog process where the world is against us, but which ends with the third and final redemption."

The statement explained that while secular Zionism always wants Israel to be beloved by other nations, “the legitimacy of our people is not derived from the nations of the world and their poisonous traditions, rather from the Torah of Israel which teaches us that Israel 'is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations'" (Numbers 23:9). They emphasized that there is no reason to be alarmed by the world's condemnation as it is a predicted result of fear of Israel's success.

The Council blessed the soldiers of the IDF and called for the formation of an emergency unity government that will lead the nation from a position of strength.

The Council was formed by Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beit El and includes leading religious Zionist rabbis who are the spiritual leaders of communities in Judea and Samaria.

'Gog and Magog' is a reference is to chapters 38 and 39 in the book of Ezekiel, a part of which is read on the intermediate Sabbath of Sukkot (Tabernacles). These chapters describe a vision of a war where the world is united against Israel that will precede the final redemption of Israel and the world. The prophecy's symbolism involves a prince called Gog of Magog, leader of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, who leads a coalition that includes Persia (Iran), Cush, Phut, Gomer, and Beit Togarmah against Israel. There are various opinions regarding the modern identity of these nations, however one of the commonly pointed to nations is Turkey. Turkey has been at the center of this clash and many observers point to the continued deteriorating relations between the two countries as evidence the formation of Ezekiel 38 is coming to pass.

As a sampling of passages from Ezekiel 39 shows, the prophesy predicts that the coalition will be defeated by Israel, at a time following Israel's gathering from its exile:

And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: Thus saith the Lord G-d: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn thee about and lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel; and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples that are with thee; I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field, to be devoured.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have compassion upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. And they shall bear their shame, and all their breach of faith which they have committed against Me, when they shall dwell safely in their land, and none shall make them afraid; when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations.

And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there; neither will I hide My face any more from them; for I have poured out My spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.'

The dramatic flotilla incident and the international reactions to it have sparked intense emotion, and unusual unity, among the Jewish public in Israel.

Flotilla Choir presents: We Con the World 

Satire is not for everyone but the battle for Israel right now is one of PR 
and Youtube videos is one of those fronts.

Stay Natural

LIKE PLANT OR TREE, WE FARE BEST WHEN WE'RE 'NATURAL' AND CAREFUL NOT TO FORCE THINGS

It's the time of year when gardens and landscaping are running back at full tilt and as we watch what God created sprout and grow, it is a good time to meditate upon how they grow, and the way it hurts plants when we force things.

Have you not noticed that? The more you try to pressure a plant into flourishing at the pace or size you want it to flourish, the worse it seems to do, even unto killing it with too much water or fertilizer. It is important to let things flow in a way that is natural.

Note your lawn. It takes just the right kind of nourishment to make it flourish. When you underfertilze, it may turn brown, as it may also turn yellow if you over-fertilize it (or even burn out). Just the right amount of sun turns a plant green; too much burns the leaves. A lack of water causes a plant to wilt, while too much will cause it to rot.

The same is true in our own lives: pushing beyond what is planned will cause us to be stunted. All must be done in the proportion of the Holy Spirit. We break things or cause them to prematurely mature when we force issues out of God's place (he has assigned a locale for you) and timing. This is written in the blueprint of your life.

We have our place of blessing just as a plant fares best in precisely the area of yard where it belongs -- where it gets just the right amount of sunlight and water. Don't press matters. Don't force things on your spouse or kids. Guide and suggest, yes; at times (with children) you must insist. But make sure you are in the flow of the Holy Spirit. Translation: pray before every single decision or action and make sure you have prayed enough.

That is one thing you can't overdo: pleading with the Lord from the heart.

The purpose of life is to awaken to God in all things in order to find true peace and love, which come from helping our fellow man achieve the same state of being, where power is unlimited and miracles happen.

Call it "miracle-gro" for the spirit. Really, isn't it miraculous how a plant unfolds? Often the best thing to do is to let go. Let it go and let Him flow. What happens when you try to jam the wrong key into a door: does the door open or the key break?

When we try to control too much the result is wasted time and frustration. We structure things too tightly. Take that afternoon off and work when you get back. Your spirit will be energized.

Be patient. You may note that watching a plant every second and trying to nurture it obsessively causes frustration. It is nearly as if the plant slows down in response to your imbalance. It is like waiting for water to boil.

Sometimes we have to stop watering and just let a plant work with nature on its own.

The same is true of humans. Don't force things to be "big" in the world, beyond how they were meant. Here we recall the way Jesus cursed a fig tree -- causing it to wilt because it was using resources but bearing no fruit. It was a full tree, but it was pretending to be something it was not.

Neither the tree nor the temple (with its money-changers) were as they appeared and thus met with the displeasure (and correction) of Christ. At least, this is another way of viewing it. By their fruits you will know them; by our fruits are we known. We can put on any kind of a front -- a facade -- we want, but in the end who we really are will be reflected in what we produce.

And the more we produce, and the better it is, the more we are blessed.

An excellent fig tree may look small but be filled with fruit under every leaf.

Forget appearances. When we use the gifts God gave us, His Spirit flows through and heals as it courses in our veins and blossoms into fruit or flowers or however we may want to picture it.

We are "grown" according to our fruits. The eyes of the world are meaningless; in fact, often a good barometer of what you should not be doing is what the world wants and entices you to do. How hard it is for even the most "religious" to sever admiration for materialism!

Don't force things. Be natural. Find balance. And let His Spirit work through you, according to His Will. In this way will you find peace or at least unusual serenity in the rush of the passing world.
from Spirit Daily

[Resources: The God of Miracles]

For my Beloved Father

Please all that read this, say a prayer for the soul of my dear Father, George, who died 16 yrs ago today. Thank you.

Enemies from Within

This has gone mostly unnoticed by many and certainly by those outside the Church. Non-Catholics are quick to point fingers, especially those that view the Church as the 'anti-christ'. No one can deny that there are things wrong in the Church. But as I have said for the last 20 or so years now, folks NEED TO READ a very short but compelling paperback which is a true story. It is called AA-1025 by Marie Currie. It tells of a nurses care of a Catholic 'priest' after being hit by a car and her ultimate shocking discovery. This took place decades ago ... I won't say more, but READ THE BOOK! You won't be sorry and you'll have a LOT to think about in relation to what has gone on (and IS GOING ON) within the Church, our schools and CCD programs. You owe it to yourselves to be informed on this .. it WILL matter in the coming months and subsequent years.

We Do Not Believe You, Mr. President

 BRAVO Father .. you hit it square on!!

Dear President Obama,

Every citizen with a modicum of insight into public affairs would say
that America is now at a crossroads of decision about what kind of
future we want for our nation - and, by extension, for the rest of the
world. Whether we like it or not, you are the one who is designated by a
vote of the electorate to lead us in that decision-making process. You
have asked for the job, and you have proposed yourself as being
competent for it. History will judge your Administration on its own
merits when your term is complete, but we, the citizens of this country,
must judge it for what we see happening before our very eyes. Quite
frankly, the picture isn't pretty, and you haven't earned our respect as
a leader.

The reason for this, Mr. President, is that we can't believe what you
say, and frankly, what you do is utterly unbelievable at times.

The recent Gulf Coast oil spill disaster is indicative of your utter
carelessness with the onerous burden of governance. Not only did you dis
the families of the 11 workers killed in the disaster, but you also
attended fundraisers in CA, a trip to the golf course and several state
parties in the White House during the whole time the Governor of
Louisiana has been screaming frantically for your attention. How can you
expect us to believe that you were actually "in charge" of handling the
disaster? In six weeks we have seen hardly a shred of evidence to
convince us of that. A leader who says he is in charge of something and
then conducts a systematic campaign of blaming, dodging, obfuscating,
ignoring and even now prosecuting the others involved - instead of
fixing the problem - will hardly go down in the record books as the
savior he proposed himself to be when he was elected. You are the
Commander-in-Chief who has gone AWOL on a truly national crisis.

On top of all that, you basically blew off a sacred national holiday,
Memorial Day, for the sake of a vacation to gangsterland. That slap in
the face to our military men and women was not lost on anyone, nor was
the narcissistic disregard for American history or anything other than
what fits your extreme political agenda. These are appalling traits for
the one who holds the highest political office in our land, and only a
fawning and dishonest media allows you to get away with this negligence
in office.

Speaking of which, what are we to make of your pathetic excuse for the
crime of attempting to bribe Congressman Sestak to bow out of the Senate
race against Arlen Specter? Do you really think Americans believe the
utterly implausible story about offering him a "non-paying" position on
some presidential panel? Your Administration's explanation, issued on
the afternoon of a holiday weekend, rings hollow, and everyone knows it.
"Hollow" is an adequate word to describe your Administration, your
political theatre and your rhetoric. Even some of your staunchest
ideological supporters admit that it is getting increasingly hard to
believe that you mean anything you say.

In the midst of all this domestic incompetence and dishonesty, we have
seen no realistic response to North Korean, Iranian or Turkish
aggression on the world scene. Foreign politicians know you are a
leftist lightweight, and so we can expect more of the same from the
rogue nations of the world, further destabilizing the security of our
nation and the world. We have, however, seen you and your inept band of
political marauders pander to foreign dictators and exploit the Mexican
President to abuse us and our national deliberations on serious issues.
We have seen your ideological hacks take over whole industries, plunder
the private sector, abuse the good will of states and consume sound
American institutions as if they were your enemies and with a ferocity
that would befit only those who we would call our true national enemies.

Like the Gulf oil spill, your Administration is out of control, and
every day is another step closer to disaster. As the oil continues to
pollute, kill and damage the external beauty and economy of a whole
region, you and your team are doing the same with the trust of the
people who built this great country.

We deserve better, Mr. President, and it's time you start doing your
job.

Sincerely,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International

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