WORD WATCH DAILY PERSPECTIVE
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Kerry to Netanyahu:
Israeli-Palestinian peace not 'mission impossible'
Photo: GPO
Declaring peace is not “a mission impossible,” US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived on Thursday and immediately met a downbeat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who spoke of growing Israeli doubts about the Palestinian commitment to peace.
Netanyahu, who together with Kerry made a brief statement before their Jerusalem meeting, said Israel’s doubts stemmed from “unabated” Palestinian Authority-sponsored incitement, as well as President Mahmoud Abbas’s failure to condemn the recent uptick in terrorism.
“A few days ago in Ramallah, President Abbas embraced terrorists as heroes,” Netanyahu said. “To glorify the murderers of innocent women and men as heroes is an outrage.
We’ll ignore a ‘worthless’ framework deal, says PLO
PLO Executive Committee Secretary General Abed Rabbo
Photo: Reuters, Mohamad Torokman
On the eve of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO said that the Palestinians wouldn’t pay attention to a “worthless” framework agreement presented by the US.
Kerry is expected to meet with Abbas in Ramallah on Friday.
PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the Palestinians have already spent the past few months negotiating with Israel, and there’s no need to start new talks about the implementation of a new framework agreement.
Winter Storm Hercules Snowfall Totals
Winter Storm Hercules, the first major winter storm of 2014, has delivered significant amounts of snow to the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast. Below are snowfall totals produced by Hercules as of early Friday morning.
Northeast Blizzard Cancels Nearly 1,500 Flights
A major snowstorm is continuing to impact parts of the Northeast Friday morning after dumping several inches of snow in cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh since Thursday.
The worst of the storm is focusing along the New England coast where upwards of a foot of snow have been reported. Gusty winds also accompanied this snow, making for blizzard conditions from New York to Boston with wind gusts as high as 50 mph.
Record US Cold
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Featured News  | ||
| Friday, Jan 03, 2014 01:41:01 AM EST Before Kerry meeting, Netanyahu calls out Abbas on commitment to peace | Friday, Jan 03, 2014 01:28:59 AM EST Sticking Point in Peace Talks: Recognition of a Jewish State | Friday, Jan 03, 2014 01:15:14 AM EST Hezbollah Moving Long Range Missiles From Syria to Lebanon |
| Thursday, Jan 02, 2014 03:09:47 PM EST Israelis doubt Palestinians’ intentions, PM tells Kerry | Thursday, Jan 02, 2014 01:12:39 AM EST Settlement News to Wait Until Kerry Leaves Israel | Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 02:43:15 PM EST US tells Israel: There's no chance Pollard will be freed for release of Israeli-Arab prisoners |
| Wednesday, Jan 01, 2014 01:47:42 AM EST Cameron, Merkel said to be headed to Israel in peace push | Tuesday, Dec 31, 2013 01:34:16 AM EST Drones, placentas and transgender students: New laws in 2014 cover much ground | Monday, Dec 30, 2013 12:11:37 PM EST World in turmoil: Seven countries to watch in 2014 |
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Inspired by God
"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day." - E. M. Bounds | ||
| Friday, Aug 16, 2013 01:44:04 AM EDT January 3: Gentle Leading - Streams in the Desert | Tuesday, Mar 05, 2013 02:57:42 AM EST January 3: Clouds and Darkness - Oswald Chambers | Tuesday, Mar 05, 2013 02:56:46 AM EST January 3: A Balanced Schedule - Charles Stanley |
| Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 10:36:42 AM EDT A.W. Tozer's Daily Devotional | Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 10:35:45 AM EDT Charles Spurgeon's 'Morning and Evening' Daily Devotional | Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 10:34:26 AM EDT Daily Light 'Morning and Evening' Devotional - Jonathan Bagster |
| Friday, Aug 08, 2008 08:36:37 AM EDT Charles Stanley's Audio Messages | Sunday, Dec 09, 2007 08:35:44 AM EST McLean Bible's Internet Services - Pastor Lon Solomon: Services are "live" Sunday' at 9 am, 10:45 am, & 12:30 pm (Eastern-US), rebroadcast Monday at 2 pm (Eastern-US) | Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007 04:14:46 PM EST Pastor Lon Solomon, McLean Bible Church, McLean, Virginia - Sermons by Date, Series and Podcasts |
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RAPTURE READY NEWS PERSPECTIVE
03 Jan 14
Elves delay Iceland road-building project
A judge ruled that the highway project be cancelled because there is a chance elves could be living on the barren landscape it was going to take place on. Elf advocates and environmentalists have been doing everything they can to make the Icelandic Road and Coastal Commission change its mind about the controversial road. The road would have run from Reykjavik to the Alftanes peninsula. The landscape between the capital and the peninsula is home to an elf church, and campaigners think elves may live there.
Embassies Warned: N. Korea Can’t Guarantee Safety of Diplomats
North Korea has warned diplomats in Pyongyang that it can’t guarantee the safety of embassies in the event of a conflict and suggested they may want to evacuate their staff, Russia’s top diplomat said Friday. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is demanding an explanation from the North Koreans — asking whether the warning is an order to evacuate the North Korean capital or merely a proposal to consider doing so.
No green card? No problem -- undocumented immigrant can practice law, court says
Sergio Garcia's parents brought him to the United States from Mexico nearly two decades ago. He's been waiting for a green card ever since. But there's one thing the undocumented immigrant no longer has to wait for, according to a California Supreme Court ruling on Thursday: his law license.
It Begins: Obamacare Causing Hospital Workers To Go Unpaid
The hospital is strapped for cash not because its not making money, but because Leday says a new Medicare payment facilitator named Novitas Solutions is taking too way long to pay out Medicare claims to the hospital. Leday says he’s owed nearly $3 million in payments from Medicare and can’t make payroll… The Texas Medical Association says they are familiar with complaints like this one regarding the medicare payment facilitator- and a representative told us smaller community hospitals like this one are in similar situations.
The On Going Decline of Women’s Rights in The Middle East
Women’s rights worsening in Middle East. Almost equally objectionable is the refusal of many Western organizations and activists, supposedly concerned to advance human rights, to recognize the bitter truth as a crucial problem and to demand real, systematic reform.
Is World War Three about to start... by accident? Max Hastings asks whether rising tensions between China and Japan could boil over
Chinese diplomat argued that Japan risks 'serious threat to global peace' He even compared Japan today to Lord Voldemort, from Harry Potter It comes just weeks after China declared its own Air Defence Zone Japan's prime minister has threatened to shoot down any Chinese drones.
Azle Residents Demand Answers About Quakes
Angry and frustrated, many residents are fed up after experiencing 30 earthquakes in one month. Many of the people at the meeting, which took place at Azle High School, blame the quakes on water injection wells. Fracking water is disposed of in those wells. “They’re bringing millions of gallons a day out here that have toxic chemicals and putting them down those wells. It’s just a bomb waiting to happen,” one resident told CBS 11 News.
Scientists find records of rare ‘earthquake lights’
Certain types of earthquakes in certain areas can set off blazes of light seconds — sometimes days — before the actual quake. These can manifest as floating balls of light, bluish columns shooting up out of the earth and even reverse lightning, reaching up into the sky from the ground.
Greenwald: Obama Admin Would Make Snowden ‘Disappear’ If He Returned To U.S.
During a heated exchange on CNN’s The Lead, Guardian columnist and Edward Snowden ally Glenn Greenwald claimed that should Snowden return to the United States, the Obama administration would make him “disappear in prison” and “not allow him to speak”. Saying that the U.S. government does not allow whistleblowers as in previous years, Greenwald claimed, “If Snowden came back to Washington before he was convicted of anything, he would disappear in prison and not be allowed to speak.”
‘Science Guy’ Bill Nye and Prominent Christian Set to Battle It Out Over Evolution and Creationism
Scientist Bill Nye has agreed to debate Christian leader Ken Ham next month at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., where the two will face off over the ever-contentious topics of evolution and creationism. According to a release published on AnswersInGenesis.org, the website for Ham’s organization, the event will begin at 7 p.m. on Feb. 4, 2014 inside the museum’s 900-seat Legacy Hall.
Islamic Authorities Seize Hundreds of Bibles From Malaysian Christian Group in Raid Over Use of ‘Allah’
Malaysia’s Islamic authorities seized hundreds of Bibles from a Christian group Thursday because the holy texts use the word “Allah” in reference to God. Lee Min Choon, chairman of the Bible Society of Malaysia, said Muslim officials declared the organization had violated the law. As a result, the group lost 321 of its Bibles during the raid.
Texas Mayor Declares 2014 the ‘Year of the Bible’
A Texas mayor has publicly designated 2014 as the “year of the Bible” and is encouraging citizens to read the Christian scriptures daily. Tom Hayden, mayor of Flower Mound, Texas, made the official announcement last month... “I was nervous about doing this and I’ve been thinking about it for two years, and procrastinated about if for as long as I possibly could,” he said.
'Hezbollah smuggles advanced guided-missile systems into Lebanon'
Hezbollah are smuggling components of advanced guided-missile systems into Lebanon; however the organization is yet to hold enough parts in order to make the systems operational – according to US security officials. As stated by a Wall Street Journal report Friday morning, US officials believe members of Hezbollah are smuggling the systems piece by piece to evade a secretive Israeli air campaign designed to stop them.
US Marines postpone fitness rule after most female recruits fail to do three pull-ups
The US Marine Corps has delayed a physical fitness requirement for women after more than half of female troops at boot camp couldn't do three pullups, officers said on Thursday. The pullup rule was supposed to go into effect with the new year but has been postponed indefinitely as commanders were concerned about losing female Marines and prospective recruits, officers said.
U.S. hog herd falls more than expected as virus strikes
The U.S. hog herd fell by 1 percent in the latest quarter, slightly more than forecast, U.S. government data showed on Friday, as a deadly swine virus thwarted pork producers' efforts to rebuild herds. "This confirms that PED is in the nation's hog herd, which was not shown nor implied in their previous report (September)," Rich Nelson, chief strategist at Allendale Inc, said...
NSA seeks to build quantum computer that could crack most types of encryption
In room-size metal boxes secure against electromagnetic leaks, the National Security Agency is racing to build a computer that could break nearly every kind of encryption used to protect banking, medical, business and government records around the world. According to documents...“a cryptologically useful quantum computer” ...is part of a $79.7 million research program titled “Penetrating Hard Targets.”
UK sees further flooding amid storms and high tides
High tides and strong winds have brought flooding to Wales and western England as officials warn of a continuing threat in parts of the UK. There are currently 10 severe flood warnings - meaning "danger to life" - affecting south-west England, Gloucestershire and Wales. A tidal surge is due in Scotland, while in Wales, people are trapped in homes.
US north-east battles first major snow storm of 2014
The north-eastern US has been hit by a major winter storm, with 53cm (21 inches) of snowfall recorded in one town in Massachusetts. Thousands of flights have been cancelled as heavy snowfall moved eastward from the Midwestern states. The New York and New Jersey governors have declared a state of emergency, urging people to stay indoors.
RAPTURE READY Nearing midnight PERSPECTIVE
Dec 30, 2013
NSA Spying Is Hurting American Business
It has only been a few months since it was revealed that America has been spying on some of its closest friends. The scandal has already grabbed the title as one of the greatest diplomatic debacles in our nation’s history. It is also quickly becoming one of America’s greatest financial fiascos.
U.S. trade partners fully realize they are at risk of being spied on if they buy any communication technology made by U.S. firms. Our government passed laws requiring companies to install secret backdoors allowing the NSA to secretly gather information.
IBM, the largest computer-services provider, was one the first to report a sales drop. The firms’ China branch, reported a 22 percent drop in sales. The Chinese government is very tight-lipped about it its daily activities, so going forward, IBM would be the last company the Chinese government would chose to supply their data processing needs. A Louisiana Pension fund is suing IBM claiming the tech giant defrauded investors by concealing the sales decline after Edward Snowden leaked information that the company was cooperating with the NSA.
Cisco Systems is another company impacted by the NSA scandal. Cisco’s November sales were down 21 percent because of an instant problem with the Internet’s ability to trust its encryption products. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) told companies not to use cryptographic standards that may have been undermined by the NSA’s BULLRUN program. One of Cisco analysts admitted that cryptography was compromised: “It would be a critical blow to the trust required across the Internet and the security community.” Since Cisco is required give crypto keys to the NSA, its technology can never be trusted.
The bid by AT&T to acquire the European company, Vodafone, may be in danger due to the company’s well-documented involvement in the NSA data-collection programs. European officials are now saying the telecommunications giant will face “intense scrutiny” in the effort to purchase Vodafone. There may be so many restrictions placed on the combined company that AT&T may decide it is unprofitable to proceed with the venture.
Telenor, Norway’s largest telecom provider has reportedly halted its plans to move its customers to a U.S. based cloud provider. It will likely choose to go with a European firm.
The fallout is not just related to communication technology. Brazil has just decided to award a $4.5 billion contract to Swedish company, Saab AB, to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets. Boeing had been of the favorite to win the deal, but America’s spying voided its chances. “The NSA problem ruined it for the Americans,” a Brazilian government confirmed on condition of anonymity.
We have also damaged opportunities for foreign investments by giving everyone that comes to this nation, the Big Brother treatment. I’m sure many entrepreneurs have decided against opening a business in America because it meant being treated like a potential terrorist every time they visited our shores.
For American companies all this bad blood amounts to a huge shortfall in sales to other nations. Forrester Research, a technology and market research company says the lost trade could reach $180 billion by 2016. Since America already has a $500 billion annual trade deficit, adding tens of billions to this figure will only make matters worse.
There is very little concern in Washington about American companies losing their competitive edge due to NSA surveillance. Even when Angela Merkel called President Obama to compare the NSA to the Stasi that she faced growing up in East Germany, he offered no guarantee that the spying on her personal phone conversations would stop. I did find one U.S. Senator who understands the problem. Senator Ron Wyden recently remarked, “If a foreign enemy was doing this much damage to the economy, people would be in the streets with pitchforks.”
Before Obama left for a Christmas vacation, he had a meeting with leaders of this nation’s biggest technology firms, and they complained very “loudly” over what the NSA is doing to their business. Even if they managed to convince Obama that something needs to be done, I see only a small chance the tide will turn. Just as the military-industrial-complex has become an impossible beast to manage, the NSA has had a dozen years to become equally entrenched.
I think our spying problem will eventually fix itself. The economic base of this nation is being eroded so rapidly by incompetent policies that the day will soon come when we can no longer afford to snoop on the rest of the world. The Bible’s lack of clear reference to America in prophecy may indicate our downfall is close at hand.
--Todd
2014 Prophecy Prospectus
The upcoming year invites a look into its major prophetic potentialities, based upon the way 2013 is ending. If this was a prospectus on any number of the general matters on which a prospectus is normally issued, it would be directed only to those who have invested interests or potential investment interests in the financial possibilities presented.
In other words, the prospectus would be highly limited in scope to but a relatively few people. For example, stockholders of a publicly held company would want to know the potential economic advantages that holding stock in that company offers. The analysis within a prospectus would be to inform potential investors about products and or services, now or in the immediate future, and probable company performance before they determined whether to buy new stock being offered.
Our prophecy prospectus differs in a couple of major ways from that just described:1) Those investors potentially affected by future performance are neither limited in scope nor in numbers involved. Bible prophecy involves, literally, every person alive on planet Earth. 2) The prophecy prospectus literally involves investment potentialities--not of meager, earthly dollars and cents—but things that determine future dividends for investors throughout all of eternity.
We will try to analyze some of the primary issues and events at this year’s end and project the prophetic trends, based upon that analysis as we move into 2014 and beyond.
Admittedly, this will offer only the very slightest look at these things. We will do so, not with hubris or self-aggrandizement; only the God of Heaven knows the future. But, our Lord has indeed given us–and in many cases, in considerable detail—an overview of things to come. We are told by Him to “watch” (Mark 13:37) for those things to come that He promises us we can know, at least in general terms:
“Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me” (Isaiah 45:11).
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13).
The Holy Spirit, God in His omniscience, gives those who are in His family (all born again through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ) both the ability and the command to watch for prophetic signals in discerning the times in which we live. Therefore, let us look at the prospects for 2014, with the confidence that we can achieve at least a certain degree of understanding about things to come.
The bottom line in considering things to come at this juncture is that the time of Tribulation is no longer just a faint rumble of distant thunder on the prophetic horizon. Every major element of Bible prophecy leading up to Christ’s Second Advent can be discerned by anyone with a futurist viewpoint of biblical eschatology--that is, everyone who believes that there are major prophecies yet to be fulfilled. As the year 2013 closes, we very briefly analyze those key elements of prophecy yet future and consider the prospects for 2014 and thereafter.
Israel: Israel is at stage center for the final act of Satan’s war against God to play out. The American president has exerted his power and authority, to considerable extent, in putting the Jewish state’s prime minister on notice that Israel will be given U.S. support only if Israel complies with the stipulations Secretary of State John Kerry and the so-called Palestinian leadership contrive. Chief among these matters of compliance is, apparently, the cessation of construction within Israel’s sovereign territory. On the other hand, the Palestinians do not have to agree to even recognize Israel as a legitimate national entity. Certainly, for the immediate future, there can be no peace arrangement under this broad area of disagreement. If the dreadful peace of Isaiah 28 is to be made, there will likely have to develop even more severe potential for war in the region, with the Palestinian leadership perceiving they will lose any chance to achieve statehood, I believe. Then, that leadership–like all good Islamists—will lie to agree to some of Israel’s demands. Whether this government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, will buy those lies is another matter. It seems to me that a much broader peace scheme must be in play for it to come up to the dimension of the Isaiah 28:15, 18 covenant, so look for the current peace efforts to limp along for quite awhile.
Iran: This nation that comprises most of ancient Persia smugly senses a weak U.S. administration, I suspect. It will play the game of Middle East chess until it is right back to doing within its mountainous underground nuclear laboratories what it has been doing since setting its sights on building a weapon that can carry out the mullahs’ designs of hegemony over the entire region and the elimination of the hated little Satan --Israel.
Russia: Russia will continue to demonstrate it is resuming superpower status in its climb back from the fall as the U.S.S.R. Prophetically, Russia’s ties to Iran can only grow stronger, even though the two nations will likely attempt to show, publicly, a marked independence from each other. I believe that Israel’s increasing capabilities in the area of natural gas production and its growing gas industry’s inroads into European and other markets greatly disturb Putin. Look for Russia to keep strengthening its military position and influence to the south.
Electronic control technologies: Electronic control technologies in the U.S. and on a global scale look to be growing ominously as the weeks roll on. Despite the NSA and other scandals, with the divulgences by Snowden and other revelations of privacy-destroying snooping by governments, the world-wide system of control is progressing geometrically and, perhaps, is already of sufficient strength and ubiquity to give Antichrist what he needs to subjugate most of the world’s populations once he takes the reins of power as indicated in Revelation 13:16-18.
These are the areas of most particular prophetic relevance while we finish this year and look into the next, in my opinion. Other areas, such as economy, religion, and cultural matters are only slightly less critical in considering prospects for 2014. We will continue to look at these aspects of life as well through the prism of God’s prophetic Word.
The most profitable investment any of us can make for the upcoming year is to pray, study God’s Word, and put our efforts and resources into His kingdom for reaching souls of men, women, and children. We at Rapture Ready solicit your help in investing in that mission in 2014. Your "heavenly bank account" will increase beyond measure.
-- Terry
