Month: November 2010

Portland citizens escape unknowningly

PORTLAND, Ore. –  Undercover agents in a sting operation arrested a Somali-born teenager just as he tried blowing up a van full of what he believed were explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, federal authorities said.

The bomb was a fake supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.

Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him.

The FBI affidavit that outlined the investigation alleges that Mohamud planned the attack for months, at one point mailing bomb components to FBI operatives, whom he believed were assembling the device.

It said Mohamud was warned several times about the seriousness of his plan, that women and children could be killed, and that he could back out, but he told agents: “Since I was 15 I thought about all this;” and “It’s gonna be a fireworks show … a spectacular show.”

Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Corvallis, was charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. A court appearance was set for Monday.
rest of story here

2 cents: I am sure if this would have occurred in a real small city/town it would have succeeded. Targeting a city with a FBI presence whose agents were apparently adequately trained is what saved those people. Central to a successful terrorist attack is the planning by someone who actually understands and knows our culture, government, and systems which is what makes Anwar al-Awlaki the most dangerous of terrorism planners currently. His publication which I did review is quite alarming because he does explain simple, easy ways based on US culture to achieve successful terrorism attacks. In essence what he is providing for terrorist wannabees is a publication for free sharing his knowledge and wisdom. The publication was so troubling that I quit reading it and deleted it.

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Learning from history is wise

The conversations, debates and stories focusing around terrorism and Muslims usually goes the path about breaking of civil liberties in so called targeting or profiling based on appearance or knowledge of one’s association to Islam. Which is ridiculous as I have posted before and will continue to point out the ignorance to remove or disregard this first obvious level of discernment and decision making. I’ve been meaning to share the following illustration/example and just never got around to it until today…

Many years ago people feared another institution which murdered and brutalized people because of the recipient’s religious beliefs. In a town or village when they saw these people who often dressed different from the town/village citizens. These people also spoke in a different language when discussing their faith and reading their sacred texts. Villagers learned that these people who had travelled to the village/town had one focus – conversion to their faith due to the town’s wickedness for embracing the devil/satan/evil. Citizens also learned over time that these different people usually dressed in black would befriended people in the town to learn more about the other citizens and how their town was run. Who was the leader/mayor, government, and so on? You can read about their brutality which was far more evil than the current terrorists of extremism in Islam in such books as the Foxe’s book of martyrs. These terrorists were the Roman Catholic Church and the period has become known as the Roman Inquisition of the 12th through 17th centuries.

Why bring this up? Because the parallels are serious and the method of protection for oneself should be also. If you saw these killers you should identify them quickly and then remove their the threat to your society — you don’t protect the people by ignoring the obvious signs.

This is a pattern repeated down through out history in many if not most countries by different religions or forms of humanism. People too often and quite easily kill other people for the unwillingness to join the power holder of the moment. Whether it is genocide in Africa, Korea, Cambodia, Thailand, USA, France, Russia, China, and so on. Human beings kill other human beings and if you want to survive and have the norms and way of living in your culture and society the least unaffected by the murderers you HAVE to immediately identify the threat and neutralize it either by locking them away or killing them. Peace through strength not ignorance.

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“…and what shall be the sign…” – part one

And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

(Matthew 24:1-3 KJV)

 

If you read Matthew 23 Jesus has just scorned the religious leaders of Israel. He talks of their actions and how that they are in a lot of ways responsible for the condition of Israel. They have killed the prophets God has sent them and those they don’t kill they persecute. He leaves the temple and as the verses above state his disciples start asking him questions. There is so much background material in what they are asking and why – but to not make this a 3 page post let me share that the disciples believing Jesus is the Messiah is going to rule the nation and throw off Rome from them and then begin a never-ending reign from Jerusalem. In verses 4-31 Jesus explains to them that they will suffer persecution, false messiahs and prophets will rise up to deceive them and there will be wars and rumors(stress and fear) of wars, earthquakes, and so on. The signal or event that brings the hammer down will be the abomination of desolation and then the Jews will be hunted down and killed. They will have to flee for your lives and you better hope you have nothing that slows you down (whether it be bad weather, babies and so on) – slowed down will end in death. It will be horrible and then the sun & moon will darken plunging the earth in darkness – THEN look up for the sign – because THEN – I am coming with all the angels.

This is not what they were expecting to hear. They were expecting triumphal messages of bringing in the kingdom. He skipped the first question and gave them the answer to the second one.

Next post – He answers their first question.

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a fig tree – part two

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. (Matthew 24:32-34 KJV)

 

Key to this parable is properly identifying the fig tree. The fig tree is the tree of self-righteousness because of the law of first mention. Way back in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve sinned they sewed fig leaves together as clothes to cover their nakedness that they were both aware of and ashamed about. Sin had removed their covering provided by God – the innocence and glory of being created beings by God. So they made their own which is translated as self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is the method of trying to be what God wants you to be and more plainly put – you trying to please God on your own instead of obeying Him. Methods of self-righteousness become incorporated and they are known as religion. It is the only tree that God ever cursed and it stands for religious Israel without fruit. You may remember just a couple chapters earlier Jesus curses a fig tree for appearing ripe and ready with fruit but was actually fruitless —- religion and what Israel was and is to this day. Jesus in Luke 21 explains that all trees and the fig tree are references to nations.  That is the background of why Judaism and Christianity are in agreement that the parable is about the nation of Israel.

The first part of the parable then is to observe the sign of nationalism and in particular the beginning of Israel as one of the nations yet unable to put forth fruit that will please God (John 15:1-6). “When his branch is yet tender” means that the person hearing or reading this parable must find some place in history when Israel begins as a nation. It can’t be references to things in the past because the parable points out that the current state of the nation is that she is not one. The prophecies of this event are in the Old Testament: Isaiah 11:11, Jeremiah 3:18 & 16:14 to reference a few. It had to be a date in the future and we all now know that the date was May 14, 1948.

Next post: the parable and the timetable

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a generation – part three

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:34-35 KJV)

 

This may very well be the first time I had read and heard about something and grasped it enough to launch me into my love of timetables and the future.  Jesus is very specific – the generation that sees the budding of the fig tree will not pass from the earth without seeing all those things mentioned in the earlier verses come to be. So just how long is that? See – then we have a timetable. We can get a very clear idea of some of what our future holds. Yeah – OUR future.

A key to Bible understanding is to always let the Bible interpret itself. To the best of my knowledge (which obviously means the accumulated books of experts that I have) there are three different definitions for the word generation in the Bible.  Why different definitions – that can be a possible subject for a post in the future – it’s not important to the question now because we are aware of the fact we are looking at three possible scenarios.

One definition for generations is in Matthew 1:17 which work out to 42 years in a generation. That means Jesus would have come back in 1990 – obviously that did not happen.

Another definition for generation is in Psalm 90:10 which work out to be 70 years which puts the Second Advent at no later than 2018.

The third definition is given in Genesis 15:13 which puts it at 100 years and that would means the Second Advent would occur no later than 2048.

So timetable date for the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ on earth is no later than 2048; which also tells us that the latest date that the great tribulation will begin is 2041. And knowing that the abomination of desolation is smack in the middle of the great tribulation places it in the year (no later) than mid 2045.

We can also determine a way to quickly rule out 2018 if indeed it is the wrong definition of a generation. Assuming the Second Advent occurs in 2018 we know the great tribulation will begin in 2011 (yes, I know) which means anytime in the next 400 days a global event is going to occur in which millions of people will disappear. If you are here and witness the hysteria after such an event you can know quite a few things with absolute certainty about your life over the next handful of years (at the most) – the great tribulation is about to start and it begins with a peace treaty being signed that involves Israel. Life on earth is going to get rougher than you could have ever imagined.

Next post: what is the exact date?

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Exactly when? – part four

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. (Matthew 24:36-42 KJV)

We don’t know the exact date, no one does except God the Father but we have been given enough information to know we are in the times it will occur and we need to be ready for it.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

(Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

more on that later…

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