Kathi Pelton: "A Summer of Miracles" Kathi Pelton May 22, 2017 - THE ELIJAH LIST

May 22, 2017 "A Summer of Miracles" by Kathi Pelton, Eugene, OR From the Desk of Steve Shultz: Well...I am DEFINITELY looking forward to this Summer of Miracles that Kathi Pelton from Eugene writes about. She mentions: I continually see the months of May through August as a swell in the spirit that births a time in history where great miracles are seen throughout the Earth. This "swell" will be like the miracle of birthing new life and will be marked by unprecedented miracles that occur in impossible circumstance. Birthing NEW life? Miracles? Sign me up! I believe there is GREAT JOY ahead of us this Summer. Get excited for your Summer of Miracles! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.) Please forward this word to your friends! Encourage them to subscribe to the Elijah List right here: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe. Enjoy! Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News http://www.elijahlist.com ************************************* "A Summer of Miracles"by Kathi Pelton, Eugene, OR For a few weeks now I keep hearing the words, "This summer will be remembered as a 'Summer of Miracles.'" I continually see the months of May through August as a swell in the spirit that births a time in history where great miracles are seen throughout the Earth. This "swell" will be like the miracle of birthing new life and will be marked by unprecedented miracles that occur in impossible circumstance. This summer's miracles will establish a "new norm" (normal) in the Church where miracles are no longer rare but frequent and widespread. Miracles will flow through children's prayers, the prayers of unknown Saints and through those that God has raised up to stand before the masses. Nations Will Shift and Be Brought Forth These miracles will come upon nations that have been thought of as a "lost cause". Get ready to see a move of God come upon the darkest places. We will see that the Saints in those nations who have been hidden and held captive will suddenly be like when Joseph was set free. Their prayers, their faithfulness in dark captivity and their worship will suddenly break through the darkness and light will come causing the darkness to be broken. Isaiah 66:8 will be seen. "Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children." The faithful remnant in nations that have been known to persecute Christians will emerge suddenly from captivity into freedom. They will worship freely and with great joy. They will be anointed to set the captives free. This is not only for nations that have been under an oppressive government but it is for nations that have been considered "free" and yet darkness has gained a foothold. Canada will experience a "tsunami" that will be like the water breaking before a birthing. It will shift the spiritual landscape and break down dividing walls. As they have stood to see other nations birthed, now they will see the birthing of God's purposes on their own soil. The spiritual ice will melt in the Great North. The light of the Son will come upon the Inuits, the French, the English and the First People of the land and unity will emerge – one family formed to establish God's purposes. God's chosen remnant in Canada will also reach across the border, into the womb of the United States, and be a midwife for the birthing of what the Lord has planted in North America as a continent. The walls of division between the two nations will crumble. Watch the nations that the enemy has attacked with acts of terrorism because the enemy has marked them for a great move of God. Nations such as France, England, Germany, the US, Sweden, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Syria will experience a great move of God. They have all been chosen by God to strike terror in the enemy's camp. What the enemy meant for harm God will turn for the profit and good of these nations. These will be like the days of Joseph and the mercy of God will triumph over judgement. "But Joseph replied, 'Don't be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. No, don't be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.' So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them." Genesis 50:19-21 The Fear of the Lord is Key Many in the Body of Christ have suffered greatly over the past few years. The pressures have been great but these pressures have produced a refiner's fire that has purified hearts, motives, beliefs and character. A shift has taken place that has caused God's people to move from the fear of man into the fear of the Lord. This shift is the key to this move of God that is swelling even now. The water will break to bring forth the birthing of seeing the sovereignty of God displayed throughout the nations. The strength of man has not brought this forth but rather the humbling of man so that in great human weakness (humility) the strength of God will be made manifest. "So He said to me, 'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." Zechariah 4:6 I hear the words, "Grace, grace..." being shouted over the Church, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'" 2 Corinthians 12:9 Conclusion The birthing of God's purposes and promises begin with a breaking of the water. I see the dates May 24 - August 24 as a time for this Summer of Miracles and the swell of this water washing over people and nations. It is like a great bowl or basin of water is about to tip and pour down. Deep has called out to deep and it has filled this heavenly basin (bowl). "Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me." Psalm 42:7 This pouring out of water will not only cause a great move of God but it will also serve as a washing of His current-day disciples' feet. "So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him." John 13:4-5 Watch for and expect a Summer of Miracles to come upon the Church! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.) Kathi Pelton Inscribe Ministries Email: jkpelton@sbcglobal.net Website: www.inscribeministries.com Jeffrey and Kathi Pelton understand our culture's need for encouragement and hope. Through writing and speaking, they escort individuals into awareness of God's profound compassion and mercy that heals brokenness, and they have a unique ability to help anyone seeking pathways into His kind embrace. For several years, Jeffrey and Kathi led a house of prayer located in Kelowna, British Columbia. Currently, they travel extensively, working with prayer and prophetic movements. Recently, Jeffrey and Kathi, their grown children, and their one grandson relocated from Northern California to Eugene, Oregon. They continue to travel and have begun networking with prayer ministries in the Pacific Northwest. They are also part of a development team for Kairos Ministries, a local church plant. ************************************* To receive daily, encouraging prophetic emails from The Elijah List to your in box CLICK HERE or go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe Visit our webstore and check out Alveda King's brand new book by Elijah List Publications: America Return to God: http://www.elijahshopper.com/america-return-to-god-by-alveda-c-king/ Also check out Steve Shultz's Revised and 2nd Edition book Can't You Talk Louder, God?: http://www.elijahshopper.com/cant-you-talk-louder-god-secrets-to-hearing-the-voice-of-god-revised-and-updated-edition-by-steve-shultz/ Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep Elijah List website, email contact info, and author contact information intact. Elijah List Publications 528 Ellsworth St. SW Albany, OR 97321 www.elijahlist.com email: info@elijahlist.net Phone 1-541-926-3250

The United States Is Not the Center of the Universe - J. LEE GRADY

If you are a Christian, you are a global citizen. (iStock photo)

The United States Is Not the Center of the Universe

 2/3/2016 J. LEE GRADY  charisma magazine

My friend Kelechi is a brave Nigerian evangelist who has gotten himself kidnapped several times so he could share Christ with armed militants. More recently he has been involved in dangerous evangelism efforts in northern Nigeria, where Islamic jihadists have killed 17,000 people in the past five years.

A few days ago, Kelechi sent me a disturbing email, asking for prayer. He had just learned that a young man he was discipling, Boulous, was killed by militants while trying to get some Christians out of a village that had been targeted for a surprise attack.

Kelechi wrote: "Please would you pray for me and ask your friends to lift us before the Lord? It is a very trying time. We are the only people doing evangelistic work there, so we cannot stop. Also pray for me as I go to the area next week when I think it will be safer."

I feel helpless trying to raise awareness of Kelechi's cause. One of the worst waves of terrorism on planet earth has hit Nigeria, yet the world's media gives it scant attention. The Islamic group operating there, Boko Haram, killed more people in 2014 than ISIS terrorists in Syria. Last week in the Nigerian village of Dalori, Islamic militants bombed homes and burned children alive.

The death toll in Dalori was 86. But did you hear anything about the attack? It wasn't on any news channel I listen to. All the major networks were talking nonstop about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and the Iowa presidential caucus—along with the controversy stirred by Beyoncé's new music video.

In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 Christian schoolgirls from the Nigerian town of Chibok—and for a few weeks people on this side of the Atlantic Ocean paid attention, especially after First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted her support for the girls.

Almost two years have now passed, and the girls are still missing. They are most likely living as slaves in a Boko Haram camp on the Chadian border. Most likely they have been forced to marry their abductors. And most people have forgotten about them.

All these foreign problems are just too stressful to think about. And too far away. Besides, we have a Super Bowl to watch.

I'm not trying to put anybody under a guilt trip. I am blessed to live in the United States, and there isn't much I can do to stop Boko Haram from torching African villages. But it concerns me that so many of us are completely oblivious to the needs of the rest of the world.

Just a few days ago, Islamic terrorists linked to the group Al Shabaab killed four Christian in Kenya. One of the believers was beheaded. I have to rely on a relatively obscure Christian news service for this information because mainstream media outlets rarely report on Christian persecution.

Wars are going on today in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Ukraine, Israel, Iraq, Nigeria and South Sudan—which is also dealing with a famine. But when I checked the latest headlines in USA Today, the focus of the news was on the New Hampshire presidential primary and pro football star Peyton Manning's legacy.

And this just in! Beyoncé will perform during the Super Bowl halftime show!

That's a shame. Especially when you do the math and realize that the United States has a population of 319.4 million while the global population is about 7.2 billion. That works out to a 4.4 percent share of the world's population. Who do we think we are?

We are not the center of the universe.

I'm not going to hold my breath until mainstream media improves its reporting. People are always going to be more interested in Kim Kardashian's latest reality show than in how we can stop global sex trafficking, how we can help abused women in Somalia or how we can protect Syrian refugees while they flee the terror in their country.

But Christians should care. We may live in the United States, but we are citizens of God's kingdom and we are called to pray—and care—for the whole world. Paul told Timothy: "Therefore I exhort first of all that you make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for everyone, for kings and for all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty" (1 Tim. 2:1-2, MEV).

Please be a global Christian. Look at the big picture. Stay informed of world events so you can pray with understanding. Make friends with people from other cultures and see the world through their eyes. Pray for the nations.

You can start by praying for Nigeria—and for my friend Kelechi, who will be risking his life to share the gospel this weekend while millions of Americans watch a 17-minute halftime show that will cost $12 million.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He is the author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org.

For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!

NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

Did you enjoy this blog? Click here to receive it by email.

Obama Wants to Defeat America, Not ISIS By Daniel Greenfield - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Obama Wants to Defeat America, Not ISIS

By Daniel Greenfield November 26, 2015  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Last year at a NATO summit, Obama explicitly disavowed the idea of containing ISIS. “You can’t contain an organization that is running roughshod through that much territory, causing that much havoc, displacing that many people, killing that many innocents, enslaving that many women,” he said.

Instead he argued, “The goal has to be to dismantle them.”

Just before the Paris massacre, Obama shifted back to containment. “From the start, our goal has been first to contain them, and we have contained them,” he said.

Pay no attention to what he said last year. There’s a new message now. Last year Obama was vowing to destroy ISIS. Now he had settled for containing them. And he couldn’t even manage that.

ISIS has expanded into Libya and Yemen. It struck deep into the heart of Europe as one of its refugee suicide bombers appeared to have targeted the President of France and the Foreign Minister of Germany. That’s the opposite of a terrorist organization that had been successfully contained.

Obama has been playing tactical word games over ISIS all along. He would “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS. Or perhaps dismantle the Islamic State. Or maybe just contain it.

Containment is closest to the truth. Obama has no plan for defeating ISIS. Nor is he planning to get one any time soon. There will be talk of multilateral coalitions. Drone strikes will take out key figures. And then when this impressive war theater has died down, ISIS will suddenly pull off another attack.

And everyone will be baffled at how the “defeated” terrorist group is still on the march.

The White House version of reality says that ISIS attacked Paris because it’s losing. Obama also claimed that Putin’s growing strength in Syria is a sign of weakness. Never mind that Putin has all but succeeded in getting countries that were determined to overthrow Assad to agree to let him stay.

Weakness is strength. Strength is weakness.

Obama’s failed wars occupy a space of unreality that most Americans associate with Baghdad Bob bellowing that there are no American soldiers in Iraq. (There are, according to the White House, still no American ground forces in Iraq. Only American forces in firefights on the ground in Iraq.)

There’s nothing new about any of this. Obama doesn’t win wars. He lies about them.

The botched campaign against ISIS is a replay of the disaster in Afghanistan complete with ridiculous rules of engagement, blatant administration lies and no plan for victory. But there can’t be a plan for victory because when Obama gets past the buzzwords, he begins talking about addressing root causes.

And you don’t win wars by addressing root causes. That’s just a euphemism for appeasement.

Addressing root causes means blaming Islamic terrorism on everything from colonialism to global warming. It doesn’t mean defeating it, but finding new ways to blame it on the West.

Obama and his political allies believe that crime can’t be fought with cops and wars can’t be won with soldiers. The only answer lies in addressing the root causes which, after all the prattling about climate change and colonialism, really come down to the Marxist explanation of inequality.

When reporters ask Obama how he plans to win the war, he smirks tiredly at them and launches into another condescending explanation about how the situation is far too complicated for anything as simple as bombs to work. Underneath that explanation is the belief that wars are unwinnable.

Obama knows that Americans won’t accept “war just doesn’t work” as an answer to Islamic terrorism. So he demonstrates to them that wars don’t work by fighting wars that are meant to fail.

In Afghanistan, he bled American soldiers as hard as possible with vicious rules of engagement that favored the Taliban to destroy support for a war that most of the country had formerly backed. By blowing the war, Obama was not only sabotaging the specific implementation of a policy he opposed, but the general idea behind it. His failed wars are meant to teach Americans that war doesn’t work.

The unspoken idea that informs his strategy is that American power is the root cause of the problems in the region. Destroying ISIS would solve nothing. Containing American power is the real answer.

Obama does not have a strategy for defeating ISIS. He has a strategy for defeating America.

Whatever rhetoric he tosses out, his actual strategy is to respond to public pressure by doing the least he can possibly do. He will carry out drone strikes, not because they’re effective, but because they inflict the fewest casualties on the enemy.

He may try to contain the enemy, not because he cares about ISIS, but because he wants to prevent Americans from “overreacting” and demanding harsher measures against the Islamic State. Instead of fighting to win wars, he seeks to deescalate them. If public pressure forces him to go beyond drones, he will authorize the fewest air strikes possible. If he is forced to send in ground troops, he will see to it that they have the least protection and the greatest vulnerability to ISIS attacks.

Just like in Afghanistan.

Obama would like ISIS to go away. Not because they engage in the ethnic cleansing, mass murder and mass rape of non-Muslims, but because they wake the sleeping giant of the United States.

And so his idea of war is fighting an informational conflict against Americans. When Muslim terrorists commit an atrocity so horrifying that public pressure forces him to respond, he lies to Americans. Each time his Baghdad Bob act is shattered by another Islamic terrorist attack, he piles on even more lies.

Any strategy that Obama offers against ISIS will consist of more of the same lies and word games. His apologists will now debate the meaning of “containment” and whether he succeeded in defining it so narrowly on his own terms that he can claim to have accomplished it. But it really doesn’t matter what his meaning of “containment” or “is” is. Failure by any other name smells just as terrible.

Obama responded to ISIS by denying it’s a threat. Once that stopped being a viable strategy, he began to stall for time. And he’s still stalling for time, not to beat ISIS, but to wait until ISIS falls out of the headlines. That has been his approach to all his scandals from ObamaCare to the IRS to the VA.

Lie like crazy and wait for people to forget about it and turn their attention to something else.

This is a containment strategy, but not for ISIS. It’s a containment strategy for America. Obama isn’t trying to bottle up ISIS except as a means of bottling up America. He doesn’t see the Caliph of the Islamic State as the real threat, but the average American who watches the latest beheading on the news and wonders why his government doesn’t do something about it. To the left it isn’t the Caliph of ISIS who starts the wars we ought to worry about, but Joe in Tennessee, Bill in California or Pete in Minnesota.

That is why Obama sounds bored when talking about beating ISIS, but heats up when the conversation turns to fighting Republicans. It’s why Hillary Clinton named Republicans, not ISIS, as her enemy.

The left is not interested in making war on ISIS. It is too busy making war on America.

Scores dead as magnitude-7.5 quake hits Afghanistan - USA TODAY

Afghanistan earthquake region 10.26.15

The massive quake's epicenter was in northern Afghanistan, but tremors could be felt across several countries. VPC

Scores dead as magnitude-7.5 quake hits Afghanistan

Jane Onyanga-Omara, USA TODAY10:17 a.m. EDT October 26, 2015

(Photo: Naveed Ali, AP)

Scores of people have died after a magnitude 7.5. earthquake struck Afghanistan on Monday, causing deaths in neighboring Pakistan and tremors in northern India.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the quake was in the far northern Afghan province of Badakhshan, which borders Tajikistan and China.

"Significant casualties are likely and the disaster is potentially widespread," the USGS said.

Pakistani officials said the quake killed 145 people in northwestern Pakistan, bringing the total death toll from the disaster to 180, the Associated Press reported.

Agence France-Presse said the quake lasted for at least a minute.

In Afghanistan's Takhar province, west of Badakhshan, at least 12 students were killed in a stampede  at a girls’ school and at least five people died when homes collapsed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, the AP reported.

At least 194 injured people were taken to a hospital in the Swat district of Pakistan and over 100 were taken to a hospital in Peshawar, northern Pakistan, the website Dawn reported. Arbab Muhammad Asim, district mayor of Peshawar, said: “"Many houses and buildings have collapsed in the city," AFP said.

Pakistani paramedics treat a man injured in an earthquake at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistanon October 26, 2015. At least 17 people including eight children were killed in Pakistan when a 7.5 magnitude quake struck in Afghanistan.  A Majeed, AFP/Getty Images

Fullscreen

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Next Slide

People in Afghan capital Kabul, India's capital New Delhi and Pakistan's capital Islamabad reported feeling strong tremors. In Islamabad, walls swayed and people poured out of office buildings in a panic, reciting verses from the Quran, the AP said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked authorities to use all resources to help any victims, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has asked for an urgent assessment. The quake caused widespread power outages and cut phone lines in Kabul, according to the AP.  

Delhi's metro stopped running during the tremor.

"All of around 190 trains plying on the tracks were stopped at the time of the earthquake. The lines and the trains are now being restored after basic inspection of respective lines," Delhi Metro spokesman Anuj Dayal told AFP.

In October 2005. a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the Kashmir region rocked parts of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, killing more than 80,000 people.

Confirmed: U.S. is Chief Facilitator of Christian Persecution - BreakingIsraelNews

This report from BreakingIsraelNews is stunning.

Confirmed: U.S. is Chief Facilitator of Christian Persecution

Posted by: Raymond Ibrahim January 21, 2014 , 2:29 pm

Prominent indicators confirm that the U.S. is the chief facilitator of the persecution of Christians around the world today.

According to the recently released 2014 World Watch List, which ranks the 50 nations where Christians are most persecuted, Syria is the third worst nation in the world in which to be Christian, Iraq is fourth, Afghanistan fifth, and Libya 13th. All four countries receive the strongest designation, “extreme persecution” (other designations are “severe,” “moderate,” and “sparse” persecution).

Aside from being so closely and harshly ranked, these four nations have something else in common: heavy U.S. involvement. Three—Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya—were “liberated” thanks to U.S. forces, while in the fourth, Syria, the U.S. is actively sponsoring “freedom fighters” against the regime, many of whom would be better labeled “terrorists.”

The Syrian situation alone indicts U.S. foreign policy. According to Reuters:

Open Doors, a non-denominational group supporting persecuted Christians worldwide, said on Wednesday it had documented 2,123 “martyr” killings, compared with 1,201 in 2012. There were 1,213 such deaths in Syria alone last year, it said. “This is a very minimal count based on what has been reported in the media and we can confirm,” said Frans Veerman, head of research for Open Doors. Estimates by other Christian groups put the annual figure as high as 8,000.”

While most Americans are shielded from the true nature of the war by the U.S. media’s reluctance to report on it, Arabic media, websites, and activists daily report and document atrocity after atrocity—beheadings and bombed churches, Christians slaughtered for refusing to convert to Islam, and countless abducted for ransom or rape—at the hands of those whom the U.S. supports.

Sen. John McCain meets with “Syrian rebels,” many of whom are not Syrian, and one of which is a known kidnapper (L – Muhammad Nour). (Photo: Raymond Ibrahim)

It’s enough to point out that “the largest massacre of Christians in Syria,” to quote a top religious leader, was left wholly unreported by any major U.S. news network.

At any rate, the statistics speak for themselves: Syria, which used to be religiously tolerant, is now, in the context of the United States’ trying to bring “democracy” to it, the third worst country in the world in terms of “extreme persecution” of Christians.

The Blaze reports that Dr. David Curry, president of Open Doors,

charged that the Obama administration has essentially declined to make the protection of religious minorities a priority . . . “There are many instances where the vacuum of leadership and spokesmanship has created a real problem,” said the human rights leader. “I would say that every significant data point on this year’s ‘2014 Watch List’ is worse—and I think a factor in it is a lack of leadership from Western governments including . . . the U.S. in terms of religious freedom.”

But it’s worse than that. Far from taking any action or providing leadership—or simply ceasing to support the terrorists responsible—the Obama administration recently tried to go to war with Syria on behalf of the “freedom fighters,” amazingly, in the name of “human rights” (Apparently the unsubstantiated rumor that Assad massacred people is enough for the U.S. to go to war, but the ongoing and well-documented massacres of Christians and other civilians at the hands of the opposition is not enough for the U.S. to stop supporting them.)

What’s worse, even the most misinformed mainstream-media-watching American today knows that the so-called “Arab Spring,” which was hailed to justify U.S. support for “rebels” of all stripes—in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood (which months ago destroyed some 80 churches); in Libya, al-Qaeda, which has turned Benghazi into a terror zone; and now the “freedom fighters” in Syria—is not what it was touted to be.

In other words, at this point, whenever the U.S. intervenes in an Islamic nation, Islamists come to power. This is well demonstrated by the other three nations to which the U.S. brought “democracy” and where Christian minorities suffer “extreme persecution”:

• Afghanistan: The supposedly “moderate” Karzai government installed by the U.S. upholds many of the draconian laws enforced by the Taliban—including the apostasy law, fiercely persecuting those who seek to convert to Christianity—and, in 2011, under U.S. auspices, it destroyed Afghanistan’s last Christian church.
• Iraq: After the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, Christian minorities were savagely attacked and slaughtered, and dozens of their churches were bombed (see here for graphic images). Christians have been terrorized into near-extinction, with well over half of them fleeing Iraq.
• Libya: Ever since U.S.-backed, al-Qaeda-linked terrorists overthrew Qaddafi, Christians—including Americans—have indeed suffered extreme persecution. Churches have been bombed; Christians have been tortured and killed (including for refusing to convert); and nuns have been threatened.

Surely a common theme emerges here: Where the U.S. works to oust secular autocrats, the quality of life for Christians and other minorities takes a major nosedive. Under Saddam, Qaddafi, and Assad, Christians and their churches were largely protected.

Moreover, while George W. Bush was responsible for Afghanistan and Iraq, the argument can be made that, back then (2001 and 2003), this pattern of Islamic radicalization that erupts once autocrats are gone was less well known than it is today. There weren’t many precedents.

Conversely, the Obama administration has had both Afghanistan and Iraq to learn from—and yet still it supports Islamists and jihadis. But by now, what happens once they assume power—religious persecution, terror, oppression—is no longer a secret.

Incidentally, those who care little for the fate of Christians or other minorities in the Islamic world would do well to remember a simple truism: Wherever anti-Christian elements come to power, anti-American forces come to power. The two are synonymous.

Put differently, Muslim persecution of Christians is the litmus test of how radical an Islamic society has become. In all those Muslim nations that the U.S. has interfered in—Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt (till the Egyptians revolted, to the chastisement of the U.S.), and now Syria—the increase of religious intolerance is a reflection of the empowerment of forces hostile to Western civilization.

I am often asked, “How can we help persecuted Christians?” At this point, one must respond: “How about starting with getting the U.S. government to stop being the chief facilitator of Christian persecution?” Altruism aside, it would be in the interests of all who value freedom, religious or otherwise—and especially their descendants.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/confirmed-u-s-chief-facilitator-christian-persecution/#v6YSdAg2LPBkP3LT.99

When the Middle Eastern pot boils over - Avner Boskey, Final Frontier Ministries

                                                       

Avner & Rachel Boskey - Beersheva, Israel

When the Middle Eastern pot boils over

The Middle East is a violently boiling cauldron. So many changes are happening so quickly, and the media does not grasp the complexity and intractability of the present situation.  What follows is a brief summation of the current state of affairs, and scriptural guidelines on how to pray for each country.

Syria – the history

At present over 100,000 people have been murdered in the civil war raging across Syria, many of these unarmed civilians including women and children. Syria has been a dictatorship since time immemorial. Its population is a mix of Arab Sunni Moslems (60%), Arab Alawite Islam with Shi’ite roots (12%),  Kurdish Sunni Moslems (9%), Arab Greek Orthodox Christian (9%), Armenian Christian (4%), Arab Druze (3%), Arab Isma’eli Moslem (2%), and 1% made up of other minorities like Turkmen, Circassian, Assyrian and Jewish. For background on the biblical and historical perspective in Syria, see “Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part One – Syria”; October 13, 2007 at www.davidstent.org under “words.”

Military dictatorship ruled Syria (and much of the Middle East after WWII), which eventually ended up as Socialist Ba’ath governments (espousing Arab nationalism, socialism and secularism). A military officer named Hafez al-Assad (from the quasi-heretical Alawite Islamic stream) became Commander of the Air Force in 1963, and then after a military coup in 1966 became Minister of Defense. In another coup in 1970 he became Prime Minister, and in 1971 became President. He attacked Israel in 1973’s Yom Kippur War, forced Lebanon into a practical annexation in 1976, supported and trained international terror groups, carried out assassinations of Lebanon’s Prime Ministers in 1982 and 2005, and oversaw the murder of between 25,000 – 40,000 Syrians in 1982 in Hama in an attempt to crush the Muslim Brotherhood. At that time the President’s brother Rifa’at al-Assad declared that the Syrian government was prepared to “sacrifice a million martyrs” (over a tenth of Syria's population at that time) in order to stamp out “the nation's enemies.” For more background on Hama, see “Shattering the gates of Damascus (Amos 1:5)” August 7, 2012 atwww.davidstent.org under “words.”

Assad died of a heart attack in 2000 and was succeeded as President by his son, Bashar al-Assad. Hafez al-Assad was considered by his supporters as a champion of secularism, women's rights and Syrian nationalism. His critics have accused him of being an authoritarian dictator, a leader of a personality cult, a sponsor of terrorism and a perpetrator of multiple human rights abuses both at home and abroad. Christians in Syria (considered a minority group) nevertheless felt a measure of protection from Assad’s government.

Syria – the players

The civil war places Assad’s government forces on one side, and a Islamist green rainbow of warriors on the other side.

The Muslim Brotherhood organization, a jihadi Islamist group whose strategy involves coups and/or election-based takeovers of secular Arab dictatorships, has successfully risen to exercise power in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, and Gaza. One of its main leaders Youssef Qaradawi operates out of Saudi Arabia. Its networks are active in Jordan and Syria. For more background, see “Hurtling Through The Fog of War: A Messianic Perspective On The New Hamastan” February 4, 2006, at www.davidstent.org under “words.” The Muslim Brotherhood has been waiting patiently in Syria since Hama, looking for the right time for a coup, a revolution or an election which would bring them to power. Street demonstrations in 2012 afforded them that opportunity, and it was quickly snatched up.

Yet at the same time, al-Qa’eda proxies, spillovers and franchises stepped into the abyss, attempting to achieve their version of jihad on the backs of the Muslim Brothers. These include Jabhat Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Fatah al-Islam and Jordanian Salafi-jihadis.(www.understandingwar.org/report/jihad-syria).

The Syrian opposition (or National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_opposition) involves many different streams, including: Syrian National Council, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians, the Damascus Declaration, the Syrian Democratic People's Party, the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution, the Assyrian Democratic Organization, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, the Free Syrian Army and Higher Military Council, the Liwaa al-Umma, the Syrian Liberation Army, the Syrian Liberation Front, the National Salvation Front in Syria, etc.

These groups are not as strictly organized or supplied as the regular Syrian Army. As a result, there is a war of attrition going on, with many civilian casualties caused by Assad’s warplanes bombing cities, Assad’s artillery shelling civilian areas, and limited use of chemical warfare by Assad’s army. Rebel forces are chipping away at resupply routes, and command and control centers. They are being gradually armed with heavier and more advanced weapons. The balance of power tips back and forth with every new day.

At the same time, a state of anarchy is happening among the rebels, with Salafi and jihadi forces massacring Shi’ites and Christians (beheading Orthodox priests, torturing Protestant believers etc.), executing Muslims they suspect of being not fully Salafi and Islamic, etc.

Ø  Syrian believers in Yeshua see the handwriting on the wall, and know that whatever the outcome, their lives will be terrifyingly worse if the rebels come to power.

The stockpiles of chemical weapons in Assad’s warehouses are mostly aimed at Israel, though they could also be targeted at Jordan and Lebanon if need be. Surrounding countries (especially Israel and Jordan (with the US shadow handing over Jordan’s shoulder) – as well as Special Operations Forces from Western countries – have their fingers on the trigger, waiting and watching to see if the tripwire snaps and operations to seize chemical weapons becomes necessary.

Iran openly activated Hezbollah forces recently in order to bolster its influence over the western Middle East.  Hezbollah in Lebanon is a strategic partner of Assad’s Alawite regime, and they have lost over 500 fighters on Syrian soil in an attempt to prop Assad up from collapse.

The Great Game between the West and the Saudi-led block (on the one hand), and Russia, Iran and China (on the other) is heating up.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the preservation of human life

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Syria

Ø  Pray for the destruction of all chemical warfare stockpiles, with minimal loss of life

Egypt

Egypt has been convulsing in birth pangs for at least two years now. For more background, see “Riots on the Highway to Egypt” January 31, 2011; and “You say you want a revolution” - February 12, 2011, atwww.davidstent.org under “words.”

The military dictatorship of President Hosni Mubarak was dislodged by street demonstrations and US State Department pressure. At first the demonstrators became the darlings of the news media, and the moniker “Arab Spring” was coined, replete with visions of sugar-plums and Twitter hash tags. Within a very brief time indeed, the Muslim Brotherhood hijacked the ‘revolution’ and established itself as the new Pharaoh in Egypt. While corruption was a significant factor in Mubarak’s Egypt (and in the rest of the Middle East), the accession of President Morsi’s Brotherhood did not alter the socioeconomic situation. The economy actually got worse, as Islamists moved into offices of power and influence, and Western investors balked at pouring in good money after bad.

Persecution of Coptic and Protestant Christians has increased (riots, arson, murder), and recently Shi’ites were massacred in Cairo while at worship. The safety of women on the streets and in public squares has become highly dangerous. The Muslim Brotherhood has been pushing to ratify an Islamist constitution, one which would disenfranchise secular Egyptians, Christians and women.

In June and July 2013 crowds have taken to the streets in a bizarre parallel to the anti-Mubarak crowds of 2011. Now they are calling for Morsi to step down, accusing him of being an American and Zionist agent. Flags of the USA and Israel are being burned in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, as well as posters of President Morsi. The largest demonstration known to mankind took place on Sunday June 30, with over a million Egyptians protesting the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist reign.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the preservation of human life

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Egypt

Ø  Pray for revelation according to Isaiah 19 regarding the ultimate spiritual result for Egypt and Israel

Jordan

In 1922 the eastern bank of the Jordan river was established as a British puppet state, and then again in 1946 as a fully sovereign Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (today known as Jordan). King Abdullah (a descendant of the Hashemite dynasty and related to Mohammed) lost out on ruling Mecca to the Ibn Saud family, but the British set him up as king in this territory. For years under British tutelage, Jordan gradually moved to rest under the American umbrella (as did the new country of Saudi Arabia!).

The Hashemite dynasty is not native to the country of Jordan, and a majority of the population is descended from Arabs hailing from west of the Jordan river (commonly known as Palestinians). As a result, a simmering Muslim Brotherhood movement arose, intent on wresting Jordan away from the Hashemites, and on establishing an Islamist Caliphate in that country. Only a strong and wily intelligence service keeps Jordan alive.

The Syrian spillover has resulted in refugees flooding into northern Jordan – approximately 420,000 at latest count. Social and economic instability has resulted, and Jordan’s leadership (as well as those of Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq) are focusing fitfully on developments.

The USA has recently conducted Operation Eager Lion in Jordan, depositing Patriot anti-aircraft missile batteries, F-16 fighter jets, Special Operations Forces and other boots on the ground. Syria, Russia, Iran and China have protested America’s presence. Similar American military groups have established themselves on Turkey’s border with Syria. Jordan’s leadership is concerned at how Syrian developments might lead to unrest and violence on Jordanian soil (as once happened in 1970, when Syria invaded Jordan and the USA asked Israel to threaten Syrian forces with Israeli tanks; www.ndu.edu/press/lib/images/jfq-55/25.pdf ; www.aisisraelstudies.org/papers/Rubinovitz2009b.pdf).

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the strengthening of human life and for spiritual fruit among the Syrian refugees in Jordan

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Jordan

Lebanon

Lebanon was severely weakened after the PLO failed to overthrow King Hussein, and he subsequently drove the PLO out of his country into Syria and Jordan (the Black September season in 1970). The arrival of a substantial Sunni terrorist contingent in Lebanon weakened the tenuous balance between Maronite Christian, Druze, Shi’ite and Sunni, and led to the civil war of 1975-82 wherein over 100,00 Lebanese were killed. Israel’s invasion in 1982 resulted in the PLO been driven out and re-establishing itself in Tunis.

Into this vacuum moved Syria and Iran. The latter strengthened the Shi’ites in Lebanon, and the al-Amal movement gave way to a Khomeini-like jihadi organization known as Hezbollah (the party of Allah). This movement gradually became the main player in Lebanon, taking most of its orders from Iran’s mullahs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran). The attacks on US and French Marines bases in Lebanon were engineered by Hezbollah, as well as similar attacks on the Israeli army, and attacks on Jewish organizations in Argentina, The Hezbollah network is one of the strongest present-day terror networks in the world, with many sleeper cells in Western countries. Most of its armaments come from Iran and through Syria.

Hezbollah has kept its Shi’ite warriors under wraps when it comes to action in Syria, but events there have prompted Iran to “call in the mortgage” and send Sheikh Nasrallah’s fighters into the thick of Syria’s front lines. This has catalyzed a strident negative reaction from Sunni leaders in Saudi Arabia, in Gaza’s Hamastan, in Egypt and among Lebanese Sunnis, Druze and Christians. Fighting has drifted back and forth across the Syrian-Lebanese border.

A fuse has been lit in Lebanon, and Hezbollah’s power base is experiencing tremors. The previous Lebanese civil war (1975-82) might end up being child’s play compared to what may be coming around the bend. And in many instances in the Middle East, the tradition is, “When things get bad, blame Israel!”

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the strengthening of human life and for spiritual fruit among the Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Lebanon

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Lebanese, including among Hezbollah members

Afghanistan

The original American invasion of Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, October 7, 2001) was meant to drive out al-Qa’eda and its minders the Taliban, allowing the country to become a Western-oriented democracy. Though al-Qa’eda was scattered as a result, it went underground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, morphing into a loosely knit diaspora community from Indonesia to Yemen. The British and Russians were not able to crush the Afghanis during their military sojourns in that country, and the US forces have not been able to get more brilliant results. President Hamid Karzai is a leader tainted by typical Afghani corruptions, while US diplomats negotiate with the Taliban behind Karzai’s back as US forces prepare for a staggered retreat from Afghanistan.

The Islamist world sees Afghanistan as the anvil upon which Western “Christian” forces are beaten, while in the West many leaders are running full speed away from defining themselves, their countries and their morality as Christian.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Afghanistan

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Afghanis, including among Taliban members

Iraq

The Kingdom of Iraq was created by British statesmen in 1932, which functioned as a British puppet until 1958, when a Ba’athist coup established the Republic of Iraq. The dictator Saddam Hussein ruled with an iron hand from 1979-2003, when he was deposed by US military forces.

Iraq is made up of a Shi’ite majority (65%), a substantial Sunni minority (34%), and a one percentage point of minorities, including Armenians, Chechens, Circassians, Egyptians, Palestinians, and Shabaks.  The ethnic distribution is as follows: Iraqi Arabs (75%), Kurds (17%), Turkmen (3%), Assyrians (2%) and Persians (2%). This religious and ethnic mix guarantees that Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurd will always be fighting each other for control. The fracturing of Iraq into separate countries does not look like a feasible option in these days of energy-based political decisions.

As the US walks out the Iraqi door and slowly disengages from the country once called Mesopotamia, explosions are accompanying her at every corner. Al-Qa’eda in Iraq has moved delicately into the vacuum, while Sunni and Shi’ite employ IEDs to fragment civilians and worshippers on both sides of the Islamic divide.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Iraq

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Iraqis

Iran

The Western orientation of the Shah of Iran could not paper over his corruption and cruelty. The rise of a bloodthirsty and demonized Shi’ite Islamist Republic under the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 led to the rebirth of ancient Persia as a Middle Eastern force to be reckoned with. The export of Shi’ite jihad to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Emirates, Central Asia, Iraq and Lebanon altered the Islamist jihadi equation in the world. Iran’s persecution of Jews, Bahai’s, Christians, Communists and secular Iranians has led to a dictatorship international recognized for its cruelty and zeal against its own citizens.

Iran’s spread of international terrorism through its Revolutionary Guards Pasdaran movement is the most outstanding example of its kind. Iran’s fanatic fervor in obtaining nuclear weapons, while threatening Israel’s with total destruction, has created deep fear among the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, and any other country within reach of Iran’s cold and bony arm. The world’s attention is fixed on Iran’s race to nuclear holocaust, yet shows callow spinelessness in confronting these ambitions. The parallels between the world’s indifference to Hitler in the 1930’s and the world’s indifference to Iran in our day must be drawn and considered.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will be removed in Iran

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Iranians

Ø  Pray for the removal of nuclear weapons factories in Iran

Hamastan and PA

As a result of Western pressure on Israel, the PLO terror organization was allowed to return to Gaza and the mountains of Israel. More pressure from the US and EU led to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally disengaging from Gaza. The gap was quickly filled by the local Muslim Brotherhood branch (Hamas) coming to power in January 2006, with President Jimmy Carter as an international observer during the voting. Knee-capping, torture and assassination of PLO/Palestinian Authority personnel was the order of the day, and soon Gaza became an armed camp with missiles aimed at Israel. Two main clashes with Israel have occurred (2009 and 2012), while scores of Qassam rockets and mortars have slammed into Israeli cities, kibbutzim and moshavim before and after each war. Over10,138 rockets have been fired at Israel during this period, as well as 4,890 mortar shells (www.idfblog.com/facts-figures/rocket-attacks-toward-israel/; www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas-qassam.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel).

Gaza has become an Islamist region, with shari’a law in effect. Unaccompanied women and mixed couples displaying any physical affection are in severe danger. Christian workers have been martyred, while foreigners have been kidnapped and held for ransom. Israeli cities, towns and villages are attacked from time to time by rocket and missile fire. Smuggling tunnels bring weapons in and terror teams out. The Sinai peninsula has become a terror hotbed, and rockets have been fired from the south into the Israeli city of Eilat, often overshooting their mark and hitting the Jordanian city of Aqaba. Terrorists attempt to tunnel into Israel on a regular basis.

Gaza’s Hamas leadership oversee an Islamist Palestinian “state.” Yet the Palestinian Authority in what is called the West Bank oversee another quasi-state. Under their watchful eye, terror squads belonging to the PA (Tanzim, al-Aqsa) as well as Islamic Jihad groups and Hamas operatives – all plan and attempt to execute terror attacks and the planting of IED’s against Israeli civilian targets. Only Israel’s Shabak (General Security Services) , the IDF and the anti-terror barriers stand in the way of bloody casualties.

The world would like to see peace break out in this area, yet turns a blind eye to all of the above – active support of terrorism, refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, wanting descendants of Arab refugees to settle in Israel and not in PA areas (thus overrunning and destroying the Jewish state), etc.

Two Palestinian-ruled geographical entities exist. Both are attempting to destroy Israelis. Why exactly is there great fanfare about a peace process?

Israel

The nation of Israel sits like a pontoon bridge on a lake of hungry sharks, surrounded on all sides by the most unfriendly of neighbors. As the pot boils over in one country after another, and as the world turns two blind eyes away from the threats facing this country, we believe that the God-breathed prayers of believers in Yeshua worldwide make all the difference in the world.

Ø  Pray that Israeli believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will be weakened in Israel, the PA area and in Hamastan

Ø  Pray for the gospel to go forth in power to the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, to Gazans and those in the PA areas

Ø  Pray for the destruction of all weapons formed against us (Isaiah 54:17 )

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal) through: www.davidstent.org