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Why Record Israel-US Military Aid Deal Has Skeptics Concerned
CBN News 09-14-2016
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JERUSALEM, Israel -- The U.S. and Israel concluded a 10-year military aid package due to be signed on Wednesday. The $38 billion package is "the single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in U.S. history," the Obama administration said.
But it also includes major concessions from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- and that has some analysts worried.
"I think the aid package is designed first and foremost to help the Obama administration and Obama personally and the Democratic Party establish that they are friends of Israel after seven of the worst years in American-Israeli relations," author and historian Dr. Michael Widlanski told CBN News.
"And I think it's also part of the Obama philosophy to try and constrict Congress's ability to help Israel against White House," Widlanski he added.
Jerusalem Post analyst Herb Keinon took a different tack.
"Now that the deal is locked in, there will be much hand-wringing and speculation over what could have been, and what Netanyahu should have done differently," he wrote on Wednesday.
But Keinon says there's no way to know if there could have been a better deal. Still, he believes that the aid package is generous and goes "a long way toward ensuring Israel's military superiority in the region," and that it sends a message to the Israel's enemies that "America still very much has Israel's back."
Widlanski and others have noted, however, that the new deal will force Israel to spend the entire sum of money in the U.S. more than previous agreements, which could damage Israel's own military industry.
Two months ago, Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick saw problems coming.
"There is the issue of the deal's impact on Israel's military industries, which are the backbone of Israel's strategic independence," Glick wrote.
"The implications for our military industries are dire," she warned. "Not only will thousands of Israelis lose their jobs. Israel's capacity to develop its own weapons systems will be dangerously diminished."
Under the current defense package, Israel spends around 25 percent of the aid in Israel itself. By the end of the 10-year new package all the money will have to be spent in the U.S.
The late North Carolina Republican Sen. Jesse Helms used to call Israel "America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East," saying that the foothold Israel provided America justified the U.S. military aid to the Jewish state.
Widlanski said for America's sake it's better that Israel has an independent military industry.
"Under the usual aid package, Israel was able to use some of the monies for locally buying and that's very important. You don't want to destroy your own industry when you're getting help from a great friend like the United States," Widlanski said.
"I think that that's a mistake ultimately for American interests because Israeli independence of thought, technology is something that's very good for the U.S," he said.
Are Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria an obstacle to peace? Are the millions of Arabs living inside Israel obstacles to peace? Prime Minister Netanyahu makes it clear that ethnic cleansing and Judenrein are terms that will no longer be a part of the future of the Land of Israel. Ethnic cleansing for peace – what the Arab side proposes – is nothing more than blatant hatred of Jews and Israel
Posted: 13 Sep 2016 Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG
When people get hungry enough, they will do just about anything for some food. According to brand new research that was just released this week from Feeding America and the Urban Institute, there are millions of teenagers in America that live in “food insecure” households, and researchers were stunned to learn what some of these teens are willing to do to feed themselves. Some resort to shoplifting, others deal drugs, and there were a surprising number of participants in the study that actually admitted to trading sex for food. It wouldn’t be a shock to hear that these kinds of things are going on in an economically-depressed nation such as Venezuela, but this is the United States of America. We are supposed to be the wealthiest nation on the entire planet. Sadly, even while the stock market has been soaring in recent years, poverty in America has been on the rise. For those on the low end of the economic scale, things have gone from bad to worse since the end of the last recession, and millions of children are deeply suffering as a result. Let’s start with some of the hard numbers. The following comes directly from the Urban Institute website…
An estimated 6.8 million people ages 10 to 17 are food insecure, meaning they don’t have reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food. Another 2.9 million are very food insecure, and roughly 4 million live in marginally food secure households, where the threat of running out of food is real. Food insecurity takes a tremendous toll on teenagers. Poor nutrition—and the stress of hunger and poverty—can jeopardize their physical and mental health and development and their academic success. But despite the gravity and prevalence of teen food insecurity, we know very little about how these young people experience and cope with hunger.
The researchers already knew that lots of young people were hungry in America. But what surprised them were the lengths that many of these youngsters said that they would go to in order to get food…
Some of the youths said they or someone they know — mostly young men — have turned to shoplifting food, selling drugs or stealing items to sell. The teens also reported knowing young women who have sold their bodies for food or had sex for money so they could buy food for their families. Going to jail or failing a class in order to have to attend summer school were also some of the lengths teens went to.
Could you imagine your daughter or your granddaughter exchanging her body for food? For most of us that is absolutely unthinkable, but the truth is that this is taking place on the streets of America every single day. And this wasn’t just some blind random phone survey. The researchers conducted personal interviews with focus groups, and what these kids were willing to admit doing was absolutely astounding. Here is another excerpt directly out of the report…
When faced with acute food insecurity, teens in all but two of the communities said that youth engage in criminal behavior, ranging from shoplifting food directly to selling drugs and stealing items to resell for cash. These behaviors were most common among young men in communities with the most limited job options.
Teens in all 10 communities and in 13 of the 20 focus groups talked about some youth selling sex for money to pay for food. These themes arose most strongly in high-poverty communities where teens also described sexually coercive environments. Sexual exploitation most commonly took the form of transactional dating relationships with older adults.
In a few communities, teens talked about going to jail or failing school (so they could attend summer classes and get school lunch) as viable strategies for ensuring regular meals.
Many of these young people understand that what they are doing is wrong. Just consider what some of them told the researchers…
A girl in Portland, Oregon told researchers: “It’s really like selling yourself. Like you’ll do whatever you need to do to get money or eat.” Another comment from Portland: “You’re not even dating … they’ll be like … ‘I don’t really love him, but I’m going to do what I have to do.’” Many prefer to rationalise what they are doing as dating of sorts. A boy in rural North Carolina said: “When you’re selling your body, it’s more in disguise. Like if I had sex with you, you have to buy me dinner tonight … that’s how girls deal with the struggle … That’s better than taking money because if they take money, they will be labeled a prostitute.”
When I read the information in this report, I was stunned. Yes, I write about our economic decline and the rise in poverty all the time, but I didn’t know that things were this bad. And the researchers were surprised by what they were hearing as well. One of them said that the fact that girls are trading their bodies for food “was really shocking to me”, and she believes that things are “just getting worse over time”…
“I’ve been doing research in low-income communities for a long time, and I’ve written extensively about the experiences of women in high poverty communities and the risk of sexual exploitation, but this was new,” said Susan Popkin, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and lead author of the report, Impossible Choices. “Even for me, who has been paying attention to this and has heard women tell their stories for a long time, the extent to which we were hearing about food being related to this vulnerability was new and shocking to me, and the level of desperation that it implies was really shocking to me. It’s a situation I think is just getting worse over time.”
But aren’t we being told that things are getting better? Aren’t we being told that our leaders “fixed” the economy? Of course the truth is that America is mired in a long-term economic decline that stretches back for decades. With each passing year the middle class gets smaller as a percentage of the population, and poverty continues to grow. Last year the middle class became a minority of the population for the first time ever, and a lot of formerly middle class Americans are now among those that aren’t sure that they are going to have enough food to eat this month. Hunger in America is a major crisis and it is growing. Just because you may live in a comfortable home in a wealthy neighborhood does not mean that this problem is not real. Tonight there are millions of Americans that do not know where their next meal is going to come from, and they deserve our love and compassion.
'ISRAEL POISED TO BECOME KEY PLAYER IN REGIONAL GAS INDUSTRY' (Video Included)
by Hezi Sternlicht
Friday, September 9, 2016 JERUSALEM JOURNAL
From London to Singapore, Israel is recruiting investors for gas and oil development of massive reserves in beneath its waters in the Mediterranean. As world powers hear the pitch, like in the video below, everyone is keen.
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Israel is courting foreign investors ahead of a planned natural gas and oil explorations tender that the Energy Ministry plans to issue in November, Israel Hayom learned Wednesday.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz is currently visiting London, meeting with dozens of energy and financial services companies ahead of the tender. He is scheduled to continue on to Singapore next, for a series of similar meetings.
WHAT IS STEINITZ TELLING INVESTORS? THIS VIDEO IS THE IMPRESSIVE, VERY IMPRESSIVE, ESSENCE OF HIS PITCH. THE ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW.
The ministry has mapped out a series of future exploration sites, which Steinitz is presenting to potential investors. The presentations also outline projected and expected timetables, competition and regulation guidelines, market reviews, and projected revenue for future gas and oil exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Steinitz's presentations have reportedly garnered great interest, including from the international financial media. The energy minister has been able to snag the attention of dozens of the world's top energy firms, such as Woodside Petroleum, the Edison Energy Group, Santos, and the Indian Oil Corporation, to name a few.
"We have embarked on a dialogue with neighboring countries, and after years of delays and putting a uniform regulatory framework in place, things are moving forward," Steinitz said. "Israel is poised to become a key player in the regional gas industry."
The tender is expected to be finalized by the end of March 2017.
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This is a lightly edited version of the original article that was published by Israel Hayom at http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=36249. The original article did not include the embedded video.
About 120 Jewish men and women, followers of Jesus of Nazareth, gathered together in Solomon's Colonnade, under the shade of its cedar beams. They assembled for prayer in the Temple Courts alongside Jews from all over the world in honor of the biblical festival called Shavuot or Pentecost.
Following Jesus' command, these disciples had remained in Jerusalem after His ascension. It was there that they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Jerusalem, they were transformed from a small band of disciples into a true ekklesia (assembly).
Just before His ascension, Jesus told His followers that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth (Acts 1:8). Notice how Jesus Himself envisions the world with Jerusalem at its center.
Jerusalem is mentioned no less than 58 times in the book of Acts alone. The followers of Jesus met regularly in Solomon's Portico, an area within the Temple courts. And even as the message spread across the region, Jerusalem remained the home base of the apostles. Paul would collect donations from other communities of believers and bring them to the apostolic community in the holy city.
Like other Jews, first-century followers of Messiah faced Jerusalem when they prayed. It represented for them the hope of redemption and the Second Coming of Jesus.
As the church began to distance herself from her Jewish roots, reverence for Jerusalem was lost. Instead of facing Jerusalem in prayer, Christians began to adopt the more universal custom of simply facing east regardless of location. This is the custom among Orthodox Christians to this day.
But today, more and more Christians are recognizing Jerusalem as the "apple of God's eye," knowing that this is the place of Messiah's glorious return. It makes sense to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people today and return to the ancient practice.
Spiritual Jerusalem
Why turn to face a physical place? Didn't Jesus say to the Samaritan woman that true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (John 4:23)? Isn't the present Jerusalem "in slavery," while the Jerusalem above is "our mother" (Gal. 4:25-26)? Doesn't the body of Messiah now constitute the Temple and dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph. 4:22)?
In speaking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus confirmed that the Jewish people possess the true revelation of God. He told her, "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). But Jesus was aware that only one generation later, the Romans would ransack the Temple and tear it down to its foundation. Despite its holy, chosen status and glorious future, it would not always be physically possible to pray there. And yet, we worship in spirit, turning our hearts toward Jerusalem and anticipating God's future plans. (Thank God, in our time Jerusalem is inhabited by Jews once more, and people once again worship there every day!)
In Galatians, Paul contrasts the "present Jerusalem" with the "Jerusalem above." But this is not a new idea that originated with Paul. The ancient rabbis also knew and talked about the "Jerusalem above." This in no way minimizes the importance of Jerusalem—actually, it emphasizes it.
After all, how many cities are there that have a heavenly version? This just shows that our Jerusalem on Earth is a physical representative of a tremendous spiritual reality.
Similarly, the concept of a spiritual Temple did not originate with Christianity. For example, the ancient rabbis looked closely at the verse, "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst" (Ex. 25:8). In Hebrew, this verse can also be understood as "They will make Me a sanctuary, but I will dwell within them." In other words, God's faithful people have always constituted a dwelling place for His Spirit.
This illustrates an important concept in a Jewish frame of mind: physical and spiritual realities can exist simultaneously. The heavenly tabernacle already existed before God commanded Moses to build one on Earth; the heavenly tabernacle was the "pattern" that God showed him on the mountain (Ex. 25:9). One does not negate or obviate the other.
Turning the Heart
If you don't know which way is Jerusalem, or if it is just not practical for in your time and place, then don't worry. We are not praying to Jerusalem; we are praying to our Father in heaven. Direct your heart toward Him.
There is nothing magical about facing a certain direction in prayer. God could hear our prayers even if we were speaking into a hole in the ground! And it certainly has no bearing on our salvation.
And yet, prayer is communication. Communication not only exists in the word we speak, but also in body language. Think of what it conveys when a person faces away from you while speaking, or when someone's eyes are darting elsewhere. What would that kind of distraction look like in prayer?
The author of Hebrews invokes Zion and Jerusalem as symbolic of the new covenant enacted through our Messiah:
"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel" (Heb. 12:22-24)
By turning to face Jerusalem, we express to God our desire to step into line with His plans and purposes in this world. We show that He has our full attention. We communicate that we are eager to see Messiah return.
When Christians turn their hearts and faces toward the holy city, anticipating its redemption and transformation through Messiah, they stand in unity with our Jewish brothers and sisters all across the world. They unite with countless generations of Jewish people going back to the earliest followers of Jesus.
Aaron Eby is a writer, teacher, and translator for the messianic ministry of First Fruits of Zion (ffoz.org), an international organization with offices in Israel, Canada and USA, bringing Messianic Jewish teaching to Christians and Jews. Aaron is also on the board of directors for The Bram Center for Messianic Jewish Learning in Jerusalem (thebramcenter.org).
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Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett this week stressed that the Bible and Jewish faith are the most important topics children learn in school.
Bennett, himself a religious Jew, previously led a campaign to force religious Jewish schools to teach core subjects like math and science if they wanted to receive government funding.
That demand was dropped several months ago as a result of pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.
Speaking at an education event on Monday, Bennett clarified that his desire to see religious children learn core subjects was in no way meant to diminish the importance of biblical studies.
“Learning about Judaism and excellence in the subject is more important in my eyes than mathematics and the sciences,” he said. “Even though [Israel] is a high-tech superpower, an exporter of knowledge and innovation to the world, we must [also] be a spiritual superpower and export spiritual knowledge to the world.”
Bennett reminded Israelis that their primary mandate was “to be a light to the nations. ‘For out of Zion shall go forth Torah and the word of God from Jerusalem.’”
Defending his remarks a day later, Bennett was adamant that “it is not enough to be solely the nation of the startup. We must also be the people of the Bible.”
From the Heart of a Pastor: What I Am Telling My Congregation About the Election
Are you stressed out over this election?
If you are, just know you are not alone.
So many are angry, confused or in fear over the outcome of the elections. "I just can't see Hilary Clinton or Donald Trump in the Oval Office. I don't like either of them. What in the world is happening?"
I have felt that way at times during the course of this campaign season. Yet, as a pastor, I knew I had the responsibility to help my congregation stand in faith for our nation. To do so, I needed God's perspective on the election.
I am so grateful for the privilege of pastoring Eagle Mountain International Church in Fort Worth, Texas. We are the church of Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Brother Copeland also happens to be my father-in-law.
While pondering the election, the Lord reminded me of a discussion Brother Copeland and I had on September 22, 2012. He gave me a preaching assignment for the church. He said, "George, you need to compare the platforms of the two political parties. Look at what the two parties have stated about a particular issue. Compare the two platforms to God's Word. Then, determine which platform best aligns with how the kingdom of God operates."
Up to that point, I had never considered reading the platforms. I did not realize those party platforms would be the driving agenda for the next four years of legislation. Nor had I considered the long term effects these platforms would have on my children and grandchildren.
Something else Brother Copeland shared that day absolutely startled me.
He said, "George, make it clear that a platform is something you stand on. The planks represent the individual issues. To vote for that platform is to attach yourself to it. And, you will be a partaker of the judgement of that platform. For instance, you could vote for a person for some other reason, but if they support abortion, you have just become an accomplice."
I thought, "What exactly is an accomplice?"
Consider if a bank is being robbed. Shots are fired and several are killed. The accomplice is the one sitting in the driver's seat of the getaway car. They carry the same degree of guilt as the person they are assisting and they are subject to criminal penalties.
God knows what is on the Democratic and Republican platforms and will hold the politicians and those who vote for them accountable for their actions.
Years ago, the Lord told Brother Copeland to share this statement regarding elections.
"Tell My people wherever you go—those who vote for politicians knowing their immoral policies and illegal acts had better repent. They are partners with those politicians and will be responsible for every baby's death."
To the Lord, I believe with all my heart that abortion is the kingpin. The two platforms are crystal clear. Let's look at just a few of the platform abortion statements:
"We will appoint judges who defend the constitutional principles of liberty and equality for all, and will protect a woman's right to safe and legal abortion" (page 25).
"We will fight Republican efforts to roll back the clock on woman's health and reproductive rights, and stand up for Planned Parenthood" (page 34).
"We will continue to oppose—and seek to overturn—federal and state laws and policies that impede a women's access to abortion, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment" (page 37).
[The 1976 Hyde Amendment is a legislative provision barring the use of certain federal funds to pay for abortion except to save the life of the mother. President Clinton added "or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape."]
"We will support sexual and reproductive health and rights around the globe" (page 46).
"We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed" (page 13).
"We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to children before birth" (page 13).
"We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts rather than provide healthcare" (page 13).
"We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life" (page 13).
"We call for a permanent ban on federal funding and subsidies for abortion and healthcare plans that include abortion coverage" (page 37).
The Word of God:
Deuteronomy 30:19 (MEV): "I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live."
Psalm 139:13-16 (MEV): "You brought my inner parts into being; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for You made me with fear and wonder; marvelous are Your works, and You know me completely. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, and intricately put together in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw me unformed, yet in Your book all my days were written, before any of them came into being."
Isaiah 46:3 (NIV-84): "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you who I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth."
Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT): "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you were born I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations."
I preached this platform series in 2014 and I am preaching it again in my church.
At the conclusion of my recent teaching on the abortion plank, the Lord instructed me to conduct a very special altar call. He told me to ask for all who were struggling with the shame and guilt of an abortion. The altar filled with hurting men and women.
It was a precious time of forgiveness and cleansing. We prayed for each one. Members of our congregation came and offered comfort and strength. By the end of the ministry time, all were laughing for joy. The weight had lifted. The Lord spoke and said, "There will be no bitterness in heaven. Your children will come and embrace you. They are waiting for you there with only love in their hearts for you."
Perhaps you have had an abortion at some point in your life. Maybe you have voted for a political party that embraces abortion. If so, take a moment and pray this prayer aloud with me as we go before our loving God:
"Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercy and grace. Thank You for Your Word that declares in 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, I repent for having an abortion. I repent for voting for a party that embraces abortion. By faith, I receive Your forgiveness and thank you for removing the hurt, shame and weight of the abortion. In You, I have the hope that one day I will see my son or daughter in heaven. Until then I declare by Your loving-kindness, I am forever free in Jesus' precious name."
George Pearsonsis Senior Pastor of Eagle Mountain International Church at Kenneth Copeland Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas. He is a man on fire with the love of God, who is passionate to see revival in the church and an awakening in the nations. He is the author of Well Versed: Biblical Answers to Today's Tough Issues. Pastor George and his wife, Terri Copeland Pearsons, have an international commission that takes them around the world on behalf of KCM. He ministers with Gloria Copeland on the Believers' Voice of Victory broadcast, teaching people how to stand victoriously in life. For more information or ministry materials, visit www.emic.org or write to KCM, Fort Worth, TX 76192-0001.
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Over the last several years, my wife and I have met countless numbers of people that have moved up to the Great Northwest. All of their stories are different, but there is one common theme that we have noticed. (Brian Wolfe/Flickr/Creative Commons)
Why Are So Many Conservatives, Preppers and Christians Moving to the Great Northwest?
Thousands of Americans are flocking to "Big Sky" country, and this movement has become so prominent that it has even caught the attention of the mainstream media. Within the last several weeks, both the Chicago Tribune and the Economist have done major articles on this phenomenon. From all over the country, conservatives, preppers and Bible-believing Christians are moving to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and the eastern portions of Oregon and Washington. As you will see below, this region has become known as the "American Redoubt," and for a variety of reasons it is considered by many survivalists to be one of the top "safe zones" for when things really start falling apart in this nation.
Many of you that are reading this article may think that it is quite strange that families are quitting their jobs, packing up everything they own and moving to the middle of nowhere, but for those that are doing it this actually make perfect sense. A recent Chicago Tribune article on this phenomenon began by profiling an ex-California couple that decided to flee the state for the friendly confines of north Idaho:
Don and Jonna Bradway recently cashed out of the stock market and invested in gold and silver. They have stockpiled food and ammunition in the event of a total economic collapse or some other calamity commonly known around here as "The End of the World As We Know It" or "SHTF" – the day something hits the fan.
The Bradways fled California, a state they said is run by "leftists and non-Constitutionalists and anti-freedom people," and settled on several wooded acres of north Idaho five years ago. They live among like-minded conservative neighbors, host Monday night Bible study around their fire pit, hike in the mountains and fish from their boat. They melt lead to make their own bullets for sport shooting and hunting—or to defend themselves against marauders in a world-ending cataclysm.
And of course the Bradways are far from alone. Over the past 10 years, approximately five million people have fled the state of California. If I was living there, I would want to move out too. Once upon a time, countless numbers of young people were "California Dreaming," but those days are long gone. At this point, the California Dream has become a California Nightmare.
Only a very small percentage of those leaving California have come up to the Great Northwest, but it is a sizable enough number to make a huge impact. Unfortunately, many of those that have come from California want to turn their new areas into another version of what they just left, and that is often firmly resisted by the locals.
But it isn't just California; there are people streaming into the "American Redoubt" from all over the nation, and many of them are some of the finest people that you could ever hope to meet.
An article in the Economist points to a 2011 manifesto posted by James Wesley Rawles as the beginning of the "American Redoubt" movement:
In a widely read manifesto posted in 2011 on his survivalblog.com, Mr. Rawles, a former army intelligence officer, urged libertarian-leaning Christians and Jews to move to Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and a strip of eastern Oregon and Washington states, a haven he called the "American Redoubt."
Thousands of families have answered the call, moving to what Mr Rawles calls America's last big frontier and most easily defendable terrain. Were hordes of thirsty, hungry, panicked Americans to stream out of cities after, say, the collapse of the national grid, few looters would reach the mostly mountainous, forested and, in winter, bitterly cold Redoubt. Big cities are too far away. But the movement is driven by more than doomsday "redoubters," eager to homestead on land with lots of water, fish, and big game nearby. The idea is also to bring in enough strongly conservative voters to keep out the regulatory creep smothering liberty in places like California, a state many redoubters disdainfully refer to as "the C-word."
Who wouldn't want to live where the air is clear, the water is clean and the sky is actually brilliantly blue and not the washed out grayish blue that you get in most major cities?
And just having some breathing space is reason enough for some people to move to the Great Northwest. If you can get at least a few acres, you will quickly discover the joy of not having neighbors crammed in around you on every side.
Others wish to move to an area with a low population density for more practical reasons. As the New York Times recently reported, crime is rising in large cities all over America:
Murder rates rose significantly in 25 of the nation's 100 largest cities last year, according to an analysis by the New York Times of new data compiled from individual police departments.
The findings confirm a trend that was tracked recently in a study published by the National Institute of Justice. "The homicide increase in the nation's large cities was real and nearly unprecedented," wrote the study's author, Richard Rosenfeld, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis who explored homicide data in 56 large American cities.
Sadly, this is just the beginning. The chaos that we have seen in Dallas, Baton Rouge, Milwaukee, Ferguson, Baltimore, Chicago and elsewhere is going to get much worse. As the economy continues to unravel, we are going to see civil unrest on a scale that none of us have ever seen before. When that time comes, those that have moved to the middle of nowhere will be very thankful that they got out while the getting was good.
Over the last several years, my wife and I have met countless numbers of people that have moved up to the Great Northwest. All of their stories are different, but there is one common theme that we have noticed.
In the vast majority of cases, families tell us that they moved to the Great Northwest because they felt that God was calling them to do so. Individuals from many different churches and denominations have all felt the same call, and that creates a sort of kinship that is quite unusual these days.
Something big is happening in the Great Northwest. If you have never been up here, you might want to check it out some time.
And once you get here, you may never want to go home ever again.
Michael Snyderis the founder and publisher of End Of The American Dream. Michael’s controversial new book about Bible prophecy entitled "The Rapture Verdict"is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Go deeper!
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