Thursday, March 9, 2017

Israel routs Taipei, sprints to 2-0 Classic start - 2017 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

Israel routs Taipei, sprints to

2-0 Classic start

Freiman's three-run homer0:18

Nate Freiman drills a three-run home run to the seats in left field, extending Israel's lead to 15-3 in the top of the 9th inning

By Austin Laymance / MLB.com | March 7th, 2017

The 2017 World Baseball Classic already has one of its biggest surprises in Israel, which beat Chinese Taipei, 15-7, on Tuesday at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, in the second game of the tournament. With its second win in as many days, Israel is in prime position to advance to the next round.

Israel wasted no time taking control of the game, coming out of the gate with four consecutive hits and scoring four runs in the top of the first inning.

Full Game Coverage

Ryan Lavarnway added a two-run home run in the third inning and Nate Freiman tied a bow on the victory with a three-run shot in the ninth as Israel's balanced offense combined for 20 hits.

Chinese Taipei briefly closed the gap in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs to cut Israel's lead to 6-3. But Chinese Taipei's bullpen faltered in the top of the seventh as the Israelis pulled away with a five-run inning.

Playing in its first Classic, Israel is 2-0 in Pool A, having beat host Korea, 2-1, in 10 innings on Monday. Israel can win Pool A if it beats the Netherlands on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET). It may have already clinched a spot in the second round by that time, though, as a win by the Dutch team over Chinese Taipei at 4:30 a.m. ET Wednesday would send the Netherlands and Israel through to Round 2 in Tokyo. The top two teams from each of the four pools advance.

Lavarnway's two-run homer
Ryan Lavarnway puts Israel up 6-0 with a two-run homer to left-center field in the top of the 3rd inning

While Israel has enjoyed early success as a tournament darling, manager Jerry Weinstein wants his club focused on the next game, not the next round.

"One of the goals is to not put the cart before the horse," Weinstein said. "We're not in the second round yet. We're preparing for the game with the Netherlands and that's what we're thinking about right now. My experience has been that when you start getting ahead of yourself, you get out in the future, you're not taking care of the present. We need to take care of what we're doing here right now and when we know we're going to be in next round, then we'll start talking about the next round."

Israel once again benefitted from a strong performance from its starting pitcher. Corey Baker fired 4 2/3 scoreless innings, scattering three hits and striking out three. The 27-year-old right-hander is in the Cardinals' organization and reached Triple-A last season.

Chinese Taipei saw its offense come alive with four runs in the ninth, but the game was already out of reach by then.

Israel had 10 different players record a hit, including four players with three hits and two others with multiple hits. Freiman drove in four runs, Tyler Krieger drove in three, and Ike Davis and Lavarnway each contributed two RBIs.

Krieger's two-run single
Tyler Krieger grounds a two-run single up the middle, pushing Israel's advantage to 4-0 and knocking out starter Chun-Lin Kuo in the 1st

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Early offense: The Israelis chased Taipei starter Chun-Lin Kuo from the game before he could secure his third out, opening the top of the first with four straight hits and tagging Kuo for four runs in the frame.

Davis and Krieger each delivered two-run singles. Davis recently signed a Minor League deal with the Dodgers and Krieger is ranked as the Indians' No. 18 prospect by MLBPipeline.com.

"I just also think it was important, because last night was such an emotional game and a stressful game; to get out of the gate with high energy and get on top early, so that was good," Lavarnway said.

Davis' two-run single
Ike Davis lines a two-run single to right field to open the scoring for Israel in the top of the 1st inning

Captain comes through: Chih-Sheng Lin, selected as the team captain for Chinese Taipei, put his team on the board with a two-run double in the sixth. Lin has said he plans to retire from the national team after the Classic.

QUOTABLE
"You know, for us, or for me, this is a huge deal to help possibly maybe kick‑start baseball in Israel. It's not as big as we'd like, and I think we can maybe change that with what we're doing." -- Davis, on growing the game in Israel

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Israel entered WBC '17 ranked No. 41 in the world, according to the World Baseball Softball Confederation, and has already beaten the No. 3 (Korea) and No. 4 (Chinese Taipei) ranked teams.

Israel plates three on error
Chen-Hua Lin fields Scott Burcham's bunt and makes an errant throw into right field, allowing all three runs on base to score

WHAT'S NEXT
Israel: Next up for Israel is its final game of pool play, against the Netherlands on Wednesday night. After beating Pool A host Korea and Chinese Taipei in its first two games, Israel would clinch a spot in the second round of the Classic with a win over the Netherlands. Israel will be the home team, with first pitch scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.

Chinese Taipei: Next up for Chinese Taipei is a matchup with the Netherlands on Wednesday morning. It's the country's second game of WBC '17. Chinese Taipei will be the road team in the 4:30 a.m. ET contest.

The World Baseball Classic runs through March 22. In the U.S., games will air live exclusively in English on MLB Network and on an authenticated basis via MLBNetwork.com/watch, while ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN will provide the exclusive Spanish-language coverage. MLB.TV Premium subscribers in the U.S. will have access to watch every tournament game live on any of the streaming service's 400-plus supported devices. The tournament will be distributed internationally across all forms of television, internet, mobile and radio in territories excluding the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan. Get tickets for games at Marlins Park, Tokyo Dome, Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Mexico, Petco Park, as well as the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium, while complete coverage -- including schedules, video, stats and gear -- is available at WorldBaseballClassic.com.

Austin Laymance is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

How Tel Aviv Is Fulfilling Biblical Prophecies in This Hour - CBN NEWS

Tel Aviv (Flickr/Rol247)

How Tel Aviv Is Fulfilling Biblical Prophecies in This Hour

3/9/2017 CBN NEWS

President Trump has pledged to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. While the Old City of Jerusalem is the center of biblical events, Tel Aviv has become Israel's economic and hi-tech center. As CBN News' Scott Ross found out, the bustling city also fulfills biblical prophecy.

Situated on the shores of the Mediterranean, Tel Aviv could be described as Israel's New York City. In just over 100 years, it's become one of the world's leading startup cities.

Issac Dror, who serves as education manager at Independence Hall, told CBN News it was a bunch of sand dunes not so very long ago.

"Tel Aviv was established in 1909," Dror said. "It is a very young city. All this was sand here in 1909.

Asked what the vision was for the city, Dror said it was to establish a modern Jewish city that speaks the Hebrew language—a foundation for a Jewish life.

"And the idea was to realize the dreams, the hopes, the prophecies of our prophets and the dreams of the Jews all over the world," he continued. "You know the most amazing thing about the Jewish people ... is the fact that we keep dreaming the same dream, wherever we are in the same time through the centuries: next year in Jerusalem; next year in Jerusalem."

Dror explained that at first there were 66 Jewish families living in the Old City of Jaffa.

"You know .. .narrow alleyways, sewage in the street, an Oriental city struggling, and Jews in Jaffa dream about ... breaking from the walls of Jaffa and establishing a Jewish neighborhood," he continued. "We paid in gold for every inch here and the money was paid to whom? To the Ottomans? Who are the Ottomans? That's not their land," he said.

"This was redeeming the land of Israel," Dror said.

Tel Aviv's Independence Hall is where David Ben-Gurion declared Israel's statehood and its founding fathers signed the Jewish nation-state's Declaration of Independence.

"This is a significant place," said Ross, as the two sat in front of the building.

"It is significant. It is really significant," Dror agreed. "It is the place where Israel was born, but it is also the place where Tel Aviv was established. It was the home of the founder of Tel Aviv. It was the first art museum of the city."

"In the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel lived in a place called Tel Aviv, a Jewish city in Babylon where he was prophet, a tiny Jewish community in the desert of Iraq, exiled Jews," Dror continued.

In 1950, Tel Aviv and Jaffa merged to form Tel Aviv-Yafo. It's also where the prophet Jonah caught a ship to flee from the Lord and ended up in the belly of a large fish.

Today, it's Israel's second-largest city, and though it's home to all foreign embassies, Tel Aviv is clearly not the biblical capital of Israel and the Jewish people.

"Jerusalem has a more religious environment," Ross said.

"This city does not have to bear a heavy load that Jerusalem is carrying. It is the holiness of Jerusalem," Dror explained. "And Tel Aviv does not have to carry all this history, but Tel Aviv is very, very special in a different way."

Israel's founders sensed they were fulfilling prophecy when Tel Aviv was established. In the middle of this secular city, surrounded by construction cranes, one monument says it all.

"This is from the Bible—Jeremiah. And it says here, 'I shall rebuild you and you will be built, O, virgin of Israel.' This is the motto of the people who established Tel Aviv. This is what's going on [over] there," he said, pointing to the construction.

"As we stand here now, the prophecy's being fulfilled right in front of your eyes," Ross said.

"It is the first time after 2,000 years, the Jewish people building the Jewish land, speaking Hebrew with their Bible in their hand, in the land of Israel," said Dror.

Ross met with Jerusalem University Director of Education Zeev Ben-Shachar, who gave him a modern comparison to the founding of Israel and Tel Aviv, today known as Israel's Silicon Wadi.

"What is it about Tel Aviv that so much creativity, innovativeness has come out of this area?" Ross asked Ben-Shachar.

"There are more than 700 startup companies concentrated in this city. There's venture capital that is being invested in Israel, which is the highest per capita in the world ... combined, of course, with Israel's culture and with Israel's circumstances have made Tel Aviv what it is today, the second Silicon Valley of the world," he explained.

"And I think the whole venture of Israel is a startup venture. You can see this miracle around us today. It's not all theoretical. It affects our lives every day and I'll just give you an example," Ben-Shachar continued.

"Yesterday, I was chatting with my wife on Facebook, using instant messenger technology, which was developed here in Israel," he said. "I came here using Waze, which is a community-based navigation and GPS system that saves me dozens of hours every month. I parked using Pango, which is an app that allows me to park wherever I want without any difficulty. ..."

Ross asked some Tel Aviv residents why they live here and what the city means to them.

"The architecture is very nice. And the people are making the city what it is. It's the best city. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. You have the beach of course that you can go. I think the people are amazing, the most amazing," an enthusiastic Tel Avivan responded.

"Do you like the life here?" Ross asked a couple of ladies.

"Yeah, I like the way that people are open-minded and this is a creative place here, which is completely different than in Paris and completely different than in U.S.," one French woman who now lives in Tel Aviv said.

A second woman said she liked Tel Aviv "because it's the most exciting city in Israel. Everything happens here, all the cafés. All the cultural activities are happening here.

"Tel Aviv: It's the center of Israel, of business, of life, of families, of real estate, of everything," a man named Hadar said.

Ross asked Ben-Shahar about Tel Aviv's future.

"I think it's going to explode, not literally," he responded. "It is going to explode the amount of high-tech companies, the amount of innovations that are developed here—that are crucial to making the world a better place are going to come out of Tel Aviv and more research and more funding is going to come into this city and hopefully create a better future, not just for Jews, but for Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, around the world."

This article originally appeared at cbnnews.com.

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Did Russia Just Ban Children From 'Beauty and the Beast'? - CBN NEWS

Emma Watson and Dan Stevens at the premiere of 'Beauty and the Beast' (Reuters)

Russia Just Ban Children From 'Beauty and the Beast'?

3/8/2017 CBN NEWS

Join us on the new C-Pop podcast where Taylor and Jessilyn discuss, debate and sometimes deride pop culture with a strong sense of humor and a focus on Christ. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

Russian leaders have stopped short of a total ban, but they did issue a big decision against Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.

A 2013 Russian law prohibits "gay propaganda" aimed at children, so the Russian Culture Ministry has decided moviegoers will need to be at least 16 years old to see the film.

Russian lawmaker Vitaly Milonov had called the film "homosexual propaganda," saying it shouldn't be seen by children because of reports that it includes a gay character.

Milonov protested the screening of any movie that disseminates "overt and shameless propaganda of sin and sexual perversion under the guise of a fairy tale."

The controversy began after the film's director said the movie features "a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney film" involving the character LeFou, played by actor .

During an interview with Attitude magazine, a European gay lifestyle magazine, the film's director Bill Condon described LeFou as "somebody who on one day, wants to be Gaston, and on another day, wants to kiss Gaston."

The statement has stirred up controversy, with a number of parents saying they will not take their children to see Beauty and the Beast.

At the film's March 2 premiere in Los Angeles, director Bill Condon revised his earlier comments, saying that describing LeFou as Disney's first gay character went too far.

"I keep saying it's more like the first gay moment," he said. "Because I think it's a very fluid character." The director added: "You can't help but wonder in his adoration of Gaston ... [is there] something more going on?"

But Russia's Culture Ministry has made its decision: No children allowed.

The movie is set to release in Russia on March 16. It hits theaters in the U.S. the next day.

16 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Live In California - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

16 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Live In California

Posted: 08 Mar 2017 Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

It has been said that “as California goes, so goes the nation”. That is why it is such a shame what is happening to that once great state. At one time, California seemed to be the epicenter of the American Dream. Featuring some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the entire world, the gorgeous weather and booming economy of the state inspired people from all over the world to move to the state. But now people are moving out of the state by the millions, because life in California has literally become a nightmare for so many people.

I certainly don’t have anything against the state personally. My brother and sister were both born there, and I spent a number of my childhood years in stunning northern California. When I was younger I would sometimes dream of getting a place on the coast eventually, but for reasons I will discuss below I no longer think that would be advisable.
In fact, if I was living in California today I would be immediately looking for a way to move out of the state unless I specifically felt called to stay. The following are 16 reasons why you shouldn’t live in California…

#1 The entire California coastline is part of the “Ring of Fire” seismic zone that roughly encircles the Pacific Ocean. The San Andreas Fault has been described as a “time bomb“, and at some point there will be a catastrophic earthquake that absolutely devastates the entire region. In fact, a study that was just released says that a “major earthquake” on the San Andreas Fault “is way overdue” …

A recently published study reveals new evidence that a major earthquake is way overdue on a 100 mile stretch of the San Andreas Fault from the Antelope Valley to the Tejon Pass and beyond.
Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey released the results of the years-long study warning a major earthquake could strike soon.

#2 Out of all 50 states, the state of California has been ranked as the worst state for business for 12 years in a row…

In what is sounding like a broken record, California once again ranked dead last in Chief Executive magazine’s annual Best and Worst States for Business survey of CEOs – as it has all 12 years the survey has been conducted. Texas, meanwhile, earned the top spot for the 12th straight year.

Among the survey’s subcategories, the 513 CEOs from across the nation ranked California 50th in taxation and regulation, 35th in workforce quality and 26th in living environment, which includes cost of living, the education system and state and local attitudes toward business. Notably, California placed worst among the nine states in the Western region in all three categories.

#3 California has the highest state income tax rates in the entire nation. For many Americans, the difference between what you would have to pay if you lived in California and what you would have to pay if you lived in Texas could literally buy a car every single year.

#4 The state government in Sacramento seems to go a little bit more insane with each passing session. This time around, they are talking about going to a single-payer healthcare system for the entire state that would cost California taxpayers 40 billion dollars a year…

On Friday, State Senator Ricardo Lara introduced legislation that would transition California’s healthcare into a single-payer system. (RELATED: Read what a retired colonel said about the real purpose of Obamacare). The system would be very similar to the healthcare system currently in place in Canada and would cost California taxpayers roughly $40 billion for the first year alone. Given the poor economic climate California has already created for itself, this will no doubt be just one more burden on the people of California, and one step closer towards total bankruptcy.
Micah Weinberg, the president of the Economic Institute at the Bay Area Council, raised concerns over the financial consequences of the proposed legislation. “Where are they going to come up with the $40 billion?” he asked. He went on to suggest that adopting a state level single-payer system is “just not feasible to do as a state.”

#5 The traffic in the major cities just keeps getting worse and worse. According to USA Today, Los Angeles now has the worst traffic in the entire world, and San Francisco is not far behind.

#6 A lot of money is being made in Silicon Valley these days (at least for now), but poverty is also exploding in the state. In desperation, homeless people are banding together to create large tent cities all over the state, and the L.A. City Council recently asked Governor Jerry Brown “to declare homelessness a statewide emergency“.

#7 Thanks to unchecked illegal immigration, crime is on the rise in many California cities. The drug war that has been raging for years in Mexico is increasingly spilling over the border, and many families have moved out of the state for this reason alone.

#8 California is one of the most litigious states in the entire nation. According to the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, the “lawsuit climate” in California is ranked 47th out of all 50 states.

#9 Every year wildfires and mudslides wreak havoc in the state. Erosion is particularly bad along the coast, and I have previously written about how some portions of the California coastline are literally falling into the ocean.

#10 California has some of the most ridiculous housing prices in the entire country. Due to a lack of affordable housing rents have soared to wild extremes in San Francisco, where one poor engineer was actually paying $1,400 a month to live in a closet.

#11 All over the state, key infrastructure is literally falling to pieces. Governor Jerry Brown recently issued a list of key projects that needed to be done as soon as possible, and the total price tag for that list was 100 billion dollars. Of course that list didn’t even include the Oroville Dam, and we all saw what happened there.

#12 Radiation from the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster continues to cross the ocean and wash up along the California coastline. The impact of this crisis on the health of those living along the west coast could potentially be felt for generations.

#13 Illegal drug use in the state is on the rise again, and emergency rooms are being flooded by heroin overdose victims.

#14 On top of everything else, it is being reported that Russia is “quietly ‘seeding’ the U.S. shoreline with nuclear ‘mole’ missiles”. The following comes from retired colonel and former Russian defense ministry spokesman Viktor Baranetz…

“What are these mysterious ‘asymmetrical responses’ that our politicians and generals speak about so often? Maybe it’s a myth or a pretty turn of phrase? No! Our asymmetrical response is nuclear warheads that can modify their course and height so that no computer can calculate their trajectory. Or, for example, the Americans are deploying their tanks, airplanes and special forces battalions along the Russian border. And we are quietly ‘seeding’ the U.S. shoreline with nuclear ‘mole’ missiles (they dig themselves in and ‘sleep’ until they are given the command)[…]
“Oh, it seems I’ve said too much. I should hold my tongue.”

Hopefully what Baranetz is claiming is not accurate, because if it is even partly true the implications are absolutely staggering.

#15 North Korea is a major nuclear threat as well. It is being reported that the North Koreans are developing an ICBM that could potentially reach the west coast of the United States…

Defense officials have warned that North Korea is on the brink of producing an ICBM that could target the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced in January during his New Year’s address that Pyongyang had “entered the final stage of preparations to test-launch” an ICBM that could reach parts of the United States.

#16 Someday a very large earthquake will produce a major tsunami on the west coast. According to the Los Angeles Times, one study found that a magnitude 9.0 earthquake along the Cascadia fault could potentially produce a massive tsunami that would “wash away coastal towns”…

If a 9.0 earthquake were to strike along California’s sparsely populated North Coast, it would have a catastrophic ripple effect.
A giant tsunami created by the quake would wash away coastal towns, destroy U.S. 101 and cause $70 billion in damage over a large swath of the Pacific coast. More than 100 bridges would be lost, power lines toppled and coastal towns isolated. Residents would have as few as 15 minutes notice to flee to higher ground, and as many as 10,000 would perish.
Scientists last year published this grim scenario for a massive rupture along the Cascadia fault system, which runs 700 miles off shore from Northern California to Vancouver Island.

Over the past decade, approximately five million people have moved away from California.
After reading this article, perhaps you have a better understanding why so many people are getting out while they still can.

To me, one of the greatest concerns is the rise in seismic activity that we are seeing all over the world. In my latest book I express my belief that the United States will be greatly affected by this increase in seismic activity, and California is going to get hit harder than just about anywhere else.

Once again, I don’t have anything against California or the people that live there. It is such a beautiful place, and it once held so much promise.

Unfortunately that promise has been shattered, and there is a mass exodus out of the state as families flee the horrific nightmare that California is in the process of becoming.

UN Envoy Nikki Haley Warns Palestinians That UN Won’t Help Them Anymore - Abra Forman BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

UN Envoy Nikki Haley Warns Palestinians That UN Won’t Help Them Anymore

By Abra Forman March 8, 2017 BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Nevertheless if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity but thou hast delivered thy soul.” Ezekiel 33:9 (The Israel Bible™)

Palestinians should not look to the United Nations for a solution to its conflict with Israel, US Ambassador Nikki Haley warned in her first meeting with the Palestinian Authority’s envoy to the UN on Tuesday.

Haley, who in her short tenure has already made clear at the UN that the international body’s bias against Israel is unacceptable, met with Riyad Mansour – who is not an official envoy, as the PA is not recognized by the UN, but a ‘permanent UN observer’ – for 45 minutes in New York.

After the meeting, Haley tweeted that she had told Mansour the PA must meet with Israel in direct negotiations “rather than looking to the UN to deliver results that can only be achieved through the two parties.”

Is the Feast of Trumpets Being Fulfilled In Our Day?

Thursday, March 09, 2017 | Brian Hennessy ISRAEL TODAY

Topics:

Jerusalem

As most Christian lovers of Israel now realize, the three major feasts or holy convocations God gave to Israel all pointed to a New Covenant fulfillment in Messiah. The Hebrew word for “convocation,” mikra, implies a “dress rehearsal.”

They were preparations for a deeper spiritual reality.

Although grouped into three convocations, there were actually seven feasts in number, requiring all Israel to be present in Jerusalem at the time of their celebration. They are Pesach (Passover, Leavened Bread, First Fruits), Shavout (Pentecost) and Succoth (Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles). Those clustered around Passover and Pentecost are known as the Spring Feasts. Those connected to Tabernacles were the Fall Feasts. Taken together, all seven represent the salvation plan of God in Messiah.

Now we know the Spring Feasts have already had their New Covenant fulfillment.

Passover was fulfilled in Jerusalem when Yeshua was crucified for our sins on the very day the feast was celebrated. And his followers were born again. Pentecost too was fulfilled on the very date, the seventh Sunday after First Fruits, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early church.

But Tabernacles still awaits its spiritual fulfillment, which will no doubt also occur in its assigned season. And also take place in Jerusalem.

The question is, could we have actually witnessed the fulfillment of the first of the three fall feasts associated with Tabernacles, namely Trumpets, without realizing it?

I believe so.

It dawned on me recently that when Israel won the Six-Day War and recaptured Jerusalem and the Temple Mount on June, 7 1967 had to be the fulfillment of Trumpets on God’s calendar.

Here’s why.

When the Jews regained control of Jerusalem after 2000 years of exile it was like the blast of a shofar (trumpet) that sent a shockwave that resonated throughout Israel and around the world. Aside from the pure emotional excitement of the event, four major spiritual awakenings trace their beginnings to that day. All were in keeping with God’s assigned purposes for the blowing of trumpets, which were to announce special times, gather His people together, break camp or go to war.

The first awakening took place among assimilated Jews in Russia who suddenly rediscovered their Jewish heritage and wanted to go home to Israel. When Russia refused to let them go they were termed Refuseniks. Their courage in face of great persecution eventually won them international support and permission to emigrate.

A second awakening also occurred among the Jews, primarily in the West, when suddenly thousands began to believe in Yeshua as Messiah. That was the start of the Messianic Jewish Movement.

The third awakening erupted in the Christian world. After seeing the miraculous way Israel recaptured Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Christians suddenly realized God was fulfilling the ancient prophecies of Israel’s restoration. This led many to rediscover the Hebraic roots of our faith, inspiring the Christian Zionism Movement that has done so much to bless Israel as of late.

The fourth big awakening also took place among Christians and became known as the Charismatic Movement. Nominal Christians from the dead mainline churches were born again and began to move in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

If I am correct in this, it means we are on the verge of seeing the fulfillment of the next holy convocation, which is the Day of Atonement. Called Yom Kippur by the Jews, it is the holiest day on their religious calendar and occurs ten days after Trumpets. Historically on that day the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the whole nation. Also, every fiftieth year on that date the trumpet was blown to announce the Year of Jubilee “when you shall proclaim a release [from all debts]… and each of you shall return to his own property” (Leviticus 25:10). It is the verse inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia celebrating the 50th anniversary of the city’s founding.

It really gets exciting when we realize Jun. 7th of this year will be the fiftieth anniversary of the recapture of Jerusalem! Could that mean the Ten Days of Awe following Trumpets are over and God’s Yom Kippur could begin to be fulfilled this very year? Could we actually be on the verge of seeing Zechariah 12:10–14 come to pass in our day?

And one more thing. Could the election of Donald Trump(et) signal the final shofar sound of this feast day ? And if so, will he become the new King Cyrus who many Christians are likening him too? The one who released the Jews from Babylon and helped them restore their temple? Or will he prove to be the new Constantine, “that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts… who was waging war with the saints and overpowering them?” (Dan. 7:20,21) Will he be the Great Deceiver “who’ll take his seat in the temple displaying himself as being God” (2 Thess.2:4)?

Stay tuned.

Brian Hennessy is the author of Valley of the Steeples

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Wednesday, March 8, 2017

It’s Happening AGAIN: More Syrian Refugees Convert After Seeing Jesus in a Dream - CBN News

It’s Happening AGAIN: More Syrian Refugees Convert After Seeing Jesus in a Dream

CBN News 03-08-2017

Syrian refugee Abu Radwan was born into a Muslim family, but after reportedly seeing Jesus appear to him in a dream, everything changed.

It was a year and a half ago that Radwan, who is now in Beirut, Lebanon, with his wife and two children, converted to Christianity — an event that unfolded just months after the purported dream.

“Of course it was a difficult decision. I was born into a Muslim family,” he recently said of his conversion, noting that his family fled Syria after the civil war began. “I started going to the church. I believed that Jesus was coming to help us, to save us.”

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Radwan’s story isn’t unique, as there are likely many other Syrian refugees who have converted from Islam to Christianity, though the move doesn’t come without profound risk. In fact, Radwan said he was recently stabbed while coming out of church, saying the culprits were Syrians from his tribe who disagreed with his conversion decision; he risks his life if he ever returns to Syria.

Still, Radwan doesn’t have any regrets, saying he was relieved when Bishop George Saliba baptized him after his conversion.

“If I die, now, here in front of the church, I will die in peace,” he told PRI.org.

Saliba said he has baptized at least 100 Muslim refugees since the start of the Syrian civil war, though, as The Christian Post noted, additional reports on the ground point to many other conversions.

As Faithwire noted back in November, an Iranian Christian pastor claimed at the time that there’s a stunning revival underway in his country, where he says the number of Christian adherents has increased from 100,000 in 1994 to 3 million today. Some claim that Jesus has been appearing in dreams and that those visions have helped spark the conversions.

“Right now, you can see the results of the holy spirit,” Pastor Rahman Salehsafari told CBN News of the situation today in Iran. “You can see what the holy spirit is doing with people.”

And, on a separate note, the pastor of a British church said in December that at least two Muslim refugees have converted to Christianity after purportedly having dreams about Jesus — dreams they say led them to attend a Christian church.

(H/T: PRI.org)

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Thursday, March 9, 2017