Hamas Declares Day of Wrath

Posted by on 2 January 2009 | 0 Comments

In the News...

Times Online.  By David Byers.  January 2, 2009.Israel is on heightened security alert today after Hamas declared a "day of wrath" after the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Gaza.  Thousands of security personnel were on alert after the Islamists called for "massive marches" after the main weekly Muslim prayers, starting off from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem and from all other mosques in the West Bank.

The Times today reported that Israeli officials fear that Hamas has purchased dozens of Iranian-made Fajr-3 missiles with an even longer range, capable of hitting its secret nuclear installation at Dimona, 20 miles east of Beersheba, the desert capital that has itself come under attack.  Peace moves were also stalled at the UN Security Council even though UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the conflict had become "a dramatic crisis".  Read More

Donnie's Remarks

As 2008 ends and 2009 begins, I do not think Daniel's seventieth week has started... yet. Several key prophecy signs are lacking: There is no seven-year peace treaty, no Antichrist reigning, no Jewish Temple and no sacrificial system. These are the signs that will indicate we are approaching the end. And these are the very signs we should continue to be watching for.  Ultimately, they will be fulfilled.

Luke 12:35-40 (NIV)
³⁵ "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,
³⁶ like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.
³⁷ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.
³⁸ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night.
³⁹ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
⁴⁰ You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." 

Jesus taught that His followers should be ready because the Son of Man will come at a time when most people will not be expecting Him. This parable in Luke describes a scene in which different kinds of servants were waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet. The point was that the faithful servants had to remain constantly vigilant so that the master would be able to come into the house whenever he might arrive at home. If they are watching (v. 37) and ready (v. 38), their master will serve them. The second watch was from 9 p.m. to midnight, and the third watch was from midnight to 3 a.m. The point of the words about the thief (v. 39) is a little different. Some of the servants will not “be ready” and  “the Son of Man will come” unexpectedly, like a “thief in the night”  to them. For many of us, the hour is getting late as the calendar relentlessly keeps turning.  It is even more imperative for us to be awake and ready to meet Jesus. 

Acts 16:30-31 (NIV)
³⁰ "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
³¹ They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."