Vid:
Food for thought. END
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Monday, December 14, 2015
Thoughts on the geostrategic challenge of Islamism
First, as to the notion that Islamist terrorism is a rare, stable, lightning strikes sort
of thing: nope, it has been steadily rising since the 1970’s. Currently it is running at 3,000 victims/month, just under half fatal -- and of course the median victim is a fellow Muslim, doubtless deemed an "apostate" by the Jihadists over one dispute or another.
It has potential to explode, both in Europe and the Americas.
The rule of thumb estimate is you are looking at 10% of Muslims who are Islamists. Pew polls show about 20 – 80% support depending on where in the world. Taking the 1.5 bn estimate, that is on order of 50 millions backed by 500 millions, the largest global military threat in history.
Second, what is playing out is tied to Islamic eschatology.
There is a black flag army hadith (from the other "holy book" of Islam, a collection of sayings and traditions of Mohammed) which points to an army from the direction of Khorasan, implying Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan, and that Mahdi is among this invincible army. If one has to crawl over ice and snow, one is to join them. They are to be in the Syria-Iraq zone and Prophet Isa (an Islamic, eschatological version on Jesus not at all like the NT Jesus) will join. ME conquest is envisioned, with associated prediction of a mass slaughter of Jews (Gharqad tree hadith). From ME, domination of the world.
The strategic events of recent decades and years in the ME suddenly fit a pattern.
And of course the Iranian Republic sees itself as vanguard of the Mahdi, and seeks nukes in that context.
I summarise and do not give details and versions on points, and note
that the black flag army hadith is not viewed as as strong as say the
Gharqad tree one on the massacre of Jews. But the problem — observing
black flags in abundance — is to persuade the militants that things are
otherwise.
We are looking at jihad by raiding bands in that context, with infusions of assassin cult suicide attacks. In some cases I would not be surprised to learn that hashish (source of the name, assassin) is involved.
Beyond jihad by bands is organised full bore war under an acknowledged Caliphate. Which is exactly what Al Baghdadi is claiming to be. So the pledging of loyalty by various groups and individuals is a crucial move in the ideology and theology of Jihadism.
From Caliph we move to final Caliph, the world conquering Mahdi. Hence the 100 year plan, the settlement jihad strategy and the sort of projections in the map I first saw on 9-11 in 2001:
The answer in outline is to realise this is a rimlands (perimeter of the Eurasian heartland), choke points and pivotal resource [oil] based continental strategy.
Where, I do not think a traditional, European-dominated heartland strategy is in view. This was the concept discussed by Mackinder and others, with E Europe being key to dominance of a zone that thanks to improved land transport, was opening up as land for a potential globally dominant superpower:
A view of global choke-points for sea trade:
Most likely, the African heartland is the targetted soft continental base of material and population resources to build up the bases and inventory for global subjugation — the view since 1904 has been that given railways and technologies that allow mobilisation of a continent, a dominant continental power can then build up bases and inventory to take up a maritime assault of unprecedented scale, achieving global domination.
Eastern Europe has usually been the envisioned focal area, but Africa and China have been seen as other possible bases. Doubtless, India too . . . the second main base of the British Empire. Yes, Mackinder et al saw that as a possibility, though in context India and China while being abstract possibilities; are much less likely.
Africa is the soft zone and for the Americas, Latin America and the Caribbean.
BTW, this may explain the recent Islamist focus on attacking and denouncing France; as France has been most assertive in blocking Islamist expansion southwards in Africa.
And of course Israel sits in the SW corner of Asia on a choke-point on the land bridge between Africa and the ME. Close to the Nile valley arterial line that bypasses the Sahara.
A Continental geostrategic thrust is logically and historically best countered by a maritime one. I will give no details here other than say, look to the past 500 years of history and particularly to Britain and the Royal Navy.
But jihad by bands, by settlement of enclaves, by pen, tongue and agent of influence settling in key institutions backed by oil money has to be defeated if such is to be undertaken.
The key nations have to be willing to recognise, this is a slow burn global, 4th generation war where multiple battlespaces and theatres of operation are simultaneously engaged.
Target hardening through creating a civilian marshals force to be in businesses, institutions, churches etc so that there can be a 10 second response to an attack, not the 10 - 30+ minutes for a SWAT team, speaks to that, on the jihad by bands battlespace.
As does taking up serious policing of no-go zones backed by stronger forces if the police are stalemated or defeated. (In France alone there are over 750.)
The information and influence battlespace must be engaged, and the unwelcome truth brought out and grounded. The signal failure of media and pundits, speaks volumes. In this space it has to become clear that the Jihadis are deluded and will manifestly fail, as they are not the strong horse.
Though I will say, an evaluation has been made that an economically and socio-culturally suicidal west invites aggression.
For the USA, lessons from the Barbary Coast naval wars may teach more soundly than anything since.
On the intel front, the pivotal issue is not a general surveillance state [that opens up things that we do not need]. Instead, go back to the small wars corpus from generations back: build networks, scout, patrol, bring the money to back partnership and frankly to buy information.
But the info and influence battle has to be won, and the West will have to make serious amends for its decades long habit of cutting and running before the job is done.
I know, none of this is palatable.
I don't like it either.
Welcome to World War IV (the Cold War was No. III; or we can call this the renewed 1400 year war), already in progress.
And, with Iran clearly at nuke threshold.
We face global challenges. END
It has potential to explode, both in Europe and the Americas.
The rule of thumb estimate is you are looking at 10% of Muslims who are Islamists. Pew polls show about 20 – 80% support depending on where in the world. Taking the 1.5 bn estimate, that is on order of 50 millions backed by 500 millions, the largest global military threat in history.
Second, what is playing out is tied to Islamic eschatology.
There is a black flag army hadith (from the other "holy book" of Islam, a collection of sayings and traditions of Mohammed) which points to an army from the direction of Khorasan, implying Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan, and that Mahdi is among this invincible army. If one has to crawl over ice and snow, one is to join them. They are to be in the Syria-Iraq zone and Prophet Isa (an Islamic, eschatological version on Jesus not at all like the NT Jesus) will join. ME conquest is envisioned, with associated prediction of a mass slaughter of Jews (Gharqad tree hadith). From ME, domination of the world.
The strategic events of recent decades and years in the ME suddenly fit a pattern.
And of course the Iranian Republic sees itself as vanguard of the Mahdi, and seeks nukes in that context.
We are looking at jihad by raiding bands in that context, with infusions of assassin cult suicide attacks. In some cases I would not be surprised to learn that hashish (source of the name, assassin) is involved.
Beyond jihad by bands is organised full bore war under an acknowledged Caliphate. Which is exactly what Al Baghdadi is claiming to be. So the pledging of loyalty by various groups and individuals is a crucial move in the ideology and theology of Jihadism.
From Caliph we move to final Caliph, the world conquering Mahdi. Hence the 100 year plan, the settlement jihad strategy and the sort of projections in the map I first saw on 9-11 in 2001:
The answer in outline is to realise this is a rimlands (perimeter of the Eurasian heartland), choke points and pivotal resource [oil] based continental strategy.
Where, I do not think a traditional, European-dominated heartland strategy is in view. This was the concept discussed by Mackinder and others, with E Europe being key to dominance of a zone that thanks to improved land transport, was opening up as land for a potential globally dominant superpower:
A view of global choke-points for sea trade:
Most likely, the African heartland is the targetted soft continental base of material and population resources to build up the bases and inventory for global subjugation — the view since 1904 has been that given railways and technologies that allow mobilisation of a continent, a dominant continental power can then build up bases and inventory to take up a maritime assault of unprecedented scale, achieving global domination.
Eastern Europe has usually been the envisioned focal area, but Africa and China have been seen as other possible bases. Doubtless, India too . . . the second main base of the British Empire. Yes, Mackinder et al saw that as a possibility, though in context India and China while being abstract possibilities; are much less likely.
Africa is the soft zone and for the Americas, Latin America and the Caribbean.
BTW, this may explain the recent Islamist focus on attacking and denouncing France; as France has been most assertive in blocking Islamist expansion southwards in Africa.
And of course Israel sits in the SW corner of Asia on a choke-point on the land bridge between Africa and the ME. Close to the Nile valley arterial line that bypasses the Sahara.
A Continental geostrategic thrust is logically and historically best countered by a maritime one. I will give no details here other than say, look to the past 500 years of history and particularly to Britain and the Royal Navy.
But jihad by bands, by settlement of enclaves, by pen, tongue and agent of influence settling in key institutions backed by oil money has to be defeated if such is to be undertaken.
The key nations have to be willing to recognise, this is a slow burn global, 4th generation war where multiple battlespaces and theatres of operation are simultaneously engaged.
Target hardening through creating a civilian marshals force to be in businesses, institutions, churches etc so that there can be a 10 second response to an attack, not the 10 - 30+ minutes for a SWAT team, speaks to that, on the jihad by bands battlespace.
As does taking up serious policing of no-go zones backed by stronger forces if the police are stalemated or defeated. (In France alone there are over 750.)
The information and influence battlespace must be engaged, and the unwelcome truth brought out and grounded. The signal failure of media and pundits, speaks volumes. In this space it has to become clear that the Jihadis are deluded and will manifestly fail, as they are not the strong horse.
Though I will say, an evaluation has been made that an economically and socio-culturally suicidal west invites aggression.
For the USA, lessons from the Barbary Coast naval wars may teach more soundly than anything since.
On the intel front, the pivotal issue is not a general surveillance state [that opens up things that we do not need]. Instead, go back to the small wars corpus from generations back: build networks, scout, patrol, bring the money to back partnership and frankly to buy information.
But the info and influence battle has to be won, and the West will have to make serious amends for its decades long habit of cutting and running before the job is done.
I know, none of this is palatable.
I don't like it either.
Welcome to World War IV (the Cold War was No. III; or we can call this the renewed 1400 year war), already in progress.
And, with Iran clearly at nuke threshold.
We face global challenges. END
Saturday, December 05, 2015
Thursday, December 03, 2015
DEVELOPING: San Bernardino incident may be [lone wolf/ independent Razzia/ Assassin Cult] IslamIST terrorism
 |
| A Web based image said to be the couple Syood and Tashfeen |
(These are the dead suspects, who leave behind a six month old daughter; she was left with a grand parent on a claim that her parents were going to the dentist. Syed's father reportedly: “ . . . identified his son as “very religious. He would go to work, come back, go to pray, come back. He’s Muslim.”)
A third suspect may be Farouk's brother.
U/D 7:37 pm, CNN indicates Farouk was in contact with international terrorism:
(CNN)Syed Rizwan Farook -- who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the San Bernardino shooting massacre -- apparently was radicalized and in touch with people being investigated by the FBI for international terrorism, law enforcement officials said Thursday.Farook's apparent radicalization contributed to his role in the mass shooting of 14 people Wednesday during a holiday party for the San Bernardino County health department, where Farook worked, sources said.Still, it wasn't necessarily the only driver behind the carnage, as workplace grievances might have also played a role.
Sadly, maybe that is precisely why -- doubtless on excuses about guns being un-mentionable (but look at how many nauseating sexual pathologies etc are now openly brought up without batting an eye) -- we heard nothing on this vital point.
UPDATE, 7:05 am EC time: Police chief confirms, AR-15 family 0.223/ 5.56 mm x 45 mm rifles, suggests on the preparations, there was planning. He confirms explosive devices -- leaning is pipe bomb type designs, which implies a significantly higher level of knowledge and skill as well as preparation than just a shooter. It also makes terrorism, likely lone wolf, a highly likely explanation. Pipe bomb preparation is not a simple thing to do, especially fuzing . . . the assumption is, something like bullet reloading propellant is being used as primary detonating charge. If a different explosive is implicated, that will point to much deeper laid preparation, whether home brew or something like C4 or Semtex etc.
U/D Dec 4, 6:55 am: A note on the weapons by CBS:
All four guns used by the suspects in the deadly San Bernardino shooting have been traced and they were all purchased legally, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed Thursday. [--> NBC: "the two .223-caliber assault rifles were a DPMS model and a Smith & Wesson MMP 15 model, while the two semi-automatic hand guns were manufactured by llama and Smith & Wesson. "]
SW M&P15 rifle, US$509
CBS News' Paula Reid reported that two of the guns were purchased by someone who is already known by investigators.
A law enforcement source told CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton the weapons were purchased legally in California. The long guns were legally transferred from a friend. [--> silence on the pistols, LAT says bought by "the man" and recovered ammunition suggests standard 9 mm parabellum]
Meredith Davis of the ATF said all four guns were bought four years ago. [--> when did the weapons come into the possession of the couple, and what about reports of other weapons, the consistent gappiness of these reports is troubling, as in we tell you what to think, what to think about and induce how to feel] Davis said California requires paperwork when guns change hands privately but many other states don't.
She also said the rifles involved were .223-caliber - powerful enough to pierce the standard protective vest worn by police officers, and some types of ammo can even plow through walls. [--> not said: such is normal for rifles (and in fact due to uncontrollability of full calibre rifle rounds on full auto save in a much heavier machine gun, Assault rifles use intermediate power rounds and in the M16 family, reduced calibre as in .22 inch not .30 inch the early-mid C20 standard full mil rifle round calibre), which due to being unwieldy and hard to conceal are seldom used in criminal activities.] . . . .
Burguan [Chief of SB Police] says the suspects were wearing "assault-style clothing" and were both armed with assault rifles [--> unless modified to full auto/burst and semi auto mode this cannot be; likely, semiauto AR15 based on a semiauto only version of the M16, i.e. one round per trigger pull not 3 round bursts or full auto at about 10 shots per second] and handguns [--> what types, what calibre, semiauto or modified to go full auto].
The suspects' clothing was "loaded with magazines for a gunfight," Davis said.
U/D 7:17 pm: Found in the Farouk townhouse:
It seems there was a neighbour who, for fear of being deemed racist for profiling, did not report work in a garage at odd hours, multiple package deliveries and more. Had a report led to a raid, the incident likely could have been averted. This lends sinister colour to Islamist apologists seeking to desensitise onlookers who may notice suspicious behaviour.
We should be drawing lessons from the contrasting case of the attack on a Geller meeting in Texas, stopped by a brave security guard in the parking lot.
Unsurprisingly, ISIS supporters are celebrating this incident as a case of Jihad by bands carrying out a Razzia, a small unit operations raid that may be hit, loot and run or a suicidal attack meant to strike fear into the hearts of dar ul harb (the house of war) whilst perceived to be securing paradise for those fallen in jihad. This is the heritage of the infamous Assassins cult of Islam, resurrected in our day by the IslamISTS.
The direct lead-up to the incident as reported is:
Farook, 28, was currently an inspector for the San Bernardino County Environmental Health department and was attending the meeting/luncheon at the center [which seems to have been a Christmas-themed training event]. At some point, he was apparently asked to leave. It was unclear why.Video, from the same story:
So, it is reasonable to speculate that Farouk was radicalised, and prepared for something like this. Weapons, equipment and significant training are implicated -- it is not easy to achieve a death-wounded ratio of 14:17, military ratios tend to be much lower.
Something happened and triggered the razzia.
And no, no direct connexions to ISIS etc are required.
Though, Farouk may have simply pledged loyalty to Al Baghdadi as Caliph, who has plainly called for global jihad by the simple expedient of declaring his conquered swath of land in Syria and Iraq, THE Islamic State. In radical eyes that is enough to delegitimise all other states and to re-ignite the global jihad of subjugation of the whole world, It is not for nothing that Islam means submission under Allah, Allah's prophet, Allah's law and Allah's warriors. That is the sense in which "peace" is meant.
And, you will not hear that explanation from pundits, state leaders or Islamic spokesmen intent on strategic deception (taqiyya or the equivalent) as part of the jihad of the tongue.
It is to history and to the established 1400 year corpus of core Muslim teachings and precedents that we must look, look for ourselves.
That, is chillingly clear.
Mohammed, with his early raids against and looting of Meccan caravans from his then newly acquired base in Yathrib (renamed Medina) is more than enough precedent in the Islamic corpus for the radicalised.
Our whole civilisation is now a target zone, and in radicalised eyes all of us are legitimate targets once we have failed to submit to the demand to surrender.
If we are wise, we will follow Israel's example and will now look at any public situation, event or context tactically, and will seek to harden target zones.
No more soft targets:
If we are sensible, we have had enough warning from Israel, Nigeria, Mali, London, Paris and so many other cases.
U/D, 8:20 am: US President Obama calls for . . . stronger gun control laws. In short, more soft targets and more dependence on police who are minutes to dozens of minutes away when seconds count with lives on the line. That either makes no sense to the point of fatal policy blindness, or else it makes all too chilling sense.
But, that common good and prudent sense backed up by determined, unyielding courage and fortitude for the long haul is precisely what is in question. END
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
Developing: San Bernardino shooting incident
Live feed:
http://livestream.com/KTLA/live
LA Times summary:
AT THE ATTACK SITE 14 DEAD, 17 WOUNDED. Looks like the SUV has been stopped two miles away, a shootout with at least one suspect killed, there may be a fourth suspect in a house. END
http://livestream.com/KTLA/live
LA Times summary:
- Around 11 a.m., at least one shooter opened fire in San
Bernardino at the Inland Regional Center, a facility that serves people
with developmental disabilities.
- Preliminary numbers: At least 14 people were killed and 17 wounded, San Bernardino police said.
- Police said there were one to three assailants, who were heavily armed and possibly wearing body armor.
- No one is in custody. Police are searching for a black Yukon SUV that drove away from the shooting.
- Investigators are not sure whether the shooting was an act of terrorism, an FBI official said.
- Police seek the public's help finding the attackers. Tipsters can call ( 866) 346-7632 ; to stay anonymous, call (800) 78CRIME.
AT THE ATTACK SITE 14 DEAD, 17 WOUNDED. Looks like the SUV has been stopped two miles away, a shootout with at least one suspect killed, there may be a fourth suspect in a house. END
Monday, November 30, 2015
Media Spin Watch, 2: A little girl in school (Grade 7) is challenged in a test to hold God a myth (or else a commonplace but dubious opinion)
In a 7th Grade critical thinking class, young Jordan Wooley was confronted with the following test item in critical thinking:
She objected -- under pressure in class, facing a Grade F it seems (as she understood it) -- that God is real, and that there is evidence (including Scripture) as to the reality of God.
It is worth adding further documentation from the local Fox26 report, to show that the assignment (despite what Principal and Board Leadership stated) was designed for assessment, including right after the Cheetah is the fastest land animal, God is Real:
After effort I found a video report by Fox26 -- who indicate corroboration by other families of students -- that I believe will embed:
Second Fox26 Local station Report:
WND Reports:
Now two things are very interesting.
First, on a complaint being made, there was denial (which has of course been trumpeted far and wide as fact . . . just google it), and in the video young Jordan is seen complaining to the school board that they misrepresented the truth and her classmates felt intimidated not to tell the truth as to what happened when she was challenged for giving a politically incorrect, conscience and conviction driven answer. As in, here comes the isolation and shaming tactic.
Second, it is unreasonable to expect first formers or the equivalent to know off the bat the serious arguments for the reality of God AND it is utterly wrong -- even devilish -- to pressure people to deny sincerely held beliefs that those who compose curricula know or should know (likely, they don't, itself a failure of duties of care . . . ) have significant grounding and ought not be dismissed with in effect a blame the victim one liner. Where, anyone who is aware of current education policy and court rulings will know that the evidence and argument showing that substantial case will be censored out of the public school setting, backed by all sorts of activists and agendas. (And I intend to follow up on this subject, but for the moment cf. here on at 101 level.)
Rape of conscience and intellectual integrity, backed up by in effect blame the victim and then it's all a little misunderstanding.
Here we see how the classroom is now a battleground with message dominance tactics coming from those who are patently atheistical and/or influenced unduly by such . . . including the classroom teacher who seems to have a Christian profession. END
PS: It should be noted that the Board treated this young Miss with courtesy when she spoke, though the issued ruling seems questionable.
She objected -- under pressure in class, facing a Grade F it seems (as she understood it) -- that God is real, and that there is evidence (including Scripture) as to the reality of God.
It is worth adding further documentation from the local Fox26 report, to show that the assignment (despite what Principal and Board Leadership stated) was designed for assessment, including right after the Cheetah is the fastest land animal, God is Real:
After effort I found a video report by Fox26 -- who indicate corroboration by other families of students -- that I believe will embed:
Second Fox26 Local station Report:
WND Reports:
12-year-old Jordan Wooley’s teacher assigned a quiz at West Memorial Junior High School asking students to label statements as “fact, assertion, or opinion.”
Statements included “America is the most free country on Earth,” and “there is a God.” Jordan said the assignment was to identify “factual claims, commonplace assertions and opinions.” She said she originally answered the statement “there is no God” in two ways, according to a local CBS News affiliate.
Jordan labeled the latter as “fact,” and her teacher told her to mark it otherwise, or face an “F” grade. [--> those who deny this need to give the answer conspicuously missing on the Fox26 video, when it was pointed out that the section in question was rated at 20 points, normally indicative of a significant grade weighting]
“I said it was fact or opinion,” Jordan told the station. “Based on my religion and based on what I think and believe, I do not think it was a commonplace assertion.”
Wooley says her seventh-grade reading teacher said both her answers were wrong and that she had to admit God wasn’t real.
“It was really confusing to me at first because I didn’t really know what to do, so the first thing I did was tell my mom,” Wooley said.
The child’s mother, Chantal, said, “That a kid was literally graded against her faith in God in a classroom so who would want to be known. … So the kids were caught in a Catch-22. If they argued their faith, they were being told they were arguing against their faith and that happened in the classroom.”
Jordan later testified in front of Katy Independent School District’s Board of Education meeting on how her friend went home crying after the assignment for being forced to express doubts about her faith.
The Katy ISD released a statement saying, in part, that the assignment was intended to encourage critical thinking and dialogue and not question any students' religious beliefs [--> note, the reality of God is not a matter of mere belief, but seriously warranted conclusion, the terms of this Board answer are themselves quite revealing].
"Still this does not excuse the fact that this ungraded activity was ill-conceived and because of that, its intent had been misconstrued," Katy ISD said in its statement.It seems obvious to me, just on the question sheet and the obvious distraught behaviour followed by rallying of courage to directly challenge a school board, that the girl is telling the substantial truth.
The district backed the teacher, who said the assignment was "misunderstood." However after its investigation, "the district said the particular assignment was 'unnecessary for achieving the instructional standard' and pointed out that the teacher is actually a Christian and the assignment was misunderstood," reported Christian Today.
"The teacher is distraught by this incident, as some commentary has gone as far as to vilify her without knowing her, her Christian faith, or the context of the classroom activity," Frailey said during a news conference on Wednesday.
Now Jordan is experiencing fallout from her refusal to back down from her story and for standing up for her beliefs. She says she has been bullied and told to kill herself after media coverage of the incident.
Now two things are very interesting.
First, on a complaint being made, there was denial (which has of course been trumpeted far and wide as fact . . . just google it), and in the video young Jordan is seen complaining to the school board that they misrepresented the truth and her classmates felt intimidated not to tell the truth as to what happened when she was challenged for giving a politically incorrect, conscience and conviction driven answer. As in, here comes the isolation and shaming tactic.
Second, it is unreasonable to expect first formers or the equivalent to know off the bat the serious arguments for the reality of God AND it is utterly wrong -- even devilish -- to pressure people to deny sincerely held beliefs that those who compose curricula know or should know (likely, they don't, itself a failure of duties of care . . . ) have significant grounding and ought not be dismissed with in effect a blame the victim one liner. Where, anyone who is aware of current education policy and court rulings will know that the evidence and argument showing that substantial case will be censored out of the public school setting, backed by all sorts of activists and agendas. (And I intend to follow up on this subject, but for the moment cf. here on at 101 level.)
Rape of conscience and intellectual integrity, backed up by in effect blame the victim and then it's all a little misunderstanding.
Here we see how the classroom is now a battleground with message dominance tactics coming from those who are patently atheistical and/or influenced unduly by such . . . including the classroom teacher who seems to have a Christian profession. END
PS: It should be noted that the Board treated this young Miss with courtesy when she spoke, though the issued ruling seems questionable.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
1 Chron 12:32 report, 123: Last Days paralysis/fatalism vs the gospel of the Kingdom of God (an error of imbalance)
In recent months, I have been forced by circumstances to take a much more prolonged look at Bible Prophecy and Last Days teachings -- the technical term is Eschatology, the Doctrine of Last Things -- in and around the Caribbean church than I have been naturally inclined to do. The resulting observations and reflections, I think I would like to share with others, towards a more balanced understanding and practice.
Thus, this blog post.
(And, as this is a most controversial area, I ask pardon if feathers are ruffled, inviting others to share their own thoughts. Thus, we may all grow to a more balanced view.)
First, I cannot but notice . . . as headlined . . . that we tend to a sort of induced passivity and even fatalism, as we reflect on how things seem to get worse and worse all around us.
I think this is an error of imbalance.
We tend to focus too much on the demonic riot and chaos stirred up by Satan as he sees his ever shortening time in the face of the coming and growing of the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus, and not enough on the revival, blessing and transforming renewal it brings.
As a first point of reference, as always, I draw attention to Our Lord's Olivet Discourse in Matt 24:
A context of turmoil is put forward and we are told, such are early birth-pangs.
Next, there is the riot . . . hatred and persecution of the disciple leading to apostasy by many. An implication of which, is that -- as we see so often in the Acts -- there was first a revival as the gospel goes forward in power calling men to repentance and faith in Messiah. But, one man's blessed revival in the power of the Spirit who empowers witness and convicts men of sin, righteousness and judgement, is another man's rebuke or even (think of the idol-making silver smiths of Ephesus) financial ruin.
Rage follows, and artfully stirred up riot.
If you cannot refute truth, you can easily distort it into what is hateful, stir up polarisation against it and those who stand by it, then mislead many to hate, dismiss, mock, oppose and attack the truth and the right.
And yes, who de cap fit, let 'im wear it.
There is therefore a call to endurance in the gospel.
Finally, we see the sign of the end: the gospel of the Kingdom goes forth as a testimony to all nations, and THEN the end comes in fulness, the culmination of history and prophecy.
I have therefore long contended that the principal sign of the last days is that the gospel goes forth in the Spirit's power and witness, bringing revival and triggering riots in retaliation. But always, the gospel keeps on going forth.
Again, Daniel 2 sets a context in which we can see the coming of the Kingdom of God as an Eschatological event (and obviously with Messiah as the Rock who falls on the Image and grinds it to powder, growing into a Mountain filling the Earth):
Thus, the Kingdom Message is foundational and the whole gospel message, starting with messiahship is through and through eschatological and transformational . . . the mountain that fills the earth:
Again, I point to Acts 2, where Peter says:
Then again, the same Peter counsels:
But meanwhile, we are to live as the people of the kingdom, and carry its message forward, not caught up in the intimidating power of the devilish riot and chaos, but steadfastly moving forward with the message of Messiah and the Kingdom of our God and his Christ.
A message that is especially relevant at this season of Advent. END
Thus, this blog post.
(And, as this is a most controversial area, I ask pardon if feathers are ruffled, inviting others to share their own thoughts. Thus, we may all grow to a more balanced view.)
First, I cannot but notice . . . as headlined . . . that we tend to a sort of induced passivity and even fatalism, as we reflect on how things seem to get worse and worse all around us.
I think this is an error of imbalance.
We tend to focus too much on the demonic riot and chaos stirred up by Satan as he sees his ever shortening time in the face of the coming and growing of the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus, and not enough on the revival, blessing and transforming renewal it brings.
As a first point of reference, as always, I draw attention to Our Lord's Olivet Discourse in Matt 24:
Matt 24:1 Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
I see here, a striking prediction of disaster (which came to pass scarcely forty years later) then a warning to be on guard against deception.
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many will fall away[a] and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
A context of turmoil is put forward and we are told, such are early birth-pangs.
 |
| A C1 AD silver coin celebrating Diana of the Ephesians (Cf the story of Paul in Ephesus, Ac 19) |
Rage follows, and artfully stirred up riot.
If you cannot refute truth, you can easily distort it into what is hateful, stir up polarisation against it and those who stand by it, then mislead many to hate, dismiss, mock, oppose and attack the truth and the right.
And yes, who de cap fit, let 'im wear it.
There is therefore a call to endurance in the gospel.
Finally, we see the sign of the end: the gospel of the Kingdom goes forth as a testimony to all nations, and THEN the end comes in fulness, the culmination of history and prophecy.
I have therefore long contended that the principal sign of the last days is that the gospel goes forth in the Spirit's power and witness, bringing revival and triggering riots in retaliation. But always, the gospel keeps on going forth.
Again, Daniel 2 sets a context in which we can see the coming of the Kingdom of God as an Eschatological event (and obviously with Messiah as the Rock who falls on the Image and grinds it to powder, growing into a Mountain filling the Earth):
Thus, the Kingdom Message is foundational and the whole gospel message, starting with messiahship is through and through eschatological and transformational . . . the mountain that fills the earth:
Again, I point to Acts 2, where Peter says:
Ac 2:14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.[b] 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:So, clearly, IN the last days God pours out his Spirit, enabling global witness in power. Where from prophecy of Messiah forward, the whole of the gospel is eschatological. The dominant feature of the period -- a period marked by the paradox already- and- not- yet -- is the gospel as it comes to us and goes forth to the ends of the earth.
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,[d] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants[c] and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Then again, the same Peter counsels:
2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.Yet again:
17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,[i] with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
So, we must not lose hope, nor be tempted to dismiss the force of God's word. Even as in good time Messiah came, just so in good time the culmination will come.2 Peter 3:3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,[a] not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.[c]
But meanwhile, we are to live as the people of the kingdom, and carry its message forward, not caught up in the intimidating power of the devilish riot and chaos, but steadfastly moving forward with the message of Messiah and the Kingdom of our God and his Christ.
A message that is especially relevant at this season of Advent. END
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Thursday, November 19, 2015
DEVELOPING: Got 'e -- Terror Mastermind confirmed killed in the St Denis Raid
Sky News just announced from AP that one of the dead terrorists killed in St Denis yesterday morning was indeed the suspected mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud. This confirms reports circulating overnight such as at Breitbart:
Daily Mail shows security camera footage of a terrorist spraying a Cafe with an AK 47, and walking up to try to shoot a woman under a table but the gun only clicked.
Breitbart: eight Syrians caught at the border in Laredo, Texas.
Daily Caller: at least fifteen terrorists are legal immigrants in the USA.
Today News: in a journalist investigative report, the TSA fails to find 3 of 4 weapons, reflecting grim statistics on a high failure rate:
Given that in calling for a 3 month state of emergency in the French legislature, the Prime Minister warned of chemical and biological weapons, we should be extremely concerned. END
The man believed to be the mastermind behind Friday’s Paris terror attacks that resulted in the deaths of over one-hundred people and wounded hundreds more has been killed in a police raid on his location, according to senior European intelligence officials.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the man French authorities say was responsible for coordinating the terror attacks, was killed in a “blitz-style sweep” of jihadi hotbeds, the officials confirmed with the Washington Post.
Over 100 police and military personnel engaged in a seven-hour standoff with Abaaoud and two other fellow militants, who also died in the raid, according to the report. DNA found at the scene confirmed that the Belgian jihadi was neutralized, the intelligence officials said.
The terrorist was holed-up in an apartment in the Saint-Denis suburb of France, and police believe he was linked to a plot to stage another attack in a business district only 10 miles from the capital, the report stated, again citing unnamed police and investigative officials working on the case.
The raid in question appears to be the same operation that occurred Wednesday morning in Saint-Denis, when a female suicide bomber self-detonated her explosive vest after firing her weapon at French police. An unidentified suspect was killed by a police sniper unit.
Seven others were arrested on the police mission, some parts of which were caught on video by a citizen bystander.
“We could see bullets flying and laser beams out of the window. There were explosions. You could feel the whole building shake,” Sabrine, a nearby neighbor, told Reuters.
The local government has closed Saint-Denis area schools Wednesday and area employees were told to stay home amid the chaos.
It remains unclear if Abdelhamid Abaaoud is the same man as someone referred to by Syrian ISIS members as “Abu Ibrahim Belgian.”
RELATED
Daily Mail shows security camera footage of a terrorist spraying a Cafe with an AK 47, and walking up to try to shoot a woman under a table but the gun only clicked.
Breitbart: eight Syrians caught at the border in Laredo, Texas.
Daily Caller: at least fifteen terrorists are legal immigrants in the USA.
Today News: in a journalist investigative report, the TSA fails to find 3 of 4 weapons, reflecting grim statistics on a high failure rate:
Given that in calling for a 3 month state of emergency in the French legislature, the Prime Minister warned of chemical and biological weapons, we should be extremely concerned. END
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