Student body ID cards with RFID-embedded chips (Image from Northside Independent School District)

A Texas high school banned a second-year student from classes after she refused to wear an ID badge containing an RFID chip. The school district uses the tags in order to game the attendance system for better funding.

Students at some schools in the Northside Independent School District, a public school district serving the San Antonio area, have been required to carry student IDs containing RFID chips since the schoolyear began last fall. John Jay High, where Angela Hernandez was enrolled, is one of the schools included in the initiative.

RFID, which stands for radio frequency identification, involves the use of radio and electromagnetic fields to disseminate information for the purposes of tracking and identification.

RFID is commonly used to keep track of livestock. At schools in the Northside Independent district, the chips monitor students' movements on campus for attendance records, which are tightly linked to the amount of funding public schools receive each year.

After she refused to wear the tracking device, the district told 15-year-old Hernandez in November that she would have to find another school to attend that didn't use the tags unless she chose to comply with John Jay's rules.

Hernandez, a strict Christian, sued the district as a result, claiming that the device is the "Mark of the Beast" mentioned in the Revelation of John, an important part of the Bible held to describe the apocalypse.

“It’s obvious that John Jay High School has no interest in putting their students first, which is a sad reflection on our educational system,” said John Whitehead, president of the group that defended Hernandez in court, as quoted by Wired.

A Texas federal judge and a federal appeals court both ruled that the school's decision had not violated Hernandez's freedom of religion. That ruling was because the school eventually moved to allow Hernandez to go to class without the tracking device, while still insisting that she wear it. In any case, the district told Hernandez and her family that she would no longer be able to attend John Jay after January 22, when the next semester begins.

As is the case with most public schools in the US, each district's funding is determined largely as a result of its daily attendance records. Traditionally, teachers take roll calls at the beginning of classes. If the student happens to be late, the school could lose funding because there is no record of his being there.

With the RFID tracking system, school administrators can count a student as being in attendance as long as he or she is somewhere on the school's campus that day. By this method, the district gets its portion of funding linked to that student.

Judge orders student to wear of˜Mark of the Beast ID badge

Student body ID cards with RFID-embedded chips (Image from Northside Independent School District)


A federal judge has ruled that a 15-year-old Texas girl must wear an identification badge to her high school for monitoring purposes or else face suspension.

US District Judge Orlando Garcia decided with a Tuesday ruling that John Jay High School student Andrea Hernandez has only two choices: be tracked from classroom-to-classroom or go somewhere else.

Hernandez, backed by the support of her parents and civil liberties groups alike, says she shouldn’t have to a wear an ID badge to school, particularly the kind that’s embedded with RFID chips to track the movements of students. San Antonio’s Northside Independent School District made those devices mandatory in the fall in order to more accurately track attendance figures, but Hernandez objects because she says it’s the equivalent to walking the halls with the “Mark of the Beast.”

“‘We must obey the word of God,” her father said in court documents obtained by Wired. “By asking my daughter and our family to participate and fall in line like the rest of them is asking us to disobey our Lord and Savior.”

Attorneys for Hernandez have hoped that the court would grant an injunction against the district to keep the girl badge-free, but this week Judge Garcia said the requirement of wearing a card "has an incidental effect, if any, on (Hernandez's) religious beliefs.”

Herndanez’ refusal to follow the rules, ruled the justice, "is clearly a secular choice, rather than a religious concern."

Under the district’s new “Smart ID” program, roughly 4,200 students between two area schools are required to wear the cards. Hernandez says that, for not using the badge, she has been unable to participate in certain school functions and told she can’t enter certain rooms, such as the cafeteria and library.

"I had a teacher tell me I would not be allowed to vote because I did not have the proper voter ID," Hernandez told WND last year. "I had my old student ID card which they originally told us would be good for the entire four years we were in school. He said I needed the new ID with the chip in order to vote."

Northside has offered Hernandez an ID badge that is not outfitted with a microchip, but her parents and attorneys both say they will not accept that as a compromise.

“For Hernandez, a Christian, the badges pose a significant religious freedom concern in addition to the obvious privacy issues,” explains the Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties and human rights group that has represented the student throughout her legal battle. “Andrea’s religious objection derives from biblical teachings that equate accepting a personalized code — as a sign of submission to government authority and as a means of obtaining certain privileges from a secular ruling authority — with a form of idolatry or submission to a false god.”

The court seemed less certain with that interpretation, however, insisting “The accommodation offered by the district is not only reasonable it removes plaintiff’s religious objection from legal scrutiny all together.”

The Northside School District hailed the judge’s decision by releasing a statement saying the ruling “affirms NISD’s position that we did make reasonable accommodation to the student by offering to remove the RFID chip from the student’s smart ID badge.”

Hernandez now has until January 18 to decide to either wear the badge or else go to a different school. Her legal counsel with the Rutherford Institute says they will file an appeal, though.

“The Supreme Court has made clear that government officials may not scrutinize or question the validity of an individual’s religious beliefs,” Rutherford Institute President John W. Whitehead says in a statement. “By declaring Andrea Hernandez’s objections to be a secular choice and not grounded in her religious beliefs, the district court is placing itself as an arbiter of what is and is not religious. This is simply not permissible under our constitutional scheme, and we plan to appeal this immediately.”

Chris Steinbach, the chief of staff for a Republican state lawmaker who wants to outlaw the technology in Texas schools, tells the AP it’s unusual to see the story attract the attention of such a diverse crowd.

"How often do you see an issue where the ACLU and Christian fundamentalists come together?” he asks the 

FBI begins installation of $1 billion face recognition system across America

FBI logo.(Foto fromen.wikipedia.org)


Birthmarks, be damned: the FBI has officially started rolling out a state-of-the-art face recognition project that will assist in their effort to accumulate and archive information about each and every American at a cost of a billion dollars.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reached a milestone in the development of their Next Generation Identification (NGI) program and is now implementing the intelligence database in unidentified locales across the country, New Scientist reports in an article this week. The FBI first outlined the project back in 2005, explaining to the Justice Department in an August 2006 document (.pdf) that their new system will eventually serve as an upgrade to the current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) that keeps track of citizens with criminal records across America .

“The NGI Program is a compilation of initiatives that will either improve or expand existing biometric identification services,” its administrator explained to the Department of Justice at the time, adding that the project, “will accommodate increased information processing and sharing demands in support of anti-terrorism.”

“The NGI Program Office mission is to reduce terrorist and criminal activities by improving and expanding biometric identification and criminal history information services through research, evaluation and implementation of advanced technology within the IAFIS environment.”

The agency insists, “As a result of the NGI initiatives, the FBI will be able to provide services to enhance interoperability between stakeholders at all levels of government, including local, state, federal, and international partners.” In doing as such, though, the government is now going ahead with linking a database of images and personally identifiable information of anyone in their records with departments around the world thanks to technology that makes fingerprint tracking seem like kids' stuff.

According to their 2006 report, the NGI program utilizes “specialized requirements in the Latent Services, Facial Recognition and Multi-modal Biometrics areas” that “will allow the FnewBI to establish a terrorist fingerprint identification system that is compatible with other systems; increase the accessibility and number of the IAFIS terrorist fingerprint records; and provide latent palm print search capabilities.”

Is that just all, though? During a 2010 presentation (.pdf) made by the FBI’s Biometric Center of Intelligence, the agency identified why facial recognition technology needs to be embraced. Specifically, the FBI said that the technology could be used for “Identifying subjects in public datasets,” as well as “conducting automated surveillance at lookout locations” and “tracking subject movements,” meaning NGI is more than just a database of mug shots mixed up with fingerprints — the FBI has admitted that this their intent with the technology surpasses just searching for criminals but includes spectacular surveillance capabilities. Together, it’s a system unheard of outside of science fiction.

New Scientist reports that a 2010 study found technology used by NGI to be accurate in picking out suspects from a pool of 1.6 million mug shots 92 percent of the time. The system was tested on a trial basis in the state of Michigan earlier this year, and has already been cleared for pilot runs in Washington, Florida and North Carolina. Now according to this week’s New Scientist report, the full rollout of the program has begun and the FBI expects its intelligence infrastructure to be in place across the United States by 2014.

In 2008, the FBI announced that it awarded Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions, one of the Defense Department’s most favored contractors, with the authorization to design, develop, test and deploy the NGI System. Thomas E. Bush III, the former FBI agent who helped develop the NGI's system requirements, tells NextGov.com, "The idea was to be able to plug and play with these identifiers and biometrics." With those items being collected without much oversight being admitted, though, putting the personal facts pertaining to millions of Americans into the hands of some playful Pentagon staffers only begins to open up civil liberties issues.

Jim Harper, director of information policy at the Cato Institute, adds to NextGov that investigators pair facial recognition technology with publically available social networks in order to build bigger profiles. Facial recognition "is more accurate with a Google or a Facebook, because they will have anywhere from a half-dozen to a dozen pictures of an individual, whereas I imagine the FBI has one or two mug shots," he says. When these files are then fed to law enforcement agencies on local, federal and international levels, intelligence databases that include everything from close-ups of eyeballs and irises to online interests could be shared among offices.

The FBI expects the NGI system to include as many as 14 million photographs by the time the project is in full swing in only two years, but the pace of technology and the new connections constantly created by law enforcement agencies could allow for a database that dwarfs that estimate. As RT reported earlier this week, the city of Los Angeles now considers photography in public space “suspicious,” and authorizes LAPD officers to file reports if they have reason to believe a suspect is up to no good. Those reports, which may not necessarily involve any arrests, crimes, charges or even interviews with the suspect, can then be filed, analyzed, stored and shared with federal and local agencies connected across the country to massive data fusion centers. Similarly, live video transmissions from thousands of surveillance cameras across the country are believed to be sent to the same fusion centers as part of TrapWire, a global eye-in-the-sky endeavor that RT first exposed earlier this year.

“Facial recognition creates acute privacy concerns that fingerprints do not,” US Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) told the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law earlier this year. “Once someone has your faceprint, they can get your name, they can find your social networking account and they can find and track you in the street, in the stores you visit, the government buildings you enter, and the photos your friends post online.”

In his own testimony, Carnegie Mellon University Professor Alessandro Acquisti said to Sen. Franken, “the convergence of face recognition, online social networks and data mining has made it possible to use publicly available data and inexpensive technologies to produce sensitive inferences merely starting from an anonymous face.”

“Face recognition, like other information technologies, can be source of both benefits and costs to society and its individual members,” Prof. Acquisti added. “However, the combination of face recognition, social networks data and data mining can significant undermine our current notions and expectations of privacy and anonymity.”

With the latest report suggesting the NGI program is now a reality in America, though, it might be too late to try and keep the FBI from interfering with seemingly every aspect of life in the US, both private and public. As of July 18, 2012, the FBI reports, “The NGI program … is on scope, on schedule, on cost, and 60 percent deployed.”

The Iowa Department of Public Safety has secured $110,000 in federal funds that will be used to implement a state-wide face recognition program that will start with tracking convicted sex criminals.

Terry Cowman, the special agent in charge of the Iowa sex offender registry program, tells the Globe Gazette newspaper that the DPS is around one-third of the way to having enough money to make science fiction a reality in the Midwestern state. His fingers are crossed that an additional grant will be awarded in 2013 that will provide another $180,000, at which point the agency can start digitizing around 10,000 images to be used in an expansive and expensive surveillance program based off of biometric analysis.

When all of the images are scanned in and the state is done training its staff, the Gazette’s says Cowman and his crew will be able to comb through security camera images and even Facebook photos in order to pick out people from a crowd and cross-reference them with a list of over 5,600 registered sex offenders using only their personally identifiable facial features, or biometrics.

“Biometrics is really coming up to play a big part in law enforcement and investigations and things like that,” Cowman adds to reporter Mike Wiser. “What’s interesting about facial rec is it is kind of the future of where we’re at.”

Iowa isn’t the first location to look towards biometrics, but it will be a big step in the grand scheme of implementing intensive face recognition programs elsewhere if it indeed gets off the ground. The state isn’t likely to see much opposition when it comes to cracking down on criminals that prey on innocent children, but investigators may soon find themselves on a slippery slope once anyone is under the government’s microscope.

“You always start with sex offenders because nobody is going to stick up for sex offenders,” State Rep. Chip Baltimore (R-Boone) tells the Gazette. “The question is where it goes from there.”

In San Diego County, California, the cops are already acting in a fashion where that question has come up. As RT reported last month, an unnamed law enforcement agency in Southern California has been testing a biometric program that relies on hand-held devices that can take an image on the spot and then send it to be matched against a massive database brimming with person-specific biometric data. The company manufacturing the gadgets, FaceFirst, says a single image is matched against “up to 4 million comparisons per second.”

This July, US Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) urged Congress to work towards implementing privacy safeguards to keep biometric technology from being abused as it advances at a rate where soon anyone can be easily tracked by public or private organizations.

"Facial recognition technology is in broad use today by both the government and the private sector; it's not some remote future technology," said Sen. Franken. “I fear that without further protections, this technology could be used on unsuspecting civilians innocent of any crime, or could be used to instantly identify someone walking down the street.”

In Iowa, the Gazette acknowledges that the department isn’t sure what the next step will be.

“We could not say this couldn’t be moved to mugshots or other information databases because that could only enhance the tool for detectives,” Cowman tells the paper.

“This software would not be used for general use or civil priorities but only to give detectives an additional tool to use to further investigations,” the agent adds. “The information gleaned from a template match could be used for further leads in many types of criminal cases.”

A pilgrim fills a plastic bottle with baptism water after a mass at a baptism site on the Jordan River. (Reuters / Muhammad Hamed)


In a bid to rehabilitate the diminished Lower Jordan River, Israel has begun releasing water from the Sea of Galilee almost 50 years after stopping the flow. The diversion of Jordan Basin freshwater in the 1960s sparked major conflict in the Middle East.

Israel plans to replenish the Lower Jordan, which flows from the Sea of Galilee south to the Dead Sea, with 30 million cubic meters annually, when the rehabilitation project gets into full swing in two years. During the initial stage launched on Sunday approximately 1,000 cubic meters of water are being discharged per hour.

At the same time the organizations involved will clean the riverbed and treat water to remove pollution and reduce salinity of the river. Earlier Israeli military conducted an effort to sweep for land mines along the river left there decades ago after the Six-Day War in 1967. The Lower Jordan serves as the border between the nation of Jordan in the east and Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank in the west.

The plan is to restore the natural environment of the Lower Jordan River and make it attractive to tourists. One site has particular significance for Christians, because John the Baptist is thought to have baptized Jesus there. Pilgrims flock to the nearby town of Jericho in the West Bank every year to visit the revered site.


A Christian pilgrim washes himself during a ceremony on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city. (Reuters / Nir Elias)

Lower Jordan was damaged greatly by decades of excessive water diversion upstream. Israel relied heavily on water taken from the Sea of Galilee to provide for its agricultural and drinking needs. Water flow from the lake into Jordan was cut after the establishment of the Deganya Dam in 1964, as the Jewish states sought to provide for the arriving immigrants.

But Israel’s move to divert water via its National Water Carrier project irritated the country’s neighbors. The Headwater Diversion Plan by Lebanon was launched in 1964 by Syria and Jordan, which wanted to undermine Israel’s effort by curbing water supply to the Upper Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee it feeds.

Israel responded with military attacks culminating with airstrikes on Syria in April 1967. The water dispute and the hostilities over the diversion of the precious resource were a major factor behind the 1967 War, which started two months after the raid.

The renewal of water release comes after improvements in technology and water conservation, Alexander Kushnir, Israeli Water Authority Commissioner, said.

“We have established a system of desalination plants, water purification and waste water reuse facilities, along with optimizing the use and conservation of citizens – which has enabled the Water Authority to significantly increase the amount of water allocated to nature, along with the ever-increasing restoration of natural water resources,” he explained as cited by the Jerusalem Post.

Combined with increased rainfalls after years of draught, those allowed the Sea of Galilee to raise to 209.96 meters below sea level, which is close to the maximum capacity of 208.8 meters below sea level, the body reports.


Water measurement scales are seen on August 24, 2008 at the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, which has seen a big decrease of its water level. (AFP Photo / Yehuda Raizner)

The move was also hailed by the Jordanian contributors to the rehabilitation effort. But environmental activists, who generally favor the effort to help the Jordan River, criticized Israeli authorities over the small scale and the lack of transparency of the project.

The target of 30 million cubic meters per year is “not anywhere near the 220 million cubic meters that we have identified is necessary – our concern relates to the process,” said Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of Friends of the Earth Middle East. He added that the Water Authority had never done an independent assessment of the plan.

“We cannot accept the process that is currently moving forward because it is moving forward in a non-transparent manner that prevents public debate, which is actually needed for the ecological rehabilitation of the Lower Jordan,” he said.

US honey bees have been dying by the tens of millions, with annual death rates of about 30 percent. With fewer bees to pollinate fruits and vegetables each year, 'beemageddon' may soon cause the collapse of the agriculture industry.

Honey bees pollinate more than 100 US crops, including apples, zucchinis, avocados and plums, that are worth more than $200 billion a year. Since 2006, about 10 million bee hives at an average value of $200 each have been lost in what scientists call the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), according to a new report by the US Department of Agriculture.

There are currently about 2.5 million honey bee colonies in the US, which is a drastic decrease from the 6 million that existed in 1947 and the 3 million that existed in 1990. Last winter alone, the honey bee population declined by 31.1 percent, with some beekeepers reporting losses of 90 to 100 percent. In the previous two winters, beekeepers lost about 22 percent of their populations.

“Currently, the survivorship of honey bee colonies is too low for us to be confident in our ability to meet the pollination demands of US agricultural crops,” the USDA report states.

California’s almond crop, which blooms toward the end of winter, would suffer the most. About 80 percent of the global almond supply comes from the Golden State’s orchards, and 70 percent of the state’s crop is marketed overseas.

US beekeepers truck about 1.5 million out-of-state colonies to the almond orchards each year, which depend on the insect’s pollination. The colonies are tasked with pollinating about 760,000 acres of almond trees at the end of each winter. It takes 60 percent of all US bee colonies to pollinate the $4 billion crop.

Zac Browning, a beekeeper, told NPR that the almond orchards have become “ground zero in commercial beekeeping” and that many beekeepers drive over from their home base in the Midwest.

But with a bee shortage that gets worse every year, many of the almond orchards will never be pollinated, which could eventually cause a global almond shortage and economic consequences for the US.

The USDA knows how the agriculture industry will be affected by the large-scale bee die-offs, but does not know why exactly they are dying in such numbers. The report cites “multiple factors… including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure”, while also citing last summer’s drought as a contributing factor.

“Undernourished or malnourished bees appear to be more susceptible to pathogens, parasites, and other stressors, including toxins,” the USDA report states.

During CCDs, surviving adult bees abandon their hives, leaving behind the queen bee, brood and food stores.

“Bees across the country are not in as good a shape as last year,” Eric Mussen, a University of California bee specialist, told the Christian Science Monitor. “When you stress them far enough, the bees just give in.”

After large-scale honey bee die-offs each winter, beekeepers try to restore their populations in the summer. But with the populations dropping so low, the economic ramifications are almost unavoidable.

The European Commission suspects that neonicotinoids, a class of insecticides chemically related to nicotine, might be responsible – at least partially – for the die-offs and the CCDs. Honey bees have also died off in unusually large numbers in Europe, prompting the commission to impose a two-year ban on neonicotinoids last month to give scientists time to review the chemicals’ impact on bee health.

But US officials have stated that they don’t have enough evidence to ban neonicotinoids. And with a drastically decreasing honey bee population, ‘beemageddon’ might be just around the corner.

“We are one poor weather event or high winter bee loss away from a pollination disaster,” Jeff Pettis, the USDA’s bee research leader, said in the report.

Following are the Ten Commandments listed in Exodus 20 as given to the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments are also found in Deuteronomy 5. The Ten Commandments here are presented in eight different versions of the Bible and three columns for side-by-side comparison.KJV
ESV
ASV
NLT
NIV
YLT
CJB
AMPKing James Version

And God spake all these words, saying,

I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

1.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5.

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

6.

Thou shalt not kill.

7.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8.

Thou shalt not steal.

9.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
KJV
ESV
ASV
NLT
NIV
YLT
CJB
AMPEnglish Standard Version

And God spoke all these words, saying,

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

1.

You shall have no other gods before me.

2.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

4.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

5.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

6.

You shall not murder.

7.

You shall not commit adultery.

8.

You shall not steal.

9.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.
KJV
ESV
ASV
NLT
NIV
YLT
CJB
AMPNew Living Translation

Then God gave the people all these instructions:

I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

1.

You must not have any other god but me.

2.

You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

3.

You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

4.

Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

5.

Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

6.

You must not murder.

7.

You must not commit adultery.

8.

You must not steal.

9.

You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

10.

You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

“I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, who will never hold their peace day and night. You who are his servants and by your prayers put Yehovah in remembrance of His promises. Keep not silent and give Him no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes her a praise in the Earth.” (Isaiah 62:6)

Many of our nations have flaunted such abominable sins in the face of God that we are worthy of being wiped out. But God in his mercy withholds his hand of judgment because he hears the cries of faithful watchmen who earnestly beseech Him to spare our nations and to avert judgment.

Biblical watchmen were guards on the city walls, on the watchtowers and on the city gates to scan the horizon for messengers and potential attackers. But the prophets were also spiritual watchmen who were invested with divine authority. This authority is explained in Jeremiah Chapter 1:

“See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10)

The New Testament informs us that legally and positionally we are seated with Messiah in the heavenlies far above all rule, power and dominion. As believers who rule and reign with Messiah, we possess His delegated authority over nations and over our city gates.

In Isaiah 21:11-12, a double question is asked by an Edomite, “Watchman, what of the night, what of the night?” Matthew Henry's commentary notes some salient points on this interesting passage concerning the importance of the watchman ministry (emphases mine):

Watchmen Are to Take Notice of Enemy’s Manuevers

“As the man of Macedonia, in a vision, desired Paul to come over and help them (Acts 16:9), so this man of Mount Seir, in a vision, desired the prophet to inform and instruct them. . . .The question is serious: What of the night? It is put to a proper person, the watchman, whose office it is to answer such enquiries. He repeats the question, as one in care, as one in earnest, and desirous to have an answer. Note,

(1.) God's prophets and ministers are appointed to be watchmen, and we are to look upon them as such. They are as watchmen in the city in a time of peace, to see that all [is] safe, to knock at every door by personal enquiries (“Is it locked? Is the fire safe?”), to direct those that are at a loss, and check those that are disorderly, Song 3:3; 5:7. They are as watchmen in the camp in time of war, Ezek 33:7. They are to take notice of the motions of the enemy and to give notice of them, to make discoveries and then give warning; and in this they must deny themselves.

(2.) It is our duty to enquire of the watchmen, especially to ask again and again, What of the night? for watchmen wake when others sleep. “

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, when he served as mayor of Jerusalem, visited one of our prayer meetings in the Pasha’s Throne Room at the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem and observed us intercessors in action. He said we believers were like protective walls and that we functioned as honorary “spiritual members of the IDF,” the Israeli Defense Force. His observations were profound. Just as the Lord surrounds Jerusalem with the walls of salvation--and salvation in Hebrew means Yeshua-- so we believers are Yeshua, His body. Thus we, too, are protective walls, lively stones! Wherever you and I are stationed around the world, mystically, we are a part of that strategic wall at any given time day or night. We humbly ask the Lord to help us never to make a breach in that wall through laziness, prayerlessness or indifference. May we indeed close up the breaches and be joined in unity. In His Body, we are positioned joint-to-joint to supply strength and the Spirit’s gifts to one another and to our elders in the faith, the beleaguered ancient people of God—the Jewish people in the Promised Land.

Jesus told us very clearly to watch and pray. Notice the divine order: He did not say, “Pray and watch,” but He said “watch” and then “pray.” This is because you cannot pray intelligently until you have first watched. You must see something in the natural, or in the spirit, and then you can pray. Many times we may run off to pray, but we haven’t done our homework in the watching. And then perhaps we pray amiss.

The Holy Spirit is leading us in the coming days into a double watching – to watch the Lord, and to watch the enemy of the Lord’s purposes.

Jesus did not ask Simon Peter, “to pray with me for one hour.” Rather, He asked, “Could you not watch with me one hour?” (Matthew 26:40). In other words, even in Gethsemane Yeshua did not ask his sleepy disciples to engage only in the work of prayer. He asked them to watch, to stay awake—to be alert!

Watch therefore means to be alert, to be on guard, to note the time and the season, to observe what is transpiring. Thus we are able to intercede intelligently to stop Satan and to foil the devil’s plans so that the Lord’s holy purposes can proceed on schedule.

Although Jesus was a man of prayer (and spent whole nights in prayer), much of His time was spent watching the Father. This is a fact--He said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. “ (John 5:19)

The Holy Spirit desires us to enter the realm of seeing so that we don’t just go off and do things because they are a good or religious idea. But after we have spent time with the Lord to watch and to see what He would have us to do, then we will act. When we see His will in a time of watching, then we can work it out with confidence and assurance. And we’ll know that we are accomplishing the will of the Lord--not just a good idea, but His idea.

In Mark 13:37, Jesus exhorts, “What I say to you [disciples] I say to all – watch.” Here watch means “to stay awake, be alert, don’t be taken off guard by the enemy.”

Most of the watch passages in the Bible apply to three things:

--Looking for the fulfillment of the Lord’s prophetic purposes

–Waiting for the Coming of the Lord

--Staying alert in the Spirit

Because we have been designed by God to need sleep, the powerful seduction of sleep is difficult to overcome! However, the Apostle Paul sets an example in 2 Corinthians 6: 5, stating that he was characteristically often in “labors and watchings.” The Amplified Bible renders this verse ‘in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labours, sleepless watching. . . .”

Paul also admonished us in Colossians 4:2, “be watchful in prayer.” What does that mean? To paraphrase, “pray with your eyes open!” Praying is usually an activity of talking to the Lord with our eyes closed-- to shut out distractions. But watching has everything to do with keeping our eyes wide open.

We cannot ignore these Biblical commands to watch.

The Holy Spirit is imparting revelation. This is the hour for watchmen to arise. We don’t just pray, but we have this Watchman Ministry of guarding. We have authority to step between Satan and the Lord’s program to contain and to cut off evil. We must anticipate and foil through prayer the Enemy’s plans in the Name of the Lord.

There are levels of authority in the Body of Messiah. Yehovah may not have appointed you yet as a watchman over your city or country. He may be requiring you only to pray for all men in a general way, as the Bible commands us all to do, and to be the watchman over yourself and your family.

Some persons, however, for reasons known to the Lord, are granted a specific Watchman Ministry, as commissioned by the Lord. But until or unless we receive such a specific commission, there are general activities to which we are all called—(1) studying God’s Word, (2) witnessing and testifying, (3) making disciples, (4) almsgiving and tithing to the work of the ministry (5) general praying (6) praying for the peace of Jerusalem and (7) healing the sick and delivering persons from demonic oppression.

Let’s look at the prayer duties that EVERY believer shares:

1. The Lord’s Prayer. The Lord gave a “how to” class on the subject of prayer. Jesus taught us to pray “after this manner,” not in a routine way, but covering the following points on a daily basis:

Humble Adoration: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name
Prophetic Declarations: Thy kingdom come.
Ruling Prayer: Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Petitions: Give us this day our daily bread.
Settling Accounts with Godand a Maintaining clear conscience: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Supplications, Intercessions: And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Praise & Worship: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen
(Matthew 6: 9-13)

2. Daily prayer for all men.

3. Supplication to the Lord of the Harvest to send forth more laborers.

4. Maintaining an unbroken attitude of prayer or communion, fellowship with the Spirit.
5. Prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.

6. Prayer in the Spirit.

7. Watching in prayer for the coming of the Lord. We must be circumspect as we see the Day approaching! God told the prophet Daniel exactly when Messiah would come the first time (Daniel 9: 25-26). Some, including the brilliant scientist Sir Isaac Newton, have believed that this same passage holds the key to the timing of Messiah's Second Advent. Newton, who studied Bible prophecies and was granted great revelation, left us the following admonition in the “Yahuda Manuscript” which is stored in a Jerusalem library : “. . . it is also our duty to search with all diligence into these Prophesies. . . . why should we think he will escuse us for not searching into the Prophesies which he hath given us to know Antichrist by? . . . Antichrist was to seduce the whole Christian world and therefore he may easily seduce thee if thou beest not well prepared to discern him.”

The Bible clearly states we do not know the DAY or the HOUR of the Lord’s return, but we watchmen should know the general time. The question of WHEN causes some believers to cringe, protest, or even to scoff! They quickly point out that Jesus said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man.” (Matthew 24: 36) They also mention Paul's words that the day of the Lord will come like “a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

However, the Apostle Paul also observed, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 4) Paul therefore clearly meant that alert watchmen will NOT be caught off guard, and we will have a definite general knowledge of when the Lord will return.

If we are trusting in Christ and looking for His coming, Paul said that even the very day would not surprise us! In fact, Jesus exhorted, “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief” (Revelation 3:3), saying, in other words, He will come as a thief only to those who are not watching! Furthermore, Jesus rebuked those who did not understand the signs of the times in His day: “O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky, but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:3)

God clearly promised that we would know at least approximately when Messiah will return, and even“the day” will not surprise us, as the Holy Spirit revealed through Paul.

Every generation has experienced these signs to some extent, but no generation until ours has watched THE ultimate sign--the regathering of Israel. Jesus said the generation when Israel blossoms like a fig tree would behold His return. As believers have prayed for 2,000 years, “Maranatha, Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

The Cities of the Plain

Ash and brimstone remain

The five cities of the plain have been located and the evidence is staggering. For the first time in modern history we have found round balls of brimstone, or nearly pure sulfur, embedded in an ashen area near the Dead Sea, which show clear signs of having once been ancient building structures! 

Above: Lighter colored formations can be seen near the Dead Sea.

Above: ziggurat stands amidst ashen ruins in Gomorrah, with darker terrain in rear.
Government sign with gate, attempting to keep vehicles out.

Josephus Saw the Cities -- Why Can't We?

The cities were located in the plain, so they should not be located in the low area now covered by the Dead Sea. These cities were well known in the first century, as Josephus said, "The traces or shadows of the five cities are still to be seen." If Josephus could see them, then we should be able to see them also. The water level of the Dead Sea has fallen since the time of Josephus, so the areas Josephus saw in his day are still visible today.

Biblical Warning For All

The cities of the plain were destroyed as a warning for all that this same event will happen again one day to the wicked. One would think God is capable of preserving this ancient lesson for us to see and to learn from.

"Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens" Genesis 19:24. "Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly" II Peter 2:6. (The word for "example" means an exhibit for warning.)

Analysis of the Brimstone

These sulfur balls are mostly golf ball sized, and some have burn marks all around them! Webster's Dictionary says that "brimstone" = sulfur. Accordingly, we have found the absolute proof that we have finally located Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the plain!

Above at left is brimstone with a burned, hardened shell that has the unburned sulfur inside, and next to it is brimstone without a burned shell. The photo at right is a shell or capsule with unburned sulfur inside. Tiny crystals are on its surface which were formed when the sulfur was burning and was in a liquid state, then it burned out.

Above: Located on the side of a ziggurat, this brimstone in a shell is opened to reveal the unburned sulfur inside

Each of the cities of the plain contain evidence of brimstone which God rained down upon the cities to destroy them. The brimstone is composed of 96-98 percent sulfur, with trace amounts of magnesium which create an extremely high temperature burn. This is the only place on earth where you can find 96 percent pure monoclinic sulfur in a round ball. This brimstone is NOT from any type of geo-thermal activity as there is no evidence of such in the area, and geo-thermal sulfur nodules are only 40 percent pure sulfur and are of the rhombic type.

Above: holding a chunk of ash that has a burned ring which surrounds an unburned ball of sulfur

Above: removing the lid from a brimstone shell reveals a round ball of sulfur inside

Above: Jason cut this brimstone out of the material

Above: Brimstone with burn ring

Analysis of the Ash

God rained down upon these cities was so hot that it burned the limestone blocks that were used in the construction of the cities. The ash there today is composed of Calcium Sulfate and Calcium Carbonate which are by-products of the limestone and sulfur burning.

Everything in these cities burned and turned into ash, including the buildings themselves as the Bible says that the cities were to be destroyed also. The Bible told us that God rained down "fire and brimstone" When God rains down fire, it is a consuming fire, just like the time of Elijah when God sent down fire to destroy the stone altar, the limestone buildings here were totally destroyed and turned into ash.

 Above: The extremely high burning temperatures created a multi-shaded layering of ash that was formed by thermal ionization, caused by electrons repelling and attracting, creating a swirling effect in the remains. 

Above: layers of multi-shaded ash, crumble in your hand. Dead Sea and sphinx in rear

Cities Visible in Satellite Photos

The cities are almost entirely turned into white ash, and can be seen in the satellite photographs below.

Notice each of the cities stand out from the surrounding terrain because of the white ash contained within them. The city of Zoar was a "little one" or a newly built city that was square. As cities grew or expanded they quickly lost this square shape.

Genesis 10:19 indicates the five cities formed the Canaanite border, thus the could not have been grouped together at the south end of the Dead Sea as popularly believed. They form a north-south line along the Jordan/Dead Sea area. Gomorrah is located at the base of Masada, and in 1998, additional formations were found in Jordan on the opposite of the Dead Sea from Gomorrah in the Lisan Peninsula, including a large cemetery area containing 1,000,000 graves. The same structures as found on the Israeli side were also found on the Jordanian side - ash, brimstone and even ceramic tile.

Above - looking southwest at the southern end of the Dead Sea

Above - The northern end of the Dead Sea, looking southwest

Man-made Formations

Man-made formations are found in the cities, including ziggurats, sphinxes, windows, arched doorways and walls resembling double Canaanite city walls.

Above: On the left is a ziggurat and on the right a tower

Above: ziggurat shape on raised platform composed of white material

Above: Ninety degree angles extending out from a wall demonstrating unnatural architecture

Above: Arched doorway still stands today


Sphinx Shapes

Unique shapes are visible in the cities that are not found in nature, including sphinx shapes like the ones below.

Above: This sphinx formation on a raised platform is about 40 feet long and was made of a different whiter material than the surrounding platform. It may have been a worship figure or god and was made of a special material. Masada in rear.

Above: Another sphinx shape sits at the edge of the city. They thought it would protect them, but it too
was consumed in the destruction of fire and brimstone.

Glass or Crystals

The extreme heat caused unusual specimens that can be found in the cities, including the creation of sulfur crystals.

Above: The top layer is a solid slab of sulfur crystals created by a complete layer of
brimstone underneath that was burning, then turned to a liquid, then cooled down
leaving this layer of crystals. Approximately six feet long.

Above: Here we can see the brimstone underneath the crystals that are on top.

Above: another shot of the brimstone underneath and the crystals on top

Above: In another area, we found sulfur crystals which are a remnant of the consumed brimstone.

Above: more gypsum crystals resulting from the limestone and sulphur burning together

Anomalies

More evidence of the extreme heat was found.

Above: this specimen shows signs of having been melted, with the upper portion
bubbling and the lower section pooled into a solid.

Above: Specimen that some people think resembles bone, with the marrow in the middle. This looks similar to the specimens found by Dr. Lennart Moller, author of The Exodus Case



A spear head and a cache of burned gold which is now gold salts, burned bones, jars, and tile have also been found by others who have visited the cities.

Damascus

A photo released by the Syrian Arab News Agency shows destruction from what is said was bomb attack in the Al-Hama area of Damascus on Sunday, May 5. According to the Syrian government, Israel launched an attack on a research center in the Damascus suburbs early Sunday. Tensions in Syria first flared in March 2011 during the onset of the Arab Spring, eventually escalating into a civil war that still rages. This gallery contains the most compelling images taken since the start of the conflict.

Of course, the Damascus of the Bible is still recognizable today as the well-known capital city of Syria. Appropriately enough, it even has the famous distinction of being considered the world's oldest continuously inhabited city, inhabited from prehistoric times.

saiah 17:1-14  ESV / 12 helpful votes

 An oracle (Prophecy) concerning Damascus. Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city and will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer are deserted; they will be for flocks, which will lie down, and none will make them afraid. The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Syria will be like the glory of the children of Israel, declares the Lord of hosts. And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low, and the fat of his flesh will grow lean. And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain and his arm harvests the ears, and as when one gleans the ears of grain in the Valley of Rephaim. ...

2 Thessalonians 1:8  ESV / 2 helpful votes

 In flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Chernobyl disaster is an example that a city can be destroyed in mins

The disaster released at least 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

 Much of the fallout was deposited close to Chernobyl, in parts of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. More than 350,000 people resettled away from these areas, but about 5.5 million remain.

 Contamination with caesium and strontium is of particular concern, as it will be present in the soil for many years.

 After the accident traces of radioactive deposits were found in nearly every country in the northern hemisphere.

 But wind direction and uneven rainfall left some areas more contaminated than their immediate neighbours.

 Scandinavia was badly affected and there are still areas of the UK where farms face post-Chernobyl controls.  

How Does a City Become A Ruinous Heap?

If you think about it, this prediction is perhaps without precedent in modern times. To be sure, there have been several modern cities that have been merely abandoned. A famous example of this is Pripyat, Ukraine. Probably that name does not ring a bell, but this is the city where the famous Chernobyl nuclear reactor leak happened. Due to the radioactive fallout, it was deserted as a ghost town. Decades later it is safe to visit for short periods—as witnessed by the visitor's pictures you can find posted on the Internet, including such sites as the city amusement park.

However, for a modern city to end its run and become an uninhabited pile of ruins is something unprecedented. For example, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the targets of the first atomic bombs, continue as cities to this day, despite having been partially leveled from the atomic blast. The reasons for this are twofold. The first two atomic bombs (Fat Man and Little Boy) used on Japan were on the small side by today's standards. Secondly, the bombs were detonated high above the cities, in what is called an “air burst.” Air bursts produce greatly reduced fallout levels compared to ground strikes. This makes it feasible to rebuild and reinhabit the area, just as Japan did.

Damascus' fate is different than either of these cities or perhaps any other. Its buildings and streets will not just be deserted, but they will be left as a “heap of ruins.” I am not aware of a case in modern times of that happening to a city. There are cities that have been wiped out by tsunamis or even volcanic explosions, but they have been rebuilt and not left as heaps of ruins.

Perhaps Hiroshima and Nagasaki provide the cloest concept for how Damascus' complete destruction and abandonment is likely to happen. A nuclear bomb with a larger yield or a series of bombs with smaller yields could turn an entire city to a heap of ruins. This is quite feasible in Damascus' case since it is small, only approximately 40 square miles in area. If a ground burst attack is used instead of air bursts, the strong fallout would keep people from coming back to rebuild and reinhabit it.

WHAT IF ISREAL NUKE DAMASCUS HOW then could animals leave in a contaminated area

As we see below Wildlife is thriving despite continued contamination

Isaiah 17:2

King James Version (KJV)

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

Damascus, Syria

 (CNN) -- A series of massive explosions illuminated the dark sky over Damascus early Sunday, igniting renewed claims that Israel has launched attacks into the war-torn country.

Syria's government said the explosions were the second Israeli airstrike in three days. The latest target, officials said, was a military research facility outside the Syrian capital. A top Syrian official told CNN in an exclusive interview that the attack was a "declaration of war" by Israel.

Syrian authorities vowed to retaliate against Israel but did not specify what action they would take.

The Israeli military would not confirm or deny the Syrian claim that Israel fired rockets that hit the Jamraya research center in the Damascus suburbs.

Explosions rock Damascus

Syrian official: Israel has declared war 

"We do not comment on these reports at all," an Israeli military representative said.

Did Israel conduct airstrike on Syria?

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed "grave concern" over the reports of Israeli airstrikes in Syria Sunday but stressed that the U.N. is not "in a position to independently verify what has occurred," his spokesman said.

Sunday's explosions mark the third time Israel has been accused of striking inside Syria this year.

The blasts rocked a large military area in the suburbs of Syria's capital, prompting terrified residents nearby to run for cover.

"Everything kept exploding over and over again," said Anna Deeb, whose family lives just over a mile away. "We could hear gunshots, we could hear people screaming. ... We didn't know what to do, and there was a problem with us breathing because the smoke was too much."

Syrian state-run TV claimed that the Israeli rocket attack on the research center aided rebels, who have been battling government forces in the region. And the government's Syrian Arab News Agency said mortar shells "fired by terrorists" damaged residential neighborhoods nearby. But state media reports did not provide details about what type of research occurs in the facility, or how much damage occurred there after Sunday's attack.

Even with details about the explosion unclear, tensions ran high in the volatile region Sunday amid word of the reported attack, which was condemned by some officials across the Middle East.

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad said the attack represented an alliance between Islamic terrorists and Israel.

"When they attack, this is a declaration of war. This is not something that is (new)," al Mekdad said. "We dealt with this on several occasions, and we retaliated the way we wanted, and the retaliation was always painful to Israel, and they will suffer again."

After an emergency meeting of Syria's Cabinet on Sunday, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said on state television that the attack "opens the door wide open for all possibilities" but did not specify what those possibilities would be.

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby condemned what he called Israeli strikes on Syrian territories and called for the United Nations Security Council to "move immediately in order to stop and prevent Israeli attacks on Syria." Foreign ministers in Egypt and Iran also condemned the reported Israeli attack.

Ban's spokesman said the U.N. secretary-general "calls on all sides to exercise maximum calm and restraint, and to act with a sense of responsibility to prevent an escalation of what is already a devastating and highly dangerous conflict."

Missile defense system a game changer, Israelis say

Amid the heightened tensions, Israel appeared to be stepping up defense efforts.

An Israeli Army official told CNN that two rocket interception batteries have been deployed to northern Israel.

And the Israeli Airport Authority said Sunday that it had closed northern airspace over the country to civil aviation flights.

Attack comes days after reports of another Israeli airstrike

Sunday's reported attack comes days after U.S. officials told CNN that Israel had conducted an airstrike against Syria.

Two U.S. officials told CNN on Friday that Israel apparently launched an airstrike into Syria on Thursday or Friday.

The Israeli military did not comment on the U.S. claim. But Israel has long said it would target any transfer of weapons to Hezbollah or other terrorist groups as well as any effort to smuggle Syrian weapons into Lebanon that could threaten Israel.

"We are watching everything when it comes to the movement of these types of weapons. We have the means to do that," a senior Israeli defense official told CNN's Sara Sidner on Sunday. The official is not authorized to speak to the media.

Shaul Mofaz, a lawmaker in Israel's Knesset, told Israeli Army Radio on Sunday that Israel isn't meddling with Syria's civil war. But Israel must protect itself from Lebanese militants, he said.

"For Israel, it is very important that the front group for Iran, which is in Lebanon, needs to be stopped," Mofaz said.

"Everything that goes into the hands of Hezbollah is not directly related to the rebels. Israel never interfered in the past or today in their actions. Nevertheless, I need to say that Hezbollah is deeply involved up to its neck in what is happening in Syria. Hezbollah helps the Iranians navigate against the rebels."

Hezbollah did not immediately comment after Sunday's claims.

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that Lebanese President Michel Suleiman condemned what he called "Israel's onslaught against Syria." Israel used Lebanese airspace to strike Syria, he said.

Damascus, Syria.rtf (2,2 MB)
 

he Gate to Prophecy
Why is the Eastern Gate to the Old City of Jerusalem closed,
and what does it have to do with Bible prophecy?
by Dr. David R. Reagan




The Eastern Gate in the old walled city of Jerusalem has a very special place in my heart, for it was that gate which God used to open my eyes to His Prophetic Word.

The year was 1967. The occasion was the Six Day War. As the fate of the new state of Israel hung in the balance, I searched the newspapers daily for any information I could find about the war. The turning point came on June 7 when the Israeli army broke through the Lion's Gate and returned control of the ancient city of Jerusalem to the Jewish people for the first time in 1,897 years.
A Mysterious Remark

The next day I read a fascinating news account about one of the Jewish commando groups that had been involved in the assault on the city. The article stated that some members of the group had suggested catching the Jordanian defenders of the city off guard by blowing open the sealed Eastern Gate. But the leader of the group, an Orthodox Jew, had vehemently protested the idea, stating that "the Eastern Gate can be opened only when the Messiah comes."

That statement caught my eye. I wondered what the fellow was talking about. I knew nothing about the Eastern Gate except that it was the only gate of the city that led directly onto the Temple Mount. I was not aware that it was sealed, nor did I know that its opening was in any way Biblically linked to the return of the Messiah.
A Remarkable Prophecy

I decided to do some research on the matter, and that decision initiated my study of Bible prophecy. I had been attending church for 30 years, but like most Christians, I knew nothing about Bible prophecy. The topic was generally ignored by the preachers in the church I grew up in.

My concordance quickly directed me to the passage that the Orthodox Jew had alluded to. I found it in Ezekiel 44. The context is a supernatural tour the Lord is giving Ezekiel of the future Millennial Temple (40:1-3).

In chapter 43 the Lord gives Ezekiel a vision of God's glory entering the Millennial Temple from the east, through the Eastern Gate. The Lord then says to Ezekiel: "Son of Man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of my feet where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever" (43:7).

The Lord then reveals to Ezekiel that the Eastern Gate will be closed for public use and will be available only to a person who is described as "the prince" (44:3).

The identity of this prince is one of the mysteries of Bible prophecy. He certainly is not the Messiah, for he offers a sin offering for himself (45:22), and he has sons (46:16). Some have speculated he might be King David, but David will have a glorified, sinless body during the Millennium and thus would not need a sin offering. Most likely, he is a regent of King David, a prince in the flesh who is a descendant of David.
A Pre-fillment in Type

Bible prophecies often have a pre-fillment in symbolic type before their actual fulfillment in history. A good example is Antiochus Epiphanes who was a symbolic type of the Antichrist. Another example would be the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, which was a symbolic type of the destruction Jerusalem will experience during the Great Tribulation.

In like manner, I believe the prophecy of Ezekiel 44:1 was pre-filled symbolically almost 500 years ago in 1517 when the Turks conquered Jerusalem under the leadership of Suleiman the Magnificent. He commanded that the city's ancient walls be rebuilt, and in the midst of this rebuilding project, for some unknown reason, he ordered that the Eastern Gate be sealed up with stones.

Legends abound as to why Suleiman closed the Gate. The most believable one is that while the walls were being rebuilt, a rumor swept Jerusalem that the Messiah was coming. Suleiman called together some Jewish rabbis and asked them to tell him about the Messiah. They described the Messiah as a great military leader who would be sent by God from the east. He would enter the Eastern Gate and liberate the city from foreign control.

Suleiman then decided to put an end to Jewish hopes by ordering the Eastern Gate sealed. He also put a Muslim cemetery in front of the Gate, believing that no Jewish holy man would defile himself by walking through a Muslim cemetery.
Another Prophecy

The Jews believe the Eastern Gate will remain shut until the Messiah returns. I think they are correct.

Psalm 24:7-10 contains a prophecy about the Lord's return. It reads as follows:
"Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates,
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory."

This is clearly Second Coming imagery. The Lord is returning as a King ready for battle. And when He returns, the doors of one of the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem will open to receive Him. I believe this is speaking of the Eastern Gate which is now closed, for the Messiah is always pictured in Second Coming prophecies as returning from the east. For example, in the Second Coming passage in Isaiah 63:1-6 the Messiah is portrayed as coming to Jerusalem from the direction of Edom and Bozrah — areas to the east.
A Prophetic Symbol

The Eastern Gate has remained sealed now for almost 500 years, and the Muslim cemetery still blocks the entrance. The old walled city has eight gates, and the Eastern Gate, and it alone, is sealed — just as prophesied in Ezekiel 44. The world would call that an "amazing coincidence." I call it a "God-incidence."

I believe the Eastern Gate is proof positive that the Bible is the Word of God. Its sealing is clear evidence that we are living in the end times. The Gate awaits the return of the Messiah. Then and only then, will it be opened.
An Exciting Vision

I have a vision of what that glorious day will be like. It is related to the Lord's First Coming. I believe Jesus is going to replay His triumphal entry into Jerusalem when He returns.

When He came the first time, Jesus rode a donkey from the Mount of Olives down into the Kidron Valley and up to the Eastern Gate where He entered the Temple Mount for His last days of teaching. As He made that ride, the Valley of Kidron was filled with thousands of admirers who had heard about the resurrection of Lazarus. They waved palm branches and chanted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" Within a few days that same fickle crowd was shouting, "Crucify Him!"

We are told in Revelation 19 that when Jesus returns He will come as a victorious military conqueror, riding through the air on a supernatural white horse. In Isaiah 61 we are told that He will come from the east, and in Zechariah 14 we are told that he will touch ground on the Mount of Olives.

Revelation 19:14 says that all the Redeemed will come with the Lord. Think of it! You and I will be there to witness the Lord's return. Zechariah 14 says He will speak a word that will supernaturally destroy the Anti-Christ and his forces.

Then, I believe we will witness a replay of the Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. With angels hovering above and millions of the Redeemed filling the Kidron Valley, Jesus will ride up to the Eastern Gate on His white horse, and as He approaches the Gate, it will blow open. He will then enter the City of David, and to the triumphant shouts of "Hosanna to the Son of David," He will be crowned the Kings of kings and the Lord of lords.
The Gate in Waiting
by Terry Gibson

Note: In 1987 Terry Gibson and his wife, Virginia accompanied Dr. Reagan on a pilgrimage to Israel to attend the International Christian Embassy's celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last day of the celebration, 4,000 pilgrims from all over the world paraded around the city of Jerusalem and then marched to the top of the Mount of Olives where they sang hymns as the sun set behind the city. This poem was written out of that experience. Terry Gibson pastors a church today in Santa Fe, Texas.
There is a gate in waiting
In the City of the King
It waits above the valley
And adorns a tranquil scene

Jerusalem is churning
On the north, south and west
Yet the Eastern Gate waits quietly
Above multitudes at rest

On Olive Mount, I stood one day
And viewed this Golden Gate
Amid singing saints and setting sun
In the spirit was my state

Looking o'er this glorious Gate
From atop that blessed mount
Two scenes of great events
I saw, and now recount

One scene took place in ages past
The other is soon to be
In both there was the Son of God
And this Gate of Destiny

The First Coming

The first scene was triumphant
They hailed Him as a King
There were thousands in the valley
And "Hosannas" loud did ring

Many miracles of greatness
Had He done before their eyes
Giving sight to the blind
Calling forth the dead to rise

His disciples were elated
As they joined this happy throng
But little did they know
That their hopes would soon be gone

So long ago the prophet told
That lowly, He would come
Riding on a donkey's colt
Unbefitting the Righteous One

Yet thousands upon thousands
Stood in the valley on that day
And up the path to the eastern Gate
With palm branches did array

"Save us Son of David"
The multitude did cry
When suddenly, the crowd did change —
They shouted "Crucify!"

Oh! What price our God did pay
While sinners yet were we
The mocking ones — The crown of thorns
Pierced hands — what agony!

And so the only Son of God
Was hung upon a cross
He'd come to earth in Godly love
To save those that were lost

The Second Coming

Then the scene did fade away
And another took its place
For Jesus had said He would return
To redeem mankind's disgrace

On Olive Mount I stood again
And viewed the Eastern Gate
Yet it was closed, sealed with stone
Awaiting a King to coronate

Ezekiel long ago had said
The Gate would thus be so
Until the Prince returned to earth
Then all the world would know

Around the city armies stood
From nations of the world
As smoke and fire were everywhere
The armaments were hurled!

Yet the Golden Gate still quietly stood
While looking upward it seemed
Suddenly the trump did sound
It was the coming of the King!

And then I saw the Lord of Lords
Descending from on high
With multitudes of Heavenly Hosts
Behind Him in the sky

He came and stood on Olive Mount
And then the earth did shake
He spoke and all the armies fell
And the evil power did break

Upon a white and valiant steed
Down Olive Mount did ride
Through Kidron Valley up to the Gate
While the Jewish remnant cried

They looked on Him
whom they had pierced
And grieved as for a son
So bitterly they wept in shame
Yet with grace He did respond

And all the while the numbers grew
Of Angels and the Saints
Millions upon millions
Joined Him in the ranks

They sang "Hosanna to the Son of David"
"Hosanna to the King"
Throughout all heaven and the earth
The loud Hosannas ring

The Gate in waiting trembled
And the stones then blew apart
As the Holy One did enter
His eternal reign to start

Oh! What sweetness in that Day
The redeemed of God shall know
From Mount Zion in Jerusalem
The living waters flow

Are you yearning for that day
When the Lord of Hosts shall come?
Or do you flee in fear
Before the Holy One?

Call upon His name!
Before that coming day
Flee into His loving arms
He will wipe all tears away.

Spaniards looked on at 11:45 p.m. as the fragment from a comet exploded some 62 miles above the small Toledo town of Villamuelas.
 

A brilliant ball of flame streaked across the sky above the Spanish capital Madrid, dazzling stargazers and astronomers alike. The celestial display was so bright it could be seen across the entire country.

The eye-popping moment was caught on camera by the Hita Observatory at the University of Huelva at around 11:45pm local time (2145 GMT). The object struck the atmosphere above the Villamuelas district in the province of Toledo, southwest of Madrid.

“The impact was so abrupt that the object immediately caught fire, creating a ball of flame around 100 kilometers above the Earth,” Jose Maria Madiedo of the University of Huelva told the Huffington Post. The meteor then shot towards Madrid at over 75,000 kilometers an hour before disintegrating completely at an altitude of 70 kilometers.

Stunning footage shows the moment a meteorite streaked across the Earth's atmosphere over Spain's skies.

The Spanish Institution for the Study of Meteors and Meteorites, which tracked the fireball, classified the meteorite as a piece of a comet that was flying by Earth.

The explosion on impact was so bright that it could be viewed as far away as the southern Spanish cities of Seville, Granada and Murcia.

“I was looking up at the sky when there was a flash that in a matter of seconds began to grow,” astronomer Leonor Ana Hernandez said to the Huffington Post. “When the explosion happened, everything around us turned white for a few seconds,” and several green and blue followed the initial explosion, she added.

The explosion as the fireball entered the atmosphere sparked comparisons with the 500-kiloton explosion caused by the meteorite that fell over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February.

Although the meteorite measured only a few meters in diameter, scientists estimated that the initial explosion was comparable in power to a nuclear bomb.

The impact and sound of the blast reached the ground minutes after the explosion, causing havoc and panic in Chelyabinsk. While most of the meteorite burned up during its descent, the remaining parts showered over the region, possibly adding to the damage and injuries.