Chaos in Iraq, Syria Setting Stage for the Twelfth Imam, says Ayatollah, but more must be done

* Update on ISIS offensive. Please keep praying for Christians in Iraq, Syria.
* Also pray for 3 Israeli teens kidnapped by Hamas to be found safe.

By Joel C. Rosenberg (@joelcrosenberg on Twitter)


(Washington, D.C., June 16, 2014) -- What are the End Times implications of the enormous upheavals we’re seeing in Iraq and Syria?

In the days ahead, I’ll post some observations from a Biblical perspective. But first you should know that the highest ranking Shia Muslim leader in the world believes events in the epicenter are preparing the way for the soon arrival of the so-called Islamic messiah, but that more preparations are needed.

As I wrote about in my novel, "The Twelfth Imam," Shia leaders -- and especially the leaders of Iran -- are trying to actively accelerate his arrival by gaining control of Iraq and Syria and preparing for the annihilation of Israel and the United States.

This week, the Ayatollah Khamenei revealed his latest thinking on the subject. “Iran’s supreme leader is promising a world free of infidels and nonbelievers with the coming of the Islamic messiah, Mahdi, a 9th-century descendant of the prophet Mohammad whom the Shiites refer to as the 12th Imam,” writes Reza Khalili, the former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps operative who became a double-agent against Iran for the CIA.

“The coming of Imam Zaman (Mahdi) is the definite promise by Allah,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech Wednesday on the anniversary of Mahdi’s birthday at an exhibition of research and historical documents on the 12th Imam....

The supreme leader’s representative in the Revolutionary Guards, Ali Saeedi, in a meeting with Guard commanders on Friday, said the coming of Imam Mahdi cannot take place under the current circumstances, and in order for that to happen the Middle East needs to witness major changes. To create those changes, there is a need for “regional preparedness” and that the Islamic revolution in Iran “without a doubt will be connected to the worldwide revolution of Imam Mahdi.”

[To read the full story, please go to the blog: http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/]

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PLEASE PRAY FOR 3 ISRAELI TEENAGERS WHO HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED

Three Israeli teenage boys (pictured above) -- including one who is American-born -- disappeared last Thursday. Fairly quickly, Israeli authorities determined the boys had been kidnapped and taken into the West Bank. Prime Minister Netanyahu says he has hard evidence that Hamas is responsible.

* Please pray for the Lord to protect these three young men -- and their families -- and give them courage and peace.
* Please pray that they will be returned safely to their families.
* Please pray, too, for Israeli authorities to have wisdom to know how to find them, and for Palestinian authorities to actively assist in their safe and speedy return.
* Please also share this story with others and encourage others to start praying.

“Yeshiva students Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gil-ad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16, were abducted while hitchhiking south of Jerusalem Thursday night, Israeli officials said, leading to a wide-ranging manhunt in the West Bank to locate the three,” reports the Times of Israel. For more details, please go to the blog.

OTHER TOP STORIES ON THE BLOG RIGHT NOW:

* Please join me in Iowa on August 9th for The Family Leadership Summit.

* Will Iraq fall to jihadists? Did US forces die in vain? Will ISIS create an Islamic caliphate? Then what? Here are the latest developments.

* My next novel, or a real headline? “ISIS Threatens to Invade Jordan, ‘Slaughter’ King Abdullah.”

* Urgent: Pray for Iraq as Christians join mass exodus from Mosul & ISIS moves towards Baghdad.

* State of Emergency: ISIS radical jihadists “sweeping towards Baghdad,” capture $429 million from Mosul’s central bank. Christians on the run. Latest developments.

* Iraq declares “emergency” as ISIS, an al Qaeda breakaway faction, captures key city of Mosul. What is ISIS and why is it important?

[To read these stories, or read an excerpt from THE AUSCHWITZ ESCAPE -- and/or order a copy of this novel -- or to find links to the latest news and analysis of events and trends in the U.S., Israel, North Africa, Russia, and the Middle East -- please go to: http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/.]

Pray for peace: Syrians kill 1 Israeli, wound 2 on Sunday. Palestinians in Gaza fires 20+ rockets at Israel. In turn, Israel strikes 9 targets in Syria, strikes targets in Gaza.

In Uncategorized on June 23, 2014 at 1:08 am

????????????????????????(Washington, D.C.) — Please keep praying for peace in the Middle East. Violence is spreading and tensions are running high.

ISIS forces remain on the move in Syria and Iraq, capturing more territory, battling hard to overthrow the Assad regime in Damascus and hoping to get into position to bring down the Maliki government in Baghdad.

Syrian forces on Sunday killed an Israeli teenage boy and wounded two Israeli civilians in attacks against the Israeli side of the border.

In the south, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza have fired at least 20 rockets at Israel since June 15th.

Earlier this month, Hamas terrorists kidnapped three Israeli teenage boys.

The Israeli Air Force has now retaliated in Syria and Gaza, and a massive manhunt continues for the three Israeli youths.

Again, please keep praying and urging others to pray.

Here is the latest on the new Israeli air strikes in Syria:

 “The Israeli Air Force launched retaliatory air strikes on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights overnight Sunday-Monday, confirming direct hits on nine army positions belonging to the Assad regime — including a regional command center – after a 15-year-old boy was killed earlier Sunday in an attack on the Israeli side,” reports the Times of Israel.

“The IDF targeted nine Syrian army positions in response to the earlier attack that originated in Syria killing an Israeli teenager and injuring two other Israeli civilians. The targeted sites include Syrian [regional] military headquarters and launching positions,” the IDF said in a statement.

“Citizens in northern Israel reported hearing large explosions shortly after midnight,” noted the Times, citing Ynet News.

“IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said Sunday’s deadly attack on a car in the Golan Heights, which killed a Mohammed Karkara and injured three others, was ‘an unprovoked act of aggression against Israel, and a direct continuation to recent attacks that occurred in the area.’ Military officials said the car was hit by anti-tank fire from an area under the control of Assad regime forces, though one rebel commander told the Times of Israel it was possible the regime had targeted the car with a heat-seeking missile. In response, Israeli tanks fired at Syrian army positions.”

“The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to breach Israel’s sovereignty and will act in order to safeguard the civilians of the State of Israel,” Lerner said….

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke afterward with Mohammed Karkara’s father Fehmi Karkara and offered his condolences,” reported the Times.

“Israel’s enemies are using every means, they don’t hesitate to attack civilians or kill children, as happened this morning,” Netanyahu said at a Jewish media conference in Jerusalem. “They don’t differentiate between the Jewish and non-Jewish citizens of Israel. As a people, our heart breaks at the kidnap of every child, at the killing of every child and I am sure that I speak for all of you when sending our condolences to the grieving family.”

Haaretz reported:

  • On Sunday, Israeli tanks fired at positions held by Syrian government forces, after a 14-year-old Israeli boy was killed and three others were wounded when an anti-tank projectile fired from within Syria struck near the border fence on the Golan Heights.
  • Muhammad Fahmi Krakara was sitting in a truck with his father, who was doing maintenance work on the fence for the Defense Ministry along with two other contract workers. One employee suffered serious injuries, the father was moderately wounded and the third employee was lightly injured.
  • On Sunday, an Israel Defense Forces officer said it was not known whether Syrian government forces or rebels fired the anti-tank missile, though the segment of the border fence where it landed is under rebel control.
  • The slain boy’s father and the seriously injured employee were evacuated to Rebecca Sieff Hospital in Safed, and the worker with light wounds was taken to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

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