In his annual Good Friday address, Pope Benedict warned that Western civilization has “drifted into a desert of godlessness.”
Jesus is humiliated in new ways even today – when things that are most holy and profound in the faith are being trivialised, the sense of the sacred is allowed to erode,’ he said.
‘Everything in public life risks being desacralised – persons, places, pledges, prayers, practices, words, sacred writings, religious formulae, symbols, ceremonies. Our life together is being increasingly secularised.
‘Religious life grows diffident. Thus we see the most momentous matters placed among trifles, and trivialities glorified.
‘Values and norms that held societies together and drew people to higher ideals are laughed at and thrown overboard. Jesus continues to be ridiculed.’
The Pope, who turns 82 later this month, prayed that Christians would respond to the problem by growing in faith.
‘May we never question or mock serious things in life like a cynic,’ he said.
‘Allow us not to drift into the desert of godlessness. Enable us to perceive you in the gentle breeze, see you in street corners, love you in the unborn child.’
While assuredly not intentional, it was interesting to hear the pope allude to how end-time western culture (America included, if not specifically) is portrayed in Isaiah 18, Jeremiah 50 & 51, and Revelation 18.
Discussing yesterday’s claims by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran has 7,000 active centrifuges, completing the nuclear fuel enrichment cycle, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton admits to having no clue what is happening inside of the country.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday she did not see Iran‘s latest statements about its nuclear program as a rebuff to U.S. overtures to engage Tehran.
The top U.S. diplomat also voiced skepticism about Iran’s new claims that it had made major progress in its nuclear program and tested more advanced equipment for enriching uranium.
“We do not attribute any particular meaning, with respect to the range of issues that we are looking to address with the Iranians, from this particular statement,” Clinton said at a news conference when asked about an Iranian statement that it was now running 7,000 enrichment centrifuges.
Enriching uranium can produce fuel for a nuclear power plant or, if purified to a much higher degree, provide material for an atomic bomb.
“We don’t know what to believe about the Iranian program. We’ve heard many different assessments and claims over a number of years,” said Clinton of Iran’s latest claims.
Well, Madam Secretary, we do know what to believe. Soon, Iran will have nuclear weapons (Joel 2:3, 30; Malachi 4:1), and Iran will attempt to use them in concert with Russia (Psalm 83:4-5; Ezekiel 38:5). Just as they have promised to do.
Russia has test fired an aging Topol rocket that is capable of defeating missile defense shields.
Russia successfully test-fired a Topol intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday as part of checks needed to extend its service life for up to 22 years, Russian media reported.
The Topol was fired from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, nestled among the forests of northern Russia, and successfully hit the test site on Russia’s Pacific peninsula of Kamchatka, 6,000 km (3,700 miles) to the east.
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Test launches of new missiles have become routine in recent years, and the Kremlin says the financial crisis will not discourage it from spending as much money as needed on defense. The Topol, which entered service in 1985, was last test-fired last October.
Russia has extended the highly mobile Topol’s use way past the 10-year guaranteed operational life set by the manufacturer. It is designed to pierce anti-missile defense systems such as those that the United States has said it wants to build in Eastern Europe.
The RS-12M Topol, called the SS-25 Sickle by NATO, has a maximum range of 10,000 km (6,125 miles) and can carry one 550-kiloton warhead.
In the last few years, Russia has ramped up development and testing of weapons designed to penetrate US and European defense shields, including the impressive Iskander MIRV, which is capable of separating into 10 different nuclear warheads mid-flight, rendering any air defense system useless. This will enable Russia to shoot “(its) arrows like those of an expert warrior” (Jeremiah 50:9) when executing a surprise attack on what appears to be the United States (Jeremiah 50:24).
The Times (UK) reported yesterday that al-Qaeda activity in Iraq could delay the US military’s withdrawal from two major cities, putting a crimp in President Obama’s plan to have all troops out of Iraq by August, 2010.
Generally speaking, modern day Iraq is referenced by Mesopotamia and Babylon in Scripture, while Persia refers to Iran (Persia became Iran in 1932). There are some, however, who believe that Iraq is part of the Persia who joins with Russia to attack Israel in Ezekiel 38:5. This dates back to Mesopotamia being considered part of Persia prior to the Ottoman Empire in the late 13th century, at which time Iraq was annexed. The capital of Iraq, Baghdad, still uses its Persian name.
This theory is plausible. While historically the Iraqi’s have been at odds with the Persians because of the ruling Baathist political sect, Iraq is actually majority Shiite. Since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the Shiites–who have strong ties to Iran–have ascended in power. The Iranians have been heavily involved with the Shiites for a long time, and they have ramped up their influence since Iraq embraced free elections.
It is very conceivable that if US troops depart from Iraq, the nation will become Iran, Jr. and join in the Russian-led march against Israel (Psalm 83:4-5; Ezekiel 38:16).
(This is part one of a three part series on Holy Week.)
Every year during Holy Week, I find myself questioning the days we choose to remember certain events. Traditionally, we remember the Last Supper on Thursday, the crucifixion on Friday, and the glorious resurrection Sunday morning.
But these days cannot possibly be accurate, or else the Bible is full of errors. So what is the truth? Below is the best explanation I have heard and I believe it to be accurate.
Click here to continue reading…
