Splinters 2020
Splinters 42
eTPL30, January 3, 2019
Stirring the Hornet’s Nest
The restraint of the American president reached its limit on Thursday, January 2, when an unmanned drone aircraft approached the vicinity of Baghdad International Airport just as a Syrian passenger plane from Damascus had discharged its passengers. The passengers included the second highest political and military officer in Iran – General Qassam Soleimani – a man who has reportedly killed hundreds of Americans, the last of which was a military contractor at a facility in Iraq which was attacked by Iranian missiles under his command. Soleimani is the equivalent of the US armed forces chief of staff, and some considered him equivalent to US Vice President Pence in the Iranian government.
Just after their midnight touchdown the passengers boarded two vehicles which would transport them to their local destination. As the vehicles were leaving the airport perimeters, the silent overhead killer, an MQ9 Reaper drone, aimed its Paveway II laser-guided missiles at vehicle and then the other – two for each target. Within three seconds both vehicles were obliterated killing all occupants, their twisted, burning hulks littering the exit road from the facility. General Soleimani’s twisted body was later identified by an ornate ring that he always wore. In addition to the general, the highest-ranking leader of a splinter-group of Hezbollah in Iraq was also eliminated in the strike. In total, five victims were claimed by the drone attack. <>From press reports
Jews “Need to Learn Self-Defense”
Personal attacks upon Jews continue apace as Jewish voices call for more strident measured of self-defense. On January 1, David Suissa, a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, wrote, “Look at Israel: Is there a nation in the world that has faced more anti-Semitism? The Jewish state has survived for so long because it has understood that bullies are stopped not by reason but by force. It’s not pretty, but it’s reality.”
Because most of the recent attacks in the northeast have used knives and fists rather than guns, the author posits that a self-defense expertise like Krav Maga could be extremely valuable in both countering and deterring such attacks. What is Krav Maga? Its website shows it to be a widely diverse system of self-defense using little more than common sense and ready reflexes – and that it is useful to anyone from any age group. The courses are multiple, are online, and cost about ten dollars each.
Until the Master arrives and calls His scattered brethren home to Israel, these vicious attacks will continue ... and likely get much worse. The phenomenon is illustrative of the “hunters” of His People still prowling the earth (Jeremiah 16: 16). The world will finally come to its senses, but only after its enlightenment by the Teachers who go out to all the world to teach the everlasting Gospel, bringing all the nations under the cloak of enforced enlightenment. Then multitudes of ordinary Gentiles will take hold of the skirt of him that is (an enlightened) Jew, saying, “We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” Zechariah 8: 23. <> J. Post
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 43
eTPL 30 January 12, 2019
Benefits of the Rainy Season in Israel are Abundant
The rivers and lakes of Israel are reaching their highest water levels in years due to the heavy rains of the past week. One Israeli lost his life in Nahariya as he tried to assist a family whose car had been caught up in the cross-currents of water flooding the streets of the city. By Wednesday the death toll had climbed to a total of five due to the weather. There was widespread property damage from both flooding and high winds. Many people missed school and work from people contracting seasonal maladies which kept them at home.
More precipitation is forecasted for the coming weekend. But the best news is that the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) has reached its highest level in years, making gains against the low levels it has experienced for several years. <>Jerusalem Post
Let’s Please Try to Understand This...
A recent, widely circulated online video on Bible Prophecy was promoted with the following descriptor:
“Ezekiel 38 is invaluable to us for understanding the signs of the times because it goes into incredible detail in describing the invasion of Gog. This invasion immediately precedes the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (sic). The situation in the world immediately before Christ’s return is outlined (sic).”
In our studied opinion this statement is entirely misleading despite the long-standing and sincere conviction of some that this really is the case, and we ask for a critical, scholarly re-think of what is presented by Ezekiel.
It’s an extremely easy prophecy to understand as laid out in God’s word. Every word of it is critical...
In our opinion, scripturally it does not bring the return of Christ to the earth; instead, it occurs well after Christ has come and defeated Israel’s enemies round about, and has established the ‘peace and safety’ for His people which are mentioned as one of the two prerequisites of the Gogian invasion.
Conditions in the Land are stated as Israel being “the land of unwalled villages;” about which Gog declares, “ I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.” It is not now “unwalled” by any standard!
The other stated prerequisite is that Israel in that day has amassed a “great spoil and a prey.” (Ezekiel 38: 11, 12)
Neither of these conditions is prevalent today ... not even approximately.
Something MUST occur to create those two conditions BEFORE Gog is brought against the Land.
In our opinion, the current challenge of Israel by the nations “round about” of this day is the obstructing factor – and must be settled by a significant event prior to the Gogian invasion. Until that is accomplished there can be NO peace for God’s people in their land; also THAT EVEN will result in a massive increase in wealth for Israel of the future!
What is it? It involves that complex and detailed history which is explicitly prophesied in the chapters immediately precedent to those important chapters in Ezekiel – the utter decimation of those enemies round about, named as being Ammon, Moab and Edom (modern Jordan) and the Philistines (Gaza today) in chapter 25-28; Egypt (chapters 29-32); and others, and Israel delivered from these enemies by “David My Servant” (the Lord Jesus Christ) “and they shall know the Lord” (chapter 34-36); then there follows the notable record of God’s continuation of the people being resurrected and returned to their Land from the Valley of Dry Bones (the Diaspora) of Ezekiel 37 – an unique end-time event which many of His servants have watched closely for decades (notably since 1948).
All these exhaustive conquests occur at the same time as the summary prophecy of Psalm 83 is fulfilled; they are integral portions of that prophecy of Asaph...and involve all the entities named there.
All these events are noted to precede the invasion of the Gogian cohort and must do so in our opinion in order to accomplish the stated conditions above: dwelling safely, and holding an immense hoard of wealth – a great spoil, which shall have been gathered into her treasuries by Christ and the Saints (the wealth of the Gentiles – cf., Zechariah 14: 14).
When the Gogian host attacks Israel these two specified conditions shall have been met by precisely one collective event – Messiah’s utter victory over all the Gentile nations lying round about them from the Nile to the Euphrates.
It is the scriptural circumstance which describes the personal return of the LORD Jesus Christ from the heavens and His lightning conquest over the physical enemies of Israel which now encircle her and threaten her existence hourly!
The prophecy of Obadiah 1:18-21 reveals that all these vile enemies lying between the Rivers and the Seas shall be defeated in one convoluted, major conflict, and that “saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD'S.”
That condition cannot be specified without the personal return of Christ to His People to save them from their enemies and those who hate them as spoken by Zacharias in Luke 1: 71.
We are aware that some readers may wonder why we continue to hammer on this point. We do so in order to assist our readers to understand the scriptural order of the coming events. Baptized and faithful Believers of today are destined to be part of those events – not observing them from the perimeters – and accomplishing the godly judgments of the LORD Jesus Christ as He visibly enters into the affairs of the nations and begins His work of final redemption of Israel!
In our conviction, after thirty years of concentrated study, the premise of the second sentence of this item is patently wrong. Whoever has these expectations will be surprised to realize that their scholarship has been inadequate, and their beliefs have been wrongly guided by other well-meaning but inadequate students of God’s word.... <HEL>
Development of Laser Weapons by Israel is Moving Ahead Rapidly
Incoming ordnance of many types is difficult to defend against; Israel and others have been seeking a means of effective defense against these projectiles for years – weapons ranging from ballistic missiles and drones to mortar rounds and balloons bearing firebombs. Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday, January 8th, that it has brought into production a laser-based system for intercepting aerial threats of many kinds after about ten years of intense effort.
The announcement was made by Brigadier General Yaniv Rotem, head of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Research and Development. He stated “We are entering a new age of energy warfare in the air, land and sea. The R&D investments made by the DD [Directorate of Defense] R&D in recent years have placed the State of Israel among the leading countries in the field of high-energy laser systems.”
The text of the article revealed some of the difficulties that they encountered. One of the major hurdles was developing a laser beam which would remain collimated over great distances – that is one that would arrive at the target with a profile of a coin’s diameter rather than being much wider – spread out, ineffective. The result has been achieved by harnessing several laser generators to produce a single, very “hot” beam which does not scatter or widen over long distances. The sharper it is at the receiving end, the more effective. And this one is extremely “sharp,” and HOT.
One of the great advantages of laser weapons is the cost-effectiveness of each discharge of the weapons as well as their unlimited magazine; as long as there is an electrical supply there is “ammunition” which will not be depleted as with conventional shot and shell. Another is that it operates at the speed of light.
In addition, the cost of each discharge is extremely low – and the discharge is both invisible and inaudible. It is also much easier to aim as it travels in a straight line, unaffected by gravity. He summed up: “This technology enables the development of highly effective operational systems that will serve as an additional layer of defense to secure the State of Israel by air, land and sea.” <>Israel Defense Ministry
Iranian Military’s Incredible Ineptitude
For a nation which claims technological superiority, the Iranians certainly have not demonstrated this level of proficiency. Firstly, in retaliating for the American killing of Iranian General Qassam Soleimani a few days prior, Iran, in supposed “reprisal,” fired missiles against the US military facility at Ain al-Assad Airbase near Baghdad.
The Iranian missile salvo did not hit a single notable target from all reports. It seemed as if they actually planned to miss any important targets that were strategic on this huge airbase!
Then, in the immediate aftermath, they inexplicably allowed local commercial air schedules to be maintained, even though the Revolutionary Guard said they were expecting reprisal missiles from the United States forces in Iraq.
In the darkness of that same evening, January 8th, Ukrainian International Airlines, flight PS752, a Boeing 737-800 jet, lifted off from Tehran International Airport bound for Kiev, Ukraine, carrying 176 passengers. As it climbed out of the airport and started to achieve its vector to Kiev it suddenly blew up and spiraled to earth killing all the passengers and crew.
At first, the Iranian government claimed the crash was due to mechanical difficulties. But the crew had not issued a distress call to that effect. The crash scene after daylight revealed unmistakable tell-tale signs that the plane had been shot down by a missile. At first Iran denied this conclusion. Later they could see that the evidence of it having been shot down was too overwhelming, and were forced to admit that they had mistaken it for an incoming missile – an event which, recall, they had expected.
In a condition of extreme readiness (as Iran claimed to be at the time), it seems incredulous that their “superior technology” could not discern between a giant passenger plane and a ballistic missile.
In the first place, Iranian radar should have monitored the departure of the Ukrainian craft as it left Tehran – and to have “labeled” it for protection from ground fire. This can easily be done by the aircraft’s transponders which identify every radar blip on the screen specific to flight number and air carrier if it represents a civil or military aircraft.
Secondly, the IRGC should have monitored their air defense systems closely. Surely this “friendly fire” was a potential of which they would be aware – especially given that the airport is equipped with anti-aircraft installations, which are usually set to seek and lock onto targets automatically...and even to fire missiles at their targets automatically.
Iran is said to be extremely remorseful that the civilian passengers and the plane were destroyed and blamed a “junior officer” essentially of being “trigger-happy.”
Thirdly, Tehran is located several hundred miles from the Iraqi border to the west. Surely, if a ballistic missile were indeed incoming as retaliation from the attack on al-Assad airbase, it would have been reported by Iranian radar long before it approached Tehran International Airport; there would have been prior notice of an incoming missile.
There was no logical excuse for this terrible lapse in protocol. <>from press reports
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 44
eTPL 30 January 20, 2020
Philippine Volcano only one of Many Volcanic Eruptions since First of this Year
January 15, 2020. An alarming phenomenon is occurring world-wide according to scientific observers around the world. It involves convulsions of the earth in several aspects: volcanic activity, ocean warming, polar shift, and wildfires – even unprecedented changes in solar activity.
The scientific community reports that it has never seen such a rash of significant changes in the natural environment as are now happening. They outlined at least several major changes going on at this moment – changes which have gone unreported by the news media...and subtle enough that they have not been noticed by the general populous.
The posted article in Quora Digest began: “The sun is behaving very strangely, freakishly cold weather is breaking out all over the world, ocean temperatures continue to rise, volcanoes all over the globe are shooting ash miles into the air, Australia is experiencing the worst wildfires that they have ever seen, and the north magnetic pole has been moving at a pace that is deeply alarming scientists.” We summarize the articles...
1. NASA reports that solar activity has decreased to the lowest level in 200 years. Its website forecasts that the next solar cycle will be the weakest in that amount of time, measured in terms of sunspot number – a standard measure of solar activity. They say it may be 30 to 50% lower than the one just completed. The cycle begins this year and extends to its maximum in 2025. Worries are that this decrease in solar activity could spawn a “Little Ice Age.” One such period extended from 1645 to 1715, causing lower atmospheric temperatures in Europe and N. America.
2. Records show that very cold and snowy winters – such as those being observed at the present time – occur. Cairo, Egypt, experienced snow for the first time in 112 years – a location which sees less than 1” of rainfall a year!
3. The world’s oceans are heating rapidly. Off the California coast, ocean temperatures have been setting all-time high levels – a strange phenomenon in light of such low solar activity...
4. Wildfires during the past year have been unprecedented in recorded history. The Amazon rainforest lost millions of acres last summer, while Australia bushfires have been 46% larger than those in the Amazon. An estimated one billion wild animals have perished in Australia. Smoke from these fires will travel entirely around the globe before dissipating.
5. Since December, volcanoes all over the world have been coming alive with a vengeance, shooting giant clouds of hot ash miles into the sky. The Taal volcano (40 miles south of Manila, Philippines) shot ash nine miles into the air just last Sunday. Its effects have been felt in Manila to the north, shutting down the city’s international airport and disrupting other public functions. It is unclear if this volcano is somehow related to the largest caldera ever discovered (it’s located on an ocean plateau named Benham Rise just off the Philippines coast) with a subsurface potential crater 93.2 miles wide, as estimated by GNS Science group. It is colossal compared to the 22 mile-wide caldera at Taupo, north of Auckland, N.Z., and the 37 mile-wide caldera at Yellowstone, Wyoming. Just image volcanoes this immense!
6. While all these events are taking place the north magnetic pole is moving toward Russia at a rapid pace. CNN reported that “The north magnetic pole has been slowly moving across the Canadian Arctic toward Russia since 1831, but its swift pace toward Siberia in recent years at a rate of around 34 miles per year has forced scientists to update the World Magnetic Model – used by civilian navigation systems, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and US and British militaries – a year ahead of schedule.”
7. And besides all this, the weakening magnetic field of Earth has many experts greatly concerned. Journalist C. Stuart Hardwick recently cited satellite data such as that collected by the European Space Agency’s SWARM Mission, proves that the magnetic field has been weakening by about five percent each century. Although the measurement means little to non-astronomers, the current strength of the magnetic field is 29.5 microteslas – about 14 percent weaker than three centuries ago when, presumably, the level was first established. The SWARM satellites noted the greatest deterioration within regions of North America, which weakened by about 3.5 % in three years. Although the statement was not fully explained, the journalist said, “If it simply gets weak enough, dwelling on the surface [of the earth] is going to become exceedingly difficult.”
Events of such significance should not alarm Believers of God’s word; we can be fully assured that our Father has everything under His control. At the same time, such knowledge should give each of us impetus to place our trust more firmly in our Heavenly Father as the coming of Messiah draws nearer. The scriptures warn of such drastic changes in natural affairs as harbinger of that Event of the Age – seeming without doubt to be signaling His displeasure with the rampant evil that one sees in every part of the earth. <>Abstracted from news reports
Why all the New Volcanic Activity all over the Globe?
Noting the close relationship with the lead article above, we consider the recently renewed activity of Mount Popocatépetl in Mexico, which was reported by Prophecy News Watch in its blog dated yesterday. About 26 million people live within a 60 mile radius of the center of the volcano, so it is obvious that the potential for death and destruction could happen on a scale that is hard to imagine. In ancient time, the mountain buried entire Aztec cities in superheated mud...then went dormant for 1,000 years. But it began awakening again in1990. Its activity since January 1st is its most severe in recent time...
Other types of seismic activity are notching upwards, too. Readers will possibly be aware of the recent 1,000 earthquakes that have shaken Puerto Rico in a swarm of quakes both large and small. The territory was just jolted by another severe earth-shock, adding to the island’s recent stress from hurricanes and other wicked weather.
Last Tuesday, in Alaska, one of the state’s most lethal volcanoes shot ash 25,000 feet into the air after Shishaldin Volcano erupted at 5 a.m. Initially the ash cloud ascended to about 19,000 feet, obscuring the mountain. Activity let up for a few hours then re-started on a heavier scale, and the ash level then reaching 25,000 feet.
The eruption or Mt. Taal in the Philippines (noted in lead article) caused great concern earlier in the week.
Then, on Thursday, Mt. Popocatépetl in Mexico re-erupted, throwing debris, including incandescent rocks, nearly four miles into the sky. The mountain is described as a stratovolcano, meaning that its eruptions are composed of explosively erupted cinders and ash with occasional lava flows – a most dangerous output...
At about the same time, in South America, the Sabancaya Volcano in Peru shot a plume of volcanic ash up to 24,000 feet above the surface.
Yet hardly anyone is paying attention to the Peruvian event because of the spectacular eruption of Mt. Taal in the Philippines, which has now ejected ash and rocks up to NINE miles above the earth! As already reported Manila’s airport was closed and the city is experiencing mild ash deposits and air pollution.
Scientists – volcanologists – are puzzled by these accelerated seismic events, wondering just what could be causing them at this particular time. Most of the activity is noted to be in volcanoes located in the highly active “ring of fire” surrounding the vast Pacific Ocean, but Puerto Rico’s ‘quakes are an exception. <>Prophecy News Watch
Ayatollah Alamolhoda of Iran: U.K. Ambassador Should be Chopped into Pieces
The Ayatollah Khameini of Iran is not Mr. Nice Guy. In a memorial service for the victims of the Ukrainian airliner, he vilified the U. K. ambassador, saying on Iranian TV that he leads “English and American spies” (in Iran) and should be “chopped into pieces.” He further claimed that “hundreds of thousands of American soldiers were ‘turned to dust and ashes’ by the missiles that Iran launched at the Americans’ Ayn Al-Assad air base in Iraq” in retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. Preposterous! It seems that Islam fully supports such liars as this highly placed representative of the Ayatollah Khameini in Tehran... <> Breaking Israel News
The Mahdi and the Mosque
Mohammed wasn’t much of a creative writer; he deftly copied and corruptly parroted many of the dogmas of “Christianity” as he understood them from the Jews and the Catholic Church of his day and incorporated them into his “religion” as prophecy. One example is his avid expectation of the reappearance of “the Twelfth Mahdi” at his supposed judgment at the end time...a direct copy of the Christian Messiah-expectation of long standing. So hokey!
The myth was perpetuated recently by the hoisting of a blood red flag atop the “famous” Jamkaran Mosque in the “holy city” of Qom, Iran. Telecasts showed the flag being raised and pointed out the “message” it was sending to the world. The mosque is supposedly closely connected with the Twelfth Mahdi. The meaning of its hoisting reflects one of the few actions that the Moslems are really good at utilizing: symbols. The flag points to the assassination of General Soleimani as “blood spilled unjustly” in their thinking, and their call for revenge; it symbolizes both principles.
The flag is said to bear a line of text which is a reference to the death of the grandson of Mohammed. It reportedly reads, “Those who want to avenge the blood of Hussein," and refers to the heir who was decapitated in 680AD as the second Islamic Civil War was being waged over the successor to the “prophet.”
It was reported that as the flag was raised in Qom, the mosque loudspeakers called, “O Allah, hasten your custodian reappearance,” which referred to the expected Muhammad al-Mahdi returning from the well into which he disappeared centuries ago (in 869 AD)! The enemies being referred to are all the enemies of Shia Islam. Their supposition is that the 12th imam reappears along with Jesus (!) during a time of chaotic war to “bring peace to the world and establish Islam as the ruling faith across the globe.” Such are the illusions of grandeur of your average local imam...
They say the trigger for the Mahdi’s reappearance will be a great war, which is why the Shi’ites seemingly have no fear of war. If they die in such a war as martyrs they will be rewarded as martyrs in the afterlife; but if they live through the coming holy war (“jihad”) they will see the coming of the Mahdi helping to institute the global rule of Shia Islam.
For this quite clear reason, there will be no letup in the Shi’ite push for their warped goals, and all the more reason for Believers to see that it will require the thunderous appearance of Israel’s Messiah to defeat...and to eradicate all Islam – drastic as that may seem! As we have pointed out on previous occasions, Obadiah1: 18 sums it up, “...there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.” <> Abstracted from Prophecy News Watch
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 45
eTPL 30 January 23,2020
Kill Trump – and Be Awarded Three Million Dollars
An Iranian lawmaker from Kerman province has made a public offering of $3mm to anyone assassinating President Donald Trump of the USA. His offer came in the wake of the killing of Iranian General Soleimani at the Ain Al-Assad air base last month – an achievement that infuriated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and drew a reprisal in the form of nearly twenty ballistic missiles being fired upon a large US military facility near Baghdad.
We have often pondered that possibility – the assassination of the US president. His free and open appearances throughout the nation would seem to be hazardous to his wellbeing. He has made enemies widely during his three years in office largely because he is cognizant of – and acting against – the harm that has been done for years to this republic by foreign powers in unequal trading partnerships and through peripheral military threats (such as from China in the South China Sea, and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz). Now that he is deftly promoting US advantage he has drawn the fire of many...
The Iranian authorities have announced that they will no longer abide by the limitations of the nuclear deal that was signed with Iran by President Obama and that they will press ahead with the advanced refinement of nuclear materials which would allow them to manufacture nuclear weapons earlier.
Since the events of December, some of the European nations have agreed to add sanctions of their own to Iran, making it harder for the rogue state to conduct its affairs on an international scale. <>From news reports
Netanyahu: “I will annex all Israeli Towns in Judea and Samaria...and the Jordan Valley”
Jerusalem. January 21, 2020. Acting Prime Minister Netanyahu renewed his earlier pledge “to extend Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea” region if re-elected prime minister in the upcoming elections. The PM was launching his third attempt to be reelected prime minister in less than a year ... a process which has thrown the internal operation of the state into turmoil and disarray. His claim was widely viewed as a boisterous conservative move to help assure his reelection. Many have asked why he has not already done so during his previous administrations.
The White House is said to be opposed to the annexation of the stated areas, objecting that it might have a profound effect upon the “Deal of the Century” that is soon planned for release to the region. Our wonder is why hasn’t this wonderful ‘solution’ been presented prior to this time in history as it was said to be completed many months ago. President Trump’s team is now saying it may be released for public view sooner than the Israeli election (early March).
The pales****** reaction has been predictable. Abu Abbas (current chairman of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah) has said he will not even give the plan any consideration because it was initiated by President Trump – the person who has moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and has sanctioned Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Mr. Netanyahu’s plan apparently would include annexation of the city of Jericho – a town inhabited almost exclusively by pales******* just north of the Dead Sea. It would certainly include such large Israeli cities as Ma’ale Adumim located east of the Jerusalem city limits, as well as Homs to the south – both being large “bedroom” communities of citizens working in Jerusalem, and both located well within the pale of the pales****** territories. We can understand the extreme reaction that such a move would create in the opposing (Arab) camp. We think we see in Israel an increasing feeling of complete frustration with the current state of affairs, of their having to live with the monotonous drone of threats to their existence, and concrete moves to place those threats into motion as the weeks go by.
The Jordan Valley is a large and important strategic area. Its kibbutzim are some of the most productive agriculturally, and its lands are relatively well-watered and green. Forests abound there, and wildlife is prolific. It is the natural eastern frontier of the state as well. Israel considers its control of the River Basin a prime requisite to its safety, and an “early warning” line of defense against the eastern potential enemy and Edom (Jordan). <>World Israel News
Israel’s Coldest Day of the Winter, and an High Water Mark in Kinneret
The weather in Israel during the early and the latter rainy season is always of interest, and it certainly appears that the country’s rainfall is markedly increasing in recent months. The rain and snow of the last few days have raised the level of Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) about 7 centimeters (cm) which is 2.8 inches as a result of 15 cm (5.9”) of snow which fell early in the week on Mt. Hermon (the Mt. Hermon ski lodge is closed to visitors at the moment due to enemy threats). The surface of the Sea of Galilee now stands at just above 210.6 meters below sea level and only about 1.8 meters below the upper red line – a measurement which indicates that when reached, the Kinneret is at full capacity (any excessive accumulation will be automatically drained into the lower Jordan Valley and allowed to make its way southward toward the Dead Sea). This is a marked increase since our visit 16 months ago.
Photos of the aircraft of foreign dignitaries landing at Ben Gurion International in Tel Aviv show a wet and foggy tarmac welcoming their arrivals. They are gathering at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in observance of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945 by the Red Army. <> Arutz Sheva
Putin’s “Soft Spot” for Israel and the Jews – an Enigma
It goes without saying that Russia’s President Putin has a “soft spot” for the Jews and Israel. Why so? Because he is well aware that over a million Russian Jews have immigrated to Israel and that Russian is a prominent second language in the country. When Mr. Putin comes to Israel he often visits Netanya – an area with a concentrated Russian Jewish population. He is in Israel at this moment after a nine-year absence, attending the 75th commemoration of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp in Poland by Red Army troops in WWII, a place that saw the deaths of 1,410,000 Jews who were mostly gassed.
But there is another reason for Mr. Putin’s friendship with Mr. Netanyahu and Israelis.
The former KGB chief lived with his parents in an apartment in St. Petersburg, Russia. From reports by Israeli media in 2018, an elderly Jewish couple in his apartment building “cared for the boy.” Although no details were provided as to the nature of the “care” the young Putin received, this could be the main reason for his friendship with Israel at the moment. His feelings run so deeply that Putin purchased an apartment in Tel Aviv for his former teacher, Mina Yudistskaya.
Now a current Jewish publication Dwash Shabbat, a news sheet closely connected to Rabbi Dov Kook, a kabbalist (a Jewish mystic) has brought new facts to life about Putin’s relationship with his Jewish neighbors in St. Petersburg.
The publication claims its source as being Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, head of the Chabad movement in Russia.
It reveals that Putin’s parents were hard-working and very poor Russians who were struggling to feed themselves and their child. Even though the Putin family was surrounded by other Russian families, the Jewish couple was the only one that took care of the young Putin in their building even though everyone was aware of the family’s dire circumstances. In the routine care that they gave young Vladimir they noted when he was home alone and invited him to meals at their home – and to Jewish holidays such as Yom Kippur and Shabbat eve as well.
He routinely heard Jewish prayers and observed his benefactors’ culture. In that way he became comfortable with Jewish traditions and habits. They even bought clothing for him and provided for his basic needs, much to the gratification of his natural family we can be sure.
Even though this wonderful present relationship with Israel is probably going to change for the worse in the future (how long we know not – and even whether Vlad Putin will still be in charge when Gog is drawn down upon the People of God), why shouldn’t Vladimir Putin presently feel friendly to the Jewish people? He has no beef with them whatsoever. He even seems to understand the reasonable caution of Israelis (the IDF) for the enemy forces a-building in Lebanon and Syria – round about Israel – and has not interfered with the Israeli raids upon either the Iranian insurgents or the forces of Hezbollah ... a curious symbiotic relationship to be sure! So let’s keep a keen surveillance on Mr. Vladimir Putin, and give him credit for his present friendship with Israel! <>Abstracted from Arutz Sheva reports
Israel Doubled the Number of its Unicorns in 2019!
The writer formerly knew the unicorn as a single-horned, beautiful, gentle mythological beast. He admits to being perplexed when he read this headline in Milestones to the Kingdom (Pearce) recently; had Brother Don lost his senses??
Well, no! “Unicorn” is also a business term meaning a privately-held tech company worth more than $1bn (billion).
It is notable that only three countries claim more unicorns than Israel: they are the US, China, and the UK.
The report, from Globes of December 25 opines that 2019 was the year that Israel’s technology sector came of age.
Nine new unicorns emerged during last year, bringing the total to twenty! Because of the unusual Israeli approach to business ventures, being an unicorn is a sign of a tech company’s maturity.
A decade ago every Israeli startup entertained the dream of being bought out by a tech giant or a Wall street initial public offering (IPO - of stock) – a maneuver in which a private company raises public funding for ongoing operations and business independence.
Israel’s universities act as “incubators” for many business ventures in a milieu in which a private enterprise acquires a new discovery or product developed by a university laboratory (such as a new cancer drug) and makes that product or idea the central core of a new private company – and then of building it into a growth company worth $1billion or more.
Israel has more unicorns than France, Germany, and Australia combined!
These are names we probably will come to recognize in the near future: Gett – a taxi-hailing company; Cybereason – a cybersecurity firm; Monday – a team management systems developer. These were founded last year. In the previous year these emerged: DevOps – a platform developer, JFrog; Riskified – a fraud protection company; 3D imaging company Vayyaar Imaging; Fabric – a retail imaging company; and Lemonade – an insurtech company (the writer has no notion of just what an “insurtech” company consist of – perhaps reinsurance?). And the good news is that even companies who raised less than a billion dollars are well on their way to that goal!
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 46
eTPL 30 January 27, 2020
“Deal of the Century” to be Released at the White House on Tuesday
President Trump has labeled it “The Deal of the Century,” but the “Palestinians” refuse to consider it. The proposed deal is being widely and enthusiastically described as “the most favorable plan for Israel ever presented by a US administration,” and there have been several attempts in past time. On every occasion, even when the “Palestinians” were awarded more than they could reasonably have expected, they inexplicably said, “No!” Yasser Arafat plainly declared that he would settle for nothing less than ALL Israel ... an unworkable solution from the beginning...
Israeli leaders Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu (Likud) and leader of the Blue and White Party, Mr. Benny Gantz, have just arrived in Washington, a day ahead of their planned separate meetings with the Trump administration in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
The visit is fraught with political overtones and symbolism. Each man does not want to be seen cooperating with the other – or appearing to be in any way subservient to the other – during the upcoming sessions. But Netanyahu holds the high ground at the moment; it was he who was invited last week to come to Washington – and it was he who suggested that Mr. Gantz attend also. Both men are leaders of the two largest political parties in Israel.
Both hope to win enough votes to form a workable coalition in the upcoming elections (March 2) without having to resort to cooperation with each other. But, failing that, it will be necessary for their two parties to form the majority coalition – a conclusion which, in two previous elections, has eluded them up to now.
Most observers are viewing this as the last, best hope for an Israeli-Arab accord, and see a high probability that if it is refused outrightly by the “Palestinians” that Israel will go forward speedily with the annexation of much of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea areas, leaving the Arabs with even less territory under their control. After all, the ongoing dispute has lasted over fifty years with no progress whatever – ever since Israel was forced to fight for its existence in the Six Day War resulting in the conquest of Jerusalem, the “West Bank,” the Golan and the Sinai, some of which was later ceded back to Egypt (the Sinai) in exchange for a peace agreement.
Our opinion is that this “wonderful solution” will not be implemented as presented because the “Palestinians” will continue their standoffish ways and accept none of the billions of dollars said to be offered in the package as well as peace with their host nation, Israel.
In that case, Israel may feel constrained to move ahead unilaterally, establishing the “state of things” as they wish, regardless of the “Palestinians’” agreement. There comes a time when one must move ahead ...
The Apostle wrote of these fragile days when he addressed the brethren at Thessalonica – I Thessalonians 5: 1: But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Paul is not saying that the day of the Lord comes stealthily to the Believers ... just to the world in general, those who are not paying attention to God’s word.
This is just such a time. Many of the new arrivals in Israel have come to Israel with great expectations of redemption, believing that their presence in the Land is required for Messiah’s appearance. The Prophet Micah and others seem to bear out this fact. But the regathering of Israelis into their recovered Land was not to be a time of peace and tranquility with their neighbors.
Paul’s next words reflect that unsettled condition: the people present in their Land, awaiting the Master are seeking peace and security (safety), because such has eluded them, as he writes in I Thessalonians 5:3: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Sudden destruction? It is not the expected result by those who are involved in the negotiations that might bring about this supposition of peace. We often hear Brethren speak of this as the “peace and safety cry,” and perhaps in a sense it is – a plea for such. But it seems more likely to our thinking that it is a statement which those in authority believe to be FACT: a statement of a condition believed to have been attained – that “peace and safety” at last has been achieved by some mechanism brought about by their personal leadership and planning.
But these are not expecting what is shortly destined to come to pass – the Second Advent of the Lord from heaven – an event which we must stress will be completely beneficial to the returned Israelis in the Land – but not to their enemies “round about” – the proximal Islamic neighbors that surround them on every side...
The Brethren of Christ, however, are in no way surprised; note Paul’s next words: 1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
The awareness of the nearness of the Master’s return is even now acknowledged by large numbers of “Christian” folk who have unfortunately put the wrong construction on events to come. They are expecting “the Anti-Christ” prior to the coming of Jesus Christ, and in our opinion will fatally mistake His arrival as being the arrival of that evil personage that they envision. Unfortunately, they have not closely comprehended the Plan as laid out in God’s word because their misunderstanding of so many other facets of scripture have prevented their correct understanding of these key end-time events.
The “Deal of the Century” has been kept close to the vest by the Trump administration. Some of its financial details were discussed at a meeting in Bahrain last year, but it is still largely secret so as not to compromise its acceptance by the parties involved (at least that’s their plan).
But now, observers seem to think there has been some major breakthrough in Israel-Arab relations that are to be revealed during PM Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week. But at the present time, even each party’s closest associates are not in on the secrets of the plan. We do believe PM Netanyahu is highly encouraged by the prospects of the meeting, for he said upon departure from Israel, “Very dramatic things are happening.”
The secrecy is logical for two reasons: premature news releases could sink the mysterious treaty as Arab leaders could back off at the last moment. In addition, all parties should meet and discuss the plan simultaneously so as to prevent drawing erroneous, early conclusions, and failing to understand the whole.
This observation is not an admission of any opinion on our part to believe the plan has a chance of success. Our reasoning is based on the Prophet Joel, for one, who wrote, “when He should bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem (this present day),” I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. Joel 3:2.
Those words are decidedly indicative of the end of days – and of Israel’s redemption. But note carefully that the inspired words decry “parting My land,” which has been done on two previous occasions (by Great Britain’s creation of Trans-Jordan in 1922, and by the United Nations Partition Agreement of 1947). In addition, Israel itself has divided its land on two other occasions by returning the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in the Sadat-Begin Peace accord of March 25, 1979, and again by Arik Sharon’s ceding the Gaza Strip to the “Palestinians” a few years later. Both these areas are destined to be part of the “first dominion” of Christ’s Kingdom as verified by Micah 4: 8 and Psalm 83. They should not have been given up to the enemy.
The high estimation of the Deal’s worth was inherent in a statement made by PM Netanyahu last week: Netanyahu said, "I suggested that Benny Gantz be invited to this event as well because I think that it's important that we do not lose this historic opportunity. With such friends in the White House, with such backing from the United States, we should get as broad a consensus as possible around the efforts to achieve security and peace, peace and security for the State of Israel.” Note his stress on the elusive conditions spoken of by the Apostle to the Thessalonians ... peace and security for Israel – the most elusive qualities of modern times.
Our closing query is, “Is this a fulfillment of the presumed attainment of peace and security referred to by the Apostle?” We cannot know for sure until the entire scenario has exhausted itself – an accomplishment that may require months more to reach its fruition. Our obligation is, in our opinion, to consider it a possibility until we can discern its effect in the longer run. It seems certain in our mind, that Believers must give the utmost gravity to any such prospect as this “Deal of the Century,” considering its possibilities of fulfilling this landmark prophecy of the Apostle Paul ... but that depends upon its acceptance by all parties.
And we must add this sober note: We pray several times a day for “the peace of Jerusalem,” and the settlement of the Israeli-Arab conflict on scriptural terms – which means the utter defeat and expulsion of all foreign forces and influence from all the lands between the Rivers and the Seas.
And that supplication takes into consideration the other grave factor in the equation: that prior to this “showdown” – this “sudden destruction” that Paul says falls upon the enemies of God’s people – the resurrected and living responsible dead are, in our conviction, to be called before the Judgment Bema of the returned LORD Jesus and meet him face to face. May we approach this long-awaited encounter with deep faith that the LORD of all living will treat each of his beloved brethren with compassion and mercy, and allow us triumphant entry into the Kingdom which He shall establish. <>Abstracted from DEBKAFile and The Jerusalem Post
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 47
eTPL 30 February 12, 2020
360 Billion Locusts and Expanding: A Plague of Biblical Proportions
East Africa: February 10. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that the immense locust swarms that are invading Ethiopia, Kenya, and neighboring states are perhaps unprecedented. "It's certainly the most dangerous migratory pest in the world, desert locust," said Keith Cressman, FAO's senior agriculture officer. "A swarm the size of Rome can eat enough food in one day as everybody in Kenya." And some of these swarms are actually bigger than the city of Rome. (Daily Mail)
And this alarming report tells perhaps less than half the story...
Recent cyclones (with heavy rainfall) have increased the breeding season of the desert locusts over wide swaths of the tropics including Saudi Arabia and the prospect is that the pests will spread as far east as Pakistan and India! The expansion of the locust population is expected to grow until the dry weather of July arrives.
That margin of time is highly unfavorable to all the tropical populations of these regions. Unbelievably, the size of the swarms could get many times larger than they are before the world gets any relief from them; some estimates are up to 500 times larger, which is impossible to comprehend...
The pests are extremely mobile with each being able to travel nearly 100 miles per day, and each one consumes its own body weight in food every 24 hours! Their swarms are up to 40 miles wide at the present time and are expected to grow as they move into new territories.
So, effective resistance is urgently needed. Kenya is said to be employing its five crop-dusting aircraft but the number is inadequate and insecticides seem to be making little difference to the locusts’ rapid multiplication.
Scientific American magazine wrote that a major concern is a famine. The food supplies of East Africa are always marginal at best. This has prompted officials in Rome to mount a money-raising campaign to fight the pestilence before it develops into a full-fledged crisis of widespread famine.
Those who downplay this crisis just don’t understand the problem!
The food supply of Saudi Arabia – always meager – is threatened with near wipeout by the locusts. Photographs of a swarm in the Peninsula show that the density of the locusts nearly blocks out the sun.
According to authorities there has never been a plague of this scale before in recorded history. The magnitude and implications of it are inestimable. It is surely fulfillment of the Biblical prophecies of pestilence striking the earth in the last days, e.g., Zechariah 14: 8. It is part and parcel of the numerous other unusual outbreaks which we are seeing at this time: earthquakes nearly everywhere; cyclones and hurricanes; typhoons; volcanic activity; and tsunamis – all events of blind nature we might think, although the scriptures assure us that they are under the control of the Almighty (Psalm 148:8) by which they assure compliance with His way. <> From press reports
Did the Jews Create the Corona Virus?
The neo-Nazis are up to their old tactics – blaming the Jews for the newest plague to appear among men – the Coronavirus. The Anti-Defamation League issued this statement: “Extremists hope the virus kills Jews, but they are also using its emergence to advance their anti-Semitic theories that Jews are responsible for creating the virus, spreading it to increase their control over a decimated population or they are profiting off it.” <>World Israel News
Senator Tom Cotton: Corona Virus may have come from a Chinese Superlaboratory
The Arkansas Senator, speaking to the Senate’s Armed Service Committee last week, described the Corona Virus as “bigger than Chernobyl,” and the biggest and most important story in the world. He indicated that he believes Chinese officials have misled the public as to the origins of the super-virus that has now killed many hundreds of people and sickened over 30,000 worldwide. As a deadly plague, it has already surpassed the total effect of the dreaded SARS virus of some years ago – another pestilence that originated in China. That’s saying something!
He stated that for almost two months (until last week) the Chinese claimed it originated in a “wet seafood market” in Wuhan. But he referred to an article in the prestigious British Medical Journal, Lancet, saying “That is not the case.”
Why so? Because, of the original forty cases, fourteen of them had had NO contact with the seafood market, including Patient Zero (the first case). He pointed out that, instead, he suspects another origin: he noted that “Wuhan is the location of China’s only bio-level four ‘super laboratory’ that works with the world’s most dangerous pathogens, including, yes, corona virus.” He was referring to Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is China’s first Biosafety Level 4 Lab – and it investigates “the most dangerous pathogens,” according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “So,” he said, “We still don’t know” where the virus came from. <>Arutz 7
Iranian Flights to China Continue as Usual
In our estimation, the colossal obtuseness of the Iranian regime is evident for this reason: it is stubbornly continuing regular unregulated flights of Mahan Airways (owned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps – the IRGC) into and out of China, including to and from Wuhan Province. The decision protects Iran’s trade with Beijing and is causing fear among many Iranians that the lack of controls will mean the entry of the pandemic coming into Iran. (Gateway Pundit)
And, listen to this: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif issued a Tweet in Chinese in which he “expressed appreciation and gratitude for China’s successful measures to fight the pandemic. China not only prevented the epidemic from deteriorating at home but also prevented the epidemic from spreading internationally.”
Really? Where are the most cases and fatalities to date? – China. And it has spread all over the world!
He continued the Tweet in condemning the United States for doing a poor job in controlling the H1N1 flu in 2009.
He reinforced his assertions by saying that as descendants from Adam, “the Chinese are brothers – which means they are brothers and sisters (!).” Pity he doesn’t feel that way about the Israelis.
Such an attitude is disturbing to the citizens of Iran – innocent and helpless bystanders to entry of the pestilence. It illustrates clearly that the regime gives more value to its trading relationship with China than the health and safety of its own citizens. The social media is full of reports that protective face masks are almost impossible to obtain because the expatriate Chinese community in Iran has bought up the entire supply for itself. <> Breaking Israel News
Naftali Bennett: Agent for Change!
All who pay attention to Israeli affairs have seen a marked uptick in defensive activities under the new Defense Minister Naftali Bennett. Near the end of December, the minister froze NIS650 million in taxes and import fees which Israel had collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The amount is roughly equivalent to the funds needed by the PA for it “pay to slay” program – the payments it awards to Pales****** terrorists in Israeli prisons and families. It is an expression of the US Administration’s ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against the PA; the US has curtailed such payments to the PA also. It puts a severe limitation upon the PA’s ability to pay each prisoner approximately 12,000 shekels a month – an extremely large amount for one living under the PA’s administration.
About a week later, Bennett initiated action against illegal buildings constructed in Area C of Judea and Samaria, by appointing three responsible officers to lead a task force that would take positive action against such structures, most of which are funded by donations from the European Union. Mr. Bennett says it is a matter of defense...
In addition, he has decided that firm resistance to Pales****** terror coming from Gaza (Hamas and Islamic Jihad) where the incendiary balloons, mortar grenades, and rockets are launched against southern Israel, so he has increased pressure.
He halted the passage of dual-use materials into Gaza – materials which could be used for Hamas’ missile production and the building of terror tunnels. Hamas’ ongoing activities hurt no one but themselves and their people...
In addition, he has ended the usual Israeli policy of returning the bodies of terrorists who were killed in terror attacks against Israeli targets. He shortened the fishing zone off the Gaza coast after Hamas was discovered smuggling weapons into the strip ... and materials for producing new rockets.
And now he has halted the import of Pales****** agricultural products into Israel and even curtailed exports to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge Crossing (near the Dead Sea).
Speaking at an election rally near Tel Aviv, Mr. Bennett connected these restrictions to the “war between wars” against Iran in Syria, the ongoing Pales****** terror-war against Israel being part and parcel of that same effort.
But perhaps the most significant action he is taking involves attacks against Israel’s security problem in the north: up until now, only about 20% of Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria have been attacked.
This is now changing; Israel will attack every single shipment of which it becomes aware even in the face of recent Russian objections. He said Israel must protect her sons in this action called Protective Edge (the Third Gaza War) and the Second Lebanon War, now ongoing since 2014. It appears that the minister is “fed up” with the status quo!
He appeared tacitly to declare that Syria would become a “destruction zone” that would become “Iran’s Vietnam” while inferring that Israel has been behind all the attacks in the north (did anyone doubt that?).
There will now be two zones of activity, he said: he revealed that “Israel and the US have decided to divide Iran’s orbit into two large zones: one is Syria where the Israeli military is responsible for walking back Iran’s presence and influence while the US Army will act against Iran in Iraq that effectively has been turned into another Iranian proxy state.” He ominously told the newsgroup that Israel will not tolerate another two- or three-day mini-war against the Pales****** terror groups – that he is formulating a “significant” military operation that “would change the equation in Gaza. Targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders is an integral part of this decision, he said, and “none of their leaders will be immune.” The decision has impacted “Abu Abbas,” the PA’s chairman, who is currently in Jordan; he fears that Israel will not allow him to return to Ramallah! (Don’t laugh ... it has happened on prior occasions!)
Our observation is that these actions are past due and that the actions of Mr. Bennett may have the effect of speeding the pace of events that we want to see happen...??
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 48
eTPL 30 February 20, 2020
Iron Dome Updated by Israel
An advanced version of Iron Dome has been tested and proven successful by Israel. It will enable the Jewish state more effectively to combat missile-swarms launched against it – a high likelihood due to the increasing missile installations of Hamas and Hezbollah on its borders.
Iron Dome is already highly successful having intercepted over 2400 real-time missile-firings into the country by various terror groups in its ten years of operability. The latest innovation is designed to combat “missile swarms” which are expected from enemies round about the Jewish state, including so-called “cruise” missiles, which Iran is now striving to establish in Lebanon and Syria.
Readers will know that Iron Dome is one of four layers of air defenses for Israeli skies, the others being David’s Sling (against medium to long-range rockets, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and others), the Arrow 2 system that defends against ballistic missiles in the upper atmosphere, and the Arrow 3 system that kills ballistic missiles in outer space. It is the only country to own such a broad scope of missile defenses.
Israel’s enemies know that they cannot defeat Israel in a ground war; therefore they are concentrating on an offense against the civil population via ballistic missiles. Their doctrine is that Israel is not designed for long-term wars in which the civilian population would suffer massive, daily rocket attack, and would quickly come to a full stop, creating economic havoc and disruption. Given the colossal installations of such weapons in outlying adjacent areas, Israel’s greatest threat lies in such an attack at the present time. Even if 90 percent of the incoming missiles were intercepted, the remaining ten percent would wreak havoc...
Israel’s counter-doctrine is rapidly to advance physically into the enemy territories and destroy them. Prophetic inferences are that at some time in the near future the enemies will employ all means to destroy Israel in a hot conflict of immense proportions such that Israel readily sees that it cannot defeat the attack by means of its current defense system.
In such a case, Isaiah’s prophecy of chapter 59, we believe, will come into play: a key prophecy which foretells the inculcation of “fear” into their enemies ... and victory for Israel that shall be unprecedented (and unexpected by them) from an unexpected Personage. This shall be so because it is an example of the most well-defined O. T. prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ. “So shall they (the enemy) fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a Standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob saith the LORD”- Isaiah 59: 19, 20. <>United With Israel
Maps of Israeli Expansion are now Being Prepared
Prime Minister Netanyahu is going rapidly forward with his preparations of the official maps which will define the new Israeli borders of the Trumpian “Deal of the Century.” In making this program known, he told a cabinet meeting earlier in the week that the maps will meet the plan proposed by President Trump when he recognized Israel’s right to apply sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. It is another “plus” for the American president – and another thorn in the side of Israel’s enemies!
In naming the team who will accomplish the work, Bibi added: "This team will be in close contact with the settlers and the security forces to complete the task soon. We are making our homeland in Judea and Samaria part of the State of Israel forever.”
Many of the critics of Israel will laugh at this last remark. Readers may know that serious assertions have even recently been made that Israel and the Jewish people are destined AGAIN to be overrun by their enemies round about, the population largely slaughtered, and their land taken. It is a preposterous proposal- and unscriptural! Our well-studied (and documented) opinion is that such is NOT in the offing, but that the Prophet Amos’ words will prevail – the God-breathed words of divine inspiration – which prophesy this order of events...
Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old (now being accomplished): 12 That they (Israel) may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this (in the near future). 13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God. (This feature of the prophecy is seamless with the anterior portion; Israel is now forever established in the Land!) <>Arutz Sheva
Israel’s Growing Power creates a “New Path” in the Middle East (Netanyahu)
Jerusalem: Monday, February 17. World Israel News published a unique news story which struck an especially familiar chord in our sensibilities; it concerned a meeting of an organization with the ponderous name, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem – a conglomerate of 53 American Jewish religious and political organizations organized to promote a “consensus among the largest Jewish Diaspora community.” It is an advisory council of sorts for the Israeli government...
In his address, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “told the delegation of American Jewish leaders that the ‘accumulation of power (by Israel) is creating a new approach for Israel’ in its relations throughout the Middle East, and particularly with Palestinians.”
He emphasized the principle that the new initiative by Israel will go forward in these matters of, for example, the features of the previous article above: the “mapping” process of the territories to be annexed. And he stated that the explained mechanics (procedures) of the newly-released “Peace to Prosperity” Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal will be regardless of Palestinian acceptance of the plan!
He touted (his words) the changing relations between Israel and its Muslim nations.
In our opinion, this is the feature that has been missing – and makes this new, widely-touted “peace plan” so important, even perhaps giving it the status of the sure harbinger of the approach of the Second Coming of the LORD from heaven – the “saying” that is given by inspiration by the Apostle Paul: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape – 1Thessalonians 5: 3.
Is this a preposterous assumption? No, it is not in our opinion. Such acceptance by all parties involved (even given the expected Pales****** holdout), would fulfill those requirements. This assumption is stated because we can see NO possible Pales****** agreement with any “peace proposal” made by anyone.
But if such an agreement could be forced upon the Pales******* by sheer numbers, it could easily fulfill the scriptural requirements that (the nations) shall have said (claimed, that), “peace and safety” (have been attained). That is precisely the sense in which we believe Paul’s prophecy was forwarded to his readers, because the nations’ claim is manifestly FALSE, ending as it does, in the enemies’ “sudden destruction.”
That destiny for them is certain, regardless of the manner in which it comes about...
Mr. Netanyahu explained that, as prerequisite, the Pales******* will need to “stop paying terrorists, and to withdraw all their claims against Israel and the ICC in The Hague.” He then said that in order to complete the negotiations, Palestinians would need to: “recognize Israel as the Jewish state; recognize the united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; recognize Israel as the power responsible for security everywhere West of the Jordan; recognize our sovereignty in the places that I mentioned; and also adopt a constitution, a democratic constitution that assures democratic rights, free speech, free elections, freedom of religion and a few other things.”
“This is a short list. It’s longer,” Netanyahu said, adding that “they also have to dismantle, disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza.” And the determination as to whether the enemy had fulfilled these conditions, that the two powers of the United States and Israel would jointly make that decision. Entirely arbitrary, and final...
Then, referring to the Trump Plan, he said, “This is something I would say that has been long overdue and I congratulate President Trump for putting it forward.” He added that “the change that we’re witnessing today is part of the reemergence of Israel is a power among the nations.” <>World Israel News.
“CoughSynch” – an Israeli Innovation to Throat Suctioning in Pneumonia Patients
One of the most vicious features of pneumonia – such as that almost always brought on by respiratory diseases such as Covid-19 – the newly adopted name of the Corona Virus – is the accumulation of phlegm in the airways of the patient. Its suffocating effect makes its removal necessary, until now by an extensive and uncomfortable physical method: manual airway suction. This procedure may cause airway damage and bleeding. It exposes hospital staff to the infection. It is uncomfortable for the patient. But it is also necessary.
Enter ... CoughSynch – an Israeli invention which automatically performs all removal of mucus membrane (phlegm) without the patient even having to cough. It saves valuable nursing time required for the alternative (suctioning) to be performed and does so without any discomfort or damage to tissues. Patients are said to be released from care days earlier when the device is used in their care. Covid-19 has infected at least 70,600 people and over 1,775 have died from the flu-like respiratory illness. The need for CoughSynch will be filled by being manufactured in China and supplied to the world market.
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 49
eTPL 30, February 29, 2020
Israeli Scientists to Produce Covid-19 Vaccine Soon
In an extremely fortunate series of events, Israeli scientists at MIGAL, The Galilee Research Institute, are perhaps nearer than any other group to planned production of a vaccine for Covid-19.
Spokesmen say that the vaccine could be ready for use within a few weeks – around 90 days.
The announcement was made by Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis, who offered congratulations to the research group. He said “I am confident there will be further rapid progress, enabling us to provide a needed response to the grave global COVID-19 threat.”
The following discussion is highly technical, so bear with us!
The veterinary group had been working on a vaccine for IBV (infectious bronchial virus), a disease that targets bronchial systems in poultry. He explained the group’s approach as being “[A] scientific framework for the vaccine ... based on a new protein expression vector, which forms and secretes a chimeric soluble protein that delivers the viral antigen into mucosal tissues by self-activated endocytosis, causing the body to form antibodies against the virus.”
The meaning of this complex language is this: A “chimeric” protein is one composed of material such as DNA or a polypeptide from two different species of organisms created in the lab by gene-splicing (resulting in a chimeric gene) ... these antibodies are genetically manipulated to fuse variable regions of (the DNA of) mouse antibodies with a constant region derived from human antibodies in human experiments.
The technology is also easy to apply in the veterinary world in principle.
“Endocytosis” is an extremely sophisticated process in which the chimeric antibodies are brought into a cell by surrounding the cell membrane, forming a vesicle, or recess, which then contains the ingested material. From that protected position, antibodies may be released as challenged (demanded). The process has worked very well in poultry...
But the “lucky” part is this: The team had decided a year or so ago, to choose the current strain of coronavirus as a MODEL by which to prove the effectiveness of their technology as applied to poultry (as the challenging agent).
After they defined the sequence of the DNA of the unique coronavirus causing the worldwide human outbreak of Covid-19, they discovered that the poultry coronavirus which they had been targeting is highly similar, genetically, to the human one, and uses the same infective mechanism (method of attack), which increases the probability of achieving an effective human vaccine in a short period of time.
The scientists at MIGAL recognized an opportunity to “make a difference” also in human biology. All they needed to do said the CEO of MIGAL, David Zigon, was “adjust the system to the new sequence.” They are well advanced in that process at the moment and “hopefully in a few weeks we will have the vaccine in our hands. Yes, in a few weeks, if it all works, we would have a vaccine to prevent coronavirus.”
After it is developed to a satisfactory level the vaccine would go through a (hopefully, enhanced) regulatory consideration, then into clinical trials followed by large-scale production. The entire process is being “fast-tracked” for obvious reasons. Zigon said that the vaccine could probably achieve safety approval “in 90 days.” It will be an ORAL vaccine, so will be particularly easy to dispense within the public domain. <>JPost
Another Hezbollah Terrorist in Syria Killed by Israeli Drone
A “senior” Hezbollah officer, Imad at-Tawil, was killed last week by an Israeli drone strike in the Syrian Golan Heights according to a Syrian news source. He was said to be creating an Iranian-based terror network near the Israeli border in order to create an arms-length theater of operations against the Jewish state. His car was destroyed by an air-to-ground missile as Israeli aircraft maneuvered nearby. His death was the fulfillment of an Israeli warning to Hezbollah that it will not allow the terrorists to form an organized network on the Syrian side of the border. <>Jewish News Service
Second Israeli Victim of Coronavirus Emerges
A second Israeli who had returned to Israel from the Diamond Princess cruise ship has tested positive for Covid-19 and is in isolation at Sheba Medical Center. The news services reported a “mild panic” across Israel as citizens learned that a large group of South Korean tourists which had passed through the country earlier in the month had later been diagnosed with the lethal virus; these folk may have had the virus while in Israel and may have infected some of the hundreds of Israelis with whom they had contact. Further precaution taken by Israel has been the cancellation of a school trip by Israeli students that was planned for Poland and limiting participants in Tel Aviv’s Marathon race to Israelis. <>JPost
Iran’s Super-Enemy Donald Trump Strikes Again
Although not explaining the means by which this was accomplished by the president, an Iranian “cleric” has claimed that the coronavirus outbreak in the “holy” city of Qom was a result of Donald Trump targeting the city and its population! It’s an outrageous claim, of course, but it makes sense to the “religious” leaders of Iran. A week ago there were 29 people infected in the city and six had died. The Friday prayer imam, named Hojjat ol-Eslam Seyyed Mohammad Saeedi, said US President Donald Trump had targeted the city to “make Qom look like an unsafe city, and to take revenge for all its defeats (sic).” He further claimed "Trump will die frustrated in his wish to see Qom defeated."
That statement was in reference to President Trump’s Tweet in January in which he warned that if Iran strikes any Americans or American assets, the US had targeted “52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 hostages taken from the American embassy years ago) – some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture.” Qom is such a place: Saaedi stated that the city is "shelter for the Shi'ites of the world, the center of religious seminaries and the city where Shi'ite sources of emulation live." <>JPost
Earthquake in Eastern Turkey Kills Eight
Eight people have been killed and dozens injured as a fairly major (5.7 Richter) earthquake struck in eastern Turkey near the Iranian border. Over a thousand buildings collapsed devastating the local infrastructure.
Search and rescue has uncovered three dead children and rescue operations are ongoing.
The quake is another of a series of major temblors that have struck Turkey and Iran recently. <>JPost
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett is moving Along with the “Deal of the Century”
In a recent Splinters, we noted how remarkably aggressive is Mr. Naftali Bennett in his relatively new position as defense minister. In yet another forward-looking move he has just approved 1,900 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, not ‘holding back’ as advised by President Trump’s people in order to give the Plan a better chance for approval by the Pales*******.
His reasoning is that Israel’s answer to the enemy’s demands is new construction. And he reiterated that “Israel will not hand over a centimeter of the Land of Israel to the Arabs.” (Attaboy!!)
Most of the housing units will be built in Shvut Rachel and in Eli, more than doubling their previous inhabitants. Much of the expansion is being built in the wilderness area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim, a prominent community in the Judean wilderness east of Jerusalem on the Jericho Road. The move will facilitate the annexation of all that territory making Ma’ale Adumim a (connected) eastern suburb of the expanding city of Jerusalem.
The defense minister is side-stepping the old excuse of slow-moving expansion of housing for Israelis. Things are no longer ‘complicated,’ or stuck in the machinery of bureaucracy in this minister’s operations! <>World Israel News
“Methuselah” is Alive Again!
No, we are not referring to the oldest living man. THIS Methuselah is an ancient species of date palm – Tamar, the Judean date palm – grown from a seed discovered in a clay pot at Masada in 1963, and carefully preserved since that time at the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies at Ketura, Israel.
Elaine Solowey, a researcher at the Institute, in 2005 planted three of the six date palm seeds that had been found at Masada. She admitted some skepticism, supposing that the seeds’ endosperm, an element which initiates early growth (sprouting) would no longer be viable.
She treated the seeds with a hormone-rich solution and fertilizer, and then planted them on the institute grounds where Methuselah stands tall and vibrant today! Only one of the seeds produced a viable date palm sprout and was marginal as to survivability for some time. But eventually, with intense care, it grew vigorously and is today over ten feet tall.
The seeds were verified by radiocarbon dating to have been produced between 155BC and 64AD! They are over 2,000 years old – giving new weight to the specimen’s name, Methuselah. They are the oldest seeds yet to be successfully germinated and the tree, being male, is being utilized to fertilize contemporary female date palms to revive the ancient species in the Land of Israel. It flowered for the first time in 2011, producing pollen, which enabled it to reproduce with modern date palms, which it did beginning in 2015.
The species has great cultural implications for the region. David named his daughter Tamar – the Hebrew name of the beloved date palm tree. It is depicted on both ancient and modern Hebrew coins. It was erased from the landscape by years of devastating drought, wars, and foreigners’ neglect. Ms. Solowey is involved in producing a grove of the variety with emphasis on investigation into the purported medicinal properties of the plant, which modern date palms don’t have. <>Touchpoint Israel
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <>HEL
Splinters 50
eTPL 30, March 6, 2020
Observations from a Correspondent
March 2, 2020. A correspondent wrote: We've always wondered how it could be that the USA would not be able to help Israel against her historic enemies, the "nations round about," which if ever those partly strong and partly weak nations ever consolidated, could launch an attack that even the Iron Dome could not repel.
Well, this coming election in the US could just be a precursor to the answer.
If the socialists ever get a foothold in this country the strength of the USA will be severely crippled (and) perhaps even gone...
Shelves will be empty, factories will be closed, the economy will be crippled, and all efforts will be (on) self-survival, not to mention that the administration will be Godless and anti-Semitic and will adopt infanticide not too farfetched from Moloch, and partial birth abortion as even now practiced by Planned Parenthood. Just let the infant's head emerge; then ram an instrument through its head, and pesto, still birth! Imagine that! Who would ever have thought all this could happen in this Christian founded country! <>RP
Destroying the Tombs of Esther and Mordechai in Iran
The Times of Israel reported that “The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said on Twitter that it was “troubled by reported threats to the tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, Iran, and emphasizes the Iranian government’s responsibility to protect religious sites.” The threat was made by a “student” Bisij group in Hamadan province, the location of the shrine; they threatened to raze the entire structure and build in its place a Pales****** consulate.T
They are pouting over President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” released in January. The news came as Purim was about to be celebrated in Israel (Purim begins March 9th this year) = see our related article at this web address: Purim Explained: Haman’s Antitype <>Times of Israel, February 2 2020
Momentum: Israel’s new War Plan for Iran ... and others
Israel has an unchallenged technical edge over its Islamic enemies surrounding the Jewish state. In mid-February the IDF revealed its landmark development of a comprehensive plan to coordinate its finest warplanes and anti-missile systems in a comprehensive, detailed plan to confront Iran and all its proxies, among others. The plan, named Momentum, builds on the Gideon five-year plan that was proposed in 2015. It will bring down redundancy, thus saving costs and wasted effort; it will introduce more entirely new technologies. It reduces the necessity for much of the reserve force, focusing on cybernetic air-defense systems such as Iron Dome and Laser Sword, utilizing the F35i as the country’s premier first air squadrons, two of which already exist (a third is planned); there could eventually be 75 of these planes.
Because of its ultra-superior qualities, the F35i would be the basic foundation of Momentum, because it virtually assures Israeli air superiority in any conflict. <>The National Interest per Don Pearce
Israel Can Soon More Easily Attack Iran
Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel has repeatedly stated that Israel does not intend (he has said “Israel will not allow”) Iran to achieve production of a nuclear weapon. Presumably, the means by which such would be prevented would be by pin-point bombing of Iranian nuclear plants. Israel’s modified F35i has an adequate mission range to accomplish such a feat, but could be compromised if required to “loiter” over the targets, or to search for alternative targets.
Therefore, aerial refueling is advisable. Aerial refueling is an exacting procedure: jet fuel’s transfer from a tanker aircraft to the F35 at high speeds and altitudes. Israel’s present fleet of tankers is nearly obsolescent (some nearly sixty years old!). The need for their replacement is critical.
So, just in time, the US State Department has approved the Israeli request to purchase eight such craft – the KC-46A Pegasus aerial tankers. The package includes spare parts and support materiel and is priced at $2.4billon USD. The first tankers would arrive in Israel in 2023.
The agreement enhances another basic doctrine of the US defense department: that of placing residual assets in Israel for Israel’s use, but as also being available in case of their need in warfare by the US Air Force – expressed as “redundant capability.” And of course the purchase increases Israel’s national security posture in a significant way.
The KC-46A is another designation for the Boeing 767 commercial airliner. It is fitted with advanced radar jammers and sensors which assure its increased survivability in action. Its reconfiguration makes it able to carry 106 tons (over 210,000 pounds) of fuel over an extended range of 6,000 miles! There are currently 31 of them in the service of the US Air Force. The critical feature of the remotely-controlled refueling “boom” (an extended fuel pipe which precisely transports fuel to the receiving aircraft in midair) has had some “glitches” but these are being addressed.
Although Iran may not agree, the choice was said not to alter the basic military balance in the region.
Israel’s defense procurement section has already acquired fifty F-35i planes – a model of which the “i” designates the Israeli modification of the craft, which, for one thing, is fitted with specially-mounted external fuel tanks. [Its internal fuel capacity allows for a 1,350 mile range.] Jerusalem to Tehran is just short of a thousand miles each direction... so aerial refueling is an absolute necessity for best results.
Such a mission as bombing Iran’s nuclear plants would also involve Israeli F15I fighter-bombers, too, and these also require aerial refueling, sometimes more than one per mission. <>The National Interest
Three Supermoons this year ... all of them on Jewish Festival Dates
A Supermoon is a sign of new governments (Israeli sages). Therefore it may be significant that all these in 2020 will appear on Jewish Festival days: on Purim (March 9, 10), on Passover (April 8-16), and on Rosh Hashanah (September 18-20) according to Rabbi Yosef Berger. The rabbi regards the phenomena in a special way; he said, “A supermoon on all these holidays means that the Davidic dynasty is about to return.” The statement reflects the expectations of many Israelis of today – that the appearance of Messiah is imminent. Esther 3: 15 informs that the city of Shushan was “perplexed” (or confused) at the decree of death to the Jews issued by Haman. Similarly, the Shushan Supermoon (March 10) comes in a time of great confusion ... on several fronts...
Israel just held its third election in about a year and still can reach no conclusive result. It appears that PM Netanyahu will again be unable to form a working coalition of governing parties. A fourth election may become necessary as the confusion intensifies.
The election had been determined by law to be held on Purim, but because of the holiday, the date was moved to a week earlier. That feature itself was confusing.
The US is at the same time going through political primary elections which are nothing less than confusing. The Democratic Party may even reach its convention date without a clear nominee and go into a “brokered convention,” which in itself can generate confusion of great magnitude.
In addition, many nations such as China, Iran, Italy, and the Vatican are being confused and challenged by the Coronavirus Covid-19.
The stance of Iran and North Korea on nuclear weaponry are problematic and a source of confusion to the United States and other nations.
And confusion of almost unintelligible magnitude is seen in the war-stance of the nations of the Levant.
Gender identity has even become a source of great confusion all over the world;
And further “confusion” is indicated by same-sex “marriage” as approved by the US Supreme Court and the legal bodies of some other nations.
The almost universal practice of abortion is reflective of the confusion of Babylon and its successor nations – all idolatrous and hedonistic. <>Breaking Israel News
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 51
eTPL 30 March 14, 2020
Nigeria: Slaughter of Christians is Hideous
Boko Haram’s bloody slaughter of Christians in Africa’s largest population has exceeded the number of deaths of ISIS’ enemies in Iraq and Syria combined.
Prophecy News Watch has posted a gruesome story of Christian persecution in Nigeria which is laid to the savagery of Boko Haram, the radicalized Islamic militia that is terrorizing Nigeria’s north.
Quoting some portions of the gruesome story ...
“They were on their way to a wedding – her wedding. Chatting away in the car, surrounded by her two best friends, Martha's mind was probably on last-minute details, the ceremony, and the excitement of seeing everyone again.
“She and her fiancé were getting married New Year's Eve, just a few days away, near her family home in Adamawa State. It was a seven-hour trip from Maiduguri down the dusty, Nigerian roads. A trip that, for Martha and her bridesmaids, came to a sudden and horrifying end.
“They were only a couple hundred kilometers into their journey when they saw the men – fighters, armed by the Islamic State. Every Christian in the area had been warned about Boko Haram.
“Take extra precautions, they were told. Things were getting worse.
“So when Martha was ordered to pull over and get out, she knew what it could mean. Terrified, she felt her hands being pulled behind her back. Satisfied that the women were believers, the men unsheathed their weapons. One at a time, their screams floating on the empty desert air, the girls were beheaded. An entire bridal party of innocents, left in a bloody heap by the side of the road.”
Western news media are not reporting on these vile deeds with any regularity or accuracy. The nation’s Christians are having their houses burned down, children slaughtered at a whim, the hideous whack of machetes falling upon innocents, leaving them dead in the streets – severing hands, arms, heads, and penetrating pregnant bellies – just because “the victims are Christians.” In the two months since Martha’s demise, hundreds of additional Nigerians have been slaughtered.
America is being asked to intervene; otherwise another Darfur – or even a Rwanda – may come about. Thousands more will certainly die; an effective expansion of the terror-base will develop. The International Committee on Nigeria has mounted a campaign named Nigeria’s Silent Slaughter – a group which hopes to draw the crisis to the attention of the world. Their claim is self-evidently valid: it is absolutely unacceptable for Christians to be murdered because of their faith....” <>Prophecy News Watch
Has Vladimir Putin just elected Himself “Gog of the Land of Magog?”
Moscow: March 11. Of course, we cannot make that determination for certain. But the President of Russia has succeeded practically in assuring his leadership well beyond 2024 when his present term ends – until 2036. On the third reading in the Duma, the Kremlin-controlled lower legislative body, a set of amendments to the constitution now establishes his term extension by a 383-0 vote! A nationwide vote is to be cast on the amendment on April 22nd. Putin, a former KGB officer, is now 67 years of age.
Mr. Putin has ruled Russia for more than twenty years. It is not his first manipulation of his terms of service. After serving as president for two four-year consecutive terms – the limit specified in the present constitution – he shifted to the prime minister’s office in 2008, giving the presidency over to his close ally, Dmitry Medvedev as a “placeholder” for Putin.
While Medvedev was in the office, the length of the presidency was extended to six years; in 2012 Putin returned as president, and in 2018 he was reelected for another six years. The latest constitutional reform would allow Putin to run for president two more times after 2024 – by which time we should reasonably conclude that history shall have moved forward to the time of the Gogian decision to invade Israel.
The only barrier would be a refusal by the Constitutional Court which, we may be fairly certain, the president already has “in his pocket.” <> Associated Press
Locust Swarms Invade Southern Iran
March 20. The insect invasion of East Africa and Saudi Arabia has moved further north and is enveloping South Iran, according to Daily Alert’s report drawn from Radio Farda.
Since late February, enormous swarms of locusts have been encroaching on Iran’s south. The report said "The density of locusts in the swarms is so high that a 10- to 15-cm. layer of dead locusts forms on the ground after spraying pesticides," according to Reza Mir, spokesman for Iran's Plant Protection Organization on Tuesday. Two and a half centimeters (cm) is about an inch, so the layer of dead locusts (for US readers) is about six inches deep! <>Milestones report by Don Pearce
Arabs Revive Blood Libels as Israel Saves Their Lives
During just the last week of February, Israel admitted 105,495 patients for humanitarian medical treatment in Israel from the “West Bank.” Is that gesture appreciated by the Arabs?
Apparently not.
Vicious Arab (aka “Pales*******”) rumors are circulating in which it is claimed that herds of wild boars for the past two decades have been introduced into the “West Bank” where they ravage Arabs crops and gardens. Yet no photos of any Israeli trucks bringing in the animals have surfaced. It should be remembered that many thousands of Jews live in the area, too. We wonder how the wild boars can distinguish between the Arabs and the Jews! And just what sophisticated method was used by the Jews to educate the predators?
A similar libel has been leveled against the Jews of Jerusalem as the Arabs persistently claim that the Jews are bringing in cages full of rats and releasing them in the Old City to drive out the Arab inhabitants! It is difficult to find an Arab not toting a cell phone – all of which have cameras. It is beyond belief that NONE of them have photographic evidence of the caged rats set to be loosed in the City. And do the circulators of such vicious rumors not realize that thousands of Jews live among the populous of the City and would be harassed by a rogue rat population? There are no reports of such dangers...
In the current crisis, Israel is exerting tremendous gratuitous efforts to assist the Arabs to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. Several Arabs in Bethlehem have been admitted to Israeli hospitals for treatment after testing positive for the lethal virus. Hundreds of Covid-19 test kits have been shipped to the PA; training sessions for PA personnel have been organized for orderly study of the virus in the “West Bank” towns. Expensive health care equipment is regularly supplied to the PA in addition. Yet, rather than showing appreciation to the Israelis for their assistance, the PA and its media outlets and high-level officials continue their campaign of incitement against the Israelis.
The continuing attacks and false reports (blood libels) against Israel while Israel is working at all hours to save PA lives from coronavirus illustrate how they repay those who try to help them. <>Gatestone Institute
Oh! Now Things will be better: Pope Places Virgin Mary in Charge...
Vatican City, March 13. The occasion was a celebration of the “Holy Mass” that was held in the absence of an audience (“the faithful”) as promoted by Cardinal Vicar Angelo De Donatis at the Shrine of “Our Lady of Divine Love” on the Day of Prayer and Fasting. Pope Francis sent a video message in which he addressed his prayer to the Virgin (Mary) and (not Jesus, as mediator!) in these crucial times of medical emergency. He entrusted the city, Italy, and the world to the protection of the “Mother of God” as a sign of salvation and hope. <>Milestones, per D. Pearce
Covid-19 may Accomplish a Unity Government in Israel
Covid-19 may bring about a result that has been unattainable through three failed elections in Israel ... a unity government. The pandemic has caused the crash of global markets, panic buying and drastic curtailment of travel and public gatherings unique to modern times, including in Israel. The country has closed schools and universities, has cancelled all events involving more than 100 people, and has taken moves to stabilize the economy to the maximum extent under the leadership of Acting Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Might the pandemic now lead to the forced creation of a workable Israeli government?
It is possible. Only ten days after the March 2 election, both PM Netanyahu (Likud) and his rival, Benny Gantz of the Blue and White party have shifted their efforts to both of them calling for an emergency national unity government. In light of the unprecedented crisis facing the country and the world, it is nearly certain that this mutual call for unity is not something that either side can walk away from. <>Israel Jewish Affairs Council
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 52
eTPL 30, March 21, 2020
GLBTQ “Rights” – a Major Plank in Biden’s Campaign
It just never stops ... this insane insistence of the Democrat Party and its emerging presidential candidate (2020) on the promotion of the homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, trans-gender, and queer “rights.” And it boils down to the summary deprivation of your and my religious freedom in the strictest sense.
Joe Biden recently outlined his plan under the title "The Biden Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Equality in America and Around the World.”
He is indicating his “reach” to be far beyond the borders of this nation – to include “the World!”
The man and his ilk are insanely misguided by Jezebel herself, Hillary Clinton, who in 2015 stated, "Yes, we've cut the maternal mortality rate in half, but far too many women are still denied critical access to reproductive health care (read: “abortion”) and safe childbirth (read: termination of childbirth), and laws don't count for much if they're not enforced. Rights have to exist in practice — not just on paper. Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed" (emphasis ours), Clinton said at the sixth annual Women in The World Summit in New York City.
Joe Biden has fallen for that bait – hook, line, and sinker.
And so have multitudes of ignorant and hedonistic citizens of the world!
He is seeking to undermine the (limited) freedoms secured under President Trump and the multitude who agree with him. For the first time in history Biden’s nefarious plan would use the full force of the American government to attack traditional Christian values.
And may we add, it is a program that goes directly against the sacred teaching of the Bible ... whether he (and everyone else) agrees or not. The Almighty has made His doctrine on that point entirely clear.
To be sure, it is “politically incorrect” for us to say so in a public forum. But we will NOT be restrained from agreeing with the scriptures, and speaking out to our readership: The man is severely misguided ... as are all his deviant followers who believe and promote the same lack of principles and morals.
Yes – deviant!
Although the Law of Moses, in our studied opinion, has passed off the scene as the supreme LAW, it still expresses the Father’s standard of righteousness; and the words of Moses come into mind here, in Leviticus 20:13 – “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
The Creator’s penalty for such abomination was death ... by stoning! – A painfully slow process of execution at the hands of the perpetrators’ peers. And, if I remember correctly, their parents were to be the first to cast the stones of execution!
The plank in his platform has not just recently been put forth. Vice President Biden had stated his support for same-sex “marriage” as early as May 2012, well before President Obama stated the same conviction. On the public forum, Meet the Press, on May 6, 2012, he clearly stated, "Who do you love? Who do you love? And will you be loyal to the person you love? And that's what people are finding out is what all marriages, at their root, are about."
That outrageous conviction was followed up on January 25, 2020, when he tweeted, "Let's be clear: Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time. There is no room for compromise when it comes to basic human rights."
Oh! Such gravitas! Such a ponderous, serious, thoughtful position! You would think Old Joe was a philosopher of sorts who feels fully qualified to assess the overall moral standards of humanity.
Well, even if we don’t like to think so, perhaps he has done just that.
His instinct (or that of his handlers) has latched onto one of the worst and most ungodly proposals one can imagine. It means war on everyone who holds to Biblical ethics – all those who recognize only male and female sexes – you and me. We would be punished by Joe Biden’s administration for our “violation of human rights” without any regard for moral uprightness or adherence to scriptural teachings.
The Biden plan clearly states his “principles:” "Donald Trump and Mike Pence have given hate against LGBTQ+ individuals safe harbor and rolled back critical protections for the LGBTQ+ community." Please deliver us from this filthy and ungodly agenda. <> Compiled from notes: AskDrBrown.
Investment Adviser Lays it on the Line
“I’ve never seen a more frightening scenario,” writes Hilary Kramer, a prominent trader in stock options. He lists his reasons for so stating ... and they have a far wider significance than financial (which is not our focus by any means). They concern devastating damage to the world economy, and therefore to the well-being of everyone. But our emphasis is on spiritual values ... not carnal ones.
Oil prices are sinking …Global supply chains are broken…
Consumers are beginning to hoard everything from toilet paper to household cleaners...
Discretionary spending is collapsing…
Retail shops are closing…
Hated politicians are lining up together to fight this crisis…
Investors are fleeing to cash…
And while I can’t tell when the next shoe will drop, I can tell you this:
We’re at the beginning of massive volatility and not at the end…
His newsletter pulls no punches: he begins today’s edition with this sobering statement:
“Make no mistake about it: the coronavirus is coming for you – and there’s simply no way to stop it. No vaccine ... no antibiotics ... no nothing.” And he adds: “As the disease continues to spread, it’s only a matter of time before the healthcare system will be overwhelmed, workers are laid off, corporate earnings vanish, and stocks fall even further and take your wealth with it.”
That scenario will bring the world as we know it today to its knees – hopefully in prayer. But don’t hold your breath; no “pandemic of repentance” by the world is in the offing. Instead, the world in general is accepting gender confusion, homosexuality, lesbianism, and wholesale abortion – even allowing “unwanted” infants to die after viable delivery) in magnitudes not seen since the days of Lot and Noah. The eras of Ba’al and Molech have returned by the defiance of the people to obey God...
The words of the Master summarize out times uniquely (they have never occurred prior to this time): Luke 17:26 “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded...”
Notice that the general conditions of society in this text are not necessarily concerned with warfare of any sort – just the mundane affairs of daily life: eating, drinking, marrying, buying and selling (think stock markets), and building – all of them not directed toward one’s relationship with the Creator.
Today is such a time – an era of concern for self-preservation beyond any other in our extended experience. Not even Pearl Harbor or the fall of the Twin Towers have generated so much concern in such a brief period of time.
Just think: last Thanksgiving (November 28) NONE of this present danger was even suspected.
The stock markets were roaring ahead seemingly unchecked; unemployment was at record lows for many decades; consumer confidence was at near-record highs. Things were good on all fronts ... and the outlook seemed bright and happy even in the midst of “rumors of war” (cf., Luke 21: 9).
But at that exact time, Chinese Patient Zero was emerging into the public domain in Wuhan Province. He had just returned home having purchased perhaps a plump bat – or a vibrant snake – at the “wet market in the capital – a city of some seven million residents. A “wet market” is in our culture a repugnant place where citizens can purchase “exotic” animals for human consumption – a popular practice in Chinese society.
And now a new event occurred in Patient Zero’s life – and began to impact the world at large!
The coronavirus now known as COVID-19 made its fatal leap from Patient Zero’s market basket to his respiratory system for the first time in recorded history. The lethal virus was consumed by him, beginning the most uncontrollable pestilence imaginable – the Covid-19 Chinese Pestilence. The virus targets mostly gut cells (cells of the gastrointestinal tract) and even more likely, pulmonary cells – the cilia-bearing cells which normally remove foreign particles from the lungs. Once inside such cells, the virus takes control of its host’s DNA, commanding it to replicate the virus by thousands (millions) of times. Finally, the engorged cell bursts, releasing millions of clones of the virus into the region – all now free and unrestrained in their quest to overwhelm their host.
A vaccine against this intruder will require perhaps a year to perfect and test. Meanwhile, only symptomatic treatment is possible. We will soon see if any of these medications are efficacious. <> from notes.
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 53
eTPL 30, March 27, 2020
Iran and Hezbollah Abandon Damascus Base
Israel Air Force attacks on Iranian Guard Forces and their proxy Hezbollah has forced a sudden move further north, possibly to lessen Israel’s ability to attack them. DEBKAFile just reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah recently moved their HQ from Damascus to the far northern province of Aleppo.
The new location is also home to the Al-Assad Military Academy, seven km SW of Aleppo center. It can house 2,000 armed soldiers. Hezbollah forces are tasked with securing all approaches to the new facility.
Debka opines that Russia’s approval made this relocation possible. The move is being facilitated by the new IRGC commander Brigadier General Esmail Ghaani who arrived not having received any Syrian welcome. He had arrived to supervise the formation of the new command center, which will operate under his command. <>DebkaFile
Massive Asteroid will fly past Earth on April 28th
An asteroid measuring between one mile and 2.5 miles in diameter has been being observed since July 1998 and was first noticed by astrophysicists at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii. It will sizzle past the earth at an estimated speed of 19,461 miles per hour. Although classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid, it will miss the earth by four million miles, or about 16 times the earth-moon distance.
Astronomically it is designated Asteroid (52768) 1998 OR2. The asteroid’s orbital pathway has been charted for the next 200 years; its closest approach to Earth will occur in 2079! It is being watched carefully by astronomers who hope to get an unobstructed view of its surface. This specimen of asteroid is only one of 22 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids being observed; none of them is projected to be on a collision course with earth. <>From news reports
Profitable Use of Your Quarantine Time?
We hope you aren’t wasting your time during these difficult days of self-quarantine in many locations. In the dreadful year 1606, the Black Plague closed nearly every public activity including theaters. So playwrights and actors stopped earning money, just as many in the present closure are suffering.
A playwright known as William Shakespeare was among the persons on lockdown.
Bill didn’t mope; instead, he used his downtime to write three of his most successful plays: King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra while closed in by the pestilence! But most of us are not writers of that quality. Instead we might study Bible topics related to the end-time, or memorize a few Psalms, or compose a children’s instructional book in Bible principles ... maybe even study Hebrew or Greek. By all means, don’t squander this opportunity on Netflix or some other such drivel. <>HEL
Israeli Researchers Closing in on Covid-19 Vaccine
Researchers at Migal Galilee Research Institute in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, are swiftly preparing a coronavirus vaccine which should be ready for clinical testing in less than 10 weeks, according to the institute’s CEO. David Zigdon had already reported that the researches have been working for about four years toward a vaccine which could be adapted to combat various human viruses, but is now being focused against Covid-19, the human strain of coronavirus.
IBV (Infectious Bronchitis Virus), is a disease affecting poultry, and has been the institute’s focus until now. Researchers have successfully made the required genetic adaptations of the vaccine to Covid-19 and are applying their efforts to achieve the safety standards that will allow in-vivo testing (testing in live subjects) to move forward. The vaccine will be administered orally, which will make it easier to access and administer once it is available. <>Jewish News Service
Is the European Union Crumbling?
The supreme test of Covid-19 is placing unusually heavy duress upon the European Union – the experimental supranational arrangement entered upon about sixty years ago by the people of Europe.
Gatestone Institute – a think-tank which explores international affairs in great depth, reports this morning that the organization, “Faced with an existential threat, EU member states, far from joining together to confront the pandemic as a unified bloc, instinctively are returning to pursuing the national interest.”
It observes that, after several years of slamming US President Donald Trump for promoting ‘America First’ policy, European leaders are reverting to the supra-nationalism they have stridently claimed to despise!
The Coronavirus Test has largely been failed by the EC leaders, who are showing almost none of their claimed, high-minded solidarity with their fellow-member states that they have pushed on the world as the bedrock of European unity ... and have shown it to be an empty basket of moralizing fiction.
Can this feature bear upon its description in Daniel 2: 41 as being composed of “iron and clay?”
Soeren Kern, a researcher at Gatestone Institute, writes, “In recent weeks, EU member states have closed their borders, banned exports of critical supplies and withheld humanitarian aid. The European Central Bank, the guarantor of the European single currency, has treated with unparalleled disdain the eurozone's third-largest economy, Italy, in its singular hour of need. The member states worst affected by the pandemic — Italy and Spain — have been left by the other member states to fend for themselves.”
A photograph in the detailed, summary article (referenced below) shows a line of trucks and vehicles in a long stagnant line on the Austrian-Hungarian border that stretches beyond sight. Another such line was measured as being 35km in length awaiting border clearance at a Polish-German crossing. Yet all such delays had been claimed to have been eradicated by the EC, which was founded on the “four freedoms” of the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. The comprehensive article may be found at this hyperlink: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15803/coronavirus-european-union-unravels. <>Gatestone Institute
PM Boris Johnson Has Tested Positive for Covid-19 Infection
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tested positive for Covid-19, and is displaying mild symptoms. He is self-isolating at the ministerial residence, Number 10 Downing Street, for the next two weeks on the advice of England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, as reported on the British Broadcasting Company (BBC).
Early this afternoon in Britain, Mr. Johnson tweeted: "Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus." He added that he is now self-isolating, “but will continue to lead the government’s response via video-conference.... Together we will beat this.” <>Arutz Sheva
Benny Gantz is Elected Knesset Speaker
Sometimes it takes a virus to achieve forward motion in vital matters. We refer to the landslide victory yesterday of Benny Gantz, chairman of Blue and White, to serve as the next Speaker of the Knesset on Thursday.
The vote was supported by the Likud and by Prime Minister Netanyahu, but was opposed by some members of Blue and White on the left; indeed, some such members resigned from the party.
The vote lays the essential groundwork for the formation of a national unity government in Israel – a goal that has eluded the most stringent efforts of the Israeli government for over a year and following three national elections!
It has been tentatively reported that the present Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, would remain in office for the first 18 months, and then give way to Mr. Gantz who would serve until the next elections – about 18 months.
It had become apparent in intense discussions during the past week that both leaders (who had stubbornly refused to cooperate to form such an arrangement for over a year) were leaning in this direction. Both soberly have realized that their cooperation is being forced upon them morally to get their acts together, literally, and move forward with the affairs of state, which have effectively been stalled by the impasse. <>Arutz Sheva
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 54
eTPL 30 April 20, 2020
Over Half the World’s Population Now under Self-Isolation Rule
The United States is said to be leveling off in new cases of Covid-19 at mid-April even as about two thirds of the US population is being told to shelter at home. The crisis has devastated the economy and disrupted the supply chains in nearly every class of commerce. Massive amounts of government money have been appropriated for financial relief as millions of jobs have been lost and businesses have had to close – many for good.
It was hoped that the widespread, voluntary closures would stifle the pandemic – and it has seemed to do so to some extent. Some 3.8 billion people are under stay-at-home curfew presently.
But from an epidemiological viewpoint there was no “good” (perfectly correct) way to handle the crisis of Covid-19.
What do we mean by that statement?
On one hand, Sweden placed none of the strict restraints on its population and has seen no rampant spread of the pandemic in that country. Some Swedes have developed the full spectrum of symptoms, and some have died. But others have not become clinically sick at all. As a result, many Swedes doubtless have acquired the infection at a low level and have survived – many with no symptoms at all.
Then there is the opposite case.
Given the widespread sequestering of the population placed upon much of the rest of the world, the possibility now exists that when the isolation of people ends and they go back out in public, to work and to school, many who have not been exposed even to a low level of the infection, may now contract the disease from carriers of it, and a second wave will break out. The exact scenario cannot be known with certainty, but that is the probability.
The only viable approach lies in either effective medications or an effective vaccine being administered to all citizens, but neither is available yet – and won’t be for several months, according to the best estimates. <>R. T.com
New York’s Governor Boasts of Slowing the Covid-19 Pandemic
N. Y. Governor Andrew Cuomo, in an unwarranted bluster of bravado, has said, “Our behavior has stopped the spread of the virus. God did not stop the spread of the virus.” We recall a similar boastful statement from the past in which the shipbuilders of Clyde, Scotland, admiringly remarked about the Titanic, “Even God could not sink her.”
It would seem that no matter how loudly the Almighty speaks, many of the leaders of secular society are simply unable to admit the complete lack of control they have in their own bailiwicks, but also the puny level of their “power.”
Such statements might seem to be justified by the surreal tent-hospital that has been erected in Central Park, but is belied by the refrigerated trailers brought to several N. Y. hospitals to act as temporary holding for corpses awaiting a proper burial. Then there are the hundreds of indigent people (unclaimed victims) every week; these are being buried in long deep tranches cut by bulldozers on Hart Island, which has served as New York City’s potter’s field since around 1800. The weekly burials have climbed to about 120 bodies per week instead of the usual 24 per week.
The entire statement that Cuomo made was even more audacious: He said, "The number is down because we brought the number down," he told the press. "God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that... That's how it works. It's math. And if you don't continue to do that, you're going to see that number go back up. And that will be a tragedy if that number goes back up." <>Compiled from press reports.
Millions Say Coronavirus is a ‘Wake-up’ Call from God
In this age, when many people are reluctant to discuss Bible prophecy and the end-times, a survey has shown that 29% of Americans said “they believe that this crisis indicates that ‘we are living in what the Bible calls the ‘last days.’” But a colossal 44% of American polled said they see “the global coronavirus pandemic and economic meltdown” as “a wake-up call for us to turn back to faith in God (as) signs of coming judgment.”
The poll was commissioned by the Joshua Fund and conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, a nationally-ranked polling company, from March 23 through March 26. The questions were asked of 1,000 likely American voters. It was reported by Joel C. Rosenberg, the well-known religious and political pundit and author – and founder of the Joshua Fund.
Forty percent of self-identified Christians of all denominations told the pollsters that they are reading the Bible more than ever, watching and listening to Bible teaching and Christian sermons online since they cannot go to church, and searching online to better understand Bible prophecy and God’s plan for the future of mankind. That’s a good start!
Even more encouraging is that one-in-four non-Christian young people (28%) reported that they are reading the Bible and listening to sermons and learning more about Bible prophecy.
It is clear that these are no ordinary times, when Americans are in full lockdown and are understandably anxious. The result seems to be that millions are turning to God, to the Bible, and to counselors for answers – many for the first time. As Rosenberg says, this may be the most important silver lining to this crisis so far. <>Notes from DWW – Myles Kaufman
Russians Mistake Award of “Vacation” as a (real) Vacation
Russian President Putin’s announcement of a nationwide vacation of Russian workers took an unintended turn as droves of people spilled onto the streets. It took 48 hours before authorities made it clear that people were meant to stay at home and indoors – not go out on the town!
Earlier in March, Russia sent a planeload of medical supplies to New York in a gesture of international good will. The government apparently did not think the virus would do any great damage to Russia itself. The supplies even included the expensive, hard-to-get ventilators. But on March 25th, the president felt compelled to order self-isolation, which he expressed as a “vacation.” So the order was issued that people who could do so should work from home. All others had free time off work – but the time off was not a holiday in the classical understanding of the word.
By that time, Russia had reported nearly 2,400 cases of Covid-19, and seventeen deaths...
A photo of President Putin in full protective regalia appeared in newspapers and on TV across the country – a visual acknowledgment of the crisis that had now arrived belatedly in Russia. <>Yahoo News
US Oil Price Plunges Nearly 40% to 22-year Low
The Times of Israel reported this morning that the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price for May delivery dropped to $11.31 per barrel. It was added that the market was hit also by “technical trade” ahead of the contract’s expiration later today (exact meaning not clear). The price dropped to the lowest level since 1998, extending a heady plunge to almost 40% on the strength of abundant supplies and Covid-19-sapped demand.
This means that it is not cost-effective for oil producers of either liquid crude oil or shale oil to continue in operations, yet a shut-down would cost them huge sums. The problem is that all the reserve storage facilities are full to the brim; no more crude oil can be stored or shipped. <>Times of Israel.
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 55
eTPL 30 April 22, 2020
The Coronavirus has been described as “Slippery” for Good Reason
A Chinese study of the Covid-19 organism has shown just how “slippery” the virus has proven to be – “slippery” being the term used to describe its propensity to mutate into various strains. At least thirty strains of it have been identified at the date of this writing!
The observation indicates just how difficult the virus may be to eradicate as the first wave of its infections slows into warmer weather. It is widely expected to return in even greater strength in the fall with the advent of cooler weather, and if so, its multiple strains may prove much more difficult to combat with either vaccines or medicinal agents...
An artist’s depiction of the virus and its anatomy presents a complex cell studded with proteinaceous projections and bulging with an incredibly complex strand of RNA (ribose nucleic acid) defining its genetic structure.
Known technically as Sars-CoV-2, the coronavirus of Covid-19 has been shown to have mutated into multiple forms, substantially changing its pathogenicity (degree of infectivity) according to a current paper by Professor Li Lanjuan, head of a research team at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.
So far, said Professor Li, the virus has been treated in hospitals worldwide as one disease, with patients receiving the same treatment regardless of the strain (the strain often being unknown to the medics) – which is an inadequate approach.
The team at Zhejiang University strongly suggests that it is necessary to define the mutations of various regions of the globe before effective treatment may be administered. These findings need to consider the impact of these accumulating mutations in developing drug and vaccine development in order to avoid potential pitfalls, he said. <> Alex Winston writing in Jerusalem Post
Oil Futures fall to Lowest Level Ever Seen
The worldwide glut of crude oil has reached epic proportions due to the greatly reduced use of automobiles during the current pandemic. The news wires were sizzling with the news about May oil futures as the pricing dropped to more than minus $35 per barrel today.
The new price level means, essentially, that producers would be required to pay “buyers” that price to haul away their oil and place it into their own storage facilities – because even at Cushing, Oklahoma, the US center for oil trading, there is no more storage capacity!
The news means that many marginal oil producers – drillers and “frackers” – many of which are highly leveraged as to credit – will have to declare bankruptcy. It is a crisis which oil producers thought they would never experience – a view shared by the banks which have loaned vast sums of money to the producers because of the “surety” of the loans (which have turned out to be not so “sure”).
One would wonder why production was not slowed (or halted) before this crisis situation was reached, but the entire train of oil production is a complex process which does not lend itself to much variation. It is extremely costly to close down an oil refinery, for example, as re-starting production is not only time-consuming but extremely expensive. <> HEL - From news reports.
Unity Deal Allows Start of Annexation of Judea and Samaria beginning July 1
April 21 – Jerusalem. The unity government reached on Monday by Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and Blue and White and White leader Benny Gantz gives Israel the “go ahead” to begin legislation to annex large parts of Pales****** occupied areas of Judea and Samaria and the entire Jordan Valley starting July first. The text of Clause 29 of the deal stipulates that Netanyahu “will be able to bring the agreement reached with the US on the application of sovereignty [in the ‘West Bank’]… for the approval of the cabinet and/or the Knesset starting July 1, 2020.”
There appears to be two legislative pathways to enact the official annexation. If the PM fails to gain a majority vote for annexation in the cabinet (some half of the ministers will be Blue and White members who may object), he can move the action to the Knesset where it is more likely to pass because a far larger percentage of persons favorable to the action will be seated.
The PM will be compelled to bring the proposal to the Knesset (it that becomes necessary) through his own initiative or through the offices of another Member of Knesset (MK) provided that lawmaker is from the Likud party. As long as the lawmakers ensure that the legislation is “identical to the version placed before the cabinet,” the initiative can move forward.
The agreement further reads, “The law will be passed as quickly as possible … and will not be disrupted or delayed by the chairs of either the House or the Foreign Affairs and Defense committees.” It also provides that the PM and Mr. Gantz will act in “full agreement with the US, including on the issue of [West Bank] maps, and in dialogue with the international community.”
The stated intention to move rapidly forward has raised the ire of Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the PLO in Ramallah, who raged that the deal will preclude any further pursuit of “the two-state solution” to the Israeli-Pales****** peace movement. Well, so what? By dint of Abbas’ non-cooperation (for over fifteen years) on such a “peace” deal, there has been not an iota of movement forward anyway because of his own intransigence! <> Times of Israel
Iran Shows Off its New Drones
Because it has virtually NO effective air force, Iran has been showing off a large group of various drones which it says can reach Israel, as what it believes to be an effective substitute for air power.
Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami unveiled the drones last weekend. He said that one jet-powered UAV can fly at speed of 900 km. per hour at an altitude of 12,000 meters, a performance level which rivals the best drones of the US and other powers. He claimed a range of up to 1,500 km. and the ability to fly for several hours – thus to “loiter” over a target waiting for the best opportunity to inflict damage. He is effectively saying, “We can reach you.” Some of the drones are designed as kamikaze type weapons intended to destroy targets by crashing into them physically with on-board ordnance. <> Jerusalem Post
Note: Splinters is released and emailed to you sporadically by eTPL30 as a brief compendium of information relating to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy of every kind. <HEL>
Splinters 56
eTPL 30 April 28, 2020
100th Anniversary of the San Remo Conference
On Sunday, April 26th, Jewish communities around the world marked the 100th anniversary of the San Remo (Italy) Conference – an event which was integral to the later establishment of the Jewish State.
Professor Efraim Karsh of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel said, “There is probably no more understated event in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict than the San Remo Conference of April 1920.” He noted that the Conference marked the first time the international community had given “unqualified recognition: to the Jews as a national group rather than just a religious community...
“It was an extraordinary feat of diplomacy … recognizing the Jews as a nation deserving self-determination in its ancestral homeland,” he remarked in a paper marking the century since the Conference. He wrote, “This is something that successive Palestinian leaderships have been loath to acknowledge to date.”
“The world powers recognized the ancient connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel and the right of the Jewish people to a national home on that land was given the force of International Law,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said in a tweet marking the anniversary.
The Allied leaders at that meeting decided the destiny of the just defeated Ottoman Empire ... and gave international approval of the legal right of the Jewish people to a national homeland in Palestine. The participants at that time divided up the lands vacated by the defeated Ottomans, giving national status to the people of the Levant. It artificially created new countries such as Iraq and Syria, but it also established the principle of Palestine as a national home for the Jews for the first time since 136AD; the British Empire was named sole Mandatory (and facilitator!) of the project. It soon reneged, turning aside from its mandate.
Although given responsibility for that goal, Britain stubbornly resisted such for nearly thirty years and did everything it could to blunt Jewish sovereignty. But in the end, the UNO, the newly established replacement for the League of Nations, voted in 1947, to partition Palestine and set up Arabic and Jewish states in it. <> World Israel News
More Olim on Their Way to Israel in Face of Covid-19 Threat
The Jewish people keep coming home, even in light of the present coronavirus pandemic gripping the country. The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem (ICEJ), since February, has sponsored 580 new immigrants! That group included 115 Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa, 100 of whom were quarantined.
In the face of the global travel bans now in place, Aliyah (return) to Israel continued as nine immigrants from Ukraine arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv yesterday. They will be settled in for a two-week quarantine with 36 other newly arrived Russian-speakers in living space provided by the government and the Jewish Agency.
We read the startling report at the end of last week that, based on inquiries to the Foreign Ministry of Israel, the country expects over 100,000 new immigrants to make Aliyah this year, spurred, evidently as a response to the coronavirus outbreak. Surges of immigration historically seem to occur after each such major event in Israel. <> Breaking Israel News and other sources.
Drastic Cuts to Beef and Pork Production from Coronavirus Pandemic in the USA
Perhaps you have noticed the scarcity of various cuts of beef and pork at your local supermarkets. That is directly due to the compromises forced upon meat producers due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Scores of workers in both beef and pork processing plants have been stricken by the virus and hospitalized. In a precautionary move, some of the largest pork processing plants in Iowa and other producing states have been closed for sanitizing and all employees sent home. Reopening dates are uncertain...
Estimates are that 25% of pork production and 10% of national beef production has been lost since the outbreak began, as closures affect plants in Washington State, in Colorado, in other states, and in Canada. The effects cannot help but be reflected in the availability and pricing of meat inventories of local markets.
Even 100 U.S. Department of Agriculture meat inspectors have come down with the infection, and one has died. Some plant managers have voiced the fear of having the traveling food inspectors unwittingly bring the infection to their plant from others in the inspection itinerary.
The crisis has caused a spike in meat prices as one would expect: wholesale beef prices recently reached the highest price on record, and pork bellies (which are the source of bacon) recently gained over 125% in five days.
The crisis has caused a shock wave of disruption in the supply chain. With less beef and pork being processed, there is a greatly reduced market for cattle and pigs for slaughter. With younger animals on the way, producers are being forced to euthanize their animals that normally would go into the food processing chain. In Minnesota alone, it was reported, farmers may have to kill 200,000 pigs in the next few weeks – a drastic loss for the independent hog farmers. In this way, store shelves are emptying while potential food stocks are being destroyed because of the disruption.
On similar fronts staggering losses are also being suffered; dairy farmers are being forced to dump thousands of gallons of milk. Fruits and vegetables are rotting in the fields and orchards due to the drastic shortages of laborers for the harvest, for packaging, and for transport to stores.
Freezing food offers some hope of a cushion in the supply chain but on Wednesday the U.S. Gov’t. issued its monthly inventory of frozen foods; it showed that the combined pork, beef, and poultry inventory in cold storage warehouses now stands at about two weeks of the total American meat production. That complicates things because most plant shutdowns last at least 14 days according to sanitizing protocols – a fact which points up the looming possibility of drastic shortages of meats and poultry.