An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the Feast of Trumpets. This follows this post about Iraq. For a free magazine subscription or to get the books recommended for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

Why should Christians celebrate the Feast of Trumpets?

 by United Church of God 1 comment Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Prophecies of the end time include trumpet plagues and the return of Jesus Christ at the last trump. What does the Feast of Trumpets mean for Christians today?

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Christ's return is announced by the seventh and final trumpet

The fourth festival of God (after Pentecost) is the Feast of Trumpets (or a “memorial of blowing of trumpets,” Leviticus 23:24-25), which falls in September or October. This festival is called Rosh Hashanah by the Jews today. Ancient Israel understood that trumpets were used as a way of announcing special, very important messages (Numbers 10:1-10).
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ reveals that before His return to the earth, there will be the blowing of seven trumpets, announcing progressive stages of the downfall and overthrow of this world’s kingdoms, ending with the return of Christ to take possession of the earth. Christ’s return is announced by the seventh and final trumpet (Revelation 8:2; Revelation 11:15). This day also pictures the time when faithful Christians will be resurrected to eternal life at the time of the seventh trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) to reign with Jesus Christ for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6).
Interestingly, it was around this time of year that Jesus was born—not in the dead of winter (see “Biblical Evidence Shows Jesus Wasn’t Born on December 25 “). And the fall feast season represents the time when Jesus Christ will come to the earth again to reign in glory.
The remaining fall feast days describe steps in the establishment of the prophesied Kingdom of God on earth and judgment of humanity after Christ’s return. The Feast of Trumpets is followed by the Day of Atonement.
For more information, please read our booklet God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind .

Feast of Trumpets God's Holy Days Kingdom of God

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Hamas' Shifting Allegiance Reflects New Mideast Dynamics

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about the terror groups in the Middle East. This follows this post about the commercialization of Thanksgiving and Christmas. For a free magazine subscription or to get the book shown for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886- 8632.

Hamas' Shifting Allegiance Reflects New Mideast Dynamics






article by Good News Editor





Egypt's new parliament is already changing the Egyptians' relationships with their neighbors across their northern border—Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip and is vehemently opposed to Israel's existence.







Hamas campaigns for political power in Ramallah in the West Bank.



Source: WikimediaHamas has been acting as a proxy for Iran, a Persian Shiite state, but being an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood it is Sunni Arab and identifies more with the Arab world.



Now Hamas is trying to take full advantage of the changes in Egypt and the rise of Islamists in the region. It is trying to present itself as a pragmatic and reconcilable political alternative to the Fatah party, which controls the West Bank. There is an ongoing struggle between the two for leadership of the recently formed Palestinian unity government.



Hamas is trying to be a resistance movement, reform agent and loyal opposition to Fatah all at the same time. It is working to bolster its relationships with Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.



But there is still division in the ranks. For example, some leaders recently said that in the event of a war between Iran and Israel, Hamas would not back Tehran. But a few days later Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar refuted that statement, saying that Hamas would respond "with utmost power" to any "Zionist war on Iran."



Time magazine reports on changes underway in the organization: "[The Feb. 28] announcement that the Hamas leadership has officially relocated from [Iran-aligned] Damascus, and its public declarations of support for the Syrian rebels, suggest a dramatic political break with Iran—and with it the end of any illusion Tehran might have harbored of exerting influence in the new revolutionary Arab mainstream . . .



"Hamas' options and prospects have been altered by the revolutionary tide that has swept aside some key Arab autocracies and empowered Muslim Brotherhood organizations that remain Hamas' natural political kin. The Palestinian public is solidly behind the Syrian rebellion, in which the Muslim Brotherhood is a key element" ("Hamas Signals Break With Iran, but Is That Good for Israel?" Feb. 29, 2012).



George Washington University professor Nathan Brown, an expert on Arab politics, has a commentary at the website of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace with the title "Is Hamas Mellowing?" (Jan. 17, 2012).He writes:



"Over the past few weeks, as Palestinian reconciliation efforts have inched forward, some of Hamas's leaders have provoked interest by apparently staking out new positions. They have not only agreed to enter the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), thus participating in a body that signed the Oslo Accords with Israel, a pact the group has long opposed [since it means ultimately recognizing the Jewish state], but also committed themselves to 'popular resistance,' an alternative to the armed activity through which the group gained international notoriety.



"But for every tentative step by one leader, there is a restatement of old positions—sometimes in very pugnacious form—by another. What is happening to the movement? Is Hamas mellowing? No. Or at least not yet."

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Ahmadinejad's Apocalypse

An interesting article from http://www.ucg.org/ about Ahmadinejad. This follows this post about economic problems. This follows this post the growing threats to Israel.   For a free magazine subscription or to get this book for free click HERE! or call 1-888-886-8632.

Ahmadinejad's Apocalypse

article by Scott Ashley





How do you negotiate with people whose desire is to start a global war so that their messiah will come to save them and win the war for them?



Because so many people today fail to take religion seriously, it's hard for them to understand those who do. A classic example is Iran, where the risks couldn't be higher since nuclear weapons are at stake.



Shiite Muslims—the overwhelming majority in Iran—believe that following Muhammad's death, leadership of the Muslim world was to be passed down through his descendants. Each successor was known as an imam —Arabic for "leader." The 12th of these imams was born in A.D. 868 or 869 and disappeared without a trace about five years later. But that's far from the end of the story.



A branch of Shiite Muslims believe that this 12th imam survived and has been in hiding ever since, waiting until the time is right to emerge and lead Islam again. These believers are commonly called "Twelvers" because of their belief in the imminent reappearance of this 12th imam in a time of global chaos.



Many Muslims also believe in the coming of a figure they call al-Mahdi, meaning "the [divinely] guided one," who will lead Islam to its rightful place as the one true religion in the world. Common among Twelvers is belief that the 12th imam and the Mahdi are one and the same and that they have a religious duty to initiate the period of world chaos from which the 12th imam/Mahdi will emerge. They also believe that Jesus Christ will return alongside the 12th imam/Mahdi—but as a Muslim who will help convert the world to Islam.



What should be profoundly disturbing to Western leaders is that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei are fervent adherent of Twelver beliefs. Sound too far out to believe? Notice these concluding remarks from Ahmadinejad's address to the United Nations on Sept. 22, 2011—less than a year ago:



"A [bright] future . . . will be built when humanity initiates to tread the path of the divine prophets and the righteous under the leadership of Imam al-Mahdi, the Ultimate Savior of mankind . . . He will come alongside with Jesus Christ to lead the freedom and justice lovers to eradicate tyranny and discrimination, and promote knowledge, peace, justice, freedom and love across the world."



Of course, he fails to mention that this period of "peace, justice, freedom and love" will be due, he believes, to the establishment of Islam as the dominant religion by "Imam al-Mahdi" in accordance with the Koran's instruction (Suras 2:193; 61:9) after a period of worldwide turmoil that his devotees are expected to initiate.



So while Western governments pursue endless rounds of fruitless negotiations trying to convince the Iranians to abandon pursuit of nuclear weapons, Iran's leaders play for time until the moment is right to deal with what they call "the Great Satan" (the United States) and "the little Satans" (Israel and Britain) and to initiate the period of global chaos they're sure is coming. How do you negotiate with people whose desire is to start a global nuclear war so that their messiah will come to save them and win the war for them?



While this kind of news is alarming and even terrifying, we can be comforted that Jesus Christ will return— and in a very powerful way. He will set this world aright and bring world peace—just us your Bible promises. He will redeem this world from the clutches of Satan and the deceits of false religion, including Islam. And, contrary to Islamic belief, Christ will not return with the 12th imam.

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