An End Times News Perspective

Prophecy Update is an InJesus website dedicated to daily posts various news outlets (Mainstream and non-Mainstream) pertaining to what Prophecy Update senses will lead to End Times scenarios. Thus whether you agree with the conclusions or not of Prophecy Update the website is a rich source of information.

I often pick one of the sources that Prophecy Update posts and run with it adding my slant on the subject. The Sunday version this week is just to rich to do that. This Sunday’s version is a wealth of information that provides a snapshot of the path geopolitics is taking on planet Earth in this present time.

As you peruse the multiple articles you have to discern that the globe is cruising to catastrophic conflict that will force nations to choose sides and execute a confrontation. Old enemies will be at it again. Friends that have been riding the fence will be forced which side to fall toward. Some old friends will become definite enemies and some old enemies will become definite friends.

I cannot even fathom who will do what in the grey areas, but even John Q. Public can make an educated guess of the black and white divisions. I will delete Prophecy Update’s ads for support (if you are interested in support simply click the source link that points back to Prophecy Update). I may or may not delete ministry essays that are toward the bottom of the post. I will decide their relevance to the big picture as I go through the process of copy and paste.

Man you got to read all these articles to get a sense of how world decisions may affect your quality of life in the future. This is an IMPERATIVE!
JRH
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Prophecy Update - Sunday Edition May 27 2007 12:07PM
Prophecy Update - News and Information for the End Times


Israel's Olmert: 'No one is immune' - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

PM says push against Hamas will go on after rocket from Gaza kills Israeli

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday promised to step up attacks on the Hamas militant group after a Palestinian rocket attack killed an Israeli man in southern Israel. "No one is immune," Olmert declared.

Sunday's bloodshed signaled there was no end in sight for the latest round of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. A 10-day campaign of Israeli airstrikes aimed at halting rocket attacks has killed nearly 50 Palestinians, most of them militants. But the rocket fire has continued.

Another rocket slammed into the southern Israeli town of Sderot early Sunday, critically wounding a 36-year-old man with shrapnel, medical officials said. The man later died of his wounds at a hospital, Israeli media said. It was the second fatal rocket attack in less than a week.

'There will be no limit'

Olmert told the weekly meeting of his Cabinet Sunday that he had instructed the army to do whatever it takes to halt the rocket fire.

"There will be no limit in acting against the terror groups and against those who are responsible for the terror. No one is immune," Olmert said.

Israel has so far avoided attacks on Hamas' political leaders — a tactic it used at the height of Israeli-Palestinian fighting several years ago. It was not immediately clear whether Olmert's comments Sunday were aimed at the Hamas leadership. The group is now the senior partner in the Palestinian coalition government.

Olmert said there would be no time limit for the army, and that outside pressure would not stop Israel from acting.

At the same time, he acknowledged there is no quick solution for the crude "Qassam" rockets, which have baffled Israel's high-tech army for years.

"We don't want to create unrealistic expectations that it's possible to stop the Qassams totally," Olmert said. "These launchings are liable to continue, people are liable to continue to be exposed." He promised maximum efforts to protect and aid the residents of Sderot and other affected communities.

Hamas warns Israel

Sunday's rocket attack came a day after Hamas vowed revenge for a barrage of Israeli airstrikes that killed five militants in Gaza. Hamas rejected calls for a truce and promised more attacks.

It also warned that the Israeli air assault would jeopardize the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier nabbed last June by Hamas-linked militants. Shalit has not been heard from or seen since his capture.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate from the rival Fatah faction, has tried in recent days to revive a cease-fire with Israel.

Under his plan, Gaza militants would halt rocket fire for a month to allow for negotiations on a more comprehensive truce that would include the West Bank. Abbas has long been a vocal critic of Palestinian rocket attacks, but been powerless to stop the rocket fire.

Hamas had said it would consider Abbas' plan. But after Saturday's airstrikes, Hamas called on its fighters to "direct painful strikes at the Zionist enemy." Hamas "will not offer a free truce to the Zionist occupation," the group said.

"If there is an end to the attacks, we can talk about a truce," said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing.

Michael C. Williams, the new U.N. envoy to the Middle East, met Saturday with Abbas in Gaza.

"I'm very troubled by the level of violence here," he said. "I think the U.N., the international community in general, have been very concerned about the level of intra-Palestinian violence, but also by the Israeli attacks which I know have caused civilian deaths, considerable numbers."

Israel has launched dozens of targeted missile strikes over the past 10 days to halt Hamas rocket fire at southern Israeli border towns. The army said it carried out three more airstrikes overnight Sunday, targeting Hamas targets in northern Gaza. There were no reports of injuries.

In all, the Israeli campaign has killed 48 Palestinians, most of them militants, and damaged many Hamas installations. The army also has arrested more than 30 Hamas officials in the West Bank, including two Cabinet ministers.

Despite the Israeli crackdown, Palestinian militants have fired almost 250 rockets have landed in Israel since May 15, according to the army.

Shooting in east Jerusalem

There also was a rare incident of violence in east Jerusalem late Saturday when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at an Israeli security patrol near Israel's West Bank separation barrier.

Israeli border police at the scene fired at the attackers, killing both of them. A Palestinian bystander also was killed in the exchange of fire, witnesses and medical officials said.

Israeli medical officials said the two Israeli guards were in moderate condition Sunday.

An offshoot of the violent Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, which is affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for the shooting, according to the Palestinian news Web site Maan.

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'Hamas will be ready for us' - http://www.ynetnews.com/

Explosive tunnels, snipers, road bombs, all will be waiting should IDF decide to enter Gaza, says Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin. Palestinians may have lost faith in leadership, he estimates, but Hamas is far from giving up.

The escalating situation in Gaza and persistent Qassam salvo on the western Negev were at the heart of Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin's summary at Sunday's Cabinet meeting.

"They will be more than ready for us," said Diskin when faced with ministers calling for a ground incursion in Gaza, or at least a more forceful reaction on part of the IDF.

"They'll be waiting for us with explosive tunnels, snipers, road bombs and anything else they can think of, just in case we decide to go in," said Diskin.

The Shin Bet, he stressed, recommends, in agreement with the IDF, to continue the ongoing operation "in order to avoid hurting any civilians. We mustn't believe any fabricated calm," added Diskin. "We must keep hurting Hamas on a daily basis."

Changing the equation

"As much as I appreciate the efforts, the problem isn't with fortifications," said a livid Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. "The equation needs to be changed. We need to make it clear to the world that we have reached the end of our tolerance, and we should respond harshly.

"I don't mean ground invasion. I'm talking about focusing heavy fire on the launch sites. We need special unit activity based on quality intelligence. This is the only way we can change the equation, not through fortification," he added.

"The way we operate has made things very difficult for Hamas," said Diskin when asked about IDF actions in the last few days.

"Rival Palestinian factions are talking to each other, trying to reach a ceasefire, and that shows us just how hard up they are," he added. "Hamas and Khaled Mashaal are very concerned by the despair and misery among the Palestinian public.

"The Palestinian public has lost faith in its leadership's ability to deal with the ongoing anarchy and worsening economy," said Diskin.

Hamas far from breaking point

Diskin went on to warn that even though morale at Gaza has hit an all-time low, Hamas has not necessarily reached its breaking point.

"They know they don't have public support, and they're sustaining serious physical losses," said Diskin. "They now face actual difficulties in moving their rocket launchers around."

The ministers pushed further, asking if Hamas was capable of increasing the amount of missiles launched at Israel. "They can make such an effort, but for no longer than a few days," said Diskin.

"They are limited by the difficulties in moving rocket launchers around, they can't make as many rockets as before and they have an increasing amount of casualties," he added.

"It's no coincidence they're not firing at Ashkelon. They may have the technical ability, but they know that would mean things have escalated further."

What of the current power struggle in the Palestinian Authority? "Hamas is nervous and Khaled Mashaal suddenly realized he needs much more than just Abu Mazen," said Diskin.

"He (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) is the peacemaker, but they don't see him as someone who can negotiate with Israel in their behalf," he added.

"Abu Mazen would like to see a ceasefire in Gaza first, and in the West Bank second," said Diskin.

"Hamas, on the other hand, wants a ceasefire in the West Bank first, where its infrastructure has sustained the most damage," he added.
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DEBKAfile Exclusive: Hamas's new, extended-range, high-powered missiles go into service against Israeli populations

Their crews fired their upgraded weapons out of Gaza's Palestinian refugee camps Friday night, May 25, using their inmates as human shields against the Israeli Air Force, instead of exposing their operatives to Israeli air attack in the north.

Using standard explosives, the upgraded weapons pack an extra punch and reach deeper into Israel.

One of these upgraded missiles, which exploded Friday night in Sderot's Neve Eshkol neighborhood, blasted every flat in a four-story residential building, spreading fragments over a wide area with the effect of a cluster bomb. Every window was smashed, doors and windows wrenched out and ceilings collapsed. Many of the occupants were away else the casualties would have been greater than 4 injured and 10 in shock.

Israel air strikes have therefore focused on catching the vehicles of Hamas operatives on the move, "links in the operational missile chain." Overnight Friday and early Saturday, six terrorist targets were struck in Israeli air raids, described as "links in the operational missile chain." They included a position of Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas' Presidential Guard, supposedly fighting Hamas and committed to stopping its missile offensive against Israel. Instead these Fatah operatives are collaborating with Hamas in its anti-Israel missile campaign, which is why Egypt' mediation efforts, which continue Saturday, May 26, for a halt in the campaign are getting nowhere. Egyptian intelligence minister Omar Suleiman has invited the various Palestinian organizations' political chiefs for separate talks in Cairo Saturday, instead of a round table. He knows they have no control over the Hamas military challenge to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and the missile campaign against Israel. It is led by the maverick Hamas Executive Force chief, Ahmed Jabari and is orchestrated from Tehran. For Cairo, it is an urgent priorirty to restore its waning influence in the radicalized, embattled Gaza Strip.
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DEBKAfile's military sources report: Israel's Northern Command has placed military units along the Lebanese and Syrians borders on the alert in case of a flare-up

Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut believe Syrian ruler Bashar Assad is pumping up war tensions in Lebanon to intimidate the UN Security Council which is due to vote Tuesday, May 29, on an international tribunal for suspects in the Hariri assassination. There are some indications that they could also ignite Israel's northern borders. In New York, moves are afoot to rephrase the resolution to avoid a Russian veto.

Assad has announced he will not recognize the tribunal. UN investigator Serge Brammertz plans to issue international arrest warrants for putting some of his close family members and high intelligence officers, stalwarts of his regime, on trial for murder. The upsurge of violence in the Nahr al Bared camp and two bombing attacks in Beirut this week are seen as the opening shots of the Damascus-instigated campaign of terror.

DEBKAfile's military sources report Syria is known to have trained terrorist teams to infiltrate Israel from Syria and Lebanon. The northern command is on the ready for artillery fire and the Israeli Air Force prepared for Syrian aircraft intrusions. The navy is braced for missile attacks on its vessels by Hizballah, which has just received a supply of C-802 shore-to-ship missiles from Syria, or even a ground incursion.

Jerusalem took careful note of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threat to Israel from Isfahan Thursday: The Zionist state will be uprooted, he said, if it attacks Lebanon again this summer.

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Israel emptied its smart bomb arsenal in under 2 weeks during 2006 war - http://www.worldtribune.com/

TEL AVIV — The Israel Air Force is revising its policy on the use of munitions against insurgency and low-signature targets.

The study was meant to learn the lessons of the war against Hizbullah in mid-2006 when the air force conducted a reported 15,500 sorties and failed to destroy the Iranian-backed militia's short-range rocket arsenal, Middle East Newsline reported.
Within two weeks, the air force depleted its smart munitions and most of its general purpose bombs.

"We were using smart weapons freely without any regard to our supplies," a senior officer said.

The air force study was meant to determine what weapons would be required for low-signature and conventional warfare targets. Officials said the air force would also seek to draft standards on collateral damage when battling insurgents in an urban area.

"If we had destroyed Hizbullah headquarters on the first day of the war, we would have killed the entire leadership," an official said. "Instead, we used munitions meant to reduce collateral damage. We were condemned anyway for attacking an urban area, and the leadership escaped to continue the war."

Officials said the air force has still not replenished its arsenal of air-to-ground weapons in wake of the war, which ended in August 2006. In April 2007, after a wait of eight months, the Bush administration approved the sale of 3,500 MK-84 general-purpose bombs to Israel.

The air force study was also meant to determine the optimal use of the Joint Direct Attack Munition, a smart bomb kit produced by Boeing. The 2006 war marked the first time Israeli F-15s and F-16 fighters deployed the JDAM in a combat role.

"There were lots of problems with JDAM and there were some major mishaps that by luck did not cause great damage," an official said. "This weapon requires lots of training and thought."
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Lebanon gunmen dig in for 'two-year battle' - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Islamic fighters in the siege at Lebanon's Nahr al Bared refugee camp claim to have spent months digging underground bunkers ahead of a battle they promise will last "two years or more".

In an echo of last summer's war in Lebanon, when Hezbollah fighters used tunnel networks to inflict casualties on Israeli troops, militants at the camp north of Beirut say they have dug in for guerrilla combat with the Lebanese army. Shihab al-Qaddour, the deputy leader of the Fatah al Islam group, promised that his band of several hundred "battle-hardened" fighters had built extensive subterranean fortifications.

"We are prepared for a battle that will last two years or more," he said in an interview with the London-based Al Hayat newspaper. "We are ready to blow up Beirut and every other place in Lebanon."

advertisementThe bunkers could pose a further challenge for the limited capabilities of the Lebanese army, whose forces have been authorised to storm the militants' hideout after receiving new equipment from the United States last week.

The supplies, consisting of bombs, bullets and body armour, are also believed to include night-vision equipment, although it is not clear whether the Lebanese forces have had the necessary training to put the American military donations to good use.
Mr al-Qaddour's description of his men as veterans of global jihad tallied with the terrified accounts of Palestinians who have managed to escape their camp-turned-battlefield.

They have described long-bearded men in flowing robes roaming the narrow breeze-block alleyways of the camp on motorcycles, imposing Islamic law with beatings and summary justice since their arrival six months ago.

Women not wearing the veil were targeted as tensions rose in the camp between its 40,000 residents and the Fatah al Islam newcomers, those among the exodus have reported.

"Even if they were not very numerous, they still scared everyone," said Shawki el Hajj, 40, speaking at the Beddawi refugee camp nearby, where many of those who have fled are taking shelter.

"There were some Palestinians among them, but there were also foreigners, such as Saudis and Yemenis who had fought against the Americans in Iraq."

Others in Beddawi said the Fatah al Islam members spent much of their time reading the Koran, and despite not working had plenty of money.

Their obvious extremism and battle experience quickly subdued any opposition from the long-standing Palestinian militant groups, Fatah and Hamas, that police the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, which are home to some 400,000 people.

Under a decades-old agreement, the Lebanese army is not allowed to enter the camps. But from positions around Nahr al Bared, it has been closely monitoring the fighters. Over the past few days Lebanese soldiers have been resupplying, having run out of ammunition. An assault is expected this week.
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Report: Iran procuring cruise missiles in war prep for the U.S. - http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/

WASHINGTON — Iran has been procuring and developing a range of cruise missiles to prepare for war with the United States. A study by the Marshall Institute asserted that Iran has made a major investment in cruise missiles in an effort to bolster military capabilities. The report, "The Cruise Missile Challenge: Designing a Defense Against Asymmetric Threats," said Iran has obtained technology, expertise and components from China and Russia.

"Iran is devoting additional resources to anti-ship cruise missile development and production toward the goal of modernizing its naval forces for potential employment in possible conflicts over control of Straits of Hormuz and U.S. and Western naval access to the Gulf region in general," stated the report authored by Jeff Kueter and Howard Kleinberg.

They said Iran has deployed such Chinese-origin cruise missiles as Silkworm, Seersucker and the advanced Saccade. They also cited Iranian procurement of the Russian-origin AS-15 Kent, a thermonuclear warhead-capable strategic cruise missile. The Kent was reportedly exported by Ukraine.

"Since both China and Iran are known reverse-engineering weapon proliferators, this is a strategically significant development," the report said.

Iran, with Chinese assistance, has developed an air-launched version of the C-802 anti-ship cruise missile. The report also cited deliveries of the Russian-origin SS-N-22 Sunburn supersonic anti-ship missile.

Teheran has been operating a serial production line for a range of indigenous cruise missiles, including the Noor, Kowsar-1 and Raad anti-ship cruise missiles. The Kowsar was tested in 2006.

Already, Iran has transferred some cruise missiles to its Lebanese-based proxy, Hizbullah. Hizbullah deployed the C-802 in the war with Israel in mid-2006.

"The acquisition of these systems by terrorist groups or their supporting states is inevitable," the report said. "Indeed, this is already a reality, as proven by Hezbollah's use of anti-ship cruise missiles in the July 2006 Lebanon war. These systems have already made their way into the hands of states hostile to U.S. interests, are readily available on the international arms market and can be improved through the acquisition of commercial navigational aids and other technology."
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Report: Syria to transfer Russian air defense system to Iran - http://www.geostrategy-direct.com/

LONDON — Syria plans to transfer advanced Russian-origin air defense systems to Iran.
Jane's Defense Weekly said Syria would supply Iran with the 96K6 Pantsyr-S1E anti-aircraft system. The Pantsyr-S1E was developed for the United Arab Emirates and is considered one of the most advanced short-range mobile surface-to-air missile systems in the world.

This year Syria approved a $730 million contract to purchase 50 Pantsyr-S1E systems from Russia. Jane's said Damascus would supply Iran with at least 10 of the systems.

The Pantsyr has an interception range of up to 12 kilometers and detection range of 30 kilometers. The system can engage two air targets simultaneously.

"The end user for 10 of the systems is Teheran," a source close to the deal told Jane's on May 21.

Iran helped finance the Pantsyr sale to Damascus and Iran plans to take delivery in late 2008.

In 2005, Iran and Syria signed a strategic cooperation agreement that increased the flow of technology and facilitated joint arms purchases. The agreement has been enhanced over the past few months amid the threat of a U.S. air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The Pantsyr-S1E, produced by the Tula-based KBP Instrument Design Bureau, is a close-in air defense system that can destroy fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, ballistic and cruise missiles, precision-guided munitions and unmanned air vehicles. In 2000, the UAE ordered 50 such systems in a project delayed by three years because of a request for further development.

The UAE has received the first enhanced Pantsyr with a new radar. Deliveries of the air defense systems, half of which would be mounted on Russian-origin GM-352M1E vehicles, are scheduled to continue through 2009.

Western intelligence sources said Iran has offered to finance Russian arms purchases for Syria, including the TOR-M1 short-range mobile air defense system, and plans to procure the S-300PMU1 air and missile defense system for both Damascus and Teheran.

"With Security Council sanctions on Iran, the only way Russia could sell weapons is through Syria," an intelligence source said.

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Russia Promises 'Sword' Against U.S. Missile Shield - By The Associated Press

MOSCOW: The official considered to be a leading contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin criticized a landmark Soviet-U.S. arms treaty as being a "relic of the Cold War," and promised that Russia would have a "sword" capable of piercing a U.S. missile shield.

During a two-hour news conference Wednesday, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov harshly criticized U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying that Moscow does not trust Washington's claims that they are intended to fend off potential missile threats from Iran.

"A radar the U.S. is planning to deploy in the Czech Republic will be capable of scanning airspace up to the Ural Mountains," he said.

Ivanov said that Russia was not going to build a strategic missile defense system similar to the one the United States is developing but would take "adequate steps" to respond to the U.S. move. "A more efficient sword can be found for every shield," he said.

Ivanov also criticized the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987 by the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan. It eliminated an entire class of midrange missiles then based in Europe.

Ivanov called the treaty "a relic, a rudiment of the Cold War," saying that dozens of nations had developed intermediate range missiles since the pact was signed and that many of them are located close to Russia's borders. But he stopped short of saying that Moscow would opt out of the pact.

Ivanov also defended Putin's move to suspend Russia's observance of another critical Cold War-era agreement - the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty - which limits the number of military aircraft, tanks and other non-nuclear heavy weapons around Europe.

At the same time, he rejected claims of a new Cold War, saying that Russia and the United States have been cooperating productively in preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

"Russia isn't the Soviet Union. Russia isn't going to return to an arms race, and our military budget proves that," he said, adding that the country's military budget accounted for around 2.7 percent of gross domestic product, compared with one-third of GDP in Soviet times.

Ivanov made statements on a gamut of issues during the news conference, from global security to children's sports, in what sounded like a presentation of his election program.

Putin has not yet endorsed any potential contender for the election next March, and Ivanov has not declared whether he will run. However, he and another first deputy prime minister, Dmitri Medvedev, are widely seen as leading candidates being groomed by the Kremlin.

Ivanov, a KGB veteran like Putin, praised the country's growing economic might and military power, saying Russia ranks among the top 10 economies in the world.

"Russia is one of the leading global powers, and it will remain such, not only because of its powerful military but also because of its economy and intellect," he said.

Polish and U.S. officials met Thursday to discuss a proposed missile defense base in Poland, The Associated Press reported from Warsaw.

Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga said the talks with Washington, which began last week, were "interesting" but "we should not jump to conclusions as to their outcome."
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Connecting the Dots — The Islamification of America Is Rapidly Accelerating - by Bill Wilson, KIN Senior Analyst - http://www.watch.org/

An analysis of the Pew Research Center poll on the Muslim population in the United States indicates that America is becoming increasingly vulnerable each day to a possible hostile environment within its own borders, especially as extremist attitudes among young Muslims increase support for suicide bombings and justify terrorism. Pew reports generally that "the first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world." But this is a case where the devil is truly in the details.

Pew estimates the Muslim population in the U.S. at between 1.5 million to 2.35 million, while others estimate the population to be around 6 million. In other words, no one knows the true number of Muslims in America. Pew found that 8 percent of American Muslims believe suicide bombings can be justified "often" or "sometimes." That means 120,000 of the lowest estimate of the U.S. Muslim population believes suicide bombings are justified. If the highest estimate is used, 480,000 American Muslims believe in using suicide bombings. But Pew found that 83 percent of American Muslims believe suicide bombings are "rarely or never justified"; however, there were no figures released on how many Muslims in that category believe suicide bombings are rarely justified.

Pew found that younger Muslims between the ages of 18 and 29 are far more radical than the older generation. At 15 percent, younger Muslims are nearly three times as likely to believe suicide bombings are justified. While a large number of adult Muslims, 41 percent, think of themselves as Muslim first rather than American, an even larger number of young Muslims, 60 percent, think of themselves as Muslim first. The Muslim youth are nearly twice as likely as adult Muslims, 42 percent to 28 percent, to believe there is a conflict between devout faith and modern life. And Muslim youth are about 1-1/2 times more likely to attend a mosque on a regular weekly basis than their adult counterparts.

The young generation of Muslims in the United States is far more radical in its beliefs than is the last generation. And while, on the surface, Pew found that American Muslims are generally assimilated and moderate, 77 percent of them are dissatisfied with the United States as a country.

An Islamic revolution is brewing in America at a rapid pace, especially among the able-bodied and bold younger generation. When God pronounced judgment on Babylon, a country that looked very similar to the America of today, He said in Jeremiah 51:14 (NKJV), "I will fill you with men, as with locusts; and they shall raise up a battle cry against you."

The locusts are among us, and the battle cry is on the horizon.

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Tactics of the enemy - Greg Laurie - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/ and http://www.harvest.org/

Talk about having it made in the shade! When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in a veritable paradise. It was beautiful to say the least, and they enjoyed direct communication with God Himself!

Adam's job description was to tend and keep the garden, discovering and marveling in all God had done and walking in fellowship with Him.

The first couple was told they could eat of any tree in the garden – except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And yet there was Eve, hanging out by that very tree.

Why is it that we are always attracted to that which can harm us? You tell a child to not touch a certain thing or go to a certain place and that's exactly where he will be when given a chance. It's human nature!

Satan was saying, "Eve, you can be a goddess! Adam, you can be a god – just take a bite and see."

That was the bite felt around the world.

Satan certainly knows how to package his wares.

But God told Adam and Eve, and us, not to sin for good reason.

In our warped minds, we think that God is keeping something good from us. Scripture, however, tells us: "No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11).

God gave them a warning, and they ignored it.

The book of Genesis records how our first parents ignored the warning, were fatally injured and had no one to blame but themselves (Genesis 3:1-13).

Of course, Satan, the devil, was there too, waiting for an opportunity to lead Eve astray. Here are three ploys he used to bring her to ruin.

Ploys, I might add, that he is still using today.

No. 1: He questioned God's word.

Satan didn't deny God had spoken. He simply questioned whether God had really said what Eve thought He had said. He wanted her to think that perhaps she had misunderstood God's command. He wanted to "interpret" God's words for Eve. It's the same in our world today. Satan still twists the truth to try to alienate people from God.

No. 2: He questioned God's love.

Satan wanted to make Eve think that God was holding something back from her. In reality, God Himself had placed this lone restriction in Adam and Eve's life to keep them from sin and its painful consequences! In the same way, the barriers God places in our lives are there because He loves us.

No. 3: He substituted his own lie.

Satan led Eve to believe if she ate of the tree she would become like God. At that point, Eve had a choice: She could take God at His word, or believe Satan's lie.

Satan knows that our minds are "command central." This is where we reason, fantasize and imagine. Through our imaginations we can reach into the future, and in our memories we can reach into the past. The devil will try to get a foothold in your thinking. He will attempt to make you second-guess what God has said in His Word, or try to get you to dwell on the "what ifs" in life.

Our counterattack is found in II Corinthians 10:4-5: "I use God's mighty weapons, not those made by men, to knock down the devil's strongholds. These weapons can break down every proud argument against God and every wall that can be built to keep men from finding him."

Having eaten now of the "forbidden fruit," something unusual happened to Adam and Eve: The Bible says, "The eyes of both of them were opened." That is, their eyes were opened to the earth, but closed to heaven.

So what happened next?

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:3).

When God didn't find Adam waiting in their usual meeting place, He called out to him, "Adam, where are you?"

I believe there was hurt in that voice, but love as well, as a Father called out to His wayward son.

And there was Adam, the crown of God's creation, cowering behind a bush in fear. He then asked Adam and Eve a series of questions in that terrible moment.

Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?

What is this you have done?

Obviously, God already knew the answers to those questions, but He wanted to be sure they understood their actions. He was looking for an admission of wrongdoing, an admission of sin. He desired nothing short of a full-blown confession.

Instead of acknowledging his sin, however, Adam offered the mother of all excuses – in fact, it was the first recorded excuse in all of human history. "The woman who you gave to be with me …" Adam was in essence saying, "This is Your doing. It's the woman You gave me!"

That's what sin does. It blinds you to reality. We dare to blame God for the stupid decisions we sometimes make in life.

But God wanted fellowship restored with Adam.

That would ultimately be accomplished through the death of God's own son, Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross.

God desires to walk with you in the cool of the day, just as He had enjoyed the company and fellowship of the first human beings. He wants to draw near to you, comfort you, instruct you, guide you and lead you into a life of abundance and joy. He wants to be an intimate part of your life.

Could He be calling out to you right now, just as He called out to Adam?

Where are you?

How did you get to this place?

Do you want to change?

If so, you need to come to Jesus, and ask Him to help you do just that. He's just a prayer away.

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Maranatha ! - (Lord Come Quickly)

"On Christ the SOLID ROCK I stand, all other ground is sinking sand"

YBIC-Randy