Wray

Merkel Warns EU Against Kneejerk Reaction

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday warned EU member states against drawing hasty conclusions about Britain’s decision to quit the bloc, as that risked further splitting Europe.

“We take note of the British people’s decision with regret. There is no doubt that this is a blow to Europe and to the European unification process,” she said.

But “what the consequences of this would be… would depend on whether we — the other 27 member states of the EU — prove to be willing and able to not draw quick and simple conclusions from the referendum in Great Britain, which would only further divide Europe,” said Merkel.

Member states should “calmly and prudently analyse and evaluate the situation, before making the right decisions together,” said Merkel, who will host talks with French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and European Council president Donald Tusk in Berlin on Monday.

Source: Merkel warns EU against kneejerk reaction to Brexit

How long was Jesus in the grave?

Q: How long was Jesus in the grave?
A: Exactly 72 hours: from Wednesday just before sunset to Saturday just before sunset.

Jesus did many miracles while on Earth, but he gave only one sign that He was the Messiah.

Matthew 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
Matthew 12:39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

In other words, Jesus was who He said He was, then He would be dead in the ground for this amount of time or we could not consider Him the Son of God.

When we harmonize the supporting Gospel accounts of this event we find that there is only one length of time that it could be.

John 2:19 …in three days (no more than 72 hours)

Mark 8:31 …after three days (no less than 72 hours)

Matthew 16:21 …the third day (no less than 48 hours and no more than 72 hours)

The only amount of time that satisfies these and all the other corresponding scriptures is exactly 72 hours.

Of course much of the standard thinking on this subject has Jesus dying on Friday evening and being raised on Sunday for approximately 36 hours in the grave – which many do not seem to have a problem with in spite of the pronouncement against a prophet who prophesies and it does not come to pass (Deuteronomy 18:20-22). Try as we may, we cannot come up with three days and three nights much less the 72 hours necessary that Jesus may be proclaimed the Messiah.

The problem lies in the correct determination of which Sabbath immediately followed His crucifixion. We see that it was actually a high Sabbath or a holy day (John 19:31) and not the regular weekly Sabbath. In this case it was the first day of unleavened which follows Passover. Of course this makes perfect sense seeing that Christ was our Passover sacrifice (1 Corinthians 5:7).

In the year of His death this high Sabbath began at sunset on Wednesday evening (when God begins a day). Next we see that the women had to wait until after the end of this Sabbath (Thursday evening at Sunset), to buy spices (Mark 16:1). They prepared them and fragrant oils on Friday and then observed another Sabbath, the weekly one (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) two days later (Luke 23:56).

Now while it was still dark as the first day of the week (Sunday morning ~6am) began to dawn, the women approached the tomb to find that Jesus had already been resurrected, approximately 12 hours before, (John 20:1; Matthew 28:1-6) proving that He was the Christ.

Saudi Land Purchases Fuel Debate Over US Water Rights

Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy company will soon be unable to farm alfalfa in its own parched country to feed its 170,000 cows. So it’s turning to an unlikely place to grow the water-chugging crop — the drought-stricken American Southwest.

Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly doubled its holdings in California’s Palo Verde Valley, an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. The company also acquired a large tract near Vicksburg, Arizona, becoming a powerful economic force in a region that has fewer well-pumping restrictions than other parts of the state.

The purchases totaling about 14,000 acres enable the Saudis to take advantage of farm-friendly U.S. water laws.

“We’ve got them coming, moving in here and using our natural resources up. Why isn’t anyone paying attention to the ground we live on?” she said.

Christopher Thornberg, an economist at the University of California at Riverside, called alfalfa farms a “shocking waste of a resource” and suggested California consider seizing land under eminent domain.

“At some point in time,” he said, “we have to face the fact that the state cannot continue to prosper under the current circumstances.”

Source: Saudi land purchases fuel debate over US water rights – Yahoo News

France: Exodus of 10,000 Millionaires Amid Rising Muslim Tensions

Rising tensions in France, especially in Paris following a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in 2015, have spurred an exodus of its super-wealthy citizens, a new report on migration trends of millionaires and high-net worth individuals across the world reveals. The report warns that other European countries, including the UK, Belgium, Germany and Sweden “where religious tensions are starting to emerge”, will also see similar trends.

According to the report, Millionaire migration in 2015, France topped the list of countries with maximum millionaire outflows as it lost 10,000 millionaires, or 3% of its millionaire population. Among the cities that saw maximum millionaire outflow, Paris, was at the top – losing about 6% of its millionaire population or 7,000 millionaires in 2015 to the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and Israel.

“The large outflow of millionaires from France is notable – France is being heavily impacted by rising religious tensions between Christians and Muslims, especially in urban areas. We expect that millionaire migration away from France will accelerate over the next decade as these tensions escalate,” the report warns.

Source: France: Exodus of 10,000 millionaires amid rising Muslim tensions

EU Planning to Threaten “Action” Against Israeli Settlements

At the time of the end, the King of the North, the Beast, will occupy the Holy Land (Daniel 11:45). Here we see that there is no love loss between the two right now as the EU continues its pro-Palestinian demands and Israel ignores them.

“The EU will continue to closely monitor developments … and will consider further action in order to protect the viability of the two-state solution, which is constantly eroded by new facts on the ground,” the draft statement says.

It links Palestinian unrest to lack of faith in peace talks. “Only the reestablishment of a political horizon and the resumption of dialogue can stop the violence,” it says.

Israel has, since the last EU statement on the conflict, in July 2015, advanced 2,410 new housing units.

Source: EU may threaten ‘action’ against Israeli settlements

The 144,000 of Revelation 7

Scripture shows:

  • The 144,000 will be sealed after the Great Tribulation.
  • So none of the 144,000 have been sealed at this point in time.
  • Because they are sealed they will not have to go through the Day of the Lord.
  • The 144,000 are physical Israelites that will be alive at this time
  • 12,000 of each tribe of Israel will be sealed [Except Dan; 2 for Joseph]
  • Since the 144,000 will be sealed after the Great Tribulation they will not be afforded a place of safety and will have to go through the Great Tribulation.

Listen to find out how we easily come to these conclusions.