Monthly Archives: June 2010

7 DAYS TO 2010 EPICENTER CONFERENCE: Tickets still available; TV broadcast will be seen in more than 200 countries

June 18, 2010 By in Epicenter

The 2010 Epicenter Conference begins in just seven days. Here are the latest details:

  • Tickets are still available to see the conference in person at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts. Tickets can be purchased by calling Ticket Philadelphia at 215-893-1999, or on-line at www.kimmelcenter.org or www.epicenterconference.com.
  • You can see the conference via a live webcast — click here for more information.
  • More than 200 churches across North America have signed up to carry the live webcast — if your church would still like to sign up, please click here
  • More than 1,000 Christian radio stations will broadcast the Friday night portion of the conference live or tape delayed, including: The Moody Broadcasting Network, the Calvary Satellite Network, Reach Network, M-88, The Faith Network, Edgewater Broadcasting and Living Proof Network.
  • Five Christian TV networks will broadcast the program in over 200 countries. A live television broadcast of the event can be viewed on the Total Living Network on Friday, June 25 between 7PM and 9PM eastern.  Other networks airing the program at a later time are The Cornerstone Network (June 28, 8-10 PM ET), NRB-TV (June 30, 8-10 PM ET) as well as God TV and Crossroads Television Systems in Canada (Times TBA).
  • Please be praying the Lord works out every detail, and please keep praying for the peace of Jerusalem.

U.S. SHOULD NOT DEPORT “SON OF HAMAS”: Please pray for this dear brother

June 15, 2010 By in Epicenter

Mosab and Joel having coffee in March 2010.

>> THURSDAY UPDATE: Only 8 days left to register for the 2010 Epicenter Conference in Philadelphia June 25-26

Mosab Hasan Yousef, author of the New York Times best-selling non-fiction book, Son of Hamas, will be speaking by videotape at the 2010 Epicenter Conference next week.  But I can’t wait until then to tell you the latest that is happening with him. He needs our prayers.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security may soon deport Mosab back to the West Bank where he very well could be assassinated. He is scheduled for a DHS hearing on June 30th that could decide his fate. U.S. officials believe his previous leadership role in Hamas is too great a risk to give him political asylum here in the States. But they are not properly assessing the totality of his story and the situation. 

Here are the facts:

  • Yes, Mosab is the son of one of the founders of Hamas and was a rising leader in the terrorist organization; he described his role in detail in his book
  • But Mosab renounced Hamas and risked his life to become a double agent working for the Israeli secret service (Shin Bet) against Hamas
  • In so doing, Mosab helped to stop scores of terrorist attacks and helped Israel arrest scores of jihadists
  • Then, Mosab renounced Islam and became a follower of Jesus Christ
  • His story was first revealed through Haaretz, one of Israel’s leading and most credible newspapers. The Haaretz team carefully vetted his story and have done numerous follow up stories
  • The Israeli government has not denounced him  as a liar; to the contrary, Mosab’s Shin Bet handlers affirm his story and say that he is telling the truth
  • Mosab has lived in the U.S. for about two years and is actively speaking out here and around the world through the media and in speeches against Hamas, against Radical Islam, and in favor of the U.S., Israel and most importantly his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ
  • The U.S. has given political asylum to people who have done far less for the U.S. and the cause of freedom than Mosab; he deserves and should receive the right to stay in this country and become an American citizen

I have gotten to know Mosab over the last 18 months and am convinced he is the real deal. I am, therefore, asking you to pray faithfully and consistently in the following ways:

  • Pray for Mosab to have Christ’s peace and joy during such turmoil and stress
  • Pray for Judge Rico J. Bartolomei on June 30th to truly hear and understand all the facts and come to the proper conclusion that Mosab has truly renounced Islam and Hamas, that he is not a threat to U.S. national security in any way, shape, or form, that he should stay in the U.S., and that he would be in grave danger if he were sent back to the West Bank
  • Pray for Members of Congress to take up Mosab’s case and intervene on his behalf with the Department of Homeland Security (my colleagues and I are currently working on this, as are other friends and allies of Mosab)
  • Pray that the Epicenter Conference will give his case more exposure so more people can pray — we will be showing video excerpts of my recent interview with him and this will be broadcast on many Christian radio and TV stations and in more than 200 countries around the world
  • Pray, too, that the media will raise the profile of Mosab’s case so still more people can learn about it and begin to pray. Thanks so much.

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U.N. PASSES NEW ROUND OF ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON IRAN: Don’t get your hopes up

June 9, 2010 By in Epicenter

BREAKING NEWS: The U.N. just passed a new economic sanctions against Iran (Turkey and Brazil voted against)….but don’t get your hopes up….read the details….the sanctions are weak and won’t have much effect in stopping Iran from getting the Bomb….but prayer can….the Bible teaches us that “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16)…let’s pray like never before….let’s also pray that the Lord would change the hearts of world leaders, including the President of the United States, that keep taking biasted and/or hostile actions against Israel….the White House is trying to force Israel to divide Jerusalem, give up the strategic West Bank and Jordan Valley to Palestinian leaders who want to destroy the Jewish State, and disclose and dismantle Israel’s defensive nuclear arsensal….the latest: during a meeting at the White House with Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud, we learn that President Obama just authorized $400 million in humanitarian relief aid for the Palestinians….FYI: how much American aid for the poor and needy in Israel?…zero.

RUSSIAN, IRANIAN, TURKISH LEADERS MEET: Wash Post reports Helen Thomas said in 2002, “Thank God for Hezbollah”

June 8, 2010 By in Epicenter

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Premier Vladimir Putin, left, shake hands in Istanbul, Turkey on June 8, 2010. (AP Photo/ RIA Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin)

The plot thickens.

As Israel becomes increasingly isolated from the world, anti-Semitism rises, and Helen Thomas — dean of the White House press corps — retires after an anti-Semitic rant in which she said Jews should “get the —- out of Palestine” and go back to Germany and Poland, there are intriguing new developments in the epicenter. The leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey are meeting today in Istanbul, Turkey to discuss how to form a closer alliance, fueling further interest in whether the events we are seeing unfold are consistent with the coming fulfillment of the Bible prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 and the “War of Gog and Magog.”

“Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Turkey on Tuesday to attend the third summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and hold bilateral talks with top officials from Turkey and other countries,” reports the Russian news agency, RIA Novosti. “The CICA is an inter-governmental Asian security forum, which was established in 1992 and currently comprises 18 member states, including Russia, China, South Korea and Turkey….Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA Novosti Monday that in Istanbul, Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also discuss bilateral cooperation. [Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev visited Turkey’s capital Ankara on May 11-12. The Istanbul talks are seen as a continuation of the dialogue started at the level of the heads of state.”

Let’s keep praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and let’s pray, too, for Helen Thomas, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants. Her recent remarks were anti-Semitic and reprehensible. If she hadn’t retired, she should have been fired. But let’s pray for her to come to know Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord. She’s confused, but God loves her, as He does us all.

Register today for the 2010 Epicenter Conference to learn how to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus — hear from Israel’s Vice Prime Minister as well as Lt.-General (ret.) Jerry Boykin, Greg Laurie, Kay Arthur, Tony Perkins, Hormoz Shariat and Mosab Hasan Yousef (via video)

NEW SHOWDOWN: IRAN TO SEND TWO SHIPS TO GAZA, MAY BE ESCORTED BY IRANIAN NAVY: Putin heading to Turkey; also, anti-Semitic rant by dean of White House press corps

June 7, 2010 By in Epicenter

FYI: I’m in Chicago this morning….will be on WMBI (Moody) radio at 8:10am central time….topics: crisis in Israel…Iranian threat….how Christians should respond.

Register today for the 2010 Epicenter Conference, or sign up for the live webcast — details at www.epicenterconference.com

ISRAELI RABBIS SAY CURRENT EVENTS COULD LEAD TO “WAR OF GOG AND MAGOG”

June 3, 2010 By in Epicenter

FYI: Joel will be doing an evening of speaking and Q&A on events in Israel and the Muslim world at Wheaton Bible Church outside Chicago on Saturday evening, June 5. Details at www.wheatonbible.org.

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A pastor friend of mine who is helping us set up the 2010 Epicenter Conference in Philadelphia later this month just sent me an urgent text message with this headline from Israel National News: Rabbis: Flotilla Clash Similar to Gog and Magog Prophecy. As you might expect, it caught my attention right away. Excerpts:

There is growing interest in the Ezekiel prophecies and whether they could play out in our lifetime. I believe it is still too early to say anything definitively. But I agree that current events are strikingly consistent with the prophecies and I believe it is possible that we could see these events unfold soon. The mention of “Gomer” in Ezekiel, for example, refers to the modern-day State of Turkey which will be an enemy of Israel and part of a Russian-Iranian alliance against the Jewish state. I’m not saying the prophecy will necessarily come to pass soon, but I can’t rule out that possibility. We’ve never seen a convergence of geopolitical and spiritual events so consistent with Ezekiel 38-39 in history like we are seeing today. We need to be prayerful, sober, alert and prepared. At the conference on June 25-26 in Philly, I will address the latest developments. But I knew you’d want to see this article.

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  • Register today for the 2010 Epicenter Conference in Philadelphia on June 25-26 
  • Sign up your congregation to show the live webcast of the Epicenter Conference 
  • Visit The Joshua Fund’s new website — bless Israel and her neighbors by making a financial contribution to provide food, clothing, medical supplies and other humanitarian relief to the poor and needy in the epicenter 
  • Join the “Epicenter Team” on Facebook for prayer requests, geopolitical updates, and more 
  • Visit www.joelrosenberg.com, and sign up for Joel’s weekly email

    • TURKEY TURNING AGAINST ISRAEL: After vicious, premeditated attacks against Israelis, why does the U.S. refuse to defend the Jewish State?

    June 2, 2010 By in Epicenter

    President Obama and the rest of the United States government should immediately and unequivocally condemn all of the activists who used live weapons, stun grenades, metal poles and other weapons to viciously attack Israel naval forces without provocation.

    The Israelis boarded the vessel off the coast of Gaza to make sure the vessel wasn’t smuggling rockets and other war materials to the Hamas organization which is at war with Israel. They had every legal right to do so and were following international law. Yet five Israel commandos were wounded in the attacks against them. They returned fire to protect their own lives. The left-wing activists — some of them with ties to Radical Islamic terror organizations, including Hamas — engaged in premediatated acts of violence against Israel. What’s more, they began attacking the Israelis before the Israelis were even able to board the ships, as new videos show.

    Why is the U.S. hesitating to speak out strongly and decisively in defense of Israel, our most faithful ally in the Middle East?

    The Israelis have made it clear that they welcome humanitarian aid coming for the people of Gaza, but have insisted that the aid be transferred through safe and legal channels. “The ships participating in the flotilla were repeatedly offered to land the vessels in the Israeli port of Ashdod, and to transfer their aid through the existing land crossings, in accordance with established security procedures,” said Israeli Ambassador Aharon Leshno Yaar, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Geneva, in testimony before the U.N. Human Rights Council. “But all our overtures were outright rejected.

    As more details emerge, it is increasingly clear that a Turkish group with ties to Hamas and other terrorists groups organized, funded, staffed and provoked the confrontation with the Israeli navy. Now, the Turkish government — a member of NATO — is using the premeditated violence as a pretext to build a global movement to condemn Israel. Sadly, Turkey is steadily turning against Israel, consistent with the Ezekiel 38-39 prophecies.

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  • Register today for the 2010 Epicenter Conference in Philadelphia on June 25-26 
  • Sign up your congregation to show the live webcast of the Epicenter Conference 
  • Visit The Joshua Fund’s new website — bless Israel and her neighbors by making a financial contribution to provide food, clothing, medical supplies and other humanitarian relief to the poor and needy in the epicenter 
  • Join the “Epicenter Team” on Facebook for prayer requests, geopolitical updates, and more 
  • Visit www.joelrosenberg.com, and sign up for Joel’s weekly email

    • NEW YORK TIMES REPORTS IRAN HAS FUEL FOR 2 NUCLEAR WEAPONS: Incredibly dangerous, but didn’t we know this last September?

    June 1, 2010 By in Epicenter

    MEDIA ALERT: Joel will be interviewed on the Glenn Beck radio show around 11:35am eastern Tuesday morning to discuss events in the Middle East, including the Gaza flotilla crisis, Iran’s nuclear weapons program and the 2010 Epicenter Conference coming up in Philly June 25-26. Joel will be on Janet Medford’s show on Salem from 2pm to about 2:45pm eastern. He will also be on Sandy Rios’ radio show in Chicago at 5:20pm eastern.

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    The New York Times published a dramatic headline this morning: “U.N. SAYS IRAN HAS FUEL FOR 2 NUCLEAR WEAPONS.” It’s important and sobering news, to be sure, especially in the midst of the sideshow struggle over the Gaza flotilla. But didn’t we already know this information nine months ago?

    On September 1, 2009, I published the following weblog column: “IRAN HAS ENOUGH URANIUM TO BUILD AT LEAST TWO BOMBS.”  My report was based on a discussion with Dore Gold, Israel’s former Ambassador to the U.N. and senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He was drawing his conclusions from a footnote in an IAEA report that came out last summer. He was right, and well ahead of the curve. Isn’t it likely, then, that Iran has far more nuclear fuel today?

    “In their last report before the United Nations Security Council votes on sanctions against Iran, international nuclear inspectors declared Monday that Iran has now produced a stockpile of nuclear fuel that experts say would be enough, with further enrichment, to make two nuclear weapons, ” reports the Times. The story also notes, “It has been four years since the Security Council first demanded that Iran cease all enrichment of uranium, citing its efforts to hide its activities and deceive inspectors. The country has openly defied those resolutions, telling inspectors that those demands — along with calls to allow inspectors to visit a series of facilities that could be useful in energy or weapons production — had been ‘issued illegally and have no legal basis.'”

    Let’s keep everything in perspective: a nuclear-armed Iran is the real threat to world security. Yet as Iran gets dangerously close to having operational nuclear weapons, the world is doing nothing decisive to stop Iran. Rather, the world is pummeling Israel for defending her coast line during this whole Gaza flotilla crisis. The world is also trying to force Israel to strip naked and disclose and then dismantle its nuclear deterrance. All the while the Obama administration continues to cut Israel loose, America’s most faithful Middle East ally. It is wrong, and the Lord is watching.