"Looking for that blessed hope"

You know, sometimes so much happens in a week's time that it's difficult to know just exactly where to begin with these weekly wrap-ups! This week was no exception.




Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, was elected President of Pakistan, replacing Pervez Musharraf. Earlier in the week, the Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was the target of an attempted assassination. He was fortunately not in the area of the attack at the time. The mood in Pakistan is extremely tense. A recent ground action by US troops inside Pakistan's borders has the nation up in arms and railing against the West. And now they have cut off supply lines to NATO troops in Afghanistan in retaliation, leaving the US, which just gave them $365 million dollars, dependent on Russia to supply NATO's troops.

Russia is not going to be cooperative, either, given the recent standoff over the Georgia war. Russia has not left Georgian territory yet, such as the city of Poti. They claim they are there as peacekeepers, but reports are that they are terrorizing the public. They also have not left the third separatist area of Georgia, Adjara! And they have turned away humanitarian aid from CARE and even a UN convoy! Does that say it all or what?

Former Soviet states of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) -- namely Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- gave their support to Russia, condemning Georgia. Venezuela is leading the pack in Latin America, having invited the Russian navy to participate in war games in the Caribbean! Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has already befriended Iran and Hezbollah, and also visited South Africa this week to make nice. He's off to China next. Cuba and Nicaragua have also thrown their support behind Russia. This really heats things up for the US! The Caribbean is a perfect place for an attack to be launched on us.

US Vice-President Dick Cheney made rounds this week to former Soviet republics Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ukraine. He assured them all that the US is backing them up, and was particularly vocal in asserting that Georgia and Ukraine would join NATO. Ukraine this week saw its government nearly crumble. President Viktor Yushchenko accused his own Prime Minister, and former rival, Yulia Tymoshenko of siding with Russia against her own country. Cheney urged them to mend their fractured coalition government and join the West.

There were also reports that the US would try to use Russia's support of the breakaway Georgian regions aginst them. Since Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the US would then recognize Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, and several other "autonomous" regions under Russian control. Many of thesde regions are home to fundamental Islamic rebels who have fought Russia for independence for decades.

As the European Union, and even NATO, were split over how to approach the entire situation, member countries like Estonia (a former Russian "republic" itself) tried to warn them that Russia is capable of much worse. Russia meanwhile gathered its allies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) for antiterrorist exercises just north of the Caucasus (where Georgia is). The members are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Iran, Mongolia, and Pakistan have observer status. Sides have been taken.

Iran also is holding wargames, despite the fact that the Islamic holy month of Ramadan just began. Israel's President Shimon Peres went on record this week, stating that he opposed a strike on Iran over its refusal to end its nuclear program. He says diplomacy is the best way to handle the problem. But the Israeli army seems to be preparing for war anyway.

The peace process has again come to the forefront, both with Syria and the Palestinians. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been all over the Middle East lately, this week in the North African Maghreb countries. She recently encouraged Israel to divide Jerusalem, at the behest of the US government.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy went to Syria, meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Syria has effectively ended its international isolation.

Lots of high-ranking Israeli, Arab, US, and EU officials gathered in Rome this week for the Ambrosetti Forum, a hush-hush meeting like Davos. Big names only. The reason? The Israeli-Palestinian peace process and Israel's relations with the Arab world. Rumors are that Jerusalem is already divided and that Judea and Samaria are on the table. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are both still saying they want an agreement before year's end, and Olmert has only days left in office.

Is it possible that they are all getting ready to present a document? A "covenant with many"? (Daniel 9:27)

A 1925 guidebook to the Temple Mount shows that the area was indeed considered Jewish by the Supreme Moslem Council (Waqf), just as Hamas asked Egypt to invade Jerusalem and secure it for Muslims! Rather than send troops to Gaza to secure order there!

In Iraq, the US handed over the province of Anbar to the Iraqis, and there are reports of troop pullouts by July 2009. These troops may be tranferred to Afghanistan, however, as things are getting progressively worse there. Iraq is also looking into allegations that the US government has had senior members of the Iraqi government under surveillance, thanks to a new book by US journalist Bob Woodward.


All this really wears me down sometimes. This world just seems to be spinning out of control.

Titus 2
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.


Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.