To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel Deports Christian Predicting Second Coming
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 06:50:12 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Friday November 5

Israel Deports Christian Predicting Second Coming

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel deported to the United States
Friday a Christian leader who came to Jerusalem to witness what
cult members believe will be a millennial Second Coming.

Police spokeswoman Linda Menuhin said Brother David, who moved
to Israel 20 years ago and headed the ``House of Prayer'' group,
was put on an El Al Israel Airlines flight to New York's Kennedy
Airport.

He was one of 20 Christians rounded up from homes on
Jerusalem's Mount of Olives last month and ordered deported.
Israeli police said they were suspected of plotting violent acts
intended to trigger the apocalypse.

The 20 were members of two organizations -- the ``Temple''
group and the ``House of Prayer'' group -- which believe that
the turn of the millennium could witness the end of the world
and the Second Coming of the Messiah.

Their deportation raised to around 60 the number of Christians
expelled from Israel this year in the approach to 2000.

``We got information from the police and from abroad, the U.K.
and the U.S., that they were a danger to public safety,'' a
Ministry of the Interior spokesman said of the detainees.

``God does not want me to go out,'' Brother David told Reuters
in a call from prison Tuesday. He said Israel was wrongly
accusing Christian believers who had no intention of wrongdoing.
``They took people they should not have taken,'' he said.

``There is nothing in the Bible that teaches violence or to
hurt people.''

U.S. diplomatic sources said it had been unclear for some time
after his detention whether Brother David could be deported to
the United States at all. He renounced his U.S. citizenship when
he came to Israel and destroyed all his documents.

Up to three million Christian pilgrims are expected to visit
the Holy Land in 2000 to mark the start of Christianity's third
millennium.

Police fear that a small minority of zealots among the visitors
will come with apocalyptic visions of the end of the world and
could try to ignite violence.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991105/wl/israel_christians_1.html

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russian Military Calls the Shots
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 06:50:49 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Russian Military Calls the Shots
11/02/99

Recent developments indicate the Russian military has been
creating and enforcing its own policies in the past months,
regardless of the administration. The military has increasingly
followed its own plan of action and is calling the shots in the
Caucasus. Most recently, Lt. Gen. Gennady Troshev, in an Oct. 26
interview with Moskovsky Komsomlets, implied the Kremlin would
not be able to divert the military from victory in Chechnya, as
it did in 1996.

Since the end of the Kosovo war, we have seen signs that
Russia´s military leaders were in control and acting
independently of the administration. The first sign of the rift
was when Russian troops stormed into the Pristina airport in
June before NATO arrived, ignoring agreements between Russia and
the alliance. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was clearly surprised
and promised the troops would leave immediately. Attempting to
maintain the appearance of control, Yeltsin made an unconvincing
statement that he had signed off on the advance and there had
been a miscommunication among his military leaders.

Full report
http://www.stratfor.com/CIS/commentary/c9911022350.htm

===========

Military Puts Yeltsin in His Place
11/05/99

Russian President Boris Yeltsin, evidently dissatisfied with
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin´s management of both the Chechnya
conflict and the Western response, cut his vacation short Nov. 3
and returned to Moscow. Not only did Yeltsin´s urgent meeting
with Putin apparently fail to alter Russia´s policy toward
Chechnya, but Yeltsin was forced to publicly demonstrate his
support for that policy. According to Russia´s Interfax news
agency, Yeltsin has awarded Russia´s highest medal, the "Hero of
Russia," to the principal managers of Russia´s Chechnya
campaign: Federal Security Service Director Nikolai Patrushev,
Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Anatoli
Kvashnin and Foreign Intelligence Service Director Vyacheslav
Trubnikov. Yeltsin´s dramatic reversal indicates that the
Russian military is still firmly in control of Russia´s security
policy.

http://www.stratfor.com/CIS/default.htm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Set to Take Georgian Border
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 06:51:29 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Russia Set to Take Georgian Border
11/05/99

Talks between Russia and Georgia Nov. 3 failed to result in the
establishment of a joint patrol along the stretch of the
Georgian border with Chechnya. The next day, Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin ordered that anyone coming in from
either Georgia or Azerbaijan must have visas as long as the
Chechen conflict continues. This breakdown in relations was the
last diplomatic attempt before Russia moves in to forcefully
take the area, effectively strengthening its reach into the
former Soviet territory.

Georgia-Russian relations have suffered since the beginning of
Russia´s recent clash with Islamic gunmen in Chechnya. Russia
accuses Georgia of allowing arms, ammunition and over 1,000
mercenaries to cross into Chechnya, thereby supporting Russia´s
Chechen opposition. Georgia argues that its border guards are
competent and have only allowed about 2,300 women, children and
elderly refugees to cross -- and have not permitted rebels or
arms supplies to pass. However, Russia has repeatedly demanded
its forces be allowed to jointly guard the 80-kilometer (50
mile) stretch of territory. In the Nov. 3 talks, Georgia again
refused, although it did say Russian border guards could observe
to ensure no rebels were crossing.

The Russians, arguing the open pass provides the rebels with
supplies and an escape route, have established an excuse to
seize the border. There would be dual strategic advantages to
such a move.

First, the Russian tactic in Chechnya has been to encircle its
target and tighten the cordon, sealing off the area, as they are
currently doing around Grozny. The entire Chechen border is
under Russian control, except for the short stretch bordering
Georgia. To complete its mission, Russia must have control of
this land. Second, we have been following a trend of Russia
extending its influence back into the former Soviet states and
trying to reclaim its position as the major regional power. A
forced Russian presence on the Georgian-Chechen border would be
the first step to renewed Russian influence in the country.

The impassability of the border suggests that the desire to
expand influence motivates Russia to demand joint border control
more than does military strategy. Georgia´s northeastern border
is very mountainous and virtually impassable, according to
Valery Chkheidze, head of the Georgian border guard patrol.
While his Russian counterpart, Konstantin Totsky, argues that
transportation through the area is possible on horseback, this
will be a moot point in a few weeks, when snows begin and the
pass is blocked until next spring.

The current Russian position suggests that Moscow is laying the
groundwork for the near term fulfillment of Lt. Gen. Gennady
Troshev´s warning that an upcoming Russian operation would "slam
shut" the border. This indicates a Russian move is imminent. We
expect to see Russia advance toward the Georgian border in the
coming week.

http://www.stratfor.com/CIS/commentary/c9911040130.htm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Professor discovers the secret formula for eternal happiness
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 11:11:52 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Professor discovers the secret formula for eternal happiness

By Cherry Norton, Social Affairs Correspondent

5 November 1999

The adage that money can't buy you happiness turns out not to
be true -- economists have shown that the richer we are, the
happier we become.

But enjoyment of a wealthy lifestyle is tempered by other life
events. According to a mathematical formula devised by a British
economist and his US counterpart, a lasting marriage brings as
much joy as having an extra £60,000 a year, while losing a job
"costs" £40,000 in happiness.

The formula used by Professor Andrew Oswald of the University
of Warwick involves self-reported happiness levels, income,
personal traits and demographic details. Although well-being has
increased for some, on average life satisfaction in Britain has
not changed since 1972. Then one-third of the population was
very satisfied with life -- the same as in 1998.

The study, Well Being in Britain and the US, looked at100,000
people in the two countries. Professor Oswald concludes that the
happiest people are women, the highly educated, married couples
and those whose parents did not divorce.

"Married people in Britain report rising well-being over this
quarter of century," said Professor Oswald. "Unmarried people,
by contrast, are no happier than in the 1970s." In the early
1970s, 72 per cent of the sample were married; the figure for
last year was 55 per cent.

Women who cohabit are happier than those who live alone but
nowhere near as happy as those who are married, the study found.
British men continue to be less content thanwomen; 14 per cent
are not very or not at all happy compared with 12 per cent of
women.

The findings showed it would take a pay rise of about £40,000 a
year to "compensate" men for unemployment in happiness terms.
"These enormous sums in a sense reflect the low happiness value
of extra income," the study says. It was also found that
happiness changes with age -- in Britain, women are at their most
miserable at 40, while men's low point is 43.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/This_Britain/happy051199.shtml

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia wants support from Islamic countries
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 11:23:03 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Stratfor.com 11/05/99

Russia -- Russia wants support from Islamic countries to fight
Chechen "terrorists," reported Interfax Nov. 5. Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin met with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. He
said Russia is not the aggressor in its conflict with Chechnya
and needs help from Islamic countries to defeat Chechen militants.

http://www.stratfor.com/CIS/default.htm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Review of The Omega Code
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 1999 11:39:48 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

[BPRnote: The authors of this particular review hold to a "pre-
wrath" scenario concerning endtime events. It is important to
know this especially when they discuss the Scriptural problems
of the film. Nevertheless, the doctrinal errors in The Omega
Code are apparently evident, regardless of your personal endtime
beliefs.]

Review of THE OMEGA CODE
A new "Christian" film that leaves God's Word in the lobby

On October 15, 1999, THE OMEGA CODE opened across the country
in select theaters. Produced by Paul Crouch and TBN Films, the
film stars Casper Van Dien, Michael York, Michael Ironside, and
Catherine Oxenberg, was directed by Robert Marcarelli, and was
written by Hollis Barton and Stephan Blinn. Hal Lindsey served
as a consultant.

THE OMEGA CODE is the latest of several end-times movies that
have been produced recently, which include APOCOPLYSE and its
sequel REVELATION (both released by Jack Van Impe Ministries in
partnership with the Lalonde brothers of This Week In Bible
Prophecy). But THE OMEGA CODE strays even farther from Scripture
in its attempt to entertain with the truth. The unfortunate
reality is that viewers unfamiliar with the actual teachings of
Scripture regarding end-time events will come away with a
grossly inaccurate impression of God's plan for the end of the
age.

The story told in THE OMEGA CODE revolves around a secret Bible
code that is hidden in the pages of Scripture. It draws heavily
on theories popularized by several recent best-selling books
such as "The Bible Code" by Michael Drosnin and "The Signature
of God" by Grant Jeffrey. The code is basically a giant "word
search" puzzle that picks out Hebrew letters in the Bible that
spell out predictions for the future and is supposedly validated
by "past predictions" concerning Princess Diana's death and the
Gulf War.

As the film opens, a Jewish scholar cracks the code but is
murdered, and his computer disk and notebook are stolen by a man
who turns out to be Antichrist's henchman Dominic (Ironside).
Possessing all but the final step in the code, the new world
leader, Stone Alexander (York), begins taking successive steps
toward the end of the age. Every now and then a laserprinter
spits out interpretations of the code, and "end-time events"
unfold. But an unlikely hero, Dr. Gillen Lane (Van Dien), aided
by the beautiful reporter Cassandra Barris (Oxenberg), holds the
final bit of the code and always manages to stay one step ahead
of Alexander and Dominic.

But for whatever merits the film garners for its flashy
production, it fails miserably in its eschatology (the study of
end times).

Scriptural Problems

THE OMEGA CODE is a theological mess, mixing genuine biblical
prophecy with fictional concoctions to advance an unbelievable
fantasy. The film leaves you with the impression that biblical
end-time events are just a big fairy tale. Rather than
clarifying end-time events in a way that viewers can understand,
the film further confuses issues by relying heavily on the
"Bible Code," which is put center stage as the sole source of
plot dictation. Bits of prophecy from Daniel and Revelation are
interspersed with these fictional "Bible Codes" which are
necessary to advance the plot. The film almost seems to make
even God subordinate to the Code. The only accurate references
to Daniel's Seventieth Week include the reality of a literal
Antichrist, empowered by Satan, the signing of a seven-year
peace treaty with Israel, and Antichrist's declaration of being
God at the midpoint of that seven-year period (Daniel 9:27, cf.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

The following are just a few examples of how this film strays
from what the Bible teaches:

The two witnesses (Revelation 11:3-12) are introduced right at
the beginning of the film, long before the seven-year treaty is
signed. Revelation 11:3 says that they will "prophesy for twelve
hundred and sixty days." This period is understood to be half of
the seven-year period initiated by the signing of the treaty.
But in the film, the two witnesses are around prior to the
signing of the treaty and are therefore present for longer than
three-and-one-half years (1260 days)!

Biblical events of God's wrath are confused with general
worldwide destruction, particularly a reference to the "mutating
molecular structure" of the oceans (perhaps the second trumpet
judgment of Revelation 8:8), and reference to a "meteor shower"
(perhaps the seventh bowl judgment of Revelation 16:17-21). In
the film, these events occur while Antichrist still has control
of the earth. No distinction is made between the wrath of Satan
and the wrath of God as Scripture plainly does (Revelation 12:12
and 6:16-17). In fact, those realities do not exist at all in
this film. According to the Bible, the bowl events are part of
God's wrath and do not occur until after Christ takes back
control of the earth (Revelation 11:15, 17).

Speaking of God's wrath, at no time do we ever see the sign in
the sun, moon, and stars that indicate the beginning of the day
of the Lord (Joel 2:31 and 3:14-15, Matthew 24:29, Revelation
6:12-17). Given this fact, what view of the end times does THE
OMEGA CODE hold to? Pretribulationalists say that the entire
seven-year period is the day of the Lord. But in the film, the
sign in the sun, moon, and stars doesn't happen when Alexander
signs the treaty with Israel. The film literally invents its own
end-times perspective as illustrated by omitting the day of the
Lord from its story outline.

Despite Antichrist's words of warning after killing the two
witnesses, he exacts no persecution against anyone in the film
following his claim to be God, except for the poor Dr. Lane, who
still holds the last piece of the "code." Lane spends the bulk
of the middle portion of the film running, via foot chases, car
chases, and doublecrosses from his own relatives.

Contrary to the Scriptural teaching which states Antichrist and
the false prophet will be thrown alive into the lake of fire at
the end of the 70th Week at Armageddon (Revelation 19:20), this
film has the two witnesses kill the false prophet with a Darth
Vader-like suffocation technique. Furthermore, the shockwave of
a nuclear blast blows Satan out of Antichrist's body. He feels
the wound on his head and falls dead. Amazingly, the other
people in the building and the building itself are unaffected by
this nuclear blast!

At one point, a cloud of demons surrounds Dr. Lane. He falls to
his knees and cries out to Jesus to help him, and suddenly the
demons vanish. But this "call for help" does nothing to motivate
him to serve Christ, nor does it result from recognition of his
sinful condition. What were the filmmakers trying to say here?

The Rapture is completely ignored. Jesus Christ does not return
to earth for his elect. In fact, He makes no appearance at all.
One could guess that when the film starts, the Rapture has
already happened (suddenly and secretly prior to the seven-year
treaty). But this completely contradicts Matthew 24:27, 30-31
and 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 which show the Rapture happening
after Antichrist is already on the scene (Matthew 24:15-31 and 2
Thessalonians 2:1-4). This point is a very serious omission.

And there's no mention of Armageddon or the salvation of
Israel. Both events are monumentally important events in the end
times.

No Stars and Thumbs Down

In summary, THE OMEGA CODE is a far-fetched and sadly
inaccurate portrayal of end-time events. It is an embarrassment
for Christianity and must not be relied on as a tool for
teaching the truth of end times as found in God's Holy Word.

It is our desire at The Sign Ministries to help people
understand end-time events according to Scripture. For a
detailed explanation of end-time events, the Bible itself is our
best source of truth. Be a Berean (Acts 17:10-11).

Dirk Eichhorst, Scott Holmgren, and Bill Lee-Warner contributed
to this article. ©1999 The Sign Ministries

http://www.signministries.org/signministries/news/news9911.htm

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