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Title: GOP Operative Wants You Dead
Source:
KOS
URL Source: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/8/3/155333/1545
Published: Aug 4, 2006
Author: Grand Moff Texan
Post Date: 2006-08-04 01:44:51 by ...
Keywords: None
Views: 267
Comments: 17
You and pretty much everyone else you know. Everyone who isn't already a part of his death-cult, that is. For them, the end of the world is a good thing. He wants the US to bomb Iran, not to advance US interests, but to destroy them, along with the rest of the world. He wants to light the fuse that will ignite Armageddon. It's hard to understand the thinking of a murderous cult, like Jonestown or the Branch Davidians, but here they are among us, in San Antonio in fact, operating freely while we fight religious extremism abroad. That, it seems to me, is a severe case of misplaced priorities. By Sarah Posner, AlterNet. Posted August 3, 2006. Some influential evangelical leaders are lobbying for an attack on Iran. But it's not about geopolitics -- it's about bringing about the End Times. ... Bush and other leading Republicans have lined up behind a growing movement of Christian Zionists for whom a European Antichrist figures prominently in an end-times scenario. So they should be forced to explain to the rest of us why they're courting the votes of people who believe our allies are evil incarnate. Could it be that the central requirement for their breathlessly anticipated Armageddon -- that the United States confront Iran -- happens to dovetail so nicely with the neoconservative war agenda? At the center of it all is Pastor John Hagee, a popular televangelist who leads the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. While Hagee has long prophesized about the end times, he ratcheted up his rhetoric this year with the publication of his book, "Jerusalem Countdown," in which he argues that a confrontation with Iran is a necessary precondition for Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. In the best-selling book, Hagee insists that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West. Shortly after the book's publication, he launched Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which, as the Christian version of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, he said would cause "a political earthquake." In a civilized world, mad dogs are euthanized, not canonized. The support is not for the present conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon. The call is for expanding that World War to include Iran. While the crisis at the Israel-Lebanon border drew more mainstream media attention to CUFI's activities, Hagee's supporters have long known that leading Republicans are listening. Rabbi Daniel Lapin, a prominent Jewish ally of the evangelical right (and friend of Jack Abramoff) has said that Hagee "without question, yes, absolutely" has the ear of the White House. Hagee's annual Night to Honor Israel at his church has drawn prominent Republicans, including Tom DeLay, who was the keynote speaker in 2002. Why is the GOP doing this? Because Gay Marriage is soooooooo 2004. And that's the only reason: While Washington insiders wonder what it means when Republicans like Mehlman and presidential aspirants Gingrich and McCain finger Iran as the central player in an epic clash of civilizations, Hagee already has spent months mobilizing the shock troops in support of another war. As diplomats, experts and pundits debate how many years Iran will need to develop a viable nuclear weapon, Hagee says the mullahs already possess the means to destroy Israel and America. And although Bush insists that diplomatic options are still on the table, Hagee has dismissed pussyfooting diplomacy and primed his followers for a conflagration. The GOP will use a network of things that look like churches, at least on paper, but which are more like a sort of decentralized 24-hour Nuremburg Rally (ironically 'supporting Israel,' if only for their own reasons). These "churches" are the GOP's one-stop shopping solution for mobs that can be pointed at any victim, and away from the disasters of GOP rule. ... For Hagee's new project, his influence in Washington is probably less important than his influence over his audience. With the clout of his listeners, he can serve Bush administration hawks by firing up grassroots support for a military strike against Iran. Over 700,000 people purchased his book, "Jerusalem Countdown," and countless more have heard him promote it on Christian radio and television programming. Dramatic, doomsday advertising has been heard by listeners of Christian media as well as on Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly's radio programs. The pages of "Jerusalem Countdown" provide a peculiar mix of biblical prophecy, purported inside information from Israeli government officials and a mixed-up, pared-down lesson in nuclear physics. Propaganda, in order to be effective, must exploit something already present in the audience's mind. You cannot teach and polemicize at the same time. In order to hijack Iran and crash it into the Democrats, therefore, Hagee must exploit his audience's lust for a worldwide orgy of death. When addressing audiences receptive to Scriptural prophecy, however, Hagee welcomes the coming confrontation. He argues that a strike against Iran will cause Arab nations to unite under Russia's leadership, as outlined in chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Ezekiel, leading to an "inferno [that] will explode across the Middle East, plunging the world toward Armageddon." In Hagee's telling, Israel has no choice but to strike at Iran's nuclear facilities, with or without America's help. The strike will provoke Russia -- which wants Persian Gulf oil -- to lead an army of Arab nations against Israel. Then God will wipe out all but one-sixth of the Russian-led army, as the world watches "with shock and awe," he says, lending either a divine quality to the Bush administration phrase or a Bush-like quality to God's wrath. But Hagee doesn't stop there. He adds that Ezekiel predicts fire "upon those who live in security in the coastlands." From this sentence, he concludes that there will be judgment upon all who stood by while the Russian-led force invaded Israel, and issues a stark warning to the United States to intervene: "Could it be that America, who refuses to defend Israel from the Russian invasion, will experience nuclear warfare on our east and west coasts?" He says yes, citing Genesis 12:3, in which God said to Israel: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you." That's right: the bible not only predicts but sanctions attacks on America, according to a pastor who pretends to be an American. This is what he wants for Iranians, and this is what he wants for Americans. Why is this man still walking around free? If I advocated the nuking of America's (rather blue) coasts, I'd disappear tomorrow. The answer is that this terrorist is an ally of the adminsitration, much like the MEK. We aren't fighting a war against terror, they are fighting a war for terror, for the monopolization of terror. GOP Operative Wants You Dead
by Grand Moff Texan
Thu Aug 03, 2006 at 12:53:33 PM PDT
This man wants you dead. Lobbying for Armageddon
Sound like Ahmadinejad in reverse? Aside from their putative difference in creeds, I see no difference between this so-called pastor and Ahmadinejad at all. They both believe that worldwide slaughter is a really good idea. At CUFI's kick-off banquet at the Washington Hilton, attended by over 3,500 members, Republican support for both Hagee's effort and his drumbeat for war with Iran were on full view. Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman told the group that "no regime is more central to the global jihad" than Iran. Just two days before, Newt Gingrich and John McCain made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows to sound the same message, leading Benny Elon, a member of the Israeli Knesset, to comment to the Jerusalem Post that their remarks originated with Hagee. Rick Santorum and Sam Brownback also addressed the group, and Bush sent words of support to the gathering. Republicans, and even some Democrats, spoke at CUFI events to show their "support for Israel." But while public and media attention was on the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Hagee's focus continued to be on Iran.
Although Republicans would never admit it -- they claim their support for Christian Zionists like Hagee is based on their own support for Israel -- it is clear that they know they need the votes of this constituency to win. In the same way that Karl Rove courted conservative evangelicals in 2004 by appealing to their homophobia, Republican campaign rhetoric for 2006 and 2008 has already shown signs of playing to voters who have been hearing hype for a war with Iran for months -- at church.
Hagee wields "a very large megaphone" that reaches "a very large group of people," said Rabbi James Rudin of the American Jewish Committee, who has studied the Christian right for 30 years. With CUFI, the pastor has exponentially expanded the reach of his megaphone beyond his television audience. Thanks to the viral marketing made possible by the hundreds of evangelical leaders who have signed on to his new organization, his warmongering has rippled through megachurches across America for months. Hagee calls pastors "the spiritual generals of America," an appropriate phrase given his reliance on them to rally their troops behind his message.
"I wrote this book in April 2005, and when people read it, they will think I wrote it late last night after the FOX News report," says the author without a trace of irony. "It's that close to where we are and beyond."
Hagee speaks simultaneously to two audiences about Iran's nuclear capabilities: one that fears a terrorist attack by Iran and another that embraces a biblically mandated apocalypse. To impress the fearful, he mimics Bush's deceptions about Iraq's capacity to attack the United States with weapons of mass destruction, Condoleezza Rice's warnings of mushroom clouds, and Dick Cheney's dissembling about an alliance between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. Comparing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Hitler, Hagee argues that Iran's development of nuclear weapons must be stopped to protect America and Israel from a nuclear attack. Preying on legitimate worries about terrorism, and invoking 9/11, he vividly describes a supposed Iranian-led plan to simultaneously explode nuclear suitcase bombs in seven American cities, or to use an electromagnetic pulse device to create "an American Hiroshima."
To fill the power vacuum left by God's decimation of the Russian army, the Antichrist -- the head of the EU -- will rule "a one-world government, a one-world currency and a one-world religion" for three and a half years. (Hagee adds that "one need only be a casual observer of current events to see that all three of these things are coming into reality." The "demonic world leader" will then be confronted by a false prophet, identified by Hagee as China, at Armageddon, the Mount of Megiddo in Israel. As they prepare for the final battle, Jesus will return on a white horse and cast both villains -- and presumably any nonbelievers -- into a "lake of fire burning with brimstone," thus marking the beginning of his millennial r
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#1. To: ... (#0)
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." -- William Pitt, 18 Nov 1783
If this raging idiot is a messenger from God, and gets to spend eternity in Heaven, I choose Hell. Period.
Excellent! A Rapture Smiley. LOL.
Well this is all the proof I need to not go to the light. If this clown is there leading his rapture monkeys into the great beyond, I want to stay as far away from it as I can.
#2. To: ... (#0)
#3. To: omerta (#1)
#4. To: ... (#0)
 | What's that Mr. Nipples? You want me to ask the nice lady about her rack?. |
#5. To: Ragin1 (#3)
couldn't pass it up. i 'lost it' when i heard they actually had one. HA!
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." -- William Pitt, 18 Nov 1783
#6. To: ... (#0)
I don't think Jesus had the big Arena seating with big screens of the talking pulpit in mind when he said spread the gospel.
| What's that Mr. Nipples? You want me to ask the nice lady about her rack?. |
#7. To: TommyTheMadArtist (#4)
Richard W.
leading his rapture monkeys into the great beyond
#8. To: All (#7)
I believe in God but I am no so sure about the rapture. I am from the bible belt, the South, and when I say this in front of most Christians, I get a look you would not believe! I have a hard time believing that some will be taken out (the righteous) before the s**t hits the fan and only the unrighteous are left here to suffer. I thought all Christians had to suffer to enter the kingdom of God. If there is a rapture and all the "good" people are taken from this earth, does that not leave only the "bad" people here? Are they not already doomed to hell? What's the need for the mark of the beast and all the other scary s**t that's supposed to happen, why are the "bad" just not sent straight to hell? Or is hell here on earth? I know we could ask questions about the rapture, heaven, and hell for days and still not know the answers. I watched a show on the Mayan prophecies last night and according to the Mayan calendar, mankind meets her end on Dec. 21st, 2012. It seems all cultures and religions have their "doomsday" prophecies. That is what makes me believe that there is going to be an Armegeddon. Even with the distances between the cultures and countries, they all believed that there is an "end" to man's existence. What do you guys think?
Secure our borders, save our nation!
#9. To: TommyTheMadArtist (#4)
You and me both! :-)
If this clown is there leading his rapture monkeys into the great beyond, I want to stay as far away from it as I can.
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
"Freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in ...into an unbearable hell and a choking life."
-OBL
"Prohibition...goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes at the very principles upon which our govt was founded."
- Lincoln
#10. To: nc_girl_speaks_up (#8)
I really try and leave people’s religious beliefs to themselves…but….the Rapture folk are led by some very pro war-like hucksters. I’m so tired of their unflinching devotion to Israel that I feel the need to hurl.
If there is a rapture and all the "good" people are taken from this earth, does that not leave only the "bad" people here?
#11. To: ..., Ragin1, TommyTheMadArtist, Arete, nc_girl_speaks_up, IndieTX, Jethro Tull (#0)
That's right: the bible not only predicts but sanctions attacks on America, according to a pastor who pretends to be an American. This is what he wants for Iranians, and this is what he wants for Americans. Why is this man still walking around free? If I advocated the nuking of America's (rather blue) coasts, I'd disappear tomorrow. I think all those America-hating and Christ-hating CryptoJews like Hagee are going to be surprised. The following are two other interpretations, closer to the truth. The First is written by one of the British-Israel doctrine; the second of White Christian Identity, neither of which is truly Christian. However, as I said, they both contain a lot of elements of the truth. The real truth lies somewhere inbetween. Gog's Invasion http://www.gods- kingdom.org/Birthright/Chapter15/Chapter15.htm WHAT DOES EZEKIEL 38 and 39 REALLY SAY? A NEW LOOK AT EZEKIEL 38 and 39! Part 1 of 4 - Chapter 38 by Brig. Gen. Jack Mohr, C.P.D.L. http://www.scriptur esforamerica.org/html2/jm0021a.htm More of the truth: The Church Is Israel Now | Dispensationalist DementiaArticles and Books on Fulfilled Eschatology (No Future Rapture or Great Tribulation) - Partial Preterism and a fully Preterist view described, ... http://www.preteristarchive.com/PartialPreterism/provan- charles_dd_01.html A Preterist Look at "Israel after the flesh" Jesus is Israel http://www.preteristarch ive.com/Jesus_is_Israel/ http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/Mic/Mic004.html#11 http://www.blueletterbible.org/tsk_b/Mic/4/13.html http://www.blueletterbible.org/tsk_b/Isa/62/4.html Psalm 2.
But Hagee doesn't stop there. He adds that Ezekiel predicts fire "upon those who live in security in the coastlands." From this sentence, he concludes that there will be judgment upon all who stood by while the Russian-led force invaded Israel, and issues a stark warning to the United States to intervene: "Could it be that America, who refuses to defend Israel from the Russian invasion, will experience nuclear warfare on our east and west coasts?" He says yes, citing Genesis 12:3, in which God said to Israel: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you."
#12. To: nc_girl_speaks_up (#8)
Jesus told his disciples that He didn't know when He would return - only The Father knows. I tend to agree with your take on the tribulation/rapture matter. I believe that anyone calling for the mass slaughter of anyone is not of God.
#13. To: All (#12)
Also, we were warned to always beware of the deceivers and false prophets as the end time nears.
#14. To: AllTheKings'HorsesWontDoIt (#11)
The Scriptures are soon to be fulfilled. The destruction of the Jewish state will cause great anxiety and horror, not only among Jews, but also among Christians. Christians have been ill prepared for what is coming, because they have been told that God will destroy the Russian armies with their allies. But because Bible prophecy is going to be fulfilled in a different way from what they expect, they will be at a loss to explain this event. Worse yet, many Christians have sided with the Jews in their Zionist endeavor, not knowing that the Zionists are violating the law of tribulation. They also do not realize that the Christians supporting Zionism are playing the role of Judas in the second coming of Christ. The day is coming when the city of Jerusalem will be cleansed by a nuclear strike that is clearly described in Isaiah 29:5, 6, quoted earlier. In a nuclear strike, people are vaporized—that is, they “become like fine dust.” It happens “instantly” and “suddenly,” as the prophet says. It is accompanied by a “loud noise,” and the earth shakes as if struck by an “earthquake.” The blast creates a huge “tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.” Anyone who has seen pictures of a nuclear test know that Isaiah 29:5 and 6 is a perfect description of a nuclear blast. In this way Jesus’ words will be fulfilled in Luke 19, where He says of the Zionists, “Bring them here and slay them in my presence.” From the "birthright" link above.
Jerusalem has been destroyed a number of times, particularly in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians and again in 70 A.D. by the Romans. But each time the city was repaired. The day is coming when Jeremiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled—the city and its people will be broken like the jar that Jeremiah smashed. It will be broken so badly that it “cannot again be repaired.”
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
"Freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in ...into an unbearable hell and a choking life."
-OBL
"Prohibition...goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes at the very principles upon which our govt was founded."
- Lincoln
All our liberties are due to men who, when their conscience has compelled them, have broken the laws of the land.
--William Kingdon Clifford
#15. To: IndieTX (#14)
The Scriptures are soon to be fulfilled. A full preterist believes that it was already fulfilled in 70AD, and I tend to concur. The people of that time were almost totally annihilated. The city and temple were leveled, and the city was plowed as a field, just as Jesus said they would be. THAT city and people will never [IMO] be the city of God again. It was abandoned as Bethel was, and as Shiloh was. Did you ever hear the story of what happened the time they tried to rebuild the temple? Try searching Jerusalem Great Balls of Fire. That's what I think is meant by it being broken so badly that it "cannot again be repaired." However, rereading Ezekiel 38, recently, it does almost look as if there may be TWO Jerusalems being spoken of. Or it may just be a reiteration. I am not exactly sure, but verse 10 etc., does NOT, IMO, refer to OLD Jerusalem, particularly with that huge wall and everything. The "unwalled villages" refers to the NEW Jerusalem: http://www.bluelette rbible.org/kjv/Zec/Zec002.html#4 [Please note the next verse, as well, in reference to another thread]
Jerusalem has been destroyed a number of times, particularly in 586 B.C. by the Babylonians and again in 70 A.D. by the Romans. But each time the city was repaired. The day is coming when Jeremiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled—the city and its people will be broken like the jar that Jeremiah smashed. It will be broken so badly that it “cannot again be repaired.”
#16. To: IndieTX (#14)
Let me rephrase that. It is not the PEOPLE, per se, but THEIR RELIGION, and THEIR OLD COVENANT, that He has rejected and replaced. http://www.blueletterb ible.org/tsk_b/Hbr/8/13.html . THEY can be His people, and dwell in His city, anytime they want to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Matthew 23:39.
THAT city and people will never [IMO] be the city of God again.
#17. To: IndieTX (#15)
A full preterist believes that it was already fulfilled in 70AD Let me clarify that as well. I am not a full preterist, but a partial preterist. I believe a lot of the scriptures have been fulfilled, but not all. Case in point: Isa 65:10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. http://www.bluelett erbible.org/kjv/Isa/Isa065.html#10 There are TWO Israels in Isaiah 65. The Old, and the New. Christians [and the Old Testament saints whom God will BRING to New Israel - Ezekiel 37] are those who have sought Him. Christians are joint-heirs to the whole world with Christ. The "Jews" have pursued their "traditions". Now the Muslims have also sought Him, the best they knew how, with what they were given. I believe they are sincere in SEEKING the face of God. If it were up to me as a joint- heir, I would vote to give "Israel" back to them.
The Scriptures are soon to be fulfilled.
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