Henry Kissinger once observed, “Damascus is at one and the same time the fount of modern Arab nationalism and the exhibit of its frustrations.” He also wrote. “Syrian history alternates achievement with catastrophe.”

My apologies, but I could not resist the temptation to spell out something that makes about as much sense as the January reports coming from global financial leadership and economic analysts.

In the Jewish Bible, Chronicles is counted as one book and is called in Hebrew, dibhere hayamim: “The words concerning the days.” (The Jewish Bible regards the Old Testament as 22 books.) The Septuagint labels it: Paraleipomena, “Supplements” (to 1 and 2 Kings).

Last month, we covered the overall strategy the United States followed in much of its foreign policy and the origins of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We also covered the current situation in Iraq. In this article we will explore the situation in Afghanistan and a major player in the Middle East, Iran.

The ancient Jewish wedding is a model of the Rapture. At the Rapture, living believers will be “caught up,” translated into the clouds, in a moment in time, to join the Lord in the air. One of several reasons we favor a “pretribulation” view of the Rapture is the model, or type, of the Jewish wedding.

So far in our Kingdom, Power and Glory study, we have learned that the way we live our lives here and now will have dramatic consequences in the coming Millennial Kingdom.

Following the attacks of September 11th, 2001, the philosophy within the United States of combating terrorism with “law enforcement” diametrically changed to the “War on Terror.” As we watched the decade come to a close, we saw the American political will to fight the War on Terror lose steam.

Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians has several unique and compelling characteristics. It is regarded as including the most elevated view of Christ to be found in the Bible, and it also focuses on the most relevant insights and counsel for Believers in our present day.

Before we continue our Kingdom, Power and Glory series on the “Security of our Salvation,” Chuck and I would like to share with you some incredible responses we have received from pastors, students and brothers and sisters in the Lord who have read the book.

Two events in the United States overshadowed all others in 2008 and still loom large as we enter 2010. One was the financial crisis that, spreading from America’s subprime mortgage mess, has stricken the global economy. The other was the election of Barack Obama to the United States presidency.

The placebo effect is a medical phenomenon in which a patient’s symptoms can be alleviated by an otherwise ineffective treatment (i.e., a sugar pill). It is presumed that this is because the individual expects or believes the treatment will work. The placebo never cures the underlying disease; it only alleviates some of the symptoms temporarily.

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law House Resolution (H.R.) 2647—the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010.

A look at the coming year has to start with the question: Whatever happened to the much-discussed Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) with its plan for North American integration in 2010?

In Part 2 of this series, we will continue to examine a 63-year-old military intelligence review from the War Department (now the Department of Defense) archives entitled “Islam: A Threat to World Stability.”

First of all, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season, blessed by God’s presence. What an appropriate time to remember the real reason we have been called and to remind ourselves of the importance of sanctification—letting our actions show forth Christ.

Previously, we’ve discussed the cycles of history that promise to converge to create the anticipated apocalypse of 2012—a time when life as we know it ends and a new “spiritually enlightened” world emerges.

As was mentioned at the beginning of this series, after being Christians for more than 50 years, what Chuck and I have learned in our research for this material has totally revolutionized our personal walk with the Lord.

Environmental movements cause us to ask ourselves the question, “Has God gone Green?” The answer would depend upon your definition of “green.” The short answer is “no.” He hasn’t gone green, because He was green from the beginning. Scripture tells us, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Our Lord repeatedly instructed us: “Be not deceived.” That is an imperative: a command, not simply a suggestion. But how? What are the tools to prevent our being deceived or misled?

As we discussed in Part 1 of this series, wading through the mystique surrounding the popular focus of the year 2012 is actually a study in cycle theory. Without regard for the Mayan Long calendar, scholars and analysts, extrapolating from the cycles of human history, have reasoned that the coming years will be extraordinary.