PakAlert

By Sajjad Shaikh

The coming of the Mahdi is one of the major signs of Judgement Day. Unlike the minor signs his appearance will signal that the Final Hour is near and that believers must ensure that they are ready to endure its trials and tribulations (fitan).

The Mahdi will come at a time when Muslims will have become disunited and where tyranny and corruption will have prevailed.The situation will be so bad that a person would wish he was not born or that if someone died he would wish that it was him.

The story of al-Mahdi, as recounted in the sunnah, is a story of hope where the struggle between Haqq (Good) and Baatil (Evil) results in the believers gaining victory over the disbelievers, where the earth is filled with peace and justice due to the just rule of al-Mahdi. It is narrated by Abu Said al-Khudri (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam) said: “At the end of the time of my ummah,the Mahdi will appear. Allah will grant him rain, the earth will bring forth its fruits, he will give a lot of money, cattle will increase and the ummah will become great.” (Reported by al-Haakim in his Mustadrak, 4/557-558).The story of mahdi is one that encourages the believers to work for the unity of Muslims and the justice of Islam via the establishment of the Khilafah and the application of the Shariah as the believer knows that one day the whole world will be enlightened by the light of Islam and falsehood shall vanish. But until that day comes he must take encouragement from the bashaarat (glad tidings) of the Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam) and strive and work for Islam following the Sunnah of the Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam).

So it is sad to hear sometimes that some find in the story of Mahdi an excuse and justification for inaction, taking the fatalistic view that we as an Ummah cannot, and even should not, do anything about the corrupt situation until the Mahdi appears at the end of time and establishes the Khilafah. Clearly, this is not the message the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) took when they heard the story directly from the lips of the Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam). They heard this story and they took its lessons and they worked tirelessly, first in Makkah in order to establish dar al-Islam and then after its establishment in Madinah to consolidate and extend the influence of the Islamic state.After the death of al-Mustafa (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam) the Sahabah appointed Khulafah who extended the authority of Islam even further until the light of Islam had spread to a large part of the world. So how can it be that the coming of the Mahdi has become an excuse for the resignation to the corrupt reality? Indeed, if we analyse the authentic reports about the coming of Mahdi from both a prophetic and legal point of view we can conclude the following:

The Khilafah will not be established by the Mahdi but he will be a Khaleefah coming after the death of the Khaleefah before him. In other words the Khilafah will have been established by the Muslims before the coming of the Mahdi.This can clearly be seen in the hadith narrated by Umm Salamah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam) said: “Disagreement will occur at the death of a caliph and a man of the people of Medina will come flying forth to Mecca. Some of the people of Mecca will come to him, bring him out against his will and give bay’ah to him between the Rukn and the Maqam. An expeditionary force will then be sent against him from Syria but will be swallowed up in the desert between Mecca and Medina. When the people see that, the God fearing people of Syria and the best people of Iraq will come to him and swear allegiance to him between the Corner and the Maqam. Then there will arise a man of Quraysh whose maternal uncles belong to Kalb and send against them an expeditionary force which will be overcome by them, and that is the expedition of Kalb. Disappointed will be the one who does not receive the booty of Kalb. He will divide the property, and will govern the people by the Sunnah of their Prophet (peace be upon him) and establish Islam on Earth. He will remain seven years…” (Reported by at-Tabarani in al-Awsat.According to Ibn Hajar in his Majma’ az-Zawaid the transmitters in at-Tabarani’s narration are sound and authentic.)

Notice the above hadith states that disputes will take place at the death of the Khaleefah and consequently a man will come forth who after being given bay’ah as the khaleefah will declare himself to be the Mahdi. So clearly Mahdi will not establish the Khilafah Rashidah that will return as foretold in the ahadith, and as well he will not be the first Khaleefah after the destruction of the Khilafah and nor will he be the last Khaleefah. Rather, he will be a just Khaleefah who will establish the justice of Islam on earth.This is from the perspective of the account of the story as prophesised by the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam).

From a shar’I or legal perspective the hadith which detail the emergence of the Mahdi do not establish any Shariah rules for the reality of Muslims of today, as they relate to a different situation when the Khilafah exists.A Hukm Shar’i or divine rule comes for a manaat (reality to which the hukm pertains) which requires a ruling, which is our current reality and not the end of time which will be signaled by the major signs of the day of judgment.A hukm shar’i essentially is a request to do an action or refrain from it whether by way of obligation (wujoob), prohibition (tahreem), encouragement (nadb) or discouragement (karaaha).Although the hadiths about the Mahdi do not request the obligation to establish the Khilafah, as they are largely ikhbari (informative) in nature and as the Khilafah will already exist when the Mahdi comes (which is why we say this reality is inapplicable), but they certainly do NOT say it is not obligatory to work for a Khilafah when it does not exist. Indeed the Shariah rules established at the time of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam) are applicable till the end of time as long as they pertain to the reality for which they came. So not only must the Muslims abide by them, so must the Mahdi and so did ‘Isa (Alaihi as salam) who came not as a Prophet but as a follower of the Shariah of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam). So if the coming of a great Prophet like Isa (as), after the prophethood of Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam), cannot suspend the rules of the Shariah, how can the coming of the Mahdi suspend them?

As for the hukm shar’i on what to do when the Khilafah does not exist, as we see in our situation today, we need to refer to the following hadith of the Messenger (Sallallahu alaihi wassalam) as it addressed that very manaat (reality): “Whosoever dies without a bay’ah on his neck dies the death of Jahiliyyah.” (Reported by Muslim in his Sahih).This hadith clarifies by its implied meaning (mafhum) that it is not permitted for a Muslim to live without the presence of a Khaleefah as it censures the one who dies without his presence. Consequently, it becomes obligatory on the Muslim to work for the presence of a Khaleefah who will rule justly and work to remove, through only da’wah and political struggle, the Ruwaibidah that are our current despicable rulers.This is our reality today and the work to establish the Khilafah is the vital issue that the Muslims cannot neglect.

Whilst the coming of the Mahdi is an important subject in the books of hadith, it is almost as though some have taken the subject as a “get-out” clause to not work for the return of the Khilafah and the giving of bayah to the next Khaleefah.As though the mere mention of Khilafah in the time of Mahdi in some way excuses Muslims from their obligation of removing the corrupt regimes of today.Yes, there will be a Khilafah again inSh’Allah, but will we all be of the ummah that lived in darkness and did nothing to change that situation? And wait for Allah (SWT) to bring a people that loved him and He (SWT) loved.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ وَلاَ يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لآئِمٍ

“O you who believe! If you ever abandon your faith, Allah will in time bring forth (instead of you) people whom he loves and who love Him – humble towards the believers, strong towards all who deny truth: [people] who strive hard in Allah’s cause, and do not fear to be censured by anyone who might censure them” [5:54]

This documentary was created by a Turkish Scholar which proofs that all major prophecies by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have been fulfilled and we are living in the last age where we will witness the arrival of Mehdi and Jesus Christ (pbuh)

The Spiritual War

967, a report was issued under the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, “The iron mountain report” which was a global research study on the possibility and desirability of peace in US. This was the era of cold war, the time when US was in the middle of Vietnam war and both US and Soviet Union providing excuses to Egypt, and Jordan that they can’t help them for the upcoming invasion on Israel (the 6 day war). How funny it seems now that the biggest opponents of cold war were practicing same diplomacy tactics when it comes to the sovereignty of Israel and dealing with Muslims. One can say that this was the right time to look for world peace and this study was conducted just for that…. or not. This report has reached the conclusion that the worst thing that can happen to United States and its national security were if world peace were to come about. It said that “if lasting peace could be achieved in the world, it would almost certainly not be in the best interest of the society because war is an essential part of the system, war is an essential part of the economy”. Period.

The above concept refers to the teachings of Leo Strauss a professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and who is known to be a political Zionist. It is widely believed that it was his teachings that fostered neoconservative foreign policy of George W. Bush’s administration. It was his teachings that resulted in the formation of Neo-cons or more accurately “Neo-con Evangelist Christian Zionists”. Among his famous students being Paul Wolfowitz, who was deputy secretary of defense during U.S. led Iraq war and William Galtson who was a senior advisor to President Bill Clinton on domestic policy. It is hence no surprise, that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld who are known for orchestrating the whole Iraq war, are among the well-known neo-cons who crave for war to fill their own interests.

The concept of keeping society intact by keeping them in a fear of constant war is not just a Western doctrine. Chanakya, who was an adviser and prime minister to the first Maurya Emperor, Chandragupta and who played an important part in the foundation and governance of Maurya dynasty used to say, that in order to gain control over the people of the country, always keep them in war with your neighboring dynasty or country. Hence it is not surprising at all that India has never been on good terms with it’s neighbours and these terms don’t seem to be on their way to improvement anytime soon..

Why global peace is such a dangerous phenomenon that it used to and still threatens the mightiest of empires and countries. If we dig deeper, the idea of world peace has been reduced to symbols from ancient mythology that are the very opposite of everything that reflects positive energy. For example, the sign of world peace (the dove) is in reality a ritualistic symbol for the Illuminati. Why the most powerful and influential people of the planet are scared of global peace? This is not a matter of imposing martial law on the people of the planet, the upraising of new world order. This has nothing to do with gaining more power or taking over the world or implanting RFID chips in humans as if they are “products” tagged with a number, these are just small pieces in the bigger picture. Believe it or not, even the most ritualistic or evil of mankind wants to get enlightened with satanic power, the power of evil, the power of their satanic god “Lucifer”.

The Satan challenged ALLAH (SWT):
“O My Lord, because Thy hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth and I will put them all in the wrong. Except thy servants among them, sincere and purified (by Thy Grace)” (Al Hijr: 39-40)

And the war has been waged on mankind ever since. The question here is, who was purified by the will of God and how many dedicated their lives to serving the sinister plan of Satan, who thrives on anarchy, war and mayhem. The world peace is a threat to those who are the followers of satan. This is a war of spiritual values, the religious beliefs of the good and the evil, this is the war of the verses..

President George W. Bush told French President Jacques Chirac in early 2003 that Iraq must be invaded to invoke Gog and Magog, the Bible’s satanic agents of the Apocalypse. The president of the United States, in a top-secret phone call to a major European ally, asked for French troops to join American soldiers in attacking Iraq as a mission from God. During the Iraqi invasion in 2003, their out of office statement was that “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East…the biblical prophecies are being fulfilled…this confrontation is willed by God … and this is necessary before the beginning of the new age”. Now all of a sudden the prophecies from the book of Ezekiel and Jeremiah (Jewish Books) are so important for them that they were willing to forget their very own New Testament which clearly tells us the downfall of their evil (read: satanic worship) in such a way that even their ultimate savior Jesus (PBUH) won’t help them.

But as Bible says:
“Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13)

Even Quran tells us about Zulqarnain and the wall that he built to keep Gog and Magog from spilling onto the earth. Yes we allowed them to manipulate our ancient history by replacing Zulqarnain with Alexander the Great but this is just another example of our ignorance. We might have seen the movie “Alexander the Great” and admired it but we have no fear or knowing of the second coming on Gog and Magog prophesized in Quran:

“But when Gog and Magog are let loose and they rush headlong down every height (or advantage). Then will the True Promise draw near” (Al Anbiyaa:96-97)

There is nothing significant about Horus sharing same life events as of Jesus. What most of us don’t know this Egyptian methodology of Horus is same as the methodology of Nimrod with her mother Semiramis and the miraculous birth. Horus who was also known as the “war god” or the “god of war” is associated with the falcon. The great seal of United States which features the “falcon” on one side and “pyramid” on the reverse side, strongly reinforces their dogma of following the Horus and Egyptian gods. A detailed study of events occur in the Mesopotamian region (present day Iraq, with some parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran) will give you so much more that will change your point of view on macro level. The Operation Iraqi Liberation wasn’t about just OIL. For them Iraq (former Babylon) is the land of their serpent Gods. For them they are the new leaders of the planet. They will prove what once has been joked by Ronald Reagan on international media that “What is that we need to build world peace … an attack from some outer space, an alien attack that will unite us under one supervision” (New World Order).

You may call them evil beings or satan worshippers … you can see them worshipping and presenting sacrifices to Moloch every year in July (The Bohemian Grove) and still we don’t understand why they are doing this? Nimrod was the first monarch on this earth who wanted to take over the whole world. Today Nimrod statue is present in Israel with Nimrod being one of the most famous names among its inhabitants. He was a “fire-worshipper” and he’s been idealized in a country formed on the ideology of a monotheistic religion. It’s hard to imagine what kind of evil we are dealing with and knowing no evil makes you one of them. This is what they are trying to do to keep us ignored and in return we are becoming a devil within our ownselves.

No matter how much you talk about the Holocaust of World War II, no matter how much you yell over the legality of Belfour Declaration, blame Lawrence of Arabia, Mufti Amin Al Hussaini (the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem), Anwar Saadat anyone. According to Jews, creation of Israel is the fulfillment of the prophecy written in Torah (old testament).

“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth”. (Isaiah 62:6, 7)
Then say to them what Adonai Elohim says: ‘I will take the people of Israel from among the nations where they have gone and gather them from every side and bring them back to their own land”. (Ezekiel 37: 21)

If we dig history further, these verses are in conflict with each other and we will notice a pattern in them which will lead us to the present time, to the world we know today. The problem is we have forgotten our history our roots, we have been put into sleep deliberately and they, they have memorized history like no one’s business.

In the “book of Daniel” comes a story about a prophet of God named Daniel who, while explaining the meaning of a dream seen by the king of Babylon, ‘Nebuchadnezzar’ prophesiezed the upcoming world events. This was the time of Jewish exile into Babylon. It was here in Babylon the Jews started learning and practicing black magic known as “Kabbalah”. It was a time for the creation of Talmud and Mishnah, both being books of law that deviates Jews from the original commandments given to Moses and which govern the present day Israel. Prophet Daniel in the year 333 BC prophesized about the upcoming empires of the world. In the end of it he prophesized that, 2300 years from then on, an “evil empire” will emerge on the face of this earth and from that point we will enter into the end of times. Do your math and you’ll find out that the year is 1967. The year in which after the end of 6 days war with Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, Israel was able to capture the Sinai desert, Golan heights, West bank and Jerusalem. It was after this war that Israel emerged on the face of the earth as a superpower : An empire founded on murder and injustice: or in the words of Prophet Danile (PBUH), an ‘evil’ empire. He also prophesized that 45 years after the creation of the evil empire, the time for the coming of Antichrist or Dajjal will be very near. Do your math again and find out which year he is referring to.

This is a war initiated by Satan himself and it is a battle for our soul. Dajjal being the final of Satan’s weapon for inflicting unbearable pain on the sons and daughters of Adam, is about to be unleashed into this world. The Quran teaches that for Nimrod came Abraham, for Pharoah came Moses and for Dajjal will come Jesus (PBUH). So, the question that we need to ask is; are we ready for this war on the ground and more importantly within ourselves? The misinterpretation and manipulation of holy scriptures is nothing but a warfare technique chosen by satan and his followers. Those who understand this know that this is in every sense a ’spiritual’ war.

This is the message that greeted me as I opened up an email this morning to look at one of those “forwards” someone sent me.   You, one of those emails that urges you to check something out, even though you know you’ve already received it a bazillion times already from others and it’s likely to be a hoax too?  Yeah, one of those.  But I don’t mind.  Sometimes I actually see something new, or read something I’m glad I read again.  The rest I ignore.  It has to be truly exceptional before I get drawn into the forwarding chain.   I don’t care if everyone’s doing it – I’ve never been much of a joiner.

My collectible "Grog" cup, from the B.C. Comic.

But this?  Hah!  Totally caught my quirky bone!  I found myself hearing people sneeze and variations of “Gog bless you child.”  Or “Gog is watching you!”  “Gog damn it!”  and “The Holy Son of Gog….”  And to think I might not have opened that email!  Then to push the quirky fever further, it also kinda sounded like one of my favorite B.C. characters – Grog – a mug of which is my latest addition to my collection of quirky and fun coffee mugs.  Grog bless this drink!  Hahaha!

Yeah, I know the notation from the unknown forwarder, down the list of forwards attached, meant to type God.  Though the forward was yet another one of those urban legends people keep forwarding so they never die, I found myself appreciating that Gog was with me, wherever I am!  It was a smile and a comforting feeling this morning no matter how irreverant it might be.  God?  Me and Him go way back.  Gog though, whoever he might be, or whatever – gnome maybe, was also with me.  On my side, rooting for me.  And thanks to God, we were now introduced.  How awesome!

Gog be with you!  Have a happy day!  And may all your typos bring joy to those who read them!  

Testando categorias

OK. That headline is really just Google fodder looking for Obamacare search traffic, although reading the announcement about the release of Sanitarium at GOG.com did make me think about our current health care debate in a weird way. If you’ve never heard of Sanitarium, that’s a damn shame. It’s one of the most underrated and tragically ignored games of the 1990’s. It was put together by the Dreamforge Intertainment and published by ASC Games, the outfit that was working on an action game version of White Wolf’s Werewolf: the Apocalypse that showed a lot of promise and still stands up as one of their finest titles. (Spoiler warnings ahead!)

The basic storyline is as cliched as they come. You’re a man who awakens as a patient in a horrible sanitarium, your face covered by bandages and you have no idea who you are or how you got there. The staff tells you you’ve survived a car crash suffered during an escape attempt and that your memory will return once you recover your sanity. What follows though, is a truly surreal journey into insanity as you as the player keep shifting in and out of bizarre worlds and the very shape of reality changes while you struggle to recover your memory. As you play, you as the player will find yourself in a 1950’s small town being absorbed by an alien invasion, an Aztec village being threatened by a hostile god, a strange house being haunted by ghosts and a hive of intelligent bees on an alien planet. Even your identity keeps shifting as you change at intervals from a scarred man to a ten year-old girl to a four-armed alien warrior to a living statue.

What makes Sanitarium amazing and still timely though is what all of these different worlds have in common. As you play, a thread between these different worlds begins to emerge, all of them relating to your shrouded past and to why you’re in that Sanitarium. There’s also some interesting commentary on the nature of pharmaceutical companies in a for-profit health care system and the realization that the true horror you face isn’t supernatural at all — it’s the very human emotion of greed and what some people will do to protect a profit margin. It posits a drug company that will murder a researcher who develops a cure for a deadly plague because it threatens to cut into the profits generated by the stopgap drug that merely allows you to live with the disease.

Here’s the thing, though, the commentary in Sanitarium misses out on a very important point in the for-profit world of medicine — or the for-profit world of anything. Yes, there are unscrupulous people who will do anything to protect an individual company, but I’ve discussed health care with too many people who seem to believe that it’s the profit motive itself that’s the problem, rather than the illegal or criminal actions of an individual to protect a particular set of profits. Put simply, profits are the engine of progress. Even if we could magically create a socialized medical system that actually worked, it would bring medical research to a grinding halt. When doctors and researchers make the same money as McDonald’s fry cooks, you get the same quality of doctors as McDonald’s gets workers. Remove the chance to profit, remove enlightened self-interest from the equation and you put the kibosh on the chance for cures to AIDS, cancer or anything else that currently plagues us. Ultimately, you get what you pay for.

To be fair, not even Sanitarium makes the argument that Big Pharma and insurance companies are in a giant conspiracy to suppress the cures for diseases in the pursuit of profit. That game is mostly a thriller about an evil pharmaceutical executive — an individual who commits multiple criminal acts. They leave that to big budget Hollywood movies, Michael Moore and a delightful conspiracy theorist of my acquaintance who will wax rhapsodic on how we never landed on the Moon. I leave their arguments in the Sanitarium where they belong. But even making that argument betrays not only a blatant hostility toward capitalism, but a profound misunderstanding of how capitalism works, how research works and eliminates even the possibility of finding common ground in the health care debate.

Even if a company does manage to Silkwood a particular invention, there are too many other companies out there working along the same lines who will eventually make the breakthrough. Edison didn’t invent the light bulb, he merely made the light bulb so good it became commercially practical. If some candle company had had Edison murdered, the light bulb would have been discovered by one of dozens of other researchers working along the same lines.

None of this, by the way, should stop you from checking out Sanitarium if you can. It’s a genius game that never got the credit it was due. At $9.99 on GoG.com, it’s well worth your time.

Hello and welcome!

WHAT:  This blog will follow and examine current events for potential ties to Christian endtimes prophecy.

WHO:  I’m a follower of Christ. I’m not a prophet and claim no prophetic or revelatory gift beyond those available to other Christians.

MY BELIEF:  Rapture is coming, probably immediately before the rise of Antichrist and the onset of the Tribulation. I also believe the War of Gog and Magog (WOGAM) will likely precede the Rapture. I believe the world stage is set for WOGAM and that this is the first time in history that the stage is set in the sense that WOGAM is not only immediately possible, but immediately plausible as never before.

In light of the above, a great deal of the content in this blog will focus on WOGAM, hence the name “GogMagog Blog.” It is my hope and prayer that other believers will join in an effort to observe, report, and discuss prophetically relevant world events. I also hope and fervently pray that unbelievers will find these issues to be compelling food for thought on the critical issue of eternity. We will all spend it somewhere, and Christ is the only way to the Good Somewhere.

Adventure games have always occupied a weird netherworld between movies and actual “games.” That’s because the level of interactivity and actual gameplay in most adventure titles is actually pretty minimal. They are, after all merely a collection of brain teasers and often-arbitrary and maddening puzzles that act as roadblocks between cut scenes. Despite that, the best adventure games offer incredibly compelling experience despite their inadequacies as actual “games.” Maybe it’s because as crude as they are, they come closest to the now-scoffed at idea of “interactive movies,” in which you actually get to live through a well-told tale. Maybe. I haven’t thought about that deeply actually but that does seem like a good idea for a future “Angry Bear” column.

This is about GoG Thursday and one of the finest examples of adventure games in our hobby’s brief history — Ragnar Tornquist’s the Longest Journey. If you’ve never played it, head over to Gog.com and pick it up. You won’t be sorry.

The Longest Journey is the story of April Ryan, a young woman at a crossroads in her life who discovers she’s a “Shifter.” Shifters are a very rare breed of human that can shift between our technological Earth and it’s magical twin that exists in a parallel dimension. The two earths were split thousands of years ago to prevent humanity from using the powers of both magic and science to destroy themselves. To keep the two worlds apart, a series of Guardians were set up to keep the worlds separate and monitor the balance between them. Now, however the twelfth Guardian has gone missing and the 13th Guardian must be found before the balance between the worlds collapses and the magical and scientific Earths reunite — violently.

The journey that follows is an amazing trip into two separate worlds that ask some pretty profound questions about a lot of stuff. Is science just magic that works? Is there a destiny for all of us and can it be changed? Does free will have any meaning at all? It also does a lot with the theme of duality and unity. It deals with the clash of faith and reason, logic and instinct and order and chaos and why they’re opposite and whether they can be combined in a single healthy universe or person. Indeed, if there’s one thing I love about this game, it’s how often it chooses to take the unexpected path in its storytelling. The character of April Ryan is really on two quests — one to save the world, one to discover herself. She succeeds at the first but utterly fails at the second, something that has profound consequences in Dreamfall, the second game in the series.

In fact this is one of the few stories of this type I can remember that doesn’t end with some preachy homily about “coming together” and uniting the disparate halves of our souls. It points out that certain things are diametrically opposed for a reason and that attempts to unite them may be an example of human hubris. Perhaps it is better to leave magic and science in different universes. Being a grown-up sometimes means we have to make agonizing choices and decide what we’re going to leave behind. The Longest Journey doesn’t shy away from that nor from showing the consequences of those people who insist on having it all.

Highly recommended.

‘The Incredible Machine’ (TIM) е една от най-култовите игри евър. Точно за това новото предложение на GOG.com (Good old games) не е за изпускане!

От днес, само срещу $9.99 можете да си купите ‘The Incredible Machine Mega Pack’ от GOG!
Пака включва почти всички игри от TIM поредицата. Под почти всички имам предвид:
- The Even More Incredible Machine (което е The Incredible Machine + нови пъзели);
- The Incredible Machine 3 (което си е The Incredible Machine 2 с обновен интерфейс и графика);
- Return of the Incredible Machine Contraptions;
- The Incredible Machine – Even More Contraptions.

Като бонус получавате и 37 страничен манУел за играта + целият саундтрак в mp3 формат!
Разбира се игрите са оптимизирани и преработени така че безпроблемно да потеглят на Windows XP и Windows Vista!

Офертата се намира тук – www.gog.com Инджой!

Previously in The Black Panther and Storm:

For over ten thousand years warrior kings called Black Panthers ruled and protected the isolated and unconquerable African nation Wakanda. In their isolation Wakanda became the most scientifically advanced nation on Earth. T’Challa was the latest Black Panther, and he believed that his great nation was obligated to use its resources to help the less fortunate; defenseless peoples of the world against tyranny, corruption, and megalomaniac super humans.

Black Panther later married Ororo ‘Storm’ Munroe the extraordinary mutant heroine.

Story: Middle East on Fire

Chapter One

Jordan

The desert wind laden with sand  hid the badly beaten body. Yet the woman named Sabra found Navid Hashim-the second Arabian Knight- as he lay half dead on the red earth.

The wind subsided and Sabra viewed her friend more clearly than before. He was a thirty-year-old Arab man with long black hair, a short beard and an athletic build. His supposedly indestructible uniform was severed throughout. The magical scimitar that he carried was broken and rested by his side.

“Who did this?” Sabra  asked herself as she checked him for a pulse-it was weak. She may have healed him by transferring a part of her life energy but that would raise questions from her Mossad superiors as to why her power levels had dropped.

Sabra was Mossad-Israeli secret service- and Hashim worked for the Arab League of Nations secret defence division. They were suppose to be enemies, but fate had already made them allies. Therefore Sabra was not surprised that Hashim called her out of all the people in the world. But she had go to him discreetly since the Kibbutz would discover their relationship.

Hashim’s phone was still in his hand- in a death like grip. Sabra prized the hand open with minimal effort because of her superhuman strength.

“What to do now?” she asked herself. Brushing her brown hair back from her face. Then the young woman stared up at the starry sky.

“I can’t take him back to Israel. They’ll only interrogate him about the nuclear and superhuman programs that the Arab nations are conducting. I doubt he’ll receive the medical care he requires,” she said. “And I can’t give him back to the Arab League because they might be the ones that did this to him.”

She looked at Hashim and remembered their first encounter. They had been each chosen by opposite controllers to fight in an intergalactic gladiator tournament. There Hashim had told her about his heritage as the descendant of the man that first defeated Magog and Gog- the demons created to destroy Israel.

She had asked him if the demon brothers reappeared if he would fight them in light of the situation with the Arab nations and Israel.

“In a heart beat,” he responded.

That was when Sabra started developing a respect for the man.

Presently, Sabra gently wiped the blood from Hashim’s face. Then she looked at the phone again. Who could she call for assistance?

At once she remembered the fellow mutant Ororo since they shared the same mentor in Professor Charles Xavier. It was also well known that Ororo was in charge of the nation Wakanda.

“That’s perfect,” thought Sabra because Wakanda was impartial to the conflict in the Middle East and they would have the medical expertise to aid Hashim.

Therefore Sabra left a message for Ororo and then contacted the well-known number that Ororo and her husband T’Challa had given to world leaders in need of their assistance.

When she was finished with the message, Sabra said a prayer for Hashim’s recovery and then she flew off.

Leaving the phone in Hashim’s hand.

Chapter Two

Even though T’Challa had seen the transformation repeatedly it still amazed him. He was lying on the blanket under the flowery Saseng tree and not too far from him was Ororo. She was facing the dawning sun-a streak of orange rising gently over the rim of the hills.

T’Challa hyper senses caught the new aura that formed around his life partner. She was experiencing a physical and spiritual connection with Earth that yoga mystics in India and Buddha priests only dreamed of. The oneness she gained with the Earth rejuvenated her tired body.

It was only eight hours ago that she had returned to Wakanda after being on another arduous mission with her mutant team mates-the X Men. Upon her arrival home, the wind rider had slept next to him. All the while he heard the beats of her powerful heart and her gentle breathing. In those moments, he thought how fortunate the world was to have her in it. She was one of the most down to Earth, truthful, and charismatic persons he had ever known. She saw through the veneer of his seeming invincibility and saw a man who had been alone at the top of the world.

After Ororo had awakened they went out in the forest that bordered their home. That’s where Ororo replenished her life force.

So T’Challa was staring at her all the time as her transformation from a tired body to a fully charged one continued.

Then she was finished and the mistress of the weather turned to him with her solid white eyes and equally white hair. She walked unhurriedly over to him. He motioned to put the robe back on her angular body, but she gently refused it by pushing back his hands. Then she kissed him.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

T’Challa kissed back passionately and held her in his strong arms. He could feel the aura- taste it even. Soon they melted lovingly into each other and just as Ororo had joined with mind, body and soul with the Earth so did she become one with her husband.

Sabra’s call came shortly after the couple had returned to the house and were in their bedroom. Both their kimoyoes had rung and T’Challa took the call.

“There’s no one on the line,” he said to Ororo.

“Let’s trace it then,” she suggested.

Then they dressed. The wind rider fitted into her old white suit. T’Challa noticed the change in attire since recently she had opted for a black and gold uniform for missions. He liked it because the style complemented her eyes and hair.

“You look good in it,” commented T’Challa.

“Thought I would use it on this occasion,” said Ororo.

T’Challa suited up in the honorary Black Panther uniform. The attire did more than provide body armour it symbolized his heritage and the nation of Wakanda. He then magnetized the sword-he constructed from twin time space computers and dark force energy- to his back.

He looked at Ororo. “Ready?”

“Yes,” she replied and stood next to him. She was slightly shorter than T’Challa who was six feet tall.

Then T’Challa told the sword to transport them to the Defence Division. Immediately the sword obeyed and teleported the couple to the destination.

At the Defence Division they traced the call via satellites to the Jordan desert and then used reconnaissance satellites to view the specific area.

“Looks like nothing’s there,” said T’Challa.

“We should take a closer look,” stated Ororo.

“All right.”

Then the couple teleported to the site. A short burst of golden light appeared next to Hashim’s body. Then T’Challa and Ororo emerged from the light. The couple scanned the vicinity before they approached Hashim’s body. T’Challa hyper sense of smell picked up both the scents of Sabra and an assassin he had defeated years ago. The assassin also had the moniker Arabian Knight.

Ororo looked at the footprints left in the earth. There were the small unmistakable signs of a woman being at the site previously. Then Ororo went to Hashim and lowered herself next to him. She took out the phone from his hand and saw that a message was on the screen addressed to her.

“T’Challa,” she said, “some one left a recording.”

“There’s something else,” he said. “The assassin that attacked us the day I proposed to you was here.”

“There was a woman here also,” stated Ororo.

T’Challa walked over and stood above Hashim. He recognized the fallen man from the secret service files on the region. The files had also stated that  a section of the Arab League of nations were dissatisfied with the warrior’s service thus they created their own Arabian Knight to do their bidding.

T’Challa recalled that the imposter Arabian Knight was a less skilled warrior than the original. But what T’Challa saw of Hashim’s present condition was the work a greatly improved and devastating fighter.

“This is not the same guy I fought so long ago,” thought T’Challa.

“We have to get him to the infirmary,” said Ororo as she watched the severity of Hashim’s wounds. “We’ll check out the message later.”

“Okay,” said T’Challa and he then commanded the time space computers on the hilt of his sword.

Moments later, the sword returned the rescuers to Wakanda. Hashim was quickly placed in a medical bay at the Defence division. Then Ororo and T’Challa went to the situation room where they played the message.

Sabra’s face appeared on the screen. She was twenty-nine years old. Curly brown hair reached down from her head and touched her shoulders. Her nose was small and her eyes were big.

“I know her,” said Ororo. “She operated at the X Corporation branch in Paris before it was bombed. I don’t know what became of her ever since.”

“I’ll run a scan on her,” said T’Challa.

Sabra got straight to the point in her message. Her voice was sad and concerned, “Ororo. The man lying here is Navid Hashim-the Arabian Knight and the top operative for the Arab League of Nations. About thirty minutes ago I received a distress call from him and I tracked it to this current location.

I’m  unable to verify who attacked him and for what reason. Hence I was reluctant to hand him over to his own people and my own would have exploited him for information. So I’m giving him to you in the hope that you’ll have success in finding out the reason for this attack. Please do not try to contact me, as it will further complicate matters. Thanks.” Then the message ended.

Ororo folded her arms loosely. “We’ll have to get more information from Hashim when he wakes up. In the meantime I’ll start running a trace on the assassin,” she stated.

She remembered that the men who were in charge of the assassin at the time called him Taj.

T’Challa peeled off his mask  revealing a handsome face with a strong lower jaw and brown eyes. He was in his mid thirties while Ororo was five years younger than he was.

The door to the situation room opened and the chief officer hurried  inside. He quickly passed through the formalities and then spat out, “The Israeli superhuman headquarters and the Iraqi Desert Swords facility have both been destroyed in the last five minutes. Raw reports state that they were attacked.”

T’Challa said in his mind, “Those two events will heat up the political climate in the Middle East even further.”

Chapter Three

Three hours passed of listening to the secret messages being transmitted through the Middle East region to Britain, France, Russia and America. All the secret services of the world powers were busy updating their respective governments. From what the couple gathered the secret groups were clueless as to the reason the headquarters were attacked.

Ororo was worried about Sabra in particular. There was little news out of Mossad about their premier superhuman.

“I hope she is all right,” thought Ororo.

Then T’Challa and Ororo were alerted that Hashim had regained consciousness although his body was still badly damaged-several broken bones and organs. He was surprised to be in Wakanda, yet grateful that Sabra had sent him there.

“She truly is amazing,” he thought. It also made him reexamine that he might have feelings for the woman even though she was on the other side of the fence that  kept their region in turmoil.

He had taken time off his work once to search his soul with  regards to their friendship and the insights it had created in him. He came back to the Arabian League service later with the personal mandate to stop those on his side that were opposed to the peace process. It was a far difficult task than he imagined.

“What can you tell us about who attacked you?” inquired T’Challa.

“Taj,” said Hashim. “He killed one of my colleagues and left a coded message for me on the victim. It was a trick. I went to the place that the message indicated and got teleported to the Jordan desert. There I met him. As we were fighting he mentioned something vaguely about Magog and Gog. I don’t really remember much as our battle was intense.”

“Magog and Gog?” asked Ororo since she was familiar with names that she heard as a street urchin in Cairo.

“The creatures that burst out of a high priest of Egypt when the Israelites escaped from the lands. My ancestor was given the weapons to defeat the monsters by three magicians. He succeeded and entombed the beasts. He was the first Arabian Knight,” explained Hashim. “Their statues are suppose to be in the Kud Mountain side in Eastern Egypt.”

T’Challa had listened attentively and made some decisions. “The chief operators of Taj need to be visited.”

Ororo also had some thoughts on the situation especially the Egypt aspect. “I’ll check out those statues, in the meantime you get some rest,” she said to Hashim.

He looked at her, “Can I get in contact in with Sabra?”

“She said it wouldn’t be wise,” said Ororo. “And also her base was attacked. We aren’t sure where she is right now.”

“Oh,” he said dejectedly.

Ororo sensed the disappointment in his voice. “He likes her,” thought Ororo.

There were no further questions that T’Challa and Ororo had for Hashim so they left him. Then they received unconfirmed reports that Iran’s hidden superhuman programme was attacked and destroyed.

“Someone is systematically eliminating the region’s powerhouses,” said Ororo.

“We have to find out the reason behind it before this thing escalates further,” stated T’Challa.

Ten minutes later, Ororo took a mini jet and headed for Egypt while T’Challa went to the Halla emirate-the ruler was one of the men who had conspired to kill him.

Chapter Four

Ororo arrived at daybreak. The feet of the Kud Mountain was littered with tents from an archaeological dig site. She landed the invisible jet a safe distance away and then she put on a disguise- a wig, shades, a camera and tourist clothes. The skin on the jet was made from Wakanda’s “light bending” technology, which gave the illusion of invisibility. Thus when Ororo alighted from the plane it appeared that she came out of thin air.

She walked into the camp and caught the attention of a helper. She spoke in Arabic and she learnt that the Magog and Gog statues were removed from the mountainside by an archaeological company.

“From where?” asked Ororo.

“Central Cairo,” answered the helper and he gave the name of the company.

Ororo thanked the helper and she left in the jet for Cairo. She did a search for the company’s address on the computer and found it. She contacted the Wakanda secret service in Cairo and told him to meet her outside the city.

The Triumphant City came into her sights after ten minutes. As an orphaned pickpocket she had known the Egyptian capital from its other name al-Qahirah.

Ororo parked the jet in a secluded area outside and then the agent drove her into the city. Memories of Cairo and its alley ways flooded her mind. She remembered the house where her parents died when a fighter jet had crashed into it.

As her father was an African American his body was returned to the United States while her Kenyan mother was sent to Kenya.

“But I fell through the cracks in the system,” thought Ororo. “Ideally I would have been placed in an orphanage until my relatives from the States or Kenya came to collect me, but that never happened. I ended up on the streets until I was taken in by the Master Thief of Cairo himself.”

Sadness came on Ororo as she thought about her parents and the fact that having been buried in the rubble with their bodies had left her scarred with claustrophobia.

Ororo rocked back her head in the back of the car and pondered on a decision. “Should I visit the place where my life first changed?” she wondered.

Sharply she rose from the seat and leaned forward to the driver’s shoulder. “Swing by Roshdy Basha.” she said. And she told him the exact location of the house.

Soon the car was cruising pass the site of the accident. A new apartment building had been erected. She remembered playing in the room and her mother cooking. Satisfied Ororo told the driver to continue to the address of the company.

As the business opening hours were nine o’clock in the morning, Ororo took the time to walk about the streets while the driver waited. She wondered about the other street children she had associated with in those days. As a younger woman she had met one of her fellow street pirates but the fate of the rest was a mystery.

Unconsciously Ororo strolled to the street where she first met Professor Charles Xavier. She had picked his pocket and scurried away. But then she heard his voice in her head. It was a warm, soft and caring voice. At the time she had never heard about mutants much more telepaths. He had allowed her to escape with the prize even though he had the power to take it back.

It was a brief incident that would impact the rest of her life as Xavier kept a track of her until he recruited her into his X Men.

Ororo smiled at the memory.

She spent the rest of the time waiting at a breakfast cafe.

The proprietor of the company arrived at quarter to nine to open the business. Just as Ororo returned to the car.

She pretended to be an investor from South Africa interested in starting an archaeological dig in Petoria. The proprietor was an Egyptian but he informed her that the main person in charge was in Qatar.

“That’s too bad, but could I get his number,” inquired Ororo.

Her charm and alluring beauty mesmerized the proprietor so he obliged. Then she inquired about the Magog and Gog statues.

“He took them to Qatar,” said the man.

“Okay and thank you,” Ororo said in Arabic.

Afterwards Ororo left Egypt and she went for Qatar. She contacted T’Challa.

“How are things on your end?” she asked.

“I just fought a creature from my past,” he replied while breathing heavily.

Ororo’s concern was raised. “I’ll pick you up.”

Chapter Five

The emirate was one of four others who were trying to spread their monetary influence in Africa. However T’Challa’s secret service had indicated that the emirates were involved in funding terrorism. Hence he had covertly warned several African states that they shouldn’t be associated with the emirates. T’Challa believed that was the reason he was targeted for assassination.

He teleported directly into the emirate’s house. Satellite imagery had showed that the emirate was seated near his poolside surrounded by bodyguards. Yet T’Challa simply appeared and snatched the man from his chair and they both disappeared. Leaving the guards dismayed.

T’Challa dropped the emirate ruler unceremoniously on the barren earth. The man looked around while screaming, “Help, help.”

Soon he realized that they were in the middle of no where. He watched at T’Challa as if he was facing an executioner.

“You finally came to kill me,” said the emirate ruler. He was slowly becoming less hysterical.

“No,” said T’Challa frankly. “I could have done that long ago.”

Instead of assassinating the emirates T’Challa had ruined them internationally by leaking their underworld activities.

“Then what do you want?” asked the shaken ruler.

“Tell me about Taj.”

“I don’t know what became of him. He vanished after you shamed him,” replied the ruler.

“That’s all you’ve got to tell me. You were his chief operator surely you know something more.”

“I swear,” insisted the man.

T’Challa stared intensely into the ruler’s eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

Then he detached the sword from his back. That caused a fright in the man. T’Challa took a step forward. The man cowered.

“There was a rumor,” blurted out the ruler.

“About what?”

“People who saw him said he looked and acted different. He was still dangerous but his aura had changed, it was greater,” answered the man quickly.

T’Challa sought more background on Taj. He was told that the assassin’s ancestry went as far back to the fall of Atlantis. As a youth he had briefly lived in Palestine and he then moved to Saudi Arabia.

T’Challa realized that there was nothing more he could get out of the ruler. He rested the sword on his back and made to pick up the man.

There was an atmospheric change in the immediate area-sudden high winds and a gathering of thunderclouds. Then there was the sound of a horse galloping towards the two men. T’Challa stood tall and peered in all directions yet he didn’t see the animal. He could only hear it.

Suddenly appearing out of the air was a red horse. Its rider was a creature T’Challa recognized from an altercation with the Ku Klux Clan in America.

“It couldn’t be,” thought T’Challa as he remembered being dragged with a rope of supernatural fire around his neck.

He looked at the horse and there they were ropes of fire that acted as reins and bridal around the animal’s head. The beast’s eyes were yellow marbles.

The rider carried a short fiery trident in his right hand. He had on ancient battle armour and a war helmet.

The horse circled T’Challa twice-it seemed to barely touch the ground. The emirate ruler was scared stiff.

Slowly the horse lost momentum and stopped a few yards from T’Challa. The rider stared at the man he had fought on a damp night in the Deep South of the United States. It was a different time and place then. At that point in history he thrived on the fear that existed in that place. But since those agents of fear had been destroyed he had sought new grounds that would nourish his need to feed on hatred and terror. He was not going to allow T’Challa or any other threats endanger that.

The Rider pointed the trident at T’Challa.

“Human once more you have crossed my path,” said the Rider.

T’Challa withdrew his sword. The nanorobots that sheathed the dark force energy blade disappeared into the hilt.

“I can say the same about you,” said T’Challa still baffled by the Rider’s appearance.

The Rider pointed the trident at the stunned man sitting on the ground. “Rise. You have provided me with much sustenance therefore I shall not let any harm fall upon you.”

The man began standing.

T’Challa had an inkling of what was meant by the Rider’s use of the word “sustenance” and the activities the ruler was linked to. Nevertheless T’Challa rested his hand heavily on the man’s shoulder and shoved him back down.

Enraged the Rider struck his heels into the horse and the animal propelled towards T’Challa. The Rider’s trident aimed at the Black Panther.

T’Challa activated the claws in his left hand while he blocked the attack with his sword. He then grabbed the Rider with his left hand and pulled him off the horse. Something occurred incidentally that T’Challa was late on noticing. His sword had sliced off a majority of the trident.

The Rider had realized his primary weapon was destroyed hence he turned to his alternative. As he slid off the horse and bared the pain of the claws in his side, the Rider summoned a rope of fire from his free hand and it quickly formed a noose around T’Challa’s neck.

The noose tightened and T’Challa began choking. He adjusted his sword hand and then he thrust the weapon into the Rider. There was a cry of pain. Yet the Rider relentlessly kept the pressure on the noose.

T’Challa pulled out the sword from the Rider and he cut the rope in two. The Rider countered by placing his right first finger on T’Challa’s fore head.

“Dream of your worst fear,” muttered the creature.

Suddenly T’Challa became still-the spell was working. The Rider rose from the ground and covered the wound at his side with a hand. He staggered to the horse and climbed onto it.

The emirate ruler rushed to his feet and went to the Rider. “Take me out of here,” he begged.

The Rider obliged although he was significantly wounded by T’Challa’s attack. A fire rope extended out of the creature’s hand and it lifted up the man. Then the horse galloped forward and disappeared into the air.

On the ground T’Challa remained silent. Inside his mind he saw Wakanda being destroyed and he was powerless to stop it. And the destruction of his beloved country was due to his fault. It was his greatest fear to once again bring that amount of  suffering to his people.

He underwent the torment for hours, yet his mind battled to regain control. Eventually it did and he snapped out of the nightmare. He awakened to find himself alone. Then the call came from Ororo.

Chapter Six

T’Challa settled in the co pilot seat after explaining the confrontation.

“I felt like my soul was being strangled at the same time,” stated T’Challa.

“A Soul Strangler. There are all sorts of entities working in the background,” commented Ororo. Then she kissed him and afterwards she resumed flying the jet.

T’Challa began reading on the console the information Ororo had gathered. Then he turned side long to Ororo. “How was Cairo?”

She leaned back in the pilot chair. “I visited the apartment and checked out a few haunts.”

T’Challa sensed it was a deeply emotional experience for her especially since the Middle East conflicts were attributable to the fighter jet crashing into the parents’ apartment. Then he noticed a change in her from introspection to curiosity. She  leaned across and rested her elbow on his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you choose a side in the conflict?” she asked.

“Just never did,” he answered straightforwardly.

“Maybe we should get involved,” said Ororo. “This turmoil is what got my parents killed and God knows a lot of innocent people have suffered on both sides.”

“I see what you mean,” said T’Challa and he then leaned over and kissed her comfortingly on the lips.

A message from the secret service appeared on the main computer screen. It stated that an anonymous video message was delivered to the Arabian satellite television. Then the message was played for T’Challa and Ororo.

Taj’s face appeared. He was in his late thirties. The beard was shaven into a single bar under the lower lip. His hair was shaven down. The eyes were big and brown.

“To the leaders of the nations in the region dubbed the Middle East, the time has come for peace. Over the last several hours, my associates and I have robbed your militaries of their greatest assets namely the superhumans and nuclear warheads,” said Taj in a commanding voice.

The video image shifted to a scene of nuclear warheads inside an undisclosed location.

Taj continued, “The twenty six warheads were seized from Iran and Israel combined. These countries will not confirm or deny this, but it is true.

My proposal is simple. I want a Middle East peace plan deal signed and put into operation within the next seventy-two hours. Else we will start eliminating those who stand in the way of peace-peace for our children and their children. Enough is enough. The perpetual violence must come to an end. If we see no action-taking place in the next hour then the culling will begin.

No politician or militant leader is safe. If we can destroy your most powerful weapons imagine what we can do to you.”

The message ended.

“That crazy bastard,” thought T’Challa.

“Twenty six nuclear warheads,” commented Ororo. “I wonder what he’ll do with them.”

“Who knows. But we have to find him before anyone else does.”

“Do you think his plan will work? I certainly don’t believe it will.”

“Neither do I,” responded T’Challa. “They’ll brand him a terrorist. With those nukes at his disposal the UN and the world superpowers will be searching these lands thoroughly. The Avengers and MI 13 may even be brought in. War Machine might even be on his way as we speak.”

“I’m sure he counted on that,” said Ororo and she watched the grotesque images of Magog and Gog on her console screen.

“Where do they fit in this scheme?” she asked herself.

The plane was entering Qatar airspace. “If we can’t find anything concrete on the statues then we’ll start looking for the warheads,” said Ororo.

T’Challa agreed.

Chapter Seven

The warehouse was on the outskirts of Doha, the capital of Qatar. The building was innocuous and three trailer trucks were in the parking area. Spy satellites showed six human bodies within the warehouse. They were evenly spaced out but all were on the front ground level.

T’Challa and Ororo planned their entry and then executed it. Ororo mentally caused the creation of an electro magnetic pulse that blanketed the warehouse and it shut down all electronic devices.

Within moments, T’Challa sliced through the right wall with his sword and he rammed himself against it, pushing down the impediment. Therefore he came upon the surprised group. Taj was one of them.

Ororo broke through the left side of the warehouse with lightening from her hands. And she flew in majestically on the thermal wind currents she manipulated.

Taj and his associates wore civilian clothes, but the kind that secret service operatives used when on a mission- all black coats, tee shirts, trousers and boots. There was one woman in the group. Her eyes were glowing.

Taj raised a hand to her to stop whatever she was prepared to do. “Hold on,” he said calmly, “I know these two.”

He surveyed the faces of the other comrades. Two of them were Arabic and the others were Israeli.

Ororo used her vantage point in the air to scan the warehouse. She spotted the opened containers that contained the Magog and Gog statues. Then she tried to pick up any hint of radioactivity in the building but there was none.

“Where are the warheads?” Ororo demanded.

Taj watched at her and he remembered seeing the wind rider on the day he attempted to assassinate T’Challa.

“In a safe place,” he answered.

T’Challa broke in. “Taj your plan is not going to work.”

The reformed man looked calmly at the Black Panther. “It will succeed. There are people in all the regional governments who secretly back me. You see the peace progress required someone to push the envelope.”

T’Challa gave the man a hard stare. “What happened to you? When we first encountered you were-”

“A common thug,” interrupted Taj. “I was the lowest of lows. That’s why I have a respect for you T’Challa. The defeat you handed me shattered my ego. I literally  built myself back up and I went through a metamorphosis and this is the man that stands before you today.

But tell me something. What would you do in my stead if faced with constant wars, leaders dragging their feet, territorial disputes, weapons stockpiling and human suffering?”

“I’ve been there before,” answered T’Challa. “And you have been blinded. You are killing the innocent in the process. Hashim for instance.”

“Ah, Hashim. I know that he is a liberal soul. But too an extent. He would never condone the plan even if I offered him to join. So I had to take him out the equation like I did Magog and Gog. I told him so,” stated Taj.

“Before you tried to kill him,” said Ororo.

Taj glanced at her. “I had no intention of killing him. I wanted him wounded badly enough that he posed no threat to the operation,” retorted Taj. “So what will it be? Will the two of you leave? Let bygones be bygones.”

“As long as there are rogue nukes out there, we can’t simply walk away,” said Ororo.

“A pity,” said Taj.

Chapter Eight

Ororo reacted quicker than Taj’s associates did. She fired electrical bolts into the five combatants. Three fell but the other two were immune to the attack.

Ororo saw that Taj had opened his coat and took out two swords. Then he and T’Challa began trading blows with their weapons.

Nevertheless  Ororo concentrated on the two combatants who were staring angrily at her.

“How did they survive?” she muttered.

The first combatant revealed the answer. He had transformed into a diamond body. But Ororo had an idea of how to handle that challenge.

The second combatant flew at her fiercely. She dodged out the way and attempted to create a whirlwind around the man. But it didn’t work.

“By that puzzle look on your face I guess you don’t what’s wrong with your powers,” said the man. “Let me tell you. Mutants can’t harm me.”

He shot down like a cannonball at Ororo knocking her towards the ground. She fell hard. The diamond combatant was on his way to land a telling blow to her face.

Quickly, Ororo struck out her right leg and in a sweeping motion she tripped the man.

“I have to get rid of him,” she thought.

The wind rider summoned thermal air currents that lifted her and the diamond combatant out of the warehouse. The other combatant pursued.

Then Ororo saw the weapon she needed. It was a long metal rod attached to the side of one of the trailer trucks. Ororo slammed the diamond man into the parking lot. Then she used hot plasma energy from her fingertips to cut off an arm length of the rod.

The flying attacker was gaining on her. So she grabbed the rod and spun around striking the man squarely in the face. He backed away.

Then Ororo cut another length of the rod. She looked at the diamond man who was trying to stand. Ororo lifted him up with a strong gust that lashed him against the warehouse.

Then the wind rider concentrated on a massive pressure dome and she threw the first rod like a javelin at the diamond man. The pressure dome added to the force of the rod and the metal went straight through the diamond’s man upper right shoulder; pinning him to the wall. Ororo repeated the feat with the second rod, hitting the man’s left shoulder.

The man cursed at her.

The other combatant attempted to free him.

“No you don’t,” thought Ororo.

She charged and collided into the flying combatant. In the process she utilized a martial arts move she had learnt about pressure points on the upper human body. She deadened a nerve in the man’s neck with a hard karate chop. The attack paralyzed him temporarily and Ororo struck him downward and he landed with a thud on the asphalt.

Then she returned inside the warehouse.

Chapter Nine

T’Challa was losing blood at a rapid rate. Taj’s swords were able to withstand the dark force energy blade and penetrate the vibranium laced Black Panther body armour. The wounds Taj had inflicted in a short period of time were precise and deliberate.

T’Challa took a step back to rethink his strategy. Taj had parried all his attacks with one sword while the other did the damage. And furthermore T’Challa realized what was different about Taj’s fighting ability on this occasion.

“He fights as though he is at peace. When we first clashed he was all power and fury. That’s why it was so easy to read his moves. But the calmness he displays hides all his intentions,” thought T’Challa.

Nonetheless the Black Panther had a plan. He charged into Taj expecting the reformed man to block the attack with one sword and strike with the other. It occurred but this time T’Challa struck at an angle that allowed him to somersault over Taj.

In mid air, T’Challa grabbed Taj’s face with his free hand and pulled the man backwards as he landed. With Taj arching backward, T’Challa had the opportunity to attack the man’s sword hands. He clipped the handles with his blade forcing Taj to drop the weapons.

T’Challa could have killed Taj then and there by using the claws in the gloves to tear into the man’s face. But he did not. The unorthodox hold also meant that Taj’s neck would break if he struggled.

“Enough,” said T’Challa authoritatively.

“All right,” Taj managed to say.

T’Challa believed him. He gradually released Taj and the man stood properly.

“You’ve beaten me again,” he said while straightening his coat.

“Return the missiles. You can’t hold the region to ransom,” said T’Challa.

“I still don’t agree.”

Suddenly T’Challa heard the galloping of a horse.

“Him again,” muttered T’Challa.

There was an explosion of fire like a portal directly next to T’Challa and Taj. The Soul Strangler rushed out with a flaming noose in one hand.

“There you are,” he said.

T’Challa thought it was him and attempted to dodge. But it was Taj the creature was after. It captured the man around the neck and yanked hard on the flaming rope. Taj gasped.

Another portal of fire emerged in front of the Soul Strangler and the red horse leapt into it before T’Challa reacted. Then the gateway closed.

“Taj,” shouted T’Challa.

Ororo came overhead. “What’s the matter. Where is he?”

“The Soul Strangler took him,” replied T’Challa.

“Are they working together?”

“It does not appear so.”

Ororo sensed that T’Challa had developed an admiration for Taj and was disappointed that the man was taken.

“He might be even be dead by now,” thought Ororo as she landed next to T’Challa.

She looked at the other combatants. “How do we treat with them?”

“We’ll give them to the International Criminal Court,” said T’Challa and he felt weakened from his wounds.

Soon he and Ororo returned to Wakanda and they informed the international community that Taj no longer posed a threat but the warheads were still missing. And T’Challa vowed to get the Soul Strangler.

Chapter Ten

Sabra was conflicted. There was the struggle between her emerging feelings for Hashim and her national duty.

She looked aimlessly around the underground bunker the government had placed her in. She had missed the attack on the superhuman headquarters when she was aiding Hashim.

However her superiors were suspicious as to the reason she went AWOL while the country was being attacked. That forced her to reveal the secret to a superior she trusted. But he said something that bothered her.

“Don’t you think he may be involved in the attack. By drawing you out. Our most powerful asset, the headquarters was left exposed to that level of attack. Sometimes you have to think with your mind and not with the heart,” the superior had said.

Nevertheless he promised to keep the reason for the AWOL a secret.

The notion that Hashim tricked her made Sabra angry. And she wanted to see him to get the truth. Still there was no way of getting in contact with Ororo. The country was on a war footing and she was to remain out of sight until needed. Moreso she was the country’s last functioning superhuman weapon.

Meanwhile in Wakanda, Hashim was worried about Sabra’s safety. Not knowing if the person who had saved him was even alive made him sad. T’Challa had told him the Israeli government were not giving out any details about the status of their superhumans.

“God help her,” he whispered. “Wherever she is.”

Chapter Eleven

Baron Zorba surveyed the twenty-six nuclear warheads while the Soul Strangler looked on.

The Baron was six foot four, in formidable physical shape and was in his mid forties. He stood watching the weapons as he planned the scheme to use them.

Suddenly he broke the silence, “Today I watched the kings of the Earth when this incident occurred. They made speeches and threats. They were full of themselves. I will humble them.”

The Soul Strangler smiled. “I knew you could be counted on. Do as much damage as you can,” he said.

“Oh I intend to. The first warhead should go off by this time tomorrow,” said the Baron calmly.

“I’ll be waiting,” said the Soul Strangler and he vanished like a ghost.

He emerged from a portal in the dimension called Limbo. The sky was in a constant twilight and the landscape was barren and rocky.

The Soul Strangler turned to his prisoner, Taj. The man was tied with burning ropes to a stone post. His face was bloodied from the punches it had received from the Soul Strangler.

“I found the weapons,” said the creature. “And one of my servants shall use them to rain down terror on the Earth.”

Next Story: Kings of the Earth Part I

www.blogsurfer.us

In his 1970 work, The Late Great Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey claims that the complex system of dispensationalism he professes simply ‘falls out’ of a plain reading of the Bible; it requires little theological education and no knowledge of the dispensational theories of others – though he is quick to assure readers that he does actually have formal theological training. On his biblical interpretation, he claims to be doing nothing more than “diligently [seeking] to follow” the plain sense of the biblical text. He quotes David L. Cooper’s 1940 work, When Gog’s Armies Meet the Almighty in the Land of Israel:

“When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word as its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.”

Another well-known author of some of the most popular Christian fiction ever written, Tim LaHaye, adheres to the same idea, calling this sentiment of Cooper’s “the golden rule of biblical interpretation.”

However, it is possible to trace the development and transmission of these ideas right back to John Nelson Darby.

John Nelson Darby has been called the “father or dispensationalism.” While he was not the first to explicate the idea of dispensationalism, it was he who expanded on and developed the complicated theory of salvation history, which identifies a series of epochs following one another in a linear fashion. He was also the first to solidify the concept of the rapture of the church, based on 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Darby had significant influence on Cyrus Scofield’s beliefs during the Bible Prophecy Conference movement throughout North America at the end of the nineteenth century, and there is no doubt that Scofield borrowed copiously from Darby while writing his annotated Reference Bible.

Where does the trail lead from there? Scofield became a close friend and colleague of Lewis Chafer, who went on to found the Evangelical Theological College, which would eventually become the Dallas Theological Seminary. Chafer taught at Dwight L. Moody’s Northfield School in Massachusetts from 1902-1910. During this time, he came into contact with Scofield, who, fresh from the Bible Prophecy Conference movement of the late 1800s, encouraged Chafer’s development as a theologian and preacher. Chafer explicates in an article in Sunday School Times, published in March, 1923, that Scofield was profoundly instrumental in his adoption of his dispensationalism.

In 1924 Chafer, founded the Evangelical Theological College. In 1936 it underwent a name-change to become Dallas Theological Seminary and Graduate School of Theology, finally becoming simply the Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) in 1969. Its first students were a small group of only thirteen that were taught under the guidance of Chafer, who presided over the school from 1924 until 1952, at which point John Walvoord took over as president. Walvoord and Chafer were like-minded colleagues that shared many similar ideas. In 1926, Chafer wrote one of his most significant publications, Major Bible Themes, of which Walvoord revised and updated in 1974. During Walvoord’s presidency at DTS, who else but Hal Lindsey attended the institute, and it was here, under the direction of Walvoord and his staff that Lindsey solidified his pretribulational, premillennial dispensationalism.

The final link in this chain is Tim LaHaye. While LaHaye never credits Lindsey for any of his ideas, it is clear that he has relied on large parts of The Late Great Planet Earth for his writing of Left Behind. While reading The Late Great Planet Earth, there are clear similarities between the two authors’ work: from Lindsey’s account of modern warfare during the Tribulations and LaHaye’s description of World War Three, to the words of LaHaye’s main protagonist, Rayford Steel, on his learning of his wife’s disappearance in the rapture – “Rayford had to direct people to the Bible… he had begun taking [his wife’s] Bible everywhere he went, reading it wherever possible;” compared with Lindsey’s, “I’m going to find myself a Bible and read those very verses my wife underlined. I wouldn’t listen to her when she was here…” Compare Lindsey’s account of a football game, “It was the last quarter of the championship game…only one minute to go and they fumbled – our quarterback recovered…when – zap – no more quarterback – completely gone, just like that!” with LaHaye’s soccer game, “most of the spectators and all but one of the players disappeared in the middle of play, leaving their shoes and uniforms on the ground.” Though these similarities may seem coincidental, when reading the two books simultaneously, the parallels between the books are striking, especially in the depictions of the events that occur during the Tribulations.

Although neither Lindsey nor LaHaye ever explicitly deny that their ideas stem from this tradition, they are both self-deceived in their belief that the ideas they profess are merely interpretations of “the plain sense” of the biblical text.

The Bad Boys of Prophecy

www.newprophecy.net

Much of the framework of all prophecy is found in two prophetic books—the books of Daniel and Revelation. But only in Revelation do we find events of various other prophecies correlated in order of time sequence” It actually details events leading to the return of Jesus Christ; events symbolized by seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials. before I begin, I will visually lay out the story flow of the Book of Revelation:

Book Of Revelation Story Flow

7 Seals:

1. False prophets
2. War
3. Famine
4. Pestilence – these first 4 seals are the 4 horsemen of (Rev. 6:1-8)
5. Tribulation – (Rev. 6:9-11)
6. Heavenly Signs – (Rev. 6:12-14)
7. 7 Trumpets – beginning of the Day of the Lord

• 1st trumpet - Injury to the earth – (Rev. 8:7)
  
• 2nd trumpet - Injury to the sea – (Rev. 8:8-9)
  
• 3rd trumpet - Injury to rivers – (Rev. 810-11)
  
• 4th trumpet - Injury to heavenly lights – (Rev. 8:12)
  
• 5th trumpet or 1st woe – attack of beast power – (Rev. 9:1-12)
• 6th trumpet or 2nd woe – Asian counter strike – (Rev. 9:13-19)
• 7th trumpet or third woe – Seven Last Plaques

1. Sores on those who accept the mark of the beast (Rev. 16:2)
2. Sea turns to blood and all sea creatures die (Rev. 16:3)
3. Rivers turn to blood (Rev. 16:4-7)
4. Sun scorches humanity (Rev. 16:8-9)
5. Beast’s seat of government afflicted (Rev. 16:10-11)
6. Euphrates dries up, armies gather at Armageddon (Joel 3:9-17, Rev. 16:12-16)
7. Great earthquake and hail (Rev. 16:17-21)
   

The  seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials portray a progression of catastrophic plagues God will inflict on mankind. These three world shaking events summed up are:

1. The Great Tribulation
2. The heavenly signs in the sun and moon and stars (immediately following the Tribulation)
3. The Day of the Lord

So let’s break these down in order.

The Great Tribulation (the first of three world shaking events)

The first four seals in Revelation 6:1-8 are:

1. False religion
2. War
3. Famine
4. Pestilence

These lead to the fifth seal, the Great Tribulation—the time of Satan’s wrath – described in Revelation 6:9-11 and other prophecies. The Tribulation  will last for 2½ years.

The Heavenly Signs (the second of three world shaking events)

In Revelation 6:12-14 it says:

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”

The heavenly signs signify the sixth seal of Revelation 6:12-14.

The Day Of The Lord (the third of three world shaking events)

This is the Day of the Lord—the time of God’s wrath, when God punishes mankind for their rebellion against Him and His government with plagues. Here he is trying to bring all sinners (who survive the previous disasters) to repentance (verses 15-17).

The Day of the Lord lasts for one year, but it is NOT the last year of the 3½-year period we read of, and is NOT a part of the Great Tribulation. It is a combination of the Great Tribulation, the Heavenly Signs and the Day of the Lord which collectively make up the 3½‑year period called “a time, and times, and half a time” (Revelation 12:14).

The beginning of the day of the Lord is at the opening of the seventh and final seal:

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets” (Revelation 8:1-2).

These seven trumpet blasts occur after the seventh seal is opened during the Day of the Lord. They symbolize plagues sent from God as He intervenes in the affairs of mankind! This is the result of people refusing to listen to God and repent of their sins.

• The first four trumpet blasts of Rev. 8 destroy the environment, making living conditions on Earth unbearable.

• The fifth trumpet (also called the first woe) signifies world domination by a European beast power. Daniel 11:40 (speaking of the first woe) speaks of a clash (in this end time) between that European empire (the King of the North) and the King of the South, a radical Middle Eastern power (modern Iran).

Verses 40-41 speak of the Great Tribulation, when this European Beast Power will enter into the glorious land (called Israel today) and overthrow many nations. However, the spectacular military success of the beast power in the Middle East will be short lived:

“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him …” (verse 44). If we see the modern nation of Israel as a reference point, we have to look north and east on a map, coming directly to Russia and China!

After destroying the radical Middle eastern power (King of the South), the beast power (King of the North), will be troubled by China and Russia in the east and north. This scripture is speaking of a massive clash between these two world superpowers, with the king of the north launching a preemptive strike against the Asian foe:

“Therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.”

This attack (the first woe of Rev. 9:1-11) is described as the beginning of all-out war between these two superpowers to determine world rule. The biblical language used is symbolic, because the apostle John had to use terminology of his day to describe technology of the future.

For example, verses 3 and 7-10 state that locusts “came upon the Earth with power in their tails like a scorpion.” This could merely be describing modern military helicopters firing missiles during an all out, five month military attack on the inhabitants of the earth. All is spearheaded by the devil, as verse 11 actually explains the king over these soldiers is Abaddon or Apollyon, which are names of Satan.

The Second Woe

Continuing in Revelation 9:

• The sixth trumpet of verses 12-13 (also called the second woe) sounds. Four angels are released specifically to amass an almost incomprehensibly large, 200-million-man army (verses 15-16).

Most Bible critics argue that it would be impossible to assemble an army this size. But the current population in China is over 1.3 billion. Russia has 142 million, India with 1.1 billion people has the fourth-largest army in the world. Japan, the nations of Southeast Asia, and the former Soviet republics could all be probable participants in this alliance. Adding up the populations, there will easily be a total approaching 3 billion people from which to make up an army of 200 million! It is hardly unrealistic to think these combined countries could not muster an army of 200 million men.

Joel 2:4 also speaks of this Asiatic force (there called God’s army) during what is titled an event in the Day of the Eternal. It is actually God who will inspire it to wreak havoc on the European beast power with a counterattack and obliterate it. The end result is the death of “the third part of men” (Revelation 9:15). Of course such a scenario has never transpired and it takes the awesome destructive power of modern super-weapons to achieve such carnage.

Babylon Falls

Jeremiah 50 also adds details to this story, now calling the political-religious system of the King of the North by the name of Babylon, though historically it was known as the “Holy” Roman Empire.

In verse 3, God says He will bring a nation out of the North which will make it desolate. Again, the massive Asiatic counterattack will overwhelm the beast power. This is the second woe.

And verse 9 states that it will be an assembly o many nations, which could only be Russia and China, along with various other nations which will join this power bloc. The devastating collapse of the Babylonian system, the beast power, is further described in Revelation 18:2-19.

These Russians and Chinese armies will be ruthless. To “slay the third part of men”, there can be no doubt that they will attack with nuclear weapons! In verse 15, God says this act is His vengeance, because the people of this beast power have sinned against him (Revelation 18:5-6). Revelation 18 and Jeremiah 50:29 show that Babylon is destroyed in the space of one hour!

Unbelievably, the last two verses of Revelation 9  reveal just how hard-headed and stubborn man can be, even after such severe correction, as those not killed continue on with their lives, unrepentant of their idol worship, their murders, fornication, thefts and so on (verses 20-21). Even after most of the Earth’s population has been personally afflicted by nuclear war and complete destruction, they still are not willing to turn to God and His law!

The Third Woe

Revelation 11:14-15 now speaks of the third woe. Two of the three woes are complete and after that, the kingdoms of this world are to become God’s Kingdom. Christ will return, and God’s government will again take over the Earth.

But even after all the destruction, verse 18 says the nations will be angry and wrathful toward Christ. Can you believe that? And now what’s left of the beast power and of Asia will actually gather to fight against Christ at the last trumpet. This battle is described in great detail throughout Revelation 15 and 16.

The final trumpet blast is divided into seven vials of God’s wrath—the last seven plagues (Revelation 15:1, 6), sent upon mankind because of their hard-headedness. In Revelation 16:12, God dries up the Euphrates River to prepare the way for these armies to gather near Jerusalem (in a place called Armageddon, verse 16). There they will turn their attention toward their one common enemy—the King of kings—Jesus Christ.

There is wonderfully good news in the midst of all these horrors. Both of these armies will gather at Armageddon to fight each other, but will end up fighting Christ at His Second Coming! The armies will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them (Revelation 17:12-14). The conclusion of that battle will mark the beginning of a new, peaceful age for the whole Earth!

Ezekiel’s Prophecy

Ezekiel also tells us about yet another burst of rebellion to spring from northeast of Jerusalem, with the Millennium only just begun. As unbelievable as it sounds, the people of Asia will muster their forces for one final attempt to overthrow Christ’s rule!

Reading Ezekiel chapter 34, we find that, after the Day of the Lord, God will gather His sheep—those enslaved Israelites left alive after the Day of the Lord—and rescue them from captivity. This is when God will remove the spiritual blindness from their eyes and they will seek God’s ways. God’s Kingdom will be set up to finally establish lasting peace (Isaiah 11:11; Romans 11:25-26; Micah 4:2-3).

Dozens of prophecies refer to the end-time descendants of Israel being scattered around the world during the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. But Ezekiel 36 pictures the remnant of Israel returning to the land God originally promised them, to one place.

Ezekiel 37:15 begins to speak of Israel and Judah as two sticks united together after Christ’s return. God will take them from among the heathen and make them one nation (verse 22), with a resurrected, spirit-born King David being king over Israel (verse 24).

Chapter 37 also  speaks of a prophecy referred to as the valley of dry bones. Much of it pictures a literal fleshly resurrection of those who had long since died, never knowing the truth. This resurrection occurs at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ.

What happens to Gog and Magog (the Asiatic Nations)?

The Russians and Chinese are used to punish the beast power just before Christ returns, but as a result, they too become proud and haughty, therefore needing correction from God. He even tells these nations to prepare for a coming battle with Him (verse 7), after Christ’s return. God prophecies against Gog and Magog , stating that His anger is against them (Ezekiel 38:2-3).

How do we know this? Notice that verse 8 says Israel has been “brought back from the sword.” Here the people of Israel are dwelling peacefully (verse 11). It is the remnant of the Asiatic hordes of the battle of Armageddon (who were not killed) which descend upon the glorious land a short time after it has been occupied by the re-gathered Israelites. It will only be a land of villages at this point early on in the Millennium. Gog and Magog will see how God has blessed His people and will target the people of Israel as easy spoil in a blessed and undefended land!

Now think about this, because it really makes the mind reel. Even after Christ returns, there will not be peace immediately. There will still exist those who haven’t submitted to God’s law and government. They will learn the “hard way” that God’s system is fair and equitable and that they must submit to it to be blessed. Imagine, having to force people to be happy.

Yet that is exactly what the Bible says God does. Only one sixth of those who come to attack Israel will live through the battle, even though the y have been pre-warned (Ezekiel 39:7). The number of dead will be incalculable, and the people of Israel will be called upon to bury the fallen fighters. “And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land” (verse 12).

According to Ezekiel 38 and 39, this is the last great rebellion this Earth will experience for 1,000 years! Then, at the end of the Millennium when Satan is loosed for a little season, and there will be another—Revelation 20:7-9. Through both of these, God will not only defend and deliver His people, but He will prove that He fights and wins our battles for us.

God will make sure that His wrath is felt and witnessed throughout all the Earth (Ezekiel 38:18-20). He will have the nations of Gog and Magog destroy themselves (verse 21). Only through  blood, pain and suffering will God finally have all skeptics—those who do not accept Christ’s rule; those who do not know God, come to the understanding that He is the Eternal.

And here’s the rub. God wants us to choose life, not death! He does not like to see anyone suffer. Only those who stand with God now in complete obedience will not have to suffer in the future.

One of the few fringe benefits of going out on your own is you get to catch up on a lot of games that have been moldering away in your “to play” pile forever. Given that my gaming history stretches back to 1977 though, that means that my “to play” pile includes titles that first came out on floppy discs back in the Clinton era. That’s why I like Gog.com. They’re a startup company that takes old games and makes them workable on modern hardware and sells them pretty damned cheap. Ever tried getting a really old DOS game to run on Windows XP or Vista that you’ve downloaded? Yeah, me too and I have the tear-stained t-shirts and furrows in my desk to prove it. That’s why I’m starting “GoG Thursday.” I’m going to pick out something on GoG.com that I’ve either never played and blast through it or something I have and talk about why it’s still awesome. And no. I’m not getting paid for this, although that would be nice.

This week’s GoG Thursday is the just released “Realms of Arkania 1 & 2″, the first two installments of an RPG series that never got the attention it was really due in North America. the games are based off a stat-intensive RPG series still popular in Germany called Die Schwarze Auge or “The Dark Eye,” a kind of Teutonic answer to Dungeons & Dragons. The Dark Eye series is a fairly standard RPG universe that becomes special in the way harks back to Tolkien’s inspiration in Germanic folklore. Orcs and goblins for example, are furry savage beastmen that haunt the forest rather than the pseudo primitive tribesmen that they usually are in modern fantasy. It’s also a pretty low-magic universe where enchantment is rare and special rather than a substitute for technology.

The first two games in the series will come as a bit of a shock to anyone whose RPG experience only stretches back as far as Bethesda’s Oblivion. Realms of Arkania is old-school RPG time with loads of stats for everything under then sun — including a characters personality traits. They all mix and match in a variety of ways to determine the player’s success at everything. That means if you’re not into min/maxing a character or delving deep into stats and math, you’re going to find this a really difficult game. If you’re not afraid of a little work though, there’s nothing better than this series for the obsessively nerdy RPG player. Back in the day, I lost WAY too much of my youth digging through really well-designed dungeons and battling the monsters in these games. Of the two, the second game in the series — Star Trail — is better. You really don’t have to play them in order to appreciate them though. Whichever one you start with, you won’t be disappointed.

               In a stunning reversal of US Policy, the Obama Administration scraped the Eastern European Missile Shield to appease the Russian Strongman; Vladimir Putin.  Obama has stabbed Poland and the Czechoslovakia in the back in a transparent move to appease the Russians in advance of his upcoming meeting with President Medvedev.  During the Russian war of aggression against Georgia during the Olympics the Poles and the Czechs bravely agreed to allow the placement of a new missile defense system on their territory.  The Russians immediately placed both countries on their enemies list and unleashed a torrent of verbal abuse on both nations even while continuing to intimidate the Ukraine and beat up the Georgians. 

At the time, it was stated that the missile shield was necessary to protect against rogue nations like Iran, but everyone knew that it was to counter the growing Russian belligerence in the region. Russia goes ballistic whenever its formerly subjugated states indicate they would rather risk their existence as a people, and a nation, to join NATO rather than continue under Russian tyranny. 

Poland is already in NATO but they were told any such installation on Polish soil would be target number one for Russian Nuclear Weapons in the event of war. 

Nations such as the Ukraine and Georgia risk their freedom to try and join NATO because the Russians are quite willing to use force to keep them in their zone of terror.  The Polish President refused to accept a call from Obama, and later refused to accept a call from the senate confirmed Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.  I’ve seen no public reports as to whether the Poles talked to the “Foreign Policy Czar” or the “Polish Czar” or the “Betrayal Czar” (We have so many Czars it’s difficult to know who’s really running the show in any given arena of policy since the cabinet, like the constitution and the congress,  is just for show these days.) 

            In essence Obama has ceded all of Eastern Europe to Russia’s dream of reconstituting the old Soviet Empire. Imagine a criminal thug-ocracy of a new and economically improved Russia taking over the Soviet Empire of satellite states and “spheres of influence” consisting of puppet states run by and for the Kremlin. 

Not since Yalta has the world seen such a foolhardy betrayal and sacrifice of a vast section of eastern Europeans; who believe in freedom and democracy far more than the current President of the United States.  At Yalta, Roosevelt was exhausted from the Great Depression, World War II, and having been elected for 4 terms as president.  It begs the question: What’s Obama’s Excuse for this stunning and incompetent display of weakness and appeasement before a wanabe dictator like Putin?

Barak Husain Obama has just dashed the hopes of freedom for all for all of Eastern Europe and has clearly demonstrated that, not only won’t we fight for them; we won’t lift a finger for them.  With friends like the United States, and NATO:  the Eastern Europeans would be well advised to make the best deal they can with Putin and end resistance to Russian demands. This action serves to underline what Obama proved with his earlier betrayal of Israel in the face of the Iranian threat:  The United State under the Obama Administration can’t be believed or counted on and all of our allies are now very much on their own.  The Lights are on in the White House but there’s nobody home.

Obama seems so preoccupied with remaking the United States into a Socialist State that he can’t be bothered with foreign policy until it becomes a crisis. The world has long accepted the view that if Hitler had been stopped at Munich and not appeased by the world powers then World War II may well have been avoided.  Obama’s shameful betrayal of Easter Europe is the “Munich” of our times and it’s quite likely we will see the same results. 

Putin must be overjoyed by now…..

That’s right, one of the greatest adventure games of all time came to Good Old Games. If you haven’t played it yet, now is the time to remedy that. April Ryan is one of my all time favorite characters in gaming. With an epic fantasy plot, characters you’ll love, amazing voice acting and a lot of laugh out-loud moments The Longest Journey will make you sad at times. The game managed to move me like no game before it. So go buy and play already. Below a taste of the prologue. Give you a good sense of April Ryan, and pangs of nostalgia if you’ve already played the game.

• Para felicidade dos apreciadores de boa música residentes ou de passagem pela capital baiana, muita coisa vai acontecer no próximos dias. Confere:

EMICIDA em Salvador, na primeira edição da GuettoStar, nesta sexta

- Um dia antes, na Quinta Dancehall Especial, Bnegão SoundSystem (RJ) e Ministereo Público, na Zauber, 21h. R$15 para os homens, R$10 para as mulheres.

- No domingo, dia 20, tem Retrofoguetes no Parque da Cidade, às 11h, de graça!

- Ainda no domingo, algumas horas depois:

Festival Virgem, em Camaçari

- Dia 24, mais Quinta Dancehall, dessa vez com o Ministereo Público lançando o CD, Sistema de Som Perambulante.

- Sexta feira, 25, é dia de Nancy e os Nunca Vistos, Arrigo Barnabé, Jards Macalé e Mariela Santiago, na Praça Tereza Batista Pelourinho.

- Dia 26 tem show de Céu (SP), na Concha Acústica e Coléra (SP) mais diversas bandas locais, na cidade de Simões Filho.

- Em setembro ainda tem o rapper GOG, de Brasília, e o grupo local, Opanijé, no Snkofa African Bar, Pelourinho. Data a confirmar.

- Outubro começa com esse aqui:

Shows do MC Gasper (GO), Otra Vidda e Versu2, 10 de outubro

- Segue com esse:

Lançamento do cd, Pacheco, da Jonas, com as bandas Zander (RJ) e Rótulo (SE)

- E, no dia seguinte, 17-10, tem Lumpen, Hoje Você Morre, Rancor e mais bandas, no Grind Hardcore Night, na Praça do Reggae, Pelourinho.

Ainda no dia 17-10 e ainda no Pelô, você sobe um pouco mais suas famosas ladeiras e, na Praça Tereza Batista, estará acontecendo as apresentações  dos três melhores nomes do rap baiano atual, na opinião do PONTE: Daganja, O Quadro e Versu2, além do recifense Buguinha Dub.

- Nos dias 23, 24 e 25 de outubro, acontece o aguardado Festival Big Bands, também na Tereza Batista. Nomes como Black Drawing Chalks (GO), Frank Jorge(RS) e Yun Fat estão na programação do festival, que ainda terá entrada gratuita.

- Em novembro ainda acontece a reunião de alguns dos melhores nomes do reggae contemporâneo, como S.O.J.A. (EUA), Ponto de Equilíbro (RJ), Edson Gomes e Mato Seco (SP), num mesmo festival.

This is the kind of deal making and last ditch diplomatic moves before a major conflict begins.  The Jerusalem Post has confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a clandestine trip to Russia according to a Kremlin spokesman.  Nothing is known of the subject matter, or of the officials involved but the probability is that it involved the situation in Iran and perhaps Syria.  It was staged without knowledge of, nor coverage of the press corps, and without the trappings of an official state visit.  A leased Jet supposedly took the prime minister on this cloak and dagger mission and no information of any meaningful nature has been released by either government to a hoodwinked press corp.

You need not be Einstein to conclude that time is rapidly running out on Middle East peace.  If Middle East Oil is interdicted or facilities destroyed by a regional war the economic effects could be catastrophic throughout the world.  Israel has no option at all and must attack or be destroyed by an Iranian Nuclear Bomb and the fact that hush-hush meetings are taking place between Russia and the Prime Minister of Israel can only mean that the day of reckoning is close at hand.

Kremlin official confirms PM’s trip

Sep. 9, 2009
Herb Keinon and jpost staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

A senior Kremlin official confirmed Wednesday to the Russian paper Kommersant that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did indeed make a clandestine trip to Russia on Monday.

Commenting on the visit, the official said that “this kind of development could only be related to new and threatening information on Iran’s nuclear program.”

The Russian newspaper quoted experts speculating that such a trip would only be justified under extraordinary circumstances, “for example, in the case of Israel planning to attack Iran.”

The report comes despite a statement Wednesday from the Kremlin press service that “nothing is known” about reports of the visit. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, also said he had no information, the Interfax news agency reported.

Nevertheless, there was never any official denial of the report from Moscow.

On Wednesday night, the Prime Minister’s Office appeared to stick to its original version of events: that Netanyahu was occupied with “secret and classified activities” during his unexplained absence of over 12 hours.

The PMO announced that Military Secretary to the Prime Minister Lt.-Gen. Meir Kalifi was not in contact with the prime minister.

According to the announcement, Kalifi undertook an independent initiative to safeguard these activities, and National Security Adviser Uzi Arad had no part in the affair.

Earlier Wednesday, the office neither explicitly confirmed nor denied a story that appeared in Yediot Aharonot claiming that Netanyahu had flown to Russia to talk about planned Russian arms sales to Iran.

Instead, Netanyahu’s spokesmen referred reporters back to the statement issued Monday evening amid a swirl of rumors that Netanyahu had gone abroad.

That statement, oddly released in the name of Kalifi and not in the name of spokesman Nir Hefetz, said, “The prime minister is visiting a security installation in Israel today.”

Asked explicitly if Netanyahu had left the country, another Netanyahu spokesman, Mark Regev, referred back to that statement.

That statement, however, did not rule out the possibility of a trip abroad, since after briefly visiting a security installation, Netanyahu could very well have flown overseas.

Faced with anger from the Israeli press that the Prime Minister’s Office had lied about Netanyahu’s whereabouts, Channel 2 reported Kalifi saying Wednesday night that, “in matters of national security, I take the prerogative of not saying the whole truth.”

Hefetz reportedly refused to issue Monday evening’s statement in his name because he was unable to confirm its veracity.

The whole mysterious episode has focused the spotlight on a reported fissure inside the Prime Minister’s Office, with Kalifi and Arad on one side, and Hefetz and Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser on the other.

According to various new reports on Wednesday, Netanyahu – who was reportedly accompanied by Kalifi and Arad on the reported trip – leased a private jet from Merhav, a company owned by Israeli mogul Yossi Maiman, one of the shareholders of Channel 10 and EMG, an Egyptian company supplying gas to the Israel Electric Corp.

This was apparently done to make the trip as discrete as possible, since using an Israel Air Force jet – it was apparently thought – would have raised the suspicions of the Israeli media.

Maiman was reportedly not directly involved in leasing the jet, as this was done through a company he owns.

Senior Foreign Ministry officials, meanwhile, denied any knowledge of the trip, saying that Israel’s envoy in Moscow was also not appraised of it.

What is almost as mysterious as whether the trip took place, is what might have been discussed, with speculation focused on Iran, possible Russian arms deals to Iran and Syria, or the disappearance of the Arctic Sea cargo ship – suspected of carrying Russian made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles bound for Iran – that went missing last month.

The trip, if indeed it took place, would not have been the result of an impromptu, emergency decision, since there was already talk among Netanyahu’s inner circle during his visit to London and Berlin two weeks ago about a possible visit to Russia ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting at the end of the month.

Interestingly, almost exactly two years ago, then-prime minister Ehud Olmert paid a lightning visit to Moscow to meet with then-Russian president Vladimir Putin, a day after the Russian leader returned from a trip to Teheran in which he warned outside powers not to attack Iran and said there was no evidence it was developing nuclear arms.

Back then, the Prime Minister’s Office tried to dissociate Olmert’s trip from Putin’s statements in Iran, but it was clear from the snap manner in which that meeting at the Kremlin was organized and announced that the Iranian nuclear issue would dominate the discussion.

At that time, however, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement a day ahead of the trip, informing the media of the visit, even though they were not invited to cover it.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1251804532464&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
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Due to a lot of things involving real life stuff I haven’t been spending enough time with videogames lately. The few moments I get is mostly spent on the PC and GOG.com’s great arsenal of old titles.

• Heroes of Might & Magic
• Heroes of Might & Magic 2 Gold
• Heroes of Might & Magic 3 Complete
• Giants: Citizen Kabuto
• Fallout

I probably rant enough of my love for the Heroes series, but I can’t stop playing them. I love that type of turn-based strategy games. Two more games to hit my PC gaming que is Giants and Fallout, both of which I picked up from GOG’s great 1 year anniversary Interplay sale (which is still going on).

These will probably keep my gaming needs down for a while, but The Beatles: Rock Band is lurking in the shadows. Time and money will tell if I pick it up.

Until next time, play your games!