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| American Airlines Flight Collides with Helicopter in Washington | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, DC Jan. 29, 2025 - Added at press time, we have the collision of a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 helicopter with American Eagle Flight No. 5342 carrying 50 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Wichita, Kansas. Read more... |
| Deadly Los Angeles Fire
Toll Rises to 29 | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Los Angeles, CA. Jan. 27, 2025 - At least 29 people died as a result of wild fires that were fueled by severe drought and strong winds. Thousands of firefighters fought the infernal across 45 square miles of densely populated Los Angeles County. Read more... |
| Thousands Return to Northern Gaza as Part of Ceasefire | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip Jan. 24, 2025 - There is a cease-fire deal which has concluded with the return of Gaza residents to the north for the first time since the beginning of the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas. Read more... |
| Tik-Tok Saved by Trump One
Day after Going Dark | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, DC Jan. 20, 2025 - Trump gave a reprieve by executive order to TikTok after it was already shut down. He gave it 75 more days to sell the app to an American company. Read more... |
| Trump Is Back | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, D.C. Jan. 20, 2025 - On this date, Donald Trump returned to power as the 47th president of the United States. In his inaugural address he promised that, “the golden age of America begins right now.” and “From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.” Read more... |
| Deadly Attacks in
New Orleans and Las Vegas | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | New Orleans, LA. Jan. 01, 2025 - On January 1st , Shamsud-Din Jabbar, an American=born resident of Houston Texas, drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street, in New Orleans. Fifteen people were killed, including the perpetrator. Fortunately, Police shot the attacker and prevented further deaths. Read more... |
| The House Passes a Stop-gap Budget Bill on the Evening of the Last Day | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, D.C. Dec. 20, 2024 - The House of Representatives passed a last ditch budget bill and sent it to the senate this evening which should pass in the senate without problems. The newest House proposal is a 118-page bill that contains most of the provisions that were put in place in the bipartisan bill that was agreed to on Wednesday. The bill includes $100 billion for disaster aid, $30 billion for farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill, provisions that were under heavy debate prior to this week's votes. Read more... |
| Rebels Take Syria as Fifty-Three Year Assad Family Reign Ends | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  Damascus, Syria Dec. 08, 2024 - Early this morning rebels took over Damascus and had the government turned over to them peacefully with Assad apparently nowhere to be found. It was reported that Assad's family had fled earlier to Russia and Russian state media reported that Assad himself landed in Moscow after having fled. This is a historic moment as the collapse of more than 53 years of al-Assad family rule has finally ended. (See Historical Background below.) The rule was marked by so much violence and hard rule, with any dissent being quashed to point of literally killing thousands of their own countryman, including the use of chemical weapons. This harsh rule began a civil war in 2011 that continued to this day as the people attempted to overthrow Assad. Only the help of Russian air forces, Iran and Hezbollah allowed him to continue his rule to date. However, with Russia's interest heavily vested in Ukraine and Hezbollah leadership destroyed and military forces seriously weakened by Israel recently in Lebanon, Syrian rebel forces were able to take the country.
Al-Jalali, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has taken a more moderate stance in the 10 days leading up to the capture of Damascus. Although he once had ties with Al-Qaeda and spent five years in American prisons in Iraq after fighting the Americans there, he has since denounce Al-Qaeda and taken a more Syrian nationalist approach to his rebel activities. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations, a designation Al-Jalali has been trying to get removed. During the recent ten days, he ordered his forces not to attack minority religions, such as Christians, and had them go around and tell Christians in occupied areas that they may celebrate Christmas. He also told forces to stay out of government offices until they were voluntarily relinquished to them. Perhaps this more moderate approach and his handling of Syria from this point forward will allow Al-Jilali to achieve his goal of normalcy.
President Joe Biden called it a "moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria" in his remarks at the White House today, according to NBC News. Celebrations broke out in Damascus after the fall of Assad.
Historical Background
Syria has always been viewed as an important geographical location subjecting it to conflicts throughout its history. Syria was a province of Rome in the first century AD and is mentioned ten times in the New Testament, as well as 108 times in the Old Testament (ESV). Syria and Cilicia together was a mission area for the early Christian church. Syria was a country in which the Greek language came together with the Syriac language, the latter being closely related to the Aramaic dialect used by Jesus and the Apostles. The Phoenicians of biblical times lived on the coast of ancient Syria and were the most skilled seamen of that era. Control of Syria passed to the Byzantines after the split of the Roman Empire. It was conquered by the Arab Rashidon army by AD 640 and fought over by various Muslim leaders and even a tribute nation of Mongols during the middle ages. Sections were held by French, English, Italian and German overlords during the Crusades. The Ottoman Empire controlled the region from the sixteenth century. After the Ottoman Empire chose the wrong side in World War I and was defeated, they lost control of the entire region. France and Great Britain had already begun parsing up the Middle East two years before the war ended, with France eventually taking control of Syria after many conflicts against local rulers. After the end of World War II, the Syrian Republic was founded in 1946, ending in constant upheaval. Beginning in 1949, there were a series of military coups. After the Suez Crisis of 1956, Syria signed a pact with the Soviet Union, which continued to influence the nation under Russia even as the bloc was broken up. Hafiz al-Assad controlled the military and eventually became the cult leader of the ruling Ba'athist party and turned the country into a totalitarian dictatorship, eventually succeeded by his son, Bashar al-Assad who took over the country in 2000 in an unopposed election. Syria's attack of the nation of Israel weakened it and eventually caused the loss of the Golan Heights in the south as a result of the Six-Day war in 1967. There was rioting in the years after Assad took over and Assad clamped down on any dissent. During the Spring 2011 attempt to overthrow his government, there were many reprisals. Assad is purported to have killed thousands of his own people, to include using chemical weapons. His support by Russian air forces, Iran and Hezbollah allowed him to continue in control, albeit with constant civil conflict throughout the country, until now. With Russia drawn to Ukraine and the defeat recently of Hezbollah leadership and forces in Lebanon, rebel forces where able to make a 10-day sweep to take Damascus and overthrow the Assad and end his tyrannical rule.
Commentary
I would like to begin with this from Ephesians 6:12:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (ESV)
For 53 years the al-Assad family ruled over Syria with an iron fist, including subjugation to the evil sphere of the Soviet Union and Putin's Russia to keep that power. When rulers make deals with the devil to stay in power, to the detriment of their own people, there eventually comes a price to pay. While Assad did not suffer the humiliation and execution of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and escaped to Russia, he finally lost the power he had committed so many sins to keep. While I am reluctant to say at this point that the new ruler(s) of Syria will be better, there are positive signs this will be so. The Syrian people did what was instructed in James 4:7, "Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (ESV)
Commentary from Larry Joe McDowell, Editor, Christian Press.
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| Texas State Board of Education Approves Bible Curriculum for K- 5 | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Austin, TX. Nov. 23, 2024 - CNN reports that public schools in Texas now have the option to teach a Christian biblical view as part of their K-5th grade curriculum. It is a part of the state developed curriculum called Bluebonnet Learning. School districts in Texas are autonomous in choosing their curriculum, however, the state offered $60 per student to accept this curriculum will be hard for most to turn down. Read more... |
| Matt Gaetz Withdraws Nomination | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, DC. Nov. 21, 2024 - ABC News announced today that former Rep. Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name for consideration for Attorney General in President-elect Donald Trump's upcoming administration. "I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday," Gaetz wrote in a post on X. "I appreciate their thoughtful feedback - and the incredible support of so many. Read more... |
| Mass Deportations Using the Military Confirmed by President-Elect Trump | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, DC. Nov. 18, 2024 - According to ABC News, President-elect Donald Trump confirmed he would declare a national emergency in order to implement his campaign promise of mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Trump replied on social media that such reports of using military assets was indeed "TRUE!!!". Read more... |
| Trump Pick for Attorney General Will Be Challenged by Both Parties | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, DC. Nov. 18, 2024 - President elect Trump's pick for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is seen as a surprisingly poor choice by members of both major political parties. He was under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct and possible illegal drug use, as well as other issues by the House Ethics Committee. Read more... |
| Trump Declared Winner of the 2024 Election | | View on Our YouTube Channel |  | Washington, DC. Nov. 06, 2024 - The Associated Press declared Donald Trump the winner in Wisconsin at 5:34 am EST the day after the election, wrapping up his chances for the White House when it was determined that the remaining votes would not be enough to turn the tide towards Vice President Kamala Harris to overtake Trump. Trump had already swept the other two must-have states of Pennsylvania and Michigan in the "blue-wall" and Wisconsin sealed the deal. Read more... |
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