Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Speculation Concerning Israeli Pre - Emptive Strike on Iranian Nuclear Facilities Emerges
Dec 13th, 2014
Daily NewsProphecy News Watch
Categories: The Nation Of Israel

Speculation that Israel will launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities has emerged in the Israeli press, following the failure of international negotiators to reach a deal on the Tehran regime’s nuclear program by the agreed date of November 24.

Israeli website NRG says that in the event that current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wins the next parliamentary elections in March 2015, he will face the “difficult dilemma” of whether to strike at Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, one month before the next deadline for an agreement.

NRG emphasizes that the decision will be a fraught one, especially as military action is highly unlikely to gain the support of the Obama Administration, which regards a deal with Iran as vital to its political legacy. However, many Arab states, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, are deeply unhappy with the American-led negotiations, as they too regard the weaponization of Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat.

The NRG piece also quoted former leading Mossad official Haim Tomer as saying that the period leading up to July is the best time to increase sanctions on Iran, and not to reduce them. “The sanctions are being very effective, especially because of the drop in oil prices, and the economic collapse of Iran will force Iran to give up her dream,” Tomer said.

The talk of possible Israeli action – last seriously considered in 2011, before the current round of negotiations began – coincides with the revelation published in Foreign Policy by journalist Colum Lynch that Washington has “privately accused Iran of going on an international shopping spree to acquire components for a heavy-water reactor that American officials have long feared could be used in the production of nuclear weapons-grade plutonium.”

Lynch said that the White House has so far not acknowledged its displeasure with the Iranians publicly. But, Lynch said, the current objections “stand in stark contrast to recent remarks by Secretary of State John Kerry, who has repeatedly credited Tehran with abiding by the terms of the November 2013 pact, which bound Tehran to suspend some of its work at the Arak heavy-water reactor. ‘Iran has held up its end of the bargain,’ Kerry said last month in Vienna as he announced a seven-month extension of the timetable for big-power talks.”

Lynch observed: “The allegation is also sure to add to the mounting congressional unease over the administration’s ongoing talks with Tehran. Many lawmakers from both parties believe that the White House is making too many concessions to Tehran to cement a deal that it sees as central to the president’s legacy. With the GOP slated to take over the Senate next month, Iran hawks like Arizona Republican John McCain and Illinois Republican Mark Kirk are already promising to push through a new package of economic sanctions, a move that the White House believes would scupper the delicate talks with Tehran. Both men are likely to see the new U.N. allegations as proof that Tehran simply can’t be trusted to abide by the terms of a future deal.”

Separate research by the Institute for Science and International Security also documents a possible Iranian violation of its commitment to freeze its centrifuge research and development (R&D) program under the “Joint Plan of Action” (JPOA) agreed in Geneva last November. Restrictions on centrifuge R&D were tightened under the recent extension of the JPOA.

Commenting on the latest revelations, Rep Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced: “This regime is proving to be a determined cheater, showing no willingness to accept an effective verification regime. Despite Iran’s deceit and intransigence, the Administration’s optimistic talk goes on. We are on our second negotiations extension. Iran is not addressing our fundamental verification and enrichment concerns. It is well beyond time for more sanctions pressure.”

One in Five Babies Aborted in U.S.A.
Dec 13th, 2014
Daily NewsFriday Church News Notes, www.wayoflife.org,
Categories: Moral Decline

 According to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control, more than 200 babies were aborted for every 1,000 live births in 2011. “The CDC found that 730,322 mothers obtained an abortion. A report released by Planned Parenthood last year outlined that 333,964 of those abortions were performed by the abortion giant. The CDC found that the vast majority of women who obtained an abortion were unmarried, that is, they engaged in sexual activities outside of wedlock. ... ‘In 2011, adolescents aged … 15–19 years accounted for … 13.5% of all abortions,’ it outlined, ‘and had abortion rates of … 10.5 abortions per 1,000 adolescents aged … 15–19 years’” (“Over 200 Babies Are Aborted,” Christian News Network, Nov. 30, 2014).

Let the Headlines Speak
Dec 13th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

French parliament prepares new end-of-life legislation
Doctors in France will have the right to put terminally-ill patients into a deep sleep until they die, under plans unveiled on Friday that reignited a national debate on euthanasia.  

Indonesia landslide: Many missing in Java
At least 17 people have died and more than 90 are missing after a landslide on Indonesia's main island of Java. Heavy rain caused the landslide near Jemblung village in central Java. Rescuers have been searching for survivors but a lack of heavy equipment is hampering efforts, with many forced to dig with their bare hands.  

Mudslides and floods hit southern California
Heavy rains in southern California have triggered mudslides and flooding, killing one person and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes. The body was found in a drainage canal in a southern suburb of Los Angeles. Another hard-hit area was the town of Camarillo Springs, 50 miles (80km) north-west of Los Angeles, where a mudslide left 18 homes uninhabitable.  

US Senate backs further defence spending for anti-IS fight
The US Senate has approved a new annual defence bill expanding the military campaign against Islamic State (IS). The bill approves a general Pentagon budget of $496bn (£316bn) plus $64bn for US wars abroad. The measure also authorises the training and equipping of moderate Syrian rebel fighters for two years.  

FBI warns of possible Iranian cyber attack on US defense and energy institutions
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned US businesses to be on the alert for a sophisticated Iranian hacking operation whose targets include defense contractors, energy firms and educational institutions, according to a confidential agency document. The operation is the same as one flagged last week by cyber security firm Cylance Inc as targeting critical infrastructure organizations worldwide, cyber security experts said.  

Ukraine cheers US vote for military aid, Russia outraged
Ukraine on Friday welcomed a US bill that would allow Washington to provide lethal military assistance to the embattled country, but Russia expressed outrage at the "openly confrontational" legislation.  

Oil plunges again, reaches recession-level depths
Another forecast of weak global demand, another nosedive for oil. A 6-month rout in the price of oil accelerated this week, culminating in a 4 percent drop Friday — its third such drop in 5 days — to its lowest level since May of 2009, when the U.S. was still in recession.  

Update: 7 more states join lawsuit to stop Obama’s amnesty - total up to 24
Earlier this month we talked about a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General and Governor-elect Greg Abbott. The suit seeks to stop Obama’s amnesty actions before they’re implemented. At the time, 17 states had joined the suit.  

I Don’t Believe in Atheists–Neither Does God!
Most people have always done what they knew to be wrong and refused to do what they knew to be right proving the whole world is guilty before God. Faith in Christ satisfies the inner craving in every human heart that mere religion cannot satisfy.  

Enhanced Torture of Homeless Veterans
As we know, there’s been a flood of politicians and bureaucrats on TV, cable, radio, newspapers and Internet reporting that the CIA purportedly tortured a few terrorist enemy combatants, and the reporting has been pouring down with more inundation than a torrential monsoon. The incessant sympathy toward a few terrorist thugs whose sole mission is to destroy America and our citizenry is considered newsworthy because they were apparently subjected to a form of torment based on the CIA’s “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.”  

Falling Oil Prices Push Venezuela Deeper Into China's Orbit
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had a Plan B in the event the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries declined to back his country’s proposal to cut output to boost prices.  

Putin the Great, and the collapse of the Russian economy
In certain corners of conservative thought, it's been fashionable to portray Russian President Vladimir Putin as a master strategist who has outdueled Barack Obama at every turn. “The big problems are economic growth and the standard of living, which will deteriorate.”  

Getting High on Worship Music
Dec 13th, 2014
Commentaryfbns@wayoflife.org. - David Cloud
Categories: Contemporary Issues;Warning

A 2012 study by the University of Washington concluded that megachurches "provide the same biological 'high' and euphoria as that produced by sporting events and concerts" (Ecumenical News International, Aug. 21, 2012). The study, entitled "God Is Like a Drug: Explaining Interaction Ritual Chains in American Megachurches," was co-authored by Katie Corcoran and James Wellman. They attribute the worship "high" to the "upbeat modern music, cameras that scan the audience and project smiling, dancing, singing, or crying worshippers on large screens, and a charismatic leader whose sermons touch individuals on an emotional level." 

They believe that these things "trigger chemicals in the brain to give the individual an emotional 'high' and feeling of transcendence as well as a need to come back for another 'hit.'"

On a research visit to City Harvest Church, the largest church in Singapore, on February 8, 2003, I was reminded of the power of rock music to create the emotional high that contemporary worshipers are seeking. 

On Saturdays, City Harvest has two services, one at 4:30 p.m. and one at 7:30. I attended the 7:30 session. The music was pull-out-the-stops rock & roll and was the loudest I have ever heard in a megachurch or Christian conference, even though I have attended many of them for research purposes. City Harvest's music featured two drummers, electric guitars, a keyboard, and a powerful brass section. Several worship leaders, both male and female, swayed and pranced at the front of the stage. 

The massive auditorium was almost full and the people were very, very exuberant. As best as I could tell from my vantage point, almost every person joined in enthusiastically during the worship time, singing, clapping, jumping, swaying to the potent music. 

When I walked out of the auditorium and got away from the sound of the music, I actually felt a little lightheaded from not being accustomed to such loud, sensual music. It had been more than three decades since I last heard music that loud in an enclosed environment, and that was at a rock concert before I was saved. It was such a relief to get away from the relentless pounding. 

I am convinced that if you took away the rock music, churches like this would lose their large crowds almost instantly. Rock music is a drug in itself, and this generation is high on music.

ROCK MUSIC IS A DRUG

Timothy Leary, the '60s LSD guru, who was an expert both in drugs and in rock music, testified: "Don't listen to the words, it's the music that has its own message. ... I've been STONED ON THE MUSIC many times" (Politics of Ecstasy, 1968).

Leary was right, of course, about the hypnotic, addictive, incredibly sensual power of rock and roll. And notice that he IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE WORDS, but of the music itself, of the rhythm, the backbeat, the heavy relentless syncopation. 

Steven Tyler of Aerosmith said, "[Rock music] is the strongest drug in the world" (Rock Beat, Spring 1987, p. 23).

Neil Young said, "Rock 'n' roll is like a drug" (cited by Mickey Hart, Spirit into Sound). 

Italian composer Pietro Mascagni said, "Modern music is as dangerous as cocaine" (Slonimsky's Book of Musical Anecdotes). Mascagni was referring to jazz and the blues and the music that birthed rock & roll.

Janis Joplin likened rock music to "the best dope in the world" ("Janis Joplin Followed the Script," Wichita Eagle, Oct. 6, 1980, p. 7A).

ROCK MUSIC IS HYPNOTIC

Musician Andrew Salter observes, "Rock music is an IDEAL VEHICLE FOR INDIVIDUAL OR MASS HYPNOSIS" (Salter, cited from Pop Goes the Gospel, p. 20). 

Likewise, John Fuller, in his powerful book Are the Kids All Right, warned: "Rock music in particular has been demonstrated to be both powerful and addictive, as well as CAPABLE OF PRODUCING A SUBTLE FORM OF HYPNOSIS in which the subject, though not completely under trance, is still in a highly suggestive state" (Fuller, Are the Kids All Right? 1981). 

David Winter, in his book New Singer, New Song, observes: "An incessant beat does erode a sense of responsibility IN MUCH THE SAME WAY AS ALCOHOL DOES. ... You feel IN THE GRIP OF A RELENTLESS STREAM OF SOUND to which something very basic and primitive in the human nature responds." 

Indeed, rock music is powerful and addictive and is capable of producing forms of hypnosis, and who is to say that this is not precisely what is happening in the charismatic and evangelical rock and roll praise sessions?

ROCK MUSIC BREAKS THROUGH TO SPIRIT REALMS

No less an expert on rock music than Jimi Hendrix observed that it is hypnotic and that it connects people with a spirit realm, when he said: 

"Atmospheres are going to come through music, because the music is a spiritual thing of its own ... YOU HYPNOTIZE PEOPLE to where they go right back to their natural state [which, biblically speaking, is the fallen, sinful state]... People want release any kind of way nowadays. The idea is to release in the proper form. Then they'll feel like GOING INTO ANOTHER WORLD, a clearer world. The music flows from the air; that's why I CONNECT WITH A SPIRIT, and when they come down off THIS NATURAL HIGH, they see clearer, feel different things..." (Jimmy Hendrix, rock star, Life, Oct. 3, 1969, p. 74).

Please note, too, that Hendrix was not talking about the words of rock music, but the music itself. Much of Hendrix's rock music did not have words. 

The spirits with which Jimi Hendrix associated were demonic, as we know from the Bible. And his frank testimony, speaking, as it does, from beyond the grave, is a loud warning to "Christian rockers." What confusion and folly to think that we could take the same music that has allowed rockers to break through to demonic realms, "to the other side," as Jim Morris of the Doors put it, and incorporate that very music into the service of a completely different and holy realm of spiritual life!

ROCK MUSIC IS SEXUAL

Not only is rock music hypnotic, it is also sensual, sexual. 

How can music that has always been acclaimed by the world as sexual, all of the sudden become spiritual through the addition of some Christian words? 

Consider just a few of the hundreds of quotes that could be given. All of these are testimonies of secular rockers who have no agenda except to honestly describe the nature of rock music as they see it:

"The main ingredients in rock are ... sex and sass" (Debra Harry, Hit Parader, Sept. 1979, p. 31).

"Rock is the total celebration of the physical" (Ted Nugent, rock star, Rolling Stone, Aug. 25, 1977, pp. 11-13).

"That's what rock is all about--sex with a 100 megaton bomb, the beat!" (Gene Simmons of the rock group Kiss, interview, Entertainment Tonight, ABC, Dec. 10, 1987).

"Rock 'n' roll is 99% sex" (John Oates of the rock duo Hall & Oates, Circus, Jan. 31, 1976).

"Listen, rock 'n roll AIN'T CHURCH. It's nasty business..." (Lita Ford of heavy metal group The Runaways, Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1988).

"Rock music is sex. The big beat matches the body's rhythms" (Frank Zappa of the Mothers of Invention, Life, June 28, 1968).

"Rock 'n' roll is pagan and primitive, and very jungle, and that's how it should be! The moment it stops being those things, it's dead ... the true meaning of rock ... is sex, subversion and style" (Malcolm McLaren, punk rock manager, Rock, August 1983, p. 60).

"When you're in a certain frame of mind, particularly sexually-oriented, there's nothing better than rock and roll ... because that's where most of the performers are at" (Aerosmith's manager, USA Today, Dec. 22, 1983, p. D5).

"Rock music is sex and you have to hit them [teenagers] in the face with it" (Andrew Oldham, manager of the Rolling Stones, Time, April 28, 1967, p. 54).

"The great strength of rock 'n' roll lies in its beat ... it is a music which is basically sexual, un-Puritan ... and a threat to established patterns and values" (Irwin Silber, Marxist, Sing Out, May 1965, p. 63).

"Everyone takes it for granted that rock and roll is synonymous with sex" (Chris Stein, rock manager, People, May 21, 1979).

"Pop music revolves around sexuality. I believe that if there is anarchy, let's make it sexual anarchy rather than political" (Adam Ant, From Rock to Rock, p. 93).

"What made rockabilly [Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, etc.] such a drastically new music was its spirit, a thing that bordered on mania. Elvis's 'Good Rockin' Tonight' was not merely a party song, but an invitation to a holocaust. ... Rockabilly was the face of Dionysus, FULL OF FEBRILE SEXUALITY and senselessness; it flushed the skin of new housewives and made pink teenage boys reinvent themselves as flaming creatures" (Nick Tosches, Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'n' Roll, p. 58).

"For white Memphis, the forbidden pleasures of Beale Street [where the bars and whorehouses and gambling dens were located] had always come wrapped in the pulsing rhythms of the blues. ... Elvis's [rock & roll] offered those pleasures long familiar to Memphians to a new audience" (Larry Nager, Memphis Beat, p. 154).

"Rock and roll aims for liberation and transcendence, EROTICIZING THE SPIRITUAL AND SPIRITUALIZING THE EROTIC, because that is its ecumenical birthright" (Robert Palmer, Rock & Roll an Unruly History, p. 72).

"Rock and roll is fun, it's full of energy ... It's naughty" (Tina Turner, cited in Rock Facts, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, p. 12).

"Rock and roll was something that's hardcore, rough and wild and sweaty and wet and just loose" (Patti Labelle, cited in Rock Facts, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, p. 17).

ROCKERS ARE SIMPLY IN LOVE WITH ROCK MUSIC

Kind reader, did you consider the previous quotes carefully? What do these, the movers and shakers of rock and roll, know about rock music that the "Christian rockers" do not know?

In fact, I believe "Christian rockers" know these things very well, but they will not admit it, perhaps not even to themselves, because such an admission would not fit into their agenda of being able to hold on to their beloved rock music with one hand and supposedly hold on to the holy Christ with the other.

After Dan Lucarini spent years using rock music as a praise and worship leader, the Lord led him out of it and he wrote the excellent book Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement: Confessions of a Former Worship Leader. 

Looking back, he testified about what was really going on in his life after the veneer of piety and the high wall of arguments in defense of rock music was removed:

"During our weekly practices, the praise band would often switch into a rock and roll 'jam session'. As the leader, I could have discouraged this but I CHOSE INSTEAD TO INDULGE MY OWN APPETITE FOR ROCK AND ROLL. ... As I look back on this, I see how hard it was to restrain the rock music beast and prevent it from taking over completely" (Lucarini, Why I Left, p. 31)

"At the seeker-sensitive churches we attended, the music was ostensibly designed for the unchurched but that excuse was really just a smoke screen obscuring our real reason for bringing CCM into the service. THE BOTTOM LINE WAS THAT WE SIMPLY WANTED TO USE OUR MUSIC IN THE CHURCH..." (Lucarini, pp. 62, 63)

Few are willing to be this candid, but whether Christian rockers admit it or not, the fact is that rock has been sex music since it blasted on the scene in the 1950s. Its rhythms are deliberately designed to stimulate physical sensuality above all else.

FLESH AND SPIRIT, LIGHT AND DARKNESS CANNOT BE MIXED

The flesh is contrary to the Spirit.

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other..." (Galatians 5:17).

Likewise, light cannot mix with darkness. Holiness cannot affiliate with unholiness. Truth cannot countenance error. God has no fellowship with the devil. Does the Word of God not confirm this?

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

GETTING HIGH ON PRAISE MUSIC

The point is that worshippers who use rock music as their vehicle of praise, who think they are high on God, are more likely to be high on music. 

The City Harvest Magazine for July-December 2002 contained a question/answer section. One question by a new member to City Harvest was instructive:

"I just started attending church a few months back and really felt drawn to the presence of God, ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE TIMES OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP. Yet, each time when I try to meet God in the same way during my personal quiet time AND 'FEEL' THE TANGIBLE PRESENCE that I always sense during church services, I always fail. Is this because there's something that I'm not doing right? Am I not worshipping in the correct way?"

The answer to the person's question is that he or she is looking for the wrong thing and is confused about the nature of true worship of God. Worship has nothing to do with my feelings or with a "tangible presence." Those things are easily counterfeited by the flesh and the devil. TRUE WORSHIP IS TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD AND TO SERVE HIM OBEDIENTLY BY FAITH NO MATTER HOW I FEEL AND NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCE.

Abraham doubtless did not feel very good and had no tangible presence when he trudged toward the mountain with his most beloved son in tow with the purpose of sacrificing him in obedience to God's command, but he was performing a most supreme act of worship.

Job did not feel tingly, wonderful emotions or any sort of "tangible presence of God" when he was sitting in the ash heap scraping his boils with pieces of clay pots and contemplating the loss of his children and wealth and rebutting his wife's complaints. But he was worshipping God acceptably when he endured that terrible condition and did not curse God, but trusted Him in spite of how miserable he felt. In that horrible condition, Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."

That is true worship.

It has nothing to do with being under the sway of powerful music or stirring up high emotions and pursuing a perception of God's tangible presence.

Hebrews 13:15-16 describes true worship: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

Note the attributes of true worship from this passage:

• thanksgiving to God in all circumstances 

• doing good works or obedience to God's commands 

• communicating to those who have needs

One does not need rock music to accomplish any of these things, and, in fact, rock music provides no benefit whatsoever in any of these endeavors. Rock music is rock music, and the praise of God is the praise of God; and they have nothing to do with one another.

I challenge those committed to the contemporary philosophy to give up rock music for one month and serve the Lord without it. If you need rock music in order to enjoy and serve the Lord, you have a serious problem.

If rock music is necessary or even important for the service and worship of Christ, what did God's people do in A.D. 65 or 1240 or 1530 or 1850 or 1945?

"Oh, Lord God, I beseech you by the blood of Jesus Christ and for His glory, deliver many of your saints and assemblies from this powerful contemporary drug and give victory over the wiles of the enemy even in the very midst of end times apostasy."

Chrislam in America: Catholics and Protestants Fling Doors Wide Open to Muslims
Dec 13th, 2014
Daily NewsEric Barger
Categories: Contemporary Issues

Chrislam, which purports to join Islam and Christianity into one harmonious, synthesized religion, is fast becoming a rallying point in some American church circles. Under the leadership of something called “Faith Shared,” two organizations, Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First, spearheaded an event loosely called “Chrislam Sunday” on June 26, 2011. It was celebrated by dozens of churches nationwide as joint Christian-Muslim services were held in various Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalist, Catholic, Lutheran, Congregational, Baptist and other denominations and groups.

Make note that we know of no mosques used for a Chrislam service. The fact is that no imam is about to bring a Bible into a mosque and suggest that our God is their god. For the Muslim cleric, the only acceptable agreement that both religions are somehow equals is if doing so presents the perceived image of a kinder, gentler, politically correct Islam and if doing so furthers the cause of Islam. It isn’t peculiar that Muslim leaders would endorse Chrislam Sunday, claim that both religions are on equal footing, or partake in the charade of dialog indulged in by the Yale Divinity School and assorted foolish Christians over the past four years. The Muslim practice of deception of the infidel (that’s everyone outside of Islam) knows no boundaries. This is called “Kitman” and “Taqiyya.” Kitman, or half truths meant to mislead an infidel, and Taqiyya, which is complete deception of unbelievers, are acceptable tactics—as long as Islam is the winner in the end.

Chrislam Fact Check

Though Chrislam supporters correctly suggest that both Islam and Christianity have Abrahamic roots and that both religions teach morals, ethics and monotheism, the similarities quickly disintegrate with a careful study of either the Bible or the Qur’an. An examination of the deities worshiped by the two religions immediately brings into question how any thoughtful, biblically-minded Christian could ascertain Chrislam’s chief edict—that we all worship the same God.

As I close my live seminar teaching on Chrislam these days, I list these facts, which I spend the better part of the previous hour documenting.

• Allah is not Jehovah.

• The Jesus of Islam is not the Jesus of the Bible.

• The Bible does not harmonize with the Qur’an.

• Salvation by faith is not available through Islam.

• Chrislam is neither Christian nor Muslim.

 Movements like these only gain ground because Christians either do not know their Bibles or because they are unwilling to resist heresy for fear of being ridiculed and labeled as politically incorrect, hate mongers, or narrow and bigoted.

Bank of America Sees $50 Oil As Opec Dies
Dec 13th, 2014
Daily NewsKoenig's Eye View News Briefs
Categories: Contemporary Issues

(This is a recent article from The Telegraph (U.K.) by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.)

The OPEC oil cartel no longer exists in any meaningful sense, and crude prices will slump to $50 a barrel over the coming months as market forces shake out the weakest producers, Bank of America has warned.

Revolutionary changes sweeping the world’s energy industry will drive down the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG), creating a “multi-year” glut and a much cheaper source of gas for Europe.

Francisco Blanch, the bank’s commodity chief, said OPEC is “effectively dissolved” after it failed to stabilize prices at its last meeting. “The consequences are profound and long-lasting,” he said.

The free market will now set the global cost of oil, leading to a new era of wild price swings and disorderly trading that benefits only the Mid-East petro-states with deepest pockets such as Saudi Arabia. If so, the weaker peripheral members such as Venezuela and Nigeria are being thrown to the wolves.

It will take six months or so to whittle away the one million barrels a day of excess oil on the market—with U.S. crude falling to $50—given that supply and demand are both “inelastic” in the short-run. That will create the beginnings of the next shortage. “We expect a pretty sharp rebound to the high $80s or even $90 in the second half of next year,” said Sabine Schels, the bank’s energy expert.

Bank of America said the oil price crash is worth $1 trillion of stimulus for the global economy, equal to a $730bn “tax cut” in 2015. Yet the effects are complex, with winners and losers. The benefits diminish the further it falls. Academic studies suggest that oil crashes can ultimately turn negative if they trigger systemic financial crises in commodity states.

Barnaby Martin, the bank’s European credit chief, said world asset markets may face a stress test as the U.S. Federal Reserve starts to tighten after years of largesse. “Our biggest worry is the end of the liquidity cycle. The Fed is done and it is preparing to raise rates. The reach for yield that we have seen since 2009 is going into reverse”, he said. [Emphasis added.]