U.S. intelligence, military chiefs pay visits to Israel (Second Coming Watch)

1. CIA Director John Brennan paid a visit to Israel last week, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top security officials to discuss the emerging agreement with Iran over its nuclear program and ways to ensure that it adheres to its terms. His unpublicized visit came several days before that of the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, who arrived Monday as the guest of the Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff.

2. Islamic State militants staged attacks near Baghdad and the Libyan city of Sirte on Tuesday, underscoring the group’s persistent strength on both fronts despite a months-long American-led air campaign against it in Syria and Iraq.

3. Former Israeli chief Shabtai Shavit said on Tuesday that Iran’s superior skill at negotiations will give them the edge in getting what they want in the emerging nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

4. An Israeli newspaper reported this week that Israel built and exploded so-called “dirty bombs,” explosives laced with nuclear material, to examine how such explosions would affect the country if it were to be attacked by the crude radioactive weapons.

5. President Barack Obama on Monday said he had convinced European leaders to maintain economic sanctions on Russia, even as U.S. officials concede the measures have done little to curb aggression by separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

The prophetic passage of Scripture we are looking at today is 1 Samuel 8:18 which reads: "And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day."

Our second coming quote for today is from J.C. Ryle. He said: "Uncertainty about the date of the Lord's return is calculated to keep believers in an attitude of constant expectation and to preserve them from despondency."