Editor - Robert Scott Wadsworth <> P.O. Box 5772, Oregon City, OR 97045-8272

IRAN'S MILITARY BUILDUP

Over the past ten months, Iran has intensified its efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and long range missiles. The following are excerpts from the Freeman Center Broadcast on July 21, 1997, "U.S. Must Act Now Against Iran's Military Buildup", by Jess Sadick. (Jess Sadick, a graduate student in Public Policy and Arab Studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., writes frequently on issues affecting Israel and the Arab World).

"The Italian newspaper La Stampa recently reported that a "meticulous intelligence operation" regarding Iranian atomic capability revealed Tehran's capacity for acquiring nuclear weapons within five years. Franco Frattini, chairman of the Italian parliament's committee on intelligence, said his government must find out from the governments mentioned in the newspaper report, namely Moscow and Beijing, how and to what extent they truly are involved in assisting Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Valdo Spini, who chairs the Chamber of Deputies Defense Committee, insists Italy, "must ask the Russians and the Chinese if and in what way they are indeed helping Tehran to build an atomic or a nuclear bomb." To this, Frattini added: "What I find surprising is just how far advanced the [Iranian] program has gotten thanks to the equipment and assistance provided by third countries, to the point where Iran will soon be in a position to manufacture and to launch nuclear weapons." Shahin Gobadi, chief spokesman for an Iranian resistance group, claims Iran is three to five years away from developing its first nuclear bomb. This he said in January 1995.

According to Israeli intelligence estimates published recently by the Israeli press, Iran, in the coming years, will not only possess unconventional weapons, but will be a major force in the production of long-range missiles -- including ones with chemical, biological, and nuclear capabilities. That Iran will soon possess a missile capable of hitting, with extraordinary precision, any target in Israel is nearly a given. What is more alarming is that Tehran will soon begin the development of a missile with the range of over 2,000 km, which could reach areas in half of Europe.

Israel Intelligence describes a vast Iran-Russia strategic alliance. It estimates that the majority of military industrial projects in Russia are involved in aiding Iran, and hundreds of Russian scientists and thousands of workers from Russian security industries are working as paid employees helping to advance Iran's armaments program.

The German Federal Intelligence Service, or BND, recently concluded its own investigation into the proliferation of unconventional missile technology. According to BND findings, a number of Third World countries is pursuing with a "high intensity" weapons programs for the production of weapons of mass destruction. The report singled out Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and North Korea, fingering Iran as the center of proliferation activities. German State Minister for Intelligence, Bernd Schmidbauer, agrees with other estimates suggesting Iran will possess missile deployment capabilities within five years.

American intelligence experts also warn of Russia's assistance to Iran, but of late, President Clinton and his foreign policy team have not shown much interest beyond placing a telephone call to Russia expressing concern or giving the subject brief mention during diplomatic encounters. As recently as June 26, head of the U.S. Armed Forces Central Command, General Binford Peay, said it is "probable that just after the turn of the century, Iran will succeed in acquiring the atomic bomb." The American public should demand that the Clinton Administration heed the warnings emanating from intelligence experts around the world, including its own."

 THE SACRED CALENDAR

 Using the method of determining the first day of the month when the first light of the crescent moon is visible above the horizon, I calculated God's appointed feast dates from 1995 to 2004. The calendar is enclosed in this newsletter. I used the Dance of the Planets astronomy program to determine when the first crescent of the moon would be visible from Jerusalem. Though the computer program is accurate in how the moon is illuminated at given times for a given location, it is not the most accurate way to determine if the first light of the crescent moon can actually be seen by the human naked eye. The most accurate way to determine what day the first light is observable with the naked eye from Jerusalem, is by an observer or many observers actually seeing the first light of the crescent moon. The computer program does not take into consideration such factors as atmospheric conditions, glare from the sun, and other conditions which could affect the first sighting of a crescent moon. Some of the dates on the enclosed calendar may be off by one day.

Some of the dates on the calendar are one day off from The Sacred Calendar produced by the Stewarton Bible School. Such is the case for dates in 1997. On March 9, 1997, the moon was 0% illuminated after sunset, and remained so until it set below the horizon. On March 10, 1997, the moon was 4% illuminated after sunset. If the crescent moon could be seen from Jerusalem at that time, then Abib (Nisan) 1 started after sunset on March 10, and ended at sunset, March 11. On September 2, 1997, the moon will be very close to the sun at sunset, and 0% illuminated. On September 3, 1997, after sunset, the moon will be 2% illuminated. If the crescent moon is seen from Jerusalem at this time, then Ethanim (Tishri) 1, will begin after sunset on September 3, and end at sunset September 4. For all dates on the Sacred Calendar, the feast dates start at sunset on the previous day (Gregorian) of the listed dates. Again, some of these dates may be one day off from the dates that the first crescent of the moon would actually be observable from Jerusalem.

 PERSEIDS METEOR SHOWER

One celestial event to look forward to every August is the Perseids meteor shower. Actually the meteor shower begins in late July, and continues through late August. The peak of the shower always occurs on August 12/13. The source of the meteors is the periodic Comet Swift-Tuttle, which was last in this neighborhood of the solar system in 1993. During the comet's frequent trips into the sun's vicinity, it leaves behind particles of dust and gravel along its orbital path. Each August, Earth runs into many of these particles which burn up in the upper atmosphere, resulting in a meteor shower. These meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. On Chart 40, the crosshair in the center of the chart shows the point where the meteors appear to radiate from. This point is just above the handle of the sword which Perseus is holding in his right hand. The constellation Perseus represents "The Breaker" delivering the redeemed (Micah 2:12-13). It is the constellation which portrays Jesus Christ defeating the beast at Armageddon. Perseus is holding the head of the adversary in his left hand which in Hebrew is known as Rosh Satan, or the head of Satan. This was foreshadowed when David took the head of Goliath, of Gath (I Samuel 17:15), who was another beast who spoke great blasphemies against the God of Israel (I Samuel 17:45-47, Revelation 13:5, 19:17-18).

The peak of the meteor shower will be on August 12/13. There will be 40 to 95 meteors per hour streaking across the sky at this time. They will be radiating from the "swords handle" which will be seen about 45 degrees above the northeast horizon early in the evening of August 12. Late in the evening hours or a few hours before sunrise, the radiant point will be almost directly overhead. The best time to observe the shower will be about an hour or two before sunrise, since it is the morning side of the planet Earth that plows headlong into the swarm of particles. To see how the constellations appear above the northeast horizon, hold the left side of Chart 40 so that it is in the downward position.

A VOICE CRYING IN THE HEAVENS (SECOND EDITION)

The second edition of "A Voice Crying in the Heavens' will be available from Biblical Astronomy in late August. The book is in a new format, and includes may updates. The pictures of the 48 constellations are now in the book. The book also includes updated star charts which are now part of the text (not separate). The book is perfect bound and the cover is UV protected. The price of the book is the same, $20.00.

The following poem was submitted by William Walker, Seekonk, Mass. William found this in an old issue of "Unsearchable Riches."

THE UNIVERSE