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HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH  TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY http://www.trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php Abbas: We are prepared to discuss with Israel ending of 'mutual incitement' Abbas Tells Palestinians Entire State of Israel 'Occupied,' Calls for Peace When Addressing Foreign Audiences Abbas to meet Hollande for powwow on French peace plan During Israel visit, House speaker slams BDS movement US energy secretary: Natural gas production vital for Israel Gazans launch campaign calling on Saudi Arabia to help them make pilgrimage to Mecca Security services predicts Passover terror attacks Israel warns: Europe flooded with hundreds of jihadists planning to strike Report: Israel 'suicide' drone being used in Azerbaijan battlefield ISIS threatens American troops in Egypt's Sinai Turkish warplanes hit Kurdish militant targets in Iraq Turkey Seizes Six Churches as State Property in Volatile Southeast Russia says more than 1,500 mines removed in Syria's Palmyra After reverses, Islamic State attacks Syrian forces near Damascus European Commission to unveil new EU asylum options First Syrians leave for US under resettlement program Arizona college imposes mandatory fee to fund scholarship for illegal immigrants Mexico replaces top U.S. diplomats, citing hostile climate NAACP Joins Soros Army Plotting DC Disruptions, Civil Disobedience, Mass Arrests Obama Claims Power to Make Illegal Immigrants Eligible for Social Security, Disability Bernie Sanders' campaign: We're discussing contested convention scenario Paper: Why is FBI so slow on Clinton e-mail probe? FBI director says government 'purchased a tool' to access San Bernardino gunman's phone Medical groups urge Congress to fund CDC research on gun violence Samsung Patents Contact Lenses With Built-In Camera Self-drive trucks 'future of Europe's busy highways' Economy may not have grown at all in first quarter Oil Sanctions Risk Pushing North Korea Over the Edge South Korea: North has mid-range nuclear capability 6.7 magnitude earthquake hits near Sola, Vanuatu 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Bunisari, Indonesia 5.7 magnitude earthquake hits near Saumlaki, Indonesia 5.2 magnitude earthquake hits near Illapel, Chile 5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Sarangani, Philippines 5.0 magnitude earthquake hits near Dadali, Solomon Islands Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 25,000ft Popocateptl volcano in Mexico erupts to 25,000ft Colima volcano in Mexico erupts to 20,000ft Langila volcano in Papua New Guinea erupts to 10,000ft Tenggar Caldera volcano in Indonesia erupts to 10,000ft Tropical Cyclone Zena weakens after slamming Fiji 'Cold blob' may suppress Atlantic hurricane season Dust Storm 100 Miles Wide Blankets Much of Texas Panhandle Factbox: Why the Zika virus is causing alarm Diabetes cases have quadrupled in just over 3 decades Planned Parenthood Caught Telling Mothers Aborted Babies Used to Treat, Find Cure for Cancer Lawmakers want Census Bureau to ask about sexual orientation It Is Now Illegal to Pay for Sex in France Cologne Police Reveal 'Cover Up' Of New Year's Eve Rape Attacks Ordered By Government Watchdog Group Blasts TV Ratings System for Exposing Kids to Violence, Nudity 'Vampire' killer who murdered a 12-year-old and drank his blood executed in Texas Rome Offers Jubilee-Year Course in Exorcism and Demonic Possession 'Demonic' arches rising in New York and London on April 19: 'Welcome signs' for the Antichrist?

PROPHECY UPDATE NEWSLETTER STAY INFORMED, GET EQUIPPED, BE ENCOURAGED Pre-Millennium - Pre-Tribulation - PrePARED *If you missed an issue or did not receive your daily copy - All Newsletters are archived at:   http://www.prophecyupdate.com/newsletter-archives.html

IN TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...  Featured Article: Bema Seat Living  Hezbollah said building missile base in Syria, to strike at Israel  Iran announces plan to produce explosives used in missile warheads  US and Russia in danger of returning to era of nuclear rivalry   More top Christians: U.S. may vanish like Babylon  Confusion Doesn't Come from God  Featured Article: I will fill thee with locusts  Daily Devotion: A Faithful Messenger

Bema Seat Living - By Howard Green -   http://raptureready.com/soap2/green48.html    Imagine with me for a moment that you have been called before a congressional subcommittee to give an account as an expert witness who was directly involved in the issue at hand. You are under oath and subject to a polygraph so there is complete assurance the truth will come to light.     You aren't testifying as a criminal; you are simply giving an account of the facts as they relate to you. You are in the spotlight before the authorities and as they recall the events, people, and places leading up to this day-you will have to stand there and listen as the matter is recalled from beginning to end in vivid detail.    What are you feeling? Are you nervous, ashamed, relieved, exposed, or happy? When it's over, will you receive honor and be rewarded for what took place inside the congressional chambers or will you feel relief just knowing there is no punishment for you because you have been previously declared not guilty?    There is a day coming in which every Christian will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. On that day we will see our Lord face to face and He will give us our rewards based on what we do for His kingdom now in this life. With that sobering thought in mind, we need to examine our heart and our motives to be intentional about Bema Seat living.    Bema is the Greek translation for judgment seat. In the day of the Apostles you would go into a town and find a raised platform and a judgment (Bema Seat). Generally, at the end of a sports event, it was the place where the prize or reward was given to the winning athlete.    Before we continue, let me quickly differentiate between the two key judgements mentioned in the New Testament regarding the end times. There is the Great White Throne judgment. This is where all of those who did not repent and rejected Gods' gift of salvation through the atoning work of Jesus on the cross for their sins will be judged guilty. No Old Testament era saint or follower of Jesus will be at this judgement because it is for the unrepentant.    "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12-15).    The other judgment that is key in end time events is the Judgment Seat of Christ; we will refer to as the Bema Seat. This is where Church Age saints (you and me) will stand before Jesus and our work for Him will be tried by fire. Let me reiterate, this is where the works and deeds of born again believers will be rewarded or where we will suffer loss.     The Bema Seat judgment will not determine where you will spend eternity because that was settled when you repented and by faith, trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior. That beautiful thought alone should bring our hearts joy knowing we belong to Him. Let's see what the Word of God says about the Bema Seat.    "Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.     If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).    "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God" (1 Corinthians 4:5).    "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Corinthians 5:9).    Now that we see the difference between these two distinct times of judgment, let's examine why we should prepare for the Bema Seat and what "Bema seat living" looks like.    Going back to our opening scenario before the congressional sub-committee:    The truth came out, motives are exposed, and the matter of guilt and culpability is settled. It will be a similar situation at the Bema Seat. The end result will be rewards given to us by the Lord Himself if our works stand the test. Unlike worldly judges and authorities, the Judge at the Bema Seat knows everything. Nothing is hidden from His sight and He knows the intentions of our heart. Each of us will have to account for our time, talents, resources, works, and giving we did for the kingdom.    I used the subcommittee scenario to shed light on the seriousness of the matter, but no imagery from this world comes close to the reality of standing as an individual before the piercing eyes of the Lord.     The Bible makes it clear that we will be rewarded based on our work-whether good or evil. Obviously, the evil work being spoke of here is not a matter of doing evil, but rather it's worth. If we do work and our intent is anything other than God's glory...its worthless and will be burned up.    What is the benchmark for our work, deeds, or labor for the kingdom? When we look back at1 Corinthians 3:12, we look at its context to find our answer.    (Jesus) is the foundation of our work. So any work that is placed upon the foundation is tried by fire. The fire will test every single work that has been done. If the work is gold, silver, or precious stones it will become evident at the Bema Seat judgment. If the work is wood, hay, or straw, when the fire reveals the work, it will be consumed.     It is not my intent to get into specific rewards in this article, but we know there are crowns mentioned. We are looking at the quality of the work we performed on earth, why it matters, and how we should live in light of the Bema Seat and its certainty in our future.    When we boil it right down to the basics, the quality and authenticity of our work here in this life centers on one word: motives.    Is it possible for a born again believer to get caught up in the fast pace business of fellowship, programs, activities, small group, serving, and church? Is it possible to lose perspective and work with the wrong intentions and goals? I believe the verses listed above make the answer a definitive yes. It is easy to start off in any work or act of service with the simple motive of bringing glory to God.     What happens over the years if the newness of salvation turns into apathy or drudgery? We take our eyes off of the reason we are doing what we do. We must examine our heart and ask the Lord to give us a renewed desire to glorify Him. He needs to be the reason we are doing the kingdom work we do.    "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit" (Proverbs 16:2).    If we volunteer to serve, help, give, and work for any other motive but the glory of God, we are not engaged in Bema Seat living. If I'm seeking to bolster my standing in the local church by being seen in all the right places, doing all the right work, in front of all the right people, then (who) receives the glory?    I can recall dozens of places in Scripture where the one who seeks only to glory of God is intentional about it. This saint is purposefully discreet in giving, in prayer, in fasting, in serving, in reputation. They make much of God and nothing of themselves.     The believer who engages in "Bema Seat living" is a biblical model of humility. Am I saying it's wrong to serve with a group of people because they will know about your good works? Of course not, but the common denominator is always the motive of the heart.    Along the lines of God's glory and our motives we need to remember, the church is no place for bravado driven self-congratulatory applause from other believers for good works and service.    We come together for one reason and it's to exalt Jesus-not our programs or each other.    Jesus gives a perfect and practical example of a heart motive below:    "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.'Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.     Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.But when you give to the needy,do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you'" (Matthew 6:1-2).    I try to imagine the glory of the Rapture and our being caught up in the air to be with Jesus forever. I think of the moment we will be with our Lord and the unspeakable joy that follows. I cannot think too far before I realize that I must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, where all of my work will be laid upon the foundation and it will be tried by fire.     Once the fire is poured out, will anything be left?    Only that which was done to the glory of God will remain. Will I suffer loss? If my work was for anything else but God the answer is yes; I will be saved, but only as through fire. In the Bible, there are certain rewards and responsibilities given to us based on the purity of our work here. It is consistent with Scripture to know that if we are faithful to the Lord with what he has entrusted us with in this life, then we will be entrusted with more in His kingdom.   "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17).    Many years ago, I heard an excellent message on how we should live in light of the Bema Seat. I was challenged to live with the reality of the Bema Seat in mind. Since we have looked at the certainty of the Bema Seat, I want to ask you a question:    What would happen to your walk with the Lord if you live each day with the Bema Seat as the starting point and not look at it as something that will occur way off in the distant future. If we really begin to comprehend the amazing rewards and joys Christ has planned for us at His judgment seat, we would be increasingly focused on what brings Him glory and not settle for an apathetic Christian walk.    One other thought on the Bema Seat: We will stand before the Lord. Our Savior will be seated and the radiance of His beautiful face will be like looking at the noonday sun.    Will he gesture with His nail pierced hands and will He comfort us as only He could? Will we place our crowns at His feet? It's only glorious conjecture for us at this time, but one day we will all stand before Him.....the one who has given so much.     He is the one who should receive the glory for everything we do here. I pray that our words, actions, deeds, work, and motives are centered on Christ and His glory. That is Bema Seat living.    "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done" (Revelation 22:12).    All for Him,    Howard   concerningthetimes.com

Hezbollah said building missile base in Syria, to strike at Israel - By Stuart Winer - http://www.timesofisrael.com/hezbollah-said-to-fortify-missile-positions-inside-syria/   Satellite images show villages razed in area; reports suggest fortified site may house armed Iranian missiles for use against Jewish state   The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has reportedly been constructing a fortified base inside Syria that it may be using to store Iranian ballistic missiles with the range to hit Israel.   Satellite images of an area on the northern Lebanese-Syrian border show that Hezbollah has been consolidating positions it conquered from Syrian rebels in June 2013, global intelligence company Stratfor said Wednesday.   Photos show several facilities in the region around Qusair, including one large compound surrounded by an earthen berm. Villages up to four kilometers (2.5 miles) from the base have been razed to enable clear observation of the territory, and tunnels have reportedly been dug back under the border and into Lebanon.   Other sources said there are long-range missiles at the base including Iranian-manufactured Shabab-1, Shabab-2, and Fateh-110 ballistic missiles, although there was no satellite confirmation to back up the claim.   "While these missiles could prove crucial in the event of a large-scale Israeli ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, they are not beyond the reach of the Israeli Air Force," the report said. "Notably, imagery does not show significant underground facilities at the base capable of protecting this weaponry."   The missiles are estimated to have ranges from 200 to at least 1,000 kilometers (125-625 miles), putting all of Israel within striking distance.   Several airstrikes in Syria, attributed to the Israeli Air Force, reportedly targeted advanced weapons shipments to Hezbollah. Although Israel has never publicly admitted to carrying out the strikes, it has vowed to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining any game-changing weapons.   One source said the plan is to also store Katyusha rockets, mortars, and howitzers at Qusair as well as to station some of Hezbollah's 60 T-72 battle tanks at the base. Additional intelligence reported four munitions factories in the complex.   Stratfor said the installation is part of a Hezbollah plan to keep a force of 3,000 fighters in Syria as well as provide a base of operations for its sponsor, Iran. An Iranian diplomatic source claimed officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps make frequent visits to the positions near Qusair, Starfor said.   Hezbollah conquered the area while fighting on behalf of the Syrian government against rebels in the country's civil war.   Based on information from diplomatic sources and those described as "close to Hezbollah," Stratfor assessed that Hezbollah will strive to further increase its presence in Syria as a precaution against the possible ousting of President Bashar Assad's regime by rebels.

Iran announces plan to produce explosives used in missile warheads - By Stuart Winer - http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-says-its-planning-to-produce-explosives-used-in-missile-warheads/   Defense minister says country wants to make Octogen to improve 'destructive power'; material also used in nuke detonators   Iran intends to produce the powerful explosive Octogen for use in the warheads of its missiles to improve their "destructive and penetration power," Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said Wednesday.   Octogen is used as an explosive in penetrating missile warheads and as a solid rocket fuel - but is also employed as part of the detonator in an atomic bomb.   During a ceremony to inaugurate a Octogen production plant, Dehqan stressed Iran's goal of gaining the know-how to make the explosive material in order to avoid relying on external sources.   "Concurrently with its efforts to increase the precision-striking power of its weapons systems, the Defense Ministry has also paid attention to boosting the destructive and penetration power of different weapons' warheads and has put on its agenda the acquisition of the technical know-how to produce Octogen explosive materials and Octogen-based weapons," he said, according to a report from the semi-official FARS news agency.   Western powers have called on the UN to take action against Iran over tests of ballistic missiles carried out on March 9, noting they threatened Israel.   Under a UN Security Council resolution passed alongside a landmark nuclear deal last year, Iran is forbidden to develop weapons that can carry nuclear weapons.   That would seem to include ballistic missiles, including two that were tested last month with the words "Israel must be wiped off the earth" emblazoned on one, according to the US and other Western powers.   Dehqan complained that the West is preventing countries from helping Iran in technical matters and said, "We should endeavor to reinvigorate our infrastructures in the defense industries, reduce dependence and use domestic industries."   The minister's comments came as Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Western nations of being untrustworthy, in comments to members of the cabinet and senior parliamentary and judiciary figures in Tehran on Wednesday, FARS reported.   "The Americans cannot be trusted and, in addition to the Americans, certain other Western states are also the same; hence, we should put trust in our own abilities and the US officials' positions and performance is also a confirmation of the same fact," Khamenei said.   Khamenei has in the past repeatedly accused the West of reneging on its commitments in the nuclear deal, maintaining that many international companies continue to avoid working with Iran out of fear of the US.   The nuclear agreement, passed in July 2015 and implemented in January, lifted punishing economic sanctions and has allowed Iran to forge fresh economic and diplomatic ties with the West. In return Iran agreed to dismantle the weapons-capable aspects of its nuclear program.   At the end of March the US, France, Britain and Germany and three allies called for a United Nations Security Council meeting to formulate an "appropriate response" to Iran's recent ballistic missile tests, which they say were carried out in defiance of the UN resolution.   The letter called the launches "destabilizing and provocative" and says the Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile and Qiam-1 short-range ballistic missile that were fired are "inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons."   Israel also called for punitive action against Iran following the tests.   Iran maintains that because it cannot develop nuclear weapons under the deal, no missile is capable of carrying a nuclear weapon.

US and Russia in danger of returning to era of nuclear rivalry - Julian Borger - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/04/us-russia-era-nuclear-rivalry   A widening rift between Moscow and Washington over cruise missiles and increasingly daring patrols by nuclear-capable Russian submarines threatens to end an era of arms control and bring back a dangerous rivalry between the world's two dominant nuclear arsenals. Tensions have been taken to a new level by US threats of retaliatory action for Russian development of a new cruise missile. Washington alleges it violates one of the key arms control treaties of the cold war, and has raised the prospect of redeploying its own cruise missiles in Europe after a 23-year absence.   On Boxing Day, in one of the more visible signs of the unease, the US military launched the first of two experimental "blimps" over Washington. The system, known as JLENS, is designed to detect incoming cruise missiles. The North American Aerospace Command (Norad) did not specify the nature of the threat, but the deployment comes nine months after the Norad commander, General Charles Jacoby, admitted the Pentagon faced "some significant challenges" in countering cruise missiles, referring in particular to the threat of Russian attack submarines.   Those submarines, which have been making forays across the Atlantic, routinely carry nuclear-capable cruise missiles. In the light of aggressive rhetoric from Moscow and the expiry of treaty-based restrictions, there is uncertainty over whether those missiles are now carrying nuclear warheads.   The rise in tension comes at a time when the arms control efforts of the post-cold-war era are losing momentum. The number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by the US and Russia actually increased last year, and both countries are spending many billions of dollars a year modernizing their arsenals. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and a failing economy, Vladimir Putin is putting increasing emphasis on nuclear weapons as guarantors and symbols of Russian influence. In a speech primarily about the Ukrainian conflict last summer, Putin pointedly referred to his country's nuclear arsenal and declared other countries "should understand it's best not to mess with us".   The Russian press has taken up the gung-ho tone. Pravda, the former mouthpiece of the Soviet regime, published an article in November titled "Russian prepares a nuclear surprise for Nato", which boasted of Russian superiority over the west, particularly in tactical nuclear weapons.   "The Americans are well aware of this," the commentary said. "They were convinced before that Russia would never rise again. Now it's too late."   Some of the heightened rhetoric appears to be bluster. The new version of the Russian military doctrine, published on 25 December, left its policy on nuclear weapons unchanged from four years earlier. They are to be used only in the event of an attack using weapons of mass destruction or a conventional weapon onslaught which "would put in danger the very existence of the state". It did not envisage a pre-emptive strike, as some in the military had proposed.   However, the new aggressive tone coincides with an extensive upgrading of Russia's nuclear weapons, reflecting Moscow's renewed determination to keep pace with the US arsenal. It will involve a substantial increase in the number of warheads loaded on submarines, as a result of the development of the multi-warhead Bulava sea-launched ballistic missile.   The modernization also involves new or revived delivery systems. Last month Russia announced it would re-introduce nuclear missile trains, allowing intercontinental ballistic missiles to be moved about the country by rail so they would be harder to target.   There is also mounting western anxiety over Russian marketing abroad of a cruise missile called the Club-K, which can be concealed, complete with launcher, inside an innocuous-looking shipping container until the moment it is fired.   However, the development that has most alarmed Washington is Russian testing of a medium-range cruise missile which the Obama administration claims is a clear violation of the 1987 intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty, the agreement that brought to an end the dangerous standoff between US and Russian cruise missiles in Europe. By hugging the contours of the Earth, cruise missiles can evade radar defenses and hit strategic targets with little or no notice, raising fears on both sides of surprise pre-emptive attacks.   At a contentious congressional hearing on 10 December, Republicans criticized two of the administration's leading arms control negotiators, Rose Gottemoeller of the State Department and Brian McKeon of the Pentagon, for not responding earlier to the alleged Russian violation and for continuing to observe the INF treaty.   Gottemoeller said she had raised US concerns over the new missile "about a dozen times" with her counterparts in Moscow and Obama had written to Putin on the matter. She said the new Russian cruise missile - which she did not identify but is reported to be the Iskander-K with a reach in the banned 500-5,500km range - appeared to be ready for deployment.   The Russians have denied the existence of the missile and have responded with counter-allegations about American infringements of the INF treaty that Washington rejects.   McKeon said the Pentagon was looking at a variety of military responses to the Russian missile, including the deployment of an American equivalent weapon.   "We have a broad range of options, some of which would be compliant with the INF treaty, some of which would not be, that we would be able to recommend to our leadership if it decided to go down that path," McKeon said. He later added: "We don't have ground-launched cruise missiles in Europe now, obviously, because they are prohibited by the treaty but that would obviously be one option to explore."   Reintroducing cruise missiles into Europe would be politically fraught and divisive, but the Republican majority in Congress is pushing for a much more robust American response to the Russian missile.   The US military has also been rattled by the resurgence of the Russian submarine fleet. Moscow is building new generations of giant ballistic missile submarines, known as "boomers", and attack submarines that are equal or superior to their US counterparts in performance and stealth. From a low point in 2002, when the Russian navy managed to send out no underwater patrols at all, it is steadily rebounding and reasserting its global reach.   There have been sporadic reports in the US press about Russian submarines reaching the American east coast, which have been denied by the US military. But last year Jacoby, the head of Norad and the US northern command at the time, admitted concerns about being able to counter new Russian investment in cruise missile technology and advanced submarines.   "They have just begun production of a new class of quiet nuclear submarines specifically designed to deliver cruise missiles," Jacoby told Congress.   Peter Roberts, who retired from the Royal Navy a year ago after serving as a commanding officer and senior UK liaison officer with the US navy and intelligence services, said the transatlantic forays by Akula-class Russian attack submarines had become a routine event, at least once or twice a year.   "The Russians usually put out a sortie with an Akula or an Akula II around Christmas ... It normally stops off Scotland, and then through the Bay of Biscay and out over the Atlantic. It will have nuclear-capable missiles on it," he said.   Roberts, who is now senior research fellow for sea power and maritime studies at the Royal United Services Institute, said the appearance of a periscope off the western coast of Scotland, which triggered a Nato submarine hunt last month, was a sign of the latest such Russian foray.   He said the Russian attack submarine was most likely heading for the US coast. "They go across to eastern seaboard, usually to watch the carrier battle groups work up [go on exercises].   "It's something the Americans have been trying to brush off but there is increasing concern about the American ability to ... track these subs. Their own anti-sub skills have declined, while we have all been focused on landlocked operations, in Afghanistan and so on."   The Akula is being superseded by an even stealthier submarine, the Yasen. Both are multipurpose: hunter-killers designed to track and destroy enemy submarine and carrier battle groups. Both are also armed with land-attack cruise missiles, currently the Granat, capable of carrying nuclear warheads.   On any given sortie, Roberts said, "it is completely unknown whether they are nuclear-tipped".   A Russian media report described the Akula as carrying Granat missiles with 200-kilotonne warheads, but the reliability of the report is hard to gauge.   The US and Russia removed nuclear cruise missiles from their submarines following reciprocal presidential initiatives in 1991. In declarations at the time of the Strategic Arms Reduction treaty (Start) in the same year, the two countries also agreed to exchange data on deployed sea-launched nuclear cruise missiles for the next five years. The successor treaty, New Start, signed by Obama and the then Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev in 2010 does not include any such reporting obligation. So both sides are now in the dark about what is on each other's attack submarines.   Pavel Podvig, a senior research fellow at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research and the leading independent analyst of Russian nuclear forces, said: "The bottom line is that we don't know, but it's safe to say that it's quite possible that Russian subs carry nuclear SLCMs [submarine-launched cruise missiles].   Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and founding publisher of ArmsControlWonk.com, believes the JLENS blimps are primarily a response to a Russian move to start rearming attack submarines with nuclear weapons.   "For a long time, the Russians have been saying they would do this and now it looks like they have," Lewis said. He added that the fact that data exchange on cruise missiles was allowed to expire under the New Start treaty is a major failing that has increased uncertainty.   The Russian emphasis on cruise missiles is in line with Putin's strategy of "de-escalation", which involves countering Nato's overwhelming conventional superiority with the threat of a limited nuclear strike that would inflict "tailored damage" on an adversary.   Lewis argues that Putin's accentuation of Russia's nuclear capabilities is aimed at giving him room for maneuvers in Ukraine and possibly other neighboring states.   "The real reason he talks about how great they are is he saying: 'I'm going to go ahead and invade Ukraine and you're going to look the other way. As long as I don't call it an invasion, you're going to look at my nuclear weapons and say I don't want to push this,'" he said.   With both the US and Russia modernizing their arsenals and Russia investing increasing importance its nuclear deterrent, Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said we are facing a period of "deepening military competition".   He added: "It will bring very little added security, but a lot more nervous people on both sides."