This article is a sequel to the prior Eye of Prophecy article: Hamas’ Horrifying Attack on Israel … A Preview of Two Coming Invasions

“Israel did not start this war. Israel did not want this war. But Israel will win this war.”

That is a moving quote from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as cited in the previous Eye of Prophecy article.

I then said: Prime Minister Netanyahu continued with his poignant, penetrating, and powerful portrayal of Hamas’ sadistic strike against Israeli Jews (and some foreigners), calling it, “the worst savagery our people have seen since the Holocaust. Hamas murdered children in front of their parents, murdered parents in front of their children. They burned people alive, they raped women, they beheaded men, they tortured Holocaust survivors, they kidnapped babies.”

He continued: “In fighting Hamas and the Iranian axis of terror, Israel is fighting the enemies of civilization itself. It begins with knowing the difference between good and evil, between right and wrong… It means making a moral distinction between the deliberate murder of the innocent and the unintentional casualties that accompany every legitimate war.”

Providing some consolation to Israel and to those who support her, the revised count of Israeli and some foreigner fatalities (mostly civilian including many women and children) has been reduced from 1,400 to 1,200. Still, more murdered and injured (hideously so) since the Holocaust.

When I began this Eye of Prophecy article, another positive (with some negatives) development has taken place: An Israeli decision to implement a cease fire even though anything approaching an extended ceasefire will probably result in more IDF casualties in Israel’s totally justified war against a well-armed terrorist organization.

Reason for the ceasefire: An exchange of Hamas held hostages for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The exchange began on 11-25-2023, with an intended three-to-one exchange rate favoring Palestinians over the hostages … 150 Palestinian prisoners, 50 Israeli hostages. With, however, a firm disclaimer from Israel that the ceasefire is limited and that the IDF will continue the war until Hamas ceases to function or even to exist.

The original cease-fire was extended but ended abruptly the morning of December 1 (yesterday) when Hamas launched missiles from Gaza into Israel and fired on Israeli soldiers in Gaza. As of today’s date, the most accurate figures appear to be 83 Israeli Jews released (mostly women and children plus 24 foreign nationals … 23 from Thailand and 1 from the Philippines). With 240 Palestinian prisoners freed, mostly teenagers and women.

On November 30^th in the USA Today section of the newspaper that I subscribe to (The Arizona Republic), it read: “The Israeli military said it was investigating the veracity of a Hamas announcement Wednesday that three Israeli hostages have died, ‘as a result of a former Zionist bombing on the Gaza Strip,’ apparently prior to the start of the cease-fire.

“Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said in the Telegram post that Shiri Silverman Bibas, 32, her 4-year-old son Ariel and her 10-month-old son Kfir Bibas had died” (Italics for emphasis).

Deviously incredible! Disgustingly unbelievable!

Even if Israeli bombings resulted in the deaths of this family, why was a young child and his infant brother (along with their mother) there in the first place? Where were they being held when they were killed by “Zionist bombs?” Apparently, Hamas decided that this family should be transferred from their horrible home in Israel to a five-star tunnel room in Gaza where they would be much happier. Or maybe allowing them to roam around in a Hamas compound that Israel warned Gazan civilians would be bombed.

Sarcastic … indeed, as much as is warranted! You can decide how much.

(Photos of the three Israeli hostages)

Realizing the difficulty, I will endeavor to place this brutal terrorist attack and the resulting war still waging in the Gaza Strip in a broader context with some crucial correlations necessary for a more panoramic perspective. And what better way than to rely heavily on the superior source of unchangeable truth and comprehensive knowledge known to humanity—the everlasting Word of God.

The Bible: Explaining and exploring the life-giving, eternal destiny altering salvation available to all—Jew and Gentile (including Palestinians) alike within the pages of Scripture. With its problem-solving solutions for a world gone mad; drunk with hatred, saturated with and staggered by violence. Solutions found and bound in the true and living God—who refers to himself (among other magnificent names/tittles) as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God who, through His Son, will right all wrongs; will bring light to the nations; will dissolve the darkness that coves the earth.

Whose Son, the Messiah, as the Prince of Peace, will establish a Kingdom of Justice, Righteousness, and Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7)!

Considering the shocking death and destruction inflicted by Hamas beginning in the early morning hours of October 7 when many Israelis were still in bed, even the observant (religious … as the majority of Israeli Jews are essentially secular) among them may brought to mind the words of Isaiah written long ago:

“Yet Jerusalem says, ‘The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us” (Isaiah 49:14).

Undoubtedly, many have added the word, “again,” to this verse. Just as they agonized during and after the inconceivable Holocaust.

How many really trust what God says in the very next verse? “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15).

The Absolute Truth and Remarkable Reliability of God’s Promises/Prophecies

Over and over the Bible tells us that the true and living God is a Faithful God.

His promises have been constantly proven true. As said in the prior Eye of Prophecy posts (and by others), “What God says he will do, he always does. What He says will happen, always happens.” For emphasis I will repeat: ALWAYS.

Oh, that every Jew in Israel (and the world-over) would remember and embrace one of the most comforting and compelling promises made by the LORD. A magnificent pledge given despite God’s punishment of Israel for constantly disobeying and abandoning the Lord.

“This is what the LORD says, ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (Jeremiah 29:10-11).

God has supernaturally intervened when the enemy (Satan and/or people) attempts to distort, damage, and destroy God’s Plans. Not the least of which is the inexplicable, irrational, yet malicious determination through the ages by individuals and nations to destroy Jews and Israel.

“They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones.” (Psalms 83:3),

Then, in the next verse:

God’s plans may be (with his permission) interrupted from time to time. But never are they overcome by Satan, fallen angels, or mankind’s folly, failures, or false religions and vain philosophies. Another national disaster would befall Israel when the Roman Empire killed hundreds of thousands of Jews between AD 66 and AD 70, then sacked Jerusalem and demolished the Second Temple. Followed by massive exile of Jews to the four corners of the earth, which contributed significantly to the Holocaust in Europe by Hitler and his Third Reich.

Since then, Jews the world-over have sworn, NEVER AGAIN. Never again would something so horribly vile as the Holocaust happen to them. This saying was born both of desperation and determination. And, on the authority of God’s Word proven true (as it always is), by subsequent events … it will not ever happen again.

As written in the previous post:

The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: ‘I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine” (Isaiah 62:1-2a & 8).

This promise carries the clear connotation of a larger, more permanent conquest of Israel such as undertaken by Assyria, Babylon, and the Roman Empire, culminating in the worst of all—the Holocaust. But despite the horrendous carnage inflicted, not the temporary one-day Hamas intrusion into Israel.

NEVER AGAIN! God will see to it.

In a series of Eye of Prophecy articles: Seven Times Seven (to the 4^th Power!) Part I, II, III (posted 1-25; 2-1; and 2-8-2014), you will find exceptionally strong evidence to show that Gentile domination over Israel ended in 1967. Which is based on an extraordinary prophecy in (of all places) the book of Leviticus—Chapter 26; fulfilled in/by prophesied periods of time that started with the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s Second Temple.

Meaning that fulfillment of the prophetic passage just quoted from Isaiah Chapter 62 began when Israel was victorious in the stunning Six-Day War of 1967. Here is an excerpt from Seven Times Seven, Part III (in italics):

I vividly recall the Six-Day War … where I was and what I was doing when the news flashed around the world. Since then, I and many students of Biblical prophecy and current events have better understood the tremendous significance of Israel’s victory. But no one appreciates the impact of those six days in June and the aftermath more than the Jews, both religious and secular.

The Six-Day War took place 50 years–a Jubilee period of time–after the first milestone in Israel’s modern-day rebirth as a nation. I’m referring to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, in which Lord Balfour of Great Britain paved the way for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine by validation of the Zionist movement initiated by Jewish leaders Theodor Herzl and Chaim Weizmann. These founding fathers of modern-day Israel believed that the only solution to the “Jewish Question” was a return of the Jews to Palestine. In 1922, the League of Nations approved the Balfour Declaration via a “Mandate for Palestine.” This was the beginning of Jews returning in increasing numbers to the Holy Land and resettling the land originally given to them by God, himself. No other nation or land on the earth has a title-deed signed, sealed, and delivered by God, as does the Promised Land known as Israel.

Sadly, return of the Jews and Israel’s statehood came too late to avoid the greatest disaster in Jewish history: the Holocaust during World War II … which constituted the full and final expression of the seven times over discipline.

However, were it not for the horror of the Holocaust, there would have been no United Nations approval of a Jewish Homeland (November 1947); then the subsequent establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948. Immediately five Arab countries attacked the fledgling state of Israel with the express purpose of erasing Israel from existence before she could even show up on global maps of the earth….

On paper, there’s absolutely no way that Israel should have defeated her enemies in 1948. But then the God of Israel is not a paper god, nor a god invented by man. He is the true and living God. With him any victory is possible; without him all the military might in the world is useless. Just ask the inhabitants of Jericho, whose walls were virtually impenetrable!

…Our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is an awesome God! All other gods are imposters. No, they are not imposters … they are non-existent! They are figments of vain imaginations. They cannot make their predictions come true like the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible can. In fact, they dare not make predictions. Our God IS God! Our Messiah IS Messiah! We await his soon return … come quickly Lord Jesus!

The Ultimate Significance of 1967

Not until the Six-Day War, did Israel really possess and then demonstrate the capacity to take the offensive against Arab armies. Meaning, that their military (IDF) was strong enough to recapture Jerusalem from the Jordanians, to take back the Western Wall and Temple Mount. They were skilled enough to literally take the high ground of the Golan Heights from Syria and equipped enough to retake Gaza and Sinai from Egypt. From international pressure including the United States, Israel gave back much of this territory including the Temple Mount (the most holy Jewish site in the most Holy City of Jerusalem); but they still exercise ultimate authority over these strategic areas of the Holy Land.

The Jews for the very first time since the days of their Babylonian captivity, were free of Gentile domination!

(Photo of some Israeli soldiers resting against the Western Wall after liberating Old City of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War)

Then I wrote in that article:

What does all this mean? I believe the evidence is indisputable, not the least of which is the seven times over prophecy ending in the year 1967. Now that this mysterious prophecy has run its full course, Israel and the Jewish people are no longer under the thumb of Gentile nations. The Times of the Gentiles ended in 1967! This is an astonishing sign of the end times; that is the physical rebirth and restoration of Israel, substantial return of millions of Jews to the land of their ancestors….

For the first time in nearly 2,500 years, Israel has the military resources to fight its own battles and even conduct preemptive strikes to silence the ominous threats of extinction by her enemies, such as a nuclear Iran. She is a beacon of democracy in a Middle East full of totalitarian Muslim regimes that fight among themselves and have only one thing in common: the malicious desire to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. She is powerful enough to be a deterrent to terrorist groups and quite capable of making rogue rulers think twice about use of WMDs. Before 1967, this kind of prestige, power, presence, and position was not available to Israel. When God ended Israel’s discipline in 1967 (7 x 7 x 7 x 7), he also ended the Gentile nation’s conquest, oppression, suppression, dominance, and defeat of Israel.

(Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article: Times of and Fullness of the Gentiles. What Do They Mean? Published 4-21-2018).

A Broader Perspective

To be sure: Hamas’ horrendously savage attack on Israel and slaughter of some 1,200 Israelis was unprecedented. Unparalleled because Hamas is a guerrilla army. Obviously, this gang of murderers is a formidable fighting force against innocent, mostly unarmed Israeli civilians. And, because of vastly superior numbers on that fateful day, able to overcome and kill several hundred IDF soldiers—caught off guard due to lack of what normally is superior, sophisticated Israeli intelligence that might (conjecture) have thwarted or at least minimized this atrocious attack.

But Hamas is an ISIS-type terror organization. Though well-armed with assault rifles, handguns, and knives, Hamas lacks heavy military arsenals such as tanks, airplanes, and other armored vehicles. Also, it has launched thousands of missiles and mortars into Israel, yet in open warfare it would be no match for Israel. However, because Hamas has hundreds of miles of tunnels throughout Gaza and uses its own civilians as human shields (in hospitals, mosques, schools, and homes,) it has been and will continue to be costly for the IDF to eliminate this barbaric terror group.

(Photo of Hamas’ terrorists with rocket propelled grenade rifles)

Make no mistake: Israel will decisively defeat Hamas, as well as Hezbollah in the north should that terrorist army attack Israel from Lebanon. There’s no way that any terror organization or even the Arab/Muslim nations surrounding Israel who were soundly defeated by Israel in four previous wars (1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973) will defeat Israel in battle to the extent that Israel would be conquered and cease to exist as a Jewish nation. That is the Never Again promised by God through the prophet Isaiah and by other Old Testament prophets.

Whether the war expands to include defensive military action against Hezbollah in the north or not, by the time this war ends—with exception of some malevolent Muslims nations (like Iran and Yemen) and most Palestinians—even Israel’s Arab neighbors will recognize more than ever Israel’s sovereign right to exist (despite the rampant antisemitism going on including many Western nations) as the only democracy in the Middle East … and a Jewish one at that. To, I’m convinced, such an extent that Israel will experience peace approaching the Biblical glory times of King David (last part of his reign) and King Solomon.

Will the scope of this war inevitably include Israeli preemptive action against Iran? I do not believe it will, at least not on a scale large enough to ignite a widespread regional conflict. This is not a prediction as such. Rather a Biblically based deduction regarding the nature and extent of both Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel and the scope of Israel’s crushing, yet righteous response.

Israel will never be the same. The Middle East will never be the same. The world will never be the same. Israel’s strategy of containment (what has been referred to as “mowing the grass” without removing the entire yard) is over. Elimination of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terror groups in Israel is the only recourse for the Jewish State of Israel. Short of that, many more Jews will be slaughtered by merciless, militant Islamic terrorists.

Which, in turn, means that any future action against Israel will be initiated via a coalitional assault by heavily armed forces of other nations.

In that context, this invasion by Hamas will in all probability be:

A Preview of and Preparation for Two Coming Invasions of Israel

(1) Gog/Magog Invasion of Israel (Ezekiel Chapters 38&39): Time/space in today’s article permits only the following passages from these two spectacular prophetic chapters, with God speaking through Ezekiel to the ruler called Gog (of Magog):

“…In the distant future (this was written approximately 2,600 years ago … we are now that distant future), you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel…

“You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence! … They think the whole world revolves around them!’” (jealous hatred mostly by Arabs and Muslims but also those of the far-right and far-left is one of, if not the main, irrational components of Antisemitism) (Ezekiel 38:8, 11-12, italics for emphasis, parenthesis mine).

Because this evil military confederation is huge—far too powerful for Israel to defeat—and because no other nation including the United States, with reasons given in some of my articles, will come to Israel’s aid, God himself will spring into action and dramatically destroy the Gog/Magog coalition before the eyes of a spellbound world.

“But this is what the Sovereign LORD says, ‘When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over!’” (Ezekiel 38:18). Verses 19 through 22 then provide graphic details of how God will annihilate the Russian, Turkish, and Iranian armies along with other smaller nations that had foolishly joined them in trying to obliterate Israel.

Then the LORD announces, “In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 38:23).

The primary or secondary subject of at least nine Eye of Prophecy articles is about the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel. Here are five of them:

The Gog/Magog Countdown Has Begun! (9-16-2016); The Terrible Trio of Gog/Magog (2-17-2017); Gog/Magog’s Prophetic Clock is Ticking, Ticking… (6-16-2018); The Prophetic Endgame of Gog/Magog (11-9-2019); Russia’s Shocking Invasion of Ukraine … A Preview of Gog/Magog’s Attack on Israel? (3-19-22).

Also, Stand Still & Watch God Fight for Israel! (posted 7-30-2016) presents Biblical precedents that are a prelude to God’s supernatural intervention against enemies attacking Israel, with Israel not needing to fight at all. The Gog/Magog assault on Israel will be swift and unexpected as was the Hamas assault on Israel; however, Israel will literally stand still and watch the Lord fight for her.

(2) Antichrist’s Ten-Nation Coalition Campaign Against Israel:  This includes a series of battles known famously as Armageddon. Described first in Daniel Chapter 11, then in Zechariah Chapters 12 & 14, and hundreds of years later depicted in Revelation Chapters 16 & 17. Also, references throughout other prophetic books of the Old Testament to the Tribulation period, such as found in Joel Chapter 3. Finally, Revelation 19:11-21 provides the dramatic and climatic end of Antichrist, the False Prophet, and their massive military alliance.

Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article: Armageddon & Messiah’s Return … An Amazing Sequence of Events (posted 2-3-2018).

That article ties the above passages together, especially Zechariah 12 & 14 with Revelation 19. Yielding a startling disclosure (clarification): Messiah Jesus will return to earth twice during the last 30 days or so of the Great Tribulation.

However, unlike the divine defeat of the Gog/Magog alliance by God himself, the Jews must fight in the final battle of Armageddon. And fight they will until they are overwhelmed by the sheer military might of Antichrist’s armies, and Messiah takes over with another divine intervention culminating in a magnificent victory over evil itself.

“On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David… For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:8a & 9).

As horrible as the Hamas massacre of Israelis, and as difficult it is for Israeli Jews and Jews throughout the world to process this monstrosity (the whys and wherefores), I’m convinced that the Lord God will continue to complete all the powerful prophecies and precious promises concerning the two overriding plans that the LORD has for humanity. (1) Israel—the Promised Land possessed perpetually by the descendants of Abraham—through Isaac and Jacob. (2) The True Church called the body of Christ, comprised of individual Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus as Messiah and Savior. With believers living forever in heaven with the Lord and his angels (Revelation 21 & 22). And unbelievers confined to the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20).

Throughout Scripture we find that God’s plans unfolding through events and people come often in sets of two, with the most wide-ranging of these events identified in the preceding paragraph. Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article: Significant Sets of Twos in the Bible (posted 3-30-2019). Also: Double Israel’s Troubles & Double Her Blessings! (Published 8-13-2016).

Once again quoting Jeremiah: “But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

And for believers in the New Covenant of Grace predicted by the same prophet Jeremiah (Chapter 31), the well-known New Testament passage of Romans 8:28.

How Does The LORD—God the Father, His Son the Messiah, and The Holy Spirit—Accomplish Divine Plans and Purposes

Before we examine two ways/means that the Lord fulfills His prophecies and keeps His promises, I’d like to quote from my second book (non-fiction) to illustrate from a human viewpoint just how difficult it is to grasp the how of it all; therefore, the wonder of it all. In italics, beginning with the heading of that section of the book:

Prophecy and Human Destiny

We see many amazing things about God and prophecy, including intricate details of people, places, dates, times, numbers, and meticulous explanations of how these things will happen. But the most astonishing feature of Biblical prophecy is 100% accuracy in matching up the prediction with the event predicted. We see and experience these things in time and space. God is not bound by either of these dimensions. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next hour, let alone next month or year. Yet, by our decisions and actions, by our good choices, bad choices, or indifferent choices, we can change things that otherwise would or would not have occurred. We can also be changed by the decisions and behavior of others, by events beyond our control.

How then does God still achieve his plan? How can he make all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) to those who love him and who are called according to his purpose? How does he circumvent the innumerable bad decisions that we all have made, not to mention the evil in this world to accomplish his purpose? Okay, I’ll give you a hint: Because he is God! This isn’t just the humble opinion of one man, nor is it a cop-out, nor is it an oversimplified answer to an otherwise unfathomable question or concept.

To be sure, however, the “hint” does beg the question: he can do anything because he is God. But that still doesn’t explain how he does it. So, we are left begging the question because it is simply beyond our natural, finite comprehension, which is why God doesn’t demand or even ask that we completely grasp his providential sovereignty. If we could wrap our finite minds around his omnipotence and omniscience, I suppose that we would be God (Out of the Abyss, Chapter 3, page 22).

The Jewish Apostle Paul (an avowed Pharisee who persistently persecuted Christians before he was drastically changed by his encounter with the risen Messiah Jesus) summarized the remarkable discourse regarding God’s stunning plan of salvation for Israel and extended to the Gentiles via the New Covenant (Romans Chapters 9-11) with the following words of praise and awe:

“Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advise?” (Romans 11:33-34).

From the Old Testament (Covenant) book of Isaiah, these profound words from the LORD:

More words to try to describe the true and living God of the Bible: Inscrutable, Immutable, Immeasurable, Incomparable, Indestructible, Unfathomable, Unstoppable.

Nevertheless, we can know as much as we need to know and even, for some subjects, what we want to know. Why is that?

Through His general revelation (Creation, e.g., Psalm 19) and through His special revelation (the Bible, e.g., II Timothy 3:16) God has made Himself known to humanity. Though finitely limited, we can to some measure comprehend God’s awesome attributes of Omniscience, Omnipresence, Omnipotence. We can know that God is Love; God is Truth; God is Eternal; God is Gracious; God is Merciful; God is Light; and God is Life.

Moreover, all these magnificent attributes have been wrapped up and expressed by God’s Son, Messiah Jesus. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation…. For God in all his fulness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Colossians 1:15, 19-20).

Jesus, himself, declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Our free-will choice is to believe and receive him as Savior. Or to choose not to (personally) accept him. But according to the Bible, neutrality is not an option.

In the excerpt from Out of the Abyss I used these two words: providential sovereignty. They express and summarize God’s Omnipotence (all-powerful supremacy), Omniscience (all-knowing, the end from the beginning), and Omnipresence (ever-present whenever and wherever he chooses) in his involvement with humanity’s experiences and our eternal destiny.

The Dynamic Range of Sovereignty & Providence

Those two concepts help explain the two ways/means that the LORD accomplishes his perfect plans, powerful prophecies, and precious promises. To compare them (similarities and differences) and to also see how they overlap. Then we’ll look at two Biblical examples for each one of them.

(1) Sovereignty or Sovereign

To get a handle (head start) on this concept, let’s begin with some of the definitions or synonyms according to Marion Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. For the most part, these definitions are generalized with a primary application to leaders (of nations). But also, strong implications of divine sovereignty.

Sovereign: “one that exercises supreme authority within a limited sphere.” (Regarding God’s supremacy, it would extend to the entire universe). Also, “superlative in quality, having undisputed ascendency … possessed of supreme power, unlimited in extent.” Synonyms listed in Webster’s: “Excellent, Supreme, Unmitigated, Paramount, Independent, Absolute” (parenthesis mine).

Other synonyms: Superior, Matchless, Predominant.

Sovereignty: “supreme excellence or an example of it … freedom from external control. One that is sovereign … controlling influence.” Synonym: “Autonomy.”

Others: Power, Authority, Dominance, Control.

(2) Providence, Provident, Providential

Here, Webster’s definitions (rightfully) include God and His divinity. As follows:

Providence: “Divine guidance or care; God conceived as the power sustaining and guiding human destiny.”

Provident: “Making provision for the future.” God, as provider is frequently noted in Scripture.

Providential: “Of, relating to, or determined by Providence … marked by foresight. Occurring by or as if by an intervention of Providence.” *Note: I would add, …and/or by intervention of Sovereignty (or Sovereign intervention) to illustrate the overlap of these two concepts.

But there are also differences between God’s Sovereignty and Providence. To the degree that they are not synonyms as such.

Although there are others, for sake of time/space, let’s look at only two of the distinctions between Sovereignty and Providence—beginning for illustration purposes with a sentence:

The providential performance and completion of God’s plans and purposes are sometimes displayed in His sovereign interaction in the affairs of mankind, which demonstrates His providential sovereignty over all things.

Sovereignty: The Sovereign Lord takes supernatural, extraordinarily overt action when and how he deems necessary—through nature and through the course of human events affecting mostly Israel and the Church (Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ).

Providence: Less obvious, behind the scenes. More difficult (at first) to detect or determine. Active but in a seemingly “inactive” way. In which the Lord’s providential purview and processes for a particular plan or purpose are seen in hindsight.

Sovereignty: Divine intervention in the lives of both believers and unbelievers. Particularly with God’s special possession, Israel, and God’s chosen people, the Jews, to bring the light of God’s salvation through the New Covenant of Grace. To both Jews and Gentiles.

Providence: Divine direction from beginning to end of God’s plans for humanity, individually and collectively. With the Lord working out the details by ways and means not fully understand during the “process.” The Lord making a way when there is apparently no way, sometimes through sovereign intrusion in and even disruption of people, places, and events.

Biblical Examples of Divine Sovereignty and Providence

Although there are many more, I’ll present just two examples of these dynamic methods of God.

*Note: As far as I know, with perhaps exception of one or two Bible translations, the English word Providence or Providential is not found in either the Old or New Testaments. But it doesn’t have to be. An example is the word Rapture, also, not found in the Bible; yet explained clearly and directly in I Thessalonians Chapter 4 and II Corinthians 15. And indirectly in other passages. See Eye of Prophecy article: Biblical Terms Not in the Bible … Are They Biblical? Posted 3-10-2018.

Sovereignty

(A) God’s Divine Disruption and Destruction of the Gog/Magog Invasion of Israel

It will be sovereignly unexpected, swift, and devastatingly decisive in the results!

“But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over! In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day” (Ezekiel 38:18-19).

Then in verses 21-22, we see how God will unilaterally destroy this mighty coalition.

“In this way I will show my greatness and holiness and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the LORD” (Ezekiel 38:23).

Followed in Ezekiel 39 by extensive, graphic scenes of the results: Such as, “It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 39:12-13).

*Note: the bodies are those of what will probably be hundreds of thousands (if not in the millions) of the armies of Russia, Iran, Turkey, and smaller nations. The only help or involvement of Israel will be the clean-up aftermath, as Israel (the IDF) will not need to fight in this war.

(B) The Story of Esther

Here, I would just refer to the book of Esther. Read it again or for the first time and look in wonder at the supreme sovereignty of God in protecting and directing Esther to save the Jewish race from genocidal plans of Haman. All part of the (overlapping) Providential plan of the Lord.

Providence

(A) Joseph’s Phenomenal Transition from Being Sold into Egyptian Slavery by His Brothers, To Being Appointed Second in Command in Egypt to Pharoah Himself

With an against all odds series of events in which God working behind the scenes, providentially rescued Joseph and, thereby, saved Israel (and Egypt) from a deadly famine in the region.

The historical account of Joseph can be found in Genesis Chapters 37 through Chapter 50—the end of the book of Genesis. With this well-known verse a poignant summary of how God in his Providence turned all the bad things into exceptionally good results.

A happy ending if ever there was one!

After Joseph “broke down and wept” when his brothers confessed their sin against him and begged for his forgiveness, he said to them: “…Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:19-20).

(B) The Lord’s All-inclusive Plan and Purpose for Israel

There are hundreds of passages, mostly in the Old Testament both stated and implied concerning the tumultuous, yet tremendous prophetic chronicle of Israel’s existence (past, present, future) and experiences. From the time of Abraham to what is happening in Israel before our 21^st century eyes.

This panoramic view of Israel’s legacy is, by far, the most compelling example of God’s providence, to include many sovereign acts against Israel’s enemies. And for and against Israel (punishment for their disobedience).

Summed up by Isaiah’s profound conclusion concerning the end times, while speaking to Israel about Gentiles: “They will follow you as prisoners in chains. They will fall to their knees in front of you and say, ‘God is with you, and he is the only God. There is no other.’

“Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in mysterious ways” (Isaiah 45:14b-15).

Things to Ponder

Have you noticed that our plans don’t always come to pass? I know … duh! This is equally true for families, communities, cities, states, and nations.

We don’t always get what we want. And sometimes we get what we don’t want!

On a personal note, it was my intention to conclude today’s article with three more sets of twos: Israel’s Rebirth & Return; Recognition & Repentance; Restoration & Redemption. Instead, that will be the subject of the next Eye of Prophecy post.

However, God’s prophecies and plans are always fulfilled—through his Sovereignty and Providence. Despite what’s happening in this weary and wicked world, can you say AMEN to that!

We can succinctly and safely summarize today’s article by proclaiming: God is in control.

Our God reigns. Once again, I’m referring to the God of the Bible. Because He is the ONLY God. Not the god of Islam nor the gods of any other religion. They are man-made.

So, let’s: “Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds” (Psalm 105:1-2).

Would you say this aloud with me:

LORD, you always do what you say you will do. Because all your promises are forever true!

Ten months and ten days since my last article.

It’s good to be back!

There were legitimate reasons for the interlude. Okay … I’ll settle for a few practical excuses!

Bad News: I’m getting older.

Good News: I’m (still) getting older. As in alive, sitting in a mostly upright position at my desk in front of the keyboard. Thank you, Lord, for the ability to see, hear, stand, walk, and talk!

Bad News/Good News: It takes me twice as long to get half as much done. But I can keep it to that formula most of the time!

Well, a little humor to begin this article … emphasis on little.

Time to move on to the scene that has seized world attention, that has spawned headlines for over a month. Because it’s not only difficult but somewhat inappropriate to even try to be a little funny; considering the most hideous event experienced by Israel since the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Some are saying—in terms of deliberate targeting of and brutality against innocent Jewish civilians—the most awful atrocity since the Holocaust.

So much so that Israel immediately declared (all-out) war on the terrorist organization Hamas of the Gaza Strip; unprecedented in contrast to previous Israeli (more) measured responses to the launching of missiles and mortars into Israel from Gaza or much smaller “lone wolf” type assaults. But then, Hamas’ gruesome raid within Israel proper was beyond compare in scope and severity. Both Hamas’ terrorists and Palestinian civilians poured into Israel to torture, rape, burn alive, and slaughter with guns and knives.

Then, to further humiliate Israel mercilessly; the taking of some 240 hostages, from six-month-old babies to a 90+ year-old Israeli woman—a survivor of the Holocaust.

Undoubtedly some or all the well-known passage from the book of Ecclesiastes has been quoted by a few, particularly Jewish and Christian authors who have written about the brutal attack on Israeli Jews. Which was launched deliberately on the Jewish Sabbath. Moreover, on the final day of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), one of the most joyous Jewish High Holidays. Also, just one day past the 50^th anniversary of the Syrian and Egyptian attack on Israel during Jewish observance of Yom Kippur (1973).

I’ll limit the excerpt from the following verses, to be contemplated mostly in the context of Israel’s justified reprisal.

“For everything there is a season… A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance… A time to love and time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:1a; 3-4; 8).

Because Allah, the god of Islam, is NOT (repeat for emphasis—NOT) the true and living God of the Bible—the great I AM, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the Muslims have a completely different script for their religion … the Koran. Portions of that book record the Islamic god’s command to persecute, subjugate, and kill infidels, which notably are almost entirely Jews and Christins. But also, other Muslims, depending on whether a Muslim is Shi-ite or Sunni.

Naturally then, Muslims pay no attention to this Ecclesiastes passage or any other part of the Bible as the very Word of God. Which has been proven to be supernaturally divine by the many miracles throughout Scripture performed either by Father God or by his Son (Jesus) or by the Holy Spirit. Plus, the hundreds of documented fulfilled prophecies and dozens more awaiting fulfillment.

Conversely, the Koran is virtually void of miracles or prophecies.

The Horrendous Hatred and Bestial Brutality of It All

Islamic terrorists and those both actively and passively expressing their pleasure over the massacres committed by (so-called) human beings that acted and continue to act like animals of prey, have entirely inverted and perverted the phrase, “A time to” used in all eight verses of this Chapter 3 passage.

“A time to kill” is reserved exclusively for Israel’s declaration of war, the goals of which are basically three-fold: To save and return as many of the hostages as possible; to punish Hamas for this unbelievably brutal attack on Israeli Jews; to see to it that it will NEVER AGAIN happen, by destroying the monstrous beast called Hamas. All the while doing Israel’s very best to avoid Gazan civilian casualties—despite Hamas blatantly using their own people as protective shields.

Whereas the savage killing done by Hamas was undeniably just plain Murder.

“A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.”

Who with any trace of morality or conscience would laugh and dance over the unspeakable agony suffered by innocent slaughtered Israelis, and the anguish of the injured and of family survivors? That is exactly what thousands of Palestinians did—in both Gaza and Judea/Samaria, known in secular terms as the West Bank—shortly after (what they profanely labeled) the “victorious” invasion of Israel. Not only Muslim Arabs in Israel, but Muslims in other Islamic countries and immigrated Muslims to Western nations, such as United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany. Even in the United States.

SICKENING.

I used the word unspeakable.

But we must speak of it. And there are many more words than sickening; intensely sorrowful words that have been written and uttered by families of the Israeli victims (indeed, by all Israelis) and by numerous op-ed authors. Words spoken often through media broadcasts during interviews with notable politicians, military analysts, and celebrities whose sensibilities have been shocked—along with all of us who are appalled at the magnitude of this abominable attack on Israeli Jews.

One of, if not the main reason deceitfully offered by Israel’s enemies is that of Israeli “occupation” of (so-called) Palestinian Territories. Whether the West Bank or Golan Heights or the Gaza Strip, Israel has never occupied (in the negative connotation of the word) any of these areas. During Israel’s total victory in the Six-Day War of June 1967, they retook all the land that was rightfully theirs. Which is unequivocally justified by historical standards and by International Law, i.e., a nation’s right to claim or reclaim (in Israel’s case) land from which they are attacked by their enemies to prevent/preempt future incursions.

Arabs flatly rejected the opportunity to establish their own state as set forth by a United Nations Resolution of 1947. Instead, five Arab nations attacked the Jews the day after Israel’s declaration of statehood on May 14, 1948. When Arab nations were on the brink of attacking Israel in May-June of 1967, Israel preemptively struck Egypt and Syria. And one more conventional war in 1973—in which Israel was completely caught off guard, mostly because her people were observing the most Holy Day of Yom Kippur.

Even then Israel eventually agreed to the now infamous Oslo Accords of 1993, wherein the designated Part A of Judea/Samaria was to be inhabited solely by Israeli Jews but is now being encroached upon by unlawful Palestinian construction, both residential and business. Parts B & C were set aside for Palestinians, governed by the Palestinian Authority. With some of this territory still under final Israeli authority—to hunt down Palestinian terrorists who maim and murder Israelis, then flee back to the West Bank. To also thwart planned terrorists acts that have been exposed by Israeli intelligence.

Strong Evidence for Majority Palestinian Support of Terrorism

In the greater global community, there has been a growing misperception and outright distortion that Palestinian civilians (non-terrorist) have been intimidated, subjugated, and otherwise held hostage by Hamas. That the majority of Palestinians in Gaza want peace with Israel.

Public opinion polls in Gaza (and the West Bank) prove these claims to be inaccurate.

In an article originally posted in the online site of Jewish News Syndicate on October 27, 2023, then reposted in Prophecy News Watch website, we read: “Hamas enjoys widespread support among Gaza’s civilian population, which voted Hamas into power and would likely do so again. This support finds expression not only in public opinion polls, but in active participation in Hamas attacks.

“According to an average of polls conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research during 2022, approximately 60% of the Strip’s residents on average supported the ‘armed struggle’ (i.e., terrorist attacks) against Israel…. In March 2023 support for armed struggle among Gaza residents rose to 68%.

“According to the same poll, in a hypothetical election between Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, 61% of Gazans would back Haniyeh while only 35% would vote for Abbas… In a June 2023 PCPSR poll, support for Haniyeh rose to 65%, compared to 30% for Abbas, whereas support for armed struggle was at 64%.”

Continuing with that article: “Following the October 7 massacre, waves of Gazan civilians entered Israel and took part in the pogrom. Footage from a security camera at Kibbutz Be’eri shows a mob of Gazan civilians invading the kibbutz to pillage it. Gazan civilians also participated in the second wave of kidnappings of Israel civilians to Gaza….

“One such terrible picture was revealed this week at the UN as Israel released the audio of a terrorist who phoned his family to brag of killing Jews. The audio recording was found on the recovered phone of murdered Israeli woman…”

For both time/space and because the recording is hideous, I’ll repeat only two lines of the terrorist’s conversation with his parents:

“Dad, I’m talking to you from a Jewish woman’s phone. I killed her, and I killed her husband. I killed 10 with my own hands.

‘Oh, my son, God bless you,’ the father cries emotionally. The mother also expresses enthusiasm.”

A Spine-Chilling Comparison (Public support in Germany of Hitler and his Third Reich’s Final Solution of the Jewish Problem. Commonly known as The Holocaust)

Untold volumes, an abundance of media/online productions, and countless commentaries have dealt with the worst mass atrocity in human history— contemptuous, calculated, and cold-blooded genocidal murder of six million Jews by and through megalomanic Adolph Hitler and his Third Reich. I, too, have studied extensively the evidence preceding, during, and following the Holocaust, and have written about it periodically.

In the context of today’s article, only a nutshell summary will be offered: Beginning with excerpts from the Website of United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, specifically the Q&A segment. I’ll also provide some commentary.

“By the end of the war in 1945, the Germans and their collaborators had killed nearly two out of every three European Jews.”

[Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article, Two-Thirds of Jews Killed … Past or Future? (Posted 9-19-2015). This is one of the more personal, poignant articles I’ve written. Among other features, there are two highlights: (1) That, phenomenally, the Bible (Zachariah 13) does predict the Holocaust, including details that include the actual percentage (2/3) of Jews who would be killed. With evidence to demonstrate this is precisely what took place during the Holocaust. (2) Which answers the question posed in the title: is it a past event (during the 20^th century) or is it yet to come during the Great Tribulation?]

(Jewish women struggling to survive at Auschwitz … one of innumerable photos/videos of the Holocaust)

Continuing with the US Holocaust Memorial article: “The Nazis believed that Germans were racially superior. They believed the Jews were a threat to the so-called German racial community.

“Antisemitism, the fear, or hatred of Jews (absurd, unfounded motives; irrational, incomprehensible reasons), existed in Europe for centuries before the Holocaust…. Many Germans were willing to tolerate Nazi antisemitism. Hitler… blamed Jews for all of German’s problems” (Parenthesis mine).

*Note: Arabs and non-Arab Muslims worldwide including, of course, Arab Palestinians who have long tolerated the “militants” (terrorists) among them, have used disgustingly similar terms to express their contemptible hatred for the Jews. Calling them sub-human, apes, pigs, slime, vermin—just as the Germans did during and before World-War II. And, conversely referring to those terrorists who are killed during terrorist attacks on innocent Israeli Jews as “Martyrs.” See Eye of Prophecy article: Can a Murderer Be A Martyr? (Published 1-30-2016).

Resuming the article: “The Holocaust was caused by many factors, including millions of individual decisions made by ordinary people who chose to actively participate in—or at least tolerate—the persecution and murder of their neighbors.”

*Note: Especially since Israel became a Nation-state again 1948, Arabs in Israel (who took over the designation of Palestinian that, since the Balfour Declaration of 1917, had been used to refer almost exclusively to the Jews living in the area known as Palestine) have actively and passively supported the four wars that Arab (Muslim) countries/armies instigated against Israel.

Commonly referred to as Israel’s War of Independence of 1948-49; Suez Canal War of 1956; Six-Day War of 1967; Yom Kippur War of 1973.

When the Arabs came to the full realization that they could not defeat Israel and drive out the Jews (from the land that the United Nations approved for Israel’s right to statehood) through conventional warfare—despite vast Arab numerical and equipment advantages—they resorted to pernicious propaganda against Jewish Israelis and jihad-motivated murderous attacks against Jewish civilians. These assaults were and still are committed primarily by individual “lone wolf” Palestinians who infiltrate Israel illegally (and some legally through work passes) and by organized terrorist organizations, e.g., Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas. But also, Israeli-Arab citizens who often live close to Jewish communities in Judea/Samaria.

However, until now, never on a scale like what happened just five weeks ago to date. Which makes this monstrous rampage and resulting casualties an unquestionable aggressive act of war by Hamas on Israel—not merely another isolated, incident going on for decades in which one, two, or sometimes several Israelis were butchered by one or a handful of Palestinian terrorists. But not 1,400 Jews in virtually one day’s time.  

A comparison could be made to the Nazi’s first organized offensive incursion into Jewish lives and property called the Kristallnacht. Referring again to the comprehensively accurate website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Beginning with their introduction, then providing a few summary facts/figures:

“On November 9-10, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a series of pogroms against the Jewish population in Germany and recently incorporated territories such as annexed Austria, areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. This event came to be called Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) because of the shattered glass that littered the streets after the vandalism and destruction of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes.”

Note: Added might have been the shattering of Jewish lives throughout Germany. With the ugly, but apt association of so much destruction of Jewish homes and personal property and slaughter of so many Jews by Hamas Palestinians and even by Palestinian civilian non-combatants. However, a major difference is that Hamas conducted their carnage within Israel proper, having left their fully controlled and self-governed Gaza Strip, that had been vacated by all Jews in 2005 at the (misguided) order of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Israeli Jews do NOT OCCUPY in the negative sense of the term any part of Israel—including Golan Heights, Judea/Samaria, and Gaza. Land which they reclaimed in the Six-Day War. Moreover, there’s not one single Jew left in the Gaza Strip since their forced removal to other parts of Israel nearly 20 years ago. In that context, Hamas’ invasion of Israel was not due in any way, shape, or form to so-called Israeli “occupation.” Which is one of the deceitful narratives fabricated by Palestinians and Muslims the world over and believed by millions of the uninformed or gullibly misled. Not unlike the patently false accusations of “ethnic cleansing or apartheid.”

(One of many photos of the 2005 eviction of Jewish resident citizens of the Gaza Strip–most of them against their will)

The Kristallnacht article goes on to say that mobs of SA men roamed the streets, attacking the Jews in their houses and forcing Jews they encountered to perform acts of public humiliation. Although the “official figure for Jewish deaths, released by German officials … was 91,” subsequent scholarship evidence indicates hundreds were killed, both directly and indirectly those who later died of their injuries. Nazi-type facts/figures (through misinformation) are in similar fashion frequently exaggerated by Palestinian propaganda, especially concerning casualties. With one difference: the Germans deliberately underinflated the count … whether their own casualties or those they killed. Whereas the Palestinian terror cells and the Palestinian Authority often inflate the casualty count—whether their own or of the Jews.

Some 30,000 Jews—mostly men were rounded-up by German troops; many of them then hauled to prisons in Dachau, Buchenwald, and other locations, which subsequently became concentration camps where millions more were murdered.

On a smaller scale, Hamas took some 240 Jewish civilians and (some) soldiers as hostages back to Gaza; however, the parallel is still pertinent and poignant. The world is watching/waiting to see what Hamas will do with these hostages.

Global Response to Hamas’ Savage Aggression in Israel

Antisemitism was prevalent throughout Germany, other parts of Europe, and virtually all of Russia, particularly during the last half of the 19^th century and first half of the 20^th century. This began to subside when Kristallnacht took place. Most national leaders and many of their peoples were appalled at what the Nazi’s (with toleration and even participation of otherwise “neutral” Germans) did to the Jews in a short period of time. Condemnations of this (beginning of) Nazi barbarism came from many nations and world-leaders.

Then, due principally to the Holocaust, Antisemitism abated sharply with exception of far-right groups such as Neo-Nazis. Also, by the far-left mindset of Communism. Sadly, since the 21^st century exploded on the scene (being facetious, however, many presumed a lot of things such as computers or civilization itself would explode!), Antisemitism has begun to rear its ugly head. First and foremost, in Muslim controlled nations, spreading to South America, into Europe and other Western Nations, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and even the United States.

So much so that, despite global denunciation (rightfully so) by prominent world figures, there disgustingly has been public support (via college/university professors and student groups, demonstrations, protest marches and speeches, social media, and by political leaders at all levels) from many countries to different degrees for the Palestinian agenda. The most obvious of which is a warped validation of Hamas to include no mention of what this gang of murderers did to the Jews (and how they did it), all the while blasting Israel for disproportional retaliation, including “war crimes.”

This expresses and epitomizes the political, social, religious, and economic polarity dividing communities, cities, districts, states, provinces, and nations. More than that; it is the ultimate demonstration of human hatred largely from those who preach tolerance, diversity, and inclusion. Their very abhorrence of those they think are intolerant is as intolerant as it gets.

To endorse the revolting scenes of Palestinian/Muslim celebrating in the streets, cheering the deaths of so many Jews is more evidence of what can only be considered as moral decay resulting from a depraved conscience.

It is a complete lack of integrity, morality and all that is right and decent. It is (as we will see later) calling evil good and good evil, calling darkness light and light darkness.

(This was part of a video replayed in the aftermath of the invasion. Shows a kidnapped Jewish woman being forced into a vehicle by a Hamas terrorist)

At least the Germans were more refined and subdued in their complicity with what Nazi (terrorists) did to the Jews, beginning with Kristallnacht almost exactly 85 years ago. With several Holocaust era Jewish children (at that time) still alive on this earth to witness yet another smaller, but nevertheless just as horrific, Holocaust.

Concerning the inexplicable, nonetheless, inexcusable backing for Hamas, both directly and indirectly (calls for humanitarian cease-fire with no or only token denunciation of Hamas’s atrocities that started this ugly war), and insistence that Israel avoid civilian casualties at all costs—meaning, if necessary, more IDF soldiers must die—I’ll refer to only two of hundreds of incidents/examples from the past few weeks.

(1) Individual: Although I’m choosing one of the most virulently outspoken critics of Israel (baselessly blaming Israel/Jews for anything and everything happening to Palestinians), she is seemingly a representative mouthpiece for many Muslims the world-over.

She is one of the so-called “Progressive Squad” US House of Representatives Democrats alongside of Ilan Omar (Minnesota), Rashid Tlaib (Michigan), Jamael Bowman (New York), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (New York), and a couple of others. She is Cori Bush of Missouri.

Repeating the totally false and completely unsupported accusation that Israel is an “apartheid state,” Cori Bush said that she is advancing a “pro-peace agenda.”

Observation: Seriously?! As though no-one else is pushing for peace (but at what cost). As if Israeli Jews will be content to sit idly by while 1,400 of their own—including many women and children—were slaughtered ruthlessly by the dregs of human society. To meekly agree to a cease-fire for such a noble purpose (sarcasm intended) of a pro-peace agenda. An agenda that Hamas would spontaneously spit-on and monstrously misuse to kill more Jews.

On what planet does Cori Bush (and others like her) live?

Why doesn’t she ask any Hamas official of her choosing if Hamas wants any peace whatsoever with the “hated Jews.” The only peace they want is a piece of Israel, then another, then another. Until the entire Jewish nation of Israel is Arab/Muslim. To accomplish their genocidal ambition against the Jews: From the River to the Sea, Palestine must be free. Adding to that: “Until no Jews will we see.”

She went on to say: “Israel’s collective punishment against Palestinians for Hamas’s actions is a war crime. I strongly condemn Hamas and their appalling violations of human rights, but violations of human rights don’t justly more human rights violation in retaliation.”

Observations: First, it’s obvious that her condemnation of Hamas is strictly self-serving; to prove a broader point, that is flawed in the first place. If she had followed her criticism of Hamas with something to the effect that, Israel’s retaliation was justifiably necessary with a goal of preventing more massacres by eliminating the source itself—Hamas, it would be in keeping with Israel’s national and individual rights as a sovereign nation-state. Why? Because Hamas’ unprovoked savage assault by over 2,000 terrorists was indisputably an invasion and an “act of war.” It was not merely a violation of human rights. Nor is Israel’s response such a violation. Which is why Israel officially declared (a) war against Hamas.

Human rights violation is principally a civil (rights) / criminal offense handled by city, country, state, national law enforcement and peacetime courts of law. War crimes involve tribunals to arrest, indict, and try “war criminals.” Moreover, international law and time-tested rules of engagement allow a nation (people) who have been attacked aggressively by another nation, territory, or people to defend itself. Which could, and often does, mean going into the aggressor’s land-space to take out the enemy. This includes civilian casualties if, in fact, the only way to eliminate the enemy (in this case Hamas) is the unfortunate collateral damage to non-combatants. Frankly, as pertaining to Hamas, Israel’s actions are even more warranted. Because it’s crystal clear that Hamas uses its own civilian population as human shields to protect their soldiers and equipment.

When Cori Bush and her equally groundless progressives began to throw out terms like “human rights violations”, they first need to define those terms objectively, morally, and legally. Without any subjective interpretations based upon what is also crystal clear—their built-in prejudice against and animosity toward Israel and Jews.

(2) National: World opinion, summarized by power point excerpts from an article posted in Gatestone Institute on-line website on November 1, 2023, by Alain Destexhe, entitled, France and the European Union Are No Friends of Israel. Beginning with:

– “At the recent European Summit in Brussels, the heads of state and government did not make the call for ‘humanitarian pauses’ conditional on the release of the Israeli and foreign hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.”

– “Thirty-five French citizens were murdered by Hamas on October 7, and nine others are being held hostage (among approximately 230 hostages), but France wants to provide aid to those who are holding them.”

– “…Hamas has been hoarding the food and medicine intended for the suffering people of Gaza… Cement for ‘rebuilding Gaza’ has instead been diverted to building attack tunnels, and water pipes from the European Union are made into rockets…”

– “…France and the European Union should have made their aid to Gaza conditional on the hostages’ release and stated that no ‘humanitarian’ aid will be provided until Hamas releases them. Hamas has created this situation, not Israel.”

Then the article goes on to report the result of the Summit’s vote: “Last week, with 120 votes in favor, 15 against and 45 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly passed a shameful resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian corridors in Gaza—without condemning the crimes of Hamas…”

(Shows the French hostages–children–taken by Hamas)

A Far More Truthful, Meaningful, and Balanced Counterpoint

Taken from World Israel News Staff online report of October 30, 2023. With heading of, Netanyahu: Heeding ceasefire calls is tantamount to surrender.

“(Israel’s) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said growing calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender. Hours later, the Biden administration said it also rejected the notion of a ceasefire.”

Said Netanyahu, “Calls for a ceasefire are a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terror, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bible says that there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time for war.

“The horrors that Hamas perpetrated on October 7 remind us that we will not realize the promise of a better future unless we, the civilized world, are willing to fight the barbarians. Because the barbarians are ready to fight us… and usher in a world of fear and darkness…

“Israel did not start this war. Israel did not want this war. But Israel will win this war.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu continued with his poignant, penetrating, and powerful portrayal of Hamas’ sadistic strike against Israeli Jews (and some foreigners), calling it, “the worst savagery our people have seen since the Holocaust. Hamas murdered children in front of their parents, murdered parents in front of their children. They burned people alive, they raped women, they beheaded men, they tortured Holocaust survivors, they kidnapped babies.”

He continued: “In fighting Hamas and the Iranian axis of terror, Israel is fighting the enemies of civilization itself. It begins with knowing the difference between good and evil, between right and wrong… It means making a moral distinction between the deliberate murder of the innocent and the unintentional casualties that accompany every legitimate war.”

Benjamin concluded with: “While Israel is doing everything to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. Israel will stand against the forces of barbarism until victory. I hope and pray that civilized nations will back this fight…

“Regardless of who stands with Israel, Israel will fight until this battle is won. And Israel will prevail.”

(Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leading a public tribute to the Israeli victims of the massacre by Hamas)

At the risk of making today’s Eye of Prophecy Post too long, I’m still compelled to provide one more segment to emphasize the excruciating enormity of this event. Then in the next article to present a clarified context and pertinent perspective of this shocking attack on Israel—through Biblical and contemporary correlations to these prophetic last days of the end times.

Leaving Nothing to the Imagination … Getting More Graphic with More Words

Some of these words you may have heard, read, or uttered since this monstrous attack on Israel:

Adjectives describing the repulsive rampage: Brutal, detestable, abhorrent, revolting, loathsome, malicious, horrendous, horrific, hateful, malevolent, cruel, vicious, severe, savage, ruthless, atrocious, heartless, inhumane, depraved, violent (exceptionally so), wicked, and (of course) Evil—with a capital “E.”

Nouns or verbs depicting the atrocious acts: Slaughter, murderers, massacre, carnage, torment, butchers, bloodshed, executioners (of innocents), torture, pain (inflicted by the terrorists on Israeli Jews), rape (rapists), beheading, and general suffering—of the worst kind such as agonizingly slow deaths by burning children and removing babies from a pregnant woman’s abdomen.

No, I don’t think the repetition of these dreadful terms is overkill (pardon the expression).

They are unspeakable utterances that need to be shouted from the rooftops of those who embrace all that is good and right and decent and moral. Knowing that any trace of integrity, conscience, and morality is nonexistent in terrorists. Opposing those who openly or tacitly support these depraved human beings … more animal than human. Who senselessly and pitilessly follow a religion of hate, lies, deceit, that results in persecution of the Jewish and Christian infidels, and cold-blooded murder as promoted by their religious writings.

God, through the prophet Isaiah, powerfully pronounces an indictment of this inversion, perversion, and twisting of truth:

“What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! They even mock God and say, ‘Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan for we want to know what it is.’

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter” (Isaiah 5:18-20).

This passage expressly characterizes the malevolent mindset of militant Islamists and sadly of millions of non-militant Muslims (that do not actively engage in terrorism) who, nevertheless, support whatever it takes to eliminate Israel. Most Muslims do not want a two-state solution, which is why they (through their leaders) have rejected their own state at least four times since 1947. They don’t want a state alongside of Israel; they want another Arab state instead of Israel.

Summary

As is said: Be careful what you wish for.

The mocking of God as depicted in the first part of this excerpt from Isaiah Chapter 5 follows their badly mistaken notion of any visible action from God—through his special possession Israel and for his chosen people, the Jews.

Hamas took it upon themselves to be the spearhead of a Koran ordered Jihad (so-called holy war) to undertake the mass murder of (some 1,400) Jews in less than two days’ time … not experienced since the Holocaust. With the most cowardly, sadistic kind of warfare—murdering innocent Israelis then retreating with hostages to the Gaza Strip to hide behind their own people, who’s inadvertent deaths fall entirely on the heads of Hamas.

They and all those who come against Israel, present and future, will pay a heavy price. Despite Israeli setbacks, the Jews will prevail. The geopolitical phase began with the Balfour Declaration of 1917, followed even more dramatically with the rebirth of the sovereign State of Israel in 1948 and the Jews War of Independence victory against impossible odds.

Then even more so with the amazing Israeli victory in the Six-Day War which included the liberation of Jerusalem, the Holy City of the Holy Promised Land of ISRAEL—to further reinforce the Biblical God-given promise that this (tiny) nation would belong to the descendants of Abraham, Issac (not Ishmael), and Jacob forever. Which also includes the miraculous return of Jews from the four corners of the earth, as prophesied in the Bible dozens of times.

“The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history” (Obadiah 1:15-16).

What the Lord says he will do is always done. What he says will happen, always happens. The proof is in the miraculously and prophetically fulfilled pages of the Bible coupled with what has transpired … especially in the last 75 years.

Through the ages and especially conspicuous in the 20^th & 21^st century, we see God accomplishing his two-part plan: (1) Israel established, conquered, then reborn as a Jewish Nation-State and the Jewish people returning from exile over the world. (2) Salvation through a New Covenant for Jew and Gentile alike. Implemented by the death, burial, and astounding resurrection of God’s Son, Jesus of Nazareth.

The next Eye of Prophecy article will explore two dynamic ways that God has and will continue to complete Israel’s and mankind’s destiny. (A) Providential. (B) Sovereign.

Because Israel is crucial in God’s ultimate plan/purpose, we’ll look closely at the three R’s (two parts each) that vibrantly portray her past, present, and future; how/when God exercises divine control—despite enemies like Hamas and Iran who have sworn to wipe Israel from the face of the earth:

Rebirth & Return; Recognition & Repentance; Redemption & Restoration 

Plus, the Preview of Two Coming Invasions of Israel during the Great Tribulation!

Things to Ponder

I love the Lord my God … Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Accordingly, I also love Israel and the Jews (chosen for the purpose of extending the light of the Lord’s salvation truth to the Jews first then to the Gentiles through Messiah Jesus). Thus, I must passionately proclaim Isaiah’s powerful promise:

“Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart years for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory…

“The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: ‘I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine” (Isaiah 62:1-2a & 8).

This promise carries the clear connotation of a larger, more permanent conquest of Israel such as undertaken by Assyria, Babylon, and the Roman Empire, culminating in the worst of all—the Holocaust. But despite the horrendous carnage inflicted, not the temporary one-day Hamas intrusion into Israel.

The LORD will see to it!

For the benefit of those who haven’t read the first Eye of Prophecy article in this two-part series, here’s an excerpt from the very beginning of the previous post (in italics):

What on earth is the Shroud of Turin?

What do you know about it?

(1) Nothing at all. (2) A little. (3) More than a little. (4) A lot.

Turin is a place: A city in Italy.

Definitions of shroud that pertain to the Shroud of Turin: “…to cover for protection … to dress for burial” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

I then cited part of the introduction to a You Tube video of the 2017 National Geographic program entitled: Is It Real? The Shroud of Turin. As follows (in italics):

“The 53-square-foot rectangle of linen known as the Shroud of Turin is one of the most sacred religious icons on Earth, venerated by millions of Christians as the actual burial garment of Jesus Christ. It is also among the most fiercely debated subjects in contemporary science, an extraordinary mystery that has defied every effort at solution.

“The sum result is a standoff, with researchers unable to dismiss the shroud entirely as a forgery or prove that it is authentic. ‘It is unlikely science will provide a full solution to the many riddles posed by the shroud,’ Italian physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro, a leading expert on the phenomenon, told National Geographic. ‘A leap of faith over questions without clear answers is necessary—either the faith of skeptics or the faith of believers.’”

Followed by my observation:

This is a startling statement from a scientist (physicist). Especially his concession that science itself is not sufficient to solve the status of the Shroud of Turin….

I then presented the threefold purpose (mission) for that article and today’s Eye of Prophecy post:

(1) Challenge the Conventional World View of Faith with a Biblical View

(2) Resulting in a Decisive Answer from the Most Reliable Source of All, Whether the Shroud of Turin is the Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ

(3) Leading To a Special Substitution for the Shroud with a Far More Significant Subject of Eternal Value

Some of the key arguments for and against the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin were pinpointed in that article, preceded by a somewhat daring statement as contained in the next two paragraphs. With the first paragraph (especially the words in bold) pertaining primarily to Point (2). With the 2^nd paragraph applying to Point (3).

My current view regarding the excessive emphasis on this continuing debate is that both sides of the cloth coin haven’t relied on or even adequately consulted the original source and highest authority. This authoritative source provides an indisputable resolution to the disputed evidence or testing or interpretation of that evidence—be it physical (physics), forensic medical, photographic image analysis, biological, chemical, material (of the shroud itself), or rules of handling the evidence.

…Neither side has been granted victory in terms of positively proving their arguments. Today’s Eye of Prophecy article will set the stage; the next article (Part II) will then offer a final finding that should eliminate the debate over the Shroud of Turin. And, in so doing, a much bigger picture and a more superior subject will justifiably lower the Shroud’s status to a more appropriate level.

(Carbon 14 tests on a small Shroud fragment dated it from 1260 to 1390 A.D. Which was the main argument against the Shroud’s authenticity)

After identifying the pros and cons in the prior article, I made a straightforward statement regarding the ongoing debate over the Shroud’s legitimacy. As follows (in italics):

Yet, the primary reason for the still raging controversy is that there are conflicting interpretations of the evidence. What is factual to one side is not necessarily so to the opposing side….

Is there, then, any supreme source—scientific, historical, archeological, textual, and/or biographical—that could render a definitive decision, reliable resolution, and supreme settlement to the still pending mystery of and debate over the Shroud of Turin?

I’m convinced that the answer to that question is a resounding, YES.

Next is a brief review of Point/Purpose #1 from the prior article. Then the remainder of today’s post will provide compelling confirmation to support the “Yes” answer.

(1) Challenge the Conventional World View of Faith with a Biblical View

Beginning with an excerpt from the last article regarding the rationale for this challenge (contrast):

In the context of the Shroud of Turin, this examination of faith stems from the … quote by physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro… “A leap of faith over questions without clear answers is necessary—either the faith of skeptics or the faith of believers.”

In general terms, leap of faith is or can be synonymous with blind faith.

However, I don’t believe that a Biblical view (faith of believers) in general or the Biblical view on any given subject requires a leap of faith, nor is it blind faith.

After relating the more traditional things that people place their faith (trust, belief, loyalty) in, such as religions and political systems, I identified the more contemporary non-traditional mindset of many people, especially the younger generation. As follows:

Everyone believes in something and/or someone, even if it’s themselves—which is rapidly becoming the norm in our post-modern world. Included in the spurning of anything religious and relying on one’s feelings to arbitrarily set their own standards of truth, morality, and all things existential is the belief that, “what is true for you may not be true for me.” In fact, many have sadly reached the conclusion that there is no such thing as absolute truth or anything absolute.

…In summary of the prevailing worldview, there is an increasing reliance on feelings more than faith, or faith in those feelings. Just “have faith.” Faith in what? Their answer: “That’s up to the individual.” Which God certainly allows for every person who has ever lived … free choice. But as the Bible clearly states in several passages: the ultimate destiny-determining choices are between truth and lies, good and evil, eternal life and eternal death … heaven or hell.

I also expressed emphatically that true Christianity is not a religion:

…Reason: The Christian faith is completely based on and in a Person; not some religious system, or central organized church, or ecclesiastical hierarchy. It is the only creed that has a Savior. Trusting this Savior for who he is and what he has done for humanity that we could not do for ourselves—a substitutionary sacrificial death for our ugly sins.

And then the Bible’s dynamic description of faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, KJV).

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Followed by: Neither in the definition of faith (verse 1) nor in the personal trust in a Personal God (verse 6) does it declare or infer that this faith is a blind faith that requires a “leap of faith” because allegedly there is little or no proof scientifically or objectively that God exists.

To the contrary it’s quite easy to believe in the existence of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—because of the extraordinary existential evidence above, below, and all around us.

After providing a few examples of our heroes of faith in Hebrews Chapter 11 (Hall of Faith), the previous article states: Notice how each of these passages connect faith with God … trust in the Lord which leads to agreement with and obedience to God’s Word and Way.

Under the Old Covenant, trust in God the Father was crucial to righteousness being credited to that person by God himself. That and expectant belief in the coming Messiah, whom King David recognized as the very Son of God (Psalm 2 & Psalm 110).

Under the New Covenant:

I then ended the sub-heading portion of the previous article (The Christian Faith is Not a Blind Faith) by stating:

With the New Covenant promised by God through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:33-34), implemented by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s new Way for the Jews and then to the Gentiles is faith in His Son—Jesus. The innocent for the guilty, the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous!

In that article under the Things to Ponder section that concludes every Eye of Prophecy article, I wrote:

The next Eye of Prophecy article (Part II) will present what I believe to be a final resolution to the intriguing issue and ongoing debate: whether the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. However, in that article as in today’s post, the (by far) bigger picture of the crucified and risen Christ (Messiah) remains the pivotal point, instead of the burial cloth or clothes that covered him. And for only three days at that!

This review of Biblical faith (in God and the Son of God) provides a helpful transition to Point/Purpose #2 of today’s post.

(2) Resulting in a Decisive Answer from the Most Reliable Source of All, Whether the Shroud of Turin is the Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ

To repeat the challenging question: Is there, then, any supreme source—scientific, historical, archeological, textual, and/or biographical—that could render a definitive decision, reliable resolution, and supreme settlement to the still pending mystery of and debate over the Shroud of Turin?

Stay tuned and decide for yourself.

A few weeks ago, I was tuned into a Smithsonian Channel documentary on the Shroud of Turin. For the most-part that show was like past programs, with exception of placing more emphasis on treating the Shroud of Turin as a 13^th or 14^th century possible work of art. To replicate and venerate the original Shroud of Jesus Christ … instead of a deliberate forgery.

As with other Shroud documentaries before, I watched with a moderate degree of interest; still uncertain if the evidence favored the ayes or nays.

Then, near the end of the show, it hit me. Hard.

Hard enough that I couldn’t imagine it hadn’t occurred to me long before. Going all the way back to the first televised program on the Shroud of Turin—1978.

It was one of those eureka moments. More like an epiphany.

Not in the “divine appearance” meaning of epiphany.

Rather: “sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something; an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event), simple and striking; an illuminating discovery … a revealing scene or moment” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

I blurted out to my wife who was watching the show with me and who knew more than just a little about the Shroud, “Honey, the Shroud of Turin is NOT the burial cloth of Christ.”

It had been there all along. How could I have missed it or not matched it up by now.

It was a matter of not seeing the forest (the source or sphere of the solution) for the trees (one tree of facts after another, after another) that spiked my interest but also shrouded the obvious and decisive answer.

I knew what Scripture said but needed to read the passage as a reminder; to confirm the conclusion once and for all. I couldn’t get to my Bible fast enough.

Here it is … the tiebreaker!

“Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, ‘They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’

“Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead” (John 20:1-9, italics for strong emphasis; underlined to emphasize that in addition to the head cloth there were other “wrappings”—plural).

[*Note: Not only didn’t the disciples understand (retain, remember) the Old Testament prophecies concerning the crucifixion death of Jesus and his spectacular resurrection (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and other passages). They had also forgotten and or dismissed out of hand Jesus himself telling them on at least three occasions that he would be (falsely) arrested, (illegally) tried, (unjustly) convicted, (savagely) beaten, and (ruthlessly) crucified. But after three days he would rise from the dead!]

Solving the Puzzle

Back to the Shroud of Turin. Have you got it yet? If not, that’s okay, although the italicized phrase in the above passage contains a strong clue. As an avid reader/student/teacher of the Scriptures, I should have solved the perplexing puzzle of the Shroud long ago.

As quoted earlier in today’s article: “The 53-square-foot rectangle of linen known as the Shroud of Turin is one of the most sacred religious icons on Earth, venerated by millions of Christians as the actual burial garment of Jesus Christ….

As found in the online site Wikipedia: “The shroud is rectangular, measuring approximately 4.4 by 1.1 meters (14 ft 5 in x 3 ft 7 in).” Which approximates the 53-square-foot overall size of the Shroud.

However, the most fateful fact of all is that the Shroud of Turin is a rectangular solid piece of linen which bears the imprint of a man from head to foot! In addition to a photograph in the previous article, here is another photograph of the Shroud to verify that it is a one-piece unit of linen.

Yet, John in his Gospel account of Jesus’s miraculous resurrection states explicitly what he (the other disciple) and Peter saw. Not one continuous burial cloth from head to foot. Rather, the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings.

In the televised and online videos of the Shroud of Turin that I had viewed over the years, not once do I recall anyone (for or against the Shroud’s authenticity) cite the Bible, i.e., John’s description of what he and Peter witnessed in the empty tomb early that Sunday morning.

Followed later that day by Jesus’s stunning appearance to the disciples.

To be sure, I might have missed it during one of the many interviews or during the narrator’s descriptions. However, at the very least, the account in John’s Gospel should have been mentioned on several occasions during the Shroud documentaries.

Frankly, there’s only one explanation—with two different sources and motives—why scholars, scientists, theologians, technicians and other professionals participating in the Shroud of Turin research and media programs rarely (or not at all, not even the Vatican) point out the Biblical account of the burial garments: Few, if any, are willing to defer to the Bible as the most reliable and authoritative source to deliver the decisive answer (resolution) to the question of the Shroud.

First Source: The primary reason/motive for the secular (non-Christian) position is that science should be the sole source of solution; (certainly) not the Biblical account. Ironically, dissenters to the Shroud’s legitimacy have referred to the Gospel’s lack of information that the burial cloths displayed a (supernatural) imprint of the body of the risen Lord. This is typical of unbelievers and even some Christians (in name only): In cafeteria style, they selectively pick and choose what historical chronicles and supernatural events in the Bible to believe or not to believe.

Second Source: Sadly, believers who support the supposition that the Shroud of Turin was the burial cloth of Christ have infrequently or not at all deferred to John’s Gospel, apparently because they could not or would not summon the courage to credit or even consider Scripture as the final authority. Or, perhaps they had forgotten (like me for a while) or didn’t even know that John’s Gospel provides more specific evidence concerning the burial wrappings than do the other three Gospels.

There is one notable person who relied on John’s Gospel exclusively (as I am now doing) to decisively declare that the Turin shroud could not be Jesus’s burial garments: the 16^th century theologian John Calvin.

Referring to Wikipedia’s excerpt from Calvin’s book of 1543 entitled Treatise on Relics, his reasoning was historically and biblically documented and had to do with the way in which Jews enshrouded their dead. Quoting John Calvin:

“What that manner was may be learned, not only from the Jews, by whom it is still observed, but also from their books, which explain what the ancient practice was. It was this: The body was wrapped up by itself as far as the shoulders, and then the head by itself was bound round with a napkin, tied by the four corners, into a knot. And this is expressed by the Evangelist, when he says that Peter saw the linen clothes in which the body had been wrapped lying in one place, and the napkin which had been wrapped about the head lying in another. The term napkin may mean either a handkerchief employed to wipe the face, or it may mean a shawl, but never means a large piece of linen in which the whole body may be wrapped….”

(Portrait/Painting of John Calvin, Born July 1509 … Died May 1564)

The Apostle John also wrote: “Following Jewish burial custom, they (Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth” (John 19:40, parenthesis mine). Not only was the head covering (John 20:7) a separate piece of cloth, the body covering came in sheets (plural) of linen … not one continuous shroud.

Therefore, based (partially) on the documented burial practice of Jews long before, during, and after Jesus lived, died, and rose again, but fully (exclusively) on the power and authority of God’s Word, the Bible, I can and will declare decisively that Scripture is the most reliable source of all to determine that the Shroud of Turin is NOT the burial garment of Jesus Christ.

In fact, this source has done and will continue to do far more than deciding the disputes over a relic. The Bible consistently counsels, clarifies, correlates, and corrects (when necessary) matters of morality, the origin/purpose of life, and our destiny. A source of the highest authority that has established absolute universal laws (both physical and spiritual) that define and then distinguish between morality and immorality, truth and lies, fact and fiction, good and evil.

Three Primary Proofs of Scripture’s Incomparable Accuracy & Authority

(A) The Amazing (Meticulous) Details of People, Places, and Events: Unmatched in any other so-called sacred writings. Numerous biographies which are considered the most accurate source of historical records. Including the greatest autobiography: that of God Himself, who spoke countless times to people in the first person. Many archeological finds have proven the accuracy, authenticity, and, therefore, authority of Biblical accounts. Not one archeological find has disproved Scripture.

(B) Hundreds of Marvelous Miracles Performed by the Triune God … Father, Son, Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments: Using just two examples in each Testament, both involving water. Old Testament: God parting the Red Sea, “standing the water up like walls” for the Jews to cross on dry land. Abruptly stopping the Jordan River (at flood stage) to allow Joshua and the Israelites to cross into the Promised Land. New Testament: Jesus turning water into wine, then walking on water (Sea of Galilee). Man-made religions have virtually no miracles of any kind, let alone the magnificent miracles found in the Bible.

(C) Hundreds of Fulfilled Prophecies—100 % Accuracy: This is a fact that is both absolute and astounding. With some prophecies fulfilled just a few hours, days, or weeks after the prediction. Others a few months or years. And some decades or centuries or millennia later. The two most numerous prophecies (fulfilled) are those involving the First Advent of Messiah (birth, life, death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ). And even more (yet unfulfilled) predictions of Messiah’s Second Coming. Also, the remarkable rebirth of the State of Israel accompanied by the (foretold) stunning return of Jews from the four corners of the earth.

I have positively no reservation whatsoever in placing my entire faith in Scripture. Thereby, entrusting my irreversible salvation and guaranteed eternal destiny in the inerrant accuracy and authority of the Bible and in the Triune God of the Bible.

With due respect to those who have spent a considerable amount of time and effort (research, media interviews, writings) to either defend or challenge the authenticity of the Shroud as the burial cloth of Jesus, isn’t it time to defer to and depend on the most reliable source and the highest authority—the Bible?

I, for one, am going to lay the Shroud of Turin to rest by resting completely on the accuracy and authority of God’s Word.

(3) Leading To a Special Substitution for the Shroud with a Far More Significant Subject of Eternal Value

As indicated, too much emphasis has been placed on the Shroud itself which has diminished and even obscured what should be the real focus—the Person of Jesus Christ. To recognize, revere, and remember the resurrection of the Person instead of the burial cloth. I should say: burial cloths (plural).

We’ve already looked at a portion of John’s Gospel; now let’s read more fascinating facts of the resurrection presented by Luke in his Gospel account. That’s the beneficial beauty of the biography of the Son of God recorded by four different authors. Although several of the chronicled events in the life of Christ are harmonious (especially in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke—Synoptic gospels), there are differences or additions … particularly in John’s Gospel. Which in no way even implies that one or more of the Gospels are inaccurate or that they conflict one with another.

It’s no different than four journalists reporting on the same person, place, episode, or sequence of events. Although there would be similarities in their narratives, there would almost always be noticeable variations. Why? Because each reporter would emphasize certain highlights of what was seen and/or heard. But that doesn’t mean that any of the reports were untrue, either deliberately or inadvertently.

“But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood their puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

“The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground.

“Then the men asked, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! HE IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD!’” (Luke 24:1-6a, italics and upper-case letters for strong emphasis).

During his 3 ½ years of ministry throughout the Promised Land of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth performed many miracles, including raising some (like Lazarus) from the dead. At which time he told Lazarus’ sister Martha, “…I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying” (John 11:25).

However, Jesus’ resurrection was the greatest of all because his (unwrapped) new glorified body would from then on be ETERNAL. He has always been from everlasting to everlasting, but not in human form until his birth, life, death, burial, and stupendous resurrection from the dead.

The Apostle John begins his Gospel with this magnificent introduction of the LIVING WORD OF GOD:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him” (John 1:1-3, italics for emphasis that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but also is God the Son).

The bodily resurrection of Messiah Jesus proved that he is who he said he is. Neither the tomb nor the stone rolled in place, nor the Roman soldiers could contain him.

The blood-stained linen cloths and the separate napkin-like cloth were left behind as further proof that he had risen.

Near the end of his Gospel, John summarizes the epic record of Jesus’s life with this remarkable reflection:

“The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you many continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name” (John 20:30-31).

And the final verse in John’s Gospel: “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25).

Read with me this glorious beginning to the terrific transitional (Old Covenant to New Covenant) book of Hebrews written through inspiration of the Holy Spirit by a 1^st century Jewish believer in Jesus as the promised Messiah and Savior.

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names” (Hebrews 1:1-4).

It summarizes Point/Purpose #3: What/who is infinitely more significant and eternally of more value than a burial garment; or any other relic … like the so-called “Holy Grail” of the Last Supper. What matters forever is that Jesus (Son of God) has “cleansed us from our sins” by his death, burial, and resurrection and is sitting “in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”

Things to Ponder

Speaking of the Son of God and of angels, Christmas is drawing near. Let’s rejoice in the astonishing announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary:

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!

“Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can this happen? I am a virgin.’

“The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:31-35).

Which triumphantly confirms the powerful and precious promise given by the Lord to/through the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years earlier:

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Then later an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said, “…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

And may we never forget the amazing angelic announcement to shepherds at the birth of Jesus:

“…I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! … Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased’” (Luke 2:10-11 &13-14).

Do you want to be among those with whom God is pleased?

Then trust the Word of God and the God of the Word: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Under the New Covenant, our faith is not only that God the Father exists but that he will reward us with the greatest gift of all—salvation and eternal life through God’s beloved Son, Jesus.

So great a salvation is a gift: it is not earned by anything we do.

Rather: “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved… For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:9-10 & 13, verse 13 citing Joel 2:32).

In all circumstances believers in Messiah Jesus need to:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB).

What on earth is the Shroud of Turin?

What do you know about it?

(1) Nothing at all. (2) A little. (3) More than a little. (4) A lot.

Shroud and Turin are nouns. You remember, nouns come in three forms: person, place, or thing.

Turin is a place: A city in Italy.

Shroud is a thing. It is also a verb but more commonly used as a noun.

Definitions of shroud that pertain to the Shroud of Turin: “…to cover for protection … to dress for burial” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

The Shroud is not just any burial cloth. It supposedly shows the imprint image of the most well-known Person who has ever walked the earth … Jesus of Nazareth.

Multiple television documentaries on the Shroud of Turin have been aired. Beginning with the 1978 hour-long program summarizing the investigative results of the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP).

Ironically one of the (lead) team researchers was a Jewish professional photographer, Barrie Schwortz. Ironic because, with exception of Messianic Jews, neither religious nor secular Jews accept the New Testament record that Jesus is God’s Son—the Jewish Messiah Savior. Mr. Schwortz remains an ardent enthusiast concerning the Shroud of Turin’s (potential) authenticity.

(Photo of Barrie Schwortz on the televised show, Shroud of Turin, 1978)

I have seen most of the televised or online Shroud of Turin programs, including the 2017 National Geographic special entitled: Is It Real? The Shroud of Turin. The following is an introduction to that You Tube video:

“The 53-spuare-foot rectangle of linen known as the Shroud of Turin is one of the most sacred religious icons on Earth, venerated by millions of Christians as the actual burial garment of Jesus Christ.

“It is also among the most fiercely debated subjects in contemporary science, an extraordinary mystery that has defied every effort at solution.

“Over the 117 years since a photographic negative of the linen unexpectantly revealed the image of a tortured body, ranks of physicists and chemists have weighed in on the fabric’s age and the image’s composition. Forensic pathologists, microbiologists, and botanists have analyzed its bloodstains, along with specks of dirt and pollen on its surface. Statisticians have combed through mountains of data.”

The final paragraph of introduction to the Nat Geo program condenses the long-standing dilemma of this enigmatic relic:

“The sum result is a standoff, with researchers unable to dismiss the shroud entirely as a forgery or prove that it is authentic. ‘It is unlikely science will provide a full solution to the many riddles posed by the shroud,’ Italian physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro, a leading expert on the phenomenon, told National Geographic. ‘A leap of faith over questions without clear answers is necessary—either the faith of skeptics or the faith of believers.’”

This is a startling statement from a scientist (physicist). Especially his concession that science itself is not sufficient to solve the status of the Shroud of Turin. Most secular scientists are reluctant, some rigidly so, to admit that science can’t always determine (agree to) the final answer to any given material matter. At the minimum, they will often hold tight to a theoretical explanation. For skeptics of the Shroud, their hypothesis is that it is either a counterfeit relic or (generously giving the benefit of the doubt) perhaps a 13^th or 14^th century work of art to replicate and venerate the original shroud of Christ.

Paolo Di Lazzaro’s reference to the faith of skeptics could mean either those skeptical about the Shroud of Turin itself or a broader application. Meaning, those who do not believe or at least strongly doubt the very resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. Or anything else concerning the birth, life (including dozens of miracles performed by Jeus), death, burial and, therefore, burial shroud of Christ.

Likewise, the faith of believers could apply jointly to both Christian and non-Christian supporters of the Shroud’s authenticity. With many believers in Christ persuaded that the shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus himself because they want passionately for the shroud to be just that.

Media Handling of the Shroud of Turin

On a Personal Note: It’s good to be back after 8 months and 2 weeks of … well, I’ll call it a sabbatical from writing and posting Eye of Prophecy articles! The Lord willing, there will be a few more articles before I leave this earth, preferably still alive via the Rapture! If it’s my destiny to die before the Rapture, then so be it.

With the Apostle Paul, I confidently and gratefully say:

My purpose (mission) in this Eye of Prophecy article is threefold:

(1) Challenge the Conventional World View of Faith with a Biblical View

(2) Resulting in a Decisive Answer from the Most Reliable Source of All, Whether the Shroud of Turin is the Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ

(3) Leading To a Special Substitution for the Shroud with a Far More Significant Subject of Eternal Value

Today’s article will concentrate on Purpose Number 1. Points/Purposes 2 & 3 will be presented in the next article … Part II

But first: To further demonstrate the ongoing interest in the Shroud of Turin, you only need to check the multiple websites covering this controversial artifact. Additionally, there have been numerous articles, books, commentaries, and T.V. / Online (YouTube) programs.

For example: Because the Shroud of Turin essentially belongs to the Roman Catholic Church, a package of four television films on one DVD can be ordered through The Catholic Company via their website. Simply entitled The Shroud of Turin, it is the New Expanded Edition by Producer David Rolfe. The following are excerpts from the promotional introduction of that DVD:

“This is the definitive most up to date collection of 4 films on the Shroud of Turin … of award-winning filmmaking on the Shroud by acclaimed British film producer and director David Rolfe. All four films use the latest scientific, historical, medical, and archaeological research on the Shroud to reveal all the evidence for the authenticity of it as the burial cloth of Christ….”

The prelude goes on to summarize the four films:

“The Silent Witness … This film broke box office records when it opened in London in 1978. Kenneth More narrates what became the most successful film ever made on the subject…. This film greatly expanded interest in the Shroud worldwide.

“Shroud of Turin … Commissioned by the BBC in 2008, twenty years after the C14 test that cast a shadow over Shroud research, this film looks at how that test stands up against the weight of other evidence from history, archaeology, forensic medicine, art, and 3D analysis….”

*Note: That film was rebroadcast in April 2021. Also, to mention that I’ve seen all these programs plus others not produced by David Rolfe, including National Geographic T.V. documentary aired in June 2017 and a History Channel program released in September 2018. These films on the Shroud of Turin seemed to focus more on interviews and evidence suggesting or stating that the Shroud was not the real thing … at the worst a forgery and at the best only a “work of art.”

Yet it was a half-hour television show that I recently watched on the Smithsonian Channel which presented a highly condensed but, nevertheless, effective review of the pros and cons of this controversial cloth that, in part, led to this Eye of Prophecy article. Specifically, an astounding detail that came to me … and a handful of others as I subsequently discovered.

More on this dramatic and decisive disclosure in the next article (Part II). One that will clarify once and for all if the Shroud of Turin is genuine. Before that discernment, I had been an interested but neutral bystander regarding the legitimacy of the Shroud.

Continuing with the 3^rd and 4^th films in this 4-film package:

“Shroud … The official film for the 2010 Exposition of the Shroud. Written by Ian Wilson, it tells the story of the Shroud for our modern age of high technology to show the image of the Man on the Shroud as never before seen. This film does not shrink from examining the religious significance of what has become the single most studied article in history.”

The other film, Grave Injustice, attempts to provide more confirmation of the Shroud’s authenticity, “…telling how a recent carbon dating test of the Shroud that purportedly shows it to be a medieval fake was seriously flawed, and a more accurate test has yet to be made.”

The Shroud of Turin is so named because it has been kept since 1578 in Turin, Italy, inside the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. Pope Francis not long after his elective promotion as the current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church referred to the Shroud of Turin as an “icon of a man scourged and crucified.” Yet, he stopped short of dogmatically declaring it to be the burial cloth of Christ. In the 14^th century a Catholic bishop asserted that the shroud (initially discovered or presented in 1354) was a fake which was officially approved by Pope Clement VII in 1390. Then later overturned by Pope Julius II (1506) who declared the Shroud to be real and authorized public reverence of it. However, the paradox to this day: The Vatican has not adopted an official position regarding the Shroud of Turin as the actual burial cloth of Jesus.

(Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy)

Disputed Data Surrounding the Shroud … Highly Reduced Summary

Although in some respects still captivating, there has been an overabundance of research, interviews, programs, and literature on the Shroud of Turin. Others would disagree with this opinion especially those who unequivocally support the Shroud as being the original cloth wrapped around the body of Jesus after he died and was taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea.

My current view regarding the excessive emphasis on this continuing debate is that both sides of the cloth coin haven’t relied on or even adequately consulted the original source and highest authority. This authoritative source provides an indisputable resolution to the disputed evidence or testing or interpretation of that evidence—be it physical (physics), forensic medical, photographic image analysis, biological, chemical, material (of the shroud itself), or rules of handling the evidence.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Because of the redundant research and the large volume of literature and media documentaries presenting divergent views of the “facts”, I’m going to provide just a few of the crucial points highlighting why both sides of the authenticity issue are adamant that their position is correct. With, however, acknowledgment that there are those (both religious and secular) who have assumed a more neutral stance, as did I until recently.

Neither side has been granted victory in terms of positively proving their arguments. Today’s Eye of Prophecy article will set the stage; the next article (Part II) will then offer a final finding that should eliminate the debate over the Shroud of Turin. And, in so doing, a much bigger picture and a more superior subject will justifiably lower the Shroud’s status to a more appropriate level.

Though there are others, the following pros and cons represent the selected highlights of the differences:

Those Who Say the Shroud of Turin Is the Actual Burial Cloth of Christ

• The physical imprint on the cloth is clearly the outline of a man, head to foot
• The cloth reveals wounds/scars/stains virtually identical to a man beaten, crowned with thorns, stabbed (spear), and crucified (nailed to a cross) precisely as Jesus was killed
• The imprint was like a photographic negative on the cloth, but it could not have been a photograph or painting; thus, it was the forensic result of the dynamics of the resurrection

Those Who Say the Shroud of Turin Is Not the Burial Cloth of Christ or (Some Say) A Burial Cloth at All

• In 1988 a tiny strip of the cloth was removed and sent to 3 separate laboratories (University of Oxford, University of Arizona, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) for Carbon 14 testing. Results: All three dated the strip from A.D. 1260 to 1390—over a Millenium since Jesus was on this earth. Plus, the dating matches the time frame when the Shroud first emerged. Not just for the secular scientists, but also for many others the debate was over. (*Note: Advocates of the Shroud’s legitimacy contend that the strip of cloth used for C14 dating was probably a repair fragment from medieval times and/or the cloth section contained residue from pollen or plants that distorted the C14 testing)
• The cloth is of a herringbone weave; however, the fabric weaves of the 1^st century were plain (one or two-way weave), not the complex herringbone twill of the Turin Shroud. Thus, the Shroud could not have originated during the time or place of Jesus—First Century Israel
• Both religious and secular dissenters use (referring to but not necessarily deferring to) the Bible to counter proponents of the Shroud’s authenticity with the observation that none of the Gospels say anything at all about the linen cloths of Christ’s burial bearing an imprint of his body

In summary fashion, the preponderance (quantity and quality) of research would tend to favor the skeptics, but not entirely. Which is why there are still some well-meaning, intelligent, and persuasive professionals and lay people who ardently support the supposition that the Shroud is assuredly that of a man’s burial cloth, as opposed to a medieval work of art or a fabricated misrepresentation of Jesus’s burial cloths. With some still asserting that it is the actual Shroud of Christ Jesus.

(Images of the Shroud of Turin)

An Example/Representative of the Shroud’s Proponents

Perhaps the most devoted advocate for the continued research and analysis of the Shroud of Turin is Barrie M. Schwortz … introduced in the beginning of this article. So much so that he has established the most prominent websites for the Shroud of Turin.

As earlier indicated, Barrie Schwortz is Jewish (anyone who has read just a handful of my Eye of Prophecy knows of my love for Israel and the Jewish people … and why). Which is somewhat of a paradox; albeit he was part of the original research team in his professional capacity of photography.

Here is an excerpt from one online biographical resume (the first two paragraphs):

“Barrie Schwortz was the Official Documenting Photographer for the Shroud of Turin Research Project, the team that conducted the first in-depth scientific examination of the Shroud in 1978. Today, he plays an influential role in Shroud research and education as the editor and founder of the internationally recognized Shroud of Turin Website (www.shroud.com), the oldest, largest, and most extensive Shroud resource on the Internet, with more than ten million visitors from over 160 countries….

“Mr. Schwortz has conducted Shroud lectures around the world. He has appeared in programs and documentaries on every major broadcast and cable television network, including the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel, the National Geographic Channel, CNN, PBS, the BBC, Fox News, Channel 1 Russia, the Coast to Coast AM radio show, Catholic Answers radio and Vatican Radio. His photographs have appeared in hundreds of books and publications including Life Magazine, National Geographic, Time Magazine, and Newsweek and in countless television documentaries. He has written many Shroud articles…. He continues to participate in Shroud research with experts around the world and co-authored a book with Ian Wilson titled, “The Turin Shroud: The Illustrated Evidence” published in August 2000….”

The remainder of Mr. Schwortz’s bio lists other professional positions and activities.

Barrie Schwortz’s primary online source is entitled: Shroud of Turin Website. When I logged into this website on 11-28-2022—as part of my recent research on the Shroud—the following introduction stood out (I’ve placed the narrative text in italics; the bold and underline words are part of the website; the parenthesis are mine):

Welcome to the Shroud of Turin Website

Pulse aqui para version en espanol de esta pagina (font in blue color)

Summer/Fall Update! August 31, 2022 (this was in large blue probably size 20 font)

You are visitor 12,484,233 to view this page

The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist? Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud. It is, in fact, the single most studied artifact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before. And yet, the controversy still rages. This web site will keep you abreast of current research, provide you with accurate data from the previous research and let you interact with the researchers themselves. We believe that if you have access to the facts, you can make up your own mind about the Shroud. Make sure you visit the page where you can Examine the Shroud of Turin yourself. We hope you enjoy your visit. Barrie M. Schwortz, Editor.

Some observations: I respect Mr. Schwortz’s professionalism and persistence in his ongoing research, commentaries, and general support of “the facts.” Yet, the primary reason for the still raging controversy is that there are conflicting interpretations of the evidence. What is factual to one side is not necessarily so to the opposing side. And there are some (not all) on both sides whose underlying belief system influences—to the point of manipulation or prejudiced persuasion—an otherwise objective analysis of and opinion on ALL the evidence.

(More recent photograph of Mr. Schwortz)

Is there, then, any supreme source—scientific, historical, archeological, textual, and/or biographical—that could render a definitive decision, reliable resolution, and supreme settlement to the still pending mystery of and debate over the Shroud of Turin?

As previously indicated: I’m convinced that the answer to that question is a resounding, YES.

Which leads to the three stated objectives of this article, beginning with:

(1) Challenge the Conventional World View of Faith with a Biblical View

In the context of the Shroud of Turin, this examination of faith stems from the following excerpt of the quote by physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro cited in the early part of today’s article:

“A leap of faith over questions without clear answers is necessary—either the faith of skeptics or the faith of believers.”

In general terms, leap of faith is or can be synonymous with blind faith.

However, I don’t believe that a Biblical view (faith of believers) in general or the Biblical view on any given subject requires a leap of faith, nor is it blind faith.

Faith is defined in Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary as: “allegiance to duty or a person … belief and trust in and loyalty to God. Belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion… firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Complete trust… something that is believed esp. with strong conviction … a system of religious beliefs….” (Underlined emphasis mine to identify the synonyms)

Other synonyms (nouns): confidence, devotion, reliance, commitment, dedication.

Verb form: Believe, trust.

Traditional beliefs still prevalent the world over include but are not limited to trusting in:

State Systems And/or Dictators Running the State: Such as Fascism, Communism, Socialism, Totalitarianism

National Forms of Democracy: Parliamentary or Congressional representation in which most people (through voting) place their trusted support in or give their loyalty to a particular Party and/or the leader of that party.

World Religions and Cults (Including Mormonism and Catholicism): All possessing one common denominator—a sophisticated system (virtually impossible to follow) of rules and regulations that must be kept earning whatever rewards the religion designs. Plus, enough good deeds outweighing the bad behavior to hopefully merit whatever version of heaven or eternal life or Nirvana (Buddhism) that may be awaiting them.

*Note: I’m not including Christianity (Biblical Christian faith) as a religion. Reason: The Christian faith is completely based on and in a Person; not some religious system, or central organized church, or ecclesiastical hierarchy. It is the only creed that has a Savior. Trusting this Savior for who he is and what he has done for humanity that we could not do for ourselves—a substitutionary sacrificial death for our ugly sins.

Everyone believes in something and/or someone, even if it’s themselves—which is rapidly becoming the norm in our post-modern world. Included in the spurning of anything religious and relying on one’s feelings to arbitrarily set their own standards of truth, morality, and all things existential is the belief that, “what is true for you may not be true for me.” In fact, many have sadly reached the conclusion that there is no such thing as absolute truth or anything absolute.

Everything is relative to and depends on what a person thinks and how a person feels about the subject or situation at hand. Regarding the abundance of religious systems, the mantra of some says, “there are many paths to God or gods.” Regarding faith: No matter what the event, problem, or decision to make, “just have faith and everything will turn out okay.” Or if you “believe in yourself” practically anything is possible in life.

As opposed to:

The fallacy with this kind of reasoning is that each one of these belief systems and assertions is an absolute statement of its’ own. That, and the hard-knock realities of life prove that this kind of shaky, vague, feel-good faith often fails. Plus, every religion claims that it is the either the only way or at the very least, the best way to…. You fill in the blanks.

Whereas the true Christian faith is in a Person who lovingly but unequivocally said: “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

In summary of the prevailing worldview, there is an increasing reliance on feelings more than faith, or faith in those feelings. Just “have faith.” Faith in what? Their answer: “That’s up to the individual.” Which God certainly allows for every person who has ever lived … free choice. But as the Bible clearly states in several passages: the ultimate destiny-determining choices are between truth and lies, good and evil, eternal life and eternal death … heaven or hell.

The Biblical View of Faith

I firmly believe that the Triune God of the Bible IS (the only) GOD. That the Bible is the very Word of God; therefore, containing precise facts and absolute truth. Objective evidence will be provided in the next article (Part II) to further support that assertion.

Let’s look at the Bible’s dynamic description of faith. *Note: When Scripture is quoted in Eye of Prophecy articles, it comes from the New Living Translation (NLT), unless otherwise noted.

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1).

In another translation: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (New American Standard Bible).

And though I don’t refer that often to the King James Version, that translation is still my favorite for Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Hebrews Chapter 11 (known as the faith chapter) and other Biblical passages on faith tell us that faith thrives when it is exercised (placed) in the Lord. Under the Old Covenant (Testament) it was real-time trust in Father God and expectant belief in the coming Messiah who would be the once and for all supreme sacrifice (Isaiah 53) to replace the repeated animal sacrifices for sin required by the Law of Moses. Under the New Covenant (Testament) redeeming faith is in that Messiah—Jesus, the Son of God.

The very foundation of Biblical faith is belief that the Lord is Creator of all things.

“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen” (Hebrews 11:3, emphasis added).

Did you catch the profound proposal of the italicized words? Though no person has ever seen God (the Father) nor ever will this side of heaven, it is by faith (trust, belief) that we understand (comprehend, realize, appreciate, know, recognize, grasp, fathom) that the universe (everything including all life) was formed by God’s verbal command.

Reading further: “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Neither in the definition of faith (verse 1) nor in the personal trust in a Personal God (verse 6) does it declare or infer that this faith is a blind faith that requires a “leap of faith” because allegedly there is little or no proof scientifically or objectively that God exists.

To the contrary it’s quite easy to believe in the existence of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—because of the extraordinary existential evidence above, below, and all around us.

Faith is not only for the future; it is for the past (original creation) and present. Not only in the more general revelation of God through His creation, but also in the special revelation of the Lord through his Word, the Bible. Which is replete with historical events, biographies, and direct communications by/from God and later the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Also, divine inspiration from the Third Person of the Triune God—the Holy Spirit—given to the authors of the Old Testament and New Testament books.

Regarding the general revelation of God and his creation, the relevance of a commonly used analogy is so very appropriate: “Every watch has a watchmaker.”

As complicated as a watch or clock is, the universe and its physical laws (such as gravity) and the stunning complexity and variety of species within the even more dramatic differences between the families of living creatures—insects, fish, birds, animals of all kinds, and of course human beings—is infinitely greater in comparison to a watch and its maker. Especially when telescopes and microscopes show us the magnificent macro and marvelous micro features of our world. And not to forget the astounding assortment of plant life on this planet.

Macro Example: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:1-3).

“The heavens proclaim the glory (very essence) of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world….” (Psalm 19:1-4, parenthesis mine).

“Both day and night belong to you; you made the starlight and the sun. You set the boundaries of the earth, and you made both summer and winter” (Psalm 74:16-17).

“…O Lord my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens… (we now know the universe is virtually endless and is constantly expanding)” (Psalm 104:1-2, parenthesis mine).

*Footnote Commentary: Evolution … Seriously! As some have said: It takes far more faith to believe in evolution than in the Creator. Belief in evolution is indeed a blind leap of faith!

Micro Example: “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born…” (Psalm 139:13-16a, italics & bold for emphasis).

*Footnote Commentary: Abortion … Please, don’t do it. Nine times personal pronouns are used of I, me, or my in this passage from King David which indisputably confirms that a human being is created at the moment of conception. In the “I” of the 3^rd sentence, David is not referring directly to his existence in the womb.

Macro & Micro Addendum: “So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

“…This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one” (Genesis 2:24).

*Footnote Commentary: LGBTQ relationships & Same Sex Marriage … Don’t go there. It is a direct denial of and disobedience to God’s decree and purpose that reproduction for humanity is only possible between a man and a woman. Which also is to be the only source for sexual pleasure.

The Christian Faith is Not a Blind Faith

To further validate that Biblical faith is not blind, rather it’s directed to and placed in a Person, let’s return briefly to Hebrews Chapter 11 which provides a list of individual examples. Such as:

“It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did…” (Hebrews 11:4a).

It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—he disappeared, because God took him. For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God. And it is impossible to please God without faith…” (Hebrews 11:5-6a).

“It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before … and he received the righteousness that comes by faith” (Verse 7).

“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith… And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise” (Hebrews 11:8-9).

“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous (right standing with God) because of his faith” (Genesis 15:6, parenthesis mine).

Notice how each of these passages connect faith with God … trust in the Lord which leads to agreement with and obedience to God’s Word and Way.

Through inspiration from the Holy Spirit, Israel’s King David understood that one of his descendants would one day rule and reign from Jerusalem over the entire earth. This King of all kings would also be The High Priest. David fully grasped (believed) that this eternal King and Priest (who was and is and is to come) is none other than the Son of God (see Psalm 2)

This is David’s astonishing disclosure: “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.’ The LORD will extend your powerful kingdom from Jerusalem; you will rule over your enemies. The LORD has taken an oath and will not break his vow: ‘You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek’” (Psalm 110:1-2 & 4; emphasis added; The capitalized LORD in Scripture is a substitution for God’s name YHWH, Yahweh; my Lord is Adonai in Hebrew meaning master, superior, sir—referring to the coming Messiah who is you in this passage).

(See Eye of Prophecy article, Melchizedek … A Man of Mystery! Published 3-3-2018).

With the New Covenant promised by God through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:33-34), implemented by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s new Way for the Jews and then to the Gentiles is faith in His Son—Jesus. The innocent for the guilty, the just for the unjust, the righteous for the unrighteous!

Things to Ponder

The next Eye of Prophecy article (Part II) will present what I believe to be a final resolution to the intriguing issue and ongoing debate: whether the Shroud of Turin is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. However, in that article as in today’s post, the (by far) bigger picture of the crucified and risen Christ (Messiah) remains the pivotal point, instead of the burial cloth or clothes that covered him. And for only three days at that!

The 2^nd and 3^rd points/purposes mentioned earlier and covered in the next article:

(2) Resulting in a Decisive Answer from the Most Reliable Source of All, Whether the Shroud of Turin is the Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ

(3) Leading To a Special Substitution for the Shroud with a Far More Significant Subject of Eternal Value

Jesus is not only the spectacular subject, but also the overwhelming object of our faith.

What Jesus told the Jewish religious leader Nicodemus was/is intended for the whole world:

Pardon of our sins and eternal life cannot be earned. Rather, they are gifts from the Lord. The only thing required of every person is to believe and receive Messiah Jesus as Savior and Lord.

A large crown searching for Jesus, “…found him on the other side of the lake and asked, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.’

“They replied, ‘We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?’

“Jesus told them, ‘This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent’” (John 6:25-29, emphasis added).

Russia’s appalling attack on Ukraine began 24 days ago (February 24^th, 2022).

Global media coverage has been incessant.

Heads of states, geopolitical analysts, op-ed writers, journalists, military experts, religious leaders, and common folk have voiced strong opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inexcusable strikes against Ukraine.

Except for rogue nations like North Korea and Venezuela, the world has seldom seen such a universal condemnation of one nation’s unacceptable intrusion into another (innocent) country.

Opinions abound: Why did Putin order this unprovoked offensive against Ukraine? What will it take for Russia to withdraw or even to deescalate? As expected, most viewpoints or impressions are secular in origin and nature. However, Christians (teachers and students alike, particularly those interested in Bible prophecies) are also weighing in on these ominous developments.

Those who are familiar with this Eye of Prophecy blogsite know that all articles in the five categories (Current Events; Prophecy in General; Devotional / Miscellaneous; Antichrist; The Rapture) convey—to some extent or another—Biblical explanations and/or perspectives. To provide a clear witness for Messiah Jesus who is the very essence of prophecy (Revelation 19:10); to defend and confirm the truth of the gospel (Philippians 1:7); and to clarify, correlate, and even correct some mainstream prophecy views … if/when necessary (Habakkuk 2:2).

Thus, to begin with, one thing is certain: Russia’s venture into Ukraine is not, as some have suggested, a direct fulfillment of the well-known last days Gog/Magog prophecy vividly depicted in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel Chapters 38 & 39.

On the other hand, as proposed in today’s Eye of Prophecy article: it very well could be (I believe it is) a preparation portrayal of the Gog/Magog event.

There are two main reasons why the conquest prophesied in Ezekiel is not (yet) happening: First, the Gog/Magog coalition is just that … an enormous alliance of three powerful nations/armies (Russia, Iran, Turkey) and several smaller countries, such as Libya, whose diabolical objective is to conquer Israel … not Ukraine.

Secondly, as I’ve stated in some of the previous Eye of Prophecy articles written about the Gog/Magog end times campaign against Israel, it won’t take place until (shortly) after the Rapture. With reasons provided for that timeframe.

Accordingly, I’ll begin with this premise: Although Russia’s audacious attack against Ukraine is not specifically found in Scripture, it is (or in the process of becoming) a dress rehearsal. A prelude to the far greater and the not-so-distant future Gog/Magog crusade against Israel.

Whether Vladimir Putin will turn out to be the leader Gog is, of course, not known for sure. If not Putin, then most likely his successor who could be even more cruel and careless (foolish). A probable scenario is that Putin or a successor will not contemplate an attack on Israel until he realizes that the Ukraine campaign was at least partly successful (according to Putin’s criteria).

Meanwhile we will wait to see if (when) Putin withdraws from the Ukraine.

Probably in the form of a “strategic retreat,” having proven whatever points or achieved whatever gains he wants to make. This dress rehearsal (expanded meaning of the term) for a much bigger accomplishment (conquest of Israel) was either hatched in Putin’s devious mind/plan before he invaded Ukraine; or it will occur to him during the war with Ukraine or afterwards, to include correction of mistakes and presumptions made during this trial run.

Says God through Ezekiel to Gog: “You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” (Ezekiel 38:9).

Significant Sets of Twos in the Bible

This heading is the title of an Eye of Prophecy article posted 3-30-2019. The following is an excerpt from the early portion of that post (in italics):

Before we examine the ten most prominent pairs in Scripture, let’s briefly look at the one attribute of God (he has many) that is identified in twosomes. This dual dynamic is ascribed both to God and His Son, Messiah Jesus.

First and Last / Beginning and End / Alpha & Omega

Beginning with God the Father: “This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: ‘I am the First and the Last; there is no other God’” (Isaiah 44:6).

In the final revelation of himself, Jesus said to John: “…I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave” (Revelation 1:17-18).

First and Last and Beginning and End are two terms with the same meaning but articulated in different words for both emphasis and better understanding. First and Last express the everlasting existence of the Triune God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Which intriguingly conveys the concept that God is without beginning and without end. It is a statement of the Lord’s essence as found in his very name, Yahweh—I AM. Beginning and End reflect God’s eternal omnipotence in action, i.e., beginning all things and all things yielding (ending) to a New Beginning

…Let’s look at the most significant pairs of people or events found in the two Testaments that comprise the awesome Word of God—the Bible.

The article goes on to list ten sets of twos which are not all sets found in Scripture … just some of the most prominent.

Seven of those ten sets:

First & Second Creation of the Heavens and Earth

The First Adam & The Second Adam (The First Man & The Last Man) *Adam & Jesus

Birth and Rebirth of Israel

Old Covenant (Law) & New Covenant (Grace)

First Advent & Second Advent of Messiah (*Note: Several other articles have been written about the two-part return of Messiah Jesus … The Rapture & Physical touchdown on earth seven years later). Such as: The Rapture / Before or After the Great Tribulation? Posted 9-7-2019.

Israel—Two Exiles & Two Returns

Christ & His Antithesis, Antichrist

Then, in the final part of that article:

These striking sets of twos encapsulate God’s panoramic plans for humanity, plus his providential power, persistence, and patience to accomplish those plans.

In these pairs, we find one or more of the following: contrast, correlation, clarification, combination, correction, and culmination.

We’ll examine and apply the phenomenal prophecy of Gog/Magog to what’s happening with the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine (dual connections … sets of twos). First, let’s identify some of the proposed reasons why Vladimir Putin has resorted to warfare.

Suggested Motives for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s War Against Ukraine

On Thursday, February 24, 2022, the headlines of the Arizona Republic newspaper read: “Russia attacks Ukraine.” This was a typical headline the world over. As was the case the following day … February 25^th.

This time the Arizona Republic headlines were in a much larger upper-case font and in the form of a quote: ‘BRUTAL ACT OF WAR’.

The statement was attributed directly to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s description of Russia’s unprovoked attack on its neighbor, Ukraine. Which was exact or similar language broadcast by other national leaders. Such as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson who called the assault, “hideous and barbaric.”

Hideous, barbaric, brutal, heinous, reprehensible, and other synonyms certainly fit. The heavy Russian armament (tanks, ballistic, cruise and surface-to-air-missiles, medium and heavy airplane bombers, mortars) have targeted Ukrainian military, industrial, and civilian targets alike. Such as the shameful bombing of hospitals, schools, and apartments. Ukrainian released casualty statistics indicate that more civilians have been killed than soldiers.

(One of many Ukranian civilian areas targeted by Russia)

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (also spelled in media accounts as Zelensky) said shortly afterward: “Russia treacherously attacked our state in the morning, as Nazi Germany did in World War II. As of today, our countries are on different sides of world history. Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself and won’t give up its freedom no matter what Moscow thinks.”

Though he is under constant threat of assassination, President Zelensky has made several other statements since the war began. Such as: “We are on our land. We don’t fear anything or anyone. We don’t owe anything to anyone. And we won’t give anything up … to further Russian aggression.”

The world is wondering: How far will Vladimir Putin go to achieve his stated objectives as well as his hidden agenda?

According to Putin’s warped ideology and rationale, the incursion into Ukraine is not a war nor even an invasion. Rather it is a “peacekeeping … special military operation.” Why? Because he has said several times over many years that, Ukraine is not a sovereign state or even a country. He claims that it and 13 nearby countries such as Georgia and Belarus still belong to Russia … once part of the vast Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991.

To that end he has declared that two eastern regions of the Ukraine (Donetsk & Lugansk) will officially be independent “peoples republics.”

(Over 2 million Ukrainian refugees have fled to other countries)

Short-Term Reasons for Russia’s Invasion

For sake of time/space in this article, it will be condensed into demands made by the Russian president himself. Beginning with Putin’s condition that if Ukraine (and by default, NATO) does not comply with his terms, then “…circumstances require us to take decisive and immediate action (to remove Ukraine’s leaders) for committing numerous crimes.” The demands include but are not limited to the following:

• For Kyiv (capital of Ukraine) to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea (more on that later), the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014
• Cease and desist from any plans/effort to become a member of NATO
• For Ukraine to become “neutral”; don’t side with NATO or the EU against Russia
• Partially demilitarize, i.e., Ukrainian soldiers to lay down their arms and go home
• Acknowledge the independence of the eastern separatist regions (Donetsk & Lugansk), effectively allying these regions to Russia

Long-Term Motives for Russia’s Invasion / Cited by Political, Academic, Military Analysts

This list is also not exhaustive.

• To restore domain (land) and dominance (world influence) that Russia lost after the disintegration of the Soviet Union
• Even further … to recreate in some fashion the once mighty Russian Empire under the Czars
• To assume direct or at least indirect control of Ukraine’s vast reserve of natural gas (2^nd largest in Europe to Russia), with these gas fields predominantly in or near the Crimean Peninsula and eastern Ukraine … Donetsk and Kharkiv (Ukraine’s 2^nd largest city)
• Subjugate Ukraine to the extent that its leaders/people will agree, voluntarily or involuntary, to yield Ukraine’s sovereignty (a puppet government/state) once again to Russia
• In typical fashion of tyrants who care more about themselves than their own people: to become a ruler in the blended mold of Russian Czars and Soviet Dictators, e.g., Joseph Stalin

People who personally know Vladimir Putin and/or have studied his service in the KGB and subsequent political career have noticed that he is (becoming) fearful of losing his power image in Russia … also globally.

In an article written by Soeren Kern posted 3-14-2022 in the on-line source Gatestone Institute, he quotes several reliable sources regarding Putin’s mindset and disposition. Including former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen who said:

“Mr. Putin has changed over the years. My first meeting took place in 2002…and he was very positive regarding cooperation between Russia and the West. Then, gradually he changed his mind…. And in 2008, he attacked Georgia… In 2014, he took Crimea, and now we have seen a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. So, he has really changed over the years.

“…I think he suffers from paranoia. And he thought that after the revolutions in Georgia and Ukraine, that the aim (of the West) was to initiate a regime change in the Kremlin—in Moscow—as well. And that’s why he turned against the West.”

Other observations of his personal and political persona have spanned the gamut from cold, cruel, and conniving to confident, congenial, and cheerful.

Some are questioning his sanity.

(Russian President Vladimir Putin … a sinister smile?)

From a Biblical perspective, I’m persuaded that the reasons for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are not as significant as what he learns (takes away) from this hellish attack in which he is oblivious to how many people suffer and die—Ukrainian or Russian. Whether his immediate goals are realized or not, he—or his successor—will shrewdly gage global reactions. This to determine if it’s feasible to launch another invasion on a far greater scale, with an even more devious plan.

Just as depicted in Scripture:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence!’” (Ezekiel 38:10-11).

The Gog/Magog campaign is part of two different sets.

One set involves the past and future: The decisive victory over the Assyrian army during the reign of Israel’s King Hezekiah; Then the devastating defeat of the Gog/Magog armies not long after the Rapture to come. And as alluded, the other set is the correlation between the present Russian foray into Ukraine and that same Gog/Magog episode in what is most likely the (fairly) near future.

Before we look more closely at these sets of twos involving Gog/Magog, let’s go back to Russia’s 2014 incursion into Crimea, which was (at that time) part of Ukraine.

Beware of the Bear!

That heading is the title of Eye of Prophecy article posted 3-22-2014 (nearly 8 years ago this month) dealing with Putin’s capture of the Crimean Peninsula (February 2014, almost 8 years to the day before he invaded Ukraine). Here is an excerpt from that article (in italics):

Moreover, by the time President Reagan completed his second term as President, he had been instrumental in achieving what no one thought possible … the dissolution of the mighty Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (Though the Soviet Union wasn’t dismantled until 1991, this was simply the aftermath of Reagan’s efforts during the 1980s to stand tall against the Soviet regime).

Some of you may remember: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

The Russian President complied, resulting in the reunification of East and West Berlin; also, the end of Soviet dominance of East Germany, which had become like a vassal state to Russia. Soon to follow was the break-up of the Soviet Union, in which most of the 14 satellite states that comprised the Russian Sphere declared their independence from the mother land. By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union was no more….

The American eagle flew proudly over the Russian bear and spread her wings to protect and defend the nations that embraced democracy. The United States regained her status as the world’s only superpower…. Many politicians, social scientists, economists, religious leaders, and even evangelicals believed the once mighty Russian bear was dead.

Students of prophecy shook their heads in disbelief, questioning whether their analysis of the Ezekiel 38 & 39 Gog, Magog attack on Israel could possibly be accurate. Many students of the Bible reexamined the Scriptures to determine if, “the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal” (Ezekiel 38:2) and “Gog” ruler of the land of Magog would, in fact, be the ruler of the nation that comes against Israel, “from the distant north” (Ezekiel 39:1). Had they been wrong all this time? Russia couldn’t even lead itself, let alone a great multi-national army as Ezekiel so graphically portrays….  

We see, now, that the Bear was not dead, but in a state of prolonged hibernation. Due mostly to the leadership of one man, Vladmir Putin, the people from the mother land of “the distant north” once again proudly wave the Russian flag. Recently, Mr. Putin voiced his opinion that the greatest calamity of the 20^th century—indeed of modern history—was the disintegration of the Soviet Union. In no uncertain terms, he was implying that this catastrophe even exceeded the monumental disasters of World War II, including the unthinkable, unimaginable tragedy of the Holocaust. But then, with autocrats such as Putin, we must consider the source. For many, it is crystal clear what Putin intends to do: Whatever the cost, he means to rebuild the once mighty Russian empire and reestablish its preeminence among the global family of nations.

Then later in that article:

… Putin had no problem ignoring United States and the European Union’s threats of political and economic sanctions against Russia if they annexed Crimea back to the Russian Federation, which is exactly what happened just a few days ago.

…In response to Russia’s takeover of the Crimea and corresponding fear of former Russian satellite nations (such as Lithuania) that Russia will seek to return them to Russian territory, US Vice President Biden assured them that the United States is, “absolutely committed” to defending any aggression against its allies, i.e., NATO alliance nations or those who are in partnership with NATO.

Yet, many are skeptical of any U.S. or EU backing of these countries vulnerable to Russia invasion and annexation. Such as Israeli columnist and Editor Boaz Bismuth who wrote in Israel Hayom, “The Russian bear has already swallowed the (Crimean) peninsula as if it were a jar of honey.” Thus, Crimea no longer belongs to the Ukraine, even though former Russian President Nikita Khrushchev had allowed the Crimea to be part of the independent Ukraine state in the 1950s. Bismuth concluded his article by saying that Putin will, (continue to) “exploit the West’s blubbering and Washington’s lack of leadership.”

*Note: How ironic that this “lack of leadership” is once again on display, this time with Joe Biden as President, instead of Vice President.

I then discussed Russia’s expedition into and annexation of Crimea in the context of the Gog/Magog scenario. Beginning with a question:

What About Ezekiel’s Gog, Magog Prophecy?

International developments within the past few years shows that Ezekiel’s prophecy of Gog and Magog is alive and well after all! Right? Of course, right. Why is that? Because it’s found in the Bible, the very Word of God! What God says will happen, happens! Always has, always will! It parallels other Biblical prophecies that were considered to be impossible or inaccurate or non-applicable to the generation of that time, only to be proven correct by means of gradual or even sudden changes in world conditions. Israel’s miraculous born-in-a-day arrival on the world scene in 1948 is a good example.

(Caption upper left corner reads: “Russia’s Preferred Eastern European Buffer States”)

Contrasts/Comparisons of Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine & Gog’s Future Attack on Israel

Contrasts, comparisons, correlations, and combinations are components of sets of twos. And sets of twos are prominent in Scripture.

Comparisons:

Including but not limited to (for sake of time/space):

1a) Gog continues his boasts against Israel: “I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!” (Ezekiel 38:12).

1b) In that same vein, Putin has made several conceited and derogatory comments about the Ukraine and its leaders. Calling Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky a, “drug-addled Nazi,” and asserting that Ukraine is not an “independent sovereign country.”

2a) “I will capture vast amounts of plunder…” (Verse 12). Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article, Gog, Magog, and Leviathan, posted 1-3-2015; regarding Israel’s natural gas reserves and pumping platform called Leviathan in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel’s coast.

2b) One item on Vladimir Putin’s bucket wish list is to take over (directly or indirectly) the natural gas reserves in Ukraine in addition to the ones in Crimea. Some experts believe that he is already the richest man in the world via all sorts of legal and illegal enterprises. Those that have much usually want more. If Putin turns out to be Gog of Ezekiel 38 & 39, one of the main motives for invading Israel is to increase the wealth of the Russian empire, while lining his personal pockets even more. The Bible says, “For the love of money is… (finish the sentence).

3a) Listen to the reaction of some nations to the Gog/Magog alliance: “But Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish will ask, ‘Do you really think the armies you have gathered can rob them of silver and gold? Do you think you can drive away their livestock and seize their goods and carry off plunder?’” (Ezekiel 38:13). Effectively, the warnings of other nations to Gog/Magog are nothing more than ineffective talk … no action.

When the Lord springs into action against Gog/Magog, among other graphic forewarnings: “And I will, rain down fire on Magog (various nations) and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 39:6). This will undoubtedly include some of those nations who stand by and do little or nothing to stop the Gog/Magog coalition. The coasts certainly could and probably will include western nations, e.g., United States, British Isles, western European countries, etc.

3b) Although most countries of the world have presented a unified response of denouncing Russia and Putin for this detestable attack on Ukraine, for all intents and purposes, it is mostly rhetoric. Which is nearly identical to the world’s response when Gog launches his invasion of Israel. Though sanctions have and will continue to weaken Russia’s economy, they will not be enough to stop Russia’s occupation of Ukraine. That will happen for other reasons, including Putin’s assessment that he has realized enough of his objectives—one of which is to calculate the nature/extent of global reaction (tough or tame)—for “future use.”

Contrasts: Two main differences.

First: Russia will initiate and spearhead the Gog/Magog campaign against Israel. But this time Putin or his successor will allow (welcome) other nations to join it. Though much smaller in population than Ukraine, Israel’s military is stronger—especially the Israeli Air Force.

God gave this message through Ezekiel: “…Gog, I am your enemy! I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws to lead you out with your whole army…. Persia (Iran), Ethiopia, and Libya will join you, too, with all their weapons. Gomer (Turkey) and all its armies will also join you…and many others” (Ezekiel 38:3-6, parenthesis mine).

I’m sure Putin would have liked one or two other nations (such as Lithuania and Belarus) to actively participate with Russia by also sending troops into Ukraine. Nevertheless, he confidently and has thus far correctly calculated that none of the 30 NATO countries, including the United States, would engage in battle with Russia because Ukraine is not a NATO member.

(Since the invasion of Ukraine, Sweeden and Finland are seriously considering application for NATO membership)

Second: The outcome of the current Russia/Ukraine conflict will be considerably different than the fatal failure of the Gog/Magog fiasco. Vladimir Putin will realize some measure of success (real and/or perceived) before he disengages from Ukraine. Since his last name begins with a “P”, I’ll present the following observation:

Putin’s track record shows that he is punitive—sometimes prefers to punish those weaker (individuals and entire nations) who differ with him, and pound them into submission. He is also pragmatic and can be persuaded to make concessions to maintain his (self-perceived) personal prestige and political power.

Which leads us to the other set of twos (past and future) confirming the dress rehearsal premise of correlating (Russia vs Ukraine) to Putin or his successor as Gog/Russia.

God Exclusively & Unilaterally Fights for Israel

Here, I will defer to an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy post, Stand Still & Watch God Fight for Israel! Published 7-30-2016. It covers the Old Testament (II Kings 19) account of Assyria’s invasion of Israel. The article then likens the outcome of Assyria’s unsuccessful conquest of Israel with Gog/Magog’s total failure to conquer Israel. The excerpt begins with the first part of that article:

With exception of three extraordinary events, there is no record, Biblical or secular, of God (alone through direct intrusion) supernaturally defeating an enemy of Gentile nations involved in a righteous justified war, without the necessary fighting and dying of those whom God helped to accomplish their worthy cause and God’s ultimate plan. Each of these three exceptions involve Israel. All three validate the Lord’s ultimate authority and power over nations.

In the year 701 BC, during the reign of one of Judah’s greatest and most godly kings, Hezekiah, God on a massive scale once again delivered his people from national destruction; and did so without any fighting on the part of Judah’s army.

As a backdrop, the powerful nation of Assyria had already conquered the ten northern kingdoms of Israel in 722 BC; this according to God’s warning of what would happen if Israel continued to abandon and disobey their God who created the nation of Israel (through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) and protected and prospered her for hundreds of years thereafter.

The Assyrian King, Sennacherib …  proudly boasted in messages to King Hezekiah that no one, not even the God of Israel, could prevent him from capturing Jerusalem (that alone was a huge mistake … to defy blatantly and arrogantly the true and living God).

“When King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes and put on burlap and went into the Temple of the Lord” (II Kings 19:1).

Hezekiah was distraught for he knew that Judah was no match against the mighty Assyrian army. So, he sent for Isaiah (again seeking God’s Word through the voice of God’s prophet). Isaiah’s response was an immediate and emphatic promise from God:

“…This is what the Lord says: Do not be disturbed by this blasphemous speech against me from the Assyrian king’s messengers. Listen! I myself will move against him, and the king will receive a message that he is needed at home. So, he will return to his land, where I will have him killed with a sword” (Verses 5-7).

Skipping other details in that article (time/space), we move along to the finale:

“And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march outside its gates with their shields nor build banks of earth against its walls. The king will return to his own country by the same road on which he came. He will not enter this city, says the Lord. For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David, I will defend this city and protect it’” (II Kings 19:32-34).

Do you remember what happened next? It is only the most mind-boggling event in the annals of warfare. It will remind you of what happened to the first-born of every Egyptian when Pharaoh’s arrogance had stretched God’s patience to the limit, which also happened at the hands of an angel sent by God. Read with me:

“That night the angel of the Lord went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and returned to his own land. He went home to his capital of Nineveh and stayed there” (Verses 35-36).

Boom, just like that. Sennacherib and what was left of his decimated troops were “out of there.” And why not! This boastful king had just lost 185,000 soldiers. Scripture doesn’t give us the size of his army, but that wouldn’t matter anyway. When you lose that many soldiers in one night while the survivors slept through it, you’re not going to stick around to see what might happen next.

Assyria was never the same again. In a few decades, Babylon would destroy the once mighty Assyrian kingdom.

*Note: In that quoted article, there are three incidents (two past, one future—Gog/Magog) in which Israel does not lift a finger to defend herself, with the first incident found in II Chronicles Chapter 20, when Jehosophat was king of Israel. However, in that incident, Israel’s enemies (several nations) turned on each other before Israel even arrived for battle. Though the Lord was the proximate cause of this miraculous turn of events, he did not directly inflict any damage or death on Israel’s enemies. Whereas the devastating defeat of the Assyrian army was initiated directly and decisively by the Lord, as will be the utter destruction of Gog/Magog forces.

Returning to the last part of article, Stand Still & Watch God Fight for Israel:

“But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over! In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day … all the people on earth will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth. I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other. I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur!” (Ezekiel 38:18-22)

…Against Gog and Magog, the Lord doubles down. He strikes this massive alliance of several nations—what presumably will be hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops aligned against Israel—by turning the forces of nature against them and causing their troops to turn on each other.

…Oh, the Israelis will need to contribute, but only after the fact. Here is what they will do:

“Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins, and spears, and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years! They won’t need to cut wood from the fields, or forests, for these weapons will give them all the fuel they need. They will plunder those who planned to plunder them…” (Ezekiel 39:9-10).

In today’s terms think of guns, grenades, mortars, missiles, assault vehicles, tanks, and aircraft.

Not just damaged armaments, also dead bodies of Gog’s hordes: “It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord” (Ezekiel 39:12-13).

*Other Eye of Prophecy articles regarding the Gog/Magog end times event are:

The Russians Are Coming! (11-14-2015); Beginning of the End (3-5-2016); The Gog/Magog Countdown Has Begun! (9-10-2016); The Terrible Trio of Gog and Magog (2-17-2018); Gog/Magog’s Prophetic Clock Is Ticking, Ticking…. (6-16-2018); The Prophetic Endgame of Gog/Magog (11-9-2019)

Another incidental yet interesting set of twos that has become prominent in the media: Two Jewish men who are involved (one directly, the other indirectly or inadvertently) in this conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—as far as I know the only (highest) leader of a nation who is Jewish other than, of course, Israel’s leader. Here is an excerpt from an Associated Press article published shortly after Russia’s invasion:

“…Zelenskyy studied law at home, and upon graduation, he found a new home in movie acting and comedy—rocketing in the 2010s to become one of Ukraine’s top entertainers with the TV series, Servant of the People. In it he portrayed a lovable high school teacher fed up with corrupt politicians who accidentally becomes president. Fast forward just a few years, and Zelenskyy is the president of Ukraine for real.”

The article concluded with: “He has demonstrated enormous physical courage, refusing to sit in a bunker but instead traveling openly with soldiers, and an unwavering patriotism that few expected from a Russian speaker from eastern Ukraine.”

(Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky … In a bomb shelter but because he’s on the front lines of the war in eastern Ukraine)

(Zelensky’s message to U.S. Congress a few days ago)

The other Jew is Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is the only world leader thus far to have met personally with Russian President Putin and with Ukraine President Zelensky after Russia’s assault on Ukraine. He is not yet in the official role of a mediator between these two nations, but that could change. Whatever the outcome of the war or in whatever manner it ends, how ironic (more like providential design!) that these two men are both Jews; in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the not-so-distant Gog/Magog campaign against Israel.

(Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to the left & Vladimir Putin, taken 10-22-2021 during a meeting between the two leaders) 

Summary

One last quote from article Beware of the Bear, which is just as relevant today as it was eight years ago.

When Russia, Iran, and this unholy coalition attack Israel, the U.S. won’t be able to do anything about it. Why? Because she will have been decimated by the loss of millions upon millions of people. And how will that happen? THE RAPTURE….

The slumbering Russian bear has awakened. She is baring (pun intended) her teeth at NATO and the EU. In a demonstration of superiority, fearlessness, and defiance, she is swiping her paw at the United States. She dared the West to do something about Crimea and the Ukraine, much like Iran dared the EU and the United States to do something about Syria and about Iran’s nuclear intentions. Russia and Iran stood up. The West stood down. What will they do next? What will we do next?

Who better to assume the role of the prince of Magog, than Vladmir Putin? Right, wrong, or indifferent, today’s global community crowns Putin as the “world’s most powerful person.”

In the epic battle of Gog/Magog, Russia and Iran will do precisely what God warns them not to do. So, too, does this warning apply to the beast of Revelation. “I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’ I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists! Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance’” (Psalms 75:4-5). But they will not listen. Following the total annihilation of Gog’s armies as described in Ezekiel 38 & 39, here’s what God says to Israel and to the nations, “In this way, I will demonstrate my glory to the nations. Everyone will see the punishment I have inflicted on them and the power of my fist when I strike. And from that time on the people of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God” (Ezekiel 39:21-22).

There are several prophetic “birth pain” signs in the 20^th & 21^st centuries (increasing with frequency and intensity) to distinctly demonstrate that we are in the last days of the end times, as prophesied in the Old Testament but also by Jesus himself in the New Testament—wars, rumors of wars and natural catastrophes. However, there are two powerful prophecies that stand out as the most stunning:

(1) The rebirth restoration of Israel as a sovereign nation and corresponding return of Jews from worldwide exile dispersion to live in their Promised Land.

This would begin before the “Day of the Lord” which includes the Great Tribulation, followed by the Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus. It would also precede the trigger point catalyst of the seven-year Tribulation, which is the Rapture (resurrection of dead Christians plus catching up of all believers in Jesus Christ—Jew and Gentile alike) to spare us from the horror of this seven-year apocalypse.

The return of Messiah (Jesus) is also in two-parts: Jesus taking believers to heaven. Then descending to earth to rescue Israel again by means of Messiah’s devastating defeat of Antichrist and his ten-nation confederation during the final phase of the Tribulation … Armageddon.

(2) The Gog/Magog assault against Israel.

Which will result in one of the two direct (solo) interventions by God himself to defend and rescue Israel. It will be greater even than the defeat of the Assyrian army. Not only is the Gog/Magog coalition much larger, but the whole world will watch as the Lord crushes this evil alliance.

Which is why Putin’s incursion into the Ukraine is yet another startling sign that we are that much closer to the end of this age. More than ever, Israel needs to look up to see her national redemption is near. That individual redemption is also necessary. I pray constantly that they would open their eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to know that salvation comes exclusively through their Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.

For believers in Messiah Yeshua, the awesome Son of God, we embrace the words of Jesus: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me … When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14: 1-3).

Things to Ponder

Ukraine’s President Zelensky has already been applauded for some notable quotes and brave actions. Not long after Russia’s invasion, U.S. President Biden (staff) offered to get Zelensky out of Ukraine to a place of safety.

Zelensky’s response: “I need ammunition, not a ride!”

During Russia’s (joined by Iran, Turkey, and lesser nations) abominable aggression against Israel, the Jews will not need any ammunition at all. When the God of Israel takes up the fight, he needs only to speak the word … heaven and earth will be moved!

You don’t want the God of Israel (the only true and living God) mad at you. Especially angry enough for his “fury to boil over” (Ezekiel 38:18).

“Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth” (Psalm 83:18).

King David of Israel goes on to say: “Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm. Give victory to our king, O Lord! Answer our cry for help” (Psalm 20:8-9).

This week’s Eye of Prophecy post is a sequel to the previous article (What is Done to Israel Will Be Done in Return / The Iran Nuclear Deal, posted 11-20-2021) dealing with the perilous path of a (any) nation’s apathetic endangerment of and arrogant contempt for Israel.

Thus, it’s fitting to begin with the same quotation: “The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads” (Obadiah 1:15).

Extending the quotation from this obscure (yet intense) one-chapter Old Testament prophetic book, we read:

“Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history. But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to claim their inheritance” (Obadiah 1:16-17).

The following powerful prophecy from the previous article also bears repeating; one that uses the same graphic analogy of drinking and staggering—from an intoxicating concoction that foolishly stimulates attempts to decide and direct the fate of Israel and Jerusalem.

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: ‘This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather together against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves’” (Zechariah 12:1-3).

Under the presidential administration of Joe Biden, the United States is once again (picking up where former president Obama left off) imbibing the intoxicating power potion that prods them to tell Israel what to do and what not to do. One too many diplomatic cocktails that blurs vision and impairs judgement with, among other misguided notions, the naïve assumption that the rogue nation of Iran will cease and desist from their pursuit of nuclear warheads.

That the Biden administration presumptuously thinks it knows what’s best for Israel no matter what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has to say about the matter.

And no matter the irony that the United States is desperate to participate directly in the current meetings (Vienna, Austria) of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that produced the infamous original Iran Nuclear Deal of 2015 between Iran and the P5 + 1 world powers—Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, and the United States. But is relegated to the sidelines because Iran flatly refuses to allow a representative from the United States in the meeting room! Which makes it the P5 +1, minus 1.

(Representatives and flags of Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Iran, and the European Union at the Vienna Conference. Conspicuously missing is the United States flag that was subsequently removed when Iran refused meetings if a representative of the U.S. was present!)

As indicated in the previous Eye of Prophecy post, there are two “existential threats,” facing Israel, meaning a threat to Israel’s very existence as a sovereign state among the family of nations on earth. Both of which have been shaped mostly by the United States of America. The first is the Iran Nuclear Deal (primary subject of the prior post).

Before we examine the 2^nd threat (dividing Jerusalem) in today’s article, let’s do a summary update of recent developments regarding this outrageous nuclear deal. I’ll do so primarily through:

Excerpts From a Jewish News Syndicate Article Written by Israeli Journalist Ruthie Blum

Published on 11-30-21, the article is entitled: Iran’s military gears up for Vienna talks by vowing to annihilate Israel.

Her article begins: “Renewed negotiations over a return to or revision of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers from which former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018—kicked off in Vienna on Monday (November 29^th) with feigned fanfare (2^nd parenthesis mine).

“The Islamic Republic had made it clear that no agreement can be discussed, let alone reached, unless all sanctions hindering the regime’s operations are removed. It has also been engaging in double-speak, bragging about its strides in uranium-enrichment, on the one hand, while insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, on the other.”

*Note: Unless the sanctions against Iran remain in place during this conference, the P5 + 1 nations will be negotiating from a position of irreversible weakness. Which, considering the pre-conference conditions and commands imposed by Iran before they will even negotiate, begs the question: Why is this conference being held in the first place?

Continuing with Ruthie Blum’s article: “…the other parties to the JCPOA have convinced themselves that the interests of all concerned are best served through diplomacy. Never mind that Tehran refuses to allow American representatives anywhere near the room where the talks are being held. Washington is willing to have the mullahs dictate the terms of the entire arrangement…”

Later in her article, she wrote, “Former President Barack Obama’s administration, too, humiliated itself by pleading with Iran to sign the disastrous JCPOA in the first place…. Today, it’s President Joe Biden’s team that’s bowing down and bending a knee.”

To underscore Ruthie’s commentary, here is an excerpt from the first part of an Eye of Prophecy article written over six years ago entitled, A Deal That Will Live in Infamy (8-1-2015), part of which I also quoted in the previous post of 11-20-21. In italics:

Deal? A very loose term at best. Agreement? I suppose so if they mean that the P5+1 nations agreed to everything Iran demanded. It just may be the most one-sided bargain of all time. No level playing field. No equal benefits for both sides. Picture a teeter-totter that won’t move up and down, with Iran grounded securely below and the P5+1 nations dangling in the air above … hung out to dry. Or a merry-go-round with Iran standing and smirking nearby as they watch the United States on the carousel going round and round at a maddening and dizzying pace. What makes it even more mocking is that the United States begged Iran to meet them on the playground in the first place.

The imagery of a playground is suitable because the leaders of the United States and of other powerful nations on earth are playing with the lives and destiny of millions of Jews and Arabs and Persians in the Middle East.

In the previous Eye of Prophecy article, I cited a recent quote from an Iranian general, who boasted (paraphrasing): If the Zionists started anything, Iran would finish it and Israel would then be destroyed. This is one of dozens of threats over the past few years from high-ranking Iranian military personnel and civilians—including the Aytollah himself—to erase Israel from the face of the earth.

In her article, Ruthie Blum also quoted the Iranian army spokesperson himself, Brig. General Abolfazl Shekarchi. She wrote: “…Shekarchi’s words in the current context should serve as sufficient cause for America to call off the whole charade. Speaking to the regime-controlled Iran Students News Agency, Shekarchi announced that Israel’s annihilation is his country’s ‘greatest ideal before us and the greatest goal we pursue.’”

She prefaced the General’s quote by saying that he spoke these words, “…a mere 48 hours before the start of the kowtowing in Austria—all the more relevant and chilling.”

Shekarchi also said (though not quoted in Ruthie’s article): “We will not back off from the annihilation of Israel, even one millimeter. We want to destroy Zionism in the world.”

(Iranian General Shekarchi … faces of the enemy)

In a video address directed primarily to the P5 +1 nations, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett boldly responded: “Today, Iran will be arriving at negotiations in Vienna with a clear goal: to end sanctions in exchange for almost nothing. Iran doesn’t hide its intentions… Such a murderous regime should not be rewarded.”

Later PM Bennett posted in Twitter: “Iran deserves no rewards, no bargain deals and no sanctions relief in return for their brutality. I call upon our allies around the world: Do not give in to Iran’s nuclear blackmail.”

Establishing a Consulate for the Palestinians in Israel’s Capital, Jerusalem

This, too, is on President Joe Biden’s laundry list. However, he is Bidening (biding … sorry, couldn’t resist that one) his time to see if Israeli leaders will warm up to the idea. If not, he may unilaterally move forward with this devious decision.

In addition to the Iran Nuclear Deal, a (Palestinian) consulate is a threat to Israel’s sovereignty and security.

As the content of what is now 330 Eye of Prophecy articles will attest, I seldom get political. If I do, it is always in some (or a lot of) Scriptural context—past, present, future (Biblical prophecy). Today’s article is no exception.

Thus, in the context of the following Bible passages, I’ll present some observations about U.S. President Joe Biden’s performance and how it pertains to the main topic of today’s article:

“On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you!” (Psalm 87:1-3).

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you…. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1 & 3, emphasis added).

“Blessed is the nation, whose God is the LORD” (Psalms 33:12). The opposite of that would be true: Nations whose God is not the Lord, will not be blessed.

In the following Messianic passage, Messiah himself is speaking of what he and the LORD (his father as demonstrated in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110) would do:

“After a period of glory, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sent me against the nations who plunder you (Israel). For he said, ‘Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession (older Bible versions say apple of His eye). I will raise my fist to crush them…’ Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.

“The Lord says, ‘Shout and rejoice O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you…’ The land of Judah will be the Lord’s special possession in the holy land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem to be his own city. Be silent before the Lord, all humanity, for he is springing into action from his holy dwelling” (Zechariah 2:8-10 & 12-13, parenthesis mine).

If only people, especially national leaders like President Joe Biden, would recognize a simple lesson (principle): Powerful nations that mistreated Israel are in the dust bin of history—some permanently and others temporarily, to be judged again during the Great Tribulation.

Such as: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Roman Empire, Germany’s Third Reich, Italy’s Mussolini.

Moreover, the Lord is springing into action again with the inevitable result of Israel’s final restoration (the land) and redemption (the people). Consequently, don’t mess with Israel and especially Jerusalem.

The fate of nations and peoples will depend on whether they “acknowledge” the Lord … willingly or unwillingly. This most assuredly includes the attitude and actions of nations and individuals for or against Israel.

President Biden’s Dismal Performance & Approval Rating

The exclusive reason for an examination of Joe Biden’s regrettable record and pathetic performance in less than 11 months since he was sworn in as U.S. President is to provide a broader perspective on his mostly apathetic and (sometimes) arrogant attitude toward and dreadful decisions concerning the nation of Israel. Which is nearly a 180-degree departure from the previous administration under Donald Trump. The italicized words in this paragraph are descriptive terms summarized from several sources: mostly articles and polls commenting on President Biden’s substandard performance of what many consider to be the most powerful and persuasive position on earth, often abbreviated as POTUS.

For sake of brevity, I’ll refer to just one (representative) of many articles I’ve read on this subject, authored by journalist/commentator Joseph Frager, posted in Jewish News Syndicate on November 4, 2021. Entitled, Biden’s freshman-year report card.

Beginning with: “It’s been a full year since U.S. President Joe Biden declared victory over Donald Trump. To say that the honeymoon is over is an understatement.”

He then cited a 42% approval rating, which also has dipped to 38%; Vice President Kamala Harris’ approval mark plunged to a shaky 28%.

Frager continues: “Even Biden’s trustworthy echo chamber, The New York Times … stated, ‘Mr. Biden’s approval ratings have declined on nearly every issue, and among nearly every demographic group in national surveys over the last two months, as a return to normalcy has given way to rising inflation (worst in 30 some years … especially food, home, and fuel prices—three essential areas of the economy), a simmering pandemic, gridlock in Washington and chaos on the border and in Afghanistan” (parenthesis mine).

In addition. Joseph Frager cited the (unprecedented) “problems with the transport of vital products from docks and storage centers” contributing to “his poor grade-point average.”

Followed by: “The humiliating, disastrous and bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, which I referred to in a previous article as his ‘Waterloo,’ probably hurt him the most.”

Next, is the part of Frager’s post that closely tracks with and provides a smooth transition to this week’s Eye of Prophecy article:

“His report card looks even worse when you factor in his pressure on Israel. Currently, the administration is trying to shove down the throats of a very fragile Israeli government the illegal and counterproductive opening of a consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinian Authority. Not only is this against American law (also against international law); it’s totally inappropriate, given the fact that all consular services are provided to the Arab population at the American embassy in Jerusalem” (parenthesis mine).

He then states, “Biden’s report card really takes a dive where his handling of Iran is concerned…”

The final sentence in Frager’s article reads, “Biden deserves a failing grade for his far-from-stellar performance.”

Since the Iran Nuclear Deal is the main theme of the previous Eye of Prophecy post and summarized in this week’s article, we’ll focus today on the proposed Palestinian Consulate in Jerusalem and the repercussions, thereof.

With a Biblically supported sidenote that—as important as are the contentious issues of immigration, abortion, economy (inflation), pandemics, a position of strength v. weakness in foreign affairs, and overall morality (or lack thereof) of a country—there is nothing more hazardous to a nation, whether a democracy or state-run or a dictatorship, than a deliberate denial of Israel’s right to exist securely as a sovereign state. Coupled with acts or even threats to harm Israel or to divide the land that God has indivisibly given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in perpetuity.

A few weeks ago, former governor of South Carolina (2011-2017) and then the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said, “The Iranian nuclear threat is existential for Israel. If Israel makes the grave decision that its security depends on removing that threat, it should not wait for an American green light that might never come.”

 

(Nikki Haley, rumored to be a Republican candidate for the 2024 U.S. Presidential elections)

Not only is the Biden administration not showing support and sympathy for Israel’s security (Iran, other Muslim nations, and terrorist groups from without and within like Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas sworn agenda to eliminate Israel as a sovereign nation); but recent reports indicate that U.S. officials have warned Israel against attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, claiming that such actions would be “counterproductive.”

Also, see Eye of Prophecy article: Ambassador Nikki Haley & The Truth About Israel (Posted 10-20-2018).

More Dramatic Details of a Palestinian Consulate

Nikki Haley’s forewarning was reinforced by former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence who in no uncertain terms stated: “Make no mistake about it. President Joe Biden has turned his back on Israel.”

That Biden, “restored funding for the Palestinian Authority, announced his intention to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal, and now the Biden administration is planning to open a consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinian people… an unlawful step and it’s time for Congress to act to deny President Biden from opening a consulate in Jerusalem”

In fact, about six weeks ago, 35 Republican Senators spear-headed by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee), introduced a bill to block the administration’s unilateral, even without Israel’s consent, plan to reopen the U.S. consulate (previously closed by Donald Trump) for the Palestinians in Jerusalem.

In a statement, Hagerty wrote: “President Biden continues to push forward this inflammatory plan to establish a second mission in Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem—one for the Israelis and a second one for the Palestinians—despite the fact that this plan violates the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and is completely opposed by the Government of Israel.”

Subsequently, some 200 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Biden also expressing opposition to a Palestinian consulate in the heart of Jerusalem. Stating among other things: “The Biden administration’s shameful move would have the unconscionable effect of undermining the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and signal support for dividing Jerusalem.”

The following is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article: Is President Trump Wavering on the Waiver? (2-14-2017):

Second question: Should the US Embassy be relocated to Jerusalem?

Let’s get right to the answer.

YES, it should be moved. Says who? Says the American people!

Really, when did we say that?

We said that through our legislators in the House of Representatives and Senate when they passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, calling for relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In fact, the voting margin was overwhelmingly in favor: Senate 93-5; House of Representatives, 374-37. That’s as large a margin as you’ll ever see in Congress.

According to this Act, the move of our embassy to Jerusalem should have taken place no later than May 31, 1999. However, in deference to the authority of a United States President to recognize foreign sovereignty over territories, Section 7 of the Act allowed the sitting President to “waive” enforcement of the Act if the President felt that such a move might pose a risk to the security of the United States. With the stipulation, however, that such a waiver must be reviewed every six months, so as not to ignore this Congressional Law indefinitely. Since then, Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama have done just that … signed the waiver. As a result, the US Embassy is still in Tel Aviv. Hence, it was a binding, but floating piece of legislation.

As indicated, President Trump later made good on his promise to relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

In that article, I also listed all 17 points of the Jerusalem Embassy Act. Here are seven of those points to reestablish and reemphasize the sovereign right of Israel (of any country) to determine its capital city. With international law stipulating that the host country has the sole prerogative of deciding which foreign embassies to allow in that capital. With consulates in other cities of a nation, but NOT in capital cities.

*Note: An embassy and a consulate are not the same thing.

As follows (in italics):

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.”

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital.

(3) The city of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel’s President, Parliament, and Supreme Court, and the site of numerous government ministries and social and cultural institutions.

(6) In 1967, the city of Jerusalem was reunited during the conflict known as the Six Day War.

(10) In 1992, the United States Senate and House of Representatives unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 113 of the One Hundred-Second Congress to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem and reaffirming congressional sentiment that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city.

(15) The United States maintains its embassy in the functioning capital of every country except the case of our democratic friend and strategic ally, the State of Israel.

(16) The United States conducts official meetings and other business in the city of Jerusalem in de facto recognition of its status as the capital of Israel.

(17) In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King David’s entry.

The first Democrat to agree with the Republican senatorial resolution was Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) who stated: “The U.S. has never opened a diplomatic office without the approval of the host government and to do so in Israel would create a double standard. Any decision on this issue should be made with Israel’s consent and must recognize that Jerusalem is Israel’s undivided capital.”

(The U.S. Consulate General on Agron Street in central Jerusalem, 2019. Not until the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians did this consulate take on the additional duty of a quasi-diplomatic mission for the Palestinian Authority. For decades before that it provided consular services to visitors while representing the United States. When the U.S. Embassy was moved to Jerusalem, it legally and appropriately absorbed all services to/for the Palestinians into the Embassy. Thus, the consulate was shuttered)

Next, is a shocking example of duplicity that originates either from playing politics or from words and actions that can only be categorized as hypocritical … or perhaps a lack of integrity both political and personal.

Not only did Senator (at the time) Joe Biden vote in favor of the Jerusalem Embassy Act, but he also gave an eloquent and impassioned speech (I say that sincerely) before the final vote: In a part of that address on the Senate floor … October 24, 1995, he said:

“Mr. President (Bill Clinton at the time), it is unconscionable for us to refuse to recognize the right of the Jewish people to choose their own capital. What gives us the right to second-guess their decision? For 47 years, we, and much of the rest of the international community, have been living a lie (parenthesis mine, italics for emphasis).

“For 47 years, Israel has had its government offices, its parliament, and its national monuments in Jerusalem, not in Tel Aviv. And yet, nearly all embassies are located in Tel Aviv. I think this is a denial of fundamental reality.

“Mr. President, are we, through the continued sham of maintaining our Embassy in Tel Aviv, to refuse to acknowledge what the Jewish people know in their hearts to be true? Regardless of what others may think, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. And Israel is not just any old country. It is a vital strategic ally.

“Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem will send the right signal…. To do less would be to play into the hands of those who will try their hardest to deny Israel the full attributes of statehood” (emphasis added to illustrate that this “denial” would be intensified exponentially if there would be a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem).

Joe Biden ended his speech with: “I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.”

Contrast that to what Joe Biden, during the election campaign in 2020, said in answering a question regarding President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in 2018.

Mr. Biden replied that the move was, “short-sighted and frivolous,” although he would not transfer the embassy back to Tel Aviv if elected.

At the time, Senator Biden said that we (the United States, including him) and the international community was “living a lie” in denying Israel’s right for Jerusalem to be its capital … with the logical result that the U.S. Embassy (all embassies) should be in Jerusalem.

(A younger Joe Biden when he was a U.S. Senator (D-Delaware)

I think the following would be legitimate and reasonable questions for President Biden to answer: Why such a colossal change in your attitude and actions regarding Israel? Were you living a lie then as you said, or were you lying about living that lie?

More Commentary Regarding President Biden and the Consulate in Jerusalem

In a Gatestone Institute online article (October 27, 2021) entitled, Jerusalem Palestinian consulate: A nail in the coffin of peace, Colonel Richard Kemp (former British Army Commander, currently writer/speaker on international and military affairs) begins:

“Only a few months ago, U.S. President Joe Biden betrayed a U.S. ally by withdrawing forces from Afghanistan, bringing down the government in Kabul and consigning the country to … Taliban terrorists. Now he is winding up to betray another, much closer ally—Israel.

“Biden plans to open a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. This may seem like just another diplomatic facility to issue visas, promote trade, and take care of U.S. citizens… But it is far more than a mere office for paper-shuffling diplomats.

“It amounts to a de facto U.S. embassy to the Palestinians on Israeli territory. Its true purpose is to undermine Israeli sovereignty in its own capital city and will jeopardize future prospects for peace between Israel and Palestinian Arabs. The Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh (the supreme PA leader is President Mahmoud Abbas), understands the implications only too well. In a recent interview, he triumphantly predicted that the new consulate would re-divide Jerusalem” (parenthesis mine).

Kemp goes on to say: “The new consulate, exclusively to manage diplomatic relations with Palestinians, is designed to give hope that one day Jerusalem will be the capital of a putative (supposed) Palestinian state. Israel can and rightly should never allow that. As well as betraying Israel, Biden’s irresponsible diplomatic signaling—which also appease his hard-left supporters—is a betrayal of the Palestinian people. They have suffered too long and too hard under the hostility of their leadership, which has consistently refused to entertain all proposals for peace with Israel that could lead to the establishment of their own state” (parenthesis mine).

He then said that the Palestinian leadership, “…intends to see not a two-state solution but the destruction of the Jewish state…”

Which is nearly identical to what I’ve written in several Eye of Prophecy articles, i.e., Palestinian Arabs do not want a state alongside of Israel. They want a state instead of (to replace) Israel.

(That slogan is often quoted / displayed by Palestinians and their supporters. The meaning is crystal clear. From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea… All Israel must cease to exist and replaced with a Palestinian State with all Jews expelled … or killed)

The following excerpt (in italics) is from Eye of Prophecy article, The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation (Part I) Posted 5-13-2017. The excerpt begins with a statement made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to President Trump during their meeting in Washington D.C.

“We are raising our youth, our children, our grandchildren on a culture of peace.”

My immediate response in the article was:

Seriously?

Less than two years ago, Abbas incited dozens of lone-wolf attacks against innocent Israelis by declaring that Palestinians must not allow the “filthy feet of the Jews” to walk on Temple Mount. In September 2015, Abbas said that he, “welcomed every drop of blood that is spilled in Jerusalem.” Not long afterward the “Knife Intifada” began that also included shooting and car-ramming murder of Israelis.

Regarding a Palestinian State that Abbas really doesn’t want unless Israel capitulates to every single one of his demands, such as East Jerusalem (there is no such thing as east Jerusalem) as the Palestinian capital—when such a capital would more easily and with much less adversarial results be placed in Ramallah—or the return of millions of Arabs currently restricted to so-called refugee camps, here’s what Abbas said not too long ago:

“A Palestinian State like Iraq, Saudi Arabia & other Islam countries, will not have or allow a single Jew to live there.”

Richard Kemp concludes his article with, “…opening a consulate in the same city as an existing embassy—an unprecedented move—reinforces its immense political significance. Especially as there is no practical purpose for the new facility, with the embassy already incorporating a department devoted exclusively to Palestinian affairs. If an independent consulate were really needed for the Palestinians, it would make sense to put it in Ramallah, where virtually all PA government buildings are located.”

Summary

From the previous Eye of Prophecy article, What Is Done to Israel Will Be Done in Return / The Iran Nuclear Deal, I briefly introduced today’s post (a Part II-type sequel focusing on dividing Jerusalem with a Palestinian consulate) by stating:

Although this doesn’t necessarily pose an immediate existential threat as does a nuclear armed Iran, it, nevertheless, will aggravate rather than alleviate problems between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs.

It would be tantamount to and a catalyst for a Palestinian State with Jerusalem (the eastern portion) also becoming the capital of that state. One city as the capital of two nations will not cut it. If it didn’t work/continue in Germany (East Berlin and West Berlin) between people of the same nationality (Germans), there’s absolutely no way it will be viable between two peoples whose racial and religious conflict didn’t originate a mere century or so ago. Rather, thousands of years from the ancient past.

Things to Ponder

“…Shout this message for all to hear: ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong. But I am very angry with the other nations that are now enjoying peace and security…” (Zechariah 1:14-15a).

May the executive, congressional, and judicial leaders of the United States of America and leaders of nations the world over listen to the shouts from Scripture trumpeting the passionately strong affection the true and living God has for Israel, and for Jerusalem … especially Temple Mount.

The harshest time of God’s judgment will be during the seven-year Tribulation. However, past and current events also demonstrate that God’s punishment—including his own people—has fallen periodically on those who have harmed, scattered the Jews and divided Israel and/or Jerusalem.

May leaders and peoples on a global scale heed the warnings of Scripture which declares there will be a heavy price to pay for dividing the city and land he has chosen as his very own dwelling place on earth. Beginning with the Tabernacle during Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness. Then in the glorious Temple planned by King David and built by King Solomon on Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Then during the time that the Son of God, Messiah Jesus taught and healed in Jerusalem’s rebuilt Temple some 2000 years ago.

With the Son of God returning in power and great glory to the Mount of Olives from which he ascended to heaven forty days after his magnificent resurrection from the dead to prove that he was/is the Messiah, who was sacrificially crucified for the forgiveness of sin to all who believe and receive him as Lord and Savior—Jew and Gentile alike.

Resuming with Messiah’s Second Coming to rescue the Holy City during the very last part of the Great Tribulation. Followed by Messiah Jesus’ majestic Millennial Reign from Jerusalem. And the Grand Finale: The New Jerusalem throughout all eternity.

The Jewish Apostle Paul (formerly Saul, a devout Pharisee whose heart, life, and eternal destiny were miraculously changed by his encounter with Jesus) wrote:

“Though he was God … When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6a, 7b, & 8-11).

The following is an excerpt from the prior Eye of Prophecy article:

Let’s hope that the Lord’s wrath doesn’t boil over before the Rapture because of any rivalry with or our antagonism toward and/or disrespectful and reckless endangerment of Israel. To that end, we need to pray for the leaders of Israel and the United States to do what is right. And warn them that they are wrong if they harm Israel in any way. To recognize that Iran is our common enemy and cannot be appeased. To stop foolishly playing with fire which could be the literal result of a maniacal nuclear Iran with its sworn Islamic agenda to eradicate Israel and America.

To fully acknowledge that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel; neither Israel nor Jerusalem should ever be divided.

*Personal Note: On behalf of my brother and two sisters, this article is dedicated to our dearly loved but departed mother. Today’s posting is December 11th, 2021. Mom died on December 11th, 2011. Were she still alive she would be 100 years old this year. She loved the Scriptures and knew them well. She also loved Israel and Jerusalem.

As Jerusalem goes, so goes Israel. As Israel goes, so goes the world!

 

“The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads” (Obadiah 1:15).

As Jerusalem goes, so goes Israel. As Israel goes, so goes the world.

I do not think that is an exaggeration.

If anything, it’s an understatement. For no other reason than Jerusalem’s supreme status as a (the) Holy City.

“On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you!” (Psalm 87:1-3).

If the Lord loves Jerusalem more than any city in Israel, then he must cherish Jerusalem more than any city on earth. For the Lord calls Israel his “special possession” (Joel 3:2 and other passages).

For the record, The LORD cited in the above passages and hundreds of other passages is the God of the Bible. Among other names and titles, He first referred to himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the ONLY true God and must not be confused or identified with (not the same as) the god of Islam or gods of any other religion.

“Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

The Lord backs up his exclusive claim with many mighty miracles and 100% accuracy (fulfillment) for hundreds of persuasive prophecies.

The 1948 rebirth of the sovereign state of Israel followed by the liberation and reinstatement of Jerusalem as her eternal capital via Israel’s stunning victory in the Six-Day War of 1967 was (still is) the single greatest prophetic fulfillment (sign) of the end times thus far. Therefore, I’m convinced that we are living in the final generation that will experience the Rapture—resurrection of dead believers who will be caught up to heaven along with living believers, and both groups transformed into glorious eternal bodies like that of our Lord Jesus Christ. Followed by the Seven-Year Great Tribulation and Return of Messiah Jesus to establish his Millennial Reign on Planet Earth.

The intense increase in the planet’s attention on Israel and obsession with Jerusalem provide more proof that these unfulfilled events are as imminent as ever. Hardly a day goes by without politicians of all levels, celebrities, and common people from every part of the world weighing in on virtually anything and everything pertaining to Israel.

Opinions (mostly unfounded criticism, if not outright antisemitism) abound on what Israel should do or not do. Especially issues involving the Israeli / Palestinian conflict. A few national leaders occasionally (infrequently) express support for Israel’s precarious position among hostile Islamic nations surrounding Israel, particularly Iran, and from antagonistic Palestinian Arabs within Israel (Hamas but also the Palestinian Authority) who deny Israel’s right to exist as a sovereign Jewish nation. Thereby, seeking its very destruction.

For example, Austria’s Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said, “I understand Israel’s skepticism over a nuclear agreement with Iran.” Sadly, the new United States Administration under President Joe Biden does not adequately appreciate and/or is apathetic toward the perilous predicament in which the Iran Nuclear Deal (2015, spearheaded by former President Obama), places Israel.

Wrote well-known columnist David M. Weinberg in an Israel Hayom article posted 11-7-2021 entitled, Misplaced global priorities:

“In short, world leaders are seized more about the expanding ozone hole than Iran’s deepening nuclear bunkers. They are prepared to bravely declare ‘war’ on polluters, but afraid to threaten Iran with war—which is the only way to reach an accommodation with Iran. They are prepared to heroically escalate their rhetoric against carbons, but not prepared to boldly put the threat of military escalation on the table against Iran.”

Concerning the hostile Palestinian agenda against Israel, Weinberg then said:

“…World leaders are more concerned about the rights of terrorist-backed Palestinian NGOs (in response to Israel’s announcement to abolish six NGO’s that, under the guise of human rights advocacy, sponsor terrorist cells) than the rights of Israelis to live without a perpetual Iranian nuclear threat hanging over their heads. They are more upset with Jewish home-building in Jerusalem and Judea than the building of Iranian Revolutionary Guard bases on Israel’s northern border (and in Iraq, Yemen, Western Africa, etc.).” (1^st set of parentheses mine).

I would add the observation that these leaders, including (unfortunately) several in the United States administration, blindly accept the Palestinian narrative—proven time and time again to be based on deception and distortion … rewritten history. Hardly a day goes by without reading about three major complaints against Israel and Israeli Jews: apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and occupation.

Because I have written several Eye of Prophecy articles regarding these and other false accusations, my response in this article will be limited to: The accusations are absurd!

For two main reasons: (1) Most people who use (misuse) these phrases and/or carelessly accept them as fact do not really know the full meaning of the terms nor how they play out in real-life experience.

(2) The vast majority of Israel’s critics know practically nothing about Israel’s longstanding history and very little about Israel’s contemporary chronicle … past 100 years or so. None of these conditions have existed in Israel since the Jews reclaimed Jerusalem (indeed, all Israel) in their amazing victory in the Six-Day War of June 1967. Furthermore, from 1948-1967, it was Jordanian and Palestinian Arabs who were actively engaged in apartheid, ethnic cleansing against the Jews, and (illegal) settlement occupation of Judea/Samaria and Jerusalem. That is a matter of historical record of which those who irrationally dislike and even despise Israel are either woefully ignorant or deliberately disregard as irrelevant.

(Now that is ethnic cleansing!)

(See Eye of Prophecy articles: Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda (posted 9-17-2016) and More Palestinian Lies (2-20-2016).

The Rapture, Great Tribulation, and Millennial Reign of Messiah Are Closer Than Ever

The time is that much shorter with one episode after another (within Israel and outside Israel … the Middle East and the whole world) preparing for the day—during the Great Tribulation when the following prophecy will unfold:

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: ‘This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather together against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves’” (Zechariah 12:1-3).

Another sign of the last days of the end times is the amazing agricultural, building construction, infrastructure, and economic restoration of Israel’s land and technological advancement of her people. This for a nation that is only 73-years old with a Jewish population of less than 7 million.

“The time will come, says the Lord, when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine! I will bring my exiled people of Israel back from distant lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again. They will plant vineyards and gardens; they will eat their crops and drink their wine. I will firmly plant them there in their own land. They will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them, says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:13-15, emphasis added).

That time has come and will continue unabated until Israel’s achievements will be even greater and her standing among the nations highly elevated when Messiah begins his Millennial Reign on earth from Jerusalem.

Since the Romans crushed the Jewish rebellion (66-70 AD), devastated most of Israel, destroyed the Second Jewish Temple along with much of Jerusalem, and exiled the Jews to the four corners of the earth, the land of Israel had been largely forsaken. Beginning with the miraculous rebirth of Israel in 1948, Amos’s prophecy is being fulfilled before our 20^th and 21^st century eyes.

The affluence of Israel is a direct result of God’s blessing after their time of discipline ended in 1967 (see Eye of Prophecy trilogy: Seven times Seven to the 4^th power; followed by The Omega Generation—posted January, February 2014). The renewal of Israel from a desolate, infertile land to one of abundant harvest (making even the desert bloom) and beauty is a God-thing … accomplished only after the Jews returned to Israel in great numbers.

This literal budding of Israel did not take place during the times that Jews were fewer in number and the land and people were under the thumb of the Arabs, the Crusaders (not true Christians, but in name only), the Ottoman Turks, or even the British.

It was through God’s chosen people, the Jews—descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—that the land of Israel has been revived to the point of hardly being recognized after hundreds of years of neglect and barrenness.

(Example of terraced vineyards and crops in Israel yielding abundant harvests)

Which will be a catalyst to yet another powerful prophecy of the last days:

“At the time of those events, says the Lord, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land” (Joel 3:1-2).

Jehoshaphat means “the Lord judges.” In Joel’s prophecy, these are the same armies (Antichrist and his ten-nation coalition) spoken of by Zechariah in the passage quoted earlier plus the “kings of the east” (Daniel 11 and Revelation 16) who will at first oppose Antichrist, then align with him just before the final battle of Armageddon. The valley of Jehoshaphat judgement and Armageddon (in the valley of Megiddo) are one and the same. It will happen when Messiah Jesus returns with “power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30) to vanquish these armies just after Antichrist and the False Prophet are captured and thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19).

Many nations have harmed (or attempted to) the Jews and/or Israel through the centuries and have scattered the Jews (or attempted to). Such as: Assyria, Babylon, Persia (contemporary Iran which most Israelis believe is Israel’s greatest modern threat), the Roman Empire, Roman Catholic Church via the Crusaders and the shameful Inquisitions. Plus, European heads of state doing the Pope’s bidding through the Middle Ages. Also, Russian and eastern European pogroms against Jews particularly during the 18, 19^th & 20^th centuries. Worst of all: Hitler’s Third Reich Holocaust that murdered six million Jews.

Followed by Israel’s four full-scale wars with Arab nations: 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973. Each resulting in Israel’s victory.

When the Arab nations realized they could not defeat Israel in conventional warfare, individual Palestinians (usually after incitement by Palestinian Authority President Yassar Arafat then Mahmoud Abbas or other PA officials) resorted to lone-wolf attacks to maim and murder Jews. With Hamas in the Gaza Strip launching thousands of missiles into Israel since the Jews were removed from Gaza (under orders of the Israeli government) in 2005.

As for “dividing up my land” (Israel), that is and will continue to be more of a modern phenomenon right up to the present time and then into the post-Rapture soon-to-come Great Tribulation. The divisions began with the British Mandate that subsequently created the nation of Jordan, much of which was part of Israel’s Biblical land as described in several passages in the Old Testament. As a result of the creation of the Jordanian state, Israel’s original land mass was considerably condensed. When Messiah returns, Israel’s full territory will be as it was promised by the Lord long ago.

More on the dangers of dividing Jerusalem and Israel in the next Eye of Prophecy article.

Turmoil, Tragedy, and Terror in Israel

This was the title of three recent Eye of Prophecy articles: Part I—Turmoil; Part II— Tragedy; Part III—Terror (published June, July 2021).

Here is an excerpt from Part I of that trilogy to summarize what precipitated and comprised these three tests of endurance, experienced by Israelis primarily during the first half of 2021:

When you combine the turmoil of an Israeli government following the country’s 4^th election (March 23, 2021) in two years (under the helm of what many consider to be Israel’s greatest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—in terms of national and international accomplishments for Israel) but still unable to form a majority coalition of 61 seats in the Knesset, with the tragedy on Mount Meron (April 30^th) followed recently by terror inflicted on Israelis via indiscriminate firing of over 4,000 missiles from Gaza into Israel (beginning on May 10^th); preceded by tens of thousands of Arabs rioting in several towns, including Jerusalem (earlier in May); an argument could be made that Israel’s resolve and resiliency have not been tested like this since the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2014.

Some would say not since the Palestinian intifada of 2001. Others might even compare the inner turmoil—political, social, and (most of all) religious division among Israelis—combined with the Mt. Meron tragedy in which 45 men and boys were crushed to death during what was supposed to be one of the most jubilant religious celebrations among Orthodox Jews; plus, the recent Palestinian terrorism uprising to constitute the most difficult time in Israel’s 73-year history since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

It is mind-boggling in scope and should give serious cause for Israelis and Jews worldwide to pause; to ponder their perplexing past, perilous present, and portentous future of the reborn state of Israel.

In fact, the whole world would do well to carefully consider its imminent destiny and take heed of these three tenses of Israel’s existence….

(Damage to house in Ashkelon, Israel from missile launched by Hamas from Gaza Strip, several Israeli Jews injured)

I then made some penetrating but poignant statements in that article, directed toward Israel and the Jews, but obviously including all people and nations. Everyone needs Jesus.

Prefaced by this sub-heading:

Listen Up … Look Up!

It is time for God’s chosen people—religious, secular, leaders, and common folk alike to—individually and collectively, nationally (the state of Israel) and internationally (Jews worldwide)—heed the passionate warning of the only true and living God, the God of Israel’s ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:

“Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen to me!” (Psalm 81:8).

It is time for Israel and Jews worldwide, especially the observant among them (Ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, Conservative, Reformed) to realize that thousands of Messianic Jews all over the world (who have believed and received Jesus as the Son of God—the Messiah foretold in the Jewish Scriptures) have indeed listened to the God of Israel. They have heeded the Lord’s precious promises, powerful prophecies, and stern warnings given to his prophets, who practiced, preached, and prophesied precisely what God told them to do and speak.

Prophets such as Amos who declared: “Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

Like King David who unequivocally proclaimed in one of the Messianic prophecies in Scripture that the God of Israel has a Son, who is the Messiah: “For the Lord declares, ‘I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.’ The king proclaims the Lord’s decree…” (Psalm 2:6-7a).

“Now then, you kings act wisely! Be warned you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear; and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him” (Psalms 2:7b-12).

Then in the profound book of Hebrews (New Testament), the Jewish author summarizes so great a salvation purchased by Jesus Christ with the highest price ever paid, through the (once for all) greatest sacrifice ever made … the blood and life of the Son of God. Beginning with:

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days (when the new covenant had begun), he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven” (Hebrews 1:1-3, parenthesis mine).

Blessings or Banes (Curses) Depend on How Israel Is Treated

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you…. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1 & 3, emphasis added).

Hundreds of Bible end-times prophecies revolve around two subjects: (1) Israel’s final restoration and redemption, individually and as a nation. (2) Accomplished by the Messiah’s—Jesus of Nazareth who fulfilled all the prophecies about Messiah’s (first) arrival on earth—glorious return to rescue Israel, physically and spiritually.

“…Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, ‘The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins’” (Romans 11:25-27, quoting Isaiah 59:20-21).

Several passages also speak of God’s increased anger during the end times towards peoples and nations who try to interfere with his plan to restore Israel and usher in the Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus from Israel’s UNDIVIDED CAPITAL of Jerusalem. Consequently, the leaders of the world, especially the United States which God has generously blessed since our foundation in 1776, would do well to venerate God, and value his precious promises and powerful prophecies.

To also heed his stern warnings regarding the mistreatment of Israel.

Based on the extraordinary evidence of several Biblical prophecies being fulfilled through the ages along with end times predictions coming to pass in this generation, I would confidently present the following premise:

The Lord’s promise of blessing those who bless Israel or judging those who treat her with contempt has increased since 1948 and will intensify until Messiah returns to this earth to set all things right in the magnificent Kingdom of God, replacing the evil, injustice, and violence of this world with righteousness, justice, and peace.

Such as natural disasters (mostly hurricanes) during the past few decades occurring in direct proximity to the United States doing or considering something that would harm or jeopardize Israel’s safety.

A New President for the United States & A New Government & Prime Minister for Israel

Will they be good for the United States and Israel or not so good?

Earlier this year, the 4^th Israeli election in the past 2 ½ years finally produced a coalition government, albeit an awkward and fragile combination of ultra-liberal, central, and conservative parties unprecedented in Israel’s 73-year history. Much like the current Democrat/Republican 50-50 split in America’s Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris a tiebreaker, if necessary, the Israeli parliament consists of a majority with the slimmest of margins … 61-59.

Although U.S. President Joe Biden eventually invited Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to meet with him at the White House with all the politically correct verbiage before, during, and after the meeting, their relationship is tenuous (more like testy) at best. During his years as U.S. Senator, President Biden expressed solid support for Israel. However, as Vice President he was heavily influenced by former President Obama’s displeasure with Israel—especially directed against (then Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu.

Just as Israel was recovering from the turmoil, tragedy, terror from within her borders that I wrote about in the previously cited articles, she now faces critical challenges from without. Not the least of which is the United States through an administration that is determined to undo all that former President Donald Trump did, especially regarding Israel. Rather than acknowledging the positive actions taken by Biden’s predecessor including, but not limited to, relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and U.S. withdrawal from the horrendous (dangerous) Iran Nuclear Deal.

President Biden has (for now) agreed to leave our embassy in Jerusalem. However, as we will see, he is also seeking to undermine both the symbolic principle and political practicality of the U.S. Embassy being in Israel’s capital which as the previous president Trump and his executive staff said at the time: “It was the right thing to do.”

Recently, the Israeli government passed a (belated) budget for the 2021 calendar year … also 2022. Unless this budget had been finalized before November 14, the new government would have dissolved, and elections held yet again. Shortly afterward, Prime Minister Naftali Bennet said: “Our next mission is to utilize this stability and deal with the challenges and problems that have been neglected for years….”

He then identified several issues, all of which were national or internal matters such as housing cost, traffic jams, cost of living, crime in the Israeli Arab communities. At that time Bennett said nothing about the two most critical challenges facing Israel which, as indicated, have originated internationally—first and foremost through the Biden Administration. Yet, he did address those problems during his meeting with President Biden and during a couple of press conferences.

Concerning Iran, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke these words in preparation for the November 29 conference in Vienna, subject of which will be further discussions on the 2015 nuclear deal:

“Iran poses a strategic threat to the world and an existential threat to Israel, and they ought not to be allowed to get away with it. We will not tire, we will be relentless, when we are talking about the very existence of the Jewish state, we will do what we need to do.”

(Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett addressing the United Nations on 9-27-2021)

Kudos for Naftali Bennett even though former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said things like this numerous times over several years.

These two challenges constitute “existential threats,” meaning a threat to Israel’s very existence as a sovereign state among the family of nations on earth. They are:

(1) The Iran Nuclear Deal: I would surmise that most readers of today’s article are at least somewhat familiar with this infamous “deal” between Iran and six nations, including the United States. With today’s headlines continuously commenting on President Biden’s push to restart discussions (possibly more negotiations) with what is clearly an arrogant and stubborn Iran.

Here is an excerpt from the first part of Eye of Prophecy article entitled, A Deal That Will Live in Infamy (8-1-2015):

I suppose there are other titles that could be used for the subject of this week’s Eye of Prophecy article. But since it follows on the heels of last week’s post entitled, Day of Infamy that dealt with the Jewish 9^th day of Av—a date on which two titanic tragedies and other ominous events struck Israel—it’s appropriate to describe the recent nuclear arrangement with Iran in the same fashion.

This deal with a nation that is an avowed enemy of Israel and the United States is eerily comparable to and just as menacing as the day that England’s Neville Chamberlain signed a pact with Hitler. An agreement that not only didn’t guarantee peace in their time, but intensified the winds of war that led to World War II.

Deal? A very loose term at best. Agreement? I suppose so if they mean that the P5+1 nations agreed to everything Iran demanded. It just may be the most one-sided bargain of all time. No level playing field. No equal benefits for both sides. Picture a teeter-totter that won’t move up and down, with Iran grounded securely below and the P5+1 nations dangling in the air above … hung out to dry. Or a merry-go-round with Iran standing and smirking nearby as they watch the United States on the carousel going round and round at a maddening and dizzying pace….

The imagery of a playground is suitable because the leaders of the United States and of other powerful nations on earth are playing with the lives and destiny of millions of Jews and Arabs and Persians in the Middle East.

Oh, there was give and take. The United States and other P5 nations did all the giving and Iran did all the taking. In doing so, our Presidential Staff apathetically ignored the warnings of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his stirring address to the United States Congress on March 3^rd, 2015. Much was written about the speech that President Obama and Secretary of state John Kerry refused to attend, including the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, A Modern Day Esther, posted this past March 7^th.

I then quoted a small part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United States Congress. As follows:

Prime Minister Netanyahu proposed a much better deal with concluding remarks such as, “Ladies and gentlemen, history has placed us at a fateful crossroads. We must now choose between two paths. One path leads to a bad deal that will at best curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions for a while, but it will inexorably lead to a nuclear-armed Iran whose unbridled aggression will inevitably lead to war. The second path, however difficult, could lead to a much better deal that would prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, a nuclearized Middle East and the horrific consequences of both to all of humanity.”

(Back to the 2015 article, A Deal That Will Live in Infamy)

Now that this infamous deal is done, it’s all too clear which path was taken.

This deal has been in the making for nearly two years. Many of us hoped (wishful thinking) that the P5 +1 nations, which include the United States, would see through Iran’s deceitful agenda.

That we would come to our collective senses, and fully realize that you cannot deal with a rogue nation—an enemy which before, during, and after the negotiations continued their tirade that calls for the humiliation and destruction of both Israel and the United States.

(Leaders from the P5 + 1 nations and Iran, plus United Nations representative/flag)

In that article I then discussed in more detail some of the repercussions of this deal (called the Joint Comprehensive Agreement) which would endanger the nation of Israel. Prefaced by an excerpt from a previous article entitled, Let’s Make a Deal, published 12-14-13, written about this deal in the early stages of negotiations. I’m convinced the material in both of those prior articles is as relevant today as it was in 2015 and 2013, respectively. As follows a portion from the 2013 post (also in italics):

About three weeks ago, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei announced to the Iranian people: “Israel is doomed to failure and annihilation.” That, “Zionist leaders cannot be called human.” A short while before that, Khamenei said, “The Zionist regime is a rabid dog.” There were other words of hatred directed against Israel. But the irony of this menacing message is that it was delivered disrespectfully just a short time before the P5+1 (United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany) completed negotiations with Iran in a November 24th interim deal called a “Joint Plan of Action”—to ease economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for a “slow-down” of Iran’s nuclear enrichment of uranium.

Would you make a deal with someone whose main purpose in life was to destroy you and members of your family or your best friend? How do you negotiate with those who would lie to you, cheat you, and ultimately kill you to accomplish their warped objectives? Where do you start? What do you say? How sure can you be? Why are you even there in the first place? But none of these questions seemed to bother the P5+1, with perhaps the exception of France.

“Suppose we can reason with them?” Really?  … It’s been 34 years since the attack on the US Embassy in Tehran and kidnapping of dozens of US Embassy representatives by the newly formed Islamic government of Iran. If we’re even a fraction wrong about Iran’s true intentions, then there’s a 99.9% chance they will follow through on their threats.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to this menacing pact was to label it an “historic mistake.” He should know. For the same 34 years, Israel has lived under the constant threat of Iranian terror exported to Syria and Lebanon, especially through Hezbollah. Because Israel understands her enemies far better than the United States under the current administration, Netanyahu also said, “The most dangerous regime in the world must not be allowed to have the most dangerous weapon in the world … we will not allow Iran to receive a military nuclear capability.”

Summary

The U.S. Democrat administrations (naively) sees non-confrontation concessions as the best way to deal with even a terrorist nation. With the misguided notion that placating Iran will persuade its dictatorial leaders not to pursue nuclear bombs. The Republican administration under Trump and most Republicans in the current Biden administration believe the best (only) way to handle a rogue regime like Iran is coercion though sanctions and a show of strength. That nothing should be left on the proverbial “table” including military action, if necessary.

It’s quite simple: As with the Obama era, once again the United States doesn’t regard Iran all that seriously. Accordingly, Biden has reversed Trump’s withdrawal from this so-called deal and is actively promoting compromises with Iran. Whereas Israel takes Iran very solemnly as expressed by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who avowed that Israel would do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from going nuclear. The question is whether Israel’s current government under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is as committed to this goal. It appears they are, but will they relent if the United States (wrongly) applies excessive pressure on Israel not to interfere … politically and especially militarily.

One more excerpt from Let’s Make a Deal:

Regardless of your view on the right or wisdom of Israel to act independently of the US, or the P5+1, or the entire world, I would again ask: Would you sit down at the table with an enemy who has sworn to do anything and everything they can to terminate your existence on this earth? And keep in mind that Iran has not only threatened to wipe Israel from the global map, it has also avowed to destroy the “Great Satan.” That’s right. Iran refers to America as the Great Satan; Israel is only the “little Satan.” We should be so honored?!

In a recent interview, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said about the same thing: “It’s really dangerous what the administration is doing. They will, if they head back into that deal, provide resources and money for a regime that had made clear its intentions to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. They want to destroy America as well.”

It’s elementary. Extortion 101. Protection money. Only with the Iran Nuclear Deal this protection has a shelf life.

*Note: Although there’s a possibility that Israel and Iran will go to war before the Rapture, I’m convinced that it will be a limited engagement consisting more of sporadic aerial or missile strikes and/or naval skirmishes. Not until after the Rapture and the massive Gog/Magog invasion against Israel led by Russia, Iran, and Turkey will it be all-out war. A war in which Israel will stand back and watch the Lord God unilaterally fight for Israel and soundly defeat this massive coalition (Ezekiel Chapters 38 & 39).

(Biblical names for today’s Russia, Turkey, Iran, Ethiopia, and Libya. Ezekiel identifies only these nations by name but says there will be “many others.” Thus, I would identify the other nations shown in dark red–besides the five listed–as “probably against Israel”)

Several Eye of Prophecy articles have been written on this subject. Such as: The Prophetic Endgame of Gog and Magog (posted 11-9-2019) and The Terrible Trio of Gog/Magog (2-17-2018).

The bottom line is that U.S. President Biden and his entire executive staff are willing to risk Israel’s (and other nations in the Middle East who see Iran as a threat—like Saudi Arabia) very existence over their end game of discount (the threat) diplomacy. Plus, the United States is setting the stage for a Post-Rapture (Tribulation period) adversarial relationship with Israel by (eventually) cooperating with the Antichrist and his ten-nation coalition. Please see Eye of Prophecy article, “One Ring to Rule Them All…” (11-21-2015).

The second challenge to Israel that also originates directly from/with the United States:

(2) Establish a Consulate for the Palestinians in Israel’s Capital, Jerusalem.

Although this doesn’t necessarily pose an immediate existential threat as does a nuclear armed Iran, it, nevertheless, will aggravate rather than alleviate problems between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs.

It would be tantamount to and a catalyst for a Palestinian State with Jerusalem (the eastern portion) also becoming the capital of that state. One city as the capital of two nations will not cut it. If it didn’t work/continue in Germany (East Berlin and West Berlin) between people of the same nationality (Germans), there’s absolutely no way it will be viable between two peoples whose racial and religious conflict didn’t originate a mere century or so ago. Rather, thousands of years from the ancient past.

Alas, I’m out of space and time. We’ll examine the details of this proposed consulate in the next article, including quotes from some prominent politicians and journalists. And, of course, more Scripture passages regarding the danger of mistreating the “apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2:8, NASB).

Things to Ponder

Defiance of God by attacking (synonyms: assailing, assaulting, condemning, damaging, harassing, harming, hurting) his special possession Israel and chosen people the Jews has in the past provoked God to anger and retribution. In the future any dire existential threats (active or passive) against the reborn state of Israel will arouse the full fury of the Lord.

“But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘When Gog invades the land of Israel my fury will boil over! …and all the people on earth—will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth… Your men will turn their swords against each other. I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed. I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur! In this way I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:18-23).

Let’s hope that the Lord’s wrath doesn’t boil over before the Rapture because of any rivalry with or our antagonism toward and/or disrespectful and reckless endangerment of Israel. To that end, we need to pray for the leaders of Israel and the United States to do what is right. And warn them that they are wrong if they harm Israel in any way. To recognize that Iran is our common enemy and cannot be appeased. To stop foolishly playing with fire which could be the literal result of a maniacal nuclear Iran with its sworn Islamic agenda to eradicate Israel and America.

And as we will see in the next Eye of Prophecy post: To fully acknowledge that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel; neither Israel nor Jerusalem should ever be divided.

In response to Prime Minister Bennett’s words quoted earlier regarding Iran (we will do what we need to do), one high-ranking Iranian general retorted boastfully to the effect that if Israel started anything, Iran would finish it. As a result, Israel would cease to exist.

Really?

I’ll take the Everlasting to Everlasting I AM, Alpha and Omega, Sovereign Creator, Almighty & Most High God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob over the man-made Islamic moon-god anytime, anywhere.

Iran will get its chance. I would encourage its leaders and citizens to read Ezekiel Chapters 38 & 39 for the outcome!

The Lord will give those who defy him and seek Israel’s destruction one last chance to “break their chains … and free ourselves from slavery to God” (Psalm 2:3).

For those who deliberately ignore the warnings of Scripture:

“God says, ‘At the time I have planned, I will bring justice against the wicked. When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm. I warned the proud, Stop your boasting! I told the wicked, don’t raise your fists! Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance. For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness—should raise a defiant fist. It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall’” (Psalm 75:2-7).

The following was presented in the introduction to Part I (Turmoil in Israel), and repeated in the Part II post (Tragedy in Israel):

When you combine the turmoil of an Israeli government following the country’s 4^th election (March 23, 2021) in two years … still unable to form a majority coalition of 61 seats in the Knesset, with the tragedy on Mount Meron (April 30^th); followed recently by terror inflicted on Israelis via indiscriminate firing of over 4,000 missiles from Gaza into Israel (beginning on May 10^th); preceded by tens of thousands of Arabs rioting in several towns, including Jerusalem (earlier in May); an argument could be made that Israel’s resolve and resiliency have not been tested like this since the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2014.

Some would say not since the Palestinian intifada of 2001. Others might even compare the inner turmoil—political, social, and (most of all) religious division among Israelis—combined with the Mt. Meron tragedy in which 45 men and boys were crushed to death during what was supposed to be one of the most jubilant religious celebrations among Orthodox Jews; plus, the recent Palestinian terrorism uprising to constitute the most difficult time in Israel’s 73-year history since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Also, the challenge and premise applicable to all three articles will be partially repeated:

Challenge: …a respectful but also robust challenge to Israelis and to Jews throughout the world (whether religious or secular) … that the recent developments in Israel should be a wake-up call to look up for divine guidance in general. And for their returning Messiah in particular.

Premise: The current (internal) turmoil produced in part by Israel’s political system and sometimes dysfunctional government, the tragedy of the recent Meron disaster, and the terror caused by the latest war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas terrorist organization contain precedents, parallels, and patterns … preparing and even precipitating the return of both Christ (Jesus) and Antichrist (Nero).

Terror & Terrorism

As with turmoil in Part I and tragedy in Part II, let’s look at the definition of terror in this week’s post. Grasping the far-reaching meaning of each term provides that much more insight on what is happening in Israel, in these last days of the end times.

Webster’s Dictionary defines terror: “A state of intense fear; a frightening aspect (ex: invasion); a cause of anxiety; worry.” Also, “Reign of terror … violence (as bomb-throwing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands.”

Some synonyms of terror: dread, alarm, panic, shock.

Terrorize: “to fill with terror, or anxiety. To coerce by threat or violence.”

Terrorism: “the systematic use of terror, esp. as a means of coercion.”

That’s what terrorists do: they systematically (sometimes spontaneous, but more often planned) terrorize innocent civilians to intimidate and get concessions from them and/or their government. But also, just for the sake of maiming and killing … borne out of hatred for their victims. That and pure evil.

(We all know where we were when we first heard. In just a couple of months, it will be twenty years)

It is no (statistical) secret. The facts show undeniably: the greater majority of those who fit these definitions/profiles of terrorists are Muslims.

Their religious and political ideology are deep-rooted in Islam. Their chief enemies are Jews, Christians, and, depending on the two main branches of Islam … Shi’ite or Sunni, other Muslims when necessary.

Terrorism covers the gamut of lone wolf attacks (guns, knives, rocks, firebombs, car-ramming, explosives wired to their bodies); to small groups/gangs (beginning with airplane, bus, train hijackings … now frontal attacks using guns and grenades); to well-rehearsed larger cells of say eight or more (Munich Olympics and 9/11 … plus rioting in general). To much larger groups with thousands or tens of thousands of well-armed soldiers led by religious/political fanatics that function like a quasi-government and paramilitary … such as Boko Haram in Africa, Taliban in Afghanistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in the Gaza Strip of Israel.

Plus, international terrorism ruthlessly dispensed by Al-Quada and ISIS at their terroristic worst.

Not to mention entire nations or national governments ruled by Islamic dictators that have terrorized their own people, e.g., Iraq, Iran, Syria, and several African countries. With Iran funding Hezbollah, Hamas, and Houthis.

With exception of communist nations (China, North Korea, some say Russia still is), they are ALL Muslim. There is no Islamophobia going on here. It is the plain truth of the matter.

With regard to these terrorists and their terrorism, it is not much different in Israel.

With, however, one exceptional exception. It has been going on (and off, but mostly on) for 73 years; ever since Israel’s rebirth as a Sovereign State, and the only democracy in the Middle East at that. Jewish parents, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in Israel have all faced terror in some sinister shape or another.

At first it was entire Islamic Arab nations who tried to destroy Israel in four different wars. Beginning with armies from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt attacking Jews the day after Israel declared statehood on May 14, 1948. After the Six-Day War of 1967, and particularly the Yom Kippur War of 1973, these Arab nations realized they could not defeat Israel by conventional warfare.

Consequently, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) decided to take up the cause of driving Jews out of Israel via terrorism and substituting a Palestinian State. Not a state alongside Israel; rather a Muslim/Arab state in place of Israel. That’s exactly what the Palestinian mantra means when it boasts: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

And that is precisely what the Palestinian Authority President meant when he said:

After the Palestinian Authority was formed during the ill-fated Oslo Accords of 1993, the Palestinians (Arab non-citizens of Israel) began to use terrorism as the regular weapon of choice. That and the attempt to gain international sympathy and support via the oft used tactic of Muslims making martyrs out of their murderers. “Resistance-fighters” out of their terrorists.

Time/space in this article do not permit elaboration to refute the derogatory insinuations and blatant lies perpetuated against Israel that falsely accuse Israeli Jews and/or the Israeli government of such things as apartheid. Or using terms like occupation and settlers as though the Jews have no right to live in certain areas of Israel. For purpose of today’s article, I will simply repeat what has been documented at greater length in prior Eye of Prophecy articles: There is absolutely NO APARTHEID in Israel. There is categorically NO OCCPATION (illegally or even in the negative sense of the word).

For an in-depth look at the real history of Israel and the Palestinian issue combined with current (accurate) facts on the ground, please consider some of the Eye of Prophecy articles on this subject. Such as (chronological order of posting):

Israeli Occupation … Fact or Myth? (Posted 5-16-15)

Can A Murderer Be A Martyr? (1-30-16)

The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque (4-16-16)

Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda (9-17-16)

Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount, Part I & II (8-5 & 8-12-17)

The Real Reason for Palestinian Terrorism (9-30-17)

The “Right of Return” … For Palestinians or Jews? (4-7-18)

Israel’s Controversial Nation-State Law (8-11-18)

Judea/Samaria & Gaza Strip / Who Has Sovereignty? (5-11-19)

Jewish Settlements in Judea/Samaria … Are They Illegal? (11-23-19)

Palestine or Israel? Which Is It? / Your Answer May be in Jeopardy! (1-18-20)

Israel’s Annexation of Occupied Territories? We Must Define the Terms (6-27-20)

If you haven’t, please read some or even all these articles, then draw your own conclusions.

Elusive Peace in Israel

I have been to Israel (March 2006 with one of my sisters), although I wasn’t your typical tourist with a tour group visiting the cherished sites of the Holy Land. My main purpose was to gather geographic and demographic data for my first book (a novel, entitled O Israel). Most of the time, we rented a car. On a couple of occasions, we took a taxi.

Obviously, in the fifteen years since that trip some things have changed in and around Israel. Yet many things have not changed, not the least of which is the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nor the endless struggle between Arab and Jew beginning some 3,800 years ago … Ishmael and Isaac. Then between Muslims (mostly Arabs) and Jews beginning about 1,400 years ago.

(Protesters near Damascus Gate leading to Old City of Jerusalem. One of three gates my sister and I went through during our trip to Israel. The actual entrance is obscured in the photo by a Palestinian flag. Several of these protests turned into riots in early May, 2021)

In the context of this trilogy’s themes, I will mention only three features of that trip.

With a preface: these observations representatively affirm that there is nothing whatsoever in Israel to even suggest a condition of apartheid—which did occur years ago in South Africa. Israeli Arabs (citizens of Israel) have equal rights to Jewish Israelis, including but not limited to voting and holding office in the Knesset, that the indigenous blacks of South Africa never had.

Even the non-citizen Palestinians—who refuse to become citizens of Israel unless it’s by marrying an Israeli Arab—of the Gaza Strip and Judea/Samaria (aka West Bank) have privileges that many of their fellow Arabs in Islamic countries do not have. Not the least of which is a higher standard of living … excepting the oil-rich families of the Gulf States. Nor, for example, Palestinians living in Syria and Lebanon; many of whom are being mistreated as second and third-class citizens by the governments of those nations. Consequently, many are poverty-stricken.

Those three things:

(1) Our first taxi driver (Sammie) who served as a tour guide for the initial part of our trip to Jerusalem (we started in Tel Aviv) was born of an Egyptian father and Jewish mother. And, of all things, he passionately believed that Jesus was/is the Messiah and would someday return to Jerusalem! I hope he is still in business!

(2) Our last taxi driver simply drove us from the Old City of Jerusalem to our hotel in the newer part of the Holy City. He was an Israeli Arab, approximately 62 years old. I asked him point-blank if he and his fellow Arab citizens (including non-citizen Palestinians) were better off in a democratic Jewish nation than he and his ancestors were under a non-state (territorial) Jordanian rule (most of Jerusalem from 1948-1967); British mandate (1917-1948); and Ottoman Turk empire (some four hundred years before that).

His answer … “yes.” However, with a disclaimer. He said that the land (of Israel) does not belong to the Jews but to his people. Yet he stopped short of saying that there should be a Palestinian state.

This has been and still is the main dividing line and stumbling block between Muslim and Jew. Muslims simply will not acknowledge:

(A) the Jews have been in Israel since God gave the Promised Land to them nearly 4,000 years ago. Whereas the Arabs did not occupy (in the negative sense of the word) Israel until Mohammed invented Islam in the 7^th century AD and began killing and subjugating Jews.

(B) For several years now, the Jews in Israel have outnumbered both the Arab Israelis and the Palestinians in Israel. Even though the ultimate right for the existence of the one Jewish nation on earth stems from the only true God granting them in perpetuity this small portion of land—plus 3,300 years of inhabiting (settling) and possessing (occupying in the neutral sense of the word) the Promised Land with Jerusalem as its eternal capital under King David around 1,000 B.C.—the fact that there are more Jews in Israel than Arabs is a point that cannot be dismissed. If for no other reason than this (population) numbers card has been played by the Arabs for years.

(3) In 2005 (just a few months before my trip to Israel), some 10,000 Israeli Jews were evicted by their own government (Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the time) from their homes in the Gaza Strip, many under police and military “escort” (coercion). They were relocated throughout Israel. Please understand: The Gaza Strip is geographically part of the sovereign state of Israel. The Jews were not “settlers” in Gaza nor were they “occupying” it. They were removed mostly for security but also for geopolitical reasons.

Much could be said about that unfortunate decision; however, only one point will be made in the context of today’s article: To this day, there are those (misinformed, uninformed, refuse to be informed) who erroneously think or say that Israeli Jews occupy the Gaza Strip and/or segregate it.

(A not so new) Newsflash: There are no Jews living in the Gaza Strip, nor have they for 16 years. Nor do the Gazan Palestinians want Jews there or want to be part of the State of Israel. Because they do not even recognize Israel’s right to exist. It is the Jews who are segregated by/from Gaza.

(One of the sad scenes during the 2005 expulsion of Jews from Gaza, some by force)

Consequently, Hamas refuses to participate in peace discussions with Israelis. Nor will Hamas (which began their autocratic Gaza rule in 2007) recognize or be part of a Palestinian State with the Palestinian Authority (headquartered in Ramallah of Judea/Samaria region) running that state. In fact, the Palestinian Authority / Fatah and Hamas are bitter enemies.

With whom is Israel supposed to negotiate? It would be sheer madness for Israelis to consider the creation of another state within its borders (with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt) when the people of that state cannot even agree on whether to hold elections. Nor would one Palestinian side recognize the legitimacy of the other’s government even if an election would produce such and such a leader or leaders. Plus, it’s absurdly impractical to create a Palestinian state with what would be two or three separated boundaries, as opposed to contiguous borders within Israel proper.

Terror in Israel

The deep mourning of all Israel over the Mt. Meron Lag B’Omer tragedy of April 30, 2021, had barely begun when the Palestinians in Judea/Samaria, joined shortly afterward by thousands of Arab Israelis, followed a few days later by the terror organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip decided to add terror to Israel’s turmoil and tragedy. A reign of terror; literally raining down missiles in Israel.

Not that Arabs in Israel—usually Palestinians, but in this latest episode also thousands of rioting Israeli Arab citizens—need an excuse (pretense) to wreak as much havoc as they can get away with before Israel is forced to respond. Some terror attacks are a spur-of-the-moment result of incitement by Palestinian leaders.

However, from the evidence collected during this latest spate of terror or gleaned after the cease-fire (5-21-2021) between Hamas and Israel, it’s clear that the sequence of events was mostly planned … deliberate. Each provocation was more calculated than impulsive. The Palestinians and Israeli Arabs knew that the attacks on Israeli Jews and their property (beatings, rocks, Molotov cocktails, burning, looting, missiles from Gaza) would produce a response from Israeli police and military. They reckoned that Israel’s response to defend and protect her people would be perceived as entirely disproportional in the eyes of the world; thereby, generating more (senseless) sympathy for the “underdog.”

It’s All About Jerusalem

One feature of this latest engagement (May 10 through 21) between Hamas and Israel that is like the previous three (limited) wars of 2008, 2012, and 2014: the launching of missiles (over 4,300) into Israel. With Israel’s (necessary) retaliation of some 1,500 air strikes by the IDF Air Force. Israel hit Hamas hard and rightfully so considering Hamas’ massive number of missiles and, as we will soon see, the out-and-out arrogance of Hamas leaders.

However, there were two aspects of this Arab/Palestinian uprising different than past episodes of terrorism.

(1) The widespread rioting and violent attacks against Jews and Jewish property by Israeli Arabs (citizens of Israel) instead of the non-citizen Palestinians of Judea/Samaria. Albeit, with a great deal of incitement by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and by his military arm Fatah.

(2) Jerusalem as the center of attention like never. In fact, the Israeli Defense Force named this military operation in response to Hamas’ missile barrage, “Guardian of the Walls.” Referring primarily to the Western Wall in Jerusalem just below Temple Mount. Hamas labeled their (unprovoked) missile attack that struck several Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and even Jerusalem itself: “Sword of Jerusalem.”

Hamas’ switch in reasons (excuses) for launching their periodic missile and mortar attacks indiscriminately into Israel cities was summarized by retired Israeli Navy commander Eliezer Marom in his article posted 6-1-2021 in Israel Hayom, entitled: It must be clear: Jerusalem is not up for discussion. He writes:

“…Hamas gambled and started the latest round using a different narrative than it employed in the previous ones. It was no longer about ‘resistance’ and defending the Gaza Strip and its residents from ‘the siege,’ but rather about ‘protecting Jerusalem and hurting anyone who attacks it.’ The Palestinian public was fired up and we saw Arab Israelis take to the streets.”

*Note: Hamas’ audacity and conceit is clearly on display nowadays. They no longer imply; rather they insist that ALL Jerusalem belongs to the Arabs, not just the eastern portion to include Temple Mount.

Eliezer Marom continues: “Ultimately, in war, the image of victory is a mental one. At the end of this round, Hamas managed to cast itself in the eyes of some of the Palestinian public as the defender of Jerusalem. The IDF’s success in crushing Hamas’ military capabilities has not been sufficiently publicized. Hamas is trying to create a new equation in which any attack on Jerusalem, such as evicting residents of Sheikh Jarrah (more on that incident in a moment) or police entering the Temple Mount compound, will lead to Hamas rocket fire on civilian targets in central Israel. We cannot accept that (parenthesis mine)”

(One of the Israeli Jews dwellings damaged during the 11-days of Hamas missiles into Israel) 

This latest action between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas (funded by Iran) is yet another prelude to this well-known, soon-to-unfold end times Biblical prophecy:

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord. ‘This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves’” (Zechariah 12:1-3).

I am convinced that one of the reasons (a pretense because nearby nations, including Arab Muslim nations don’t really care about the Palestinians) for the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel (led by Russia, Iran, and Turkey) soon after the Rapture will be to assist the Palestinians of Israel in their avowed goal to “free Palestine.” To “liberate Jerusalem” from the Jews.

According to Ezekiel 38 & 39, God Himself will unilaterally and utterly crush this coalition.

Then, near the end of the Great Tribulation, Zechariah’s (Chapters 12 & 14) prophecy plus that of Daniel Chapter 11 will unfold. With Antichrist and his alliance invading Israel for any number of reasons, to include ostensibly “deliverance” of the Palestinians from the Israelis.

More so than ever, both Palestinians and Israeli Arabs fabricated threats of Jewish attacks against Al Aqsa Mosque on Israel’s most holy site (Temple Mount) as an excuse to attack Israeli Jews and provoke Israeli police. That and distorting the evidence and deceiving themselves and anyone who didn’t want to know all the facts about a situation in Jerusalem involving (alleged arbitrary) eviction of Arab residents from their homes … without cause. When, in fact, they were tenants simply not paying their rent and had not for decades.

The Sheikh Jarrah Saga

Several op-ed articles were posted about the Sheikh Jarrah episode, with the authors explaining the real circumstances (history).Thereby, exposing the lies foisted by and on both Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Arabs, as well as misinformation from some international media sources, especially those that are subjectively slanted against Israel.

Even then, a recent poll disclosed that only about 25% of Arabs in Israel believed the distortions about Israel’s handling of the Sheikh Jarrah dilemma. Which means the majority knew all too well the rest of the story.

In 1973 well-known Israeli diplomat Abba Eban said (in the context of Arab/Palestinians not terribly interested in peace negotiations):

This time they seized the moment because what they were about to do was anything but peaceful. Why not use the lies about Sheikh Jarrah and Temple Mount to protest, riot, terrorize, and attack Jews and destroy Jewish property (Israeli Arabs)? And to lob thousands of deadly missiles and mortars into Israel (Hamas).

Time/space only permits a condensed version as found in excerpts from a couple of these articles. Beginning with: Media lies about Sheikh Jarrah feed a false narrative. Written by James Sinkinson, President of and posted originally on June 13, 2021, for FLAME (Facts and Logic About the Middle East); reposted in Jewish News Syndicate.

“In the days leading up to the recent Israel-Hamas conflict, the mainstream media and various talking heads were provocatively reporting on the ‘eviction’ or ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Palestinians from their homes in eastern Jerusalem in favor of ‘Jewish settlers.’ Thus begins one of the most outrageous sagas of twisted journalism and media disinformation so far this century. The New Yorker’s Steve Coll disingenuously put it this way: ‘For many Palestinians, the eviction cases evoked a long history of dispossession while presenting evidence of continued efforts to remove them from the city.’

“Few journalists—and certainly not Coll—bothered to provide background beyond these breathless declarations, which at times bordered on incitement and anti-Semitism, and which are part of the wider battle against the legitimacy of Jews in their national, indigenous and ancestral homeland.”

*Note: There has never been a case of Israeli Jews attempting, “to remove them (Palestinian Arabs) from the city (Jerusalem)”, merely for the purpose of dispossession or ethnic cleansing. In fact, it’s just the opposite. As Sinkinson goes on to explain and as I (and others) have written about the contemporary history of Israel; it was Jordan (Arabs) who in 1948 forcefully evicted Jews from most of Jerusalem, including the Old City which lies in the eastern part of Jerusalem. Not until Israel won a stunning victory over superior Arab armies in the phenomenal Six-Day War of 1967, did Israel reclaim what rightfully belonged to her … ALL of Israel and ALL of Jerusalem.

Only to relinquish some of the territory back to Egypt (Gaza & Sinai) and Jordan (Temple Mount). Then land sections known as A & B of Judea/Samaria to the Palestinian Arabs. With, however, ultimate jurisdiction maintained by the sovereign Jewish State of Israel.

James Sinkinson goes on to explain that the Sheikh Jarrah community in question was (illegally, due to illegitimate occupation and administration by Jordan) “arranged for the housing of 28 Arab families in the area of the abandoned residential compounds in the Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood….”

Sheikh Jarrah is the burial site of a 3^rd century B.C. Jewish high priest, Shimon Hatzadik who served, “…700-800 years before the arrival of Muslim invaders.”

He stated, “Most importantly, the New Yorker … failed to clarify that the properties in question were legally purchased in 1875 by two Jewish trusts committed to the development of the Jewish population of Jerusalem… After Israel liberated these areas in the 1967 Six-Day, the Jewish families who had had their homes and lands confiscated—and had the deeds to prove it—began proceedings to reclaim them. In 1972, these claims were accepted by the courts, and ownership was returned to the original owners.”

(Shiekh Jarrah community in Jerusalem)

The rightful Jewish owners of these houses/properties agreed to allow the Arab tenants to remain, with (the obvious) condition that they honor the leases and pay rent. Not only didn’t the Arabs pay rent and/or move out when their lease expired, they damaged and destroyed some of the buildings including an old synagogue.

James Sinkinson then accurately stated in his article: “Like all tenants who refuse to pay their agreed rent and (who) damage property, they were legally called to leave. Eviction notices were issued, but the tenants refused to leave, despite exhausting all legal avenues open to them….”

He then summarized by explaining how international media in their incomplete and dishonest reporting of this situation, “gives the false impression that these Arabs lived on their own property since time immemorial” (italics in the text).

In a more recent article entitled: The 2021 Gaza War: An overview reprinted in Jewish News Syndicate, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and journalist Dore Gold explained the two reasons given by Hamas in attacking Israel.

Wrote Dore Gold:

“According to Hamas, the 2021 war was caused by Israeli actions in Jerusalem: first, the Palestinian protests around the Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. Hamas spokesman argued that Israel was planning to evict residents from that area. But in truth, this was a legal dispute that had been under consideration by Israeli courts for many years….

“This was not a dispute between indigenous Arab residents and new Israeli ‘settlers’ as it is often portrayed today. The legal battle over Sheikh Jarrah went all the way up to the Israeli Supreme Court, which evaluated the orders issued by lower courts to evict the squatters and ordered Israeli Police to enact the ruling.”

Dore Gold then labeled the next sub-heading in his article (in bold letters):

“The Israeli ‘threat’ to the al-Aqsa Mosque”

Followed by: “Hamas claims that a second cause of the Gaza attack was events on the Temple Mount, namely Israeli police stopping rioting and stone-throwing from inside the barricaded al-Aqsa Mosque. Since the early 20^th century, the Palestinian leadership in Jerusalem sought to use the so-called threat to the Muslim religious shrines on the Temple Mount as an instrument to rally (incitement) public opinion” (parenthesis mine).

Large rocks, firebombs, and firecrackers (the kind that can cause injury) were hurled from Temple Mount onto Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall below with the intention of luring a large contingency of police to respond. The rioters then pelted the police with more stones and Molotov cocktails. Police responded with stun grenades and water cannons. Palestinians cunningly convinced the (mostly) uninformed international media that, “the Israeli Police decided to attack peaceful Muslim worshippers on Temple Mount.”

*Note: Are rocks and firebombs part and parcel of Islamic worship….?

(Stockpiled rocks inside Al Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount)

Fortunately, there were no police fatalities; however, 18 were wounded.

As written by Shmuel Katz in an article posted in Jewish News Syndicate (May 24, 2021) entitled, Anti-Semitic lies, Israeli truths:

“Hamas gave an ultimatum to Israel on May 10 to leave the Temple Mount and Sheikh Jarrah, and release by 6 p.m. all Arab rioters who were caught and arrested. Israel ignored this insane ultimatum, and Hamas started a massive assault on Jerusalem and other Israeli locations, launching multiple rockets…”

*Note: several of these rockets didn’t make it out of the Gaza Strip, instead falling prematurely onto Palestinians in Gaza, killing several of their own people. Twelve Israeli Jews were killed. Were it not for Israel’s amazing Iron Dome defense (shooting missiles out of the sky before they reach their target), it is estimated that dozens, if not hundreds of Israelis might have died.

Just before Hamas initiated its barrage against Israel, its top leader Ismail Haniyeh had the gall to issue a warning directly to (then) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to, “play with fire” in Jerusalem.

*Note: How vainly ironic when 26 fires were ignited in Israel by Gazans sending fire kites and balloons into Israel. And the fires that burned cars, homes, businesses, and synagogues started by Israeli Arabs throughout Israel. With a Hamas military leader issuing this threat to Israeli Jews: “we’re here to burn you, to make you wish you were dead. You will not enjoy a decent life….”

Then Haniyeh brazenly boasted: “Neither you, nor your army and police, can win this battle.”

Naturally, Haniyeh’s counterpart—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (these two Palestinian Arab leaders are sworn enemies)—had to get his two cents worth of incitement in by acclaiming the “courageous stand” of the protesters (rioters actually). On Palestinian T.V. he claimed that Israel bore full liability for the violence.

There were other condemnations of Israel’s justified response to ruthless attacks on Israeli Jews and mass destruction of Jewish property, but one needs only to consider the sources. Thus, I would be remiss if I didn’t cite the biased, anti-Semitic (don’t bother me with facts) quote from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders:

“The United States must speak out strongly against the violence by government-allied Israeli extremists in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and make clear that the evictions of Palestinian families must not go forward.”

Note: there is no city or territory, or jurisdictionally zoned area called East Jerusalem. Even if there were, the Shiekh Jarrah neighborhood is in the northern section of Jerusalem, not the eastern portion as such.

Plus, one of the Squad Members, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted: “We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian residents of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem.” She then labeled Israel’s actions as, “state violence.”

Israeli Arab Rioting

As alluded to earlier, one unusual feature of this current uprising was the virtually unprecedented violence perpetrated by Israeli Arabs on a massive scale … citizens of Israel as opposed to Palestinians non-citizens.

In an article written by Itsik Saban posted in Israel Hayom on May 27, 2021, we read:

“The recent clashes between Jewish and Arab Israelis in the country’s mixed-population towns were worse than the public believed and bordered on anarchy, Border Police Commissioner Maj. Gen. Amir Cohen said. They were, ‘the stuff of nightmares. The police are not to blame for the riots nor for the vandalism or brutality,’ he said of the shocking events in Lod, where clashes were so severe the city had to be placed on emergency lockdown.

‘That day, tens of thousands of rioters flooded the streets of Lod, Akko, Jerusalem, Haifa, Jaffa, Bat Yam and Umm el-Fahm, and even if the police had had hundreds of additional officers, unfortunately, we still would not have been able to be everywhere.’

The article continued: “Indeed, the May riots required the activation of 20 companies of Border Police reservists—a first in the country’s history.”

He then quoted Commander Cohen again: “We’re not the Israel Defense Forces, which faces a known, familiar enemy—we’re police officers facing our fellow Israelis. I never expected an Israeli citizen, even an Israeli Arab, to point a gun at law enforcement. I saw mobs storming innocent bystanders…”

Several Jews were injured. Three were killed by Arabs—one by gunfire, two beaten to death. Jewish homes and businesses were vandalized and/or set afire.

(Israeli home vandalized by Arab rioters)

Rabbi Avi Berman described the devastation in the city of Lod: “…While it is a mixed Jewish-Muslim community, this was the first time that the Jewish community living there experienced rioting led by their neighbors. The experience was absolutely shocking…”

For Israeli Jews, it was a two-front war of terrorism against them, with individual Muslims and Arab gangs terrorizing Jews mostly in northern and central Israel. Then, Hamas from the Gaza strip creating terror among hundreds of thousands of Jews in southern and central Israel, including Israel’s two largest cites, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The kind of terror that keeps people from leaving their homes night or day for fear of being assaulted or the need to protect their house from vandalism. The distress which gives them less than 15 seconds to run to a bomb shelter when sirens warn of incoming missiles.

In an article posted in Israel Hayom on 6-8-2021 by Maytal Yasur Beit-Or entitled, Study: Israelis’ psychological resilience took a hit during Gaza War, she wrote:

“The research looked into the level of psychological resilience and social cohesion of the Israeli population and found that respondents’ level of resilience had been dropping since the COVID pandemic and saw a significant drop during Operation Guardian of the Walls last month.

“…measured from 1 (lowest) to 5 (strongest). In 2018, the Israeli population’s average level of resilience stood at 4.33. When the second COVID wave was at its height in October 2020, the average level of resilience stood at 3.41; and during Operation Guardian of the Walls, it dropped to 2.47.

“Should the drop … continue, they warned, it could ‘seriously damage Israeli society’s ability to recover and return to normal life.’”

The Turmoil, Tragedy, and Terror of It All

Three types of troubles and trials from three different sources; each, I believe, for the testing of how Jews will respond—individually and as a nation.

Part I, Turmoil (Self Inflicted, From Within): A result of two years of the Israeli government in limbo. Even the recent bare majority Knesset coalition is fragile at best.

Part II, Tragedy (Possibly Providential, From Above?): 45 Orthodox Jews died in an ironically tragic twist to what was supposed to be a jubilant celebration of the Lag B’Omer annual festival.

Part III, Terror (Israel’s Enemies, From Without): Over 4,300 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel; also, days of terror inflicted by rampaging Arab gangs.

Isn’t it time for a great number of Israeli Jews (and Jews worldwide) to join their Messianic brothers and sisters who have recognized Jesus of Nazareth as the (their) Messiah? To believe and receive him as Savior and Lord. Otherwise, they will be among those in Israel who will mourn when they see their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-14). Mourn because they will know that he is the one who was crucified for their sins (Isaiah 53).

And Psalm 22.

That Jesus was, indeed, raised from the dead and he is, despite their rejection of him for all these years, returning to rescue Israel from even more turmoil, tragedy, and terror. Trouble and trials of epic proportions that those left behind at the Rapture will experience at the hands of the Antichrist and his ten-nation coalition during the last days of the seven-year Great Tribulation as graphically depicted in the following passage:

“Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the woman raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city. Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he fought in times past. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem…” (Zechariah 14:1-4a).

Things to Ponder

If only the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would look up to see that their redemption is near (Luke 21:28).

If only they would have ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to know how much the God of Israel and His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, loves them and wants them to be saved … ALL OF THEM! Spiritually (from sin). Physically (from enemies).

That a former Orthodox Jew (Pharisee) in the first century who was dramatically changed from the inside out (born again) in his remarkable encounter with the risen Christ also loved his Jewish brothers and sisters in the flesh.

Wrote the Apostle Paul (formerly called Saul) under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God” (Romans 10:1-4, italics for emphasis).

Paul would go on to prophetically declare:

“…Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved…. Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News (Gospel of Jesus Christ which is the New Covenant of Grace), and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…. Once you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy” (Romans 11:25-31, parenthesis mine).

Said the Lord God: “O Israel, if you would only listen to me!” (Psalm 81:8).

Said God about His Son as heard (witnessed) by Peter, James and John: “…This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). Also see Psalm 2.

Said Jesus (Son of God, Son of David, Son of Man): “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation (some translations use the word trials) but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NASB; parenthesis mine).

The words tribulation or trials are broad in meaning and encompass turmoil, tragedy, and terror.

Those of us who are IN CHRIST can take courage.

Jew and Gentile—even Muslim Arabs—alike can have peace with God (sins forgiven forever) through Jesus and peace (of mind and heart) in this troubled world.

An immoral and cruel world. A terrified world trembling with turmoil, tragedy, and terror.

Jesus is coming soon to establish righteousness, justice, and peace in the Kingdom of God on earth. To make all things right!

(“He’s got the whole world in his hands” Do you remember the song?)

Are you ready? Will you greet him as your Savior? Or meet him as judge?

Choose now.

JESUS IS MESSIAH!