The Book

The Bible is an amazing union of sixty-six books in one. In fact, it is known world-wide as simply, The Book. It contains every literary genre and style known to man.

What is it you’re looking for? History of peoples, places, times, and events—including the created beginning of all things? Biographies—including four separate but synchronized accounts of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah, Jesus? Letters? Poetry? Inspirational Prayers and Psalms. Parables—short stories but always to illustrate real-life situations and realities? Genealogies? Divine doctrinal articles on truth and wisdom? You’ll find them all in Scripture and more.

“All Scripture is inspired by God…” (II Timothy 3:16, NASB).

“…I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3).

Plus that which is found nowhere else in history or literature or non-Biblical “sacred” writings: an autobiography of the true and living God, himself.

You know: The ONLY God who has foretold the future through hundreds of prophecies with one hundred percent accuracy. With, therefore, an absolute statistical probability (ten to an infinite power) that the yet unfulfilled predictions will most certainly come to pass. And scores of mighty miracles (of which only God, His Son, and their prophets and apostles have performed) that no other so-called gods and prophets of man-made religions can even come close to achieving.

Although somewhat of an oversimplification, there are three basic categories that comprise the style and substance of Scripture.

1) Outright proclamations of divine truth, with many of them spoken by the Lord himself. Such as: “Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). And hundreds more like: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Or: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (II Corinthians 5:21)

2) Historical records of people, places, and events. Creation, the Exodus, and the life of Christ come to mind.

3) Poetic and narrative metaphorical portrayals, with life-like illustrations, active analogies, and dramatic descriptions of God’s revealed truth to the human race. Such as: “The Lords lives! Praise to my Rock! May the God of my salvation be exalted!” (Psalm 18:46). Or Messiah Jesus described as, “…the Lion of the tribe of Judah…” (Revelation 5:5). Or as found in the words of Jesus, himself: “…I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

(Jesus is also the “Good Shepherd” … John 10:11)

Another example of illustrative imagery in Scripture, specifically applicable to this week’s article, is as follows:

“The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. They dig a pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves. The trouble they make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan falls on their own heads” (Psalm 7:14-16).

Then in the very next verse we read: “I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High” (Verse 17, italics for emphasis).

The Justice of God

One of God’s awesome attributes is that of pure justice … justice dispensed with firmness but fairness. Such as administered by Messiah Jesus (God the Son) during his imminent glorious millennial reign on Planet Earth: “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…” (Isaiah 9:7).

The very concept of impartial justice, including punishment fitting the crime, was given to the human race by God through Moses to the nation of Israel when the Jews were known as Hebrews or Israelites. Later, some of the essentials of Hebrew law were adopted by the Roman Empire, such as innocent until proven guilty. Then fine-tuned by the British system of law and order, and raised to new heights by the republic checks and balance standards of the United States of America. Moreover, there is no better example of jurisprudence than found in modern-day Israel.

Society’s system of justice was mandated by God to human government. But retribution (final reckoning) belongs to God, himself.

“For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the (new) covenant, which made us holy (separated to God), as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, ‘I will take revenge. I will pay them back…’” (Hebrews 10:28-30, parenthesis mine, the last sentence a quote from Deuteronomy 32:35).

During the course of human history, we see many examples of God’s justice. Including harsh discipline of God’s own people for their unfaithfulness to him, mostly because they turned to false gods and religious systems of their pagan neighbors. Resulting in what the Lord called, “despicable” and “evil” deeds; brazenly committed by even the prophets, priests, and kings of Israel and Judah.

God’s punishment began in full when the remaining Jews in Judah (Southern Kingdom) were exiled to Babylon and Jerusalem and the Temple were utterly destroyed. Although some of the exiles returned to Israel, God’s people still did seek him as a nation. Thus God’s Seven Times Over punishment of Israel continued uninterrupted until 1967, when the Israelis liberated Jerusalem and ended Gentile domination of the Jews forever. God’s prescribed time period for Israel’s discipline was over. [Refer to Eye of Prophecy articles Seven Times Seven (to the 4^th power) I, II, & III and the sequel summary, The Omega Generation, posted 1-25, 2-1, 2-8 & 2-15-14, based on this astonishing prophecy found in Leviticus Chapter 26].

We also see God’s anger vented against Gentile nations in the deliverance and defense of his chosen people before, during, and after (to this very day) the miraculous rebirth of Israel as a sovereign nation.

Very few people study the historical repercussions experienced by nations (including those which have fallen never to rise again, such as Babylon and the Roman Empire) in the context of how they related to and treated the Jews as a people and/or Israel as a nation. (See Eye of Prophecy article: For or Against Israel? which includes a section on Great Britain. Posted, 7-16-16).

Unfortunately, secular history is not concerned in the least with God’s two major magnificent designs and purposes for the human race, despite clear evidence and expression of these plans down through the ages. One of those plans is God’s prophesied destiny for his special possession, Israel. The other is God’s plan of salvation through the Jewish Messiah Jesus—for individual Jews and Gentiles alike.

Nor do most people in today’s world (sadly including some Christians) give a second thought to significant statements made by the Lord himself regarding Israel. Such as the oft quoted: “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).

Few and far between are those who have read Bible passages (at all or more than once) like the following, which was also referenced in the recent Eye of Prophecy article, Prophetic Fate of Israel’s Friends and Foes (posted 10-28-17); let alone place any historical or future value on it. Despite the fact that this warning is solemnly issued by God, himself.

“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).

They see the incredible return of the Jews from the four corners of the earth to Israel as predicted hundreds of times in Scripture. But passively or actively refuse to make any Biblical connection to the Balfour Declaration of 1917; the rebirth of Israel in 1947-48; the reunification of Jerusalem to Israel in 1967; and the amazing alignment of Middle East nations against each other and Israel in today’s world.

As does much of the Old Testament, particularly prophecy, the above passage in Obadiah uses explicit illustrative imagery … entire nations and peoples that will drink and stagger and swallow the punishment of God’s judgment. This symbolism is designed to vividly depict God’s righteous justice to those nations/peoples that have harmed or even seek to harm Israel. When it comes to God’s discipline, deliverance, and defense of Israel, this figurative representation of God’s direct retribution or of justice in general (what comes around goes around) is normally carried out in principle and patterns. But also literally, as we shall soon see regarding the Palestinian terror tunnels.

Three Prototype Patterns of God’s Protection of Israel

1) God’s direct supernatural intervention. Such as the powerful plagues levied against Pharaoh and Egypt that would result in the dramatic deliverance of God’s people from (hundreds of years of) slavery. Or God’s remarkable rescue of King Hezekiah and all of Judah through one single angel who destroyed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers overnight (see II Kings 19 & Isaiah 37). Or the massive defeat that God will inflict on the Gog/Magog coalition which invades Israel in the early part of the soon-to-come Great Tribulation. In these (and others such as II Kings 7) astonishing victories, the Jews had only to watch in wonder as God vanquished Israel’s enemies unilaterally and supernaturally.

(The 10th & Most Devastating Plague. The firstborn of all Egyptians, including Pharaoh were struck down by the Lord … Exodus 12:28-30).

2) God causing Israel’s enemies to turn on each other. As one example (with a practical application to the United States of America) here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article, Stand Still & Watch God Fight For Israel (posted 7-30-16). In italics:

“After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites (Aram) declared war on Jehoshaphat. Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A vast army from Edom (Aram) is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea’ … Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance … So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help” (II Chronicles 20:1-4).

Commentary: Good response. Not only the king, but representatives from all of Judah sought the counsel and help of the God of Israel. Once again, the Bible is crystal clear on this principle: If we sincerely call on the Lord to rescue us and with equal sincerity listen to him through his Word and obey him, he will hear us. If we exclude the Lord and certainly if we expel him from the affairs of our nation, individually and collectively, then we’re on our own.

“…O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!” (II Chronicles 20:6).

O that these words of Jehoshaphat speaking for the entire nation of Judah could be heard in our Halls of Congress, in the White House, in the seats of our Supreme Court Justices, and throughout the Pentagon:

He goes on to say:

“O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help” (Verse 12).

Biblical fact: Any nation, including what many think is the invincible United States of America, is powerless to help themselves if God is not with them. Period. End of story … end of nation.

Then Jehoshaphat and all the people bowed and worshipped the Lord. The next morning, Jehoshaphat said to the people as they prepared to meet the invading enemy: “…Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed” (Verse 20).

Here’s what happened next:

“After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!’

“At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped” (Verses 21-24).

Many of us remember the wartime slogan, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.” We all know that to mean: Seek the Lord’s help for a righteous cause and praise him for all he has done and will do; but we must still fight and some will die to win the victory. That is a maxim for armies that the Lord has aided down through the years.

Not so with Jehoshaphat and his people. All they did was to praise the Lord! No bows, arrows, spears, swords, or ammunition of any kind. The Lord did it all. There have been documented cases in war when an army or militia turned on one of its allies. Yet they are few and certainly didn’t result in total annihilation of each other, before they even began to engage their real enemy. Nothing like what happened to the armies of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Aram. All the people of Judah had to do was trust the Lord, praise him for a victory already guaranteed against a massive coalition that would have annihilated Judah, and then, “…gather the plunder” (Verse 25).

3) God’s providential assurance of Israel’s victories when her people actually fight. There are many examples of this in the Old Testament. But to demonstrate that God’s prophetic promises also apply to the return of the Jews to the Promised Land and rebirth of the State of Israel, I’ll cite the against all odds miraculous triumph of the Israelis in their 1948 War of Independence; their stunning victory in the Six-Day War of 1967; and their equally incredible defeat of the surprise attack launched by Egypt and Syria on the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur in 1973.

(At the Western Wall: Battle Hardened Israeli Soldiers Celebrating Liberation of Jerusalem. Some Wept Tears of Joy)

In all of these examples we see Israel’s enemies swallowing the pill of death and destruction meant for Israel, and staggering from the blows with which they would have pulverized Israel into oblivion. Or, Israel’s enemies drinking the same disabling concoction which they had intended to force down Israel’s throat.

“…I will punish them in proportion to the suffering they cause my people. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them’” (Jeremiah 25:14-16).

Jeremiah goes on to list a lengthy array of nations and their kings—past, present, and future, beginning with Judah itself and ending with Babylon—that would drink from this cup of God’s wrath. To include, by default (based on other prophets and their prophecies) all end-times nations that despise, denigrate, demonize, and arrogantly seek to destroy Israel.

The allegorical language so often used by the Lord through his prophets has and will continue to apply to those peoples who hate the Jews and to nations that seek to erase Israel from the map. Even more remarkable is the literal demonstration (cause and effect) of justice that we find in Scripture and also in today’s world, as we shall soon see through a stunning turn of events in the Gaza Strip.

The term, “poetic justice” was first coined by English literary critic Thomas Rymer in the late 17^th century. Initially and specifically it applied to some literary works that Rymer believed should reflect the rewarding of the good characters and punishment of the bad characters … a right representation of real life. Since then, poetic justice seems to have expanded to a universal code of cause and effect in ethics and morality, beyond literature.

This is reflected in the generalized definition of poetic justice found in Webster’s Dictionary: “An outcome in which vice is punished and virtue rewarded usually in a manner peculiarly or ironically appropriate.”

A well-known example of a literal “ironic twist of fate” (in the context of poetic justice) is that of the wicked Persian official Haman, as found in the book of Esther. Haman’s evil plot to kill Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, then to annihilate all of the Jews throughout the Persian Empire, came back to (ironically appropriate) haunt, humiliate, and hang him on a pole … literally.

It was Haman who ended up being executed; impaled on the same pole that he erected to murder Mordecai … a precisely peculiar ironic and literal “twist of fate.”

Recent Collapse of Palestinian Terror Tunnels; Justice Served—Literally

Less than two weeks ago on October 30^th, 2017, eight Palestinians—some of whom (including senior officials) belonged to the militant terrorist cell known as Palestinian Islamic Jihad—were killed when Israelis “neutralized a terror tunnel” by blowing it up. At least eight more terrorists were injured or missing in the tunnel’s collapse. Israeli Army spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said that the tunnel had been exploded where it ended on Israel’s side of the border with the Gaza Strip. Obviously the detonation was large enough for a ripple effect to parts of the tunnel on the Gaza side.

(One of the Palestinian Terror Tunnels Uncovered by the IDF)

Lt. Col Conricus went on to call this tunnel a, “grave and unacceptable violation of Israeli sovereignty.”

Although Islamic Jihad is a separate militant organization from Hamas—which is the controlling entity of the Gaza Strip—Israel holds Hamas accountable for any terrorist attacks or illegal excursions into Israel, including tunnels.

In an article published on 10-31-17 in the online Op Ed News Source, Israel Hayom, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis is quoted: “Only conventional measures were used. The IDF used the same measures it uses regularly. The secondary damage underground resulted in fatalities … There was no intent to target any specific individual. The operation took place in our territory. Their people were killed in their territory.”

He also said that most of the casualties were from smoke inhalation, dust, and landslides, not directly from the detonation itself.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response was, “Those who try to harm us, we harm them. Today we detected a tunnel and destroyed it and we will continue to do so.”

Education Minister Naftali Bennett reacted in the vein of other Israeli officials; however, his response also criticized IDF’s insinuation that human targets were not intended.

Said Bennett: “We must never apologize for success in eliminating terrorists. These are terrorists who were digging an attack tunnel inside Israeli territory. It was dug to kill Israeli woman and children. We are not interested in any escalation, and as a member of the cabinet who, since Operation Protective Edge has pushed for eliminating the terror tunnel threat, I fully support this operation. The IDF’s objective is to defeat the enemy, and we must continue doing that.”

Operation Protective Edge began in 2014, in justified retaliation for the abduction and brutal murder of three Israeli youths by Hamas militants, but also because Hamas terrorists were infiltrating Israel through dozens of tunnels, the sheer number of which caught the IDF off guard. (See Eye of Prophecy articles, Bring Back Our Boys, posted 6-28-14. Followed by Prince of Peace on 7-5-14, after the abducted boys were found dead).

During that campaign, the IDF destroyed 32 terrorist tunnels, and since then has made neutralization of tunnels one of Israel’s top priorities. Some of those tunnels were a mile long and sixty feet deep.

Whether dug by Palestinians between Gaza and Israel or between Gaza and Egypt to smuggle arms and ammunition, several Palestinians have been killed (in the past couple of years) during the excavation of tunnels, having nothing to do with Israeli intervention. On the contrary, tunnels simply collapsed with the implied conclusion that the diggers were not skilled enough in subterranean digging or safety to prevent their own deaths.

Yet, when the Israelis (through precautionary, preemptive defense strategies) blow up a tunnel while it just happens to be occupied by terrorists, here is the reaction of the Islamic Jihad leader, Mohammad Al Hindi: “The truce with the enemy is over and the response will be the size of the crime.”

In the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the military branch of the Palestinian Authority (Fatah) also called it, “the Israeli crime.” Boasting that, “the blood (of those killed) would not be wasted.”

Even this response is couched in gloomy irony. It is the Palestinians who are wasting their own blood in their hate-fueled and ill-fated agenda to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth. Worse, they are spilling the blood of Israelis.

(The “Knife Intifada” Began In October, 2016. Other Means of Palestinians Killing Jews Are With Guns, Axes, Clubs, Ramming Cars. Some of the Attacks Carried Out by Women. Even Slingshots Can Be Deadly)

Crime? Is it a crime for Israel to protect her people from death and injury at the hands of those whose life’s ambition is to kill innocent men, woman, and children? When the real crime can be found in the Palestinian “cause” which is based on lies and false rewritten history that Jews are the occupiers of land that rightfully belongs to them. Not only Jews but also Israeli Arabs who are citizens of the Sovereign State of Israel. When, in fact, there is no such thing as a Palestinian State or a Palestinian people or a Palestinian language. Or to deliberately ignore the fact that Israel’s name was changed to Palestine by a Roman Emperor in the 2^nd century who hated the Jews, killed them, and drove out many Jews who had not been exiled by the Romans in 70 AD. It is the Arabs of Gaza and the West Bank who are non-citizens … by their own preference and choice. They are the actual settlers (in the negative connotation) of the land, all of which belongs to Israel by God’s decree and also by historical presence and rights that existed long before Arabs occupied parts of Israel.

Yet, it’s even deeper than the land of Israel. It is the irrational, unreasonable, and unfathomable Arab/Muslim hatred of the Jews. And not only by the Arabs, but by entire nations and peoples the world over in the ugly expression of Anti-Semitism. See Eye of Prophecy article The Real Reason for Palestinian Terrorism (posted 9-30-17) to discover the historical underlying cause.

Two days before the tunnel in question was demolished by the IDF, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency revealed discovery of another tunnel dug by Palestinian militants directly beneath one of UNRWA’s schools in Gaza. UNRWA reported that they had, “sealed the cavity created by the tunnel.”

For years, this United Nations agency (along with UNESCO) has been a stubbornly stern critic of Israel, for any number of unfounded and bogus reasons. So much so that both the United States (via President Trump’s executive order) and Israel recently canceled their membership in UNESCO. Thus, it’s obvious that the press release by UNRWA (UNESCO’s counterpart in bashing Israel) was moderated toward Israel in order not to ruffle more United States’ feathers. Regarding the sealing of the tunnel beneath their office complex, an UNRWA official pretentiously protested, “…the violation of the sanctity and disrespect of the neutrality” of United Nations fixtures. Yet this spokesperson didn’t call the violators terrorists or identify them as Hamas or even as Palestinians. Instead, they employed the term “relevant parties” as those responsible for the tunnel.

In an Israel Hayom article written by Yoav Limor, also posted on 10-31-17, we read: “Israel told Hamas in no uncertain terms that as the sovereign power in Gaza it would pay the price for any form of retaliation (meaning by Islamic Jihad). It is unclear why Hamas failed to take this into consideration when it allowed Islamic Jihad to dig the attack tunnel into Israel … Although the armed factions in Gaza have coordinated in recent years, they remain far apart ideologically and are sponsored by rival powers. While Hamas is supported by Sunni Gulf States, Islamic Jihad is backed by Iran and Syria.”

*Note: The last sentence of the above statement by Yoav Limor is certainly accurate; however, recently Hamas sent delegates to Iran for two reasons: (1) to brief Iran on the signed agreement between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, in which the PA will take over administrative functions of the Gaza Strip. (2) Iranian officials agreeing with and encouraging Hamas not to give up their weapons, which was a precondition for this truce with the Palestinian Authority. It’s apparent that PA President Mahmoud Abbas was embarrassed by Hamas’s unwillingness to lay down their arms, and it’s equally evident that Abbas will or can do nothing about it.

Summary

In light of this recent tunnel episode and the possibility of terrorists being in the tunnel when it was demolished (does it really matter in the context of Israel’s right or any country’s right to protect its citizens?), let’s look again at the Scripture quoted near the beginning of this week’s article:

“The wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. They dig a pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves. The trouble they make for others backfires on them. The violence they plan falls on their own heads” (Psalm 7:14-16, italics for emphasis).

The providential privilege and universal principles of justice, especially poetic justice, in this and previous “natural” collapses of terror tunnels is extraordinary. The metaphorical language of warranted payback, as prophetically and poignantly expressed in the above passage, literally took place. To wit: Dig a pit, fall into it … the backfire of the detonation to the beginning point of the tunnel … falls on their own heads.

Those of us who are believers in Messiah Jesus (both Jew and Gentile) can appreciate the perfect justice of our Great God and Savior and the Biblical standard that what is sown will be reaped. Whether through unprovoked, unjustified wars or the constant killing of innocent people the world over (by terrorist groups, lone-wolf terrorists, or evil-deranged murderers), we are satisfied when justice is served. Who among us doesn’t breathe a sigh of relief when the killer will kill no more because he or she has been silenced?

However, we need to maintain a Biblical balance. We need to distinguish between welcoming God’s justice against wicked individuals and nations during our lifetime, and the Lord’s final sentence against all unbelievers at the last judgment.

“…And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and grave were thrown into the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:13-15). *Note: The unsaved will be judged according to their deeds, because it is their erroneous belief that good works would be the basis for redemption; rather than Biblical salvation by simply believing and receiving Messiah Jesus as personal Savior.

Things to Ponder

God doesn’t take pleasure in the death of the wicked, and neither should we.

This premise is not a contradiction of the following passage: “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is glad shouting. By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down” (Proverbs 11:10-11, NASB).

This proverb is not suggesting that people should revel capriciously or vindictively in the actual death of wicked people (especially rulers and leaders), with the celebrating an end into itself. Yes, there is gladness when terrible tyrants and malicious murderers are dealt with. Who wasn’t elated, except a few die-hard Nazis, when Hitler (and others like him at all different levels) exited this earth?

Rather, the context and connotation of this proverb is how much better it is when a city (or state or nation) is governed by those whose God is the Lord (Psalm 33:12), not whose god is themselves.

“Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? Says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live” (Ezekiel 18:23).

And again: “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?” (Ezekiel 33:11).

That’s right. This principle was applied even to God’s chosen people.

God is Love (I John 4:8). He loves all people equally (John 3:16). This love was graciously expressed through the death of his only Son, Messiah Jesus, for the sins that every human being has committed and the eternal pardon for those sins.

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:12-13)

“And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:36).

Islam and its false god, Allah, bestow the highest honor to those who die while they are killing the infidels … Jews and Christians, and even other Muslims who belong to a different sect of Islam. Thus, Sunnis kill Shi’ites and vice versa. And they both murder Jews and Christians. Whereas, the true and living God doesn’t force anyone to love him or to accept his Son as the only way of salvation. He asks only for a willing response to so great a love, so great a salvation.

God’s justice is firm but fair. It is pure; it altogether combines his love and his holiness. There is a perfect blend of life-giving grace and salvation with the truth of sin and its eternal consequences.

Iran and its proxies have repeatedly vowed to “wipe Israel from the face of the earth.”

Listen to the word of the Lord when the armies of Gog/Magog (which includes Iran) dare advance against Israel in the soon to come Great Tribulation:

“You and your army and your allies will all die on the mountains. I will feed you to the vultures and wild animals. You will fall in the open fields, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. And I will rain down fire on Magog and on all your allies who live safely on the coasts. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 39:4-6).

Yes, Scripture tells us who actually will be wiping whom from the face of the earth.

Iran and all peoples and nations who bear ill-will toward Israel should take heed. God’s supreme power and justice will not be denied. So, too, against all who, “…refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them… They will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:10 & 12).

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

Do you believe him?