“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” (Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2 … Juliet speaking).
Whether a fan of Shakespeare or not, many are familiar with the tragic story of Romeo (Montague) and Juliet (Capulet) who were born into families that despised each other. The long-standing feud between the Montagues and Capulets was too much to overcome for these young star-crossed lovers.
Through a shocking series of misunderstandings and twisted fate, they both died without fulfilling their dream of love and life together.
The balcony scene is the most memorable. Juliet could not understand why their heritage would be such a hindrance. Why must a family rivalry dominate and determine their future? What would it take to set aside generational animosity between peoples? Did the family names really matter that much?
If only the Montagues would look through the lenses of the Capulets and the Capulets identify with the Montagues long enough to bridge this gulf between the two? As noble as Juliet’s wishes were, they clashed with the reality of it all. Although Romeo and Juliet wanted to end the long-standing hostility between the two families, it was not meant to be. There was something in the names.
(Several Romeo & Juliet movies have been made. My personal favorite is the 1968 release, directed by Franco Zeffirelli; starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting)
If only the Palestinians would agree to accept and refer to the West Bank as Judea/Samaria.
Instead they and those who support the Palestinian agenda employ the designation of West Bank, with the misguided implication that it belongs to the Palestinian Arabs. It does not!
Israel is a Jewish State established by native and immigrant Jews (not by Arabs) no different than France is a French state. Germany is a German state. Spain is a Spanish state … on and on.
All areas within the borders of these nations and others like them are (or should be) under the sovereign jurisdiction of that nation’s government. The United States of America is unique in that her ethnic citizens are Americans … a true melting pot. With, however, Federal authority over political, economic, military, and security matters common to all 50 States as reflected in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of our Republic.
When Israel became a sovereign state, the Jews did not displace the Arabs living alongside them. Instead, many Arabs voluntarily left Israel at the directive of five Arab nations that invaded Israel on May 15th, 1948—the day after Israel declared statehood. Unlike the United States forced dislodgment of some Native Americans, especially during our westward expansion.
The analogy between Juliet’s famous words and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is intriguing but also imperfect … as many analogies are. For one thing: often one side of such long-standing disputes is right and the other wrong. On one side is the truth; on the other side are lies that distort and even rewrite the history of such truth.
What’s in a name?
What does it matter if the identity of Israel’s central region is called the West Bank (merely because Judea/Samaria is on the west side of the Jordan River) instead of its authentic Biblical time-honored designation of Judah and Samaria?
Answer: It makes all the difference in the world.
It is the distinction between historical truth and modern-day fabrications, including but not limited to who has sovereign rights to that portion of Israel. For that matter, to all of Israel. In that regard, the terms that are tossed around casually by most world leaders and certainly all Islamic nations of “West Bank, (Jewish) Settlements, and East Jerusalem” are used for political reasons.
The Biblical Precedent/Truth
The rivalry between the Jews and Arabs (to now include non-Arab Muslim nations and the Arabs within the state of Israel who started to call themselves Palestinians after the Six-Day War of 1967) is ancient in origin.
It began when God sovereignly chose Isaac as the promised child through whom his father Abraham’s descendants would be given the Promised Land of Israel and through whom the Messiah would come to bring redemption to all people, Jew and Gentile alike (including Arabs!).
Not Ishmael, as Muslims claim.
God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham when he said: “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 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 12:2-3).
The Lord then reaffirmed this two-part unconditional covenant with Abraham … and later Isaac and Jacob (the Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel): (1) Abraham’s descendants would inherit the land of Israel, called Canaan at the time. (2) As subsequently revealed by the prophets, it would be God’s Messiah (his very Son) who would come from the tribe of Judah and be the ultimate source of salvation’s blessing to individuals who believed and received him as personal Savior. Also, blessings to entire nations that would acknowledge the God of Israel and his Messiah.
Regarding Point #1, God said to Abraham: “…Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession” (Genesis 13:14-15).
Just how far Abraham could see is not known, nor was it necessary to know at that time. Rest assured, however, that the boundaries of that Promised Land encompassed much more than modern-day Israel. And one day will again. God later designated these borders of the Promised Land as found in several passages of Scripture, including Joshua Chapters 13 through 21.
(Original and restored future borders of Israel … although the bottom of the red line is extended too far down into Saudi Arabia)
The very existence of the modern State of Israel and the unprecedented return of the Jews from many nations bear irrefutable testimony to the absolute and amazing accuracy of Biblical prophecy. No other nation on the face of the earth has ever been restored like Israel, from the floods of dispersion and from the fires of Nazi death camps. No other dead language has ever been revived like Hebrew, now spoken by Jews throughout Israel.
Yet, the world at large refuses to recognize these astonishing accomplishments.
Instead, they regard the timeless truths and fulfilled prophecies of the Bible as irrelevant to our post-modern world. Entire nations have denied the right of Israeli Jews to sovereignty over ALL Israel, including Judea/Samaria and the Gaza Strip. Virtually every nation on earth still pushes for a Palestinian state within Israel despite the clear evidence that this would imperil Israel’s security and its very survival. And despite the undeniable fact that the Palestinians have blatantly rejected several generous offers to form such a state.
The Arabs have persistently denied Israel’s right to exist. Moreover, the militant among them (with silent approval from the so-called moderates) have sworn to destroy Israel. They do not want a state alongside the Jewish state; they want a nation in place of Israel. Yet, the heads of the global heads of state remain buried in the sand, oblivious to the true history of the Middle East and the real agenda of the Muslim world.
One of those passages that I’ve quoted before is from the otherwise obscure book of Obadiah; obscure only because of its brevity (one chapter). Certainly not because of its powerful prophetic impact regarding Israel’s future, which has transpired before our 20th & 21st century eyes.
Here it is as part of an excerpt from the final portion of Eye of Prophecy article, Israel’s Controversial Nation State Law (posted 8-11-18); having already listed seven reasons why Israel is and always will be a Jewish state:
Not one of the seven reasons for or distinguishing characteristics of a nation is necessary to unequivocally proclaim Israel as a Jewish nation.
Only one reason is needed: God, himself—who created and owns the entire universe—gave a small portion of the Earth to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The same God who always does what he says he will do, who knows the end from the beginning. Whose prophecies through his prophets have or will come to pass with 100% certainty and accuracy.
The very fact that God referred to foreigners in Israel demonstrates that Israel was and still is a Jewish nation. Israel and the Israeli Jews do not oppress minorities. It’s just the opposite. Going so far as granting self-governing privileges to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who have refused Israeli citizenship, something that hardly any country on earth would allow of its non-citizens.
As alluded earlier, Israel is not to be divided (think two-state proposal) among any other people or nation except the Jews. Lest anyone thinks that’s merely a suggestion or may be inconsequential, read with me:
“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).
Moreover, in dozens of subsequent prophecies, the Lord promised that he would return his people to their Promised Land and restore Israel to the full frontiers established by the Lord himself.
Continuing with the excerpt from the previously cited article:
The last three verses of Obadiah describe much (but not all) of Israel’s original land mass. In parenthesis, the modern-day portion of Israel will be inserted to match the Biblical names, some of which are still the same. Notice that the passage uses the word “occupy.” And does so with a matter-of-fact positive connotation. Not the negative occupation accusation by Israel’s enemies (and even some of her “friends”) that is patently false … Biblically, historically, and currently.
“Then my people living in the Negev (still called the Negev … southern part of Israel next to the Sinai Peninsula which is part of ancient Israel that bordered Egypt and Arabia) will occupy the mountains of Edom (southern Jordan and western part of Saudi Arabia). Those living in the foothills of Judah (land and cities south of Jerusalem, including Hebron) will possess the Philistine plains (Gaza Strip) and take over the fields of Ephraim and Samaria (the West Bank). And the people of Benjamin will occupy the land of Gilead (portion of northwestern Jordan and southwestern Syria).
“The exiles of Israel will return to their land and occupy the Phoenician coast as far north as Zarephath (ancient Tyre and Sidon … the coast of Lebanon). The captives from Jerusalem exiled in the north will return home and resettle the towns of the Negev. Those who have been rescued will go up to Mount Zion in Jerusalem (Temple Mount which has belonged to the Jews in perpetuity but currently under administrative control of Jordan and the Palestinians) to rule over the mountains of Edom” (Obadiah 1:19-21a).
Will Israel Annex Portions of Judea/Samaria?
Fulfillment of end-times Biblical prophecy regarding Israel and the return of Messiah Jesus is taking place at an extraordinary pace. Just like the analogy of birth pains depicted by Christ. The latest of these remarkable developments was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bold announcement that, if he and his right-wing bloc are reelected, Israel would officially annex portions of Judea/Samaria (West Bank) in which there are Jewish communities.
Moreover, Netanyahu said that any such action would not be undertaken until after the 2nd part of the United States peace-plan (Deal of the Century) was formally announced—which President Trump indicated would be soon after the Israeli elections of September 17th (this past Tuesday).
(Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Annexation Announcement)
During a press conference held on September 10th, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared: “It puts a great challenge before us, but also a great opportunity. It’s a historic opportunity—a one-time window of opportunity to extend Israel sovereignty over our settlements in Judea and Samaria and also other areas of importance to our security, our history and our future. We haven’t had such an opportunity since the Six-Day War, and I doubt we’ll have another opportunity in the next 50 years. Give me the power to guarantee Israel’s security. Give me the power to determine Israel’s borders.”
He went on to say: “There’s one place in which it’s possible to extend Israeli sovereignty immediately after the elections if I receive from you, the citizens of Israel, a clear mandate to do it… Today, I reveal my intention to annex the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea.”
Along with the Golan Heights—which Israel annexed years ago—he said that the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea area, “…is the essential security belt in the Middle East.” Furthermore, he promised that (paraphrasing): not one Jew will be uprooted from Judea/Samaria.
Following this stunning news, the on-line op-ed site of Jewish News Syndicate said in an article: “…regarding the annexation of the Jordan Valley, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had notified the White House prior to making the announcement, and that ‘someone in the White House’ had said off the record that ‘Netanyahu’s plan does not impinge on Trump’s.’”
(Note: The White House’s implied support of Netanyahu’s proposal is unprecedented. Despite Israel’s spectacular victory in the Six-Day War of 1967, no U.S. President or Executive Staff had officially extended approval for this annexation, even though they had recognized Israel’s legal and national right to do so).
Said Benjamin Netanyahu in response to the White House’s statement: “That’s saying a lot. For over eight years (referring to Obama’s time as United States President) I blocked the attempt to push us into the 1967 borders, to uproot settlements. Then, in the last three years, I’m changing the course of Jewish history by getting recognition for settlement, for the borders (parenthesis mine).”
Netanyahu’s referral to borders is a slight concession to international presumptions that the demarcation between Israel proper and Areas A, B, & C (established in the 1993 Oslo Accords) of Judea/Samaria were actual borders. They are not. The true geographical boundaries of the Jewish State of Israel are with other countries—Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. They are NOT internal borders within Israel.
Instead they were simply armistice lines agreed to by the Israelis, even though Israel was victorious over her enemies in her 1948 War of Independence, and even more so in the Six-Day War of 1967; having reclaimed ALL Israel, including ALL of Jerusalem.
Because of international pressure to return some of this territory to Jordanian (West Bank) and Egyptian (Gaza and Sinai Peninsula) control, Israel agreed to these truce lines. In fact, both Jordan and Egypt had illegally usurped control of these areas after Israel’s War of Independence of 1948.
Netanyahu concluded by comparing his recent annexation plans to previous agreements with President Trump. That he had, “persuaded Trump to recognize Jerusalem as our capital, move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognize our sovereignty in the Golan, get out of the horrible Iran deal… and now I’m doing the same thing (not only) vis a vis the Jordan Valley, but also all the settlements inside and outside the blocs. This is crucial.”
This isn’t the first time that Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed the view of most Israelis Jews concerning Israel’s sovereignty over Judea/Samaria. Shortly after Israeli elections in April of this year (that didn’t result in a majority government … thus, the need for reelections earlier this week), Netanyahu asserted the need for such autonomy.
Here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article, Judea/Samaria & Gaza Strip / Who Has Sovereignty? (published 5-11-19, that also explains the demographics of Areas A, B, & C of Judea/Samaria) … in italics:
Not only did President’s Trump’s March 2019 declaration that the United States recognizes Israel’s sovereignty in the Golan Heights generate a backlash of criticism, so did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign promise concerning Judea/Samaria….
In the context of the dismal failure of total Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 that produced previously non-existent Hamas driven terrorism instead of peaceful co-existence between Israel and the Gaza Palestinians, plus the seemingly never-ending Palestinian lone-wolf terrorist attacks mostly against Israeli Jews living in the West Bank, Netanyahu promised to extend Israeli (functional) sovereignty over Area C of the West Bank in which Israeli Jews live.
Immediately most global media headlines conveyed his campaign announcement by saying that Netanyahu (Israel) was going to “annex the West Bank” … or something to that effect. That is NOT what he said, although Israel has every right to annex the entire area of Judea/Samaria if they choose, not just Area C.
Another reason for Netanyahu’s proposal to officially exercise (administrative) sovereignty over Area C is in the event (albeit remote) a Palestinian state is created, which would include the portion of this area crucial to Israeli security, especially the Jordan Valley. Nor will Israel consider dismantling Jewish communities in Area C, causing massive displacement of hundreds of thousands of Jews. It just isn’t going to happen. Netanyahu’s sovereignty promise was a public statement of that fact.
Annexation is nothing more than an official exclamation point on that portion of Israel (like the Golan Heights annexed in 1981) already sovereignly controlled by Israel. But as indicated, Netanyahu stopped short of saying Area C of the West Bank would be annexed.
Now, however, Benjamin Netanyahu has included annexation as the final step in exercising Israeli sovereignty over land that has belonged to the Jews from ancient times. Which lies within the very heart of Israel, the Promised Land that was given to them by the only true and living God as an everlasting possession. Israel’s Prime Minister is doing exactly what the Lord said should and would be done. Ultimately, it will be accomplished by God’s sovereignty over Israel and all nations of the world, though Israel will still go through some tough times during the Great Tribulation.
Listen to the Word of God:
“Then another message came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: ‘My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem! And now the Lord says: I am returning to Mount Zion and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain … Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play” (Zechariah 8:1-5).
This Divine promise is taking place in our generation and will be experienced fully upon Messiah’s return.
Adverse Reactions to Annexation Plans
As expected, the Palestinians and Muslim nations including Iran strenuously objected to and condemned Prime Minister Netanyahu’s promise to annex the Jordan Valley, where Jews outnumber Palestinians, 13,000 to 6,000. If Jericho is included, then Palestinians outnumber Jews, 53,000 to 13,000; however, Netanyahu’s plan does not include Jericho. The Jordan Valley comprises about 30% of the “West Bank.” Regarding Area C of Judea/Samaria, Jews outnumber Palestinians 400,000 to 200,000.
Said one Palestinian farmer in this region: “It’s our parents and grandparents land. We will hold onto it no matter what it costs.”
Yet, for the Jews, it’s also their parents and grandparents. And much more: It’s generations of Jews that go all the way back to the time of Abraham, some 4,000 years ago.
Said Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat: “It’s impossible to have a Palestinian state without the Jordan Valley.”
Really? The truth is that it’s currently impossible to have a Palestinian State … period!
Because the Palestinians want all of Israel; not just the Jordan Valley, not just Judea/Samaria, not just the Gaza Strip. For that matter, how does Israel negotiate with those who seek her destruction and who have vowed never to officially recognize her existence? And even if they did, with whom does Israel negotiate? Hamas of the Gaza Strip or the Palestinian Authority of the (misleading term) West Bank? Each of whom hate the other and solemnly swear that they alone will be the governing authority of any Palestinian state.
(Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh–to the left & Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Not certain when this photo was taken, but not recently. As these two Palestinian leaders have become bitter rivals)
Not just the Palestinians and Muslim nations and leaders of some European countries; even the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the plan. According to Guterres, the plan: “would constitute a serious violation of international law.” That it, “would be devastating to the potential of reviving negotiations and regional peace, while severely undermining the viability of the two-state solution.”
Seriously? How is it that the leader of the United Nations can be so ignorant of “international law.” Or the real reasons why a “two-state solution” has not taken place by now? Or that such a solution could bring peace to Israel, let alone the Middle East?
I have written about this extensively in several prior articles. Here is an excerpt from, Two-State Solution & The Seven-Year Treaty … Impossible? (Posted 1-26-19):
Likewise, any (pre-Rapture) agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians is equally unachievable.
However, the world at large doesn’t see it that way for two (main) reasons: (1) Heads of states and even geopolitical experts don’t fully comprehend the real underlying issues; not the least of which is the ancient Arab hatred of the Jews, which has morphed into the present-day Muslim loathing of a Jewish nation on earth. (2) They don’t know or care to know what the God of the Bible has to say and what he will do about these matters. The true and living God whose hundreds of prophecies have come to pass and more last days predictions that will happen just as surely.
Globally, there is an intense focus on and incessant demand for what is commonly referred to as the Two-State Solution for Israelis and Israel’s non-citizen (by choice) Palestinians. Flying in the face of reality, the two-state solution is nevertheless the political jousting frequently heard from the United Nations, the European Union, the Arab League, NGO’s, and common citizens. Even from those, including many celebrities, who know virtually nothing about the origin (history) or contemporary facts-on-the-ground details of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
Those (and there are many) who promote such a proposal do so with the misguided assumption that if the Palestinians are granted their own state, there would be: (1) peace within Israel and throughout the Middle East, and (2) no more or at least reduced Arab/Muslim hostility toward Jews—within and outside Israel.
No matter that the Palestinians have four times rejected offers that could have resulted in a Palestinian state. First—the Balfour Declaration of 1917; Second—UN Partition Resolution 181 in 1947; Third—then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s offer in the year 2000 of some 95% of the West Bank (including what is referred to as east Jerusalem) to the Palestinians in exchange for peace. Fourth—an even more (ill-advised) generous offer from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008.
And from Eye of Prophecy article, The “Right of Return” … For Palestinians or Jews? (4-7-18).
Many people forget that the Arabs had a golden opportunity to create a state alongside the State of Israel in 1948. They forfeited that right by rejecting UN Resolution 181. Which was an international recognition of Israel’s right to statehood approved by the United Nations itself, no matter if the Arabs consented or not. Instead the Arabs viciously attacked the infant state of Israel the very next day. Which leads us to the 2nd reason why Israel legally and legitimately belongs to the Jews, and why the Jews alone had (still have) the Right of Return … for those still in Diaspora.
There is an innate time-honored tradition that any nation or people have the right to reactively or preemptively defend themselves from armed attack. In fact, it’s moral common sense. This includes the prerogative, if exercised, to annex or purchase land (Jews have purchased most of the land on which Israelis reside) within the geographical boundaries of that nation. When obviously justified, it also includes adjacent territory (such as the Syrian section of the Golan Heights) from which an enemy had constantly rained down rockets, shells, and small arms fire.
As opposed to a unilateral unprovoked assault on neighboring nations for the exclusive purpose of taking over all or part of another country … an unrighteous war of aggression.
The historical record is indisputable: Israel was forced to defend herself when attacked by an Arab coalition that far outnumbered and outgunned the Jews. Against insurmountable odds, Israel won her “War of Independence.” An independence that had already been granted by a convincing majority of the UN’s member countries.
But the world at large sees it differently. To this day, many entertain the notion that the Arabs made a mistake. So, give them another chance to reconsider acceptance of the UN Resolution. Or, even that UN Resolution 181 still applies to the Arabs—which it doesn’t because the Arabs rejected it. Or, PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ farcical fantasy that Resolution 181 is invalid, much like his accusation that the Balfour Declaration of 1917 was illegitimate.
The Arabs made more mistakes, one after another. I’m referring to three more wars in which Israel was forced to fight for its very survival; Suez War of 1956, Six-Day War of 1967, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. In the Six-Day War, Israel reclaimed ALL of what was formerly called Palestine, including the historic liberation of Jerusalem itself. Israel had every individual, national, and international RIGHT to keep those liberated lands of the Golan Heights, Judea/Samaria (West Bank), the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and ALL of Jerusalem.
(After the Six-Day War, Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt; kept the Golan Heights; withdrew Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip in 2005; relinquished administrative control of Judea/Samaria–West Bank– to Jordan and now the Palestinian Authority, to include Temple Mount. Yet, Israel has ultimate sovereignty over all these regions)
[Other Eye of Prophecy articles on this general subject are: Israeli Occupation … Fact or Myth? (5-16-15); United Nations Downsizing of Israel (Resolution 2334) (1-17-17); The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation, Part I & II (May 2017); What is Palestine & Who Is a Palestinian? (12-2-17); Does Israel Belong to the State of Israel? (5-4-19).]
Summary of the Annexation Proposal
In an article on that same day (September 10th) posted by journalist Sean Savage in Jewish News Syndicate, he quotes Eugene Kontorovich’s (Director of International Law at the Jewish-based Kohelet Policy Forum) reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s annexation statement:
“The Prime Minister’s announcement is fully in line with Israel’s international legal rights. Because these territories were part of the British Mandate, Israel has as much legal right to them as to Tel Aviv. Israel is simply changing the method under which it exercises its jurisdiction over these territories, to make it more governable and equitable.”
Savage went on to say: “The proposed move cannot be described as ‘annexation’ he (Kontorovich) explained, because under international law, annexation means the taking of the territory of a foreign country. Judea and Samaria did not belong to Jordan or any other country when Israel retook control of it in 1967.”
Quoting Kontorovich again, Savage wrote: “Israel waited for more than 50 years to regularize the status of these territories, giving the Palestinians opportunity after opportunity to make a peace deal that would have given them a sovereign state. The Palestinians refused time after time, rejecting initiatives under presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump. Israel has now decided that the people in these areas cannot be held in limbo forever; Israelis should not pay the price for Palestinian intransigence.”
Said Dore Gold, well-known expert on the Middle East who currently heads the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs think tank, in comparing what happened when Israel evicted all Israelis (some 10,000) from the Gaza Strip in 2005 to what would happen if Israel relinquished its sovereignty and presence in the Jordan Valley: “We did not get an era of peace. We got three (Gaza Strip) wars. We’re not going to allow that to happen to our east (parenthesis mine).”
No matter the results of Israel’s election, it’s time for Israel’s destiny to be fulfilled.
It’s time for God’s chosen people to exercise their God-given covenant birthright to live in all of Israel; all the while extending equal rights, which Israel does, to Israeli Arab citizens (Palestinians are not citizens by choice). To continue God’s providential plan for Jews to maintain sovereignty over what is an extremely small portion of this earth to begin with, but also to remember what the Lord told them long ago:
“Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34).
I’ve been to Israel and constantly keep abreast of what’s taking place there and in the Middle East in general. For decades, I have studied Israel’s past and contemporary history in detail; including, of course, what the Bible has to say about this amazing land. There is no evidence whatsoever of apartheid in Israel—as alleged by many the world over. On the contrary, there are numerous examples of democratic equality for Israeli Arabs; to the point of serving in all branches of Israel’s government and certainly the right to vote.
Things to Ponder
“The time will come, says the Lord, when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terrace 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).
The time (that) will come as promised by God through the prophet Amos is here. In the context of and correlation to many other prophecies of Israel’s future, it is clearly referring to the last days of the end times.
That time is now.
Again, we read: “On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth. I will restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Zephaniah 3:20).
That day of gathering has indeed begun before the watching eyes of the entire world. It won’t be long before Israel will be a beacon to the nations, no longer denigrated by those who loathe her very existence and who have distorted the truth of God’s Word to achieve their own warped agenda, individually and nationally.
All the prophetic pieces are falling rapidly in place for the first onslaught against Israel via the Gog/Magog coalition of Russia, Iran, Turkey (and smaller nations) as demonstrated by the presence of these nations in Syria for the past few years. And a September 16th, 2019 conference in Ankara, Turkey attended by the leaders of this alliance—President Vladimir Putin of Russia; President Hassan Rouhani of Iran; President Recep Erdogan of Turkey. This campaign will take place not long after the Rapture; God will crush the Gog/Magog armies without need for Israel to fight at all!
Followed by the assault on Israel led by Antichrist (Nero) and his coalition during the last part of the seven-year Great Tribulation, which will be dealt a final devastating defeat by Messiah Jesus himself.
Regarding Israel and Jerusalem:
The next verse says: Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home” (Isaiah 60:4).
Have you looked? Do you see (know) that millions of Jews from the four corners of the earth have returned home to Israel? That millions have been born in the land of their ancestors.
“So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28).
eyeofprophecy ... watch and wait 