And the Beat (of Terror) Goes On

Their brutal tactics are contemptibly transparent: kill Israelis—one, or two, or a few at a time—to teach the Jews and sway world opinion that it is really all of Israel which belongs to the Palestinians. With these ungodly, morally reprehensible actions, the Arabs will not succeed. The Jews are in Israel to stay … forever!

In September, 2015, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared: “Al-Aqsa is ours and so is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. (Jews) have no right to desecrate them with their filthy feet. We won’t allow them to do so, and we will do whatever we can to defend Jerusalem.” This call to defend Jerusalem became the battle cry for the 2015-2016 so-called lone-wolf knife intifada (mostly knives were used, but also cars, axes, and guns). What the Palestinians really mean by Jewish defilement of Temple Mount is even one Jew setting foot on the Temple Mount complex.

The false Palestinian narrative will fail. But as long as the Arabs believe the lies that their religious and political leaders spout on a daily basis, they will continue with their treacherous agenda.

Eight of nine Palestinian attacks in Jerusalem since the first of the year (2017) have taken place at one or more of the seven entrance gates to the Old City of Jerusalem, such as the Damascus Gate. The two gates nearest Temple Mount are the Dung Gate—through which my sister and I entered to access the Western Wall and Temple Mount in 2006—and the Lions’ Gate, also called the Saint Stephens Gate.

(Lions’ Gate in Jerusalem)

The most recent assault took place on July 14^th at the Lions’ Gate. Three Arab gunmen, (I choose not to list their full names) ages 19, 19, and 29—all residents of the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm, northwest of Haifa—each with the first name of Muhammad (that says it all), opened fire on Israeli policemen guarding the gate. The barrage killed Staff Sgt. Haiel Sitawe, age 30, and Staff Sgt. Kamil Shinaan, age 22. A third policeman was injured.

Although the final objective of the terrorists is unknown, it’s deductively evident they wanted to enter the Temple Mount complex to eliminate as many Jews as they could. After shooting the policemen, the terrorists fled into the Temple Mount complex where they were pursued and killed.

Before the Temple Mount incident, the previous attack occurred on June 16^th in which an Israeli Border Police officer (a woman, Hadas Malka) was stabbed to death near the Damascus Gate by one of three Palestinian terrorists, when she ran toward the other two terrorists who were shooting at Israelis nearby. Four Israelis were injured. All three Arabs were silenced before they could kill more Jews.

New Perverse Level of Arab Reaction to yet another Brutal Murder of Israelis

To demonstrate the increasingly brazen actions and disgusting responses of the Palestinians, here is an excerpt from a June 19^th article written by Bassam Tawil who writes primarily for the online news source, Gatestone Institute:

“For many Palestinians, the stabbing murder of a 23-year old Israeli Border Police … proves that the ‘revolution against the Zionist entity will continue until the liberation of Palestine, from the (Mediterranean) sea to the (Jordan) river.’

“In a statement published in Ramallah shortly after the terror attack, Fatah ‘condemned the Israeli occupation forces for killing three young Palestinian men in East Jerusalem.’ It said that the killing of the three terrorists ‘proves that the Israeli government is pursuing its policy of escalation.’ Fatah called on the international community to ‘seriously look into providing protection for the defenseless Palestinian people.’

“The Fatah statement failed to mention that the three Palestinian ‘young men’ were armed with knives and a homemade submachine gun. Nor did Fatah mention a word about the Border Police officer who was stabbed to death in the terror attack.”

(Photo of Hadas Malka, Not Long Before She Was Killed)

Bassam Tawil—a Muslim, but one who recognizes the right of the Jews to live in the sovereign State of Israel—went on to say:

“Such a statement could never have been published without the approval of Abbas and his top cronies in Ramallah … This is the twisted logic of Abbas and his people. How dare the Israeli police officers shoot terrorists armed with knives and a machinegun and prevent them from killing more Jews? … This is but further proof in an endless string of damming evidence concerning the ‘peace lies’ spouted by Abbas and his PA. The PA president is always among the first to denounce terror attacks around the world, including Britain, France and Germany. Yet when Palestinians murder Israelis, they suddenly become ‘heroes’ and ‘martyrs.’”

(See Eye of Prophecy article, Can a Murderer be a Martyr? Posted 1-30-16)

The Palestinians are intensifying their sordid strategy of making the guilty look innocent and the innocent seem guilty. But this tactic is beginning to backfire on them. For decades, millions the world over including all too many Europeans, Canadians, Australians, and Americans bought into the Palestinian agenda. Which is: there should never have been a State of Israel, or at least Jews have no right to occupy (so-called) Palestinian territory.

Here, I’m referring to Westerners who know little about the real history of Israel and the Middle East or prefer not to be bothered with the facts. But who are quick to form uninformed opinions based mostly on a narrative that is predicated on fake rewritten history by Palestinian and Muslim journalists, educators, politicians, and religious leaders. Gradually, however, they are beginning to comprehend the real motives of the Palestinians in particular and Muslims in general, which I’ve discussed in several Eye of Prophecy articles, and as summarized earlier by Bassam Tawil.

On the other hand, the extreme liberal left among us will never give up their convoluted logic that has gone to such detestable extremes as accusing Israel of being an apartheid regime like the former government of South Africa. Or even more revolting: comparison of Israel to Nazi Germany’s Third Reich. This is warped and vile thinking at its worst. How on God’s earth could anyone liken Israel to Nazi Germany? Millions of Germans condoned and/or sat idly by while the Nazis stripped Jews of their German citizenship, confiscated their property, destroyed their businesses, deprived them of the right to work, herded them into concentration camps, and then slaughtered six million Jews during the horrendous Holocaust? All this just because the Jews were Jews, and didn’t have the right to live alongside a superior Aryan race.

Compare this to the Israeli Government which has granted citizenship rights to some 1.7 million Arabs to travel freely throughout Israel; own their own real estate; start and run their own business; vote in elections; to even serve in the Israeli government (Knesset).

Why the Horrific Attack of July 14^th Was So Different

There was one thing unusual about this murderous rampage, and three things virtually unprecedented including its aftermath. Which is why this latest unprovoked Arab killing of Israelis has generated more outrage than usual from Jews and from some world leaders, as well as an exceptional response from Israel.

Partially Different but Not Unprecedented

The majority of hundreds of past terrorists attacks in Israel were committed by Palestinians from the West Bank; whereas, Israeli Arabs killed the two policemen. Is there a difference? Absolutely. Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel. The terrorists among them (meaning those who actually do the killing that is applauded and rewarded by fellow Arabs whose virulent anti-Semitic attitude stops short of terrorist acts … this applies to both Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs) can carry out such attacks more easily than their West Bank or Gaza Strip Palestinian counterparts.

As a refresher: Arabs living in “Palestine” when Israel became a sovereign state on May 14^th, 1948 (pre-approved by the United Nations Resolution in November, 1947) rejected their opportunity to also become a state. They wanted no part of living next to a Jewish State; instead five Arab (Muslim) nations attacked Israel the very next day with the sworn objective of annihilating the infant State of Israel. Only then would the Arabs establish their own state of “Palestine.”

After Israel won this war against impossible odds, the Israelis offered citizenship to Arabs … some of whom accepted, most of whom did not. But it was not until 1964—when the Palestinian Liberation Organization was formed by Yassar Arafat—that Arabs began calling themselves Palestinians, a designation that had previously applied almost exclusively to Jews. As a result of the Oslo Accord of 1993, the PLO became the Palestinian Authority. Those living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are now called Palestinians.

Because Palestinians are not citizens of Israel, they can enter Israel proper only through work or visitation permits or the like. Whereas, the vast majority of Israeli Arabs live outside the West Bank, because they are citizens of Israel.

Alarmingly, however, the recent trend (including Lions’ Gate) has seen more Israeli Arabs committing these atrocities. What makes this all the more disturbing is the added difficulty for Israelis to prevent such attacks (although they do thwart many planned strikes). Arab citizens of Israel can travel and move freely throughout the country including Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. They can conceal weapons right up to the flash point of using them.

Which is why Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Temple Mount closed to visitors until the area was deemed safe and a full investigation could be undertaken. He also called for the immediate installation of metal detectors at the entrance gates to Old Jerusalem and more surveillance cameras on Temple Mount. A reasonable response wouldn’t you agree? Just as reasonable as when all air traffic in the United States was abruptly suspended for a period of time after 9/11. Followed by the incredible amount of security measures that 9/11 and then the shoe-bomber have inconvenienced and frustrated Americans and international travelers to this day.

(Note: Netanyahu reopened three of the seven gates to access Temple Mount on Sunday, 7-16-17, but would not relent on his decision to keep the metal detectors in place at the gate entrances).

(Metal Detectors Recently Installed at One of Old Jerusalem’s Gates)

Once again I ask the rhetorical question: Was Netanyahu’s response reasonable, one that any reasonable person should and would understand?

Not according to Palestinians and their misguided die-hard supporters.

Hamas, the terrorist entity that governs (controls) some 1.8 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, called the closure of Temple Mount an Israeli declaration of “religious war;” then called for an “uprising” against Israel’s military and also Jewish “settlers” (referring to Jews who live in the West Bank which is really the Judea/Samaria region of Israel that includes so-called East Jerusalem).

For sure we could consider the source and realize that kind of bellicose language is expected from Hamas. After all, they have sworn never to recognize the Jewish State of Israel; they have determined that intifada is the only recourse to rid “Palestine” of Jews. But what about the Jordanian Waqf which dictates visiting privileges and protocol (called the status quo) on Temple Mount?

Immediately after Benjamin Netanyahu lifted the ban on Temple Mount visitation, but kept the metal detectors in place, Jordanian Waqf officials advised all Palestinians to defy the new security measures, which they labeled as, “symbols of Israeli control.” Realizing that the Israelis would turn away, by force if necessary, anyone trying to go through an open gate without first passing through a metal detector, this defiance was in the form of boycotting Temple Mount. As if that would affect or disappoint the Jews?! In fact. some Jews took this rare opportunity to ascend Temple Mount even though it was during restricted visitation hours for them.

Another irony of such an order by the Arab Jordanian Waqf is that more Israeli Arabs elected to pass through the metal detectors, than those who stood outside the gates and offered prayers that they could have otherwise offered on Temple Mount had they simply complied with the security measures.

(Muslims Line Up at Lions Gate Last Weekend)

Moreover, the Jordanian Waqf officials (who sometime speak for and represent Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, but only when it serves Jordanian interests) seized the opportunity to play the status quo card; claiming that the metal detectors were a violation of the” status quo” and a demonstration of “Israeli aggression.” The term status quo has been bandied about for several years, one that the Palestinians are frequently (falsely) accusing the Israelis of changing.

Here is an excerpt from an article posted on July 17^th in the online news source Israel Hayom:

“Pictures of worshippers and the metal detectors in the entrance to the site stirred anger in the Arab-Muslim world, especially in Egypt and Jordan. The Palestinian Authority called on Israel to ‘refrain from steps that would compromise regional stability.’ Arab-Israeli leaders also called on Israel to take down the metal detectors.”

Unbelievable! These Arab officials were callously oblivious to, and considered irrelevant the fact that the murder of two Israelis (Druze nationality … descendants of Moses’ father-in-law Jethro … loyal to the Jewish State of Israel) and the ensuing unprecedented entrance into Temple Mount by the Palestinian murderers, could or would be the real cause of a compromised regional stability.

*(Let’s pause parenthetically for a moment of cynical commentary: Who or what gives the Israelis the right to discriminate against Muslim Arabs by imposing restrictions, especially if the safeguards might save Jewish lives, which would require a little more time for Arabs to ascend Temple Mount? Along those lines, isn’t it high time that Americans protest against metal detectors all over the United States? Even if it means we can’t get to our workplace or enter government buildings or get on an airplane? Down with detectors. Up with mayhem and murder).

Seriously, the wickedly absurd rationale of these officials reflects the same mushy mentality of Muslims and several nations that belong to the European Union, whose leaders blindly accept the false “moral equivalency cause” of Palestinians or Muslim refugees—many of whom are not true refugees, but just people who want a better life that their Islamic Sunni or Sharia governments can’t provide. How dare some dissenting eastern European countries like Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic (called the Visegrad Group) refuse to fill the immigration quotas imposed on them by the European Union? I am not at all against granting immigration rights to suffering refugees, but not indiscriminately without proper vetting procedures, or just to fill quotas.

(Leaders & Flags of V4 Group, Left to Right: Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia)

Well, I digress a little; but for what is, I trust, a worthy world view.

Lions Gate Attack—Different, Unprecedented

(1) Closure of Temple Mount For Two Days

Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that the Temple Mount be shut down, but only temporarily. This is the first time it had been totally off limit to visitors for 50 years … since the Six-Day War of 1967 when Israelis liberated and reunited all of Jerusalem including Temple Mount from illegal Jordanian control. (See Eye of Prophecy article, The Liberation of Jerusalem. Published 6-3-17).

(2) The First Arab (Muslim) Attack on Temple Mount

Until the Lions’ Gate incident, there was no previous attempts by terrorists to gain access to the Temple Mount area itself during those attacks. Undoubtedly, most Palestinians wish that their three “martyrs” could have killed more Jews inside Temple Mount before their glorious deaths.

The incident was a blatant violation of the precious “status quo” condition of Temple Mount that Palestinians constantly and falsely accuse the Jews of doing. But it was Muslim Arabs who violated the status quo, one that grants unlimited access to Muslims, but highly restricted conditions for Jews ascending Temple Mount.

Which is more proof that the Palestinians couldn’t care less if their so-called holy site is compromised or desecrated, as long as it’s not Jews who are doing it. For example, it’s a documented fact that Palestinians have played soccer, held barbecues, and left garbage on Temple Mount in the past. Many of them treat it as a picnic playground, not a place of prayer.

Here is another quote from a Hamas spokesman:

“The attack in Jerusalem is a natural response to Israeli terrorism and the desecration of Al-Aqsa mosque, and it confirms the commitment to the intifada and the unity of our people.”

This statement would be laughable if it wasn’t so hideous in its sinister implications and false innuendoes. The only accurate part of this provocative rhetoric is that these three terrorists all named Muhammad were, indeed, committed to the religious (Islamic) and political (Palestinian) intifada. But pathetically and pathologically wrong about Israeli terrorism, Jewish desecration of the mosque, or unity of the Palestinian people. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have been at each other’s throat ever since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2006-2007. Their leaders are diametrically opposed to and actually hate each other.

Yet this first-time terrorist act on Temple Mount is, in fact, a matter of concern to the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank. For you see, PA President Mahmoud Abbas doesn’t directly exercise control over the “lone-wolf” assassins, although he fully supports their atrocities figuratively and literally—with his incitement rhetoric and by paying monthly stipends to families of Palestinian prisoners and those killed in the course of their crimes. In recent months, Abbas made the bad decision (for him … good for Israelis in terms of world opinion) to up the ante in his belligerent bombast against Israel, with hypocritical double talk that much of the world is finally seeing through, e. g. President Trump’s face to face dressing down of Abbas a few weeks ago, by accusing him of lying about the Palestinian “culture of peace.”

After the Lions’ Gate assault, Abbas realized that this unparalleled act by three of his people was, in fact, what Israel Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan had called it: “A very serious” incident. Said Erdan: “This is an unprecedented event. The terrorists violated the sanctity of the Temple Mount and crossed a red line.”

And what Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Zeev Elkins said:

“The cynical use of the Temple Mount as a place of granting immunity to those who incite terror must stop. We’re not clamoring to act on the Temple Mount, but if we have to—we will. The very fact that terrorists target the Temple Mount stems from incitement.”

Or the words of Jerusalem’s Mayor, Nir Barkat who called the attack, “particularly troubling … anyone who thinks that they can make gains through terrorism in this place of prayer and worship is wrong. The exact opposite is true—we will pursue anyone who is motivated in such terrorist activities and we will exact a price from them. We will not capitulate to terrorism.”

(Jerusalem’s Mayor, Nir Barkat)

This unprecedented killing of Israelis at Lions Gate, then pursuit and elimination of the terrorists in the Temple Mount confines led to another extraordinarily rare event.

(3) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas Called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Condemned the Attack!

Why would Abbas step completely out of character and risk criticism from his own people, most of whom (the greater majority) endorse and actually celebrate the killing of Jews? For example, they dance in the streets and hand out candy to Palestinian children, all the while praising their heroic martyrs, and naming streets after them.

First on the more safe side: Mahmoud Abbas calculated that the risk of exacerbating his already tenuous leadership stance with the Palestinians would be lessened by the fact that the killers were Israeli Arabs who were technically citizens of Israel, not residents of the West Bank … within his Palestinian Authority jurisdiction.

Second, on the unsafe side: He knew full well that such an incident in/on the Temple Mount compound had, in fact, vaulted over a line that even he would not cross. The world court of public opinion that was already beginning to comprehend the real Palestinian agenda (elimination of the State of Israel altogether), would side with the Israelis. As horrific as any murder of innocent people for religious or political gain can be—this crime was worse because it violated a sacred site.

Thus, you can be sure that Abbas’ real motive for condemning the crime via a direct phone call to Benjamin Netanyahu, was not because two Israeli policemen were murdered. Rather, because it happened on Temple Mount with the obvious implication to anyone with an open mind that it was the Arabs who changed “the status quo” of Temple Mount.

Putting the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict into a Broader Biblical Perspective

Is it possible for anything good to come out of yet another Arab atrocity against innocent Israelis? Yes, it is. Scripture is replete with amazing ways in which the true and living Sovereign God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has providentially turned bad things into good. The historical account of Jacob’s son, Joseph, is an epic story that all Jews and Christians hold near and dear to their faith.

Said Joseph to reassure his brothers that he would not take revenge on them for selling him into slavery, “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 50:20).

And now, the Lord’s astounding prophetic plan for Israel to end their agonizing exile to the nations is miraculously unfolding daily before our very eyes. Beginning with the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948, return of Jews to Israel from the four corners of the earth, and the end of Gentile domination of the Jews in the Six-Day War of 1967.

For Jewish and Gentile believers in Messiah Yeshua, this Old Testament pattern has been increased to a New Covenant ironclad promise:

Viewing Israel through a Different Lens

Statistically, incidents of Anti-Semitism have increased in the past few years. As would be expected, the source stems primarily from Muslims in European countries. And also internationally from those who (mostly liberal professors and students on college campuses) ignore facts and conditions in Israel or deliberately disregard the real evidence and actual truth that the Jews are not “illegal settlers” whose government is oppressing the Palestinians.

However, there’s a remarkable (unprecedented) phenomenon that has taken place in just the past couple of years. Never before in Israel’s history have so many nations begun to establish or reinforce diplomatic and economic ties with Israel, the most recent of which was India … with the second largest population on earth. As have several African nations, Australia, China, Canada, a few European countries, and even Saudi Arabia and its coalition of Arab gulf states, with the exception of Qatar. Although some countries have ulterior motives (as do some of the allies of the United States), their leaders are beginning to see that Israel is not their main enemy, or an enemy at all.

They recognize the amazing things that the Jews have accomplished in Israel in such areas as: agriculture, water conservation, medicine, computer technology, construction, education, new business start-up, and inventions of all sorts. They better understand that these astounding contributions are proportionally far greater than any nation on earth, considering that the Jewish population in Israel is only 6.3 million. If they continue to examine the facts, they’ll see, for example, that Israeli hospitals have treated thousands of Syrian civilians injured in that bloody conflict. And, they are acknowledging Israel’s military might even though she is such a tiny nation.

Palestinian Terrorism is the Pattern for Global Terrorism

Just a brief glance at history will show that Palestinian terrorists were the primary pioneers of nearly all terrorism; adapted globally by terrorist groups such as: Hezbollah, al-Qaida, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Boko Haram, and of course ISIS—which has taken terrorism to a brutally new level.

Although there were other terrorist’s cells like the Red Army in Germany, modern-day terrorism tactics basically began with the Palestinian slaughter of eleven Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics of 1972. With millions of other, I vividly remember watching the horror unfold in real (television) time.

Released in late 2005, Munich, a film directed by Steven Spielberg, is a powerful depiction and reminder of the brutal birth of terrorism, Palestinian style; but also the resolve of Israel to hunt down and dispense justice to those who would seek to annihilate the Jews. Global terrorist groups have modeled their violence after the sickening style of Palestinian hijackings, suicide bombings, car-rammings, knifings, shootings, and blowing up hotels, cafes, and markets.

People and national leaders the world over are beginning to see that statements like the following one from Jordan’s Minister of Islamic Affairs Wael Arabiyat are not only ridiculously illogical, but morally reprehensible.

Arabiyat, in an attempt to legitimize the Jordanian Waqf’s criticism of the metal detectors and incitement call for Palestinians to defy such restrictions, actually labeled the Israeli response to the brutal killings an Israeli “crime.” He cited the reason for the entire incident as Israel’s “unprecedented and persistent violation of Al Aqsa Mosque sanctity under the pretext of containing violence and tension.”

Yours, mine, and the world’s immediate response to this absurd accusation is or should be: “What pretext?”

A pretext is an alleged ulterior motive or mindset to do something about something (else) perceived that hasn’t happened or won’t happen or doesn’t exist.

First, there’s absolutely no evidence whatsoever that the Jews have ever violated or “desecrated” (the more commonly used term of Arab incitement) the Al Aqsa Mosque. I repeat for emphasis: absolutely none. As said before, the Palestinians and those who presumptuously promote their cause consider any Jew stepping foot on Temple Mount as a violation. Then, they make certain that such (non-existent) desecration doesn’t go any further. During the limited time Jews can ascend and remain on Temple Mount, they must not exhibit any signs of worship, such as reciting or even mouthing prayers, bowing, kneeling, lifting their hands, reading from the Torah … the list goes on.

Second, the killing of two Israelis in an attempt to commit more murders within the Temple Mount confines is as (horribly) real as it gets. The Israelis killed the murderers to contain (eliminate) further carnage by the terrorists. There was no pretext.

It’s the Palestinian “pushing the envelope” that has gone too far, and (fortunately) has begun to irreversibly do exactly the opposite of what they intended. Their extreme rhetoric has now been matched with terrorism that crossed a line that was beyond the line already drawn of terroristic murder of Jews and other innocent people the world over.

This “crossed-the-line” attack could and probably will result in what should have been the “status quo” since the Jews liberated their capital in 1967: Israeli sovereignty over Temple Mount both in practice and principle. At the very least, it may lead to what Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev stated:

“The time has come for the Temple Mount to be a place that is open and free for all, without restrictions on (visiting) hours or areas, just like everywhere else in Jerusalem. The Waqf should only manage the mosque and not the entire compound.”

(Temple Mount Complex, Including View of Western Wall & Lower Courtyard)

Summary

Along with the favorable trend of world opinion toward Israel exemplified by diplomatic relations and trade agreements between Israel and several nations, more people are also getting a glimpse of the real Palestinian agenda. How could anyone miss seeing it? It’s been there all along. Now the Palestinians have unmasked themselves directly in front of international eyes with actions that speak as loud as their words.

Slowly at first, but now much more rapidly, Western nations and even some Arab countries are beginning to realize that Jews—not only in Israel, but the world over—have contributed so much to the welfare of the human race; and will increase this contribution exponentially if the nations would only work with them and not against them. This global atmosphere of increased toleration for the Jews and enhanced empathy for their suffering (BDS discrimination, maiming, murders, and vandalism of their crops) is exactly the condition that Scripture predicted would occur during the beginning of the last days of the end times.

Some passages in the Old Testament speak exclusively of the millennial period following the majestic return of Messiah Jesus to rescue Israel and the final glorious victory over her enemies. Many others, like the following passage, describe both the Millennium and the signs and conditions immediately preceding the Day of the Lord.

“Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns. I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion. Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them” (Jeremiah 33:6-9, italics for emphasis).

This more respectful disposition toward Israel is now at the highest level since 1948 … in my opinion, even higher. That is exactly the condition that will exist during the unexpected Gog/Magog assault against Israel by several nations—led principally by Russia, Iran, and Turkey—that will take place during the (early part of) Great Tribulation. The surprising increase of international recognition of Israel is yet another prophetic milepost that demonstrates just how close we are to the Rapture followed in seven years by the magnificent return of Messiah Jesus to make all things right.

Things to Ponder

There are two primary reasons why Jews will not only return to Temple Mount under their terms, but also why the Jewish Temple itself will be rebuilt on the very site where God spared Isaac, and where Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple stood.

The first reason is in two parts: (1) the Rapture that will create world-wide confusion and panic followed quickly by, (2) the return of Antichrist Nero from the Abyss. His perceived miraculous reappearance and the chaotic condition of the world as a result of the disappearance of hundreds of millions will facilitate desperate global longing for peace and safety. Because of the divine status accorded him (by virtue of returning from the grave), Nero will have no problem orchestrating a treaty between Arabs/Muslims and Jews, including a rebuilt Jewish Temple.

The second reason: Increasing global favor toward Israel that has already begun, and will (soon) enable her to be in a position of peace, safety, tranquility, and prosperity, unequaled since the glory days of King David and King Solomon’s reign. But it will be a false peace because it will be arranged by a false messiah … Antichrist Nero.

And then it will happen. Listen to the Holy Spirit inspired prediction against Gog/Magog uttered by the prophet Ezekiel some 2,600 years ago … a prophecy that will soon come to pass:

“…In the 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… 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 … You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages!’ … When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will arouse yourself” (Ezekiel 38:8-14).

Big mistake Gog/Magog! And later in the tribulation an even bigger mistake when Antichrist and his coalition march against Israel!

They picked the wrong time to take on God and the apple of his eye, his special possession Israel. They will unwittingly choose a time providentially chosen by God long ago; a time when God once again is protecting and providing for his chosen people, the Jews. A time when his planted (in Scripture) prophetic plan for Israel’s physical restoration and spiritual reconciliation is about to reach full harvest.

Beware Gog and Antichrist! You think that Israel is there for the taking because she has let down her guard through false pretense of peace.

Think again.

“But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over!” (Ezekiel 38:18).

“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 38:22-23).

God the Father will supernaturally destroy the Gog/Magog coalition with Israel simply standing by to watch as God’s “fury boils over.”

During the final battle of Armageddon we see the same results. And this time God’s Son, Messiah Jesus, will win a resounding victory as we believers ride along side of him and behold his incomparable power and authority.

“Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet … Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse…” (Revelation 19:19-21).