“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 15^th, 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 20^th & 21^st 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 2^nd 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 17^th (this past Tuesday).

(Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Annexation Announcement)

During a press conference held on September 10^th, 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 2^nd 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 10^th) 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 16^th, 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).

Global focus on Israel is mindboggling.

People and governments all over the world have an opinion about this tiny Jewish State that is surrounded by a huge land mass of Islamic nations with populations that dwarf Israel in size.

But for Muslims of all nationalities, Israel isn’t small enough. They wish for it to shrink to the point of disappearance from the face of the earth.

News sources repeatedly report on proposals to solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Often, with an unbalanced, uninformed, and preposterous premise that Israel is exclusively to blame for not only the plight of the Palestinians, but absence of peace in the entire Middle East.

It’s absolutely astonishing how so many know so little about the real history of Israel—ancient and modern—and yet claim to know so much about what (they think) needs to be done to solve an age-old dilemma between Jews and Arabs.

Other than the United States, just a handful of nations express support for Israel; and, then, only on certain conditions and select occasions. By and large the gamut of those antagonistic toward the only democratic state in the entire Middle East range from toleration (barely) to loathing.

Particularly in Europe, antisemitism has reared its ugly head again. It is a hatred that defies all that is rational. Polls reliably show that most people who dislike or even despise Israel or Jews in general have never been to Israel or have never met a Jew. Even many Palestinians in Israel have never talked to a Jew face to face. Instead they are brainwashed from a young age never to associate with the Jews.

When Muslim nations failed to win four majors wars with Israel (1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973—all of which were provoked by the Arabs), they switched their tactics to terrorist attacks that, for example, killed hundreds of Jews in the 2^nd Intifada (2000-2005). Although fewer in number since the Jews built a wall separating much of the non-citizen Palestinian population from Israeli Jews in critical corridors of Judea/Samaria (West Bank), these brutal attacks continue to this very day.

Another tactic is that of UN Resolutions against Israel, each one sponsored by dozens of Muslim nations to denigrate and delegitimatize Israel by falsely accusing the Jews of “occupying” land that belongs to them in the first place. (See Eye of Prophecy article: United Nations Downsizing of Israel (Resolution 2334) Posted 1-7-17.

Or of apartheid practices of which there are NONE in Israel. I repeat for emphasis: Absolutely none. There are several dramatic differences between Israel’s democratic state and an apartheid state … as South Africa once was. Most obvious is the fact that Israel allows its’ minority Arab population (Israeli Arabs who are citizens) not only to vote, but to serve in both the national and local governments. You would NEVER find that in an apartheid state.

(One of many signs posted in the once apartheid South Africa. No such equivalent signs in Israel, nor any other “signs” of apartheid)

Yet Israel’s enemies know how to influence the court of global opinion by repeatedly accusing Israel of non-existent abuses, understanding that the world-at-large is prone to believe these lies if told often enough. People love the “underdog.” So much so that they don’t want to be bothered with the evidence, either historical or contemporary facts on the ground. And they conveniently forget that the Jews were the underdogs for centuries. Not only treated like dogs but slaughtered like sheep in the millions, i.e. Holocaust. The State of Israel is the reason that this must/will NEVER AGAIN happen.

The Sinister Strategy of BDS

A strategy to impair Israel that has recently gained even more momentum is that of economic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. Although there are differing opinions regarding the impact of this insidious plot to bring Israel to its economic knees, one thing is crystal clear: it negatively affects Palestinian workers as much or more than Israeli businesses.

Reason: Thousands of Palestinian are employed by Israel companies throughout Israel, including the West Bank (Judea/Samaria). For example: BDS actions forced the Israeli business SodaStream to relocate out of the West Bank, which, in turn, cost over 100 Palestinians their jobs. Even worse: if Israelis companies are adversely affected, the majority of BDS activists couldn’t care less about Palestinians losing their livelihood. They’ve harmed Israel; that’s all that matters to them.

Fortunately, BDS from the few in the United States who support this deplorable practice was dealt a decisive defeat in the recent July 23, 2019 bill passed by the US House of Representatives … with an overwhelming vote of 398 to 17 (18 abstentions). Although House bill 246 was a non-binding resolution, it sent a clear message that the United States will not condone attempts to shut down Israeli businesses in the democratic sovereign State of Israel.

And, if you’ve kept abreast of the constant publicity generated by three newly elected members of the House of Representatives (Ilhan Omar/Minnesota; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/New York; and Rashida Tlaib/Michigan), you know that they have spent most of their congressional time in office condemning Israel. At the expense of what they otherwise should be doing that would truly benefit their constituents.

Ironically, Omar and Tlaib have planned a trip to Israel to “learn more” (their words) about the situation over there. By all rights, Israeli authorities should deny visa entrance to someone (anyone) who harbors and overtly expresses hostility toward Israelis and who radically supports the BDS movement against Israel. However, it appears that Israel will allow them to make this trip—which I agree with.

Although it’s highly unlikely that they will visit Israel with an open mind, it certainly wouldn’t hurt for them to see the objective truth of what this miraculously reborn nation is all about. It is a Jewish State with equal rights for ALL its citizens—which includes some 1.8 million Israeli Arabs. Plus, giving wide administrative control for non-citizen Palestinians in the West Bank (Palestinian Authority) and the Gaza Strip (Hamas). In fact, Israel withdrew all Jewish settlements from the Gaza Strip 13 years ago.

And yet these US Congresswomen have claimed that Israeli Jews are occupying “Palestinian land” including the Gaza Strip. Indeed, they need to learn more!

(Left to right: Rashida Tlaib; Ilhan Omar; Alexandria Cortez; Ayanna Pressley … Pressley did not vote against the anti-BDS House bill, but still criticizes Israel frequently)

Wiping Israel From the Face of the Earth

UN Resolutions and BDS are non-violent but nonetheless perfidious plots hatched by Israel’s enemies (of which there are hundreds of millions particularly in Islamic nations) to disrupt and wear down the State of Israel … politically, culturally, and economically. As insidious as they are, these tactics are not (even close to) the main threat to Israel. That “honor” belongs to Iran. A rogue nation that for 40 years now has repeatedly called for, “Death to Israel.” Also, “Death to America.” And not just most of the populace but from high ranking officials and the top tyrant himself … the Ayatollah.

Beginning with this Islamic Regime’s overthrow of its government in 1979 and taking of dozens of US Embassy hostages for 444 days; to recent acts of aggression—shooting down an American drone and seizing a British oil tanker. Knowing that the Iranian military could never defeat the United States in war, its politicians, religious leaders, and high-echelon military personnel have instead threatened to retaliate against Israel if the United States initiates any military action against Iran.

Moreover, these threats against Israel are not just proportional responses, they are all-out swaggers pledging and predicting Israel’s rapid destruction at the hands of Iran’s lethal arsenal. Of course, this is based on Iran’s presumption that it is a super-power with a superior fighting force capable of an easy victory over the Israelis!

As a result of Israel’s periodic air attacks against Iranian military bases in Syria (past couple of years) to halt the building of even more precision-guided missiles aimed at Israel, Iran has intensified its arrogant threats to erase Israel from the map of the world. And, it isn’t just Iran. It’s their puppet terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and Islamic Jihad of the Gaza Strip whose only purpose in life is to kill as many Jews as it will take to eliminate Israel.

At one of the many protest marches at the Gaza-Israeli border fences, Hamas senior leader Fathi Hammad crowed on July 14, 2019 that, “There are Jews everywhere. We must attack every Jew on planet Earth! We must slaughter and kill them, with Allah’s help. We will lacerate and tear them to pieces.”

This vile language explicitly expresses the real agenda of radical Islam; yet, it is also silently endorsed by hundreds of millions of so-called moderate Muslims world-wide. To illustrate the duplicity of Israel’s enemies, both within Israel and without: While spewing even more abhorrent rhetoric (as we just read) against the Jews, Hamas’s “diplomatic hand” is now attempting to sway world opinion under the pretense of considering a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem rather than its sworn objective (found in Hamas’ Charter) to destroy Israel.

At about the same time that Hammad uttered these ugly threats against all Jews, Hamas’ main leader Ismail Haniyeh was being interviewed by a Turkish journalist in Istanbul. The post-interview headlines in Turkish news sources read: “Hamas does not oppose the establishment of a (Palestinian) state on the 1967 borders.”

As I’ve written in several prior articles, the only two-state solution that Palestinians will agree to is Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 Six-Day War truce lines … which are NOT borders at all. This would dangerously weaken Israel’s ability to defend its citizens from what is essentially a high-ground advantage of a Palestinian State along those armistice lines.

Palestinian conditions (non-negotiable) for a Two-State solution—which would create more problems that it would solve—is endorsed by nearly all nations of the European Union and, of course, by every Muslim nation on earth. Included in these absurd demands is the “right of return” for millions of so-called Palestinian refugees, which effectively would spell the end of the sovereign state of Israel. Another major pre-condition for a Palestinian State is its capital in the eastern part of Jerusalem—dividing Israel’s eternal capital city. Two capitals in one city is illogical, if not ridiculous; when several West Bank cities would do just fine, especially Ramallah where the Palestinian Authority is currently headquartered.

Returning to Ismail Haniyeh’s interview, Turkish news headlines gave the deceptive impression he was now in favor of some sort of agreement between his Hamas (terrorist) organization and Israel. With the implication that even Hamas, the most militant of the two Palestinian organizations within Israel (the other is, of course, the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank), was willing to talk peace with Israel.

In fact, what Haniyeh said was: “Hamas is not opposed to the establishment of a state on the 1967 borders but insists on not recognizing the Israeli occupation of the rest of the Palestinian territories.”

What Haniyeh means when he refers to, the rest of the Palestinian territories is essentially all Israel. They do not recognize the Israel’s national sovereignty nor even Israel’s right to exist. Which is why Palestinians have flatly turned down the creation of their own state. Not once, or twice, or three times. But a TOTAL OF FOUR TIMES, the latest of which was in 2008. They simply cannot tolerate the thought of a Palestinian State alongside Israel; rather, they want a state to replace Israel.

Here is another quote by Haniyeh in that interview: “We often resort to peaceful and popular resistance. This does not mean, however, that we have given up our armed resistance against Israel.”

When he says Hamas often resorts to peaceful resistance, he obviously means as a last resort.

For that matter what is peaceful to Haniyeh and most Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (also in the West Bank) is anything but. If anyone thinks the rioting at the Gaza/Israeli border is peaceful—hurling rocks, firebombs, explosive devices, and burning kites at the IDF with repeated attempts to knock down the fence to allow hundreds of Palestinians to attack Israeli communities—then they’d definitely be interested in some choice swamp land in Florida sight unseen … at a reasonable price, of course.

In an online Gatestone Institute article posted July 22, 2019 entitled, The Hamas-Iran Plan to Eliminate Israel; written by Bassam Tawil (a Turkish journalist who writes mostly about his native country but often in the context of his firm belief that the state of Israel has an undeniable right to exist), he offers his own paraphrased assessment of what Ismail Haniyeh was really saying to the Turkish press and to the world at large.

“If we are offered a Palestinian state next to Israel, we will not say no. While we will take whatever Israel gives us, we will never recognize its right to exist. We will use the state as a launching pad to liberate all Palestine, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.”

Liberating “Palestine” (a state that doesn’t even exist) from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River is, in fact, an official slogan of Hamas. Often repeated by most Palestinians, as well as representatives from many Muslim nations.

Oh, and did I mention that Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives still (periodically) launch rockets and mortars into nearby Israeli towns, some of which have resulted in Israeli casualties. And that both non-citizen Palestinians from the West Bank and a few Israel-Arab citizens continue to stab and shoot Israeli Jews, and slam cars into them—men, women, and children.

(Israeli buildings near Tel Aviv damaged by Hamas launched rockets a few weeks ago)

See Eye of Prophecy articles: The Real Reason for Palestinian Terrorism (posted 9-30-17); Palestinian Refugees … Are They Really Refugees? (1-27-18); “The Right of Return” … For Palestinians or Jews? (4-7-18); Judea/Samaria & Gaza Strip / Who Has Sovereignty? (5-11-19).

Iran’s Relentless Rants Against Israel

In the same timeframe of Ismail Haniyeh’s interview with a Turkish journalist, Hamas sent a delegation to Iran, presumably to ask for more funding to accomplish their (mutual) warped plot of obliterating Israel.

Listen to the most recent boast from Iran, this one from Iranian National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Chairman Mojtaba Zolnour: “If the US attacks us, only half an hour will remain of Israel’s lifespan.”

Here is an excerpt to include Iranian intimidations of Israel from the previously referenced article of Bassam Tawil (in italics):

In another threat earlier this year, the second-in-command of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that Iran will obliterate Israel if it starts a war, and the Israelis will not even be able to bury their dead. “Our strategy is (to wipe) Israel (off) the world’s political geography and Israel seems to be approaching this reality by its mischief,” Brigadier General Hosseln Salami told reporters in Tehran. If Israel “does anything that leads to a new war, certainly it will be (the kind of war) that will result in their elimination, and the occupied territories will be retaken. Israelis won’t even have a cemetery in Palestine to bury their corpses.”

It’s profoundly clear that President Trump’s withdrawal of the United States from the outrageous 2015 Nuclear Deal with Iran that was all take by and no give from the Iranians, plus the renewed economic sanctions has substantially stifled Iran’s economy. Which is a positive development. Because it’s equally transparent to the United States and even to the other five signatory nations to this agreement (Great Brittan, Germany, France, China and Russia … though they won’t acknowledge that the deal has benefited only Iran plus the fact that in a few more years, Iran can start producing higher grade uranium necessary for nuclear warheads) that much of Iran’s income for the past few years has been diverted to its blatant funding of terrorist cells in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza.

Bassam Tawil’s assessment of Hamas’ intensified relationship with Iran is accurately expressed in the final paragraph of his article: “The most effective way to stop Hamas from carrying out its plan to ‘slaughter’ every Jew is by increasing international sanctions and other means of pressure on Iran—before it is too late.”

In the context of Hamas-Iran’s bashing of Israel on a regular basis, I might as well include a recent comment from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who also hates Israel. Said Erdogan:

“Whoever is on the side of Israel, let everyone know that we are against them.”

If you think about it, this is incredible. Here is another leader of a prominent nation whose view of and diplomatic relations with entire countries depends almost exclusively whether they’re on Israel’s side or not! On the other hand, it is another pronounced prophetic development signaling the last days of the end times. In this instance: global attention on Israel.

Since Israel’s rebirth in 1948 and especially the reclamation of all Israel including Jerusalem as her eternal capital in Israel’s astonishing Six-Day War victory of 1967, end-times prophecy has unfolded with kaleidoscope intensity and flash-point frequency.

The Startling Correlation Between Biblical Last Days Prophecy & Iran’s Boasts

Several Eye of Prophecy articles have been posted on the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel. For example: Gog/Magog’s Clock Is Ticking, Ticking… (posted 6-16-18).

In just the past 4-5 years, we’ve witnessed military presence in the war-torn nation of Syria of the three prominent nations that will lead this huge confederacy—Russia, Iran, and Turkey. Syria is Israel’s adjacent (unfriendly) neighbor to the northeast. During that span, Iran has ratcheted its malevolent posturing against Israel in both frequency and severity.

(Russia also has several military bases in Syria, and Turkey has sent troops into Syria more than once)

“O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God. Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? They devise crafty schemes against your people (the Jews); they conspire against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘Let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence’” (Psalm 83:1-4, parenthesis mine, emphasis added).

This passage related to nations surrounding Israel during Biblical times. However, based on many other Old Testament passages depicting the fate of certain Gentile nations that harm or even threatened to harm Israel in the final generation–beginning with Germany’s devastating defeat during World War II–Psalm 83 extends, at least in principle and pattern, to modern-day nations antagonistic toward Israel.

In a moment, we’ll see how this will play out in the Gog/Magog alliance found in Ezekiel Chapters 38 & 39.

When leaders of a somewhat powerful nation like Iran spew venomous threats that are virtually identical to those cited in the end-times prophecies of Scripture, it’s that much more evident that we are living in the last days of the end-times.

So, too, are the amazing correlations that ironically (God’s poetic justice) depict nations hostile toward Israel suffering the same fate as they audaciously assert will happen to Israel. When nations boast that they will take out Israel, they are taking on the true and living God—who has promised that Israel would once again be a sovereign nation and the Jews would return to their Promised Land. Both of which are taking place before our 20^th & 21^st century eyes.

Scripture is replete with what God has to say about such haughtiness and hostility toward Himself, toward his special possession Israel, and against his chosen people, the Jews.

The Lord has already punished the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through two painful exiles, the second of which lasted nearly 2,000 years. Those years of heartache for the Jewish people were part of God’s discipline to bring them back to him—specifically for them to fully grasp that the New Covenant promised by Jeremiah was implemented when their (our) Messiah came to this earth in human form … Jesus of Nazareth. To die for their sins; indeed, the sins of the whole world. To bring redemption to all who believe and receive him as personal Savior. To one day (soon) gloriously return as their King; indeed, King of all kings.

God’s wrath will be poured out against the Gog/Magog alliance in the early part of the Tribulation and against Antichrist’s ten-nation coalition in the last half of the Tribulation because they will seek Israel’s total annihilation. Essentially, they are not now (nor will be then) satisfied with the horrible suffering of the Jews down through the ages, not the least of which was the Holocaust. Their perverse plot is to finish what Hitler started.

God’s Poetic Justice

In general terms, especially applicable to leaders of entire nations, God has issued a stern warning against the kind of pride that mocks Him and His absolute truth as contained in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. For example:

“God says, ‘At the time I have planned, I will bring justice against the wicked’… I warned the proud, ‘Stop your boasting!’ I told the wicked, ‘Don’t raise your fists! Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.’ For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness—should raise a defiant fist. It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall” (Psalm 75:2-7).

Concerning God’s providential plan for Israel’s restoration, both physical and spiritual, his warnings are even more severe to those people and nations who would dare seek Israel’s destruction (again) and attempted extermination of the Jews (again). This time, God the Father will personally defend and fight for Israel (Gog/Magog invasion of Israel). And, the Son of God, Messiah Jesus, will return to earth to personally fight alongside the Jews in the epic battle for Jerusalem (Zechariah 12 & 14; refer to Eye of Prophecy article: Armageddon & Messiah’s Return … An Amazing Sequence of Events, published 2-3-18).

Followed by the marvelous Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus from Jerusalem.

Listen, as God speaks to Israel:

“Yes, says the Lord, I will do mighty miracles for you, like those I did when I rescued you from slavery in Egypt. All the nations of the world will stand amazed at what the Lord will do for you. They will be embarrassed at their feeble power. They will cover their mouths in silent awe, deaf to everything around them. Like snakes crawling from their holes, they will come out to meet the Lord our God. They will fear him greatly, trembling in terror at his presence” (Micah 7:15-17).

Along with Russia and Turkey, the terrorist state of Iran will experience terror like they’ve never known. They will see once and for all who is God and who is not.

What the Lord will do to Iran and its Gog/Magog allies will stun the world in its scope and severity. It will give a whole new meaning to poetic justice. Before we read part of this spectacular scene, I’m going to repeat the boast of a top-Iranian military officer quoted earlier in this week’s post.

“…it will be the kind of war that will result in their (Israel’s) elimination, and the occupied territories will be retaken. Israelis won’t even have a cemetery in Palestine (he contemptibly still refers to Israel as Palestine) to bury their corpses” (parenthesis mine).

Considering what Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other smaller nations intend to do to Israel, God’s unilateral (Israel will not need to lift a military finger in this awesome display of God’s power) response is one of pure absolute justice. Moreover, it’s the beginning of the Lord’s final judgment on a world gone mad with power, persecution (of Jews and Christians), and perverted pleasure-seeking people not seen since violence and immorality saturated the earth before the world-wide flood of Noah’s time.

Now let’s see what the God of the Bible has to say. Warning: it’s not a pretty sight.

Read with me:

“But this is what the Sovereign Lord says: When Gog invades the land of Israel, my fury will boil over! In my jealousy and blazing anger, I promise a mighty shaking in the land of Israel on that day … and all the people on earth will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth. I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other. I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur! In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:18-23).

*Note: This devastation of mountains and cliffs and walls crumbling will take place world-wide. That and the ensuing graphics (such as fire) as well as the world’s reaction are quite like the 6^th & 7^th seal judgments as found in Revelation 6:12-17 and 7:3-5. Which is one of the reasons the Gog/Magog campaign will take place in the early part of the Tribulation.

Let’s continue with the ruinous results of God’s colossal conquest over an army of nations that will undoubtedly number in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

“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. In this way, I will make known my holy name among my people of Israel (this will be Israel’s national recognition that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will fight for them as he did in days of old). I will not let anyone bring shame on it. And the nations, too, will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord. Everything will happen just as I have declared it” (Ezekiel 39:4-8, parenthesis mine).

I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: What God says will happen, always happens. What God says he will do, he always does. Period … end of story!

Every person’s eternal destiny depends upon whether they agree with God or not. Whether they meet Messiah Jesus who is The Way (to God); The Truth (of redemption) and The Life (everlasting) as Personal Savior now. Or, after it’s too late, to meet him as Judge.

Time and again in Ezekiel 38 & 39 (and other chapters of Ezekiel), God refers to himself as, The Sovereign Lord. In the context of the arrogant alliance of the Gog/Magog nations, including Iran, the Lord is making it undeniably clear that he alone is God. He is sovereign over all the man-made gods of man-made religions, such as Islam and its “moon-god”, Allah. In fact, other than Russia, other Gog/Magog countries will be predominately Muslim.

Now for the grand finale to demonstrate a reoccurring premise and principle of Scripture, summarized in such axioms as: Be careful what you wish for (think, Iran’s boastful wish to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth). Or, paraphrasing Jesus’s words: whatever or how ever someone unjustly or inappropriately judges someone else (whether individually or as a nation), they will suffer that same judgment.

Before we read God’s description regarding the aftermath of his crushing victory over Gog/Magog (including Iran), remember the Iranian General’s boast that Israelis won’t even be able to bury their dead:

“Then the people in the towns of Israel will go out and pick up your small and large shields, bows and arrows, javelins and spears (think in terms of today’s weaponry), and they will use them for fuel. There will be enough to last them seven years! … They will plunder those who planned to plunder them, and they will rob those who planned to rob them, says the Sovereign Lord.

“And I will make a vast graveyard (not just a graveyard, but a vast one!) for Gog and his hordes in the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Dead Sea. It will block the way of those who travel there, and they will change the name of the place to the Valley of Gog’s Hordes. It will take seven months for the people of Israel to bury the bodies and cleanse the land. Everyone in Israel will help, for it will be a glorious victory for Israel when I demonstrate my glory on that day, says the Sovereign Lord. After seven months, teams of men will be appointed to search the land for skeletons to bury, so the land will be made clean again. Whenever bones are found, a marker will be set up so the burial crews will take them to be buried in the Valley of Gog’s Hordes” (Ezekiel 39:11-15, parenthesis mine, italics for emphasis).

Once again, the name of that conceited Iranian military commander who condescendingly said Israel won’t even have a cemetery to bury their dead: Hosseln Salami. I wouldn’t bet against one of those markers set by Israeli burial crews to be next to the bones of Mr. Salami. Yes, the Rapture and the Great Tribulation to follow is that close at hand.

Summary

The near-future devastating defeat of the Gog/Magog coalition to include the smug Iranians is not the first time that God’s (poetic) justice was on display against Persia … now called Iran.

Once before, some 2,500 years ago, an evil man named Haman—the 2^nd most powerful official in Persia—surreptitiously persuaded King Xerxes I to pass a law that ordered the extermination of the Jews throughout the Persian Empire. Jews of today’s world are well acquainted with this episode of their history. The annual feast of Purim is one of the most festive Jewish celebrations both in Israel and world-wide; a memorial to the deliverance of the entire Jewish race (at the time) from certain genocide.

The Lord’s sovereignty (the Sovereign Lord) is overwhelmingly evident throughout this epic story. Beginning with Persian King Xerxes’ highly improbable selection of a Jewish girl to be his queen, from among hundreds of beautiful Persian women. And Esther’s cousin, Mordecai, encouraging her (for such a time as thing) to boldly approach the king and plead for the Jews to be spared from Haman’s malicious plot of annihilation. Followed by more amazingly timed events (seemingly by chance) that were unmistakably orchestrated by the Sovereign Lord.

(Depiction of King Xerxes extending his scepter to approve Queen Esther’s entrance … even the Queen needed permission to see the King)

With the grand but ironic finale: King Xerxes sentencing Haman to death on a 75-foot high sharpened pole on which Haman had intended to impale his archenemy, Mordecai—a Jewish official in the Persian Kingdom. After Haman’s death, Mordecai was appointed to his position, second only to the king!

Now that’s justice!

Moreover, it’s astonishingly similar (ironic) in precedent/parallel fashion to devilish modern-day Iranian boasts to so utterly destroy Israel, that the Israelis won’t even have a place to bury their dead.

As is said: Famous last words!

Things to Ponder

Echoing the lyrics of the departed Christian songwriter/singer Rich Mullins: Our God is an Awesome God! He reigns from heaven above. With wisdom, power, and love; our God is an Awesome God!

Throughout the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Psalms, we read about God’s perfect justice, often in the poetic sense. Both metaphorically and in some divinely designed circumstances … literally: Those who dig pits to capture and bury the Jews, will fall into those very pits. Those who set traps for Israel and the Jews will themselves be caught in those very traps.

And a passage I’ve quoted in more than one prior Eye of Prophecy article:

“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. But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance” (Obadiah 1:15-17, emphasis added).

Israel’s inheritance of/to the Promised Land was reclaimed in 1948, then expanded in 1967.

Next (soon) on God’s divine agenda is the Rapture of born-again Jew and Gentile believers. A prelude to the Lord’s crushing defeat of Israel’s enemies in two epic battles (Gog/Magog and Armageddon) during the Great Tribulation. This in preparation for the majestic Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus from Jerusalem.

We love you Lord, because you first loved us!

The constant international attention on the Middle East—Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States—is intriguing.

However, the global obsession with Israel and its capital Jerusalem is mind-boggling.

Media coverage focuses incessantly on what world leaders, politicians, celebrities, and other VIPs are saying about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Whatever their political or philosophical persuasion, they (and millions of ordinary people) eagerly voice their views on Israel … mostly negative. Some positive, such as those of us who recognize Israel’s extraordinary significance in God’s prophetic plan for humanity.

For example: US Senators Lindsay Graham, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and a few other Republicans frequently speak up on behalf of Israel.

Although most Democrats in the United States Congress still support Israel over the Palestinian narrative, those percentages are declining; spear-headed by two new ultra-liberal members of the House of Representatives—Ilhan Omar (a Somalia Muslim elected in Minnesota) and Rashida Tlaib (of Palestinian descent, elected in Michigan). Both women regurgitate the same false accusations spewed by the Palestinian Authority, Muslim terrorist groups, Islamic leaders, and Muslims in general that Israel is occupying and oppressing the Palestinians, with help from the United States no less.

As I have written in several prior Eye of Prophecy articles, there is absolutely no evidence (facts on the ground) whatsoever of Israeli apartheid against or oppression of the Palestinians. Israel is the only democratic nation in the entire Middle East, providing equal rights to its 1.8 million Arab citizens. And has granted self-governing privileges to some 4.7 million Palestinians (non-citizens by their choice) living in Gaza and Judea/Samaria (West Bank).

You won’t find nearly this much liberty in surrounding Muslim nations extended even to their own people, let alone minority groups. Instead, there is persistent persecution of Jews, Christians, and even fellow Muslims who speak out against these Islamic regimes.

There is a ton of facts to demonstrate Palestinian/Arab racial and religious hostility toward Israelis, not the least of which are relentless terrorist attacks. Such as two Israelis murdered this past week by a 27-year old Palestinian. One of whom was a 19-year old Israeli soldier; the other a 47-year old Rabbi. Thus, the prevailing global mindset that Israel is in the wrong—despite the clear history of Israel’s UN approved statehood and Muslim attempts to denigrate and/or destroy the one and only Jewish nation in the world—is dumbfounding.

(The slain Rabbi Achiad Ettinger, father of twelve children)

On the other hand, it is exactly what the Bible predicted long ago for the last days of the end times.

On March 7^th, 2019 the United States Congress voted 407-23 in favor of a (non-binding) resolution condemning all forms of bigotry against “traditionally persecuted peoples.”

At face value, there’s nothing wrong with such a pledge. However, the reason for drafting it in the first place began exclusively over Ilhan Omar’s Anti-Semitic comments and her (as well as Rashida Tlaib’s) association with activists who support anti-Jewish terrorist groups like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, offered the inane explanation that this legislation was “not about her (Ilhan Omar). It’s about these forms of hatred.”

To the contrary: the entire issue began with and was about “her” (Omar).

Nonetheless, in a broader perspective, this unique Congressional resolution was all about Israel!

Whether major Biblical prophecies such as the unprecedented rebirth of Israel as a sovereign nation and return of the Jews in great numbers to Israel coming to pass in our generation, or lesser known end-times developments like the status of Jerusalem’s Eastern Gate; the disposition of the whole world will continue to be affected by what’s happening in Israel.

Zeroing in on Israel

Picture circles made by throwing a pebble into a pond. The larger the stone, the more expansive the circles. Though Israel was (and still is, although growing steadily) a tiny country when it was reborn in one day’s time (May 14^th, 1948), it landed in the sea of nations as a large rock, producing circles of contention like no nation in history. These controversial circles began with Arab countries that surround Israel, waging war against Israelis in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. With current strategy shifted to BDS activities and terrorism …Palestinian rocket attacks, fire bombings, car-rammings, and knife/gun assaults on Israeli Jews.

The circle widened to include non-Arab Muslim nations; equally, if not more, hostile toward Israel … such as Iran, Turkey, and Indonesia. A larger circle of Anti-Semitism has spread again in Europe and the Far-East, and even to the North & South American continents.

Yet, the circles have also expanded enough to include governments of a few nations which have shown (at least token) favor toward Israel —diplomatically and economically. Although by and large, the populace of these nations (like Egypt and Jordan) remain anti-Jew and anti-Israel.

Now picture in reverse, the circles contracting back to the original splash made by the rock of Israel. In concentric fashion, nations have focused attention on the circles as they get smaller and smaller. Beginning with the Middle East, narrowing to Israel, then Jerusalem, and finally the single most disputed place on the Planet … Temple Mount. And, now, as will be examined in this week’s article: one gate of Jerusalem.

In fact, Scripture characterizes Jerusalem as a rock in the last days prophecy of nations and their armies uniting against Israel, hell-bent on reaching their perverted final solution to the Jewish problem.

On that fast-approaching day, Jerusalem and Temple Mount will be defended ferociously by the Israelis. As the struggle for their very survival gradually goes against them, Messiah Jesus will suddenly step foot on the Mount of Olives and will fight alongside his people. The battle will spill over to the Valley of Jezreel and to Megiddo where the final war of the ages will be waged. With the Biblically predicted outcome of a resounding victory over all nations who would seek to annihilate God’s chosen people and dare to take on the Son of God himself. (See Eye of Prophecy article: Armageddon & Messiah’s Return … An Amazing Sequence of Events posted 2-3-18).

The Gates of Jerusalem

“O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength: ‘I will never again hand you over to your enemies. Never again will foreign warriors come and take away your grain and new wine. You raised the grain, and you will eat it, praising the Lord. Within the courtyards of the Temple you yourselves will drink the wine you have pressed.’

“Go out through the gates! Prepare the highway for my people to return! Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders; raise a flag for all the nations to see. The Lord has sent this message to every land: ‘Tell the people of Israel, Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’ They will be called ‘The Holy People’ and ‘The People Redeemed by the Lord.’ And Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Desirable Place’ and ‘The City No Longer Forsaken’” (Isaiah 62:6-12, italics to emphasize that the smoothing out preparation, removing obstacles, and Jews returning to Jerusalem through its gates began with the Balfour Declaration of 1917, then the UN Resolution for Israel’s statehood in 1947. The Star of David flag flies over Jerusalem and alongside other flags at the United Nations).

When the Persian King Artaxerxes approved Nehemiah’s journey to Israel to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls in 445 B.C., against all odds the walls and gates were rebuilt in an astonishingly short period of time.

Nehemiah wrote: “So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized the work had been done with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:15-16).

Considering outside opposition from their enemies (some Jews worked while others stood guard with weapons) and the entire circumference of the rebuilt wall—about 4.6 miles, with some sections of the wall as high as 52 feet—including all the gates; this stunning project in seven weeks and three days was nothing short of a miracle.

In Nehemiah’s time, there were 10 gates built into Jerusalem’s perimeter wall. Today there are eight gates, but only seven are open for access to the Old City of Jerusalem. Six of these accessible gates were built in ancient times, with the seventh built in 1538 by the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent. It is the Jaffa Gate, the most used entrance to the Holy City. The other six gates (restored during Suleiman’s reign) in use today are: The Zion Gate, Dung Gate, New Gate, Damascus Gate, Herod’s Gate, and Lion’s Gate.

During our March 2006 trip to Israel, my sister and I went through two of these gates: Dung Gate & Jaffa Gate.

(Jaffa Gate)

(Dung Gate entrance)

What about the eighth gate, which was also restored in Nehemiah’s time? What is the mysterious significance of and current controversy over this gate? Regarding the recent incident between Israel and the Jordanians & Palestinians, was the gate reopened? Or does it remain tightly sealed?

Although this gate bears more than one name, in Scripture it is referred to as the: Eastern Gate. (Note: there were other gates on the eastern wall; but because of its preeminence only one was given the name of East Gate)

Also, called: The Golden Gate, Mercy Gate, and sometimes referred to in ancient times as The Beautiful Gate. The following is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article: Gateway to the World (Posted 1-10-15). In italics:

(It’s called the) Golden Gate because of the sometimes-golden glow and hue cast by the rising sun on the eastern wall and gate. Beautiful Gate in very ancient times because it was just that, both literally and figuratively considered the most sacred or holiest of the ancient gates of Jerusalem. Mercy Gate because Jews used to pray for mercy at this gate, in fervent anticipation of the coming of Messiah through the gate, which would lead to the restoration of the Shekinah Glory of God in the rebuilt Temple. For it was from the Eastern Gate that the glory of God left the Temple and through which God’s glory will return.

This incredible gate is not only closed, it’s sealed … imbedded into thick stone walls on either side. In my estimation this unused, inactive, seemingly irrelevant gate was the most significant gate ever built; the most prestigious ever to be closed; and, one day soon, will be the greatest gate to ever be reopened.

It is the oldest of the current existing gates in Jerusalem’s Old City Walls, having been built around 520 A.D. by Justinian I or perhaps (no later than) the 7^th Century by Byzantine artisans. However, the current Eastern gate was built on ground level (obviously) over the remains of the much older gate, dating to the times of the second Temple (Herod’s Temple) which, of course, was built into the original (walls surrounding) Solomon’s Temple.

We’ll look at that in more detail. But first, a recap of current events surrounding this enigmatic gate of Jerusalem, one that leads directly to Temple Mount.

Dispute Over Temple Mount in General

As the holiest site in Judaism, Temple Mount is the soul of Jerusalem and Jerusalem the heart of Israel. Although the Israelis reclaimed all of Jerusalem in the stunning Six-Day War of 1967, Israel subsequently relinquished administration of Temple Mount back to Jordan; even though Jordan had illegally usurped control of Jerusalem near the end of Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. Although Israel won that war, the Israelis elected not to contest Jordan’s illegitimate seizure of (most of) Jerusalem and Temple Mount for two reasons: (1) International pressure to keep Jerusalem “neutral”; (2) Israel’s desire not to prolong her War of Independence, satisfied (at that time) with survival of the reborn Jewish State via their overall victory against five Arab nations, including Jordan.

For Muslims, Temple Mount (Arabs call it the Noble Sanctuary) is only their 3^rd holiest site after Mecca and Medina; yet, according to Arabs, Islamic designation as 3^rd in rank takes precedence over Israel’s 1^st (most) sacred site. To the extreme that Jordan and Palestinians in Israel engage in blatant discrimination by refusing to allow Jews to ascend Temple Mount except at scheduled times; and forbid Jews to pray on Temple Mount or even exhibit any signs whatsoever of worship. The main reason that Israelis agrees to this “status quo” is to (theoretically) prevent an all-out Muslim intifada within Israel and/or an Islamic coalition attacking Israel from without.

Nearly all Palestinian rhetoric that incites lone-wolf terrorist attacks against Israelis relate directly or indirectly to Temple Mount. The Palestinian/Arab intifada initiated in September 2000 (lasting until 2005 … hundreds of Israelis were murdered) under then Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat began soon after then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ascended Temple Mount. This was just a few years after the Oslo Accords, in which the Palestinians solemnly agreed to stop all terrorist activity in Israel. They not only didn’t stop the terrorism, they increased it.

Just three years ago or so, current PA President Mahmoud Abbas vowed not to allow the filthy feet of the Jews to desecrate Al-Aqsa Mosque (on Temple Mount). Abbas and his corrupt regime that oppresses its own people constantly accuse Israelis of “changing the status quo” on Temple Mount or desecrating it (by simply being there). When, in fact, it’s the Palestinians who are changing the rules.

Concerning the Al Aqsa Mosque, please refer to Eye of Prophecy article: The Myth of Al Aqsa Mosque (4-16-16). Which conclusively confirms that this mosque was not the mosque visited by Mohammed in what was a mythical journey to Jerusalem to begin with.

(Temple Mount: Western wall in center of picture; Dome of the Rock in upper center; Al Aqsa Mosque far right center; top of Eastern Wall upper right center, just to the right of line of trees)

Controversy Over the Eastern Gate

President Trump’s Deal of the Century, drafted primarily by his advisors Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner, has been in the news for over a year. However, the U.S. Executive Staff has decided not to publicize this Middle East peace proposal until after Israel’s elections scheduled for April 9, 2019.

There has been rampant speculation over details of the plan, mostly from Muslim nations and especially from the Palestinian Authority. Without even knowing its contents, PA President Abbas has rejected the deal out of hand. In fact, Abbas has cut off all diplomatic relations with the United States; asserting that America will not be allowed to broker any agreement because he alleges that the deal will heavily favor Israel. This despite President Trump himself saying that both Israelis and Palestinians will need to make some hard concessions.

One of these (many) rumors has intensified the already deteriorating relations between Israel and Jordan—which is only one of two countries (Egypt is the other) that has formally recognized Israel as a sovereign state. King Abdullah of Jordan is worried that one of Trump’s proposals (if it is part of the deal) will substantially reduce or even eliminate the Jordanian Waqf’s administrative control of all holy sites in Israel, particularly Temple Mount.

Consequently, the Waqf Islamic Council conducted a conference on February 14^th on Temple Mount itself. During this meeting, representatives of the Jordanian Ministry of Endowment participated in a guided tour of the Mercy Gate compound.

*Note: Because most of the recent media coverage, including articles from the Associated Press, has referred to the Eastern Gate by one of its other names (Gate of Mercy or Mercy Gate), I’ll refer to it by that designation in this section of today’s article.

In that February meeting the Waqf Council, with King Abdullah’s implied consent, added several Palestinian Authority officials to the council’s membership. This was a slap in the face against Israel as Israelis know that increased Palestinian administration of Temple Mount would lead directly to more aggressive action to do whatever they wanted to and on Temple Mount. Which, in turn, would undermine the status quo, i.e. stated and implied agreements regarding its daily management.

Which is exactly what transpired and in a hostile way. Not long after this conference, Palestinians tore down fence barriers guarding the Mercy Gate, motivated by the Waqf’s decree that this compound would be reopened to Palestinians—in deliberate defiance of Israel’s ultimate sovereignty over Temple Mount. On February 20^th, the Palestinians began to hold prayer sessions in this gate area.

Israel had closed this gate to the Palestinians in 2003 for two reasons: (1) Several of those who “managed” the Mercy Gate compound were found to have direct ties with the terrorist group Hamas; (2) Illegal excavation by the Waqf itself that resulted in destruction or disposal of valuable Jewish artifacts; thereby, degrading this priceless archaeology site. For the express purpose of eliminating all physical evidence of the existence of both Temples that gave rise to the very name of this Jewish holy site … Temple Mount.

Although this initial confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians resulted in closure of the entire Temple Mount area, it was soon reopened to Arabs. But that reopening only encouraged more Palestinian clashes with police, culminating in a firebombing of a small police station on Temple Mount itself on March 12^th, 2019. Following that incident, Israelis prohibited any gathering at the Mercy Gate compound but subsequently permitted Palestinian egress through other gate(s) access to Temple Mount via the Muslim and Christian quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem.

After sporadic clashes over several days between Palestinians and Israeli police, Israel issued a court order on March 17, 2019 to completely reclose the Mercy Gate. Israel has given Jordan 60 days to reply to this directive, with the implied response that of honoring the court’s legal decision and returning to the status quo in place before the whole Mercy Gate episode began. One Jordanian reaction was for some of its government officials to call for expulsion of Israel’s ambassador to Jordan—which hasn’t yet been done.

Even though it was the Jordanian/Palestinian Waqf Council that defiantly initiated this sequence of events, Waqf Chairman, Sheikh Abdelazeem Salhab declared that the Israeli court order was an, “…escalation of the attack on Bab al-Rahma (Arabic name for Mercy Gate). That the Israeli response (for that is exactly what Israel did … respond not initiate) “was an aggression against Jerusalem and holy sites for electoral purposes.”

Abdul Abu Basal, Jordan’s Minister of Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, characterized Israel’s prevention of Palestinian activities in or near the Mercy Gate compound as, “an attack on all Muslims that touches the entire Islamic nation” (He meant the entire Islamic world).

This is common Muslim/Palestinian twisted logic and tainted tactic; to blame Israel for the very things that Arabs do or say that sparks any given incident initiated by the Palestinians—in this case condoned and even assisted by Jordan.

Currently, Israeli and Jordanian officials are conducting negotiations to resolve the “status-quo” dispute. With, however, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry again demanding that Israel rescind its “dangerous” closure of the Mercy Gate. Stating that the compound, “…is not subject to Israeli jurisdiction.” That it comes under the “…exclusive authority of the Waqf.”

This statement is a deceitful distortion of agreements reached after Israel’s resounding victory in the Six-Day War. As a result of the Israelis liberating all Jerusalem from illegal Jordanian control in 1967, Israel extended functional authority of Temple Mount to Jordan. Not “exclusive authority.”

Israel has the final word in the matter. So says Israel and so says the true and living God of Israel.

“…This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: ‘The towns of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem as his own’” (Zechariah 1:17).

Those who deny any of the Promised Land (especially Jerusalem and Temple Mount) as given by God to the descendants of Abraham are only setting themselves up for utter disgrace and destruction. They will learn this the hard way when:

(Verse 17 then says: “…Jerusalem will be holy forever, and foreign armies will never conquer her again.”)

The day is soon coming when another of the Lord’s promises will come to pass: “Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourself with strength. Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer” (Isaiah 52:1).

Clarification of What Constitutes the Eastern Gate (Mercy Gate) Itself

If you’re quite familiar with Jerusalem’s Eastern Gate; or even if the only thing you know is that the Eastern Gate was supposed to be sealed tight, then your initial reaction is probably the same as mine. Which was:

What do journalists mean when they say that the Mercy Gate (some qualify by saying Mercy Gate “compound”) had been forcibly opened and infiltrated by Palestinians in defiance of Israel’s closing the gate in 2003?

Does that mean that the Eastern Gate had been opened, then closed, then reopened in the 21^st Century?

If so, then the following Biblical prophecy would be inaccurate:

“Then the man brought me back to the east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area, but it was closed. And the Lord said to me, ‘This gate must remain closed; it will never again be opened. No one will ever open it and pass through, for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered here. Therefore, it must always remain shut’” (Ezekiel 44:1-2, italics as a prelude to answering the question of the Eastern Gate currently sealed or open).

In a moment we’ll examine the full chronological context of the Eastern Gate’s closure; when it was last sealed, if/when it will be reopened and by whom. For now, let’s clarify what reporters and Op-ed writers meant when they referenced The Mercy Gate.

In reading the media accounts as this conflict unfolded over several weeks, I subsequently realized that the Eastern Gate (Mercy Gate) itself was not the compound referred to by the media.

During my trip to Israel in March 2006, the Gate was completely intact and sealed tight as it had been for centuries. Below is one of many photographs clearly depicting the Eastern Gate. Because most on-line photographs of the eastern wall (gate) are not dated, it’s somewhat difficult to determine when they were taken. But no matter how recent the photos are or are not, the fact remains that the exterior Eastern Gate itself is still tightly sealed!

(Eastern Gate exterior: a double gate, but considered as one entrance)

Thus, the puzzle of whether this Gate had been opened or not is solved by awareness that the Mercy Gate complex identified by the media is exclusively situated on the interior of the Eastern wall. In contrast to the intact, unopened Eastern Gate of the OUTER WALL! (Just as Ezekiel 44:1-2 says … east gateway in the outer wall of the Temple area)!

Access to the inner wall area is only possible by entering through one of the other exterior gates to the Old City, then walking to the interior metal gate entrances that lead to the chamber of the Mercy Gate compound.

(Shows what is described as the Mercy Gate “compound” area. Note metal gate entrance in lower left which leads to interior chambers. This photo taken soon after the Palestinian seizure of and unlawful gathering inside the sealed outer Eastern Gate)

I didn’t realize that there is an interior chamber on the other side of the exterior Eastern Gate, let alone as large as it is. In that regard, I was thinking in terms of most tourists and even many Israelis (who also didn’t know about the inner chambers). Which is: Recognition and identification of the Mercy Gate (Eastern Gate) as the exterior sealed gate that faces the Kidron Valley directly across from the Mount of Olives. Which is, in fact, the actual East Gate as identified in Scripture.

The far end of these ancient interior rooms face the Dome of the Rock, which currently occupies the space where Solomon’s Temple, then the 2^nd Temple stood. It is in and immediately outside these chambers where Muslims want to establish another prayer site on Temple Mount. Not that they need another … they already have the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque. Rather, their agenda is to further discredit the historical reality of the two Jewish Temples on Mount Moriah … Temple Mount. And to prevent any further Judaizing of Jerusalem and Temple Mount.

When in fact: all Israel is as Jewish as anything can be! To deny this is to refute both Biblical and secular history. If someone is going to do that, they might as well rewrite any history that doesn’t suit their narrative. Which is exactly what many Muslims and Palestinians are doing.

(Palestinians inside the interior rooms or chambers)

(Palestinians with prayer rugs worshipping in the outer area of the interior Mercy Gate compound, before the Israeli court order of 3-17-19)

Ezekiel’s Prophecies of Temple Mount … The Fascinating Sequence of Events

To further appreciate the historical accuracy of the Lord’s disclosure to Ezekiel (Eastern Gate must remain shut), we must place that prophecy in its precise prophetic context. The background begins in Ezekiel Chapter 40 and continues through Chapter 48 (the last chapter) of Ezekiel—the astonishing prediction of the rebuilt Third Temple. Both Daniel (Chapter 9) and Jesus in his Mount Olivet discourse (Mathew Chapters 24-25) subsequently allude to the rebuilt Temple and its desecration that takes place during the Tribulation.

From our historical hindsight vantage point, we know that Ezekiel is not referring to the 2^nd Temple (called Herod’s Temple), because God’s Shekinah glory never returned to that Temple after it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel and renovated by King Herod some 500 years later. Plus, the Lord had already foretold the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, and, in fact, had already departed from the Temple as witnessed (in real-time) by Ezekiel earlier in his ministry.

“Then the glory of the Lord moved out from the door of the Temple and hovered above the cherubim. And as I watched, the cherubim flew with their wheels to the east gate of the Lord’s Temple…. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the city and stopped above the mountain to the east (Mount of Olives)” (Ezekiel 10:18-19 & 11:23, parenthesis mine).

After the 3^rd Temple will be rebuilt, we read this amazing vision given to Ezekiel of the Lord’s return to this Temple:

“After this, the man brought me back around to the east gateway. Suddenly, the glory of the God of Israel appeared from the east… And the glory of the Lord came into the Temple through the east gateway. Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple” (Ezekiel 43:1-5, italics for emphasis).

Then in the first two verses of Ezekiel Chapter 44 (which we read a few paragraphs ago), the Lord’s instructions for the East Gate of the outer wall to be kept shut … meaning until the Messiah would come. As other prophets tell us: Messiah’s appearance would (first) be to bring a new and final way of spiritual redemption to Israel, accomplished when Messiah Jesus initiated the New Covenant with his sacrificial death on the Cross and sealed that Covenant when he arose from the dead. Followed by Messiah’s return to establish the Kingdom of God on earth as contained in dozens of Old Testament prophecies.

*Note: “The man” who disclosed all these things concerning the 3^rd Temple was none other than Messiah Jesus in one of his Pre-Incarnate appearances during Old Testament times. See Eye of Prophecy article: Messiah’s Amazing Appearances Before He Was Born (posted 10-6-18).

The fact that it was Messiah himself who revealed the 3^rd Temple and the Lord’s (permanent) return to that Temple is no coincidence. It will be Messiah Jesus (Son of God and God the Son, express image of the Father … Colossians 1:15) who will enter Temple Mount directly through the Eastern Gate, that he himself will open.

Just as Ezekiel said the glory of God would appear (to the 3^rd rebuilt Temple) from the east; so did Jesus in foretelling his return say as a validation of Ezekiel’s prophecy, “For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes” (Matthew 24:27).

Therefore, the shutting and sealing of the Eastern Gate relates expressly to the return of Messiah to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Which is why the Eastern Gate was open (having been restored along with all the walls and gates of Jerusalem by Nehemiah) during Jesus’s first arrival to earth … born of a Virgin, fully God and fully man. As the Son of God, Jesus knew full well that he would be rejected and crucified, but only after he entered Jerusalem hailed as the Messiah.

Because Jesus was/is God (John 1:1), God’s glory entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Jesus rode on a donkey as prophesied by Zechariah (Chapter 9) into the Temple complex directly through the Eastern Gate. He began this ride on the Mount of Olives.

“As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. ‘Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!’” (Luke 19:36-38, italics to emphasize that this road led directly to the Eastern Gate and heaven’s glory entered through that gate).

(Depiction of Jesus after entering through the Eastern Gate on Palm Sunday. Believe this is an accurate portrayal as Jesus probably would have gotten off the donkey after his entrance)

However, because Messiah’s glorious entrance into Jerusalem was temporary, the gate must be (would later be) shut and sealed until God’s glory would return permanently to the Temple, i.e. Jesus’s Second Coming and Messianic reign from Jerusalem. Not until the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven at the end of the Millennium, will God the Father also dwell forever among his people—all those who have been redeemed by believing and receiving Messiah Jesus as personal Savior (See Revelation 21:1-7).

As we know, the Roman Empire destroyed Jerusalem and the 2^nd Temple in A.D. 70. It wasn’t until the 16^th century that the outer walls and most gates of Jerusalem were fully restored by (as indicated earlier) Suleiman, the Ottoman Turk Sultan. Which is in keeping with God’s providential plan to sometimes use Gentile rulers to accomplish his sovereign will, i.e. Persian King Cyrus’s edict to rebuild the Temple and later Artaxerxes to restore the walls and gates of Jerusalem.

Yet, Suleiman did something completely unexpected. It’s highly unlikely that he knew anything about God’s prophetic purpose that the Eastern gate be kept shut; however, Suleiman was aware that a Jewish Messiah was supposed to arrive in Jerusalem someday through that Eastern Gate. And according to Jewish tradition, his appearance would be preceded by Elijah the Prophet.

Consequently, Suleiman ordered that the Eastern Gate be totally sealed, and a cemetery for Muslim graves be built in front of the outer gate. This would (presumably) prevent Elijah and the Jewish Messiah from fulfilling the prophecy of returning to Jerusalem via the Eastern Gate of Temple Mount, as no Jew would ever defile themselves by walking through a Gentile cemetery, especially one with Muslim graves!

Thus, in sealing the Eastern Gate to prevent Messiah’s prophetic return, this Gentile ruler unwittingly fulfilled Biblical prophecy!

Such is the sovereignty of our great and glorious God. What he says will happen, always happens. I repeat for emphasis: ALWAYS.

What he declares will not happen (opening of the Eastern Gate until Messiah does so himself) will not happen.

There is no one like the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. None but He can declare the end from the beginning. And then make it happen!

Things to Ponder

Do you think Jesus Christ will be defiled by a few graves or deterred by the sealed gate itself? Hardly. Nothing defiled Jesus because he was undefiled … without sin. Jesus not only touched the untouchable (unclean) lepers and healed them, he also raised Lazarus from the dead by merely speaking to him.

He will open the Eastern gate with a touch of his hand or a word from his mouth.

I wasn’t worried that the Beautiful, Mercy, Golden, Eastern Gate had been opened; therefore, questioning the Lord’s prophetic plan. But, at first, it did get my attention. What’s going on here?

There had to be an explanation. Now I/We know the full story behind yet another incident that fits perfectly with Biblical prophecies of the end times. We’re living in those very last days.

“Open up ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter” (Psalm 24:7).

There are also (spiritual) roads and gates that we must choose … through which one to pass.

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13-14, words of Jesus).

Said the prophet Isaiah who foretold of the coming Messiah’s (first) mission: “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6, NASB).

Messiah Jesus declared: “…I tell you the truth. I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved…” (John 10:7-9).

Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Open the Eastern Gate and from Jerusalem establish your Kingdom of Righteousness, Justice, and Shalom on the Earth.

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!

Praise to the Lion from the Tribe of Judah!

Prophetic: “relating to or characteristic of … prophecy” (Webster’s Dictionary).

Hold on to your prophetic hat; the winds of war are blowing stronger than ever. The conflict between Israel and Iran is heating up even more!

On January 20^st, 2019, Israel launched a massive (daylight) airstrike on Iranian and Syrian military installations near the Damascus airport. At last count the death toll stood at 21, twelve of those fatalities Iranian. This barrage was in response to an Iranian missile fired at the Golan Heights, aimed directly at an Israeli ski-resort on Mount Hermon. Fortunately, this large missile was shot down by Israel’s Iron Dome Defense System.

Said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “We are acting against Iran and against the Syrian forces that abet the Iranian aggression. Whoever tries to hurt us—we hurt them. Whoever threatens to destroy us will bear full responsibility.”

Which prompted Syrian envoy to the United Nations, Bashar Al Ja’afari to threaten a possible Syrian attack against Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel.

In reaction to Netanyahu’s statement, Iranian Air Force Commander Aziz Nasir-Zadeh made yet another threat—like many over the past few years from Iranian officials, military leaders, and the Ayatollah himself. Zadeh boasted that Iran is ready for, “the decisive war against Israel.” That Iranian forces, “are fully ready and impatient to confront the Zionist regime and eliminate it from the Earth….”

Iran is resolutely committed to Israel’s destruction, the sooner the better … another ominous sign of the last days.

Which has little to do with the global outcry for a two-state solution or the soon to come seven-year treaty between Israel and Islam … for now. But will have a great deal of relevance after that treaty, because there will be a (remarkable, but temporary) cessation of overt hostility between Israel and Iran and between Israel and the Palestinians.

Anyone who knows just a little about Iran’s ongoing threats to annihilate Israel, understands that any peace agreement or even semblance of reconciliation between Iran’s radical Islamic regime and Israel’s democracy is more than just unlikely. It’s impossible in today’s world. But today will soon become tomorrow’s Day of the Lord; triggered by the Rapture, followed almost immediately by reappearance of the Antichrist beast and his seven-year treaty. And not long afterward by the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel led by Iran, Russia, and Turkey.

The Gog/Magog campaign will take place after and only because of this treaty between Israel and (mostly) Arab nations. A solution that the whole world deemed impossible. Turkey and Iran are Islamic countries, but they are not Arabic. However, both nations will at least tolerate this treaty because they won’t be able to do anything about it (at the time of the treaty).

Webster’s Dictionary defines impossible: “felt to be incapable of being done, attained, or fulfilled; insuperably difficult; hopeless.” In today’s vernacular: No way.

Here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article, Diplomacy with Israel Despite Anti-Semitism … A Puzzling Paradox (posted 1-12-19), the most recent of several prior articles regarding both the seven-Year Treaty and the Gog/Magog invasion against an unprepared Israel as a result of “peace” guaranteed by the treaty.

…This treaty will be almost as astounding as Nero’s return from the grave (Abyss). It will be an agreement that the entire world sought after but couldn’t achieve just a short time before.

I’m convinced that even President Trump’s “deal of the century” (whenever his staff reveals it, as it has again been delayed due to early Israeli elections to be held April 9, 2019) between Israel and the Palestinians will fail. It will be rejected by one or both sides; if accepted, it will fall apart soon thereafter. Scripture is clear that it will be Antichrist who arranges this (seven-year) treaty; albeit it one that Nero himself will break.

…Except for those who will see through this Messiah-imposter and not be so amazed by his reappearance (because they knew who he would be ahead of time!), the world-at-large will be dumbfounded by this impossible treaty. If Nero (anyone) could single-handedly bring peace between Jew and Arab (the essence of the treaty) and an unheard-of calm in the Middle East, then peace would be possible throughout the earth. For there could be no greater treaty than between the longest lasting foes known to mankind … Jews and Arabs.

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.

The Two-State Solution

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.

Although my first book O Israel (published September 2007) is classified as a futuristic novel, as the setting is just before and after the Rapture, it is based on Biblical prophecy, history, and current events in the Middle East. Events that are as relevant today as twelve years ago.

One of the more captivating chapters (author’s opinion!) of that book concerns the seven-year treaty orchestrated by the Antichrist between Israel and Arab nations surrounding Israel as well as with the Palestinians within Israel. Here is a list of concessions made by both sides; that were “influenced greatly” by the Antichrist regarding the same issues which are paramount to this very day.

Muslim/Arab/Palestinian Concessions

• Recognition of Israel as a Sovereign State (as of now, only two Arab nations recognize Israel’s sovereignty… Egypt and Jordan)
• Israel granted a seat on the United Nations Security Council (more of an international concession)
• An Israeli Embassy in all but two of the Muslim/Arab nations
• Jerusalem recognized as Israel’s capital by all signatory nations to the treaty

Israeli Concessions

• All Gaza and West Bank checkpoints turned over to the Palestinians, with minor conditions; resulting in free passage throughout Israel for all Palestinians
• If no terrorist attacks or mortar launchings by the Palestinians for one year’s time, Israel would recognize a Palestinian State within the borders of Israel (italics to emphasis the “if” condition) Assuming, of course, that the two sides could agree on the boundaries
• At all times, Arab citizens of Israel would have a minimum of sixteen Knesset members (currently there are 12 such members)
• Except for convicted murderers, all Palestinian, Arab, and international prisoners would be released, with condition that they return to their homeland … not remain in Israel proper
• An allotment of the (so-called) Palestinian refugees in various Arab/Muslim nations could return to Israel. Limited to 150,000 and to refugees 40-years old and older

As you can see, up to this point of the Israeli Prime Minister’s address to the nation—his fictional name is Ilan Rosen—there were four Arab/Palestinian concessions compared to five from the Israelis. However, Ilan deliberately (with the ploy to create suspense) saved the best for last … the fifth concession of the Palestinians and Arabs world-wide.

Here is the excerpt from O Israel describing that (impossible) agreement, with Ilan’s words in quotation marks and the entire closing scene in italics.

“Ladies and gentlemen… Both sides to a treaty can be stubborn, especially in the beginning negotiations and sometimes until the very end. This treaty would not have been possible without one additional miracle” (Note: the first miracle mentioned earlier in his speech was the rebirth of Israel as a nation).

With a classic pause for effect, he continued. “This one has also been two thousand years in the making. Effective the day after the treaty is signed, we will begin construction of Jerusalem’s third temple. The location of our temple will be none other than Temple Mount.”

Barak stood with Netanya near the back of the crowd, his arm around her waist. He had begun to withdraw his arm for another round of applause. Paralyzed by Ilan’s words, his body froze. With Netanya and the entire crowd, his jaw dropped. Religious or secular, for or against a rebuilt temple, it did not matter. Israel gasped as such a tremendous accomplishment, both real and symbolic.

The bewildered crowd exploded in jubilation. All of Israel joined them with shouting, laughing, weeping, and dancing. Loud cries of ‘Praise God’ erupted from the chief rabbi, who had leaped from his chair only a few feet from Ilan. Soldiers began to sing. Politicians praised their prime minister with a symphony of continuous adulation. An orthodox rabbi jumped in the air. He pointed in the direction of Temple Mount, fell to his hands and knees, and kissed the ground. Children screamed in delight. A young liberal rabbi did a backflip. Then another one.

Cars and busses screeched to a halt, doors flung open, and occupants pranced around their cars with outstretched arms. From every building in Israel, the celebration spilled into the streets. People held hands and danced in circles to the right. Circles within circles danced to the left. They struck beautiful chords of harmony as they sang, ‘Hava Nagila.’ Strangers hugged and kissed. The orchestra had become a concert ensemble, replete with singers and dancers. Like floodwaters from a breached dam, cascading chants filled the air.

‘Eelan—Isra’el! Eelan—Isra’el! Eelan—Isra’el!’

Such rejoicing had not been heard since Israel achieved statehood. Some would say not since the Exodus (O Israel, Chapter 19, pages 185-186).

(Jews celebrating passage of UN Resolution 181, which led to rebirth of Israel six months later)

Although the above listed issues between Israel and the Palestinians (as well as Muslim nations) have existed mostly since Israel’s rebirth in 1948, there are two that are the most contentious and most globally discussed as we near the third decade of the 21^st century. They are Palestinian demands presented thus far as non-negotiable that:

(1) All Palestinian refugees remaining from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence (when Israel was attacked by five Arab nations and some 700,000 Arabs fled Israel—most at the demand of the Arab armies) PLUS their descendants, who are not officially refugees at all by United Nations’ definition of refugee, have the right of return to Israel. Please see Eye of Prophecy articles: Palestinian Refugees … Are They Really Refugees? (Posted 1-27-18). And, The ‘Right of Return’ … For Palestinians or Jews? (4-7-18).

(2) East portion of Jerusalem to be separated somehow (logistically … virtually impossible) from West Jerusalem with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State.

Which, as these demands now stand, are also off the table with the Israelis. Although Israel might allow the original Arab refugees still alive (estimates vary, but around 20,000) and a limited number of their children (2^nd generation) to return, there’s no way that Israel will permit Jerusalem to be divided. Nor should they, despite pressure from virtually the entire world, possibly even the United States … if President’s Trump “deal of the century” calls for a Palestinian state capital in (so-called) east Jerusalem. When in fact the Palestinian capital could and should easily be placed in Ramallah—the current headquarters of the Palestinian Authority.

The ONLY reason why the Palestinians want a capital in the eastern section of Jerusalem is because Israel’s capital is in Jerusalem. West Jerusalem according to the Palestinians and most of the uninformed world. But to Israeli Jews … Jerusalem. Period.

Is Then, A Two-State Solution Possible … Even Feasible?

Not now. Not until a 2,000-year old Roman Emperor reappears to a chaotic world after hundreds of millions are taken from this earth.

The irreconcilable differences between the Palestinians and Israelis—especially concerning refugees and capitals—are but the bottom half of the iceberg. The iceberg tip has begun to increase in size, one that would be as much of an obstacle to the two-state solution as the lower half. I’m referring to the widening ice-cold expanse between the Palestinians themselves.

How can there be a (one) Palestinian state when the Palestinian Authority wants it in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip? Even if they agree geographically, they’re not even close politically. Who will run the government? If the Palestinians returned to the negotiating table with Israel, which of these two groups would represent them?

What would it take for the Palestinians to agree on the boundaries (location) of their own state? That’s like asking what it would take for water to naturally flow uphill. The nearest that the Palestinians have come to identifying such boundaries are the cease-fire lines drawn after Israel soundly defeated the Arabs in the Six-Day War. As a reminder, Israel reclaimed all of Judea Samaria, all of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and most of the Golan Heights in that stunning victory. Then relinquished much of these areas back to Egypt, Jordan, and eventually the Palestinians, i.e. Gaza in 2005. Whatever boundaries both sides might agree to, the Palestinians still have sworn not to give up their “right of return” and East Jerusalem capital demands.

If Israel conceded the pre-1967 boundaries (essentially giving back everything won in the 1967 War, reaffirmed by the subsequent victory in the Yom Kippur War of 1973), then Israel’s security would be jeopardized beyond what the Israelis (any country or people) could or would accept. This is particularly true with the Jordan Valley and the Golan Heights.

In fact, a Palestinian state anywhere in Israel is not a solution at all. It would create a bigger problem than already exists in any number of areas.

For example (one that isn’t even as significant as other disastrous conditions that a two-state solution would cause): It’s a foregone conclusion that a Palestinian State would not preclude lone-wolf terrorists from infiltrating Israel and killing Israelis. As has been the case thus far: after attacking Israelis, some of these terrorists will manage to escape. If they made it back to the confines of a Palestinian State, Israel would no longer be allowed to enter that state to hunt down the murderers. That would be a “violation of a sovereign border.” The likelihood of the Palestinians extraditing the suspect back to Israel would be nil. This and other scenarios (like terrorist cells from other nations entering the Palestinian State borders) would much more likely lead to all-out war between Israel and a Palestinian State.

Nevertheless, virtually the entire world subscribes to the illogical premise that a two-state solution would solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. AND would alleviate, if not eliminate, nearly all other problems in the Middle East … an even more absurd presumption.

What does the civil war in Syria and all other Arab spring uprisings in other Muslim nations like Libya, Yemen, Algeria; or Muslims killing other Muslims have to do with Israel or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Or millions of Muslim refugees now in European countries? Or the emergence of one Islamic terrorist group after another? (Most Muslim terrorists’ ultimate objective is to eliminate Israel, but not to “resolve” the Israeli/Palestinian dilemma). Or dissolution discord between the PA and Hamas? About the only thing these two rival Palestinian groups have in common is the destruction of Israel. But they can’t even agree on the best way to accomplish this devious goal.

(If even half of over 5 million Palestinian “refugees” returned, they would flood Israel with a population imbalance that would, in and of itself, demographically spell the end of the democratic Jewish State of Israel)

The western and eastern countries of the world are preoccupied with the Middle East in general. However, they are obsessed with Israel and the preposterous perception that a Palestinian State would be the magic formula that would somehow make 1 + 1 = 3. (Another Arab state alongside the Jewish state would bring peace to everyone else, i.e. the 3^rd parties of the Middle East).

More Insight About the Seven-Year Treaty Orchestrated by Antichrist Nero

Referencing again the earlier excerpt from my novel O Israel, regarding the amazing seven-year treaty in which all Israel (as expected) would praise their Prime Minister; before Ilan Rosen listed the terms of the treaty, he made these introductory remarks:

“I must acknowledge the splendid efforts made by all parties, especially by the European Union, and specifically by its president, Juan Iago Castilla. Mr. Castilla mediated the more difficult articles of this covenant. He proposed the most radical compromise—one that your own government did not think to introduce….” (Chapter 19, page 183).

That proposal would be the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, the crowning achievement of the treaty for Israelis. In my novel, Juan Castilla is the Antichrist. As indicated in my second book, Out of the Abyss, I had begun to write a sequel to O Israel, with further development of the character of Antichrist Castilla, when the Lord interrupted this project with a dramatic disclosure (insight) to me. This occurred in November 2008, based on the stunning but plain meaning of Revelation 17:7-8 … the Antichrist beast had already lived and died before John even wrote Revelation! In turn, this led to intensive study of every single passage about the Antichrist.

This refitting of the prophetic puzzle based on Scripture plus 1^st century church and secular history, challenges the prevailing view that the Antichrist will be a modern-day born man.

Although the Eye of Prophecy website (280 articles to date) that I began in July 2013 is much more than just about the Antichrist, many of the 54 articles in the category of Antichrist provide amplified evidence that the Roman Emperor Nero is, in fact, this man; who will reappear from the Abyss to the utter amazement of those left behind at the Rapture.

Nero’s astonishing return, combined with the unprecedented (in just the past year or so) improvement of diplomatic relations between Israel and many nations of the world, will provide a climate of conciliation to accomplish the impossible—a treaty between Israel and Muslim nations.

As depicted in my novel, this treaty includes Israel’s concession to the creation of a Palestinian State; yet, with conditions. However, with the underlying reservation that creation of such a state wasn’t feasible or even possible; that, at best, it would only be a “paper state” without actual implementation. As indicated, that is true now and will be until the Rapture.

This week’s article is based on something that I had not fully grasped before. My emphasis had been on the seven-year treaty that will guarantee peace between the Jews and Arabs/Muslims throughout the entire Middle East. Which it will. However, just a few days ago I more fully realized that the formation of a Palestinian State (two-state solution) will be one of the two critical components of the treaty. An Arab state of their own with boundaries conceded by Israel not thought possible, will be to the Palestinians what the rebuilt Temple will be to the Jews!

(Depiction of Rebuilt Temple Superimposed on an actual picture of Temple Mount, just to the right of the Dome of the Rock)

Next, came the thought that there would (must) be a passage or two in Scripture that I had not considered in the immediate context of a Palestinian State. Obviously, there’s nothing in the Bible that speaks directly of such a state, nor would that be necessary if there were passages which would otherwise clearly make such a connection. In fact, that’s the essence of matching Biblical prophecies that don’t name or identify a specific last day’s development. Instead, we must accurately correlate such events with the prophetic description (language, terms) foretold long ago.

Lo and behold. There are such references!

Concerning the ten concessions, five by Arabs and five by Jews in this seven-year treaty as depicted in my novel O Israel, all but one was supposition.

However, the other nine were reality-based on the prevailing issues between the two sides that have arisen primarily in the past few decades (the end-time generation) and have intensified in just the past year or so. Now there are two that I’m convinced will be a sure thing: The rebuilt Temple and a Palestinian State! With the remaining eight treaty points most likely—to some degree or another—key ingredients of the seven-year treaty arranged by Antichrist Nero soon after the Rapture.

Concerning the rebuilt Jewish Temple:

“The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven (seven years), but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him” (Daniel 9:27).

The Temple can’t be desecrated unless it once again exists. The sacrifices and offerings can’t begin until the Temple is rebuilt, and they won’t cease until half-way through the treaty. Thus, the treaty will (must) include the rebuilt Temple.

Concerning Scriptural Evidence of a Post-Rapture Palestinian State

First Passage:

Daniel Chapter 11 foretells of Antichrist’s prototype Antiochus Epiphanes IV and rulers of the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Greek/Syrian dynasties created after Alexander the Great’s kingdom was divided into four parts. However, beginning with verse 36 to the end of the chapter, the prophecy switches to the final ruler (Antichrist).

We’ll begin with verse 37: “He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts. Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward” (Daniel 11:37-39, italics for emphasis).

Time/space doesn’t permit elaboration in today’s post; however, much documentation is provided in Out of the Abyss and a few prior articles. I’m referring to more proof that Nero is the Antichrist because he was the one Emperor of his time who placed absolutely no stock in the Roman gods of his immediate ancestors. Much like the agnostic Adolph Hitler, Nero was heavily into art—Hitler as a would-be architect/painter and admirer of classic paintings. Nero as a would-be playwright and poet. The god not known by his ancestors is the Arabic moon-god Allah—chosen by Mohammed in the 6^th century A.D. to be the god of Islam. It will be Allah that Nero will (pretend to) worship, to gain the support of Islamic nations.

Returning to the italicized portion of the quoted passage, notice that Antichrist will not only dole out positions of authority to those who submit to him, but also parcel out land. And not just land in general, but first and foremost the land of Israel. Later in this passage, we read that Antichrist will “enter the glorious land of Israel” near the end of the tribulation when he and his coalition are threatened by a leader (of several nations) from the south. The entire chapter of Daniel 11 focuses on the land of Israel; as first invaded by Antiochus IV (2^nd century B.C.), then by an even greater king (Antichrist) during the tribulation.

Other Biblical translations state that land (especially “the land” Israel) will be given by the ruler for “a price.” That price is not gold, silver, etc. Conversely, the passage says that it will be the ruler who distributes much of his treasure to this god of fortresses (Allah, Islam).

In the immediate context of the passage as applied to Israel, the price paid for a partition (division) of Israel into two states are Palestinian/Arab concessions indirectly to Antichrist and directly to Israel, not the least of which is a rebuilt Jewish Temple. That will have already taken place early in the Tribulation with the seven-year treaty.

Although most Israelis won’t “submit” (kowtowing with complete allegiance as do the Palestinians) to Nero, as a matter of expediency they will agree to the terms of the treaty. Otherwise, Israel wouldn’t be able to erect its Temple—something that will take precedence over every other item of negotiation in this treaty. If Israel can rebuild the Temple on Temple Mount and resume the long-lost sacrifices and offerings, they’ll certainly agree to a Palestinian State which will geographically and geopolitically divide Israel’s sovereignty into two-states.

Second Passage:

This passage concerns the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel, which will take place in the early part of the Great Tribulation, not long after the seven-year treaty. It also further confirms the probability (what I’m now convinced is a certainty) that this treaty will include a Palestinian State. A state that won’t last more than a few months, because all of Gog’s allies will be destroyed. Those from without Israel and those from within! And, excepting the rebuilt Temple, the implementation (logistics) of other treaty points will barely be underway when Gog invades Israel.

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

The Lord says much more in this chapter and the next about what he will do to the Magog coalition, as well as Gog’s allies “who live safely on the coasts” (Ezekiel 39:6). One of those allies currently occupies land along the Mediterranean coast … the Gaza Strip!

(Note Gaza’s prime location on the sea. The “West Bank” also contains some of Israel’s choicest land. “Territories” is a functional designation, i.e. where non-citizen Palestinians reside)

I’ve sometimes wondered why God will cause “a mighty shaking in the land of Israel.” When, in fact, he will sovereignly protect Israel and defeat this massive alliance without Israel needing to fight at all. This shaking of Israel may be partially symbolic, but it will obviously involve physical phenomena. Such as (the physical) “summon the sword against you (Gog) on all the hills of Israel” (Ezekiel 38:21). *Note: Many of Israel’s hills are in Judea Samaria, currently occupied by the Palestinians of the (misnomer) West Bank. And the all too real, “disease and bloodshed … torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur” (Verse 22) that God pours out on this arrogant Gog/Magog confederacy. There’s nothing metaphorical about those calamities!

Whatever form this shaking takes, I’m persuaded that the damage and casualties also will be directed at the Palestinian occupied territory, which by then will be a sovereign state. It very well could (and probably will be) a scenario like the ten plagues against Pharaoh and Egypt that did not affect the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived. Also akin to some of the trumpet and bowl judgments during the Tribulation that strike only the Antichrist and his regime.

Summary

There is a third passage to provide more confirmation of a Palestinian state after the Rapture.

“At the time of those events, says the Lord, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem (that began with the rebirth of Israel in 1948), I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat (which means the Lord judges). 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, italics for emphasis, parenthesis mine).

If the Lord doesn’t totally dismember a Palestinian State during his astounding defeat of Gog/Magog, he will finish the task during the battle for Jerusalem (Zechariah 12 & 14), which is soon followed (within weeks or days) by the greatest conflict of all time—Armageddon in the Valley of Megiddo.

The final “scattering my people among the nations” took place when Rome completely conquered Israel and destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Although the Roman Empire (secular) was subsequently punished by the Lord for the devastation of Israel and exile of the Jews, God’s final judgment of this ungodly empire will be against the religious Rome of today’s world during the Tribulation. Please see Eye of Prophecy trilogy: Shameful Saga of the Great City (Revelation 17); Cunning Makeover of the Great City (Revelation 17); Humiliating End of the Great City (Revelation 17). Posted 5-26, 6-2, & 6-9-18.

Joel also clearly states that the Lord will judge those, “for dividing up my land.”

Question: When was Israel divided? I’m guessing the immediate (but tentative) response by most would be: When the Jews were exiled by Rome? Or perhaps, I’m not sure but wasn’t Israel divided sometime in history?

Historically Correct Answer: Other than when Israel divided itself into the northern and southern kingdoms in the post-Solomon era, Israel has never actually been divided by other nations, rulers, armies, or international entities. Not officially, not into anything approaching sovereign states recognized globally. The Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the UN Resolution of 1947 that called for a partition of “Palestine” which led directly to Israel’s rebirth did not (has not yet) resulted in dividing Israel … into two sovereign states.

Reason: The Arabs rejected both proposals, which is why there never has been nor is to this day a Palestinian State.

Bigger reason: It wasn’t (isn’t) yet God’s time for that to happen!

When the Lord refers to Israel, particularly in the hundreds of Biblical end-times prophecies, it’s always as a nation. When he refers to Israel and Judah, it pertains to their end-times reunion.

(Division of Israel in the 1st century was only into regions governed by the Herodian dynasty, as appointed/approved by the Romans. It was still the nation of Israel)

Much of Joel’s prophecy is clearly that of the end-times. God, speaking in the first person, emphatically says that he will judge those armies (with their rulers … think Gog/Magog, Antichrist, and their coalitions) who have divided Israel.

This dividing of Israel early in the Tribulation will anger the Lord as much as Gog/Magog’s invasion shortly thereafter, and as much as Antichrist’s “entering the glorious land” a few years after that.

Things to Ponder

God and His Word are amazing! What he says he will do, he does. What he says will happen, always happens.

When God says he loves the whole world enough to give us His Son to pay the penalty of our sins, he means everyone—all inclusive. When God says that everyone must believe in His Son Messiah Jesus and personally receive his sacrificial atonement to be pardoned and inherit eternal life, there are no exceptions (John 3:16; Romans 9:9-10).

It’s so good to be even a small part of the effort to: “Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! (Psalm 96:3-4a).

It’s a dark world we live in. And it’s getting darker.

“Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth…” (Isaiah 60:2).

Darkness caused by sin has plagued humanity from time immemorial; sins of pride, greed, immorality, lawlessness, tyranny, terrorism, unjust wars, murder, and derivative ills like famine, disease, and millions of displaced refugees.

However, the prophet Isaiah is referring to an intense (black as night) darkness on a truly global scale during the last days that will generationally precede the return of Messiah (Jesus)—the light of the world (John 8:12).

This darkness began to envelope the planet in the First World War. A war supposedly to end all wars. Only for another world war of far greater magnitude to explode twenty-one years later; World War II dwarfed the unthinkable (at the time) casualties of World War I. A second world war that, in turn, will be exponentially exceeded in destruction and death during the seven-year Great Tribulation.

Since World War II there has been relentless regional and sectarian violence in Europe, Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and the Middle East … with millions killed. Ruthless dictators like Stalin (Soviet Union) and Mao (China) killing tens of millions of their own people. As you are reading this article, there are 10 official wars and 64 tactical conflicts involving over 500 militia-type groups taking place world-wide.

We’ve witnessed an Arab Spring in many countries deteriorate into an Arab winter. Muslim nations fighting other Muslim nations and Muslim sects fighting each other within those countries. With radical and even so-called moderate Islamists still intent on eliminating Israel as a Jewish nation. And militant Muslims persecuting and killing Christians by the thousands.

The entire planet is undergoing an unprecedented political and social polarization. A divergence that has torn the very fabric of national and international societies. A volatile separation of ideas and people (no longer agreeing to disagree) that has split and even toppled governments. Right verses left; populism vs globalism; democracy vs despotism.

The primary reason that dozens of national and regional conflicts haven’t erupted into another World War is because of the double-edge sword of nuclear deterrence.

The as black as night darkness foretold in Isaiah 60 also has produced a helplessness and hopelessness that paradoxically defies the reality of many nations enjoying the highest standard of living ever experienced on Planet Earth. Apprehension and unrest that belie the remarkable technological advancements of construction, transportation, and communication that should (otherwise) make our world a better place in which to live.

It is a darkness that has generated an unparalleled 20^th & 21^st century denial of the absolute truths of salvation and morality given to us by the true and living God and his Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. A darkness that has undermined the Biblical Judaic/Christian values upon which the democratic principles of life and liberty birthed the United States of America and a few other western democracies. Dark shadows that, in the name of tolerance and political correctness, have triggered an intolerant hatred and abuse of both Jews and Christians.

But there is a beacon from Israel’s past that penetrates the darkness. Messiah Jesus came into the world 2,000 years ago to bring the light of salvation. A spiritual redemption in the hearts of believing Jews and Gentiles that will in due course dispel the darkness altogether and bring about the final (national) restoration of Israel and rescue the planet from self-destruction.

“In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali (representing Israel and the Jews), beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined” (Matthew 4:15-16, quoting Isaiah 9:1-2, parenthesis mine).

Isaiah’s Prophecy of Darkness and Light Pertains to the End Times

Many of Isaiah’s prophecies apply to the last days, as do several other Biblical prophets. We know that darkness blanketing the entire earth is one of those prophecies of the final (Omega) generation—in which we are living. Read with me the greater context of the earlier quote from Isaiah Chapter 60 and note the return of God’s people to Israel (by the millions in the 20^th & 21^st centuries) is a significant sign that we are in those days.

“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

“Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home. Your eyes will shine, and your hearts will thrill with joy, for merchants from around the world will come to you. They will bring you the wealth of many lands” (Isaiah 60:1-5).

In the very next chapter Messiah himself is speaking, the One who is the source of this shining light:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor (spiritually and physically). He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives (within themselves by sin and from without by their enemies) will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come…” (Isaiah 61:1-2a, parenthesis mine).

Jesus cited this passage while teaching in a synagogue. He suddenly stopped reading after the words just quoted.

“He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. ‘The Scriptures you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!’” (Luke 4:20-21).

Some three years later, Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead to seal God’s New Covenant with Israel. His sacrificial atonement for sin would bring peace between God and all those who would believe and receive him as personal Savior, Jew and Gentile alike.

Now, it’s just a matter of (a short) time before Jesus Christ will return to once and for all establish peace between peoples and nations. This will be achieved only after the darkness that covers the nations is removed by Messiah’s direct confrontation with the Satanic evil that brings that darkness and victory over Satan’s Antichrist who will attempt to spread that darkness even more.

Isaiah 61:2 concludes with: “and with it, the day of God’s anger against their (Israel’s) enemies.”

When that day ends, “Their descendants will be recognized and honored among the nations. Everyone will realize that they are a people the Lord has blessed” (Isaiah 61:9).

And then: “The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere” (Verse 11).

Earlier this week much of the world celebrated Christmas, and earlier this month Jews rejoiced over Hanukkah. The title of last week’s Eye of Prophecy article posed this question: Hanukkah & Christmas / Do They Have Anything in Common?

In addition to being observed at about the same time of the year, both Holy Days focus on Light.

Hanukkah’s Menorah lights that, for a time, rededicated the Tempe and restored the Jews to God, their source of atonement. Followed by an even greater salvation offered first to the Jews; then to the Gentiles through Messiah Jesus … the Light of the World who was born of a Virgin on Christmas Day. Both Christmas and Hanukkah are special seasonal times to light up the world with the truth of God’s redemptive rescue for Jew and Gentile alike.

Israelis have experienced freedom, prosperity, and security unequaled since before they were conquered by Assyria and Babylon over 2,500 years ago. Although the time is near when Messiah Jesus returns to fill the earth with God’s righteousness, justice, and peace; it is not quite here yet.

With one resolution after another, the United Nations persists in its demonization of Israel. Although these resolutions are drafted by Muslim countries, many nations of the world eagerly jump on this Antisemitic band-wagon, voting to delegitimize the only democracy in the Middle East. A democracy that offers more freedoms to its Arab citizens and privileges to its Palestinian non-citizens than do Muslim nations that surround Israel.

(You’ll find these same kind of numbers/percentages in many other years since the UN began bashing Israel)

Hanukkah’s light was darkened earlier this month by a succession of events in two arenas: (1) Anti-Israel UN Resolutions; (2) Deadly Palestinian attacks against Israeli Jews.

(1) United Nations Reprehensible Resolutions

Let’s begin with some good news (sort of), in the form of an unheard-of event in the United Nations.

The UN backed a joint Israeli / United States sponsored resolution. Not that long ago, neither Israel nor the United States would have bothered to draft a proposal promoting Israel’s position in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Or for that matter anything which supported Israel’s posture in the family of nations. It would have been an exercise in futility.

On December 6^th, in the middle of the eight-day Jewish observance of Hanukkah, the General Assembly voted in favor of condemning Palestinian Hamas of Gaza for its terror campaign against Israel.

Well, almost in favor … we’ll get to that in a moment.

With 87 nations voting to pass the resolution, 57 against, and 33 abstentions, the United Nations condemned Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli towns, in addition to the use of civilians as human shields to protect Hamas’ military sites in Gaza’s infrastructure. Effectively, 85 nations agreed with Israel and the United States: Hamas is a terror organization disguised (not so subtlety) as a government in the Gaza Strip.

This strong majority was a signal for U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, to praise the 87 countries as a sign of, “a new day at the U.N.”

Yes, it was a new-day but only a partial day … say (symbolically) from sunrise to noon. It was still a dark day with nightfall coming much earlier than usual.

Why?

Because technically the resolution didn’t pass after all; this clear majority was not enough.

A short time before the resolution was put to a vote, a few Muslim nations persuaded the General Assembly to cast a “pre-vote” that would require a two-thirds majority of nations to endorse the sanctions against Hamas, rather than a simple majority. Some nations who subsequently voted to approve the resolution also voted in favor of a two-thirds, versus a 50+% majority. Go figure!

Thus, the United Nations resolution did not actually pass; there was no censure of Hamas whatsoever. As I’ve said before, the UN should change its name to: Nations United Against Israel.

There’s more: Shortly after the (technical) failure of this sanction against Hamas, the United Nations passed yet another resolution condemning Jewish “settlement” by a vote of 156-5, with a few abstentions. Only the United States, Israel, Australia, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands voted against this reprehensible resolution. Even more repugnant because it was voted on during Hanukkah. Yet another dark chapter in the UN’s narrative to extinguish the light (true history) of Israel’s God-given legacy to possess, occupy, and settle the Promised Land.

As expected, the Palestinians—Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Fatah (Palestinian Authority) in the West Bank—regarded the outcome of both resolutions as a resounding victory. Hamas official Khalil al-Haya spoke for other Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives, claiming that it was a: “big boost for the Palestinian resistance.”

(2) Palestinian Attacks on Israeli Jews During & Shortly After Hanukkah

On December 9^th (the day before Hanukkah ended), a Hamas sponsored West Bank Palestinian drive-by shooter opened fire on Jews at a bus stop near the West Bank community of Ofra. Seven people were wounded, including a 7 ½ -month pregnant Israeli woman who sustained serious abdominal gunshot wounds; her husband was also wounded in this brutal attack. Her premature baby was delivered by emergency C-section, but (sadly) the child lived only three days.

(Amachai Ish-Han and wife Shira wedding photo from earlier this year)

(Shira and her husband a few days after the attack; blood transfusions helped save her life)

Four days later, two Israeli soldiers were gunned down in another drive-by shooting. Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef (age 20) and Cpl. Yosef Cohen (19) died from their wounds. A third soldier was severely wounded. During that same period, there were also stabbing and car-ramming assaults against Israelis.

These attacks proved the predictive premise voiced by Israeli officials, journalists, most Jews, and anyone who knows what’s really going on in Israel: the outcome of these recent UN resolutions would further inflame and embolden Palestinian terrorism. With its sinister short-term goal of terrorizing Israeli Jews and the loathsome long-term objective of eliminating all Jews from Israel. The Palestinians don’t want a state alongside Israel; rather one in place of Israel.

That dark and gruesome goal is written in the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s Charter (1964) and regurgitated even more menacingly in Arab Palestinian ideology as contained in the Hamas Charter.

For example, Article 6: “The Islamic Resistance Movement strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine (Israel)…”

And Article 13: “There is no solution for the Palestinian issue except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”

Not only Israeli Jews and those of us who support Israel; even a few Arabs grasp the true issues of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Such as well-known author and columnist, Bassam Tawil, who is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. Someone who (like a fellow Muslim writer Khaled Abu Toameh) recognizes Israel’s sovereign right to statehood and consistently exposes the real Arab agenda.

Concerning the failed UN Resolution against Hamas, Bassam wrote in an article posted by online media source Gatestone Institute on 12-10-18:

“What Hamas is telling the UN and the rest of the world is: ‘Now that you have refused to brand us terrorists, we have the right to launch all forms of terrorist attacks and kill as many Jews as possible….’ When Hamas and its supporters celebrate (which they did upon the death of the Jewish baby … parenthesis mine), the few Palestinians who are described as moderates and pragmatists and who are opposed to violence and terrorism, will have to hide.”

Bassam Tawil concluded his column by stating:

“Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah (of the Palestinian Authority) have boasted that what happened at the UN was a ‘slap in the face of the US and Israel.’ In fact, what happened at the UN is a severe blow to the ‘moderates’ among the Palestinians and to any chance of reaching a peaceful solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Thus, with this move, the UN has expertly torpedoed even the remotest possibility of peace talks. Thanks to the ‘peace-loving UN,’ December 2018 may well go down in history as the day the UN gave the green light to Palestinian terrorists to continue perpetrating violence on Israel and Jews. The blood of the next Jewish victim will be on the hands of the UN…”

As contained contemptibly in both the Hamas Charter (which avows destruction of Israel via armed struggle) and recent rhetoric of “renewed resistance” (which means more intensive, as such resistance has been ongoing for years), the Palestinians consider themselves to be “resistance fighters.”

(Israeli “Settlements” are cited as the predominate reason for Palestinian “resistance” after the Six-Day War of 1967. WRONG! Palestinian terrorism began before that, as did ethnic cleansing of the Jews. No Jews were permitted to live in Jordanian controlled east part of Jerusalem and most of the West Bank or to step foot on Temple Mount, prior to 1967)

To demonstrate just how warped the Palestinian logic has become (always was but increasingly so): Soon after the IDF and Shin Bet launched searches of the West Bank to capture those terrorists who (temporarily) escaped the crime scenes, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ staff accused Israel of “acts of terrorism and aggression.”

In fact, PLO Secretary General Saeb Erakat claimed that the Israeli “intrusion into Ramallah was carried out with the backing of US President Donald Trump.” He summoned the global community to hold Israel accountable for its “crimes” and to provide international protection for Palestinians.

In other words, the Palestinian Authority is absurdly asserting that Israel is committing crimes and acts of terrorism by hunting for the Palestinian murderers of Israelis in “occupied Palestinian territory.”

As columnist Bassam Tawil said in another article (12-13-18): “According to the logic of Abbas’s ministry, Israeli soldiers searching for terrorists is an ‘act of terrorism,’ but not the shooting of a pregnant woman and six other Israeli civilians at a bus stop.”

Resistance Fighters

Are Palestinian terror cells and lone-wolf assassins resistance fighters? Do they have a legitimate cause? Or is the Palestinian narrative of resistance a license for random aggression and premeditated murder?

Although the questions are rhetorical, it’s imperative that we objectively define and thoroughly understand the terms. Otherwise, a terrorist is someone else’s freedom fighter. Which, unfortunately, is much of the world’s impression … borne of confusion, ignorance, or deliberate distortion of the cause and effect of Palestinian violence in Israel.

Here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article: Can A Murderer Be a Martyr? (Posted on 1-30-16… not long after the Palestinian Knife Intifada began in October 2015). In italics:

Thus, it is incomprehensible that an unrepentant murderer could ever be a martyr for any cause whatsoever … because the concept of martyrdom cannot exist in a vacuum. Meaning that for one to be a martyr or be martyred, there must first exist a condition that is inherent in the concept and understood within any rationale, reasonable, logical, and most of all moral framework. Which is that the person killed for their belief must first be innocent of murder, not only by actual commission of the crime, but also by intent. By simple definition and common-sense morality, a martyr must be innocent of shedding human blood of otherwise innocent victims.

Unless, that is, you are a Palestinian. Or, in the broader scope of this wicked world in which we live, you are a militant Muslim who indiscriminately murders innocent people (mostly Jews and Christians). This includes less aggressive adherents to Islam, who nevertheless condone and even celebrate the death of innocent Jews and Christians and sometimes other Muslims.

After noting the difference between “ordinary” murderers all over the world and people’s reaction to those crimes, contrasted to the mindset of terrorists and those who support them including entire populations like the Palestinians, I went on to say:

…Surely the parents, families, national leaders, and fellow citizens don’t glorify the (ordinary) murderer in these kinds of killings. Conversely, they are appalled.

Not so with the Palestinians. If they, in turn, are killed in the commission of their hideous crimes, their own people (including parents and leaders) and religion can call them martyrs to their heart’s content. But by all the universal laws of morality, of right and wrong, of good and evil, there’s no way that a murderer or would-be murderer (in case they don’t succeed) can be considered a martyr for a cause that is anything but righteous or a religion that is anything but peaceful.

Which is another compelling argument that there must be (and is) a universal standard of law and truth that can objectively define right and wrong. Moreover, these universal truths have, in fact, been given to us by the true and living God through the Bible.

Otherwise, we are left with the moral and spiritual dilemma that a murderer is someone’s martyr. That a terrorist is another one’s activist. If that were true, then all Nazis (participating in Jewish genocide) who were killed during the Second World War or who were tried and executed for war crimes after the war could be designated as martyrs “for their cause.”

To legally and morally qualify as a legitimate resistance, those whom you are resisting must be consciously and consistently oppressing your rights and suppressing your freedom. They must have unjustly deprived you of property, safety, livelihood, and constitutional rights. In short, a tyrannical government. Just like the one that American colonists revolted against in 1776.

None of these conditions even remotely apply to Palestinians in Israel, as I have written about in several prior articles. The only thing that Palestinians are resisting is simply the existence of the Jewish nation of Israel; of the Jewish people living in Israel. Hence, their oft-repeated mantra:

Which is another way of saying that all Israel from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea belongs to the Arabs of Palestine. No matter that “Palestine” has never existed except as a morphed substitute name given by a 2^nd century Roman Emperor for the ancient land of Israel.

Moreover, genuine resistance against tyranny (real or perceived) doesn’t target innocent civilians like Palestinians do with Israelis Jews. Their resistance (defiance) is expressed through mayhem and murder: via shootings, stabbings, car-ramming, rocket and mortar launchings, stone-throwing, fire bombs, and burning kites. That’s the very definition of terrorism: random violence against innocent people to get a political or religious point across. Stooping to such a low-level invariably demonstrates that these causes are unjustified and not based on historical facts on the ground.

The Palestinians (as do many national leaders who are uninformed or turn a blind eye to the real history of Israel) often use the word, “occupation” when referring to the Jews and the Palestinian “right” to “resist” this occupation. In today’s world, occupation and settlements (settlers) are viewed almost exclusively in the negative connotation of what are otherwise legitimate terms (concepts) that apply to rightful indigenous ownership and possession of land within the geographical boundaries of a sovereign nation. In Israel’s case, a nation that has exited for over 3,000 years.

Jewish Right to Occupy the Entire Land of Israel’s Borders

As indicated, I have written extensively about modern Israel’s justified existence and the Jews God-given historical right to all of Israel, even though the Israelis have permitted Palestinian jurisdiction over sizeable swaths of the Promised Land. The West Bank (properly called Judea/Samaria) is some of the choicest land in Israel … its very heartland. The Gaza Strip is an idyllic topography of southwestern Israel along the Mediterranean Sea. By every international principle of what constitutes an autonomous nation defined by recognized borders, it is the Palestinians who are the occupiers (negative connotation).

The following is a partial (there are more reasons than presented) power-point sketch of why Israel is the Jewish Promised Land. Surrounded by Arab/Muslim countries that enormously exceed Israel in land mass, resources, and population. Yet Islamic nations and Palestinians cannot abide the thought of a Jewish state—the size of New Jersey … smaller if the West Bank and Gaza are (illegitimately) excluded from Israel—existing on Planet Earth. Nor Jews living in that land.

(1) God Himself Gave Israel to the Jews

Nearly 4,000 years ago, the true and living God chose Abraham as the progenitor of a people who would possess a relatively small but special place on earth; from which God would reveal himself and his plan for Abraham’s descendants, and for the whole world.

“Then the Lord told him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you out of the Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.’” (Genesis 15:7).

This everlasting promise continued through the miraculous birth of Isaac, not the jumping ahead of God’s plan via the birth of Ishmael, from whom the Arab race descended. Although hundreds of years later the Lord disciplined his people for their disobedience and exiled them (twice), this unconditional promise was not nullified. God’s Covenant with Abraham would be kept. In fact, the interrupted fulfillment of that Covenant has resumed before our 20^th & 21^st century eyes.

However, the Arabs would not face the truth of God’s plan for His people and for all humanity. As a result: some 2,500 years after Abraham and 600 years after Abraham’s ultimate Child of Promise (Jesus), the Arabs invented their own religion and their own god—Allah (moon-god); who was one of many pagan gods worshipped by the Arabs. This was nothing more than Muhammed’s counterfeit copy to rival and replace the (only true) Judaic/Christian God and His Word, the Bible.

The Arabs have been envious of the Jews because God chose Isaac, not Ishmael, as the promised child of the covenant, and all the blessings that come with it (Genesis 17:17-22). This jealous hatred is the underlying (racial and religious) reason why Muslims deplore Jews; denying and defying the right of Israel to even exist.

Regarding Isaac:

*Note: As I (and others) have said before: God’s sovereign purpose for his special possession Israel is reason enough to acknowledge the Jews right to possess, occupy, and inherit Israel in perpetuity. But for those (and there are many) who have a problem with anything old, let alone ancient, there’s more than enough contemporary proof of Israel’s right to exist.

Jews have inhabited Israel from the time of Abraham, and as a nation from the time of Moses.

In today’s world, Jews once again outnumber Arabs living in Israel. All because of another miracle, which leads to the next reason why Israel was and always will be a Jewish State. One that allows citizenship for Arabs (1.8 million in Israel) and self-governing autonomy for non-citizen (by choice) Palestinians. See Eye of Prophecy article: Israel’s Controversial Nation-State Law, posted 8-11-18.

(2) Israel’s Rebirth (Revival) as a Nation

No other nation or people on earth have been and are still being restored like Israel and the Jews … unprecedented in human history. Not only the fact that Israel was reborn in a single day (May 14, 1948), as predicted in Scripture (Isaiah Chapter 66); but the against all odds Jewish victory in their War of Independence against five Arab armies that attacked Israel the day after statehood was declared.

Many conveniently forget that just six months earlier (November 1947), the United Nations approved a partition plan for the British controlled territory of Palestine in which both the Jews and Arabs would be allowed to create their own states within the boundaries of what is now Israel and Jordan. In fact, Jordan, originally called Trans Jordan, comprises 70% of that land mass. The Arabs (not called Palestinians until the 1960s) flatly refused a state of their own if it meant any territory (west of Jordan) that existed alongside a Jewish state.

One of several current Palestinian demands is that Israel’s (internal) borders revert to the pre-1967 Six Day War configuration. No matter that these borders were nothing more than cease-fire lines pending further negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

However, Palestinians more often consider the 1947 UN partition plan as the core of their (perceived) problem, demanding that it be rendered null and void. In fact, they go all the way back to the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which they also label as a “crime.” The League of Nations and later the United Nations endorsed these plans (respectively) which could have created two states, had the Arabs consented.

(3) Israel’s Reclamation and Liberation of Jerusalem and All the Land

Like the 1948 War of Independence, the 1956 Suez Canal conflict, and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel’s stunning victory in the 1967 Six-Day War (unheard of in the annals of military history) was a defensive war fought by Israel against primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. In just six days Israel reclaimed all Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights. Effectively, comprising today’s Israel as defined by her borders with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.

Despite their demoralizing defeat, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and nine other non-combatant Muslim countries that formed the Arab League (at the time), met in Khartoum in August-September of 1967. They signed a pact which includes the now famous three “No’s.” No peace with Israel; no negotiations with Israel; no recognition of Israel. Had any other country or group of nations done this, the victorious nation(s) would have cancelled the cease-fire agreement and resumed their military campaign to preempt the foregone conclusion of more attacks from their hostile foes. Which is exactly what Egypt and Syria did again in 1973, when they brazenly attacked Israel on its most holy day of the year … Yom Kippur.

After another devastating defeat in the Yom Kippur War, Egypt relented and signed a peace treaty in 1979 with Israel, which cost Egypt it’s membership in the (at that time) 20-member Arab League. In 1983, Jordan followed suit. To this day, they are the only two (of nearly 60) Muslim countries that recognize Israel’s state sovereignty.

Under more international pressure following the Six-Day War, Israel relinquished administrative control of the West Bank (to include part of what is referred to as east Jerusalem, including Temple Mount) back to Jordan and the Gaza Strip back to Egypt. Later, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. Most people forget or don’t want to know (be bothered with the facts) that it was Jordan and Egypt that (illegally) seized control of the West Bank and Gaza, respectively, after Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. It was NOT the Palestinians, many of whom refused to be called Palestinians back then, because the label Palestinian was mostly applied to the Jews.

Either way, Israel had and still has every right to maintain autonomy over these regions which are part and parcel of all Israel by virtue of victory in war(s). Which leads us to another valid reason that Israel’s current borders (found on any map) legally represent and define Israel’s geopolitical sovereignty.

(4) International Law & Precedent Regarding Land Rights

Which recognize that a nation’s victory in a defensive war fought for security and survival—as opposed to unprovoked aggression by that nation—entitles that country to keep (even to annex) all disputed territories for and from which the war is waged. For which Israel paid dearly in blood and tears.

Just because Israel agreed to temporarily (until further negotiations could be undertaken) return administrative jurisdiction of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Arabs doesn’t mean that the Palestinians have the right to claim those territories as legally theirs. They forfeited these alleged privileges when they rejected two opportunities to form their own state, i.e. Balfour Declaration of 1917 and UN Resolution or 1947. Five chances when you throw in two generous but ill-advised offers in 2000 and 2008 by Israeli Prime Ministers to cede virtually all the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority. Plus, the equally ill-advised withdrawal of all Jewish residents of the Gaza Strip in 2005.

Thus, Palestinians have neither the legal nor moral right to say that the Israelis have no right to occupy, settle, or otherwise exercise whatever measure of governmental control Israel chooses within ALL of Israel’s borders.

As indicated, Israel voluntarily vacated her settlements in the Gaza Strip. Which was an error (all governments make mistakes) of swapping land for peace; for which Gaza Palestinians thanked the Israelis by lobbing thousands of mortars and rockets into Israel, year after year. And, Israel has far fewer settlements in the West Bank than do the Palestinians. Does that mean that either of these areas are off-limits for the Jews? Absolutely not. But don’t tell the Palestinians that. You just may be handed a kite to play with, one ablaze with fire! Or worse: stabbed in the back … literally.

Things to Ponder

As a reminder, it was the Palestinians who created the contemporary terrorism model of killing Jews, including but not limited to suicide (homicide) bombings. Subsequently emulated by world-wide copycat terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and most recently ISIS … extending terrorism globally to both Jews and Gentiles.

Beginning with the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of 11 Israeli athletes (including one trainer) by Palestinian terrorists. As well as the spate of airline hijackings that targeted mainly Israelis. Such as the airplane commandeered by several Palestinians (and two virulent antisemitic German terrorists) in 1976 that prompted the astonishing Israeli raid on the Entebbe Airport in Uganda.

The brilliant plan and extraordinary execution of that plan by the IDF and Mossad resulted in the stunning rescue of 106 Israeli hostages, with only four Israeli civilians killed in the crossfire between the IDF, Ugandan soldiers, and the terrorists. Equally remarkable: only one IDF soldier was killed. Do you know or remember who he was? He was the commander of the operation called Thunderbolt: Lt. Col. Yonatan (Jonathan) Netanyahu—the older brother of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Americans (Jews and Gentiles) should also be proud of this heroic mission, as it took place on July 4, 1976—our nation’s 200^th anniversary (My daughter was born that year, on November 11^th. She is my Bicentennial Baby!)

The incredible Entebbe Mission and other Israeli operations in and outside Israel have proven that the living God was with his people. Not the least of which are Israel’s astonishing victories in four conventional wars against larger and more well-equipped enemies. Each one could be considered a miraculous Hanukkah victory of its time.

The Jews and Israel will continue to face turbulent times, right up to Messiah Jesus’s return to save them from a massive coalition of armies’ intent on their annihilation near the end of the Great Tribulation.

Yet, Israel will never again be disgraced, demoralized, or defeated on anything approaching a national level. The indomitable spirit of the Jews will prevail.

After the Holocaust, the Jews vowed: NEVER AGAIN.

God will see to it.

Concerning the Lord’s discipline of Israel through Gentile exile (ending in 1948), and Gentile domination (“times of the Gentiles” ending in 1967), the Lord says:

“Then my people will know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them away to exile and brought them home again … And I will never again turn my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the people of Israel. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (Ezekiel 39:28-29, italics for emphasis).

Never again will they be led like sheep to slaughter (Babylonian and Roman conquests, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Crusades, Inquisitions, Pogroms, Holocaust).

No matter what nations or terrorists say or attempt to do about Israel, God will have the final word. You, me, Israel’s friends and her enemies … everyone can count on that!

Says the Lord God about his special possession Israel: “…Never again will my people be disgraced” (Joel 2:26).