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).