Is President Trump Wavering On “The Waiver”?

04 Saturday Feb 2017

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To Waive or Not To Waive?

Unlike most Eye of Prophecy articles or any online post or newspaper article, today’s title is in the form of a sentence. It has a noun subject (President Trump), and a verb (wavering)—albeit what is called an intransitive verb, meaning one that normally doesn’t have or need a direct object. But in this instance, we do have an object … the Waiver.

It would be fun to dig into the grammatical nuances of intransitive versus transitive verbs, indirect objects in contrast to direct objects, and how prepositions (On) combine with nouns and pronouns to modify or enhance some other word; but the fun would be all mine, not yours.

Therefore, I’ll “waive” the fun, and spare you from any “wavering” whether to continue reading this article or not!

Seriously, though, setting aside the helping verb (Is), the preposition (On) and the definite article (The), leaves us with:

President Trump: who practically everyone in today’s smart phone, tweeter tuned, and Facebook linked world has heard of.

Wavering: the definition of which most people have at least some familiarity. “To vacillate irresolutely between choices: fluctuate in opinion, allegiance, or direction” (Webster’s Dictionary). Synonyms: Swing, hesitate.

Waiver: “The act of intentionally relinquishing or abandoning a known right, claim, or privilege” (Webster’s Dictionary). The verb form of waiver is, of course, “waive.” Which, also according to Webster’s, is: “to relinquish voluntarily (as a legal right) … to refrain from pressing or enforcing (as a claim or a rule) … to put off from immediate consideration … postpone.”

So, you know that Donald Trump was recently elected President of the United States and, whether you voted for him or not, you’re aware (perhaps more so than any presidential candidate or president before him) of what he is like … sort of. Which, if nothing else, is unpredictable; spawned by his boisterous behavior and from spontaneous statements that can generate extreme pendulum-like reactions in even the most neutral of people. Yet, what set him apart from those we label as bureaucratic politicians and what many perceive to be too much federal government power and control was his resolve to fix a broken America and a large part of the world while he’s at it.

(One of many quotes made by Donald Trump)

Here is an excerpt from last week’s Eye of Prophecy article entitled, The World Wants a Messiah … But It Needs (The) Messiah. In italics:

From all the post-primaries, pre-election, and post-election results, I believe the evidence is clear: The greater majority of those who voted for Trump believe that he embodies the soul and spirit of America like no president since Ronald Reagan. Some say not since Abraham Lincoln—the true voice and representative of what America should be and did become as much as a nation can be. Which was for the most part: a government that, after the Civil War, endowed (in principle and more slowly in practice) all its citizens with “inalienable rights” of the US Constitution by abolishing slavery.

Many see Donald Trump in that same light, a President who strongly supports and will sincerely try to restore a nation governed by and for the people.

Most likely you knew the meaning of wavering before reading its definition. For even better understanding, picture a wave on the ocean—from which the word wavering is constructed both in form (the word itself) and substance. A wave that is tossed, rolling, undulating on waters that are constantly in motion … never seeming to be definitive or fixed or stable.

And I’m sure you had or now have a handle on what a waiver is. So, let’s talk about:

THE Waiver

Beginning with a tough question: Do you know which Waiver the title of this article refers to, which is “The Waiver” on which President Trump appears to be wavering?

Here’s a (vague) clue: It’s been in the news recently and frequently.

Don’t know yet? Okay, a stronger clue in the form of two more questions:

Will the United States Embassy in Israel be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? The answer to that question depends entirely on President Donald Trump.

Second question: Should the US Embassy be relocated to Jerusalem?

Let’s get right to the answer.

YES, it should be moved. Says who? Says the American people!

Really, when did we say that?

We said that through our legislators in the House of Representatives and Senate when they passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, calling for relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In fact, the voting margin was overwhelmingly in favor: Senate 93-5; House of Representatives, 374-37. That’s as large a margin as you’ll ever see in Congress.

According to this Act, the move of our embassy to Jerusalem should have taken place no later than May 31, 1999. However, in deference to the authority of a United States President to recognize foreign sovereignty over territories, Section 7 of the Act allowed the sitting President to “waive” enforcement of the Act if the President felt that such a move might pose a risk to the security of the United States. With the stipulation, however, that such a waiver must be reviewed every six months, so as not to ignore this Congressional Law indefinitely. Since then, Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama have done just that … signed the waiver. As a result, the US Embassy is still in Tel Aviv. Hence, it was a binding, but floating piece of legislation.

Donald Trump made several prominent promises before and after his election, one of which was to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Soon after he became President, he was asked on more than occasion if he still intended to follow through on this commitment.

His response, “I always keep my promises.”

Just last weekend, however, he made a concession that the plan or procedure to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, “is not easy … has two sides to it … there’s certainly a chance of it, absolutely … I’ve always liked the concept of doing it, I’ll tell you that.”

He pledged to, “studying it very long and hard.” And, “I hate to do that because that’s not usually me. Usually, I do what’s right.” (Meaning postponing what he intimated would be a quick executive decision soon after being elected).

He concluded with the promise that he would, “…have a decision in the not-too-distant future.”

I take this to mean that President Trump is unwavering with regard to doing something about his unexpected and out-of-character wavering over “The Waiver.”

Congress Finally Got It Right

It’s vital to grasp the Biblical and historical preeminence that the Holy Land of Israel and the Holy City Jerusalem of the Holy Land bears in God’s providential plan for the Jews (and also Gentiles during the Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus).

Prophetically, it’s of paramount importance to comprehend (as presented in Eye of Prophecy articles such as, Seven Times Seven to the 4^th Power I, II, III, and The Omega Generation, posted 1-25-14 through 2-15-14 respectively) that God’s discipline of his chosen people ended in 1967; when Israel recaptured and (temporarily) reunified Jerusalem.

Consequently, as clearly conveyed in Scripture, the Lord once again began to protect Israel and his chosen people the Jews from Gentile domination. All of the prophetic warnings to nations and peoples that seek to harm the Jews and who are bent on divesting the Jews from their own land would be enforced by God, himself, especially after their return to the Promised Land. Not the least of which is Genesis 12:3: “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt.”

God’s eternal promise to give Israel to the descendants of Abraham and to bring his people in great numbers back to Israel is now being fulfilled, an unmistakable sign that we are in the last days of the end times.

Peoples of the earth must realize that the success of their nation depends dramatically on their treatment of Israel and their recognition that, “…the people of Israel belong to the Lord; Jacob is his special possession. He found them in desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland. He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes” (Deuteronomy 32: 9-10).

For the most part, the United States Senate and House as elected representatives of the American people have favored Israel since her rebirth as a sovereign nation. But not until the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 did they do something legislatively about what was up to that time more of a wavering support.

I think it’s important enough to demonstrate our lawmaker’s acknowledgment of the historical prerogative of nations to select their own capital and Israel’s right to name Jerusalem as her capital, in particular, by listing the seventeen points (reasons) why the Senate and House passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act of October, 1995.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.”

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress makes the following findings:

(1)Each sovereign nation, under international law and custom, may designate its own capital.

(2)Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the State of Israel.

(3)The city of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel’s President, Parliament, and Supreme Court, and the site of numerous government ministries and social and cultural institutions.

(4)The city of Jerusalem is the spiritual center of Judaism, and is also considered a holy city by the members of other religious faiths.

(5)From 1948-1967, Jerusalem was a divided city and Israeli citizens of all faiths as well as Jewish citizens of all states were denied access to holy sites in the area controlled by Jordan.

(6)In 1967, the city of Jerusalem was reunited during the conflict known as the Six Day War.

(7)Since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united city administered by Israel, and persons of all religious faiths have been guaranteed full access to holy sites within the city.

(8)This year marks the 28th consecutive year that Jerusalem has been administered as a unified city in which the rights of all faiths have been respected and protected.

(9)In 1990, the Congress unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 106, which declares that the Congress “strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected”.

(10)In 1992, the United States Senate and House of Representatives unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 113 of the One Hundred Second Congress to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, and reaffirming congressional sentiment that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city.

(11)The September 13, 1993, Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements lays out a timetable for the resolution of “final status” issues, including Jerusalem.

(12)The Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area was signed May 4, 1994, beginning the five-year transitional period laid out in the Declaration of Principles.

(13)In March of 1995, 93 members of the United States Senate signed a letter to Secretary of State Warren Christopher encouraging “planning to begin now” for relocation of the United States Embassy to the city of Jerusalem.

(14)In June of 1993, 257 members of the United States House of Representatives signed a letter to the Secretary of State Warren Christopher stating that the relocation of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem “should take place no later than….1999”.

(15)The United States maintains its embassy in the functioning capital of every country except the case of our democratic friend and strategic ally, the State of Israel.

(16)The United States conducts official meetings and other business in the city of Jerusalem in de facto recognition of its status as the capital of Israel.

(17)In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King David’s entry.

As indicated, this Act was to be implemented no later than May 31, 1999, except if the President decided to waive enforcement due to possible breach of the security interest of the United States.

But we need to ask ourselves what is tantamount to a rhetorical question: How could relocation of the US Embassy in Israel jeopardize our security? The obvious answer is that it can’t; it won’t. If that was the case, then why did Islamic terrorists strike us on September 11, 2001? Or the recent Muslim terrorist mass killings in Florida and California?

Even if some answered, “Possibly” (a threat to security), should we be intimidated by such a possibility, remote or otherwise?

In reverse, another probing question could be asked: a “what if” scenario that might suggest a cause and effect correlation. If the US Embassy had been moved to Jerusalem by the deadline of May 31, 1999, would 9/11 have taken place? Hint: The answer weighs heavily on blessing or cursing Israel and God’s primary means of “cursing” nations that despise or mistreat Israel, which is withdrawal of his protection. No different than when the Lord twice in history ceased to protect Israel, herself, because the Jews abandoned, then rejected the Lord, their God (Exile to Babylon for 70 years, then exile to the four corners of the earth for nearly 2,000 years).

The real reason for waiving enactment of the law is because Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama yielded to Arab oil pressure. Even more so: appeasement of Palestinians and the misguided, uninformed notion that a Palestinian State will solve all Middle East problems including animosity toward Israel and the Jews.

As I have written in some Eye of Prophecy articles, such as A Palestinian State … No Say Many Arabs (posted 1-11-14), it’s not a state alongside of Israel that Palestinian want … it’s all of Israel. It’s a nation without one single Jew. Not only did the Arabs reject a two-state solution from the outset (the Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the United Nations Resolution of 1947), they also rejected an amazingly magnanimous offer from two former Israeli Prime Ministers for some 98% of the West Bank.

(Current US Embassy in Tel Aviv)

(Part of the Jerusalem Embassy Act Involved Multimillion Dollar Funding Approval. All That Is Needed is a Change in Signs And Some Touch Up Paint to the US Consulate Building in Jerusalem, Pictured Above)

The United States Supreme Court Has Denied Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital

Here, I’d like to refresh your memory or inform you if you aren’t aware of another flash point incident that also relates to the ongoing dispute of Jerusalem as the rightful capital of Israel. I’m referring to the United States Supreme Court decision in June, 2015, declaring that passports of United States citizens born in Jerusalem must be stamped “Jerusalem,” not Jerusalem, Israel or just Israel.

Here are some excerpts from Eye of Prophecy article, Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country? (Posted 6-13-15) In italics (*Note: words or phrases not in italics were italicized in that article).

Jerusalem … A Capital without a Country?

Or is it: Israel … A Country without a Capital? It’s a shame that either of these two concepts should even be in the form of a question. But they are, and they must be faced head-on and answered. Any response depends entirely on whether a sovereign nation possesses the inherent right to choose its own capital; which is a reasonable presumption, or it should be. So we’ll begin with both barrels blazing and boldly assert: Of course, a sovereign state has that right! For Israeli Jews, the answer is as obvious as it would be to an American citizen who would never question whether Washington D.C. is the Capital of the United States of America … Jerusalem is the (eternal) capital of Israel.

Yet, the United States and virtually every nation on earth does NOT recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Instead, they have placed embassies in Tel Aviv; thereby, telling Israel that Tel Aviv is its seat of government, not Jerusalem. So drop the capital and the issue actually becomes: Jerusalem, a City without a Country? That is precisely how the US President and his staff, as well as most governments, classify Jerusalem—which reduces it to the same status as the Vatican … a city-state inside a country but without a country.

I wrote about this in an Eye of Prophecy article, entitled, Jerusalem … City of Peace? Published 12-27-14. That article originated from a November, 2014 agreement by the United States Supreme Court to review and rule on a decade old (lower) court struggle of whether the passport of a 12-year old Jewish boy, Menachem Zivotofsky, born in Jerusalem—whose parents (Ari and Naomi Zivotofsky) are American Citizens—could list Israel as his place of birth, rather than just Jerusalem. As indicated in that prior article, the crux of this conflict has far-reaching repercussions beyond one passport of one Jewish boy, although the issue was of vital personal importance to the Zivotofsky family.

Just this past Monday (June 8^th), the Supreme Court reached its final decision, one that took longer than any other Supreme Court decision from its initial review to its final ruling (about seven months). Here are some of the headlines the day after, June 9th, 2015:

USA Today: Supreme Court sides with Obama in Israeli dispute

Note: I quoted other headlines in that article, but the gist of the issue was that the Supreme Court’s decision was much more about Israel’s sovereign right to make and maintain Jerusalem as its capital than a decision whether or not the Executive Branch or Congress possessed the ultimate right to formally acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Contrary to U.S. Ambassador Don Shapiro’s explanation that the Supreme Court’s ruling was exclusively about the separation of executive and congressional authority, I commented (continuing with that article):

I beg to differ. The Supreme Court decision had everything to do with Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Shapiro was merely (barely) technically correct by saying the Supreme Court’s review was to determine whether the U.S. Congress or whether the Executive Staff has the (legal) authority to recognize foreign governments and their capitals. But that was only a derivative academic offshoot of the original case, which was the issue of the passport that was directly connected to the dispute of whether Jerusalem is Israel’s capital; or whether it is an international city that is not part of any country. There’s no getting around it. To say that the Court’s decision was “solely” about the separation of powers (Executive Branch versus Congress) is a deflection, distortion, and denial of the real controversy.

I went on to say in that article:

The Supreme Court ruled (6-3) in favor of the Executive Branch, despite a law passed by Congress in 2002 that required the State Department to recognize “Jerusalem, Israel” or just Israel as the birthplace on passports … for Americans born in Jerusalem (of which there have been approximately 50,000 since Israel became a State). In so doing, that Congressional act effectively recognized Jerusalem not only as an Israeli city, but also its capital.

(Example Of A Passport for American Citizen Born in Jerusalem)

Any American citizen, who knows just a little about the functions of our three branches of government, understands that the Congress makes laws, the Executive branch enforces those laws, and the Supreme Court interprets those laws if there is a dispute over the constitutionally of an existing law.

Americans who respect the basic rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and support our republic representative government with the proper balance of power would/should agree with the statement of the Supreme Court justice Neil Gorsuch recently appointed by President Trump.

In USA Today’s article of February 1, 2017, we read: “Gorsuch, 49 … is a Scalia acolyte (referring to deceased Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia who died nearly a year ago) who says judges should interpret laws as they are written and enforce the Constitution as the nation’s framers intended.”

Quoting Neil Gorsuch: “Mr. President, I am honored, and I am humbled. In our legal order, it is for the Congress, and not judges, to write laws.”

Here are some additional excerpts from Eye of Prophecy article, Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country? They confirm the real reason for the Supreme Court’s decision that dual citizens of the United States and Israel (those born in Jerusalem) must have passports that show Jerusalem, not Israel as their place of birth … because Jerusalem is not recognized as Israel’s capital or even a city exclusively in/of Israel.

The following is a quote from my previous article (Note: here I’m referring to Eye of Prophecy article, Jerusalem, A City of Peace posted 6-13-15 when the Supreme Court agreed to accept the “passport” case) in which I refer to Justice Elena Kagen, one of the liberal members of the Supreme Court. In light of the ruling, it’s quite evident that five other members shared her sentiments to some extent or another … as shown in the recent 6-3 decision. As noted, this observation of Ms. Kagen reveals the (hidden) agenda that most members of the Supreme Court had when they ruled in favor of President Obama’s viewpoint and effectively against Israel and tens of thousands of American Jews born in Jerusalem. With the ultimate consequence of once again denying Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Said Justice Kagen several months ago soon after the Supreme Court agreed to review the case:

“Right now, Jerusalem is a tinderbox. History suggests that everything is a big deal with respect to the status of Jerusalem.”

Her rationale reverberated and regurgitated what the State Department had said in that same brief to the Supreme Court, “…a simple passport alteration could provoke uproar throughout the Arab and Muslim world.”

God forbid that the Arab Muslim world should be provoked like that!

She made it clear that her vote (it’s obvious now, but even then, that she had already made up her mind) would be conditioned on the politically correct need to elude any further strife in the Middle East; which, in essence, would trump the real issue of whether Israel had the right as a sovereign state to declare Jerusalem as its capital. Thus, a vote to support the Congressional Act in 2002 would be tantamount to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which would only make things worse in the Middle East.

The politically correct world view of six Supreme Court justices and their ensuing decision hinged on one perceived urgency: Whatever it takes, don’t increase the tensions in the Middle East that already exist.

Here is an excerpt of my response to her observations:

That part, she got right … mostly. Jerusalem is a big deal, unlike any other city in the world. But when in our time was Jerusalem not a tinderbox? I can tell you with a great deal of historically factual evidence to back me up: NEVER has Jerusalem since Israel’s rebirth in 1948 not been a powder keg ready to explode.

If anyone carefully examines the wars that Israel has fought since her national birth, the incidents of intifada terror that has killed and maimed thousands of Israelis, or just the daily stream of hate-filled verbiage from the mouths of Muslim leaders and much of the Palestinian people, they would realize that the level of tension really can’t get any higher. Meaning that when Muslim armies, terror groups, and lone wolf assassins decide it’s time to strike, that’s exactly what they do. They may cite a particular incident or problem, but it’s always just an excuse to do what they were going to do anyway. The balloon is always full of enough air to burst. The string is always tight enough to break.

Then the following summary excerpts from Jerusalem … A City of Peace, which were quoted in Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country?

Why is Jerusalem disputed as part of Israel … as Israel’s Capital? More specifically, who or what entitles the United States State Department or the Supreme Court or any other country or even global institutions like the United Nations to determine whether any city of any country qualifies as its Capital? Isn’t that the inherent sovereign right of a nation … to choose its capital?

…Jerusalem was the headquarters (Capital) of the ancient kings of Israel, and the self-governing land (State) of Israel was given to the Jews by God, himself. That is reason enough.

But there’s also a modern-day affirmation when the United Nations voted in November, 1947 to grant statehood rights to Israel; then later recognized the sovereign State of Israel after her declaration of statehood on May 14, 1948. Even though east Jerusalem and the so-called West Bank was under Jordanian jurisdiction in 1948, all of Jerusalem was captured in the remarkable Six-Day War victory of Israel over the same nations that tried to annihilate Israel and the Jews in the brutal attack on Israel on May 15, 1948—the day after Israel became a nation.

What if all the nations on earth (or just one of those countries) refused to recognize Washington D.C. as America’s Capital? Choosing, for example, New York City because the United Nations is headquartered there. What do you think our President and the State Department would do about that? Or Congress, or the Supreme Court?

Again, I must ask: Since when does the world family of nations (most practically represented by the United Nations) dictate to individual countries which city will be its Capital? Isn’t that the exclusive right of the nation itself? What if the United States decided that it would no longer recognize London as Great Britain’s Capital, but chooses Manchester instead? Or Marseille instead of Paris? St Petersburg instead of Moscow? Barcelona over Madrid? Most likely, those nations would immediately sever diplomatic relations with America.

But that’s exactly what our Executive Branch through the State Department has done with Jerusalem. They have refused to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital; choosing instead by official state policy to consider Jerusalem as a city unto itself. A city that, for all practical purposes, belongs to the world; or at least to the world’s three main religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. A city that is still up for grabs (literally), with its destiny to be determined by … by who knows what. By another failed peace plan, by another war, by unilateral declaration from the Palestinians that Jerusalem belongs to them, by Israel’s (rightful) annexation of the Temple Mount and all of East Jerusalem?

Then a final analogy from that article:

Following the American Civil War, can you imagine that, after winning the war, the United States (northern states) agreed to cede the southern half of Washington D.C. to the Confederacy as the Confederate capital? For that matter, to even allow the Confederate States to exist as isolated states in a separate Union? Or for the first United States Congress or Executive Staff to do the same with Great Britain after their hard-fought victory in the Revolutionary War? Would the word, absurd, come to mind?

But that is exactly what the United States expects of Israel. I repeat for emphasis: Exactly.

What about Israel’s rights?! Or the right of any foreign nation to name its capital? That’s the decisive and divisive issue in front of us.

But since the Supreme Court has sided with the Presidency, then what about the fact that no sitting U.S. President has ever recognized a foreign country as a sovereign nation, without (default) acceptance of that nation’s capital. For that reason alone, Jerusalem is unprecedented in the annals of U.S. foreign policy; thus, the Supreme Court shouldn’t have been involved in such a decision. Particularly, when the United States Congress passed a law that granted Israeli citizenship and passport rights to Americans born in Jerusalem. By constitutional mandate, the US President is obligated to enforce this law (any law) passed by the Congress which represents the people of the United States of America.

In fact, that’s pretty much what Chief Justice John Roberts, one of the three dissenting votes, said. I quote: “Today’s decision is a first. Never before has this court accepted a president’s direct defiance of an act of Congress in the field of foreign affairs.”

(Judge Thomas Was One of the Six Judges Voting Against the Passport Measure, But He Still Submitted a Written Dissent)

Am I Suggesting That President Donald Trump Has Reneged On His Promise?

Not at all. With, however, the underlying clarification that, despite the (justifiable) rationale to postpone his decision, I can only hope and pray that he doesn’t relegate this dynamic issue to a White House back burner. That he will not waver on his previous promise to move the embassy. That he will waive the Waiver!

In fact, President Trump hit the ground running. His first 10 days of office resulted in an astonishing number of Executive Decisions; twenty to be exact (broken down into four main categories including Executive Orders) two more than Barack Obama in his first ten days of office. As you well know, Trump’s most controversial order was a temporary restriction of immigrants from seven countries deemed a security risk to the United States. They are: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia.

Whatever your opinion on that ban, each of those nations directly or indirectly, in fact, do pose a legitimate threat to our security. Completely unlike the alleged security risk that our past three Presidents have only used as a pretext not to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. With the real reason dealt with at some length in today’s article.

Things to Ponder

Contrary to God’s explicit and eternal plan to restore the Jews to ALL of Israel, with the God-given borders of the Promised Land identified in Scripture, Israel is already divided and nearly cut in half by the existence of the West Bank and Gaza Strip designated as “Palestinian Territory.”

To deny that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel or, worse, to split Jerusalem into two capitals is to cut Israel in half again. More than that: It is tantamount to cutting out Israel’s heart and soul from her people.

Still worse: It is a direct defiance of God Almighty. It is a blatant disregard of the true and living God’s solemn warning of what will happen to peoples and nations who seek to harm the Jews and divide the Promised Land of Israel, particularly after their return from a 2,000 year exile.

To divide Jerusalem and especially to make what is now (erroneous and unbiblical) called East Jerusalem a separate capital for a Palestinian State would be a disaster of … well, Biblical proportions. For you see, the following prophecies are dangerously close to being fulfilled through both deliberate denial and unwitting ignorance of God’s Word:

“In the times of those events, says the Lord, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land” (Joel 3:1-2).

Hundreds of Biblical prophecies have come to pass. More than anything else, it is fulfilled prophecy and mighty miracles that distinguish the God of the Bible from any other (man-made) gods and religions. More prophecies like the one just quoted and the following will surely come to pass:

“The day is near when I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads. Just as you swallowed up my people on my holy mountain, so you and the surrounding nations will swallow the punishment I pour out on you. Yes, all you nations will drink and stagger and disappear from history. But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance” (Obadiah 1:15-17).

To relocate the US Embassy to Jerusalem is much more than symbolic. It is a decisive move that could preclude God’s harsh judgment of the United States of America before the Day of the Lord’s return. A return that begins with the remarkable Rapture of believers and ends with Messiah Jesus’s second coming to earth seven years later in power and great glory to fight for Israel and rescue her from imminent destruction.

If President Trump wants to make America great again, the first place (no better place) to begin is with the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. For in doing so, he is agreeing with God that Jerusalem, as the City that the Lord loves above all cities, is indeed the eternal heart and soul (capital) of Israel.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you” (Psalm 122:6, NASB).

The World Wants a Messiah … But It Needs (The) Messiah

28 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Donald Trump, Geert Wilders, Paris Conference

An (Old) New World Order

In a penetrating and perceptive statement bordering on the prophetic, on January 15^th Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the recent Paris Conference attended by some 70 nations as a “futile” effort to hold onto a past relic of a period that was about to end.

The Paris Conference was deliberately scheduled on the heels of UN Resolution 2334 that audaciously assigned Palestinian Muslim occupancy rights to all of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Temple Mount to even include the Western Wall, revered by Jews and also by Christians. Simultaneously, in the face of indisputable historical and Biblical evidence, claiming that Israeli Jews had no claim whatsoever to any of these “territories” formerly under the control of Jordan and Egypt before the Six-Day War of 1967. No matter that these two nations had no legal or sovereign right of governing these territories in the first place.

Moreover, the prime mover and “silent” partner (by virtue of the US abstaining) of the Resolution 2334 vote to divest Israel of land that rightfully belongs to the Jews was our own lame-duck president who wanted to deliver one last parting shot at Israel in general and Prime Minister Netanyahu in particular. Likewise, the Paris Conference was orchestrated and hosted by French lame-duck President Francois Hollande (former head of the French Socialist Party) who harbors the same hostile agenda against Israel.

The timing of the Paris Conference was also designed to precede President-elect Trump’s inauguration of January 20^th, in the hopes that these countries would agree to submit another more binding resolution to the United Nations, which would sink even more teeth into the effort to dispel the Jews from all pre-Six Day War territories, including the Golan Heights.

As it turned out, the conference merely regurgitated the historical lies and absurd claims foisted on Israel by Resolution 2334, without making additional demands that the Jews relinquish land that is rightfully theirs for many reasons. Three of which are: (1) all of modern-day Israel (and more, as the Biblical parameters of Israel were much greater than today’s boundaries) was given to them by the true and living God. (2) The Jews were in Israel for some 2,500 years before the Arabs. (3) Israel is a Sovereign State recognized by the United Nations in 1948 when the UN was in its infancy, and when it bore some resemblance of impartiality and concern for the security and suffering of peoples directly affected by World War II. And no one suffered innocently more than the Jews, with six million them of slaughtered during the hellish Holocaust.

It’s fairly evident that the reason this conference was “futile” and feeble is because the European contingency of the seventy nations had a last minute (temporary) dose of reality. That brief jolt of common sense was a direct result of Donald Trump’s (against all odds) amazing election win, as a benchmark (American) example of the rapidly rising populist and nationalistic movement also taking place in Europe.

The writing on the wall was as clear as anything could be.

Benjamin Netanyahu went on to say: “This conference is among the last spasms of yesterday’s world. Tomorrow will look different. And tomorrow is very close” (referring primarily to President-elect Trump’s inauguration).

The flash point of what appears to be President Trump’s recognition of Israel as the only true democracy in the Middle East is his promise to move the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel.

The people (populist … populism) of the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Great Britain (already expressed with the Brexit from the EU), Holland, Hungary, and other Eastern European countries have grown weary of the oppressive elitist political correctness, and have become increasingly alarmed over open borders that fuel the fires of massive Muslim immigration—both legal and illegal. But most of all with coalition governments and NGOs that seek to impose international authority over individual states and nations and the people of those countries.

This remarkable movement is a revival (nationalism) of the dream so eloquently penned and passionately spoken by President Abraham Lincoln for the United States… a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

It is a long overdue reaction to the left and especially far-left supremacy of those who think that only they have the socio-economic and political know-how to tell the “masses” what’s best for them. That only they have the intellectual capacity to formulate strategic plans and sophisticated programs to propel the world into a utopia of their design and choice.

In that regard and also in the context of God’s sovereignty that will ultimately accomplish his purpose and plan for the human race, here is an excerpt from my book, Out of the Abyss (in italics):

Yet, by our decisions and actions, by our good choices, bad choices or indifferent choices, we can change things that otherwise would or would not have occurred. We can also be changed by the decisions and behavior of others, by events beyond our control.

How then, does God still achieve his plan? How can he make all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) to those who love him and who are called according to his purpose? Okay, I’ll give you a hint: Because he is God!

To be sure, however, the “hint” does beg the question: he can do anything because he is God. But that still doesn’t explain how he does it. So, we are left begging the question because it is simply beyond our natural, finite comprehension; which is why God doesn’t demand or even ask that we completely grasp his providential sovereignty. If we could wrap our finite minds around his infinite omnipotence and omniscience, I suppose that we would be God.

Ironically, that’s exactly what most of mankind, including natural scientists, human secularists, occult spiritualists, God-less governments and agnostic academia in general try to do. They inevitably ascribe to themselves the controlled capacity, the distinctive domain, and the potent position of determining their destiny. And if you will but afford them the privilege and opportunity; if you will “give them an ear,” they will gladly assist you in discovering your origin and purpose for life. Ultimately, if you yield complete attention and allegiance, they will be delighted to direct your future.

Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF)

In a January 24^th, 2017 article written by Soeren Kern originally posted in the online news source Gatestone Institute, and reprinted in Prophecy News Watch under the heading of, Trump Fires Up Europe’s Anti-Establishment Movement, we read:

“Inspired by the inauguration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, the leaders of Europe’s main anti-establishment parties have held a pan-European rally aimed at coordinating a political strategy to mobilize potentially millions of disillusioned voters in upcoming elections in Germany, the Netherlands and France.

“Appearing together in public for the first time, Marine Le Pen, leader of the French National Front, Frauke Petry, leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV), Matteo Salvini, leader of Italy’s Northern League and Harald Vilimsky of Austria’s Freedom Party gathered on January 21 at a rally in Koblenz, Germany, where they called on European voters to participate in a ‘patriotic spring’ to topple the European Union, reassert national sovereignty and secure national borders.

“The two-hour rally was held under the banner of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF), a group established in June 2015 by Members of the European Parliament from nine countries to oppose European federalism and the transfer of political power from voters to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union.”

(Representatives Of Nations Attending the ENF Conference)

In obvious reference and deference to the United Kingdom’s vote to exit the European Union last year (See Eye of Prophecy article, Brexit … What’s It All About, posted in June, 2016) and the stunning unexpected Presidential victory of Donald Trump (representing the underestimated and overlooked conservative voice of America), Le Pen of France commented:

“We are living through the end of one world, and the birth of another. We are experiencing the return of nation-states. 2016 was the year the Anglo-Saxon world woke up. 2017, I am sure, will be the year in which the peoples of the European continent rise up.”

The following are excerpts from a speech by Geert Wilders at the ENF meeting:

“Politicians from almost all of the established parties are promoting our Islamization. Almost the entire Establishment … put our hard-earned liberties at risk. They talk about equality, but incredibly, are incapable of seeing that in Islam, women have fewer rights then men, and infidels have fewer rights than the followers of Islam. They are blind to the truth—but we are not!

“It breaks my heart when I see that people have become strangers in their own land—almost everywhere in Europe. But it is our country, it’s not their country—it’s our country. And it is unacceptable that you fear for the future of your children, that women are afraid, that Jews, ex-Muslims, Christians fear for their safety.

“Our parties give the people an opportunity for good patriots. Patriots who want to make our borders safe again! Patriots who want to stop mass immigration. Patriots who want to restore the sovereignty of our countries, our money, our laws and our future.

“The people are fed up with the political correctness of the elites! Are you fed up, or are you not fed up?

“You may have heard that the Dutch government is trying to silence me. But I say to you, I will never shut up! I am on many death-lists just because they hate me, because I criticize Islam, and because I am a friend of Israel.”

*Note: Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament, had been tried and convicted for hate speech and racism by the Dutch government for simply asking people at a rally whether they wanted more Moroccans in the Netherlands or less, even though Moroccans are not a race of people … simply a nationality from Morocco. The Dutch Ministry of Interior had issued a report citing statistics that 40% of Moroccan immigrants, age 12-24 had been arrested for or charged with crimes in the last five years prior to the report. The court sentenced Wilders to probation.

(Dutch Parliament Member Geert Wilders)

Continuing with Geert Wilders’ comments:

“…There is reason for hope. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Better times will come. The wind started to shift last year … congratulations to Donald Trump, the President of the United States. But not only in America. We also see it here in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, throughout Europe. The patriots are winning. The time for change has come…

“We are fed up with the Europhiles in Brussels, who want to abolish our countries and impose an undemocratic super-state, in which we become a single multicultural society. To this Europe we say no! We stand for a Europe of national states and freedom! We will take our countries back. We will make sure that our countries will stay ours.

“The world is changing. America is changing. Europe is changing … The genie will not go back into the bottle again … The people of the West are awakening. They are throwing off the yoke of political correctness.”

Returning to the article by Soeren Kern, he states:

“Polls indicate that the political sea change engulfing the United States is fueling support for anti-establishment parties in Europe. In addition to anger over eroding sovereignty, a growing number of Europeans are rebelling against decades of government-imposed multiculturalism, politically correct speech codes and mass migration from the Muslim world.

“In France, a new Ipsos poll for Le Monde shows that Marine Le Pen is now poised to win the first round of the French presidential election set for April 23, 2017 … In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders is now leading polls ahead of the general election scheduled for March 15, 2017. The PVV has the support of between 29% and 33% of the electorate. By contrast, support for the ruling People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) has fallen to between 23% and 27%. In Germany, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has become the third-largest party…

“Europe’s establishment parties, far from addressing the concerns of ordinary voters, have tried to silence dissent by branding naysayers as xenophobes, Islamophobes and neo-Nazis. The German Interior Ministry is now proposing to establish a ‘Defense Center against Disinformation’ to combat ‘fake news.’ Critics have described the proposed center as a ‘censorship monster’ aimed at silencing dissenting opinions.”

(Marine Le Pen, Highly Touted as France’s Next President)

*Note: To varying degrees in some countries, it is now a criminal offense to criticize Islam in general or Muslims in particular. Conversely, it is a politically correct privilege, or at least an honorable obligation to denigrate Jews and Christians and the Judeo-Christian heritage that has led to the democratic freedom and representative governments of many nations and peoples; in stark contrast to the forced subjugation of Muslims and non-Muslims alike by the twisted theology and tyrannical tactics of Islam.

(Here, I’m referring to true Biblical Christianity, not the Roman Catholic or Anglican organized hierarchy that produced State Churches or Church States that slowly but surely yielded to the world-changing dynamics of the Reformation and Renaissance periods. Which gave rise to nation-states largely governed by republic or parliamentary principles. That’s why the current populism and nationalism is an old new world order in the making).

Messianic Implications of a World in Upheaval

In Eye of Prophecy articles, Look Up, Redemption is Near, Part I & II (Posted 7-11 & 7-18-15) you’ll find twelve major flash point signs (developments) that have occurred or are taking place in the 20^th & 21^st centuries. One of them is the rise of messiah figures such as Adolph Hitler who plunged the world into a horrendous war that caused massive destruction and catastrophic casualties. And Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill who led freedom loving people to victory over the evil Axis powers.

One of the more significant features of a messiah-type leader is that of the extreme polarized reaction by the people. There’s very little middle-ground between these extremities. I’m talking about the sharp (left or right) pendulum swing of unequivocal allegiance and loyalty versus disdain and dissent; of total trust contrasted to absolute distrust; of staunch support as opposed to disruptive interference and undermining whenever possible. Above all: either undying love or irrational hate … virtually no emotional balance between the two.

Many in the United States and across the world characterized Barack Obama as a messiah-type. A false messiah who would rob America of its greatness as a leader of the free world, or a true one that would save America and, thereby, the world from the disabling recession that began in 2008. With regard to former president Obama, I have my own opinions; but I’ll leave his legacy to the experts or to anyone who ventures an opinion as to his place in history.

So, too, is Donald Trump a messiah-figure to many … both positive and negative. From all the post-primaries, pre-election, and post-election results, I believe the evidence is clear: The greater majority of those who voted for Trump believe that he embodies the soul and spirit of America like no president since Ronald Reagan. Some say not since Abraham Lincoln—the true voice and representative of what America should be and did become as much as a nation can be. Which was for the most part: a government that, after the Civil War, endowed (in principle and more slowly in practice) all its citizens with “inalienable rights” of the US Constitution by abolishing slavery.

Many see Donald Trump in that same light, a President who strongly supports and will sincerely try to restore a nation governed by and for the people.

However, whether European “patriots” or the “silent majority” of Americans, they also fervently believe that their goals cannot be achieved without a “savior” to speak for them, and lead them toward realization of their hopes and dreams. That is why an inordinate amount of attention has been directed to and an extreme emphasis placed on Donald Trump, the man. He was like no other presidential candidate before him, and not just because he’s never served in government or the military as did all past presidents; thereby, freeing himself of something that most Americans deplore … federal bureaucracy.

It’s a sense that he really can and actually will accomplish most of what he has said he will do. That’s the stuff messiahs are made of.

(Donald Trump’s Inauguration … “A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions.” He closed with: “Together, We Will Make America Strong Again. We Will Make America Wealthy Again. We Will Make America Proud Again. We Will Make America Safe Again. And, Yes, Together, We Will Make America Great Again. Thank you, God Bless You. And God Bless America”)

There have been a few messiah-types down through the ages. Whether their methods and eventual legacy turned out to be benevolent or malevolent, they used the same kind of passionate language that we just read from Geert Wilders of The Netherlands; or like Winston Churchill who motivated the minds and stirred the hearts of England during World War II. Or the opposite evil extreme of Hitler’s diabolical rhetoric that hypnotized millions of Germans. And tyrannical messianic figures like Joseph Stalin, who made grandiose promises that could only be kept through suppression of his own people and subjugation of surrounding peoples.

Although the significance of what Geert Wilders is saying to the people of Europe is ringing true in their hearts, a large number of Europeans also are ardently attracted to the men and women articulating these noble ideals. This attraction is innate in human nature and existence … the essence of the human heart’s desire to look to and be led by someone who can sort through and set aside differences between people. Who can simplify stifling systems and decode complicated algorithms (that’s today’s byword for procedures and processes). Who can show and tell the people how to achieve their dreams of life, liberty, and equality.

By and large, people want and/or need to be told what to do and how to do it; as long as they can trust the one who is leading them to know and accomplish what’s best for them.

It all began with God, who created us to fellowship with him, but also to obey him out of complete trust that he knows beyond all doubt what’s best for individuals and for governments. That to trust and obey him would mean eternal life through a paradise on this earth. Or to wrongly exercise the free will he gave us by choosing to go our own way and do our own thing if that’s what we really wanted. Not the least of which is trying to govern ourselves without God’s absolute standards of truth and the freedom that comes from that truth.

We failed; human governments of all kinds have failed. There simply cannot be peace and security between peoples until we first have peace with God through a change of the human heart and destiny—possible only through believing and receiving God’s solution to the human problem of sin and evil … God’s Son, THE MESSIAH.

The very idea of a (The) Messiah comes from Scripture. Jesus claimed to be that Messiah … God’s Chosen One to bring salvation to the Jews and Gentiles alike. Both the Gospels and Epistles are crystal clear: Jesus’ words, miracles, death, burial, and resurrection polarized people like never before or since.

Jesus, himself, said, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me” (Luke 11:23).

People, especially the religious leaders, either loved and followed him or hated and tried to kill him several times until they succeeded; but only because he willingly laid down his life, then took it up again.

What Is The Optimum Form of Government?

Here is an excerpt from an Eye of Prophecy article, entitled Kingdom of God (posted in January, 2015). In italics:

From the dawn of human existence virtually every kind of government has been in place at one time or another. A country’s government is often a reflection of its people … their race, beliefs (religious or secular), moral values, ethnic upbringing and tribal territory. But sometimes government can be an ill-conceived and unwanted bureaucracy with leaders vying for power and supremacy. All too often, innocent people are victimized by such power struggles, both citizens of the country and residents of neighboring nations that take exception to such Machiavelli type systems.

The common people, representatives of those people, wealthy entrepreneurs, ambitious leaders (good and bad), or all of the above can determine whether a country will become a parliamentary or a democratic representative republic; an absolute (king/queen) or constitutional monarch; an autocratic ruler or state controlled (communism or fascism) dictatorship; an aristocratic or military oligarchy; a cleric-run theocracy or even a true Theocracy. The idea of a theocentric government is, “having God as the central interest and ultimate concern.” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary).

Moreover, the destiny of nations (both good and bad) has often been determined by the benevolence or malevolence of rulers … the laws they make and enforce, the decrees they issue, decisions they make, benefits they provide, and goals they aspire to. As the leaders go, so go the people. A ruler with integrity, compassion, and wisdom can be, and often is, a moral compass to the entire nation. Conversely, a selfish, deceitful, evil ruler can bring an entire nation down. Even the United States of America, which many contemplate to be the greatest nation of all time (at least the greatest Republic), relies heavily on its President—considered by some as the most powerful position in the world—to lead … economically, socially, militarily, legally, and morally.

The rise and fall of great leaders, noble and ignoble; of great nations, moral and immoral, is the stuff that legends are made of. And many of these individual and national epitaphs can be found in the Bible as well as secular history. For example, the glorious rise and inglorious fall of Babylon.

Shortly, in the closing Things to Ponder of today’s article, we’ll conclude with a few of many marvelous Biblical prophecies of a Universal Kingdom that will surpass the mightiest of nations that ever existed on this earth, and exceed the greatest of all international coalitions ever assembled. But first some final excerpts from the Kingdom of God article, beginning with the glorious overarching ultimate plan of God for all of mankind throughout eternity.

“God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10).

That plan is none other than: THE KINGDOM OF GOD (on earth). Revealed by Messiah Jesus himself as recorded in the Gospels; and consolidated into the everlasting tenets of the Christian faith by the authors of the epistles and Revelation.

Jesus spoke often of the Kingdom of God; for example, comparing it to a mustard seed … the smallest of seeds that when planted grows into an enormous tree. Which is exactly what has happened to the body of Christ; an exponential growth down through the ages, to now consist of believers from virtually every nation and language on earth. It is the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts and minds of those who have been redeemed by the shed blood of Christ. Next, will come the final physical Kingdom of God on this earth; at which time all people, all governments, all nations will be brought under the authority of God’s magnificent Son. He will rule the nations with firmness, but fairness.

Isn’t that what most people want? They want: law, order, equality, safety, peace. And they want someone who has the kind of authority to realize those dreams, but also someone who is kind and considerate with that authority. One who truly cares about people and what’s best for them; who can rule and judge with impartiality and kindness. A truly wise and benevolent King whose attributes perfectly reflect who and what he is: Love, Truth, Justice, Mercy.

Summary

Although I and others have some concerns about Donald Trump, not the least of which is his sometimes erratic behavior and off-the-cuff comments, I do hope and pray that he will at least acknowledge the Lord God in his plans and policies … paramount of which is to support Israel against the growing anti-Semitism that has reared its ugly head again in the 21^st century. But neither Donald Trump nor any other national president or leader can save their country (internally from ourselves or externally from foreign threats) or make it socially, economically, politically, and internationally great again without Divine providential assistance.

No matter how “successful” (which is in the eye of the beholder) President Trump may be, there’s only so much he or other national leaders like him can do.

Only a nation, whose God is the Lord can or will be truly blessed. With God’s blessings found in Scripture including, but not limited to: liberty, security, unity (agree to disagree) prosperity, protection, and peace.

Tragically, this waiting and watching and increasingly wicked world of ours will embrace one last time a man more devious, deceitful, deplorable, and destructive than they can imagine. They will choose to believe the lie that this final false messiah is Messiah, instead of Christ Jesus—the true Messiah. Though only for seven years, the anguish experienced because untold millions will follow (to the point of worship, including many of the intellectuals of today’s world) the Antichrist will result in death and destruction that will make World War II seem like a small skirmish with only a handful of casualties. (See Eye of Prophecy article, Shocking Statistics of the Great Tribulation, posted 6-6-15).

The Apostle Paul spoke of this man of lawlessness, who is none other than the Roman Emperor Nero. When he reappears shortly after the Rapture, Paul writes:

“This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth” (II Thessalonians 2:9-12).

But then, Jesus of Nazareth will return to make all things right!

Things to Ponder

A Magnificent Two-Part Promise of Messiah … Jesus First and Second Coming:

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

Today Messiah Jesus is Our Mediator With God … Soon He Will Mediate Between Nations of the Earth

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone” (I Timothy 2:5-6).

“People from many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for way anymore. Everyone will live in peace and prosperity…” (Micah 4:2-4).

Immanuel, God’s Messiah With Us:

“My servant David (Messiah) will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived (Israel). They and their children and their grandchildren after them will live there forever, generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them, an everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers, and I will put my Temple among them forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And when my Temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord, who makes Israel holy” (Ezekiel 37:24-28, parenthesis mine).

Jerusalem … The Eternal Capital of Israel and Her Eternal King:

“In that coming day, says the Lord, I will gather together those who are lame, those who have been exiles, and those whom I have filled with grief. Those who are weak will survive as a remnant, those who were exiles will become a strong nation. Then I, the Lord will rule from Jerusalem as their king forever. As for you, Jerusalem, the citadel of God’s people, your royal might and power will come back to you again. The kingship will be restored to my precious Jerusalem” (Micah 4:6-8).

Messiah Jesus Brought Salvation to the Jew First, Then to the Gentile, and Will Return to Bring Peace to the Nations:

“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt. I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Messiah Yeshua … The Suffering Servant and the King of all kings:

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on the cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).

Rulers of the Earth Take Heed:

“Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 2:10-12).

United Nations Downsizing of Israel (Resolution 2334)

07 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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UN Resolution 2334

There’s Small … And There’s Small!

If you’re not fully awake yet, then drink some more coffee, because we’re going to begin the first Eye of Prophecy article of 2017 with a geographical math quiz. Oh come on, you’ll like it!

Question #1: In terms of square miles, what is the 4^th smallest state in the United States?

My guess is that no more than 7% would know the answer to this question without a United States map in front of them, and maybe not even then. So, let’s increase the odds to give all of us at least a 14% (one in seven) chance of getting the right answer. The seven smallest are East Coast New England states. In alphabetical order they are: Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Now what’s your answer? No maps allowed!

Okay, I’m feeling generous today. Let’s narrow it down to 50-50. The 4^th smallest state in America begins with “New” (so does the 5^th smallest state).

Is your final answer, New Hampshire?

Sorry, that’s wrong!

Answer: New Jersey.

If you got it right from the beginning, then you are in the top 7% of geographic statisticians in the world!

Question #2 (Multiple Choice): The size of New Jersey in square miles is: (A) 12,722 sq. miles; (B) 10,722 sq. miles; (C) 8,722 sq. miles; (D) 6,722 sq. miles?

Answer: C

See (C) that wasn’t so hard, even if you didn’t get it right!

Question #3: Which of these seven states is closest in square miles size to the State of Israel?

Hint: Would we have gone to all that trouble to get to New Jersey, if one of the other states would be nearest in size to Israel?!

Answer: New Jersey.

You’re doing fine, so stay with us no matter how tough the next question may be.

Question #4: In square miles, what is Israel’s size? This is Israel proper, excluding the areas called Judea/Samaria and Gaza Strip.

If you get this right on the first try, then your name and photograph belong alongside Albert Einstein in Wikipedia.

Answer: 8,020 square miles.

If you rounded off your answer to 8,000, then you get a footnote on Einstein’s Wikipedia page.

Question #5: What is the combined square mileage of the Gaza Strip and the Judea/Samaria region of Israel known as the West Bank, including so-called East Jerusalem?

If you know the outright answer to this question, then your name and picture will take the place of Albert Einstein!

So, we’d better make it multiple choice: (A) 3,324 sq. miles; (B) 2,324 sq. miles; (C) 1,324 sq. miles.

Answer: B

“B” as is, “Boy,” aren’t you glad you didn’t quit on this quiz!

Because you’ve been a geographic groupie up to this point, you may use a calculator for the last question.

Question #6: Given that my home state of Arizona is 113,990 square miles, how many times could you put the State of Israel (8,020 sq. miles) into Arizona … rounded off?

Answer: 14.

Or, if we include all of Israel’s sovereign land, i.e. Judea/Samaria and the Gaza Strip, the answer would be 10.

A United Nations Resolution: Shrink Israel Down To Manageable Size!

Thank you for participating in this quiz; I trust it was interesting. Though some of the questions were hard, requiring some guessing at the answers, I’m sure the point of the exercise was crystal clear to you: Israel is an exceptionally small country.

We’re talking tiny. And it is the only Jewish nation on this planet … the only sovereign state that Jews can call their own, their home. Yet, the United Nations wants to make it even smaller for the Israelis.

On December 23^rd(the beginning of Sabbath day for Jews) of last year, the Security Council passed UN Resolution #2334. It was yet another motion condemning Jewish settlements in the so-called West Bank, which includes all of what the Palestinians (and much of the world) classify as East Jerusalem.

(Security Council Vote on Resolution 2334)

Although the resolution included a token denunciation of violence, terrorism, and incitement against Israel, the following excerpts convey the underlying anti-Israel bias behind this reprehensible resolution:

According to the resolution itself, it, “…expresses the consensus international view on Israeli settlement activity.”
It calls for a, “two-State solution based on the 1967 lines.”
It condemns the Jews for, “the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity.”
And the resolution demands that, “Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”

No matter that Israel’s land mass (including the West Bank and Gaza Strip) is equivalent to 1/6 of 1 percent (1/640 or .0016) of the surrounding 22 Arab/Islamic countries. No matter that none of the Arab or Muslim nations have granted citizenship to hundreds of thousands of “Palestinian” Arabs who fled Israel mostly because the five Arab nations—Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt—that attacked Israel the day after she declared Statehood on May 14, 1948 (via a UN Resolution that granted Israel national sovereignty in 1947) ordered Arabs to vacate Israel so they wouldn’t get in the way of Arab armed forces that would supposedly (easily) defeat the Jews. Instead, those refugees and others from the 1967 Six-Day War were placed in refugee camps in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan where they and their descendants remain to this very day. Refugee camps that the Israelis had no part in establishing.

As a reminder: Before the Palestinian Authority (which began as the Palestinian Liberation Organization in 1964) was created, the Arabs were not called Palestinians. In fact, it was the Jews that were referred to as Palestinians before the Six-Day War of 1967. A war in which the Jews were forced to fight for their very survival, as they also did in the Independence War of 1948, the Suez War of 1956, and again in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. By coercion of the United Nations, mostly through the United States, the Jews relinquished jurisdiction of the Temple Mount back to the Jordanians, and occupancy control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to the (Palestinian) Arabs.

Alongside the 6.5 million Jews in Israel, there are approximately 1.8 million Arab Israelis who have full citizenship rights in Israel. They can travel through Israel unrestricted, buy and sell property, start and run their own businesses, vote in Israeli elections, and even serve in Israel’s government. However, unlike compulsory military service for Jewish men and women, Arab Israelis are not required to serve in the IDF. There are approximately 4 million Arab Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who refuse Israeli citizenship because they simply will not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation.

Sponsorship of the Resolution

Technically, four members of the United Nations introduced the resolution for vote in the Security Council. Allegedly, they drafted the decree without any input or direct assistance from the United States or any of the other nations that voted 14-0 in favor of the resolution, with the United States abstaining. As Washington D.C. based columnist, Charles Krauthammer wrote in an article published this past Tuesday:

“The Security Council just declared the territories legally Palestinian—without the Palestinians having to concede anything, let alone peace. The (US) administration claims a kind of passive innocence on the text of the resolution, as if it had come upon it at the last moment. We are to believe that the ostensible sponsors—New Zealand, Senegal, Malaysia, and a Venezuela that cannot provide its own people with toilet paper, let alone food—had for months been sweating the details of Jewish housing in East Jerusalem.”

Many United States Congressmen and Senators, including some Democrats, harshly criticized President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry (based on his feeble speech attempting to justify the resolution) for “stabbing Israel in the back.” It was the first US Administration ever that had not vetoed an anti-Israel Security Council resolution. And this, no less, in the context of President Obama’s purported support of Israel when he addressed the AI-PAC conference composed mostly of Jews on March 4, 2012, not long after he was sworn in to his second presidential term. President Obama boasted at that conference to thunderous applause: “When the chips are down, I have Israel’s back.”

(*Note: The Security Council should be renamed the “Insecurity Council” as this resolution and many others like it against Israel would create insecure, even indefensible borders for Israelis … not the least of which is the Golan Heights).

Said former Arkansas Governor (and Republican Presidential Candidate) Mike Huckabee:

“Even more, I’d say that the resolution showed that the United Nations is a farce, not a force. Last year, the United Nations passed one resolution about Syria and its genocide, one about North Korea where they are eating grass because they don’t have any food, one resolution about Russia, a country that has decided it’s okay to move into Crimea and Ukraine, and one about Iran that oppresses its people, tramples their human rights and is probably developing a nuclear bomb. But there were 20 resolutions condemning Israel! How could Israel, a tiny dot on the overall map of the Middle East, be that consequential to the United Nations while the other countries get scant attention? It makes the United Nations a bigger joke than the last episode of Seinfeld.”

In an Israeli Cabinet meeting on Christmas Day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to what he firmly believed was overwhelming evidence of Obama’s covert support of Resolution 2334 that declared all Jewish communities within areas won by Israel from Jordan and Syria in the Six-Day War, to be illegal.

He said: “From the information we have, we have no doubt that the Obama administration initiated it, stood behind it, coordinated on the wording and demanded that it be passed. This, of course, in complete contradiction of the traditional American policy that was committed to not trying to dictate terms for a permanent agreement, like any issue related to them in the Security Council, and, of course, the explicit commitment of President Obama himself, in 2011, to refrain from such steps.”

(Benjamin Netanyahu’s Expressive Reaction To UN Resolution 2334)

Prime Minister Netanyahu was referring to a similar Security Council Resolution in February, 2011, which also censured all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, especially the Eastern part of Jerusalem.

Notice, this time I said, “the Eastern part of Jerusalem.”

Frankly, that should be the cultural, political, social, legal, and moral way to accurately identify that part of Jerusalem inhabited by both Arabs and Jews. There is no such city or territory of “East Jerusalem.” However, the Palestinians and Muslim nations have successfully duped the United Nations, including the United States, into believing that there is a separate East Jerusalem, much like there was West Berlin and East Berlin before the Communist Soviet Union imploded and Germany was reunited.

In an immediate reply to John Kerry’s speech, Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The entire Middle East is going up in flames, entire countries are toppling, terrorism is raging, and for an entire hour the Secretary of State attacks the only democracy in the Middle East. Maybe Kerry did not notice that Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christmas can be celebrated in peace and security.”

He went on to say: “Over decades, American administrations and Israel governments have disagreed about settlements, but we agreed that the Security Council was not the place to resolve this issue. And as I told John Kerry on Thursday, friends don’t take friends to the Security Council.”

Then alluding to the facet of the resolution which audaciously claimed that even the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem including the Jewish Quarter was occupied Palestinian territory, Prime Minister Netanyahu concluded with, “I’m encouraged by the statements of our friends in the United States, Republicans and Democrats alike. They understand how reckless and destructive the UN resolution was, they understand that the Western Wall isn’t occupied territory.”

How Can A “Territory” Be Occupied?

In gleeful reaction to Resolution 2334, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas presumptuously said, “We are calling for 2017 to be the year of international recognition of the State of Palestine because more recognitions will strengthen the possibility of achieving a two-state solution and real peace.”

As though Palestine was already a state, Abbas continued, “I say to you that settlements on the land of the occupied State of Palestine are on their way out. We secured a historic UN Security Council resolution, which said that any changes since 1967 to the demographic composition or land of the State of Palestine including East Jerusalem are unacceptable.”

By prematurely referring to Palestine as a state, which has never legally or legislatively or nationally existed in the first place (it has always been Israel no matter that a Roman Emperor arbitrarily and spitefully changed Israel’s name to Palestine nearly 2,000 years ago); an impression is made on both the informed and uninformed that Jews don’t belong anywhere in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. When, in fact, much of the land in Judea and Samaria on which some 600,000 Jews reside was purchased by the Jews … even land won from the Arabs in the Six-Day War.

Does the United States and the United Nations actually believe that any portion of land within the sovereign borders of any nation on earth could be (illegally) “occupied” by citizens of that country? With the resulting conclusion that no citizen of that country has any right to purchase and own land in select areas of their nation that are indwelt mostly by a certain ethnic group of people. Although several countries consist of ethnic groups (like the Kurds in Iraq) that have “settled” in certain portions of the country, that doesn’t give them the right to deny residency or claim “occupation” if citizens from another ethnic group want to build or buy houses on land within the recognized geographical borders of that nation.

A slight exception to what I just said would be Native American Reservations or Tribal Lands in the United States. But in that case, the United States intentionally set aside certain areas of land just for the Indians. Even so, some 1.5 of the 2.5 million Native Americans in this country live outside of the Reservations … just like Israel has permitted Arabs (some 1.8 million to date) to become citizens of Israel. But that doesn’t give the Palestinian Arabs who don’t want to be citizens of Israel the right to deny living quarters to Jews in “Palestinian territory” that is not an official state or nation.

I (in a few previous Eye of Prophecy articles) and several others have said it before, but it needs to be said again and again, else the world at large will never grasp the true hidden agenda of the Palestinians in particular and Islam in general.

That is: The so-called Jewish “settlement occupation” is neither (1) illegal, nor, (2) the main obstacle to peace in Israel. Nor is a Palestinian State the solution. Certainly not one that is unilaterally imposed on Israelis with little or no input from them, especially relating to their national security and survival. Which means that imposition of the pre-1967 truce boundaries (lines) cannot be accepted by Israel. Some concessions could be made (through negotiation), but at least two demands cannot be met: (1) Jerusalem as a divided capital, or (2) Israeli departure from the Golan Heights.

Please refer to Eye of Prophecy article, Israeli Occupation … Fact or Myth? Published 5-16-15.

The Actual Palestinian Narrative

Here is an excerpt from an Eye of Prophecy article entitled, Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda, posted 9-17-16, mostly to explain Benjamin Netanyahu’s riveting, but controversial televised speech regarding the real intentions of the Palestinians (in italics).

The Palestinians have imposed several “pre-conditions” on Israel. They go back and forth as to which of these are pre-conditions Israel must meet before the Palestinians agree to sit down at the negotiating table with the Israelis. At one time or another all of the Palestinian demands have been “pre-conditions.” At other times only some of these are pre-conditions, with other demands open for negotiation. It pretty much depends upon Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ (who is now in the 11^th year of a four-year election term!) mood at the time.

Here are the primary Palestinian demands:

The so-called “right of return” of the so-called Palestinian refugees—now mostly 2^nd generation descendants—from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. (They now number in the millions and even if half of this number were to return it would, for all practical purposes, spell the end of a Jewish nation).
Gaza and West Bank checkpoints to be turned over by the Israelis to the Palestinians.
Many more Palestinians prisoners to be released, including convicted murderers.
For Israel’s “borders” to shrink back to pre-1967 Six-Day War truce lines. (This would leave Israel highly vulnerable, if not defenseless, especially in the Golan Heights).
A Palestinian State with what is known as “East Jerusalem” as its capital. (Which would include complete possession of and sovereignty over Temple Mount).
Complete expulsion of all Jews from the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

The last condition listed above is one that the Palestinians have attempted to keep relatively low-key. Why? Because they don’t want to be viewed in the same fashion that they want the world to see Israel (which Israel is not), i.e. a bigoted apartheid type nation that seeks to be rid of an ethnic group they despise.

That is why Benjamin Netanyahu limited his speech to this one Palestinian demand before they will enter into negotiations with the Israelis. It represents the ultimate objective of Palestinians (and all Muslim nations): To get rid of all Jews in Israel, beginning with the so-called West Bank territory.

Since UNESCO passed its resolution last October and particularly since the farcical Security Council Resolution #2334 in December, Abbas has been emboldened like never before to appeal to the court of world opinion.

(Please see Eye of Prophecy article, UNESCO … A Theatre of the Absurd Against Israel, posted 10-29-16.)

The incessant Palestinian rhetoric against Jewish settlements in eastern Jerusalem and others a few miles deeper into the West Bank and Muslim tirades against Jewish “occupation” of Palestine, is a smoke screen to conceal the real Palestinian agenda. The actual objective of Israel’s sworn enemies, especially their “neighbors” the Palestinians but also entire nations like Iran is one prophesied in Scripture long ago:

Appealing to the Lord God, the Psalmist cries out: “Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence’” (Psalm 83:2-4).

When written, this Psalm was contemporarily relevant but also prophetic. And, oh how it has come to pass. The Palestinian schemes backed by the anti-Semitic mindset and decisions of the United Nations (now supported by our lame-duck President) are insidiously clever and crafty. They have resorted to the rewriting of Israel’s true history and distorting reality with fabrications that even a child could see through.

If the Palestinians were so desperate to get rid of all Jewish housing developments in the West Bank which, according to most Middle East experts would be a precursor to a Palestinian State, then pray tell why did Palestinian Authority Presidents Yasser Arafat in 2000 and Mahmoud Abbas in 2008 bluntly refuse generous proposals by two Israeli Prime Ministers. Respectively, Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert offered well more than 90% of the West Bank (including the eastern half of Jerusalem) to the Palestinians in a purported attempt to appease them and the international community. The obvious reason, both stated and implied, for this out-of-hand rejection was the Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Sovereign (Jewish) State.

(Shows How Much of Israel is Comprised of the West Bank and Gaza, With the Southern Portion of Israel Mostly the Negev Desert)

So why should Abbas agree to sit down at the negotiating table with Israel, when he can get what he wants through UN unilateral demands? Although not binding, this latest UN declaration has set the stage for a constraining resolution that very well could take place after the January 15^th meeting of some 70 nations, planned and hosted by France to reach a solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

As much as I admire and respect the Israeli government and love the Jewish people, since the Six-Day War Israeli leaders have made four ill-advised decisions. The two rejected proposals mentioned above (massive land give away for a peace that would never have materialized) narrowly averted what could have been debilitating consequences, including displacement of hundreds of thousands of Israelis from Judea/Samaria and the permanent restriction of all Jews from Temple Mount. The other two did result in an extremely adverse aftermath for the Israelis.

They were: (1) Relinquishing of Temple Mount back to Jordanian and (now) Palestinian jurisdictional authority, after defeating the Jordanians, Egyptians, and Syrians in the Six-Day War of June, 1967. Also giving back the Gaza Strip (taken from Egyptian illegal control) to the Palestinian Authority, later taken over by the terrorist cell Hamas.

(2) In 2005, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered eviction of some 10,000 Jewish residents of the Gaza. What kind of peace and the (misguided) notion that the Israelis would be better protected if removed from Gaza did that result in? I’ll tell you what kind. The kind that led to war with Hamas because they launched thousands of mortars and rockets into Israel that killed and injured more Israelis.

Whose Rights Are Right?

For maximum comprehension I need to emphasize again: The fundamental fantasy of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel, the Muslim nations surrounding Israel, and the religion of Islam is a Palestinian State to replace Israel, not one that exists alongside of Israel. By default, this means that the Jews must be eliminated from Israel altogether. The Arabs failed to eradicate the Israelis through four conventional wars. Now the twisted tactic is to alter the true history of Israel by claiming the land, including Jewish Holy Sites and Structures, belongs to the Arabs based on arguments that are historically inaccurate and fly in the face of reality, both past and present.

For example: In spite of archeological evidence and historically correct chronicles of the existence of the Jewish Temples on Temple Mount, the Palestinians contend they never existed. If history is going to be rewritten, then why not claim that the Roman Empire was a figment of someone’s overactive imagination. Or that Mecca and Medina are Hindu holy sites, not Muslim!

Another argument is that the Arabs were in Israel before the Jews. Simply not true. Biblical and secular history clearly refute that allegation. Or, the presumption that Arabs outnumbered Jews in Israel and, therefore, assert rights to the land for that reason alone. That depends on how far back you want to go or how contemporary you want to be to validate such a claim. In the case of the Jews, they win on both ends of this chronological continuum. They outnumbered the Arabs until the Great Dispersion of 70 A.D., and again in today’s modern Israel.

What about sovereign seniority based on conquest … to the victor belong the spoils principle. Yes, Muhammad (Muslims) conquered Israel and Jerusalem in the 7^th century. Eventually, however, they, too, were displaced by the Ottoman Turk Empire; which, in turn, was ousted by the British in World War I. Which led to the Balfour Declaration that gave the Jews right of return to Israel and right of statehood that would eventually be realized at the end of World War II. But, tragically, only after six millions Jews were slaughtered by the Third Reich.

Why is it so hard to understand that the Jews must have a sovereign land of their own?! Otherwise, Never Again could happen all over again.

If the Arabs argue that their right to the land of Israel was established by conquest (long ago), Israelis have an equal, if not greater claim to all of Israel by virtue of their more recent victories in all four wars—especially the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Actually, Israel’s triumph in their 1948 War of Independence (no different than America’s victory in our Revolutionary War) gave them the legal and moral prerogative to develop and inhabit every square mile of Israel. For the clear reason that the Arabs not only rejected the UN Resolution of 1947 allowing for the creation of two states, but they attacked the newborn State of Israel with the declared intention of driving the Jews into the sea. Yet, the Jews did not invoke the right of eminent domain nor did they expel the Arabs, even though the Jews fought these wars in self-defense. They were not offensive wars of aggression designed to take land away from the Arabs.

(Israel Regained Control of the Jordanian West Bank and Egyptian Gaza Strip in 1967, But Allowed Palestinian Governing of These Two Regions. Fact Remains, Both Territories Are Still in Israel)

Thinking that they could still defeat the Jews and drive them completely out of Israel, Arabs attacked again in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In that conflict the Jews soundly defeated them and reinforced the universally recognized right of people/nations to claim land won in a justified war of defense and survival—as opposed to an unprovoked offensive assault for the purpose of land acquisition or ethnic suppression of enemies. Once again, the Jews allowed the Palestinians autonomous occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Moreover, it’s not like the Palestinians have been relegated to an undesirable part of Israel (or relegated at all). The West Bank (Judea/Samaria) is some of the most beautiful land in Israel, the very heart of the country. In fact, a large part of Israel that, absent the amazing irrigation accomplishments of the Jews, would still be inhospitable if not uninhabitable, is the Negev Desert.

I’ve used the following analogy (and others) before, but it bears repeating: For Israelis to concede every inch of the West Bank, especially the eastern half of Jerusalem (meaning complete withdrawal and dismantling of Jewish housing) would be no different that Americans giving back the eastern half of Washington D.C. to the British. Then for the British to deny ownership and dwelling rights of any of that land to Americans. Also to forbid any American from visiting the Washington or Jefferson or Lincoln Memorials, just as Temple Mount is highly restricted to the Jews themselves.

If you’re an American reading this article, would you agree to such terms? Could you methodically marginalize or irresponsibly ignore the blood of our ancestors shed to give them and their descendants (you and me) the right of living on the very land for which they died? That is a rhetorical question, if ever there was one.

Both Arabs and Jews claim perpetuity to the entire land of Israel. So, who is right?

The Beautiful Land of Israel … A Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy

I believe that question has already been answered, but let’s set aside for a moment the issue of territorial rights.

Let’s look instead at what the Jews have done for the land of Israel given to them by the true and living God. The God of the Bible who says there are no other gods. The God who backs up his Word with majestic miracles and powerful (fulfilled) prophecies. The God who selected the Jewish people as a light to the Gentiles, through the Messiah who would bring salvation to all who believe and receive Yeshua as personal Savior. And, yes, the same God who loves all people equally, including the Arabs. Yet the God who, nevertheless, is sovereign over his design for the human race, which includes choosing a special people through whom His plans would be achieved and a Promised Land where His purpose will be accomplished.

The following is an excerpt (in italics) from Eye of Prophecy article, Look Up, Redemption is Near, Part I, posted 7-11-15. Part II posted on 7-18-15 then provides the second set of twelve “flash-point prophecies” that are part and parcel of the last days of the end times.

Number Five: Israel’s Phenomenal Agricultural Accomplishments

Through the ages, the fulfillment of so many Biblical prophecies about Israel and her (our) Messiah has become a matter of historical record. But what we sometimes overlook or minimize is the astonishing details of so many of those prophecies … big ones and little ones. People, places, events, all prophesied and fulfilled with meticulous minutiae. One that many scholars have not paid much attention to (including me) is the transformation of Israel from an empty wasteland to a virtual Garden of Eden. The rebirth of Israel has led to the abundant blossoming and growth of trees, vineyards, gardens, flowers, fruits, and vegetables, as Scripture said it would.

“The time will come, says the Lord, when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine! I will bring my exiled people of Israel back from distant lands, and they will rebuild their ruined cities and live in them again. They will plant vineyards and garden; they will eat their crops and drink their wine. I will firmly plant them there in their own land. They will never be uprooted from the land I have given them says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:13-15).

Once again, that’s exactly what has occurred in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. God has providentially planted the Jews in the land he gave to their ancestors. And the people have responded with a planting and harvesting not seen since before they were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC. It is absolutely extraordinary. Such as:

Trees & Bushes: About 150 years ago, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) once took a trip to Israel. Several things impressed him including the scarcity of people, the very small size of Jerusalem, and the barrenness of the land. I can tell you from my personal visit to Israel in 2006, all that has changed. The Israeli organization Jewish National Fund alone has sponsored the planting of 250 million trees in the last one hundred years. In a land that has mostly a desert or arid climate, this is a staggering accomplishment.

Vineyards: In that same trip to Israel, my sister and I drove past several of dozens of vineyards throughout Israel. With hundreds of wineries, Israel produces over ten million bottles of wine a year, much of which is exported. Israelis invented and perfected drip irrigation which is essential for vineyards but also for other agricultural products. Major counties of the world, including the United States, have implemented water irrigation strategies conceived and practiced in Israel.

Fruits & Vegetables: With a land mass equivalent to the State of New Jersey, the Jews produce 95% of its own food requirements. What makes that so amazing? Only 20% of that land is arable! They need to import only a handful of food items, such as coffee and sugar. Conversely, they export billions of dollars’ worth of fresh produce to many nations of the world, including the United States. Their citrus fruits demand a high price on the world market because of the near perfect texture and taste. Israelis have invented many high-tech methods of growing and improving produce. For example, one Israeli developed a slow-maturing very delicious strain of tomatoes that increases its shelf-life dramatically. This reduces the spoilage which is a huge problem for growers and wholesale and retail outlets.

Flowers: Israel is one of the largest growers of all kinds of flowers, with a large export base. They even export flowers to Holland!

Said God to Israel through his prophet: “The fields that used to lie empty and desolate (insert here Arab “control” of Israel for hundreds of years) in plain view of everyone will again be farmed. And when I bring you back, people will say, ‘This former wasteland is now like the Garden of Eden! The abandoned and ruined cities now have strong walls and are filled with people!’ Then the surrounding nations that survive (survive the Great Tribulation soon to come) will know that, I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruins and replanted the wasteland. For I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I say” (Ezekiel 36:34-36, parenthesis mine).

(Botanical Garden in Eilat, Israel)

(One of Many Vineyards in Israel)

As is often said: Facts don’t lie.

Fact: In one generation after returning, the Jews did for their Promised Land what the Arabs wouldn’t and couldn’t do for that same land they occupied for hundreds of years.

Things to Ponder

Resolution 2334 was yet another contemporary expression of what Scripture said would happen in the last days. Which is the incredible, irrational global focus on Israel by practically every nation on earth to solve the Jewish problem.

Says the God of Israel: “On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves’ (Zechariah 12:3).

The United Nations and its Security Council (with the United States supporting an anti-Israel resolution for the first time) want to move the Jews out of Judea/Samaria. They want to downsize a people and a nation that has precious little land in the first place.

The Palestinians and Muslim countries want to remove Israel from all global maps, by eliminating all Jews from Israel … the land given to them by Almighty God. A small piece of land on an earth created by that same God.

For the near future, they will make life dramatically difficult for Israel. But they will not succeed in defeating the Jews. Israel is here to stay … forever. The Lord God himself has made Jerusalem an immovable rock.

“At the time of those events, says the Lord, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land” (Joel 3:1-2).

Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part II)

17 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Peace in the Middle East

The Fires of Israel in Perspective

For the past eight years, Israel has endured uncommonly dry winters. Until December 1^st, not a drop of rain had fallen in Northern Israel for eight months. Although most of the 1,773 fires that ravaged Northern Israel in late November had already been extinguished by thousands of firefighters with logistical assistance from the IDF and Israeli police, the rains brought a soothing soaking that doused smoldering embers.

A few weeks before that, heavy rains fell in central and southern Israel, but not in the north. Which is another reminder that the true and living God (that Scripture also calls the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the God of Israel) ultimately determines when it rains, where it rains, and how much rain will fall.

Moreover, the Biblical paradigm of rainfall as a physical source and symbolic expression of God’s blessing is still applicable to Israel; a nation reborn from the floods of dispersion that began 2,000 years ago to and through the fires of Nazi death camps that, as horribly tragic as they were, signaled the end of God’s chastisement of Israel through Gentile nations. However, God’s withholding of rain can still be a means of getting Israel’s attention (indeed, the whole world) through the discipline of drought that may result in natural wildfires.

Whether the natural wildfires in northern Israel were directly from the Lord or not, one thing is excruciatingly evident: they were spitefully exacerbated by the intentional setting of dozens more fires by Palestinians and even Israeli Arabs who are citizens of Israel.

(One of Hundreds of Fires in Israel … This One Very Well Could Have Been Arson)

*Note: Later in today’s article, we’ll look at a something phenomenal that took place during these fires in Israel, under the heading of The Rest of the Story.

Here is quote from another chapter in the book of Deuteronomy (Chapter 11 was quoted in last week’s article):

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you up high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

“Your towns and your fields will be blessed. Your children and your crops will be blessed … Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed” (Deuteronomy 28:1-6).

“The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do…” (Verses 11-12).

Conversely, if the people refused to listen to the Lord your God (verse 15), then, “The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze, and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron. The Lord will change the rain that falls on your land into powder… The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies… (Verses 23-25).

Are Nature’s Disasters Natural or Supernatural?

Here is an excerpt from last week’s Part I, Eye of Prophecy article:

One of the most perplexing dilemmas that people have encountered from time immemorial is whether or not natural disasters are just that, natural. Or are they supernatural in origin, i.e. the wrath of God?

Followed by a presupposition:

I believe the evidence in Scripture, both stated and implied (as experienced throughout history) is compellingly strong to propose this premise: The vast majority of disasters—hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, plagues of locusts, plagues of disease, floods, droughts, and wildfires—occur “naturally.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines naturally: “by nature; by natural character or ability; according to the usual course of things; as might be expected.”

I went on to say:

Which begs the question of whether or not God is directly involved in “natural disasters.” Putting it another way: Does he ever use the forces of nature to judge the ungodly and discipline his people? Does he occasionally cause or allow natural disasters to get our attention, to remind us that the Lord IS God. Or does he sometimes prevent natural catastrophes or limit the damage and casualties from them?

According to the Bible, the answer is a resounding, yes to all of these tough questions. But whatever reason applies to whatever calamity that occurs, the all-in-all answer is that God is ultimately sovereign over his creation. Because of the Lord’s grace, patience, and mercy, Scripture and practical experience show us that God only sparingly uses nature to get our attention. There are several examples, but only two will be cited. Both pertain to one of the main elements of God’s providential intrusion into the affairs of the human race. Which is: RAIN. Or the lack thereof.

First example: God’s stunning display of supernatural power by fire, followed immediately by rain that had not fallen at all for 3 ½ years in Israel. These exceptional events were accomplished through the prophet Elijah.

Second example: The Lord’s future withholding of rain on nations ( Zechariah 14) that refuse to attend the Festival of Shelters during the Millennial Reign Messiah Jesus, which begins after the Great Tribulation that follows the soon to come Rapture.

Also, a clarification mentioned last week:

Here we must characterize what is natural in terms and context of the how devastatingly significant man’s fall has had on nature. Since Adam and Eve’s fateful decision to disobey God followed by their expulsion from the perfect (natural) paradise of the Garden of Eden and especially since the Great Flood of Noah’s time, the earth has never been the same. This violent planet on which we live is under God’s curse, awaiting its final redemption (extreme makeover) along with the culmination of salvation for believers in Messiah Jesus … brand new eternal bodies.

Then toward the end of that article in the context of God getting Israel’s attention through natural disasters:

Am I saying that the tragic fires in Israel were directly from the Lord for that reason? No, I am not saying or even implying that. God is now protecting the Jews and Israel as never before, with allowance made that evil still exists and wicked people will do malicious things as graphically seen in the despicable acts of arson to make Israel burn even more.

Whether the Lord was in the fires or “not in the fires” by allowing nature to “run its course” is not necessarily ours to know. However, he certainly was not in or with the Palestinians to cause or condone their atrocious acts of arson.

What is of paramount importance is that Israel contemplates a possible correlation between the current drought and ensuing fires to realize that God does care about Israel and wants to, like never before, draw their attention to the coming Messiah. With an open-mind, open-heart realization that Messiah arrived two thousand years ago as the Lamb of God to give them God’s New Covenant of Grace through Jesus’s substitutionary death on the cross for sin. That his Second Coming will be that of the Lion from the Tribe of Judah to reign over and through Israel and the entire world from Jerusalem. That the earth will be purified by fire (II Peter 3).

The United States or any country would do well to take a hard look at natural disasters that strike areas of the country for possible correlation between recent or soon to be decisions of government, especially in the greater context of supporting Israel and the Jews or denigrating and delegitimizing them.

(Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Which Struck in Late August, 2005, During the Time That Nearly 10,000 Jews Were Evicted from the Gaza Strip at the Orders Of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Under Immense Pressure from the United States to Undertake the Eviction)

God’s Discipline of Israel

One more quote from last week’s article:

Through Biblical and post-Biblical times, God used Gentile nations to discipline his chosen people, the Jews and his special possession Israel even to the point of total conquest and exile, e.g. Assyria and Babylon, then the massive Diaspora at the hands of the Roman Empire after the Jews and Judaism had rejected their Messiah.

When that tragic destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and much of Israel took place in 70 A.D., the Jews were left without a country and without a national identity, although their racial and religious identity has miraculously survived against all odds. Yet one of the most heart-rending results of no Jewish homeland since Roman times is that six million Jews were mercilessly slaughtered by those who brazenly believed the Jews had no right to even exist on this earth. Because it was not yet time for God’s prophetic disciplinary affliction to run its full course, Jews (especially European Jews) were still under Gentile domination; and, for that reason, victimized like never before in their history.

Just three years later, Israel was triumphantly reborn as a sovereign nation, which signaled the beginning of the end of Gentile suppression of the Jews; culminating in the IDF’s resounding victory during the Six-Day War and recapture of their beloved city Jerusalem.

The tragedy of the second Temple’s destruction, followed by expulsion of the Jews from Israel (some six hundred years after their return from Babylonian exile) in 70 A.D. was prophesied by Messiah, Jesus himself … forty years before the Romans sacked Jerusalem.

“As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings. But he responded, ‘Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another’” (Matthew 24:1-2).

Luke records the rest of this prophecy from Jesus: “Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation” (Luke 19:43-44, italics for emphasis).

I realize it’s a source of angst and controversy to correlate the Jewish Diaspora—that led to massive persecution of the Jews through the diabolically distorted “Christian” (not true Christianity, but in name only) Crusades, Inquisitions, Pogroms, and finally the devastating Holocaust of the 20^th century—to God’s withdrawal of protection from his people. Yet even many Rabbis have made that connection down through the years. The main difference of opinion is the cause. Whereas Jewish scholars and rabbis attribute Israel’s ruin in 70 A.D. to several factors, none of them acknowledge the Biblical fact that they rejected God’s New Covenant for them in general and the heart and soul of that Covenant of Grace, Jesus of Nazareth, specifically as their Messiah.

Read with me (aloud) this marvelous message about Messiah Jesus:

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:1-5).

Then a few verses later:

“He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God” (John 1:10-13).

Listen to Jesus’s passionate love for Israel, an unrequited love that grieved him greatly. But because he is the Son of God and God the Son, his is an everlasting love; one that will express itself yet again toward Jews individually and Israel nationally when he returns to save them from annihilation during the Great Tribulation. Jesus spoke these poignant words just before his prophesy about the Temple’s destruction, and he alluded to the Diaspora that would follow.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your home is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Matthew 23:37-39, italics to reference the expulsion of Jews from Israel beginning in 70 AD).

The Lord’s Punishment of Peoples and Nations Hostile Toward Israel

God also punished peoples and nations who went way too far in their extreme brutality and excessive cruelty while carrying out God’s plan to correct his chosen people and special possession, Israel. Which is the main reason that the mighty Assyrian, Babylonian, and Roman Empires came crashing down.

So also with the nation of Moab beginning with King Balak paying the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, only for God to intervene and providentially cause Balaam to bless Israel and curse Moab and Edom. In doing so, Balaam—though he didn’t really understand what he was doing or saying or the repercussions of it—uttered an astonishing prophecy of the coming Messiah:

“I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the foreheads of Moab’ people … while Israel marches on in triumph” (Numbers 24:17-18).

The Bible is clear that the Lord has and will continue to harshly judge those nations that bash Israel physically and verbally, that celebrate her calamities even if they don’t directly participate in harmful exploits against Israel.

For example, the ancient nation of Edom whose people were descendants of Jacob’s twin brother Esau; a nation that was emblematic of all countries that seek Israel’s destruction.

“Because of the violence you did to your close relatives in Israel, you will be filled with shame and destroyed forever. When they were invaded, you stood aloof, refusing to help them. Foreign invaders carried off their wealth and cast lots to divide up Jerusalem, but you acted like one of Israel’s enemies. You should not have gloated when they exiled your relatives to distant lands. You should not have rejoiced when the people of Judah suffered such misfortune. You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble” (Obadiah 1:10-12).

Then a message to all nations of the earth concerning Israel:

Regarding the theme of last week’s and this week’s Eye of Prophecy articles, let’s read on in Obadiah:

“But Jerusalem will become a refuge for those who escape; it will be a holy place. And the people of Israel will come back to reclaim their inheritance. The people of Israel will be a raging fire, and Edom a field of dry stubble. The descendants of Joseph will be a flame roaring across the field, devouring everything…” (Verse 17-18).

Also:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My jealous anger burns against these nations, especially Edom, because they have shown utter contempt for me by gleefully taking my land for themselves as plunder” (Ezekiel 36:5).

In the context of the recent fires and their cause and effect, much more could be said about this divine principle of Gentile blessing and cursing Israel (as has been said in some previous Eye of Prophecy articles), but I’ll limit commentary to the following precautionary warning:

Beware you who would seek Israel’s demise by burning the very land on which the Lord has allowed you to live, through occupation of Judea and Samaria which are clearly part of the Promised Land (Israel) given by God’s divine title deed to his people. Think again before you vainly attempt to enforce your false god Allah’s commands to subjugate and kill the Jews. The (fire) pit you dig will be the pit in which you will fall. The flames of the fires you ignite to burn Jewish houses, businesses, orchards, farms, and fields (that otherwise would not have burned) will blow back to your dwellings. This divine principle is a matter of Biblical truth and historical reality evidenced time after time by the fall of peoples, nations, and empires who sought Israel’s annihilation and elimination of the Jewish people from the face of the earth.

You would do well not to defy the God of Israel, who is the Father of Messiah Yeshua; the one whose soon return will be to right all wrongs against his people. His people are the descendants of Abraham, and God’s covenant with Abraham will be honored and forever fulfilled (already in progress), which is: “For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land” (Ezekiel 36:24).

His people are also those who have been redeemed (Jew and Gentile alike) through the New Covenant of Grace.

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us … He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups” (Ephesians 2:14-15).

*Note: To reinforce the above three paragraphs, Psalm 2 will be quoted at the end of this article under the heading that concludes all Eye of Prophecy articles, Things to Ponder.

Rain and Fire

Here is one more excerpt from last week’s post that was under the caption of Rain is Life:

Lack of rain can lead to abnormally dry conditions or debilitating drought. Which can result in something even worse: famine. Drought can also contribute to massive wildfires.

Whether it’s through steady global warming or through natural earthly cycles, the tender-dry environment that exist on much of this globe—some temporary, others permanent or showing signs of perpetual parchedness—we need to keep one thing in mind. God universally judged mankind the first time by water. The second and final time will be through fire.

“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, ‘What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.’

“They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed” (II Peter 3:5-7).

And, “…On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness” (Verses 12-13).

Does that mean that every wild fire—whether in Israel or the United States or elsewhere in the world—comes from the hand of God for the purpose of judgment or discipline? Of course not, for the reasons we’ve covered in these two articles. In fact, just the right amount of fire in a forest is a good thing … it purifies the land and makes the land more fertile for future growth.

The Rest of the Story

There is more to this sad story of the massive damage caused by the fires in Israel; made wretchedly worse by dozens of fires deliberately started by those who hate Jews and Israel so much they would even risk the flames spreading to their own homes and shops.

The rest of the story is both incredible and prophetic in its application to the imminent return of Messiah. I’m referring to the outpouring of both sentiment and assistance from many nations … that amazingly included those who have been enemies or critics of Israel.

As anticipated, the United States sent help in the form of a giant airplane specially designed with a huge tank for dumping water and fire retardants on fires. Also men and material were dispatched from other friendly countries (to Israel) such as: Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Greece, and the Ukraine.

But most unlikely of all: those who have been antagonistic toward Israel and Jews for decades including, but not limited to, support of United Nations sanctions against Israel. Yes, even the following nations sent personnel and/or equipment to Israel to combat the fires: Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Croatia, and Italy.

That’s not all. Are you sitting down, so as not to fall from shock and disbelief? Good, then I’ll tell you who else provided assistance to Israel.

The Palestinians through the Palestinian Authority as ordered by their President Mahmoud Abbas sent eight fire trucks and personnel alongside Jewish men, women, and equipment to fight the fires!

Why on earth would Abbas do such a thing? Before giving you the apparent motives on a cynical, but nevertheless historically accurate level, I would be the first to thank the Palestinians for doing something they’ve never done in the past nor probably ever will again this side of eternity.

I believe there were two reasons for this extraordinarily unexpected gesture: (1) The Palestinian Authority’s desire to placate international concern over arson used as a form of terrorism. The gruesome fact that fire knows no boundaries and doesn’t distinguish between its victims is something the whole world understands. (2) For the second part of reason number one, Mahmoud Abbas didn’t want the fires spreading into the West Bank. Given his persistent incitement of his own people to terrorize Israelis, I’m sure he would have preferred they continue with the knife, shooting, and car-ramming intifada tactics.

There’s already talk whether or not Abbas will extend his policy of monthly stipends to the families of Palestinian terrorists incarcerated in Israeli prisons, to Palestinians convicted of arson in these recent fires.

And what about nations such as Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and Jordan that are still, to a large extent in terms of their majority populace, hostile toward Jews in general and Israel in particular? At one time or another, these nations have directly caused or indirectly contributed (through funding terrorist groups or supporting nations that host terrorist cells) to the death and injury of Israelis particularly since Israel became a state again in 1948.

This fire-fighting aid to Israel is part of the broader context of what has recently taken place between Israel and a few nations of the world, including former adversaries like the nations listed and others like Saudi Arabia and several African nations. One glaring exception is, of course, Iran; whose hatred of Israel will never cease or change.

At face value, this recent restoration to some extent or another of diplomatic relations between Israel and nations normally antagonistic towards her doesn’t track with end time’s Biblical prophecy of the Gog/Magog assault against Israel, followed by the massive campaign of Antichrist Nero and his ten-nation confederation march on Israel. Nonetheless, many nations are beginning to recognize Israel’s ascendancy in the global arena of politics, industry, science, medicine, agriculture, and computer and cellular technology … but first and foremost, Israel’s military capability.

Then, when we remember the conditions that will be in place when these monstrous attacks on Israel take place, we can only marvel at the amazing accuracy of the Bible. For you see, before the Gog/Magog (involving principally Russia, Iran, and Turkey) invasion of Israel begins, there will be a (false) sense of peace and security in Israel. This is made possible primarily through the seven-year treaty that Antichrist Nero will orchestrate between Israel and mostly Arab nations. Preceded by the current conditions of the aforementioned nations cozying up to Israel, but with ulterior motives

See Eye of Prophecy article, The Peace Treaty That Will Guarantee War (Posted 9-3-16).

First Russia and her cohorts will seek to destroy Israel, only to be vanquished by God himself. Then Antichrist Nero will break the treaty after 3 ½ years; he, too, will launch a massive assault against other nations with his main objective of conquering Israel. That is when Messiah Jesus will return physically to earth and rescue Israel from obliteration. However, this time the Jews will fight alongside Messiah.

These campaigns will take place when Israel thinks she is the most secure, especially after God soundly defeats the Gog/Magog horde of nations. That attack will surprise the Jews, but not as much as Antichrist breaking the treaty and suddenly turning on Israel halfway through the Tribulation.

Here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article, The Gog Magog Countdown Has Begun! (Published 9-10-16); preceded by a detailed account of the remarkable diplomatic relations recently advanced between Russia and Iran, Russia and Turkey, Turkey and Iran, and most startling of all: Israel’s increasingly close ties with Russia and Turkey (in italics):

The remarkable reality that Israel has suddenly and dramatically improved her standing with a diverse array of nations, most of which were (and still are to varying degrees) staunch opponents to the existence of a Jewish State, fits precisely into our prophecy of the day … the Gog/Magog attack against Israel. These maneuvers for peace between Israel and adversarial Islamic nations will pave the way for The Treaty to End All Treaties!

That treaty effected by Antichrist Nero soon after the Rapture will not only bring together two ancient enemies (Jews and Arabs); it will also defuse hostilities of other nations toward Israel … even Iran.

But only for a short time!

Because at that time, which is just around the corner, Russia, Turkey, Iran and other lesser nations will, “swoop down on the land of Israel … You (Gog) and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” (Ezekiel 38:8-9).

This massive Gog/Magog invasion of Israel will be a direct “shock and awe” aftermath of: The Rapture disappearance of hundreds of millions from planet Earth (shock). Then the spectacular reappearance of Nero Caesar from the Abyss and his impressive treaty with Israel and the nations (awe).

World Opinion is Volatile

People all over the world, particularly those in “populist movements” (which is who and what got Donald Trump elected) are slowly but surely beginning to realize that Palestinian terrorism against Jews in Israel is born out of ancient hatred, not so-called Israeli occupation of or a few settlements in the West Bank. They are growing tired of the incessant Muslim rhetoric against Israel, especially the absurd Palestinian allegations that Temple Mount belongs to the Arabs with the equally inane assertion that the Jewish temples never existed on Temple Mount. Or that other Jewish sacred sites such as the Cave (Tomb) of the Patriarchs belong to Arabs. There is also rising international criticism against the pernicious BDS movement designed to disenfranchise and degrade Israel economically.

Make no mistake: the end time’s prophecies that many nations will march against Israel will certainly come to pass. Such as one of the most well-known Biblical passages tells us:

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: ‘This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves’” (Zechariah 12:1-3).

(The World’s Attention is On Israel … But They Don’t Know What To Do About Israel!)

But first there will be a semblance of peace in Israel and between Israel and several nations, even those that deplore the Jews. This treaty orchestrated by Antichrist Nero shortly after the Rapture will lead to the rebuilding of the Third Temple. It will cement cooperation between Israel and her enemies that has recently taken place through the remarkable diplomatic relations fostered between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, India, Greece, Cyprus, and several African nations.

The astonishingly unforeseen assistance given by these nations to fight the fires in Israel is another remarkable fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. For it is a prelude to the Gog Magog invasion of Israel that will occur in the first year or so of the seven-year treaty (The Tribulation period).

The enticement for Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other smaller nations to invade Israel—followed by the breaking of the treaty and even more massive assault against Israel led by the ten-nation coalition of Antichrist—will be conciliatory conditions created by this sudden reversal of animosity toward Israel to that of tolerance and even cooperation with Israel. This climate of collaboration has taken place recently and rapidly. As have many other developments that convincingly demonstrate we are so very close to the Day of the Lord.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: At that time evil thoughts will come to your mind, and you will devise a wicked scheme. You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence! I will go to those formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’” (Ezekiel 38:10-12).

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: When my people are living in peace in their land, then you will rouse yourself. You will come from your homeland in the distant north…” (Verses 14-15).

Things to Ponder

As indicated earlier in the context of people and rulers of nations who would defy God and seek to destroy the Jews through whom the Lord has brought salvation to the entire world, listen to these words of warning from King David:

“Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from slavery to God.’

“But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. For the Lord declares, ‘I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.’

“The king proclaims the Lord’s decree: The Lord said to me: ‘You are my son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.’

“Now then, you kings, acts wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—for his anger flares up in an instant. But what joy for all who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 2:1-12).

Regarding God’s Royal Son:

“… Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

“Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!” (Revelation 1:5-7).

https://youtu.be/Ra4HWj1jrJA

Prophetic Implications of the Fires in Israel (Part I)

10 Saturday Dec 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Tags

nutural disasters, Wrath of God

An Inferno in Israel

The soaking rain that fell on Israel last week was welcomed by Israelis perhaps like never before. For as long as Israel has been Israel—from her birth as a powerful country under King David over 3,000 years ago to her rebirth as a sovereign nation in 1948—the people depend upon the spring and fall rains to sustain them. This time the rain helped to bring desperate relief from the ferocious fires that engulfed much of northern Israel.

Desolation to the land and discouragement to the psyche of Israel caused by this conflagration was distressing. The statistics are saddening. The scope of damage unprecedented. But the soul of Israel and the spirit of her people is indomitable. They will recover and continue to prosper through the providential power and prevailing protection of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ashes will one day turn into beauty in this bewildering but wonderful land.

From November 18th through November 27^th, some 2,000 firefighters, 3,500 IDF soldiers, and 20,000 police officers battled 1,773 fires (39 of which were classified as major fires) or contributed to evacuation and rescue operations to remove Israelis from harm’s way.

Over 32,000 acres of urban terrain and rural forest were destroyed, 30% more than the huge 2010 fire that decimated some five million trees in the Carmel Mountains. Fortunately, if not miraculously, there were no fatalities. Still, some 180 people were injured or overcome by smoke inhalation, with the injuries spanning the scale of minor, moderate, and serious. According to some experts, it will take nearly 30 years for the damaged areas to fully recover.

One of the Israelis in charge of rescue operations in the community of Neve Tzuf commented:

“When we entered the town, it looked like a bomb had gone off … A two-story building was burning and the one behind it caught on fire in a domino effect. Gas tanks were blowing up and all you could see everywhere you looked was fire—giant balls of fire skipping from building to building, to the cars, eating up everything and destroying it…”

Large areas of Israel, including communities near Jerusalem were affected. In Haifa, Israel’s third largest city, over 500 homes and apartments were completely destroyed, more than 1,600 people left homeless, and 75,000 residents evacuated. To put the magnitude of this devastation in perspective: If the same proportion of acreage would have burned in the United States as that destroyed in Israel, it would have consumed the combined states of Vermont and New Jersey. The whole of Israel itself is roughly the size of New Jersey.

(The Land and the Sky Ablaze in Israel)

In large part, the fires were natural in origin, fueled by years of below average rainfall in Israel including several consecutive years of drought conditions. Because of Israel’s remarkable irrigation system and desalination of sea water into drinking water, the drought conditions have been moderated enough to alleviate undue hardship on the people. Yet only a sufficient amount of rain can prevent or at least reduce the threat of wildfires.

The unusually dry conditions throughout Israel combined with several days of high winds brought about this “perfect storm” of hundreds of fires, many of them converging with each other. But there was another factor that contributed to the conflagration: the unthinkable “arson intifada” waged by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. Not unlike the lone-wolf terrorist attacks over the past 15 months, that including knifing, shooting, and car-ramming injuries and deaths of innocent Israelis.

Divine Judgment?

Muslim news sources, Arab social media, and leaders of several Islamic nations have claimed that the fires in Israel were a direct result of Allah’s retribution against pending Israeli legislation called the “muezzin bill.” Muezzin is the repetitive Muslim call to worship funneled through loudspeakers that Israelis consider an irritating and disruptive source of noise pollution all over Israel. I’ve been to Israel and heard these high decibel blasts that can wake you out of a sound sleep early in the morning. It’s pervasively loud enough to sometimes stop you in the middle of a sentence. I fully agree with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who supports the muezzin bill; with his rationale that our modern age of alarm clocks and phone apps preclude any need for a Muslim to be reminded of their worship time of day.

In keeping with the commands of the Koran to help their god Allah force Islam on the unbelieving infidels and enforce the oppressive demands of Muslims, which includes removal of all Jews from Israel, Arab lone-wolf terrorists decided that Israel wasn’t burning fast enough. So they added fire to their list of terrorist tactics against Israelis. Thus far, some 24 Palestinian and Israeli Arabs have been arrested for arson.

Which proves once again that Palestinians couldn’t care less about the so-called “Israeli occupation” of the West Bank (to include what they call East Jerusalem). The existence of allegedly “illegal Jewish settlements” is only a pretense for Palestinian leaders to incite their people to carry out attacks on Jews. The real Palestinian agenda is elimination of all Jews in Israel, not just in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (where Jews were evicted in 2006); and the creation of a Palestinian State to replace the entire nation of Israel, not merely within Israel.

Although there were a few natural fires within the West Bank, all of the arson blazes were set in Israel itself (outside the Palestinian occupied territories). Which also proves the hatred that Palestinians harbor against Jews and the callous disregard they have for the land only because Jews live on that land. Apparently the Palestinians are willing to participate in a “scorched earth” policy, even if it means that part of the West Bank could burn.

Muslims the world over are elated to think that their god would inflict his wrath on the Jews. In fact, the hashtag used by Arab social media to express and spread their delight over the suffering and hardship these horrible fires inflicted on Israelis was under the label of Israel burns.

(One of Hundreds of Israel Homes Destroyed or Heavily Damaged)

Surprisingly, a few Jewish rabbis also believe the fires are a result of God’s judgment of Israel, but for a different reason; the pending eviction of over 40 Jewish families from the Amona district within the West Bank. This is a complicated legal issue and has resulted in a confrontational clash of authority between Israel’s Supreme Court and the Knesset.

Of course, the Jewish God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of the Old Testament who is also the Christian God of the Old and New Testament combined. But whether the true God or a false god, both Jew and Arab claim a divine connection between the fires and wrongs they perceive as perpetrated by the Israeli Government.

God’s Discipline of Israel

One of the most perplexing dilemmas that people have encountered from time immemorial is whether or not natural disasters are just that, natural. Or are they supernatural in origin, i.e. the wrath of God? An entire article or two could be written on that subject alone (make that three articles, as I would need to throw in the ludicrous theory of evolution!); for sake of time/space, I’ll limit my observations (opinion if you will, but based on Scripture) on that peripheral side note in the context of the main subject of this week’s and next week’s Eye of Prophecy article.

Webster’s Dictionary defines naturally: “by nature; by natural character or ability; according to the usual course of things; as might be expected.”

Here, we’ll look briefly at just one example of natural events. Later in the article, we’ll examine another incident involving the same prophet, Elijah, in which God directly and divinely intervenes with a supernatural (over and above nature) display of his power through the natural element of fire.

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain, the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper” (I Kings 19:11-12).

The Lord did not supernaturally bring the windstorm, earthquake, and fire just to get Elijah’s attention and certainly not to discipline him for running scared. Instead, the Lord spoke to Elijah through a “gentle whisper” then tenderly instructed Elijah to, “…go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there, anoint Hazael to be king of Aram” (Verse 15).

With gentleness, but also in no uncertain terms, God told Elijah to get on with his life. Among other lessons, God was showing Elijah that natural calamities are part of life; after all, it is a fallen world we live in. As we will see shortly, Elijah had already witnessed firsthand a supernatural display of God’s power that the Lord sometimes uses to intervene in human affairs. But the Lord had more work for Elijah to do, despite windstorms, earthquakes, and firestorms, both real and figurative (storms of life).

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for the future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us” (Romans 8:18-23).

Do I hear an AMEN!

Although somewhat of an oversimplification, it nonetheless is a Biblically based precept to ultimately equate/define God’s blessings under the umbrella category of God’s protection. Conversely, whatever or whoever is under God’s curse, lacks God’s protection. In that regard and with that understanding, we realize that God allows nature (the natural order of things) to operate on its own most of the time; subject, in part, to man’s authority over and care of the earth. However, when Adam and Eve sinned, they/we lost much of that control which originated as follows:

“Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.’ Then, God said, ‘Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food’” (Genesis 1:28-29).

Which is why scientists, geologists, and physicists can with some degree of accuracy explain why there are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and so forth.

What they can’t explain with any degree of certainty is WHEN catastrophic events of nature will happen, how large they will be, how long they will last, or what extent of damage will ensue. Which begs the question of whether or not God is directly involved in “natural disasters.” Putting it another way: Does he ever use the forces of nature to judge the ungodly and discipline his people? Does he occasionally cause or allow natural disasters to get our attention, to remind us that the Lord IS God. Or does he sometimes prevent natural catastrophes or limit the damage and casualties from them?

Rain is Life

No rain; no water or replenishing of water. No water; no crops or fewer crops. No crops; no food for people and animals. No food for animals; no meat for people. Our life and existence on this planet depend on adequate rainfall. Just take a tour of the Sahara Desert or Death Valley, California if you think that planet earth could survive conditions like that on a regular or global basis.

As found especially in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, Israel’s continued possession of and prosperity in the Promised Land were directly related to trust in God (for all things) and obedience to his laws—given for the welfare and security of his people. And, also the companion condition that Israel worship only the true and living God; not false, man-made gods that they or their pagan neighbors had fashioned. This was an overarching principle that applied to everyday life of the Jews.

With the Levitical sacrificial system, God’s forgiveness for sin was unconditionally given through atonement. Of course, there must be genuine remorse for wrong things said and done, but forgiveness was not based on good works or keeping of the Mosaic Law … whether moral, civil, or ceremonial. Redemptive righteousness (right standing with God) was based exclusively on faith in God’s Word (given to Moses and the people) that he would provide a covering for their sin through an outside source—the shedding of innocent animal blood. Then later the Lord gave them/us the New Covenant which was the once for all sacrificial substitutionary death of God’s son, Messiah Yeshua; followed by Messiah’s resurrection from the dead to ratify and seal this marvelous Covenant of Grace. This eternally solved man’s spiritual problem—separation from God because of sin. (See among other passages, the entire book of Hebrews).

Not so with respect to the issue of physical presence and prosperity in and permanent possession of the land. That was strictly conditional. Furthermore, the Lord specifically used rain or lack of it as the acid test repercussion of Israel’s trust and obedience. Read with me the Lord’s instructions as spoken by Moses to the people.

First the promises … the good news:

“Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today, so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants—a land flowing with milk and honey! For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came … Rather, the land … is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain—a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!

“If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pastureland for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat” (Deuteronomy 11:8-15).

Now for the warnings … the not so good news:

“But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the Lord’s anger will turn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you. So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your foreheads as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors” (Deuteronomy 11:16-21).

Moses goes on to say that God would give his people victory over and protection from their enemies. On somewhat of a side note in this chapter of Deuteronomy, we find the largest boundaries of the Promised Land of Israel—broader than ancient Israel of King David’s time and far broader than the borders of modern Israel, especially to the east of Israel.

“Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west” (Verse 24).

Then the Lord through Moses summarizes the details previously given of how continued possession, indeed, their very existence in the Promised Land, was contingent on their obedience to God.

“Look, today I am giving you the choice between blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him…” (Verses 26-27).

Toward the end of Deuteronomy—which is a summary of all that God told the people just before they entered the Promised Land, a message from Moses that took only a few days—we read:

“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster” (Deuteronomy 30:15).

Then again: “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! … And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Verses 19-20).

In today’s vernacular we could summarize by saying:

“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Conversely, “Reach out to the hand that feeds you.”

Two Examples of God Withholding Rain

Elijah:

The first is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible; that of Elijah’s astounding victory over the false prophets of Baal, hundreds of whom had been enlisted to serve the wicked King Ahab and his equally evil wife, Jezebel. Time doesn’t permit in this week’s article to elaborate on this astounding miracle involving natural fire from God’s supernatural source in heaven that humiliated the false prophets and their man-made god Baal. It proved to Israel who the true and living God was and forever will be.

Rather we will focus on the very first introduction to Elijah, beginning with his confrontational prophecy to Ahab, one that applied to the nation of Israel (the ten Northern tribes in particular):

“Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, ‘As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!’” (I Kings 17:1).

Not only no rain; not even any dew!

It wasn’t just Ahab and Jezebel, although they were Israel’s (loathsome) leaders and (bad) examples; all the northern tribes (called Israel, with the two southern tribes known as Judah) had begun to serve and worship Baal. Enough was enough. God would step in and do what was necessary to correct his people, to get them back on the right path, the path of life. This cycle of rebellion against the Lord, followed by God’s judgment through nature or by surrounding gentile nations, then Israel’s return (always temporary) to God is found throughout the Old Testament, beginning with the book of Judges.

Because it fits with today’s theme, I will take the time/space to quote the astonishing results of God “raining” fire down on Elijah’s sacrifice (a good thing). The fire consumed much more than just the sacrificed animal. Read with me:

“Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, ‘The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!’” (I Kings 18:38-39).

Elijah had first instructed the people to pour twelve large jars of water on the twelve-stone altar and in a trench surrounding it. In such a time of drought, using that much water to prove a point was risky business. But Elijah knew that God would listen to him and answer his prayer to validate God’s deity and power. Even the twelve stones and water from twelve large jars burned up!

So, we have no rain (whatsoever) for over three years leading to a second confrontation between Elijah and Ahab that would include one of the most spectacular miracles of the Old Testament (and there were many amazing miracles): fire flashing down from heaven to prove to the people who was God and who was not. Followed by the people’s sincere acknowledgment that the Lord was, indeed, God. With God’s forgiveness and grace subsequently poured out in the form of rain.

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming! So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees” (I Kings 18:41-42).

We know that Elijah had prayed for rain, because that’s exactly what happened next.

“And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm…” (Verse 45).

And that was the end of the 3 ½ year drought in Israel.

Zechariah:

This is another example of how God uses rain specifically and, by implication, nature in general, in response to the disobedience of people and nations when they blatantly defy and scorn the Lord God. However, this is a future illustration of the age-old Biblical principle and practice of our Great God. The setting here is the Millennial Reign of Messiah Jesus.

“In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain” (Zechariah 14:16-17).

“No rain,” means exactly that. Not just a reduction of annual rainfall; there will be no rain at all for that nation! Just across the borders of surrounding nations that show their gratitude and love for Christ Jesus, the King of kings, for all that he has done and will continue to do for them and the world, there will be abundant rain, crops, and prosperity.

Summary

No longer will the Lord discipline Israel through domination of Gentile nations. Such discipline has run its prophetic course. It ended with Israel’s phenomenal Six-Day War victory in June, 1967. See Eye of Prophecy articles, Seven Times Seven to the 4^th Power (I, II, & III, posted 1-25, 2-1, & 2-8-14)) which provide stunning details of one of the least known or understood prophecies in Scripture (Leviticus Chapter 26). Followed by the summary article entitled, The Omega Generation, published 2-15-14.

But God still uses nature to capture the attention of both Israel and the nations.

Whether the Lord was in the fires or “not in the fires” by allowing nature to “run its course” is not necessarily ours to know. However, he certainly was not in or with the Palestinians to cause or condone their atrocious acts of arson.

Yet whenever we hear or read about, are part of by direct experience, or perhaps even narrowly escape with our health and home from a “natural” disaster, we should pause and reflect.

You won’t want to miss Part II of next week’s Eye of Prophecy article that will continue our examination of the fires in Israel in the context of Biblical prophecy. We will take an up close and personal look at the Rest of the Story, something completely unexpected that occurred during these horrific fires in Israel. We will see the remarkable connection of this amazing event to Biblical prophecy that will be fulfilled in the very near future.

Things to Ponder

Then take the opportunity to examine our hearts and actions in the light of Biblical prophecy, precepts, and promises pertaining to Israel; and also our individual character and conduct concerning acknowledgment of God (or lack thereof) and at least a measure of respect for and cooperation with our chosen leaders.

“My child, fear the Lord and the king. Don’t associate with rebels, for disaster will hit them suddenly. Who knows what punishment will come from the Lord and the king?” (Proverbs 24:21-22).

Whether drought, famine, forest fires or other “natural” disasters, they are not necessarily used by the Lord as a means of discipline or judgment. For example, the seven-year famine throughout the Middle East in Joseph’s time was God’s way of reuniting Joseph with his father and brothers, all the while saving Israel, Egypt, and surrounding nations from drought induced starvation. But also to demonstrate to Pharaoh and Egypt that he, and he alone, is the true and living God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And we know now, also the God of all who are redeemed by receiving and believe in God’s Son, Messiah Jesus.

It was a reminder of who is ultimately in control.

Said Joseph to his brothers who had sold him into Egyptian slavery:

“…Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:19-20).

As Messiah Jesus hung on that cross suffering from excruciating pain and terrible thirst, he looked down on his accusers, captors, and executioners and uttered these amazing words:

“…Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

“For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).

Aftermath of America’s Amazing Election

26 Saturday Nov 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Election results, Electoral College

Such a Campaign and Election!

It was one of, if not the most poignant, passionate, and polarized United States presidential campaigns ever. Followed by one of the most astonishing elections in our country’s history. That’s what bewildered journalists, editors, political pundits, and millions of dazed citizens across this nation are saying. Many are still reeling from the results, especially the pollsters!

It was a stunning turn of events; an upset to rival the embarrassing reversal of newspaper headlines when the media and political experts prematurely claimed that Thomas Dewey had defeated Harry Truman in 1948.

Did you, along with millions of Americans, vote against one of the candidates instead of voting for the other candidate? Or did you “vote your conscience.” Or was your conscience too numb to vote at all? Whether you voted for Clinton or Trump or were too upset with both candidates to even vote at all, quite likely you were as shocked as I was with the election results.

Other than disbelief, what has been your reaction? Have you given up on American politics? Or have you celebrated what appears to be a victory over what many believe to be establishment “politics as usual?” Have you protested in the streets and sworn that Donald Trump is not your President, now or ever? Conversely, if Hilary Clinton had won the election, would you also challenge the results … claiming that the election was rigged?

Scripture is abundantly clear that the true and living God of the Bible is sovereign over all things, including governments, their leaders, and the rise and fall of nations. Yet, the Bible is truthfully transparent that God has given mankind free will to choose right from wrong, eternal life over death, and good leaders instead of bad ones. Eventually and inevitably, God’s majestic plan for the human race will be accomplished. Our Great God and Savior will triumph over evil … including the greed, injustice, corruption, and indifference that tarnishes even the best of human governments and taints the integrity of even the noblest of leaders.

In the meantime, God allows men and woman the world over to try to prove to themselves that they can govern and achieve peace between peoples and nations without first seeking peace with God through redemption purchased by Messiah Jesus. Or at least acknowledging the Lord in all the “affairs of state.”

One day (soon):

“The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations … Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord” (Psalm 22:27-30).

These two verses are near the end of Psalm 22, which is the most recognized Messianic Chapter of the Old Testament, along with Isaiah 53. In those passages, several prophecies of the coming Messiah were subsequently fulfilled by Jesus, mostly those that took place while he suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the whole world.

Whether a nation is governed by a monarch, a constitutional parliament, an oligarchy, a pure democracy, or a republic, down through the ages revolt against elected or appointed (including self-appointed) officials often has proved disastrous. I’m not talking about revolutions that led to the formation of a new nation, not the least of which was our own American Revolution against Great Britain. Or even the greater majority of people who attempted to overthrow repressive regimes controlled by a ruthless dictator. However, even then, that nation was seldom better off than before. Either a new dictator would emerge or a coalition type government would unravel.

Rather, I’m referring to situations like what happened in Israel some 3,000 years ago when ten of the formerly united twelve tribes in Israel rebelled against King Rehoboam, the rightful heir to King Solomon. (See I Kings Chapter 12). Though the leaders of those tribes believed their cause was right, defiance of the newly appointed king was because they had decided, he was not their king.

Civil war followed that continued periodically (and contributed to) until the ten northern kingdoms (Israel) were conquered and deported by Assyria a little over 200 years later. Then the two southern tribes (Judah) were destroyed and exiled by the Babylonia Empire some 150 years afterward. Israel would never be the same again until her miraculous rebirth as the State of Israel in 1948; made possible because that was and is God’s supreme and sovereign plan for the Jews and for the land promised to them, Israel.

One of the most tragic examples of a nation literally splitting in two with unparalleled devastation and loss of life was our own American Civil War. Though the root cause was the issue of slavery, eleven southern states succeeded from the Union, with the mindset that Abraham Lincoln was not their President. In fact, they formed a Confederate Union and elected their own president … Jefferson Davis. Currently, there are residents of California who want to succeed from the United States of America and make that state a separate nation. Some call it the Calexit movement. Likewise, some people in Oregon have called for that state to leave the Union and form the “People’s Democratic Republic of Oregon.”

God often allows us to do and have what we want, even if it’s not close to being what is best for us, and ends in failure. In fact, depending on our response, failure often brings us back to God … with whom we should have stayed in the first place.

Dow Hits Record High

Were you among those who invested more or for the very first time in the stock market in the past few days? Causing headlines posted this past Tuesday such as, “Dow Hits Record High … Stocks Soar.” If you voted Republican, are you sure that your president-elect and the republican led Senate and House can and will implement domestic and foreign policies that will “make America great again.” If you voted Democrat, are you at least hoping these polices will do something good for this country whether you like Trump and his cabinet appointees or not?

If you’re one of the tens of millions of Christians (truly born again or just Christian in name only) what has been your response? Anger? Euphoria? Angst? Hope? Dismay? Delight? Or perhaps indifference and resignation?

Have you infrequently or never prayed for your city, county, state, and federal officials … not even for the President of the United States? If not, is it because you don’t think your prayers will make that much difference, like many think their one vote doesn’t matter much or at all?

Perhaps you’ve forgotten or don’t really believe what God has said through his Word, the Bible:

“…The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield it crops” (James 5:16-18).

The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul tells us:

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (I Timothy 2:1-6).

One of the most powerful petitions any Christian can present to God our Father and to Messiah Jesus our Savior is that our President and other leaders will treat Israel with respect and dignity. To honor her as God’s special possession and Jews the world over as God’s chosen people through whom God’s Messiah came to the world 2000 years ago. Ultimately, our success and security as a nation is in direct proportion to our support of Israel and favorable treatment of Jews (Genesis 12:1-3).

Our President-Elect and Israel

In Eye of Prophecy articles, I write sparingly about politics. When I do the articles are in the broader context of Biblical prophecy and principles on such things as the rise and fall of governments, rulers, and nations that are directly related to their behavior toward Israel and recognition that God is the source and sustainer of peoples and nations.

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good” (Psalm 127:1).

On the other hand, this is the first United States Presidential election since the Eye of Prophecy website began nearly 3 ½ years ago, So, I’m compelled to offer commentary on this election in general and the more unlikely of the two candidates who won, in particular.

We are living in the last days of the end times. Like never before, how individuals and nations regard the Jews and Israel will determine their fate before and after the Rapture, especially when Messiah Jesus returns to this earth. Although God will judge the nations during the Great Tribulation and pour out his wrath on the ungodly who have chosen to follow and serve the Anti-Christ and also those who will oppose this man of lawlessness but still refuse to acknowledge the true and living God and his Messiah, Jesus, I fear that the Lord will not reserve all of his fury just for the Tribulation.

If the United States of America continues on the course charted by our current administration that often includes denunciation of Israel for such things as building houses and apartments on land that belongs to them in the first place; or for promoting a Palestinian State without secure defensible borders for Israel, then this country will literally have “hell to pay.”

There’s not much I could say that hasn’t already been said or seen regarding the enigma that is Donald Trump. This past election may just be the most definitive example in all of America’s political history of a love/hate relationship with a President, who isn’t even officially President yet. There are still many Democrats who are passionately trying to persuade several Electoral College officials to change their electoral vote on December 19^th from Trump to Clinton. With their main rationale that Clinton leads Trump with the popular (majority) vote, nationwide.

(Republican-Red; Democrat-Blue; Results of Electoral Votes, with Hilary Clinton garnering 48.03% and Donald Trump 47.01% of popular vote)

Much has already been written about his pre-office domestic plans and foreign policies, and much more will be published after Donald Trump is sworn in as President on January 20^th, 2017. Today’s article will be confined to potential (hopeful) keeping of promises already made (or at least proposed) by President-elect Trump concerning Israel.

We, who have been redeemed by our great God and Savior, Messiah Jesus, need to plead with the Lord that our President and his staff will support Israel in word and deed.

Some of what we know about Donald Trump’s regard for Israel is as follows:

Financial Support for Israel

Donald Trump has provided generous monetary aid to Israel on more than one occasion; such as giving millions of dollars to help resettle Jews who had been evicted from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Though I love God’s special possession Israel and God’s chosen people the Jews—with great admiration and respect for current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—like leaders of many nations, a few former Israeli Prime Ministers have made costly mistakes. In this case, now deceased Prime Minister Ariel Sharon forcibly removed all Jews from the Gaza Strip with the apparently good intention (at the time) of Israel better able to protect those Israelis if they were no longer living in the Gaza Strip. Instead, the terrorist organization Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, and launched mortar and missile attacks into Israel.

Likewise, Donald Trump’s father had donated millions of dollars to worthy Jewish causes in the United States and Israel.

United States Embassy in Israel

In the Eye of Prophecy article, Jerusalem … A Capital Without a Country? (Posted 6-13-15), I wrote extensively on the incredible irony that Jerusalem is not accepted by virtually every nation on earth as the undivided, exclusive capital of Israel. This despite Biblical and historical evidence and validation that this holy city is the very heart and soul of Israel and the Jewish people. In italics, here are the first two paragraphs of that article which follow the title and heading, Jerusalem … A Capital without a Country:

Or is it: Israel … A Country without a Capital? It’s a shame that either of these two concepts should even be in the form of a question. But they are, and they must be faced head-on and answered. Any response depends entirely on whether a sovereign nation possesses the inherent right to choose its own capital; which is a reasonable presumption, or it should be. So we’ll begin with both barrels blazing and boldly assert: Of course, a sovereign state has that right! For Israeli Jews, the answer is as obvious as it would be to an American citizen who would never question whether Washington D.C. is the Capital of the United States of America … Jerusalem is the (eternal) capital of Israel.

Yet, the United States and virtually every nation on earth does NOT recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Instead, they have placed embassies in Tel Aviv; thereby, telling Israel that Tel Aviv is its seat of government, not Jerusalem. So drop the capital and the issue actually becomes: Jerusalem, a City without a Country? That is precisely how the US President and his staff, as well as most governments, classify Jerusalem—which reduces it to the same status as the Vatican … a city-state inside a country but without a country.

On more than one occasion, President-elect Donald Trump has said that he would do whatever necessary to move the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Which is what three Presidents have not done since the United States Senate voted in 1995 to move the embassy to Jerusalem. With each of these Presidents, to some extent or another, reluctant to implement the Senate ruling over fear of irritating Muslim nations in general and the Palestinians in particular.

(U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv / I’ve Been There!)

Just this week, Donald Trump announced that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley had accepted his appointment of her as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Governor Haley was the first governor in the US to pass legislation against the insidious BDS movement designed to cripple Israel’s economy, with the more sinister agenda to delegitimize and demonize Israel.

One of the many posts and positions that Donald Trump is considering for his Presidential staff is Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor (twice a Republican candidate for President), as the US Ambassador to Israel. As many know, Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel. Mostly because he is a born-again Christian who loves Israel, and who recognizes that God has not forgotten either of the two sweeping plans proclaimed throughout the Bible. One of which is the restoration of Israel as a nation that will be the center of the Kingdom of God in Jerusalem (government of Messiah … see Ezekiel 37 and many other passages) and final redemption of the Jews.

God’s other plan of the ages is that of completing the New Covenant salvation for Jew and Gentile alike (one in Messiah) through the astounding resurrection of the dead in Christ and transfiguration of those alive (at the Rapture) to our eternal heavenly bodies. Included with that marvelous promise is to rule and reign with Messiah Jesus during his magnificent Millennial kingdom on earth.

The Kingdom of God on earth will be headquartered in Jerusalem. God will see to it. But why not seek God’s pre-millennial blessings now by recognizing and honoring Jerusalem as the Holy Capital of the Holy Land of Israel. Enough with the politically correct excuses to leave the embassy in Tel Aviv. Pray that soon-to-be President Trump will get that embassy of ours moved to Jerusalem where it belongs!

“On the holy mountain stands the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you!” (Psalm 87:1-3).

The following prophetic promise began its fulfillment when Israel was reborn as a sovereign state in 1948:

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: ‘You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west. I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God’” (Zachariah 8:7-8).

Let’s read what will take place after the Lord delivers the Jews and Israel from imminent annihilation by the armies of the world led by Antichrist Nero at the end of the Tribulation. In fact, the first part of this passage is already underway.

“…People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’ Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing … In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you’” (Zechariah 8:20-23).

Iran Nuclear Deal

Nearly everyone that has kept current with the election campaign and post-election news, understands Trump stated intentions to revoke what is arguably the worst deal that the United States has ever made with another country, let alone a nation whose avowed goal is the destruction of the United States and Israel. Certainly, President-elect Trump’s main concern is an Iranian nuclear threat to America. If, however, he can persuade the other P5 + 1 nations who co-signed this pact with Iran to uncompromisingly enforce it; or if he will simply circumvent the deal by reinstating US sanctions against Iran, this would be of tremendous long-term benefit to Israel’s security.

Palestinian Two-State Solution

Preliminary evidence shows that Donald Trump does support the general idea of a Palestinian State in Israel (who doesn’t among world leaders, despite the fact that this is absolutely contrary to God’s purpose and plan for Israel, i.e. that the Promised Land is not to be divided). However, at least Trump prefers that Israel and the Palestinians decide this and other issues through direct negotiations. Not through a United States led or approved UN Security Council resolution that would unilaterally (without participation by or the voice of Israel heard) partition Israel into two states … especially with pre-1967 borders that would render Israel virtually indefensible from its enemies.

(Map of Israel: According to the Palestinians, Israel is Still Palestine. They want all of Israel for a State, not just the West Bank and Gaza)

Whether a Palestinian State is created or not and whether President-elect Trump follows through with his positive promises toward Israel remains to be seen. But it’s evident at this time that he does place Israel’s interest at a high level of importance. This includes a warm relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a reciprocal approval from many Israelis of America’s choice for President. They see Donald Trump’s presidency as one that will reignite the flickering flame that has become a mere pilot light barely illuminating the dark tension between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu that has adversely affected relations between America and Israel over the past several years.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said that Donald Trump is, “a devoted supporter of Israel,” and eagerly anticipates that Trump will follow through on his campaign promise to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. He extended a warm greeting to Trump, saying, “I am full of hope for your support for our activities for building in and developing Jerusalem for all her residents, and I invite you to visit the capital of Israel.”

The United States, Israel, and Russia

Many Israelis also have welcomed the thawing of once frozen foreign relations between Israel and Russia. This includes an unprecedented number of visits between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the last eighteen months or so. However, this unexpected, even stunning (to some), easing of tensions between Russia and Israel is substantially one of political and economic expediency, if not tolerance, for both countries.

Several factors have led to this most unusual cooperation, but time/space in this article permits identification of only one.

Which is: Russia’s obvious interest in establishing a foothold in the Middle East primarily through and in Syria. With its ultimate agenda that of gaining control of Israeli natural gas fields off the coast of Israel, and eventually Israel itself. Moreover, Benjamin Netanyahu knows this or at least suspects that Putin’s motive is not pure, nor Russia’s intentions so altruistic. Thus, his tactical response is to demonstrate to Putin that Israel will not be bullied by any nation that has been or still is a threat to her survival. And if your enemy (Russia) is led by someone (Putin) who recognizes and respects a people and nation (Israel) that has both the determination and the military and economic resources to defend itself even against powerful nations, then why not seek some degree of dialogue and some extent of cooperation that might benefit both sides. Yet this tenuous political, economic, and cultural “truce” between Russia and Israel is not necessarily based on anything approaching a high level of mutual admiration between Putin and Netanyahu. As alluded, it’s predicated primarily on pragmatism.

Not so, with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Just how serious and genuine it is now or will be after Donald Trump takes office in January, would be anybody’s guess. However, Trump and Putin have begun what appears to be a mutual admiration society between the two of them, even before Trump won the election. Moreover, a recent post-election survey of Russians yielded some remarkable facts: (1) Only four percent of Russians would have voted for Hilary Clinton; (2) Over one-third of Russians believe Donald Trump will be America’s best president ever.

Ordinarily, this would be a paradox if not an obstacle to any restoration of head of state interaction between the United States and Israel; were it not for the equally strange behavior of Vladimir Putin in his courting of Israel.

(Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu)

The Two Tribulation Attacks Against Israel

Several Eye of Prophecy articles have been written about the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel, which I firmly believe will occur within the first year or so of the seven-year Tribulation. In this week’s post, we’ll examine just one feature of that massive coalition against Israel: how the United States and our President will react … what they will do or can do, and not do.

In proportion to our population, the United States undoubtedly has as many or more Christian believers than any other nation on earth. Thus, America will be affected by the Rapture (loss of people) more than any other country. Our armed forces will still be formidable. But only because of our vast technological military that requires less personnel (soldiers and civilians), relying significantly on heavy armaments—such as missiles, ships, tanks, drones, bombers, fighter jets—rather than troops on the ground. Yet the fact remains: America’s military capacity and infrastructure will be weakened by sheer loss of people when the Rapture takes place.

Equally evident is that the three main countries making up the Gog/Magog confederacy (Russia, Iran, and Turkey) will lose very few people at the Rapture. By default, Russia will catch up overnight to the United States in military might, and probably exceed it. Even a President like Donald Trump won’t be able to stand up to this massive alliance, nor want to. His response will fall under the proverbial perception that, “discretion is the better part of valor.”

For one thing, the revived Roman Emperor, Nero (Antichrist) will be in the process of persuading, then forcing three nations to join the seven who have already yielded their governments and military to him (Daniel 7). Please refer to the Eye of Prophecy article, One Ring to Rule Them All article (posted 11-21-15), for the most likely line up of the ten nation coalition controlled by Antichrist Nero. The seven kingdoms that will immediately join Nero are projected to be: Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and a Persian Gulf State Arabic coalition.

The three nations that will reluctantly join forces with Nero’s coalition will quite likely be: United States, Canada, and Australia. Here is an excerpt from One Ring to Rule Them All, explaining why these three countries will be part of the Antichrist’s ten-kingdom empire (in italics):

First and foremost, each of these countries is fiercely democratic and independent. They will not readily join forces with what they undoubtedly will perceive as totalitarian, nor a tyrant no matter how enthusiastically he will be welcomed by a world in chaos and confusion. However, the United States, and to a lesser degree Canada and Australia, will experience a substantial loss of population when millions are taken in the glorious Rapture.

Which is the primary reason that the United States will not be able to economically or militarily do anything about the Russian-led (Gog/Magog) invasion of Israel soon after the Rapture. Nor will America, Canada, or Australia pose any obstacle to the enormous bloc of eastern nations. And certainly not to Nero’s agenda of establishing a powerful dictatorial ten-kingdom federation to include these three countries that, though considerably weakened, will still exert an impressive influence on this global scene of temporary anarchy. The natural resources and technology of these three countries would be enticement enough for Nero.

As independently self-sufficient as these three nations are and still will be (to a lesser extent), they also will not want to lose their standard of living and Western way of life … all of which will have been shaken to the very core by global upheaval caused by the sudden disappearance of hundreds of millions the world over.

Consequently, America, Canada, and Australia will inevitably yield their political, economic, and military allegiance to Nero and the other seven nations. They will succumb to what will probably be extensive economic sanctions and daunting military threats against them. Their capitulation to Nero’s invitational-style demand (please join us … or else) to enter his coalition will be reluctant at first; but then they will participate enthusiastically when they see the astounding accomplishments of Nero’s early program to pacify Europe during the first year or so of the Tribulation.

Gog/Magog Invasion of Israel & the Response of Nations, Including America

Over 2,500 years ago, God through the prophet Ezekiel prophesied against Gog/Magog:

“A long time from now, you will be called into action. In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel. You and all your allies—a vast and awesome army—will roll down on them like a storm and cover the land like a cloud” (Ezekiel 38:8-9).

Then we see the reaction of some nations (to certainly include the United States and the other countries that will comprise the ten-nation empire of Antichrist Nero), which in Ezekiel Chapter 39 are identified as the “allies who live safely on the coasts.” Leaders from virtually all nations will sit back and watch and only some will voice criticism or condemnation of the Russian, Iranian, Turkish (and other smaller nations) onslaught against Israel. They will say:

“…Do you really think the armies you have gathered can rob them of silver and gold? Do you think you can drive away their livestock and seize their goods and carry off plunder?” (Ezekiel 38:13).

This will be armchair boasting and bravado at its hypocritical best (worst).

Once again the Lord says about Gog and many nations who will do nothing to help Israel:

“…At that time in the distant future, I will bring you against my land as everyone watches, and my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you, Gog. Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord” (Verse 16, italics for emphasis).

God knows that the United States and all other nations will stand down indifferently, ineptly, or even expectantly to what the world will consider an imminent end to the State of Israel. Thus, God will supernaturally intervene and divinely destroy this awesome, but arrogant, Gog/Magog confederacy. Read Ezekiel 39 for the spectacular severity and finality of Gog/Magog’s destruction and demise. As for Israel: she too will only watch as God fights for her. This will be the first of two massive campaigns against Israel during the Tribulation. The other will be led by Antichrist and his ten-kingdom empire in the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation.

No matter what we think of Donald Trump, some of his traits that have emerged during the election campaign would indicate that he is: independent, determined, assertive, and tough. I’m sure you can come up with other adjectives (positive or negative) to describe this most intriguing and perplexing man who, against all odds, has been voted in as the 45^th President of the United States of America.

(U.S. President-elect Donald Trump)

Hopefully, he will follow through on his preliminary support of Israel in general, and his commitments to Israel in particular. Whether he is the United States President after the Rapture and at the outset of the Gog/Magog assault against Israel remains to be seen. Right now, however, Donald Trump fits hand in glove with Scripture’s description of what the “coastal” nations, of which America is one, will do (not do) when Russia and her allies march against Israel. At the very most these nations will give only lip service to whatever previous promises they had made to support and even defend Israel in time of peril.

Then there’s the added factor to the equation—which is Donald Trump’s affinity toward Vladimir Putin who, if still President of Russia when the armies of Magog attack Israel, would be none other than Gog of Magog.

How will President Trump balance Russia and Israel?

Scripture is clear on that matter. Those opposed to the Gog march on Israel will do so by rhetoric only, not by actions. It is God who will take action, with devastating results for Russia, Iran, Turkey, and their smaller allies … a massive defeat that will be unrivaled in the annals of warfare. God, himself will supernaturally defend Israel.

Given the sure word of Biblical prophecy coming to pass (in this case the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel), what then can Christians do?

Answer: Stand up for Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That the Lord will protect and prosper Israel NOW, not just in the future. And with widespread prayer and support for Israel, the Lord will also bless and protect this country; and maybe (his will be done) “make America great again” … at least for a while longer.

Things to Ponder

While we watch and wait for God’s prophetic promises to be completely fulfilled, we can at this Thanksgiving time of the year be thankful for what he have … partial peace in much of the world.

And we can be even more grateful for what we don’t yet have but will, beyond all doubt, soon realize: true global peace for every person in every nation, through one man—The Prince of Peace—predicted by the prophet Isaiah long ago.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

UNESCO / “Theatre of the Absurd” Against Israel

29 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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UN Resolutions

More Sanctions On Israel

Earlier this week, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); labeling it as, “A Theatre of the Absurd.”

As did Israel’s delegate to UNESCO, Carmel Shama Hacohen, but using only the word, “absurd.” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon called the most recent UNESCO resolution against Israel, “total madness.”

Benjamin Netanyahu went on to say: “The forces of radical Islam are destroying mosques, churches, and antiquities, with Israel being the only country in the region that protects such places and allows freedom of worship for all religions. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee should be condemned, not Israel.”

The Israeli Prime Minister’s reference to the World Heritage Committee (WHC) was intentional because this was the SECOND resolution endorsed by UNESCO in less than two weeks. With the first resolution passed on October 13^th (ratified on October 18^th) by the entire body of UNESCO composed of 52 nations. Whereas, the WHC consists of only 21 countries.

Oh, but there’s more! It was the third such resolution passed this year, the first taking place in April.

A resolution is a resolution is a resolution. But when all three say and do virtually the same thing, it becomes the height of redundancy, the pinnacle of repetition … the “theatre of the absurd.”

All three resolutions were fabricated through a pathetic perversion of historical facts; from the Islamic religion that came on the scene 2,500 years after Judaism, and 600 years after Christianity. Furthermore, the sheer recurrence has made these resolutions absurdly childish, much like a child on a long trip (or even a short one) saying over and over, “Are we there yet?”

However, the sinister motive is crystal clear: Tell a big lie often enough, and many will believe it. And in the case of UNESCO as a supposed stately and reputable component of the United Nations, pass enough resolutions and maybe the whole world will think the lies about Israel are true.

UNESCO’s First Resolution … What Was It?

I wrote about the first ruling in the Eye of Prophecy article, An Islamic United Nations? Posted 5-7-16. Here is an excerpt from that post:

In light of yet another anti-Israel resolution by the United Nations, this week’s Eye of Prophecy article could have been entitled, Peace or a Palestinian State … Which Will It Be? Or: More Palestinian Lies. Or: The Legacy of Temple Mount. Or: The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque. But it can’t because those are titles of articles already written.

Maybe each Saturday’s article should be posted late in the day instead of first thing in the morning. But that wouldn’t work either. Although Eye of Prophecy articles are published weekly and many of them are in the category of Current Events, they cannot keep up with the almost daily barrage of media reports on the Middle East in general and Israel in particular.

Just hours after I posted The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque article on April 16^th, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passed a resolution “officially” (for the UN, not for Israel or anyone who knows the true history of Temple Mount) classifying Temple Mount by its Arabic name, Al-Haram Al Sharif; which in English is translated to Noble Sanctuary. But disregard the English translation. Even though English is recognized as the main international language, only the Arabic name is to be used.

Among non-Muslim nations voting in favor of this contemptible resolution, France was the most conspicuous with (dis)honorable recognition for Sweden and Spain.

What will these Western nations do when Muslims change the identity of revered religious, national, cultural, or political sites in European countries, exclusively to Islamic names, with demands that only the Muslim designations be recognized? And if city or national governments do not comply, then they, too, are guilty of Islamophobia or religious and cultural intolerance or being PI (politically incorrect).

Stop shaking your head! It could come to that, just like Sharia Law could be implemented in some jurisdictions.

I wonder what the Muslim name for the Statue of Liberty will be. Perhaps, Mohammed’s Torch of Freedom?

*Note: Later in this week’s article, we’ll see the irony of France’s vote in favor of this April resolution, in the context of UNESCO’s origin, headquarters, and “The Theatre of the Absurd.”

Let’s return to additional excerpts from the article, An Islamic United Nations?

This latest resolution to denigrate and discredit Israel by renaming Temple Mount and insisting that all nations use the Arabic term for Temple Mount is yet another pitiful attempt to deny any association whatsoever of the Jewish people to their most holy site in their most holy city of Jerusalem. Furthermore, the resolution was on the very day of Passover, which has been an integral part of the Jewish tradition in Israel for nearly 3,500 years. With Jerusalem and the Temple (Temple Mount) established 3,000 years ago by King David and King Solomon.

Yet UNESCO is doing nothing more than the United Nations, as a whole, has done for nearly 70 years: Castigate Israel fanatically and frequently. Whereas most of the anti-Israel sanctions are initiated by Islamic countries, other nations often vote in favor of these reprehensible resolutions which number far more than those against truly rogue and dangerous nations such as Iran and North Korea.

Will this resolution have any real impact on the world at large? Absolutely it will. The idea is really quite simple: If national leaders and government officials begin to use the label of Al-Haram Al Sharif in reference to Temple Mount, they will soon (if they haven’t already) consider Temple Mount as belonging—historically, religiously, and culturally—to Islam and to Arabs.

The Second Such Resolution

As suspected, this resolution was initiated by and for the Palestinians in Israel. Once again, in direct contradiction of historical facts as found in the Bible and also secular history, UNESCO passed its resolution entitled “Occupied Palestine” identifying all of Judaism’s holiest sites as exclusively Islamic, while accusing Israel as the source of violence in the region. Moreover the resolution was passed on October 13^th the day after Yom Kippur; then ratified on October 18^th, during the week-long celebration of Sukkot.

Wouldn’t surprise me at all that UNESCO originally planned to pass this bill on Yom Kippur itself, just to rub it in against Israel. Could be that too many of the nation’s representatives who would obviously vote in favor may have overslept that day!

(Jewish Sukkot Celebration at the Western Wall)

The semantics and intent of this (second) resolution generically regurgitated the one passed in April. Which was to call for international recognition that Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock must be referred to exclusively as, “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al-Sharif.” Only Arabic/Muslim names are to be used for this site (Temple Mount) and other sites in Hebron and Bethlehem because they are, as alleged in the resolution, “a Muslim holy site(s) of worship and an integral part of a world cultural heritage site.”

Integral part of a world cultural heritage site? What in the world could that mean in the context that Temple Mount and the other holy Jewish sites in the Jewish nation of Israel have been around thousands of years longer than any Muslim holy site? Or that Israel has been recognized as a sovereign state in the world’s family of nations since 1947, and through a United Nations resolution at that. Not to mention (but I will anyway) that Al-Aqsa Mosque is only the third holiest site in Islam and this mosque is not even the actual site identified as, “the farthest mosque” in Islamic tradition. (Please see Eye of Prophecy article, The Myth of Al-Aqsa Mosque, posted 4-16-16).

Naturally, the resolution targets Israel and all things Jewish; by default it also eliminates any reference and credibility to the sites holy to Christians.

Some of the pernicious and provocative points listed in this resolution are as follows:

Condemning Israel for restricting freedom of worship on the Temple Mount. The resolution doesn’t use the term Temple Mount. God forbid that anyone would call it by its name, Temple Mount, even to replace that historical name with another! In fact, the only mention of anything Jewish was to eliminate the, “new Jewish prayer platform south of the Mughrabi Ascent in Al-Buraq Plaza, ‘Western Wall Plaza.’” You read that right: even the Western Wall (Kotel in Hebrew) must now bear an Arabic name! The facts are absolutely irrefutable. It is the Jordanians in principle, as they have been given jurisdiction over Temple Mount, and the Palestinians in practice who have verbally and physically abused non-Muslims; and otherwise have tried to prevent them from so much as whispering a prayer on Temple Mount. Anyone with minimum knowledge about what goes on at Temple Mount knows the Palestinians are the aggressors. There are eye-witness accounts and actual film footage to show who does what to whom.
Nations that voted in favor of this repulsive resolution agreed with another deceptive point. Which is: Israelis “storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif by Israeli right-wing extremists and uniformed forces.” (See first point for the absurdity of this statement). Incidentally, isn’t it much easier to say, “Temple Mount,” than “Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al Sharif?” I would have voted against the resolution for that reason alone!
Same thing with changing Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem to Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron to Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi. Actually this otherwise low-key name change (in comparison to the other blatantly false points of the resolution) is equally absurd … theatrically so. Why? The Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and Jacob’s wife, Rachel were OBVIOUSLY Jews, whose lives and history are recorded where…? Of course you know. The book of Genesis in the Bible. Written by Moses some 2,000 years before the Johnny-come-lately religion of Islam made its debut, then the error-filled and subsequently often-changed and “corrected” Koran came along.
In a similar mendacious twisting of facts, the resolution claims that the source of all the violence comes from, “the constant aggressions by the Israeli settlers and other extremist groups against Palestinian residents.” This denies and defies the obvious evidence of the callous “lone-wolf” attacks by Palestinians that number in the hundreds since this intifada began a little over one year ago; with dozens of Israelis murdered and dozens more injured. It is so patently brazen as to even ignore the fact that the actual extremist groups are Hamas in the Gaza and other terrorist cells under the purview of Fatah in the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank. All of whom constantly suppress, oppress, arrest, imprison, torture, and kill each other over power struggles and ideological differences.
There are other reasons, but this in-fighting among the Palestinians is the main factor why a Palestinian State is simply not feasible. Civil War would follow.

(Even if Hamas and the Palestinian Authority agree on one Palestinian State, they would insist on a corridor of land connecting the two areas. This would cut Israel in half)

Nations Involved in the Vote on October 13, 2016

I’m doing my best to reduce the reader’s confusion over the number of and number for the resolutions. Actually, I’m having a bit of a problem with the numbers myself! Because the latest resolution of October 26^th is referred to by journalists, op-ed writers, and the media in general as the Second Resolution, the first having taken place on October 13^th. To clarify, we need to remember that the first resolution took place earlier this year in April. Which means the next resolution was not the first, it was the second. With the second one being the third.

I guess that wasn’t so hard after all!

Seriously, and as expected, the second resolution that we just covered (October 13^thand 18^th) was drafted and submitted by countries that are entirely or partially Muslim. They are:

Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Sudan.

In addition to these seven sponsor nations of the resolution, seventeen other UNESCO nations voted approval. In alphabetical order:

Bangladesh, Brazil, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Iran, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, and Vietnam.

A total of 26 countries abstained from the vote, which can be interpreted as silently supporting the resolution without overtly doing so. Or, in quiet opposition to the resolution. Either one depending on your point of view. The nations that did not vote were:

Albania, Argentina, Cameroon, El Salvador, France, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Haiti, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Nepal, Paraguay, Saint Vincent and Nevis, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, and Ukraine.

Two countries were completely absent during the vote: Serbia and Turkmenistan.

Now for the drum roll announcing the nations that supported Israel by voting against this repugnant resolution. Let’s make it a really big drum roll, despite the sad fact that there were only six such nations. But six is better than five, and so on. They are:

Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and (hurrah) the United States.

Israeli and International Reaction to This Second Resolution

In addition to the Israeli Prime Minister’s strong reaction to the latest (third) resolution of 10-26-16, cited earlier in today’s article, read with me his response to the second resolution passed on 10-13-16 (ratified on 10-18-16) in which he also cited, “the theatre of the absurd:”

“The theater of the absurd continues with UNESCO, and today the organization has made its most bizarre decision by saying the people of Israel have no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.”

Although all three resolutions are attempting to dispossess the Jews and their heritage from Israel itself, the language of the second resolution is stronger (than the one in April). It stipulates directly and indirectly that the two Temples (Temple Mount) and other Jewish holy sites either never existed as Jewish or existed at all. That they are Muslim holy sites, exclusively. The resolution in April was geared more to identification of these sites by use of Arabic names only.

Benjamin went on to say:

“Obviously they have never read the Bible, but I would advise UNESCO to visit the Arch of Titus in Rome, where they can see what the Romans brought to Rome after they destroyed and looted the Temple Mount two thousand years ago. One can see engraved on the arch the seven-branched menorah, which is the symbol of the Jewish people as well as the symbol of the Jewish State today.”

(Arch of Titus in Rome)

(Another view of Arch of Titus … Can you see the Menorah carried by victorious Roman soldiers in the lower right portion of the photograph?)

Just a brief pause to comment on Netanyahu’s reference to the Bible, which is ultimately the very heart of the matter. As some Bible scholars and teachers have written, including me in several Eye of Prophecy articles: The real Arab agenda and Muslim (Palestinian) animosity toward the Jews is an ancient one, as found in Scripture. From the very onset of the Islamic religion (all religions … with as I’ve often said … the Christian faith is not a religion, but a relationship with a Person, Messiah Jesus) the crucial question to answer: who is the true and living God? Is it Allah—the moon-god selected by Mohammed from one of several Arabic gods at the time? Or is the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac (the promised child instead of Ishmael), and Jacob the one and only God? In this article, time/space permits only one distinction, but it is a monumentally significant one: Only the God of the Bible has made hundreds of prophecies that have come to pass; and more that will surely be fulfilled … and soon.

The Bible is the most historical book ever written because it contains God’s interaction with all of mankind (Jews and Gentiles alike) through the ages. Scripture contains an astounding amount of facts and an astonishing number of people, places, dates, events, genealogies. As well as a vast volume of spiritual truth of the Old Covenant of the Mosaic Law and the New Covenant of salvation through faith in God’s grace—gift of His Son, Messiah Jesus to die for our sins. Then the eternal destiny of every man and woman who has ever lived … based on their relationship or lack thereof with God and His Son.

Actually, the Bible consists of 66 books written over a period of some 1,500 years by 40 authors, all of whom are “on the same page.” How could that be possible? Easy answer: God inspired each author, either by directly speaking to him (such as the prophets); or the spoken words of Jesus and hundreds of other people in Scripture; or eyewitness accounts of events; or through inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write exactly what the Lord wanted to be written, with regard to Biblical truths and precepts.

Speaking of the Roman General Titus, who led the legions that finally conquered Israel and Jerusalem in 70 A.D., the prophet Daniel predicted that event about 600 years before it happened (see Daniel Chapter 9). I’ve also written much about that spectacular prophecy, as it involves the Roman Emperor, Nero; who is and will be the Antichrist beast of the book of Revelation, when he returns from the Abyss. See any number of Eye of Prophecy articles in the category of Antichrist. Better yet, read the book, Out of the Abyss … can the number of the beast be solved?

(Depicts Roman Legions Destruction of 2nd Temple)

Benjamin Netanyahu could also have cited more secular history that indisputably documents the existence of a Jewish Temple (on Temple Mount), not the least of which was Josephus’ account of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans.

Here is a another quote from Prime Minister Netanyahu in response to the October 13^th UNESCO resolution.

“Surely UNESCO will say that Emperor Titus was a part of Zionist propaganda. To say that Israel has no connections to the Temple Mount and Western Wall is like saying China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or Egypt has no connection to the pyramids. With this absurd decision, UNESCO has lost what little legitimacy it once had. However, I believe the historical truth will prevail.”

Amen to that! The historical and Biblical truth will prevail powerfully. These truths will triumph when Messiah Jesus returns to set all things right in this hypocritical politically correct, upside down, inside out, good is evil and evil is good, morally relative, tolerance obsessed, pluralistically mad, and fanatically inclusive world in which we live. That is: tolerant and pluralistic and inclusive of everyone except Christians and Jews.

Then, one more quote from Prime Minister Netanyahu on October 18^th, following the final UNESCO executive approval of the October 13^th resolution; which, as a reminder, is still pertaining to the second resolution, not the third one passed the following week. Here he unloads with a satirical analogy, one that in my opinion fits the preposterous UNESCO resolution:

“What’s next? A UNESCO decision denying the connection between peanut butter and jelly? Batman and Robin? Rock and roll?”

Here is a quote from Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi who told Prime Minister Netanyahu in a personal meeting between the two leaders: “To say that the Jewish people have no connection to Jerusalem is like saying the sun creates darkness.”

He also expressed regret that Italy abstained from the vote rather than voting against the resolution, with the not-so-valid reason that it was understood before the actual vote that no European country would vote in favor of the resolution. Instead, EU nations who were members of UNESCO would abstain.

My opinion: The nations that abstained didn’t want to be accused by other member nations of Islamophobia had they voted against the resolution.

Two countries that voted in favor of this revolting resolution later expressed regret, and said they would abstain from similar votes in the future. They were Mexico and Brazil. Unfortunately they were correct. Undoubtedly, there will be “similar votes in the future.”

The Third Resolution—That Began Today’s Article

However, the second resolution (the first of the most recent ones) wasn’t enough, even though it came through the United Nations entire administrative body of UNESCO. The World Heritage Committee within the organization of UNESCO decided to reinforce the October 13^th & 18^th passage by rubbing the proverbial salt into Israel’s wound … to pound more nails into the coffin that they so arrogantly think will bury Israel.

There was as much reaction from high ranking Israelis and Jews the world over, as well as from some leaders of prominent nations, as there has ever been to a United Nations sponsored sanction against Israel. As already indicated, this had much to do with the abjectly “absurd” allegations of UNESCO’s decision. These assertions were truly over the top.

All of things and people, even UNESCO’s Director-General Irina Bokova issued a statement strongly denouncing the resolutions, calling the Temple Mount’s Western Wall, “the holiest site in Judaism.” She also promised to combat anti-Semitism. We’ll see?

One such reaction from Jerusalem’s Mayor Nir Barkat echoed both the serious and justifiably sarcastic imagery comparisons voiced by Benjamin Netanyahu. Said Mayor Barkat:

“I was outraged to hear of UNESCO’s vote today which denies thousands of years of Jewish connection to Jerusalem’s Western Wall. Would UNESCO vote to deny the Christian connection to the Vatican? Or the Muslim connection to Mecca?”

*Note: I don’t support the idea that the true Biblical Christianity has a connection to the Vatican, but that’s beside Mayor Barkat’s point of comparison.

He goes on to say:

“The UNESCO vote claims there is no connection between the Jewish people and the Western Wall. In fact, it is the UNESCO vote that has no connection to reality.”

UNESCO as a whole and this sub-division entity called the World Heritage Committee were apparently oblivious to world reaction, presumptuously thinking they would further influence world opinion against Israel. But it’s also evident that the Palestinians were more than a little concerned how global response might affect the subsequent vote of the WHC.

One main reason for this concern was the part of the prior resolution that also included the Western Wall bearing no connection to Israel or Judaism. This was the first time that the Western Wall had been included with all of the other Jewish holy sites in Israel. That crossed a huge red line with Israelis, with Jews world-wide, and with some leaders from non-Muslim nations.

I’ve been to Jerusalem and the Western Wall, also to Temple Mount. I can guarantee you that there were no Muslims at the Kotel when I was there; because all men (Jew and Gentile) including tourists must wear a kippah or other acceptable head-cover while at the Wall. No Muslim in his right (or wrong) mind would do such a thing. Also, it’s highly unlikely for any Muslim to have been at the Western Wall since June, 1967 when Israel recaptured all of Jerusalem, the West Bank, Golan Heights, and Gaza, and most of all Temple Mount and the Western Wall from the Jordanians, Syrians, Egyptians, and Palestinians. Only to relinquish Temple Mount jurisdiction back to Jordan, West Bank and Gaza to the Palestinians, and later the Sinai back to Egypt in capitulation to pressure from many other nations.

(All men wear a Skullcap, Orthodox Jewish hat, or Tallit–prayer shawl at the Western Wall … Even President Obama who was undoubtedly making a token appearance!)

Well, UNESCO, I’ve got news for you. Go ahead and try to enforce your resolutions. But make sure your enforcers wear a kippah while approaching the Western Wall, if they even make it that far!

“Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls”

That was the title of this third resolution passed on October 26^th. Much of the language was the same as the previous resolution ratified on October 18^th, but even harsher in that it contained not one reference to Jewish or Christian affiliations with Israel’s holy sites.

However, something interesting happened on the way to the World Heritage Committee forum.

This sub-division body of 21 nations (nearly all of them different from the 52 countries that currently comprise UNESCO itself) didn’t do what the Palestinians told them to do. The Palestinian Authority wanted this newest resolution to pass by consent of all 21 nations. Evidently, most WHC decisions are unanimous from the beginning, without the need to vote. If the entire WHC didn’t agree up front to comply with what was tantamount to a rigged election vote, then Jordanians and Palestinians who drafted the resolution would alter it to be even more anti-Israel than the previous resolution passed by UNESCO itself (the main body).

On occasion WHC apparently votes by secret ballot, rather than an open assembly session. The Palestinian Authority (which has observer status at the UN) and the Muslim nations belonging to WHC were certain there would be a consensus; thus, no need for individual votes from each of the 21 countries.

Wrong!

Although the resolution passed (technically) with the harsher measures, the vote tally was much less than unanimous. Nations in favor of the resolution: 10. Nations opposed: 2. Countries that abstained: 8. One country, Jamaica, was absent (didn’t participate). The two nations that voted against the resolution were, Tanzania and Croatia.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu saw the glass as half full. He considered the abstaining nations as those not supporting this follow-up resolution, one that was totally unnecessary. One, however, that the Muslim nations and Palestinians believed would bolster world opinion against Israel. It backfired on them. Reason: Because there was no consensus, UNESCO’s Secretary-General said the WHC resolution won’t be implemented. I don’t fully understand that or how it would have been “implemented,” but that’s neither here nor there. Fact is: On this rare occasion a United Nations organization (WHC) didn’t even exceed 50% agreement on an anti-Israel resolution!

The WHC membership is composed of the following nations:

Angola, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Cuba, Finland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

UNESCO & the Theatre of the Absurd

Whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew there was a tangible connection between UNESCO and the “Theatre of the Absurd” is unknown. He probably does know. Either way, his characterization of UNESCO’s absurd play on the world stage is right on. Let’s see why.

From one of the UNESCO websites (http://en.unesco.org/) the following excerpt is quoted:

“In 1945 UNESCO was created in order to respond to the firm belief of nations, forged by two world wars in less than a generation, that political and economic agreements are not enough to build a lasting peace. Peace must be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity.

Three power points follow; I will quote just one: “Building intercultural understanding: through protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity. UNESCO created the idea of World Heritage to protect sites of outstanding universal value.”

Then from the last paragraph of this website: “UNESCO is known as the ‘intellectual” agency of the United Nations. At a time when the world is looking for new ways to build peace and sustainable development, people must rely on the power of intelligence to innovate, expand their horizons and sustain the hope of a new humanism….”

Much could be said regarding UNESCO’s ultimate goal of creating a “new humanism” (one that has no room for the God of the Bible or for the “the people of the book”, both Jews and Christians). For purpose of today’s article, only the following will be said:

Though a glaring unintellectual grasp of even the basics of Israel’s history (the Jews were in Israel long before the Arabs … the Jews ARE Israel), UNESCO isn’t even close to accomplishing the, “protection of heritage and support for cultural diversity.”

Instead they have made a mockery of their own stated objectives by protecting the site of Temple Mount, the Western Wall, and other Jewish Holy Sites in Israel exclusively for the Palestinians and Muslims … at the total expense of the Jews and in the face of the obvious cultural and historical (both Biblical and secular) evidence. This is the height of hypocrisy. It is not diversity; it is divisiveness. It is not moral; it is amoral. It is not intelligent; it is stupid.

(UNESCO’S Main Assembly Hall)

Question: Where is UNESCO headquartered?

Answer: Paris, France.

Theatre of the Absurd

First, the definition of Absurd: “Ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, or incongruous … meaningless … lacking order or value” (Webster’s Dictionary).

From Wikipedia on the Theatre of the Absurd: “(French: theatre de l’absurde) is a post-World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s… Their work focused largely on the idea of existentialism and expressed what happens when human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down, in fact alerting their audiences to pursue the opposite. Logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion, silence.”

My observation: Fits UNESCO to a tee. They and their incessant anti-Israeli resolutions serve no purpose, have no meaning, and are irrational and illogical. Thus, they should be SILENT.

Three of the most notable “absurdist” playwrights were born in France: Jean Genet, Jean Tardieu, and Boris Vian. Many others moved to France during the heyday of the “theatre of the absurd.”

Paris was considered the home of this bizarre literary and stage experience.

Such a coincidence, don’t you think?

I’m certainly not berating or blaming France for this ironic connection between UNESCO and the Theatre of the Absurd. However, France’s (more recent) record regarding their treatment of French Jews (mostly at the hands of Muslims living in France) has been dismal. Which is one reason why more Jews are making Aliyah to Israel from France than any other European country in recent years.

Things to Ponder

There is absolutely no absurdity found in the Bible, other than found in some of the people and nations—their apathetic actions or defiant disregard for God and his magnificent plan for the human race and destiny for his special possession, Israel. On the contrary, the Word of God is replete with life’s value, meaning, purpose, and everlasting promises for those who have believed and received God’s gracious gift of His Son, Messiah Jesus, for redemption.

King David knew this and trusted the Lord God implicitly, when David said:

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

Jesus himself promised: “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:9-10, NASB).

There are several events in Scripture, where it’s quite evident God has a sense of humor. After all, he created us in his image … with a remarkable array of characteristics, including humor. Who doesn’t like to laugh?!

So, let’s close with some Jewish humor as found in the Levitt Letter (Zola Levitt Ministries), October, 2016 edition. As follows in italics:

The rabbi was an avid golfer and played at every opportunity. One Yom Kippur, the rabbi thought to himself, “What’s it going to hurt if I go out during the break and play a few rounds? Nobody will be the wiser, and I’ll be back in time for services.”

Sure enough at the conclusion of the morning service, the rabbi snuck out of the synagogue and headed straight for the golf course.

Looking down on the scene, Moses complained to God, “Look how terrible—a Jew on Yom Kippur—and a rabbi at that!”

God wryly replied, “Watch, I’m going to teach him a lesson.”

Out on the course, the rabbi stepped up to the first tee. When he hit the ball, it careened off a tree, struck a rock, skipped across a pond, and landed in the hole for a hole in one! Seeing this, Moses protested: “God, this is how you’re teaching him a lesson? He got a hole in one!”

“Sure,” agreed God. “But who’s he going to tell?”

To be sure, God has taught his chosen people a lesson down through the centuries. One that required serious discipline for some 2,500 years. But that’s over. He is restoring his people to the Promised Land in great numbers. He is fulfilling his original promise to Abraham.

“I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3).

This blessing began through Isaac, the child promised to Abraham. But ultimately through Isaac’s descendant, Messiah (Jesus). The CHOSEN ONE. (See Isaiah 9:6-7).

Blessing in the fullest sense of the word. Summed up in the Hebrew word: Shalom … Peace.

Not just absence of war. Also wholeness, security, serenity, fullness of joy… Go ahead and fill in some more blessings.

And ultimately, spiritual salvation and physical restoration of all Israel. With untold blessings to the Gentile nations during the glorious reign of Messiah Jesus on earth.

UNESCO, the United Nations, indeed all peoples of the earth would do well to heed the promises but also the warnings issued by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

One day (soon), there will be Arabs at the Western Wall. From the Kotel and from Temple Mount, they will be welcomed by Jews who have, themselves, recognized Yeshua as THE MESSIAH. And Jesus, himself, will embrace both Jew and Gentile for choosing Him as their Savior and Lord.

Only Almighty God and his majestic Son, Messiah Jesus, can make the impossible, possible!

Ethnic Cleansing of Jews … The Real Palestinian Agenda

17 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority

A Shocking Statement

Just over a week ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a short but stunning video through social media that generated global shock waves, including a scathing response from the US State Department.

As stated or implied in several Eye of Prophecy articles, I am an unapologetically strong supporter of Israel and an ardent admirer of Benjamin Netanyahu. This enthusiasm for Israel comes from my firm belief in the true and living God; His Word as divinely recorded in the Bible; and personal salvation through God’s Son, the Jewish Messiah Jesus.

Benjamin Netanyahu is a consummate diplomat in all of the positive connotations of political diplomacy. He is firm but fair; passionate in his pursuit for true peace in Israel but objectively realistic of the obstacles to peace; completely committed to Israel, but considerate of any reasonable coherent demands made by the Palestinians and by surrounding Arab nations. When it comes to a matter of Israel’s survival, which is still an all too real threat facing the only Jewish nation in the world, Benjamin can tell it like it is.

Nevertheless, I was dumbfounded as I watched this video and listened to his words. My incredulity was not of being aghast that he would characterize the actual Palestinian agenda—whether it be from the Palestinian Authority or Hamas—of “ethnic cleansing” of all Jews in Israel. Rather, it was astonishment of how bravely accurate and daringly appropriate the phrase is to explain the real reason why Palestinians have rejected a two-state proposal on any terms but their own.

For example, it’s only been a few years since the Palestinians refused generous offers from two Israeli Prime Ministers, Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, that would allow Palestinian control over some 95% of the West Bank. Why would they scorn such offers? Easy answer: 95% of the West Bank is not enough. For that matter, 95% of all Israel is not enough. In fact, a Palestinian State within Israel is also unacceptable. By the time you finish this article, you’ll see what the Palestinians really want: A Palestinian State instead of Israel!

Personally, I would not have used the phrase, ethnic cleansing, because it conjures up the more common image: forced removal of ethnic or religious groups of people from a given territory. Yet, the more I thought about Netanyahu’s use of the term, the more I realized how it reliably reflected the true Palestinian narrative.

For many, the thought of genocide even comes to mind. Such as what the Third Reich did to European Jews and nearly succeeded; what the Turks did to the Armenians, or what happened in Yugoslavia. What Muslims in the Sudan are doing to the Christians; or what the Romans did to Israel in 70 AD that resulted in Jews being exiled all over the world. Only to miraculously return and be reborn as a sovereign nation in 1948. A return that is still going on to this day. One that God said would take place, as documented in hundreds of Old Testament passages.

(Holocaust Genocide)

Various Ways of Ethnic Cleansing

Ethnic cleansing can be accomplished by means others than elimination of ethnic groups through extreme force. The pendulum can swing all the way from genocide to a lesser, but still imposing, intimidation through limited violence or non-violent pressure that results in the ethnic group leaving their homes.

Such as, for example, the hundreds of thousands of Arabs who left Israel because they were told to do so by the Arab nations (especially Egypt and Syria) which attacked the newborn State of Israel in May, 1948. That was ethnic cleansing of Arabs by Arabs. The rationale of Egyptian and Syrian leaders/generals was that they needed unhindered space to conduct their military campaign against Israel. The Palestinians (they weren’t called Palestinians back then) were in the way, so they were told to leave. Theoretically, they could return after Israel had been swiftly and soundly defeated. Israel miraculously won that war and told the “refugees” they could return; most did not.

Many people, who don’t know or don’t want to know, now believe that these “refugees” were forced out of Israel by the Jews. That is not what happened. But then the individuals, groups, and nations who blame Israel entirely for the Palestinian predicament don’t want to be bothered with historical or contemporary facts. The actual evidence would undermine their predisposed prejudice against the Jews and interfere with their pernicious plan for Israel, which (in varying degrees) is to replace the State of Israel with yet another Arab nation. An Arab state that the Arabs, themselves, originally declined in 1947. Why? For the same reason they did not acknowledge the Balfour Declaration of 1917: They would have to live alongside a Jewish territory, and then a Jewish State.

A more subtle strategy of ethnic cleansing is the removal, desecration, or denial of physical and cultural evidence that the targeted group has any valid historical existence in the land in question. The Palestinians have done all these things to Israel by excavating and then removing valuable Jewish artifacts from and around Temple Mount, Hebron, and Bethlehem. Also the rewriting of Israel’s history in Palestinian school curriculum, maps that depict Israel as “Palestine” (a state that never has existed), and in daily rhetoric denial of Israel’s legacy and heritage in the land.

That is the ultimate problem: Israel’s right to exist. The Palestinians and all Muslim nations save two (Egypt and Jordan … for political expedience only) deny the right of Israel to be a Jewish nation. But the Palestinians have tried to conceal this ambition so as not to jeopardize their cause by being too blatant in the eyes of Western nations. Thus, they focus the world’s attention on so-called Israeli settlements in the West Bank as the exclusive obstacle to peace. Pathetically, but sadly, virtually the entire European Union and also the United States Executive Staff have bought into this inaccurate and unhistorical “Israeli occupation.”

When, in fact, it’s just the opposite: Palestinians are occupying land that historically belongs to Israel.

If someone denies that, then they must challenge God, himself. Seriously!

Excerpts from Benjamin Netanyahu’s Astonishing Video

He began with these words:

“I’m sure many of you have heard the claim that the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, are an obstacle to peace. I’ve always been perplexed by this notion, because no one would seriously claim that nearly two million Arabs living inside of Israel are an obstacle to peace. That’s because they aren’t. On the contrary, Israel’s diversity shows its openness and readiness for peace. Yet the Palestinian leadership actually demands a Palestinian State with one pre-condition: No Jews!

“There’s a phrase for that. It’s called ethnic cleansing.”

(Prime Minister Netanyahu “Ethnic Cleansing” Video)

Let’s pause here for commentary. Benjamin Netanyahu knows there are other Arab demands. He chose the “No Jews” pre-condition because it is the ultimate Palestinian purpose that trumps all other (alleged) reasons for wanting a Palestinian State.

Here are the primary Palestinian demands:

The so-called “right of return” of the so-called Palestinian refugees—now mostly 2^nd generation descendants—from Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. (They now number in the millions and even if half of this number were to return it would, for all practical purposes, spell the end of a Jewish nation).
Gaza and West Bank checkpoints to be turned over by the Israelis to the Palestinians.
Many more Palestinians prisoners to be released, including convicted murderers.
For Israel’s “borders” to shrink back to pre-1967 Six-Day War truce lines. (This would leave Israel highly vulnerable, if not defenseless, especially in the Golan Heights).
A Palestinian State with what is known as “East Jerusalem” as its capital. (Which would include complete possession of and sovereignty over Temple Mount).
Complete expulsion of all Jews from the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

This is nothing less than “ethnic cleansing.”

Which isn’t anything new. Which is why Benjamin Netanyahu wants the world to finally and fully realize the perpetual plan of the Palestinians that hasn’t (and won’t) changed since Israel became a Sovereign State … actually long before that when it comes to Muslim nations that surround Israel.

For example: In 1996, just three years after his farcical participation in the Oslo Accords (signed on September 13, 1993) with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (moderated by US President Bill Clinton), PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat uttered these words at a public press conference:

“We Palestinians will take over everything … You understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel, and establish a purely Palestinian State … I have no use for the Jews, they are and remain Jews.”

Can anything be more callously clear? It’s equally clear to this very day: The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have every intention to continue Arafat’s atrocious agenda.

(Oslo Accord … Yitzhak Rabin, Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat)

Prime Minister Netanyahu went on to say:

“And this demand (no Jews in a Palestinian State) is outrageous. It’s even more outrageous that the world doesn’t find this outrageous. Some otherwise enlightened countries even promote this outrage. Ask yourself this: Would you accept ethnic cleansing in your state? A territory without Jews, without Hispanics, without blacks? Since when is bigotry a foundation for peace?

This moment, Jewish children in Judea and Samaria are playing in sandboxes with their friends. Does their presence make peace impossible? I don’t think so. I think what makes peace impossible is intolerance of others.”

The Real Situation in Israel

My commentary: I have read extensively about Israel’s ancient and contemporary history, and have seen numerous documentaries about the Holocaust and the Palestinian intifadas in Israel, especially the one that began in September, 2000. I have traveled to Israel and saw no evidence whatsoever of Jewish animosity toward the Palestinians as a whole. Of course, they are saddened and angered when Palestinians kill Jews; but they are still tolerant of the existence of Arabs within Israel.

I spent some time with two taxi-drivers in Jerusalem. One of them was part Jewish and part Egyptian, the other a former Palestinian Arab, both of whom became Israeli citizens. Both of them were, in varying degrees, representative of the nearly “two million Arabs living inside of Israel” (Netanyahu’s description), called Israeli Arabs. Though one staunchly supported the State of Israel and the other barely tolerated Israel’s existence, the fact remains that neither would want to be forced to live in a Palestinian State. Both highly valued their freedom to work, travel, vote, and otherwise live in Israel, the only true democratic state in the Middle East.

Some 70% of Israeli Arabs do not want a Palestinian State. Here is an excerpt from an Eye of Prophecy article, entitled, A Palestinian State … No Say Many Arabs (posted 1-11-14).

I quote well-known columnist Khaled Abu Toameh from one of his articles:

“Arab Knesset members … do not want to wake up in the morning and discover that they are citizens of a Palestinian state. It is much easier for them to accuse Israel of racism than to admit that they do not want to be part of a Palestinian state.”

I then go on to say:

At face value that seems and sounds incredible—that Palestinians wouldn’t want to be governed by their own people. But after further review, it’s all too practical and easy to grasp. Pretty much ever since Israel became a nation, and especially since 1967 when hundreds of thousands more Arabs suddenly became citizens of Israel, those Israeli Arabs have been far better off than their Palestinian brothers living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Although there’s still a lot of hostility emanating from Israeli Arabs toward Israel, they understand that Israeli citizenship affords them much more freedom, democracy, a higher standard of living, movement throughout Israel, more places to shop for and buy the things they want and need; in short, a better way of life. The last thing they want is an abruptly changed life in a Palestinian State, controlled by a Palestinian government that could just as quickly take away many of the privileges they currently enjoy as Israeli citizens.

Even many Palestinians (non-Israeli citizens) who occupy the West Bank or Gaza do not want a Palestinian State. Especially since Hamas took over Gaza. If a Palestinian State was arbitrarily and unilaterally created by say the European Union, the United Nations, the P5 +1, or even the United States alone, who would govern this state? The Palestinians know that, in all likelihood, a civil war would erupt between Hamas and Fatah (Palestinian Authority), which would entice Iran, Hezbollah, ISIS, and perhaps even Russia to jump in. Not to mention Israel’s reaction if any Israelis were harmed in this struggle between Palestinian factions.

In addition to Khaled Abu Toameh’s perceptive understanding of the Middle East problems and their true historical source, there is another Arab who tells it like it is. His name is Fred Maroun, currently a resident of Canada, who lived in Lebanon from 1961 to 1984.

Although Arabic through and through, he looks at Israeli/Palestinian history objectively. The September edition of the Levitt Letter (Zola Levitt Ministries) presented a very brief bullet-point summary of articles written by Fred Maroun, originally published in the on-line news source Gatestone Institute, entitled, Arabs’ Historic Mistakes in Interactions with Israel.

“We Arabs managed our relationship with Israel atrociously. Our worst mistake was in not accepting the United Nations partition plan of 1947.
Perhaps one should not launch wars if one is not prepared for the results of possibly losing them.
The Jews are not keeping the Arabs in camps, we are.
Jordan integrated some refugees, but not all. We could have proven that we Arabs are a great and noble people, but instead we showed the world, as we continue to do, that our hatred toward each other and toward Jews is far greater than any concept of purported Arab solidarity.”

Bowing to internal pressure from his own people, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for elections to be held October 8, 2016. But Abbas totally misjudged Hamas, as he thought they would boycott the elections … exactly what he wanted them to do. Instead, they agreed to participate and introduced their own candidates.

Just last week, the elections were postponed!

Talk about Palestinian prejudice and bigotry. Obviously based on the Islamic religion that suppresses woman to the point of complete subjugation to men, the Palestinian Authority refused to identify some of their woman candidates for office by name. Instead, they listed them as the “wife” or “sister” of so and so. Little wonder that they have zero tolerance for Jews, when they won’t even publicly acknowledge their wives and daughters by name … and certainly not by photograph. On the other hand, if a Palestinian woman or girl kills a Jew or two in a lone-wolf terrorist attack, their names are immediately publicized and photographs posted.

Getting back to Benjamin Netanyahu’s video. He concludes by saying:

“Societies that respect all peoples are the ones that pursue peace. Societies that demand ethnic cleansing don’t pursue peace. I envision a Middle-East where young Arabs and young Jews learn together, work together, live together, side-by-side in peace. Our region needs more tolerance, not less. So the next time you hear someone say Jews can’t live somewhere, let alone in their ancestral homeland, take a moment to think of the implications.

“Ethnic cleansing for peace is absurd. It’s about time somebody said it. I just did.”

Telling It like It Is

Boy, did he ever say it!

Not only did Benjamin hit the proverbial nail on the head by calling the ultimate overriding demand of the Palestinians (and by default all Muslim nations) exactly what it is, he also drove home the incontrovertible historical reality that the Palestinians want the Jewish “ancestral homeland” to be absent of all Jews.

It was horrifically pathetic and tragically “absurd” (irrational, hideously bizarre) enough for the Nazis to try to eliminate all Jews in Germany (also from all of Europe). It is no less appalling to remove the Jews from their own land, which is the outrageous intention of the Palestinians.

Indeed, Benjamin Netanyahu’s charge that Palestinian leaders want all Jews to leave Israel is shocking and provocative; but it is also poignantly proper. His description of “ethnic cleansing” is NOT an exaggeration.

Although a member of Netanyahu’s political party, Likud, Energy and Water Resources Minister Yuval Steintz, nevertheless, expressed what nearly all Jews and Palestinians already know to be true; what most of the Western World sweeps under the global carpet through ignorance, or deliberately because they don’t want to admit the real Palestinian agenda.

Said Yuval Steintz:

“It’s not the prime minister who is talking about ethnic cleansing. The prime minister’s remarks reflect what the Palestinians themselves are saying. [The Palestinians] talk about ethnic cleansing in their own school system and speeches. Netanyahu told the truth. When the Palestinians talk about being ‘cleansed’ of Jews, they don’t mean just (in) Judea and Samaria, but rather the entire country.”

It was no secret that Netanyahu’s reference to “otherwise enlightened countries” (that endorse and even encourage the idea of expelling all Jews from the West Bank, which also includes East Jerusalem) included first and foremost the United States. Thus, I’m certain that the Israeli Prime Minister wasn’t surprised at the reaction of the US State Department.

Here are some of the words of State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau:

“We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank. We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful. We share the view of every past U.S. administration and the strong consensus of the international community that ongoing settlement activity is an obstacle to peace. We continue to call on both sides to demonstrate with actions and policies a genuine commitment to the two-state solution.”

She went on to condemn Israel’s “illegal outposts and unauthorized settlement units.”

Ironically, because of monumental blunders in yielding to international pressure, Israel herself has contributed mistakenly to forced removal of her own people. Something that Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders who now “see the light” never want to happen again. Although there are a few other less traumatic instances of Israel giving back part of their land to placate international demands (whims), I’m referring to two grievous gaffes in Israel’s remarkable history as a nation reborn from the floods of dispersion and the fires of Nazi death camps.

The first was to relinquish control of Temple Mount back to the Jordanians (with what is now functional jurisdiction assumed by the Palestinian Authority) after Israel’s victory in the amazing Six-Day War, including the IDF’s recapture of their holy city, Jerusalem.

(IDF Taking Jerusalem in 1967 Six-Day War)

The second was former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s eviction of 10,000 Jews from the Gaza Strip in 2005, which fits the stronger, more overt definition of ethnic cleansing: “systematic forced removal of an ethnic or religious groups from a given territory with the intent of making it ethnically homogeneous” (Wikipedia).

Indeed, both of these tragic events resulted in “cleansing” of Jews from a part of their homeland—which the Gaza and West Bank are and always will be.

It would be absolutely no different than the United States disallowing American citizens to visit the Statue of Liberty. Instead, allow only the French who gave us this monument as a gift of appreciation for creating and continuing life, liberty, and equality in the New World.

Or permitting only the British to step foot on the grounds of the Washington Monument. Or only those who (still) support the Confederate idea and principal of succession from the Union, to visit the Lincoln Memorial. Or, to return the eastern half of Washington D.C. to England, because we believe too much was taken from the British in the Revolutionary War; or that we should have remained under the ethnic domination and control of England to begin with. These are not merely exaggerations for effect. They are precise parallels to what the Palestinians already have in part and want even more in full … to expel all Jews from all of Israel.

The Real Palestinian Mindset and Motive

We all need to understand one glaring grotesque fact. Since the United Nations in November, 1947 granted nation status to Israel and the Jews declared that statehood in May, 1948, Muslim nations surrounding Israel (then later Arabs within Israel that adopted the appellation Palestinian, previously applied primarily to Jews living in the territory called Palestine), the Arabs have had one ultimate objective: Ethnic cleansing of the Jews from Israel.

That malicious mindset and motive has never changed. Only their methods to achieve these gruesome goals have changed.

Israel fought four major against Muslim Arab nations: 1948 War of Independence; 1956 Suez War; 1967 Six-Day War; 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In each of these wars, Arab leaders said something to the effect (paraphrasing), “We will drive the Jews into the Sea.” Or, “We will annihilate Israel.” Or, “Not one Jew will be left.”

When the Muslims finally realized they couldn’t eradicate the Jews or even defeat Israel by conventional warfare, they resorted to terrorism—mostly by Palestinians from within Israel. This included thousands of mortars and missiles lobbed into Israel from the Gaza Strip after the Israeli government evicted its own people from the Gaza (with the proposed purpose of better protecting them). And thousands more rockets launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon into northern Israel. More recently, dozens of “lone-wolf” assassins killing Israelis with axes, knives, guns, and cars.

Make no mistake. Even these individual lone-wolf attackers (most of them very young in age) were doing their sordid part to rid Israel of Jews, one, two, or three at a time. All the while, Palestinian propaganda (lies) convinces their own people and most of the Western world that the obstacle to peace are Jewish settlements in the West Bank! Thus, the only solution is to cleanse the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, of all Jews. Of course, that’s not enough. Which explains why many of the lone-wolf attackers also murdered Jews in “West Jerusalem” and Tel Aviv and other Israeli towns.

If anyone thinks that “cleansing” is too harsh of a description, I will once again quote the words of Palestinian Authority President Abbas, as cited in a couple of previous Eye of Prophecy articles. “We must not permit the filthy feet of the Jews to desecrate our holy places.” He was referring first and foremost to Temple Mount. Do you see the connection, the irony? Clean those filthy feet of the Jews by removing them completely … ethnic cleansing.

(Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas)

In a recent Eye of Prophecy article, Palestinian Propaganda Is Pure Poison, I quoted US State Department John Kirby’s latest tirade against Israel in general and West Bank Jewish settlements in particular. The earlier mentioned quote from State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau mimics Kirby’s words.

Said Kirby (which he has said before as noted in a previous Eye of Prophecy article) in denouncement of the Israeli government that they were, “…systematically undermining the prospects for a two-state solution by engaging in settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace.”

I then quoted Alan Baker, former Israeli ambassador to Canada, who, along with others, justifiably criticized our State Department’s shortsighted, uninformed, and warped perspective of the Israeli, Palestinian conflict. Here is his quote:

“Reading the statement (Kirby’s statement) … An average reader having landed from space, would only conclude that Israel’s settlement activity is the source of all evil in the world, and the United States is waging a massive war of Armageddon against this evil. No international terror, no ISIS, no Iranian nuclear threat, no Syria, no Hezbollah, no Hamas, no hunger, no global warming. Only Israel’s settlements!”

Although Alan Baker’s statement was melodramatic, it was nonetheless accurate. Our US Presidential Staff doesn’t want to take the time and effort needed to fully investigate and comprehend the veiled Palestinian plan, which is no different than surrounding Muslim nations who want the Jews out of Israel. Thus, our State Department has reprehensively replaced the real source of Palestinian animosity toward in Israel in particular and Muslim hatred of Jews in general, with the preposterous supposition that a handful of Jewish settlements (compared to the large number of Arab settlements) in the West Bank is the sole cause of all Palestinian woes.

Instead, of catching up on the true history of the Middle East and coming to terms with the real agenda of not only the Palestinians but virtually all Muslim nations, our US State Department is determined to leave their executive head in the sand, and continue to blame Israel for a few Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

That is why Benjamin Netanyahu believed it was finally time to make a tougher statement so that the world would stand up and take notice of the true intentions of Israel’s enemies. To make sure that all interested parties fully grasp the underlying short-term agenda and long-term objective of the Palestinians and all Arab countries. Which is complete elimination (cleansing) of all Jews in Israel, whether a Palestinian State is created or not.

Things to Ponder

As said several times in past Eye of Prophecy articles, and as some of you know: The real strife between Arabs and Jews goes back to ancient Biblical times, all the way to Ishmael and Isaac. Then Esau and Jacob. Both of these older brothers hated the younger, as did their descendants. That brutally baseless and incessantly irrational “anti-Semitism” spread to Middle East countries, then to the whole world.

However, it’s deeper than racial hatred of the Jews. It is defiance, rejection, and replacement of the God of the Bible—the Creator of the universe and mankind who chose the Jews for a special purpose—in favor of man-made religions and gods and totalitarian state systems.

And so the Psalmist pleads with God for Israel:

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

We need to astutely understand God’s plan for the human race: The Kingdom of God will one day be established on this earth.

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: ‘The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever … We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign” (Revelation 11:15-17).

Yet Scripture is abundantly clear that there are two parts to God’s providential plan of personally dwelling with mankind in his kingdom on earth.

1. Personal Salvation of both Jews and Gentiles through the Son of God, Messiah Jesus: The Kingdom of God is used interchangeably in Scripture with the Kingdom of Heaven. But an up close analysis of the different passages and contexts and applications shows that the Kingdom of Heaven more specifically relates to God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) establishing their spiritual residence in the hearts and lives of all who believe and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior, through the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life … There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16, 18). [See John 14:15-17 & John 16:5-15 on the Holy Spirit’s action of leading people to salvation and then indwelling those whom Christ has saved].

Yes, our great and glorious God and His majestic Son, Messiah Jesus loves you and me and the Jews and the Palestinians equally. The eternal destiny of every human being depends upon whether we choose everlasting life through Christ or eternal death by rejecting him as Savior.

2. The Kingdom of God will be literally established in the Holy City of Jerusalem, in the Holy (Promised) Land of Israel: From there the entire world will be governed by Messiah Jesus. There is a heavy price to be paid by those who mistreat God’s chosen people—set apart to bring the Messiah and God’s Word to the whole world—and who seek to divide the land of Israel.

Concerning God’s plan for Israel:

“This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit. I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves” (Zechariah 12:1-3).

Those who devise boycotts and sanctions against Israel; those who hate the apple of God’s eye; those who desire to “clean” the House of David (Israel) by removing all Jews from their homeland (or anywhere else), should take heed.

“At the time of those events, says the Lord, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming by people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land” (Joel 3:1-2).

God has already disciplined Israel for her disobedience. It was a severe and long punishment—exile to foreign nations lasting for some 2,500 years … ending in 1967.

Thus, no one should ever seek to harm or divide Israel, or to side with her enemies.

“The day is near when, I, the Lord, will judge all godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads” (Obadiah 1:15).

The Gog/Magog Countdown Has Begun!

10 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Syrian Civil War

Incredible Turn of Events in the Middle East

What is the purpose of a peace treaty?

Undoubtedly, your response to this question would be, “Seriously? What kind of question is that?” And you would be right. That peace is the incontestable ideal and exclusive end of any treaty of peace is as plain as the opposite result of a peace treaty producing war is perplexing.

Thus, it’s inconceivable that a peace treaty would be an instant guarantee of war. But that’s exactly what will happen soon after believers the world over are taken from this earth at the Rapture, which could happen any day … even while you’re reading this article. In last week’s Eye of Prophecy article, we covered this seven-year treaty in detail, including the conditions it will create; thereby, enticing the Gog/Magog coalition to suddenly attack Israel. Then a year or two after the ill-fated Gog/Magog invasion of Israel, the author of the treaty (Antichrist Nero) will himself break the agreement half-way through it.

Because of the false sense of security created by this peace agreement, the Jews will be caught perilously off guard. Let’s read again what The Lord says to a conceited Gog and Gog’s arrogant Magog allies:

“Get ready; be prepared! Keep all the armies around you mobilized, and take command of them … In the distant future you will swoop down on the land of Israel, which will be enjoying peace after recovering from war and after its people have returned from many lands to the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 38:7-8).

We read why an overconfident Gog of the land of Magog (Russia) and other smug countries like Iran and Turkey will pounce on Israel:

“You will say, ‘Israel is an unprotected land filled with unwalled villages! I will march against her and destroy these people who live in such confidence! I will go to these formerly desolate cities that are now filled with people who have returned from exile in many nations. I will capture vast amounts of plunder, for the people are rich with livestock and other possessions now. They think the whole world revolves around them!’” (Ezekiel 38:11-12).

The Gog/Magog coalition will take advantage of Israel’s “confidence” generated because the Israelis, “…are living in peace in their land” (Verse 14). What better time to strike than when your victim is not expecting any aggression, thus, woefully unprepared? We also see two malicious motives that seduce Russia, Iran, and Turkey: (1) to capture vast amounts of plunder. (2) The deep animosity of these wicked nations toward the Jews compounded by a jealous hatred which claims that Israel, thinks the whole world revolves around them.

See Eye of Prophecy article, Gog, Magog, and Leviathan (posted 1-3-15) for, among other things, some remarkable repercussions of the natural gas fields discovered and now in production by Israel that will be an irresistible incentive for Gog to invade Israel.

(Leviathan Natural Gas Field in the Mediterranean Sea)

Here is an excerpt from last week’s article, The Peace Treaty That Will Guarantee War:

In just the last few months and weeks, Russia, Iran, and Turkey have “mobilized their armies” and have taken “command of them” in Syria, which borders Israel. Although the mobilization is limited, the fact remains that for the first time in history these three Magog nations are conducting military operations in the Middle East. Unmistakably, this is the beginning fulfillment of Ezekiel’s astounding prophecy. It’s just a matter of (a short) time before the full military might of Russia, Iran, Turkey, and other nations descend on Israel to completely bring about the Gog/Magog prophecy.

Burgeoning Alliance between Russia, Iran, and Turkey

The countdown to the Gog/Magog invasion of Israel has begun; with each new prophetic tick-of-the-clock development taking place more rapidly than ever before. Once the fulfillment of a Biblical prophecy begins, it increases with rapid-fire frequency and intensity. This is true for any number of Bible prophecies, especially end-times events such as the rebirth of the Sovereign State of Israel in 1948. In fact, all of the last day’s prophecies leading to the Rapture, the Great Tribulation—which includes the Gog/Magog campaign in the first year or so of the Tribulation—and the Millennium will continue to unfold in one generation. Here we are using Scripture’s two literal definitions of a generation … 100 years and 70 years.

(Please see Eye of Prophecy article, The Omega Generation, posted 2-15-14 for some extraordinary evidence to show that the two generational milestones began in 1917 and in 1947, respectively).

“Then he (Jesus) gave them this illustration: ‘Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near. I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place’” (Luke 21:29-32).

As stated with Scripture-based authority in last week’s article, “Folks, we are that generation. The 21^st century fig tree has sprouted into full bloom. Messiah’s return is very near.”

Let’s examine some of the fascinating, yet ominous, developments that have taken place so very recently between the three main Gog/Magog nations.

Russia and Iran

We’ll begin with an excerpt (in italics) from an Eye of Prophecy article, Beginning of the End, posted on 3-5-16, for a brief overview of the late 20^th and early 21^st century alliance between Russia and Iran, one that has turned avowed adversaries into “strange bedfellows.”

The two most powerful nations referenced in Ezekiel’s predictions are Russia, by clear inference, and Iran, by actual name. Once enemies by virtue of the Iranian’s (Persians) national adherence to Islam, directly opposed to Russia’s atheistic communism, Iran is now an ally of Russia. They have set aside their differences for the common cause of establishing a footing in the region, under the pretense of supporting Bashar Assad and his Syrian government. Russia’s main agenda is to take over the gas fields off the coast of Israel and newly discovered oil reserves in Israel. Iran’s objective is much less subtle. Their hatred of Jews and Israel has been repeatedly voiced by their leaders with genocidal threats to: Wipe Israel from the face of the earth.

To demonstrate how much stronger this unlikely alliance between Russia and Iran is getting: Less than a month ago, for the first time ever, Iran permitted a foreign nation’s (Russia, of course) fighter bombers and jets to take off from Iran’s Hamedan Air Base. If you’ve kept up with just a little of what’s happening in the Middle East, you’ll know that this military liaison between Russia and Iran pretentiously serves the purpose of striking ISIS targets in Syria. Because both Iran and Russia support the Syrian Government still led by Bashar Assad, they also bomb and strafe Syrian rebel militia fighting against Assad. These freedom fighters are supported by the United States and some Western nations. Although Iran subsequently restricted Russia’s use of the air field to refueling only, the sure fulfillment of the Gog/Magog prophecy will eventually lead to unhindered cooperation between these two nations. Their anti-God (of the Bible) and anti-Israel agenda will override any differences.

The following is a thumb nail line-up of the major players vying for supremacy in Syria, including their involvement (for or against) with Russia and Iran … also Turkey.

Syrian Government: Bashar Assad’s fractured, but still formidable, regime composed mostly of Alawite Muslims, backed by some foreign Shi’ite Muslim fighters sponsored by Iran and by Russia. The two main groups supporting Assad are the Syrian Armed Forces (Assad’s original army) and the National Defense Forces—a paramilitary organization backed by Iran, Hezbollah of Lebanon, and elements of the Iran Revolutionary Guard. Their enemy is all of the Syrian opposition militia and the Islamic State.

Syrian Democratic Forces: An alliance of Syrian Kurdish and Arab forces assembled mainly by the United States to fight ISIS. However, these forces are now led by the YPG, the Syrian arm of the Kurdish Worker’s Party in Turkey, which both Turkey and the U.S. classify as a terrorist organization. The Syrian Democratic Forces are working directly with Russia and has maintained relations with the Syrian government. Its main enemies are ISIS, the anti-Assad Syrian opposition, and Turkey itself.

Syrian Opposition Groups: There are a myriad of individual militias in Syria composed mostly of Arabs, Sunni Muslims, Druze, and Kurds. Some of these groups are also considered to be terrorist’s cells, such as the Nusra Front (an offshoot of al-Qaida, now called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham); Ahrar al-Sham (allies include Turkey and Qatar); Jaish al-Islam (allies include Saudi Arabia and Turkey). Their main enemies are Assad and his Syrian Government, Russia, Iran, Syrian Democratic Forces, Hezbollah, and, of course, ISIS.

Southern Front: This is the main (anti-Syrian government) alliance that includes the Free Syrian Army whose allies are The United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Turkey. Their two main enemies have been Assad’s Syrian government and ISIS, but also include Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah.

Islamic State (ISIS): Their enemies are all of the above!

(*Note: Although I have mentioned some of these groups in prior Eye of Prophecy posts, for purpose of today’s article, I used a column in USA Today written by Oren Dorrell, published 9-6-16, that presented a summary of the warring factions in Syria).

Here is another excerpt from Beginning of the End, to further illustrate the complex array of nations and blocs waging war primarily in Syria, but also Iraq. Beginning with a quote from a Rabbi:

As Jerusalem-based well-known scholar and author Rabbi Nachman Kahana recently opined: “One needs a scorecard to keep track of the sides and the initiatives of what is now transpiring in the Arab Gehennom (Hell) of the Middle East.”

Then my analogy expressed in that same article, depicting this Middle East quagmire:

A group mud-wrestling brawl, a bumper-car melee, or a free-for-all bar fight metaphor comes to mind, but only with regard to the bizarre, almost comical alignment of nations, ethnic groups, and terrorist cells. Otherwise any such analogy doesn’t come close to explaining the devastating death and destruction (over a quarter million killed thus far in Syria); nor the massive displacement of millions of Syrians into refugee status; nor the imminent threat of global war if just one of the more prominent nations like Russia, Iran, Turkey, or the United States gets truly serious about whether Assad should remain in power or not.

Unlike the United States engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq where the number of U.S. Coalition and enemy casualties have been periodically listed, there is no ongoing media reports identifying the number of combatant casualties in Syria, and certainly not categorizing which fighting group the slain soldiers belong to. We can only imagine the number of friendly fire casualties. Half the time the fighters probably don’t know for sure who they’re shooting at or who’s shooting at them.

Many of the troops are wondering: “Who are we fighting today?”

It is as the British are prone to say: A bloody mess … literally.

Fortunately for our United States pilots, there is Air Control coordination with Russia to avoid mid-air collisions and the bombing of “friendly targets.” But then, friendly is in the eye of the beholder!

Despite the incredible spectacle of Russia and the United States fighting against a common enemy (ISIS), the somber reality remains: Russia and Iran are being joined at the hip. With Russia and the United States teetering on the brink of another cold war, one that could get red-hot should so much as an “accidental” downing of an American or Russian plane by the other occur. And with Iran already a sworn enemy of Israel and of the United States, the Nuclear Deal notwithstanding.

To add fuel to what has in a very short time become a smoldering (controlled … for now) burn, one that could instantly become a roaring military blaze, here is a quote from a Prophecy News Watch article published this past Wednesday, entitled Russia Prepares for War.

“According to US State Department figures released in March, 2016, Russia has added 150 new warheads (mostly tactical nuclear) to its arsenal in the past year while the US shrank its stockpile by 57 … Recently leaked plans show submarine drones capable of launching nuclear missiles. Also, a reported new stealth nuclear missile and warhead, called Satan-2, is designed to evade radar detection systems. Both hint at Russia’s intent to bolster its strategic nuclear power.”

Commentary: A stealth nuclear missile/warhead called Satan-2? What a fitting name! A stealth weapon named after Satan, the master of deception and destruction.

Russia and Turkey

Next, is the unimaginable reconciliation between Turkey and Russia? It was only last November that Turkey shot down a Russian warplane that allegedly strayed into Turkish airspace. The infuriated Russian President Vladmir Putin immediately leveled economic sanctions against Turkey, which cost the Turkish economy billions of dollars. The sabre rattling of the two nations against each other was heard around the world, to include absurd boasts by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia was no match for Turkish military power!

In the article, Beginning of the End (March, 2016) I made this observation:

Although diplomatic relations between Turkey (the third most prominent nation in this Gog/Magog confederation) and Russia are currently strained, that will change dramatically when Russia covertly, then openly declares its intention to invade Israel. In the classic mode of “if your enemy is also my enemy,” Turkey will go all in with Russia and Iran if it means conquering Israel.

Since that article was posted, the strained relations between Russia and Turkey have, indeed, changed dramatically. This past July, Erdogan apologized for shooting down the Russian warplane; in August he flew to Russia, and shook hands with Putin as a prelude to normalizing diplomatic relations between the two (former) rivals. Subsequently, they have set aside their differences to the point where the Russians not only didn’t oppose Turkey’s entrance into the Syrian civil war just a couple of weeks ago; they welcomed Turkey’s sudden and direct participation.

I certainly am not a prophet. In fact, no one needs to be a prophet to make such forecasts, because they are not (new) predictions at all. The Bible is and contains the full sum of all prophecies relevant to God’s plan for his creation, i.e. everything that God wants us to know. For the things that we don’t know but think we need to know, God’s response is to simply trust him! (Proverbs 3:5-6 and many other verses).

Thus, when I said a few months ago that the strained relations between Russia and Turkey, “will change dramatically when Russia covertly, then openly declares its intention to invade Israel…” I was simply relaying one of the many component parts of the Gog/Magog prophecy. To wit: Turkey will be one of the nations aligned with Russia and Iran when that campaign takes place.

The covert part has recently begun, which is a surprising but sinister turn-of-events alliance between these two nations under the pretense of doing battle against ISIS and for the ostensible purpose of permitting Turkey to join and participate in Russia and Iran’s expanding influence in the Middle East. Soon, this subterfuge will erupt openly into a massive invasion of Israel. That will occur because all of these nations have one (ultimate) malicious mindset: They hate Israel and will do whatever they can to destroy the Jews.

(Recep Erdogan and Vladmir Putin August, 2016 Meeting)

Turkey and Iran

In that same article, Beginning of the End, I also wrote about an improbable joint military exercise (war games) between primarily Saudi Arabia and Turkey that took place this past February, called Northern Thunder. It was meant to be a show of force directly against Syrian President Assad and indirectly against Iran, which supports and subsidizes Assad in Syria and Iran’s puppet regime Hezbollah in Lebanon.

(Note: Since Israel’s last war with Hezbollah in 2006, Hezbollah has amassed an even larger stockpile of missiles … some 100,000, many with a greater load and distance capacity. Next to Iran, Israel considers Hezbollah as its most formidable foe).

Just like Erdogan of Turkey and Putin of Russia have cozied themselves and their countries together; in just the past three weeks, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif (the same Iranian official who met with the P5 + 1 nations to seal the Iranian nuclear deal last year) met with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu. In a joint press conference, Zarif announced that Iran has every intention of resolving all remaining disputes with Turkey.

Emboldened by its sudden reconciliation with Russia and Iran, Turkey just a few days ago sent tanks and soldiers into Syria, to ostensibly strike at ISIS targets. However, as any of us who monitors the pulse of the Middle East knows: Turkey’s main interest was to attack the Kurds who seek their own independent state.

Turkey’s incursion into Syria and the Turks newfound affinity for the Russians pleases Iran to no end. In his Gatestone Institute article published August 26^th, Burak Bekdil quotes Meira Svirsky at the Clarion Project: “Not only will Turkey have to digest that (Russian-Iranian-Syrian) line, it will have to join it, entering into a pact with Putin and the ayatollahs. Clearly this is where Erdogan has decided is the best place to pledge his allegiance.”

All the while, Turkey’s relations with the United States and the European Union is cooling considerably, not far from the freezing point.

Burak Bekdil goes on to write:

“Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey and Russia have similar views on the need for a ceasefire in Syria, the provision of humanitarian aid, and a political solution to end the crisis. That must have caused shy smiles in Moscow: the Turkish John Wayne on his knees begging to work on Syria only months after he threatened to shoot down any Russian aircraft and kick the Russians out of Syria. Now Turkey is calling on Russia to team up and carry out joint military operations in a bid to crush ISIS in Syria.”

My commentary: Meanwhile, the Ayatollah, the Iranian imams, and Iran’s Revolutionary (Republican) Guard are dancing and singing in their mosques to the menacing music of, Let’s take Syria, then Israel, then the United States, the great Satan!

(Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Troops)

In the online news source Israel Hayom, columnist Zalman Shoval posted an article on August 23, 2016 entitled: The Unholy Trinity. As you may have already surmised, the subject was that of Russia, Iran, and Turkey’s swift and surprising diplomatic and now military ties between each of these nations. This unholy trinity is an apt description. The very fact that these three nations have agreed to resolve or at least set aside all differences is a seemingly stunning shift in Middle East balance of power as seen by national leaders the world over, particularly geopolitical experts.

Stunning? Perhaps? But when placed in the sweeping context of Bible prophecy it’s nothing more than another piece of the prophetic puzzle put into place. Stunning, nevertheless, in the speed at which all these things are happening. Parts of the prophetic puzzle that formerly took centuries, then decades to fit together, are now taking only months, weeks, and days. Which is why the Bible describes the last days by the shorter time frame of, The Day of the Lord and the hour is at hand.

The Time is So Very Near!

Listen to these astounding words of Messiah Jesus, some of which include the first reference to the Rapture itself:

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered the boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two woman will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:37-42).

Then a short while later Jesus repeats his warning: “So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return” (Matthew 25:13, italics for emphasis).

Thus, when the signs that Jesus gave—which are to be combined with all of the prophecies given by the prophets and apostles, for “this generation” (what I have called the Omega Generation)—begin to unfold, the time of his reappearance is reduced to, “the day and hour.”

As indicated in last week’s article, the best analogy to describe our post-modern shrinking world and the geopolitical and military spasms that shake media headlines almost daily, is none other than the birth contractions of a woman in labor … exactly the comparison made by Jesus to describe events of the last days.

Israel’s Peace Initiatives with Russia and Turkey

Yet another remarkable development is Israel’s recent policy to establish and/or improve diplomatic relations with Russia and Turkey, spearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself. Over the past several months, Netanyahu has met several times with Russian President Putin.

Likewise, this past June, Israel and Turkey reestablished diplomatic ties; both nations proposing mutual cooperation in matters of economic, political, and cultural matters. For example: Israel promised to supply Turkey (as well as Egypt) with energy resources from the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea.

From the internet news source Israel Hayom, contributing author Isi Leibler writes in his article of July 13, 2016:

“The Netanyahu government is moving away from what was hitherto almost total dependency on the United States and is seeking to bolster relations with other countries. These efforts have been accelerated by the Obama administration’s undisguised attempts to create daylight in its relationship with Israel to appease Muslim states hostile to Israel, in particular the Iranian terrorist state.

“Today Israel welcomes alliances based on pragmatic mutual economic, political or defense interests. Turkey fits into this category, as do a number of Arab countries threatened with Islamic State or Iranian hegemony. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, at least for now, are willing to covertly benefit from an Israel military presence in the region.”

Then later in his article, Leibler writes:

“Our most extraordinary, even dazzling, relationship is with the Russians. Who could have envisioned that a former KGB officer, now president of Russia, would hold more annual meetings with the Israeli prime minister than the U.S. president does? And that this Russian president would speak in endearing terms about the Jews in his country and his admiration for Israel…”

Israel has also enhanced international interactions with China, India, and several African countries.

Quoting columnist Zalman Shoval in the aforementioned article, The Unholy Trinity:

“The fact that Turkey, Russia (now Israel’s ally) and Iran (a supporter of global terrorism and Hezbollah’s patron) are establishing practical understandings should raise red flags in Israel and make it clear that we must address this new reality in a practical, thoughtful way, looking at the situation from all sides.”

Israel has already been doing what Shoval recommended. In addition to strengthening ties with Russia and Turkey (two of the three prominent nations to turn on Israel as part of the Gog/Magog coalition), Israel is responding favorably to more friendly diplomatic gestures from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. Certainly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu understands the underlying motive of these nations—to seek Israel’s protection against the Iranian threat. He fully realizes that Muslim people, as a whole, in these countries still despise the Jews and Israel. Yet, Benjamin recognizes the volatile times and the need to establish closer ties with government leaders of surrounding nations as a practical means to the passionate pursuit of Israel—peace with its enemies.

For example: Dr. Anwan Eshki, a Saudi Arabia retired general has met with Israeli officials to promote diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Wrote Khaled Abu Toameh in an August 8, 2016 article for Gatestone Institute entitled, The “Anti-Normalization” Campaign and Israel’s Right to Exist:

“Arabs and Muslims are up in arms over a controversial visit to Israel by … Dr. Anwar Eshki, who is being accused of promoting ‘normalization with the Jews and the Zionist entity.’ Then, Khaled Toameh comments: “If ‘normalization’ with Israel is being denounced as a major crime and sin, one can only imagine what ‘peace’ with Israelis would be considered in the Arab and Islamic countries.”

(Israeli Official Dore Gold & Retired Saudi Arabia General Anwan Eshki)

Likewise with Egypt. Columnist, Bassam Tawil writes in another Gatestone Institute article published on August 15, 2016 entitled, Egypt’s Crucial Role in the Middle East:

“The visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to Israel in early July 2016 could be an indication that the frozen peace between Israel and Egyptians, signed by Begin and Sadat in 1979, might be thawing.”

(Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry Meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu)

But only for a short time!

But the Lord will have the final say. Without Israel needing to fight at all, here is what will happen to Gog from Magog—Russia, Turkey, and Iran when they dare take on God’s special possession, 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 … all the people on earth will quake in terror at my presence. Mountains will be thrown down; cliffs will crumble; walls will fall to the earth. I will summon the sword against you on all the hills of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord. Your men will turn their swords against each other. I will punish you and your armies with disease and bloodshed; I will send torrential rain, hailstones, fire, and burning sulfur! In this way, I will show my greatness and holiness, and I will make myself known to all the nations of the world. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:18-23, italics for emphasis).

Did you catch the italicized words? What will begin as an apparently indissoluble coalition of nations aligned against Israel will dissolve irreparably by a combination of God’s divine display of nature’s power and each of the Gog nations turning on each other.

Things to Ponder

Our Great and Glorious God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the Father of our Sovereign Savior and Lord, Messiah Yeshua—has a wonderful way of simplifying and solving the complicated mess we’ve made of and on planet Earth.

Nationally: According to Scripture, God reduces all countries into two groups. Those that bless and support Israel and those that despise and curse Israel (Genesis 12:3). History is littered with the rubble of nations who have harmed Israel.

Individually: The human race is also divided into two groups. God does not look at us through the problematic prism of race, language, culture, religion, or status.

God loves everyone equally (John 3:16).

But God is also holy and righteous and just. Every person who has ever lived has sinned and fallen far short of the righteousness required to live forever with God in heaven (Romans 3:23). Hence, God sent his Son, Messiah Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sins and give us His righteousness, for we have none of our own.

“As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous—not even one’” (Romans 3:10, quoting Psalm 14:2-3).

“The Lord is Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:6).

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (II Corinthians 5:21).

Everyone must make a decision to believe in Christ and receive his salvation (right standing with God) or not to believe and receive, and remain in their sins. Therefore, all people on earth are either saved or unsaved (from the penalty of sin). Accordingly, there are two places where everyone will spend eternity: In heaven with God; or, in the Lake of Fire without God.

The following two passages highlight the distinction and destiny of every person on earth:

Believers: “We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:15-18).

Unbelievers: “Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?’” (Revelation 6:15-17).

Said Messiah Jesus: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish…” (John 10:27-28).

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left” (Matthew 25:31-33).

In all seriousness, you don’t want to be a goat.

Palestinian Propaganda Is Pure Poison

06 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by garybowers in Current Events

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Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Hoax

The Real Poison Comes From Palestinian Rhetoric

The propaganda drums pound relentlessly from the Palestinian occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip; more so from the “moderate” Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, rather than from his heated rival, radical Hamas. Yes, you read that right. It is the Palestinians who are the occupiers, not the Israelis, as documented in a few previous Eye of Prophecy articles with the real history, Scriptural and secular, of the Middle East.

Mahmoud Abbas has stooped to new lows in his increasingly desperate attempts to convince the entire world that the Israelis are exclusively responsible for the plight of the Palestinians in Israel. Several years ago he was more subtle and less aggressive in his rhetoric, with his strategy of persuading Western nations, especially European, that the Palestinians are the “good guys” and the Israelis the “bad guys.” Even then, most of what he said was pure propaganda based on lies or half-truths.

Webster’s Dictionary defines propaganda as: “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person. Also, “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause.”

Thus, some propaganda can be positive and constructive. However, you can be sure that there are precious few facts and a severe shortage of accurate information presented by Mahmoud Abbas. Nowadays, when he speaks, the negative connotation of propaganda is all too evident. We hear nothing but rumors, allegations, and an abundant supply of outright lies from him.

Here is an excerpt (in italics) from the Eye of Prophecy article entitled, If You Tell a Big Lie Long Enough… (Posted 10-10-15):

Muslims in general, Palestinian Arabs in particular, and entirely too many nations and news sources have become increasingly confident of global impunity to and world-wide acceptance of what they say; to the extent that no matter how big the lie or omission, nations and peoples will now or one day soon believe them.

Moreover, it’s abundantly clear that the growing deadly attacks on Israeli civilians is a result of incitement directly from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas; who is himself becoming progressively and intensely bolder in his proliferation of big lies about Israel and the Jews. As epitomized in his recent speech of September 30^th to the United Nations General Assembly, he is overtly implementing the Muslim strategy of distorting events and facts to the point of literally rewriting history. Middle East history as found in the Palestinian education system and textbooks and journalism and maps is markedly different from the real history of Israel’s existence, especially since 1948.

(Palestinian Map of Israel)

In that article, I also quoted several parts of Abbas’ inflammatory and mendacity-laced speech to the United Nations.

In a subsequent Eye of Prophecy article, More Palestinian Lies (posted 2-20-16)), primarily on the topic of the “lone-wolf” attacks that began in October, 2015, mostly by young Palestinians, I wrote:

Just when you think that PA President, Mahmoud Abbas couldn’t possibly tell more and bigger lies, he does just that. It’s one thing for his own people to be deceived by this bombast that is designed to incite them to even more vicious attacks on innocent Israelis; it’s quite another for dignitaries all over the world to turn their collective heads away from what is really happening in Israel and stick those same uninformed heads in Arabic quick sand. Either through ignorance or deliberate distortion of the facts, even our U.S. President doesn’t truly understand the real reasons for Palestinian violence in Israel, or Muslim atrocities in the rest of the world. Mainly because he doesn’t really grasp the significance of Islamic goals of world domination, fostered by uprisings and isolated but incessant attacks on the “infidels.” Summed up in one word: Jihad.

PA President Abbas went on to say that the Palestinians were simply employing, “…all peaceful means” to “resist Israeli occupation.” This noble pursuit of a “peaceful” strategy to resist an Israeli occupation that doesn’t exist in the first place has resulted in the deaths of 30+ Israeli Jews with dozens more injured; as well as some 170 Palestinians—many of them children—who have launched these “lone-wolf” attacks to carry out the abhorrent self-fulfilling prophecy of the politically corrupt and morally bankrupt Palestinian Authority.

A Ridiculous Hoax, Yet Horrendous “Anti-Semitic Blood Libel”

PA President Abbas recently condescended to an even lower (lowest … worst) level of lies about and libel against Israel with his speech to the European Parliament on June 23, 2016; ostensibly to tell the European lawmakers that the Palestinians are still very much interested in a two-state solution in Israel.

He pleaded with EU leaders to save Palestinians from “Israeli provocations.” With one of these provocations a plot described by Abbas as, “…a number of rabbis in Israel announced, and made a clear announcement, demanding that their government poison the water to kill the Palestinians.”

In the same context of this deliberate hoax (lie), Abbas also said that he and the Palestinians, “…are against terrorism in whatever form it may take, and whoever carries it out.”

More on his “against terrorism” comment later in today’s article. For now we only need to see that he was deceitfully diverting attention away from the ongoing Palestinian acts of terrorism against the Jews by suggesting that the Israelis were, themselves, guilty of terrorist acts of violence (plotting to poison Palestinian wells).

He went on to say, “Once the occupation (meaning what he and much of the world thinks is Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories) ends, terrorism will disappear, there will be no more terrorism in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.”

*Note: At the very least that may be the most naïve, uninformed (stupid) statement ever made, and to a group of national leaders and lawmakers, no less. At the very worst, it is a flagrantly false, malicious indictment against Israel; that, in no uncertain terms, accuses Israel of being the sole reason that terrorism (of all kinds, from all sources) exists in the world, i.e. because the Jews “occupy” so-called Palestinian territories. In case someone thinks my use of the word, stupid, is inappropriate and/or too harsh, read with me the words of the Psalmist:

“Arrogant people smear me with lies … Their hearts are dull and stupid, but I delight in your instructions” (Psalm 119:69-70).

During his insidious speech, Abbas received standing ovations from members of the European Parliament. These are supposed to be intelligent, informed lawmakers—similar in role and stature to the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The last I heard, standing ovations were reserved for speakers who are believed and revered by their audience. It’s the “believed” part that should scare us the most.

(European Parliament Standing Ovation for Mahmoud Abbas)

It no longer matters to Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, or to Hamas, or to Hezbollah, or to Iran, or to most Muslim nations how many fabrications they foist on both uninformed and informed listeners; or how belligerent they are toward Israel. Their twisted tactics have become pathetically plain. The more lies they tell and the bigger those lies, the more likely it is that some people will believe most or all of them; and a lot of people will believe some of them. With their warped objective accomplished: If enough people in Europe and Russia and the United States and other less powerful nations all over the globe believe that Israel is doing just a few of the things that they are falsely accused of, they will continue or begin to support the Palestinian narrative no matter the real history of Israel and no matter the truth of what is taking place there.

It was also an increase in the severity of inflammatory lies spread by Abbas that incited his people to begin the lone wolf attacks last year—a falsehood that the Jews were desecrating Temple Mount.

Reaction to the Blatantly False Accusation of Israel Poisoning Palestinian Water Supplies

As expected, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promptly rebuffed Abbas’ absurd accusations. Said Netanyahu:

“I think that Abu Mazen (Netanyahu often refers to Abbas by his given or original name), last week, again proved to the entire world that he is not interested in direct negotiations with Israel. Worse, he also spread abhorrent lies about the State of Israel and Judaism.”

Netanyahu was referring to two things in his rebuttal: (1) Mahmoud Abbas had just a couple of days earlier refused to meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (also in Europe at the same time as Abbas) who had invited Abbas to renew preliminary discussions of a two-state solution. Which is what Benjamin meant by Abbas not being interested in direct negotiations with Israel … which Abbas is not.

Instead, Mahmoud Abbas wants the international community to sanction Israel and force the Israelis to adopt previous roadmaps for peace, including pre-1967 territory lines that would leave the Jews virtually defenseless for much of north central and northeast Israel, not the least of which is the strategic Golan Heights.

As I’ve said periodically in Eye of Prophecy articles and by others who know what’s really going on in Israel: The Palestinians don’t actually want a state of their own. If they did, they would have had one by now … actually as long ago as 1948. What they really want is for Jews to no longer be a nation … for Israel to cease to exist as a sovereign state. Which is why, to this day, the Palestinians (and all but two Muslim nations … Egypt and Jordan) do not recognize Israel as a Jewish State.

(2) The second part of Netanyahu’s response was, of course, reference to the “abhorrent lies” about rabbis (Judaism) and the Israeli government plotting to poison Palestinian water supplies.

(Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Press Conference in Reaction to Mahmoud Abbas’ False Allegations of Poisoning Palestinian Water)

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, a respected and recognized historian, had harsher words for these preposterous charges. Comparing it to the blood libels against the Jews during the Black Plague of the middle Ages, current Knesset Member Oren replied:

“…objectively, empirically, and historically it was a blood libel. Tens of thousands of Jews lost their lives because of these rumors. It’s not just any anti-Semitic comment. It is an anti-Semitic comment that has deep and horrific reverberations for Europe and Europe’s history.”

*Note: Not only during and after the 14^th century Black Plague that Jews were accused of starting (you guessed it … by allegedly poisoning the water in many wells), but also these same kind of lies and libels were believed by many Germans before and during World War II. Which allowed Hitler and the Third Reich to round up, impound all their property, imprison, haul off to ghettos, and exterminate six millions Jews during the Holocaust.

But some might say: “We’ve come a long way. We’re way past doing or condoning such barbaric acts.” Really? Why then is anti-Semitism slowly but surely reaching alarming proportions throughout Europe and even in the United States, especially on university campuses?

The Palestinian Authority Retraction

Fortunately, Abbas’ outrageous (poisonous) rhetoric that accused Israel and many of its rabbis of the plot to poison Palestinian water was ludicrous enough that—with exception of many of the European Parliamentary members present during the speech—there was an international outcry.

So much so that, just two days later, President Abbas retracted his appalling allegation. Actually it wasn’t Abbas himself; rather it was a statement issued by the Palestinian Authority on his behalf.

The announcement went as follows:

“After it became evident that the alleged statements by a rabbi on poisoning Palestinian wells, reported by various media outlets, are baseless, President Abbas has affirmed that he didn’t intend to harm Judaism or to offend Jewish people around the world. This is rooted in the President’s deep respect for all religions including Judaism.”

Anyone can see through this half-hearted “apology.” Of course the allegation was baseless because it was a flat-out lie. But the Palestinian Authority didn’t call it a lie or even a hoax; they called it baseless which was a euphemism implying it was merely an unsupported rumor. The reason they called it that is because it was so outrageous that many people the world over this time sided with Jews (for a brief shining moment!) and/or realized that it was sheer propaganda.

(FYI, on reliable authority from a few Muslim Imams, President Mahmoud Abbas owns a beautiful green oasis in Antarctica that he will sell you at half-price if you buy it sight unseen! Not to worry. If this alleged statement proves not to be true, I’ll ask the Palestinian Authority to print a retraction on my behalf. On second thought, for me, they may use the term, scandalous lie instead of baseless; and that I intended to harm Islam and the Muslim people).

Back to (sometimes repulsive) reality!

The retraction didn’t say that Abbas was sorry that he had broadcast such a slanderous story to (because of media coverage of his speech) the whole world. Rather, the communique simply said that it wasn’t Abbas’ intent to harm Judaism or Jewish people! Once again, anyone with even the slightest degree of awareness of what’s taking place in Israel knows that both Abbas and many of the Palestinian people have done and will continue to do everything they can to “harm the Jewish people.” Including murder.

Yet, even murder is not enough. If a Palestinian terrorist succeeds in his/her diabolical mission, they are eulogized to the extent of a monthly stipend to their family, posters of their picture throughout the West Bank and Gaza, and streets named after them. Is there any street in America named, Lee Harvey Oswald?

Regarding Abbas’ purported respect for “all religions including Judaism,” I could provide dozens of examples to the contrary if time/space permitted in this article. As it is, I will mention only one: If, indeed, Abbas harbors “respect” (which supposedly would include the modern-day emphasis on tolerance and diversity) for all religions including Judaism; then why doesn’t he allow Jews or Christians to worship, pray, or so much as do anything that looks like prayer, on Temple Mount? Why to Palestinian Arabs constantly harass Jews when they ascend to Temple Mount? Why is the presence of police even necessary on Temple Mount, if President Abbas and his Palestinian Authority “respect” Judaism and the Jewish people?

Those questions are as rhetorical as any question can be.

(Palestinians Picking Up Rocks to Throw at Jews on Temple Mount)

The only positive thing about this retraction is the extremely rare use of the words Judaism and Jewish people (Jews). Seldom do Palestinians (Muslims in general) speak the words Jew or Judaism or even Israel, unless it’s something to the effect of “death to the Jews … death to Israel.” Normally they call Jews: settlers, occupiers, usurpers, Zionists, or the more ugly denigration of pigs and apes.

Mahmoud Abbas’ Hypocritical Remarks on Terrorism and Occupation

Once again, a reminder that the European Parliament gave Abbas a standing ovation. For what? We’ve already discussed the laughable but also hideous hoax that Israel was on the verge of poisoning Palestinian wells; a flagrant fabrication that the Palestinian Authority retracted just two days later. Wouldn’t it, therefore, have been appropriate for the European Parliament to have rescinded their standing ovation for Abbas? To have made a “retraction” video showing them booing instead of applauding! Not likely, if for no other reason than most European leaders prefer to believe the Palestinian propaganda machine that churns out lies as fast as the Swiss churn out cheese. European heads of state that appear to support Israel do so mostly out of left-over guilt from the Holocaust. Of course, there are a few exceptions, like the new British Prime Minister, Theresa May. Praise the Lord for that!

The European Parliament enthusiastically extended their applause for two other core statements made by Mahmoud Abbas, as quoted earlier in today’s article. As follows:

Against Terrorism?

Mahmoud Abbas’ statement that, “Palestinians are against terrorism in whatever form it may take, and whoever carries it out,” is as two-faced and double-tongued as any assertion could be.

Read again what Abbas said. He didn’t limit terrorism to just ISIS or even Hamas, which is Abbas’ chief (bitter) rival for authority among the Palestinians. No, he said, whatever form terrorism takes and whoever carries it out. What would anyone, with any trace of objectivity and with any tidbit of knowledge of what’s taking place in Israel, call the hideous slaughter of dozens of Israelis by Palestinian “lone-wolf” assassins?

Because of Mahmoud Abbas’ hatred of Israel, he has deluded himself to the point that any and all Palestinian atrocities against innocent Israelis is what he has called, “justified popular unrest.” To a large extent that is expected of him, as are the lies that he tells to support that premise. What is or should be unequivocally unexpected and immensely inappropriate are many Western nations buying into that logic as being (even half way) reasonable and justified. But that is exactly what is taking place. There is a world-wide effort to selectively pick and choose who are terrorists and what is terrorism; including but not limited to distinguishing between what is commonly called “radical Islam” versus “mainstream Islam.”

Anyone (especially Muslims themselves) who know anything about Islam and the Koran fully realize that those who are classified as radical are doing nothing more than what the god of Islam (Allah) commands. Which is: convert the infidel through coercion, and kill them if they refuse to convert or even get in the way of Islam’s ultimate objective to force all peoples and nations under the Muslim mantle.

Which is why Abbas refused to condemn the hideous murder of 13-year old Hallel Yaffa Ariel by a Palestinian youth, while Hallel slept in her bed at home. This occurred on June 30^th, just one week after Abbas’ address to the European Parliament. Nor did he respond in any way to subsequent media and international inquiries as to what his reply would be to the murder of Rabbi Miki Mark, the father of ten children, killed the following day. Abbas refused even to return phone calls from media sources. Furthermore, he ordered his West Bank organization Fatah to suppress news of any Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

The following are (italicized) excerpts from the Eye of Prophecy article, Can A Murderer Be A Martyr? (Posted on 1-30-16); to further emphasize that there is no difference whatsoever between a Palestinian murdering an Israeli and a muslim member or devotee of ISIS or other terrorist cells (mass) murdering innocent people in Syria, Iraq, France, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, and the United States.

Although these murderous Palestinian assaults on Israelis are perpetrated by individuals (as opposed to known terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas), in my opinion they can no longer be classified as “lone-wolf” attacks. If for no other reason than there have been nearly 300 such incidents just in the past four months or so, resulting in the death of 30 Jews and wounding of dozens more. In other words, the sheer number of the attackers can now be classified as a concerted group of individuals in a cruel combined effort to instill terror among Jewish communities, no different than a terrorist group or grouping of terrorists with a collaborative mindset and a callous communal cause of killing Jews.

As such, this makes them vastly different from the “ordinary” murderer in the United States or anywhere in the world who kills someone for any number of different reasons, but certainly not just because their victims are Jews (or Christians). Surely the parents, families, national leaders, and fellow citizens don’t glorify the murderer in these kind 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 actually 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.”

Thus, when our own President and most of his staff ignore the true history of Israel, and the acrimonious (no longer hidden) agenda of the Arab Muslims living in Israel, they also apathetically disregard the insidious (but no longer subtle) and all too real objective of Arab Palestinians and Muslims the world over: To eliminate Israel as a State and the Jews as a race. All the while, taking out as many Christians as they can.

Occupation?

Mahmoud Abbas also said:

“Once the occupation (meaning what he and much of the world thinks is Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories) ends, terrorism will disappear, there will be no more terrorism in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world.”

The so-called Israeli occupation of a small portion of the “West Bank” by alleged “Israeli settlers” continues to be the biggest lie foisted by the Palestinians and the greatest misunderstanding by many Western nations, not the least of which is the United States of America, especially the current Administration. In several Eye of Prophecy articles, I’ve provided historical and contemporary documented details to demonstrate that all of Israel belongs to the Jews. Which effectively makes the Palestinians the occupiers and settlers.

In today’s article, we’ll confine our examination to Mahmoud Abbas’s senseless conclusion (I would like to use the description of “stupid” again, which is a synonym of senseless, but I won’t): That the end of (so-called) Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories will eliminate terrorism not just in the Middle East but throughout the entire world.

Poof! Just like that, there will be no more terrorism!

First, you don’t need to go beyond Israel itself to realize that elimination of Israeli housing divisions in the West Bank would have absolutely no effect on President Abbas’ chief rival (for Palestinian supremacy) which is Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In fact, the Israeli government completely removed all Israelis (sadly, some by force) from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

And what did the Palestinians promptly do? They tore down buildings and greenhouses built by the Jews that could have provided instant housing, agricultural, and commercial enterprises for them. Followed soon by several episodes of Palestinian missiles and mortars lobbed into Israel from Gaza. Followed by the obviously justified need for the IDF to intervene and protect Israeli citizens.

What planet does Abbas live on? Does he seriously think that the daily terrorism against civilians in Syria and Iraq and Muslim lone-wolf attacks throughout Europe and the United States will stop overnight just because a few Israeli settlements were disbanded in the West Bank?

The glaring fact is this: The vast majority of militant Muslim Arabs and non-Arabs (such as Iran), couldn’t care less about Jewish settlements in the West Bank. That is also true with the majority of “mainstream, moderate Muslims.” Most of them didn’t blink an eye when Israel vacated the Gaza Strip. But they danced in the streets when the Twin Towers fell. And they hand out gifts and sweets when Israeli Jews are hacked, stabbed, shot, and beaten to death throughout Israel. Excuse me, I forgot to include death by high-speed vehicles used as weapons.

In an article by one of my favorite Israeli columnists, Ruthie Blum, reprinted in Israel Hayom and also Prophecy News Watch, she cites and comments on a recent publication by ISIS in their on-line news source, Dabiq. (Yes, ISIS has their own media). ISIS gives six reasons why, “We hate you and want to fight you.” That article was given the title, Break the Cross, and was directed primarily toward Christians. Yet it’s clear: The post also includes anyone and everyone who opposes the right of ISIS to be the supreme Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East and Islam’s right to govern the globe through Sharia Law.

(Writer Ruthie Blum Also Appears on Israeli Television)

Space in today’s article does not permit quotation of the six reasons. However, rest assured that the article says nothing at all about withdrawal of Jewish settlements (occupation); or that ISIS would cease and desist from all terrorist attacks if Israel complied with Palestinian demands as Mahmoud Abbas so arrogantly and foolishly claims.

Nonetheless, I will quote the final overriding reason given by ISIS explaining why they will continue their barbaric torture, mutilation, and murder of innocent people the world over.

Here it is, ISIS talking:

“What’s important to understand here is that although some might argue that your foreign policies are the extent of what drives our hatred, this particular reason for hating you is secondary … The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us, and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam” (italics for emphasis).

The “usurping our lands” could be stretched to include Palestinian territory in Israel, but the larger context includes all Middle East, European, and African nations/territory that were at one time partially or fully controlled by Muslims, including the Ottoman Turk Empire defeated by British and allies during World War I.

Rather than summarizing with my own editorial comments, some of which I’ve already submitted in today’s article (as also found in a few prior Eye of Prophecy articles on this subject), I’ll defer to Ruthie Blum’s observations, as they track closely with mine and several others who are ardent students of Scripture and/or Middle East events, both historical and contemporary.

She states: “But it is the response of the West, which has been suffering increasingly bloody attacks on its shores, that is both baffling and worrisome. On the one hand, Americans and Europeans view Islamic State as the world’s ultimate bogeyman—one worth defeating, even on the battlefield. On the other hand, the very same leaders and pundits who have reached a consensus on the evil nature of Islamic State remain in denial about the many other Islamist organizations and “lone wolves” who commit atrocities on their behalf.

“What those leaders and pundits choose not to see is that though Islamic State terrorists may be a bit more theatrical than competing killers, they are not worse than members of Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, al-Qaida or Boko Haram. Indeed, though their PR machine is as well-oiled as their literature is articulate, they are not more deserving of eradication than the others. Indeed, every point on Islamic State’s list could have been and is made by all jihadis.”

*Note: The “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine” (PLO) was reconfigured to become today’s Palestinian Authority currently led by the “featured guest of today’s article” President Mahmoud Abbas; who took over for Yasser Arafat, the founder of Fatah (military wing of the PLO and now the Palestinian Authority).

Ruthie Blum continues and then concludes: “Instead of separating Palestinian terrorists into a different category—of terrorists with a legitimate gripe that can be resolved with Israeli concessions—the West needs to wake up to reality… Islamic State is merely one strain of the deadly disease of jihad. An urgent antidote is needed to combat all of its manifestations and mutations…”

Summary (Shame on Our State Department)

Just a few days ago, the United States State Department issued more defamatory and inflammatory remarks against Israel, pertaining to the possibility of more settlement construction in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria by its rightful name … part of Israel proper).

In response to what he termed the State’s Department, “remarkable assault on Israel … both in tone and content, marks a new hostility and plenty of sheer ignorance,” Elliot Abrams (former deputy national security advisor to President George W. Bush) also noted that the State Department’s, “…obsession with housing construction by Israeli Jews is certainly not shared by any Arab government…”

(Photo of Elliot Abrams)

With his reaction, Elliot Abrams seriously challenged the current Presidential Staff’s hostile disposition toward Israel and its aforementioned fixation on housing construction as specifically articulated by State Department spokesman, John Kirby.

Said Kirby (which he has said before as noted in a previous Eye of Prophecy article) in denouncement of the Israeli government that they were, “…systematically undermining the prospects for a two-state solution by engaging in settlement activity, which is corrosive to the cause of peace.”

Others joined in with Abrams, including Alan Baker, former Israeli ambassador to Canada, who said:

Things to Ponder

As terrible as it can be, it is not terrorism. As calamitous as it might seem, it is not political corruption or economic collapse. As woeful as it is, it is not war. As horrendous as it might get, it is not … well, you fill in the blanks. These are but symptoms of what has plagued the human race from time immemorial … sin.

There is no doubt: It is the debilitating and disastrous effect of sin that produces pride, greed, lust for power and pleasure, selfishness, cruelty, hatred, disobedience, lawlessness, ingratitude, and eventually death—both physical and spiritual.

The true threat, the real risk, the actual angst, and the ferocious fight facing this tumultuous world of ours—specifically for believers, but also in general extended to those searching for truth and peace—is summarized succinctly in Scripture.

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

The real battle is spiritual. The real enemy is the false belief system of those who distort, deny, and replace the universal truth of The Bible—both Old and New Testaments. The spiritual becomes physical, the mind becomes matter, and what’s in the human heart turns into action—either for good or evil.

The ultimate fight is not against Muslim terrorists and certainly not against those Muslims who do not support torture and killing of Jews and Christians as the only way to advance Islam. Rather it is against the creeds of a religion (any man-made religion) that claims good works and self-righteousness as the only way to please the god of that religion. It is also against secular humanistic belief systems that seek to silence those who believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and especially those who believe in the truth of God’s salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. For the activists among such religious and secular ideologies, silencing can include actual elimination of anyone who opposes their twisted ideas.

But, there is powerful protection and profound peace against these wicked spiritual forces and mighty powers in this dark world and the billions of people who have been influenced by this evil. It is God’s protective covering given to all those who have believed and received the Prince of Peace, Messiah Jesus.

It is the belt of Biblical truth. It is the full body armor of God’s righteousness, not self-righteousness. It is the Gospel shoes shod with true peace with God and with each other. It is the shield of faith to stop Satan’s weapons from defeating us. It is the helmet of Biblical salvation freely given through the grace of God to all who believe and receive Messiah Jesus. And it is the sword of the Holy Spirit enabling us to understand and trust the Word of God that will sustain us through this wicked and weary world we live in. (Ephesians 6:14-17, paraphrasing).

“…His faithful promises are your armor and protection” (Psalm 91:4b).

“May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 6:24

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