Will the Killing Never End?
This past Tuesday, September 26th, another Palestinian lone-wolf terrorist struck. Border Police Staff Sgt. Solomon Gavriyah and security guards Youssef Ottman and Or Arish were shot and killed at point-blank range by Mahmoud Ahmad Jamal just northwest of Jerusalem. A fourth security guard was seriously injured. The Palestinian murderer was killed on the spot, near the check-point crossing that leads to the Jewish community of Har Adar where he had worked in the past.
By Palestinian preferences and terrorists’ standards this was a long time between attacks on the Jews, with the previous assault occurring on 7-22-17 and the one before that on 7-14-17. Two months’ time between attacks presumably creates withdrawal symptoms among Palestinian Arabs—whether it be the militants among them that actually do the killing or the (so-called) moderates who nevertheless cheer their “martyrs” and celebrate by giving treats to each other. Others dance in the streets, ecstatic over the death of more Jews. Some of these streets are named after the murderers.
(The Three Israeli Victims at Har Adar)
I wrote about the July 14th attack in Eye of Prophecy article, An Unprecedented Palestinian Attack in Jerusalem, posted 7-22-17. You may recall that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu immediately ordered metal detectors to be installed at all Temple Mount entrance gates. Which caused a local Palestinian and international Muslim uproar—as though the murder of the Israeli police officers was nothing compared to the (temporary) inconvenience for Arabs to ascend Temple Mount through metal detectors, which were subsequently removed.
Eye of Prophecy articles, Jewish Sovereignty on Temple Mount, Part I & II were then published on 8-5 & 8-12-17. Here is an excerpt from Part I of those articles (in italics):
The Eye of Prophecy article entitled An Unprecedented Palestinian Attack in Jerusalem, posted 7-22-17, summarized the cold-blooded killing of two Israeli policemen and the aftermath, which included Israel’s sensible security installation of metal detectors to all gates that lead to Old Jerusalem. Never before had Arab terrorists killed Israelis in the confines of Temple Mount. Then the pathological audacious accusations by Jordanian, Hamas, and Palestinian Authority officials that the Jews were violating the “status quo” conditions of Temple Mount with these metal detectors. All the while, deliberately oblivious to the fact that it was the three Israeli-Arab (citizens of Israel) terrorists who started the whole thing.
Just a few hours (Israel time) after I posted that Eye of Prophecy article, a 19-year old Israeli Arab entered a Jewish home and brutally stabbed 70-year old Yosef Salomon, his son Elad, age 36, and daughter Chaya, age 46, to death. Yosef’s wife Tova, 68, was seriously wounded while protecting her grandchildren.
Not that Arabs need a stated reason to kill Jews, but the latest and most prevalent excuse is to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount from what they call (non-existent) Jewish desecration. Muslim definition of Al-Aqsa defilement is simply that of any Jew setting foot on Temple Mount, as there has never ever been any Jewish desecration of the mosque.
Among other vile things the murderer posted online before he butchered the Salomon family was that the Jews would not, “open the gates of al-Aqsa.” Even that was a distortion (lie) as the only (reasonable) change was erection of metal detectors—not taking away the privilege of Arabs to enter the gates that lead to Temple Mount.
Responses to the Most Recent Murders of July 26th
Immediate reaction from the ultra-militant Hamas—the terrorist governing body in the Gaza Strip—was as expected. Said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem:
“Hamas praises the operation in Jerusalem today and considers it as a normal reaction to the crimes of the occupation and to the continuous occupation of our Palestinian land and sacred sites. We can assure that Jerusalem is the main reason for our conflict with the occupation and our people will continue to resist until they achieve their freedom … The operation this morning in northern Jerusalem is a new chapter of the Jerusalem intifada…”
Was Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and sacred sites the main reason for this conflict and intifada? That question and others will be answered in this week’s Eye of Prophecy article.
Soon after this latest killing of Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again pointed the finger of blame at the, “…systematic Palestinian incitement” calling for Mahmoud Abbas to, “condemn the attack and not try to justify it.”
As written by contributing columnist Yoav Limor in an article posted in the online news source Israel Hayom on September 27, 2017 entitled, Unusual attack, limited solutions: “There is no doubt that the Palestinian Authority had nothing to do with the attack or the terrorist…. But the support the Palestinian Authority gives terrorism via incitement, offering no condemnation, and financing the families of security prisoners and terrorists who were killed, all but pushes many Palestinians to embark on the path of terrorism….”
Was there condemnation from the Palestinian Authority, the governing entity in the so-called West Bank (Judea-Samaria) who’s President, Mahmoud Abbas ironically bears the same first name as the Arab murderer? Normally, there would not have been. Under intense international pressure, especially from the United States, Abbas uttered a token (politically correct) condemnation—but not until this past Thursday, well over 48 hours after the brutal attack.
(Scene of the Har Adar Shootings)
Even on the rare occasion when Abbas condemns Palestinian murder of Jews to the international public in English, he will later justify and even praise the attack to his people in Arabic.
Citing social media, especially among young Palestinians planning attacks and Israeli security such as Shin Bet preempting many of those plots hatched as a result of incitement from the Palestinian Authority, columnist Yoav Limor goes on to say:
“In this respect, Jamal (the Arab who killed the three security officers on July 26th) was different. Neither young nor particularly active on social media, he did not meet the profile of the average terrorist. On the contrary—he was a married man in his late 30s, a father of four, with no prior record of any security offense or known affiliation, who had received consecutive work permits in Israel. It is quite possible that some of the people he murdered knew him, or at least recognized him, as he had worked in Har Adar for years.”
Mahmoud Jamal was one of a large number of West Bank Palestinians (about 100,000 in all) who have been issued permits to work at Israeli and Israeli-Arab businesses throughout Israel, especially in and around Jerusalem. In fact, the guards he shot and killed were engaged in their daily check-point duties that allowed him and other Arabs from the nearby Palestinian village of Beit Surik (where he lived) access outside the West Bank. These permits are similar to work visas that, for example, allow foreigners to work in the United States for specified periods of time. Also that of “green card” immigrants in America, except that the Palestinians do not live in Israel proper because they have declined to apply for Israeli citizenship.
(Example of Israeli Security Permitting Palestinians to Enter Israel with Proper Identification and Work or Visitation Permits)
On the other hand, that “difference” cited by Yoav Limor is exactly what makes these atrocities repulsively the same. Meaning that it exposes and confirms the ultimate reason why Arabs continue to kill Jews. Which we will identify shortly, by process of eliminating those reasons (excuses) that much of the world believes to be the apparent cause of Palestinian terrorism.
In another Israel Hayom article also posted on September 27th, the day after this troubled man murdered the three Israelis in cold blood, we read a statement by Israeli Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh:
“Unfortunately, there is no real profile for terrorists. We’ve seen elderly terrorists, single and married women, youths—we’ve seen that in recent years, many terrorists have personal issues. It could be anyone who decides that he or she is fed up, and they carry out terrorists attacks to garner some respect.”
*Note: It was reported that Mahmoud Jamal’s wife had left him and fled to Jordan leaving him with their four children, because he beat her. He may have been committing what is called, “suicide by cop.” Whether that was his intent or not, it’s painfully evident that he would kill as many Jews as he could before he was silenced.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas Latest Speech at the United Nations
On Wednesday, September 20th, 2017—just a week before Mahmoud Jamal’s murderous rampage—the Palestinian Authority President spoke again at the United Nations. Why Abbas is even allowed to address the United Nations is beyond me, as he is not the leader of a nation or state as such. Even before the UN granted “non-member status” to the Palestinian Authority in 2012, Mahmoud Abbas had addressed the UN, as had his predecessor Yasser Arafat.
Actually there is a reason. It’s the United Nations itself (especially UNESCO) which has become a mouthpiece not just for anti-Semitic nations to denigrate Israel; but for NGOs (non-government organizations) and ethnic groups to spout anti-Israel propaganda to all who will listen. Little wonder that the attack took place not long after Abbas’ rabble-rousing speech to the UN General Assembly. The incitement created by Abbas’s malicious and blatantly false accusations against Israel (and Great Britain) contributes to Palestinian terrorism; but it’s not the only nor even the main reason why Muslims continue to attack and kill Jews whenever and wherever they can.
Moments after his (politically correct) wish for Jews to have a “Happy New Year” (his speech took place last week on the eve of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year of 5778), Abbas launched into a tirade against Great Britain concerning the Balfour Declaration of 1917—which he had also done several months ago.
(Mahmoud Abbas’s UN Speech. His Hand Gesture Could Be Silently Saying that “Israel Doesn’t Deserve Even This Much Land”)
According to Abbas’s warped and prejudicial view, the Balfour Declaration endorsed by Great Britain: “…inflicted a grave injustice on the Palestinian people.”
Part of his rationale for this “injustice” was his allegation that only 3% of the population of Palestine in 1917 were Jews. When, in fact, of the 600,000 inhabitants of the territory known as Palestine (there has never been a nation called Palestine), 90,000 were Jews—15% of the population in 1917.
He went on to say that the Palestine of 1917 was a, “prosperous, progressive country” and the British Mandate that enforced the Balfour Declaration was a “historical injustice.”
Prosperous, progressive country? Not even close. Not in 1917 or even in 1947. Palestine was not a country at that time or since. It was a territory formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire, then by the British as a result of their victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1917. The designation of Palestinians referred primarily to the Jews of that day, and did so until Israel was reborn as a sovereign state in 1948. That’s when Palestine was called by its rightful historical name of Israel, and that’s when it began to be prosperous and progressive—thanks exclusively to the Jews. It wasn’t until 1964 that the Arabs referred to themselves as Palestinians on a regular basis, when they created the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO).
Mahmoud Abbas also said in his speech, “What is worse is that this November, (the British government) wants to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this crime against our people.”
He insisted that the UK “apologize” for the Balfour Declaration, and demanded that the British “provide compensation.” And, of course, Abbas seized the opportunity afforded to him by the UN to blast Israel … accusing Israel of “apartheid,” calling for a boycott of Israel.
Danny Danon, Israeli Ambassador to the UN, said of Abbas’ diatribe: “Mahmoud Abbas has spread falsehoods from the UN podium which encourage hate, instead of ending the education towards violence in the PA. Today’s lies and excuses have proven once again that the Palestinian leadership is a serial evader of peace.”
Although Abbas deliberately evades the truth about Arab rejection of a Palestinian State alongside of Israel (what he really wants is a Palestinian state in place of Israel), he is right about the historical significance of the Balfour Declaration. It eventually led to the rebirth of the Jewish state.
Here is an excerpt from Eye of Prophecy article, The Balfour Declaration … Beginning of the Omega Generation, Part I, posted 5-20-17; Part II posted on 5-27-17.
At that time, the Balfour Declaration was the single greatest event in history since the tragic dispersion of the Jews from Israel when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. It was the beginning fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies guaranteeing the final restoration of Israel and salvation of the Jews. Accordingly, it was also the beginning of the final (Omega) generation identified by Jesus that involves the entire world as found in his amazing disclosure of the end times while on the Mount of Olives with his disciples.
Then another excerpt near the end of that article:
Certainly, the Balfour Declaration was the “right and moral thing to do.” But it was more than that. Whether Lord Balfour realized it or not, his courageous initiative to speak for both Britain and the Jews was an acknowledgment and affirmation of God’s divine mandate to nations and peoples the world over concerning his majestic plan for Israel and the nations. One that absolutely will come to pass including the fall of nations who seek to harm Israel, and the success of those who support Israel in the journey of reaching God’s destiny for Israel and the Jewish people.
(The Original Boundaries of Israel as Specified by God Were Much Broader Than Modern-Day Israel … And Will Be Again Upon Messiah’s Return)
Supposed Reasons for Palestinian and Muslim Intifada (Including Lone-Wolf Attacks) against the Jews
Although the following four issues are factors of Palestinian terrorism, they are not the fundamental cause and origin. Nevertheless, these features are part of the Palestinian and Muslim nations’ propaganda accepted by peoples (especially liberals) and entire countries the world over as plausible, even justified reasons why Arabs attack Jews. Because these reasons have been discussed at length in several prior Eye of Prophecy articles and for sake of time/space in today’s article, they will be looked at only in summary review.
(1) Temple Mount Desecration
Stated earlier from a previous Eye of Prophecy article: Not that Arabs need a stated reason to kill Jews, but the latest and most prevalent excuse is to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount from what they call (non-existent) Jewish desecration.
As a reminder, it was Mahmoud Abbas’ inflammatory statements made in September, 2015 which fueled the lone-wolf attacks—about 400 to date … some successful, others not—that have resulted in dozens of Israeli deaths (including two Americans) and hundreds of injuries. You might recall that Abbas provoked his people to prevent the filthy feet of the Jews from desecrating Temple Mount.
My commentary: Simply not true.
There has been absolutely no Israeli desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount. But as long as the Palestinian Authority continues to pathologically publish these incendiary lies, what do you think the Palestinians will continue to do? Rhetorical question if ever there was one. Still, neither this issue nor the three to follow are the real reasons. They are more like symptoms, not the disease.
(2) Israeli Occupation of Palestine through Dispossession of a Palestinian People
Recall, Jewish occupation of Palestine was the main reason given by the Hamas spokesperson after the latest murder of Israelis.
My commentary: Nothing could be further from the truth.
Once again, there is no such thing as Palestine (a state or nation). There is no Palestinian people, language, or nationality. Palestine is Israel. Period. The true occupiers are Arabic speaking Arabs, most of whom have Jordanian passports; who now call themselves Palestinians as though they exist as a nation and Israel doesn’t. The Promised Land of Israel was given to the Jews as a title deed in perpetuity by the true and living God. If Islam’s god Allah and Muslims want to contest and continue their protest against this fact, then they will need to take it up directly with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In his speech to the UN, Mahmoud Abbas didn’t pass up the opportunity to once again demand a “right of return” of all Palestinians who he claims are refugees expelled by the Jews during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. As indicated in a few prior Eye of Prophecy articles, it was the armies of five Arab nations that told the Arabs to leave Israel so they wouldn’t be in the way until the Jews were annihilated. Of course, that didn’t happen. Israel won that war against what all military experts consider insurmountable odds. As were the Israelis miraculously victorious again in the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
(Five Arab Nations/Armies Attacked Israel on May 15th, Day After Israel Became a State. The Fifth of These Arab Countries Not Shown on Map is Iraq)
Not only the few (old in age now) Arabs who remain from 1948, but Abbas includes in his right of return all of their descendants, who now number in the millions. By sheer numbers and by the exorbitant expanse of land in Israel needed for these refugees, this would, in effect, eliminate Israel as a viable nation. The majority of these Arabs outside Israel live in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. Refugee camps because those Arab nations have refused to this day to grant citizenship to their displaced Palestinian brothers. Not to mention that when Israel became a State in 1948, several Arab nations evicted most of the Jews living in those countries with not much more than the clothes they were wearing. But I’ll mention it anyway! Actually, this turned out to be a good thing for the Jews as many of them immigrated to Israel!
As long as 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation (Palestinian) Arabs believe the lie that Israel is Palestine and belongs to them—with the Jews as the occupiers and settlers—they will continue to rationalize their “resistance fighter’s” murder of Israelis.
(3) Apartheid
All of the professed reasons for Palestinians to wage intifada against Israel are pernicious, but none more so than the patently false accusation that is catching on the world over. I’m talking about the word, “apartheid” being applied to Israel, comparing it to South Africa during its apartheid days.
In fact, Webster’s Dictionary even references South Africa in its definition of apartheid: “Racial segregation: a policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of So. Africa.”
My commentary regarding the comparison to Israel: Absolutely false.
There is unequivocally no such thing in form or substance that even resembles apartheid in Israel.
The following three areas of “discrimination” or “segregation” are included in the definition of apartheid:
- Racial (and Religious): Israelis go out of their way to ensure racial and religious freedom and equality throughout Israel. And they do so to a fault. Relinquishing their own right of religious freedom to, for example, worship on Temple Mount … just to maintain the “status quo” and prevent what would be an even larger intifada.
- Political: Israeli Arabs (citizens of Israel) serve in Israel’s government, the Knesset. Obviously, they have the right to vote. The only reason the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza Strip don’t have the right to vote or serve in Israeli government is because they’re not citizens of Israel. The reason they are not citizens is because they have chosen not to be. And the reason they have chosen not to be … well, we’ll get to that in a moment when explaining the real reason for Arab animosity and violence against the Jews.
- Economic (and Educational): Arab Israelis are free to attend Jewish schools, start their own businesses, and go wherever they please for their shopping and recreation in Israel. As indicated earlier, many non-citizen Palestinians have been granted permits to work for Arab and Israeli companies in Israel. That is exactly what the Palestinian murderer of the three Israelis had done for several years. In the cruelest fashion imaginable (murder), the Palestinians continue to bite the hand that feeds them.
So much more could be said about the absence of any Israeli discrimination against Arabs. The Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs are afforded more freedom in Israel (by far) than granted to their brothers and sisters in nearby Arab countries. In summary, there is simply no apartheid in Israel. In that regard, I’m going to bluntly state: those who claim otherwise are either ignorant or liars.
(4) A Palestinian State … Lack Thereof
Naturally, Abbas also conveniently failed to mention that the UN Resolution of 1947 called for what was tantamount to a two-state solution; one state for the Jews and one for the Arabs. That the Arabs flatly refused to live alongside a Jewish state even though they could have had a state of their own. Nor would he dare say that the Jews now outnumber the Arabs in Israel and have for several years. Which is why he goes all the way back to the Balfour Declaration to make his perverted point.
My commentary: None of the above reasons, including lack of a Palestinian State, is ultimately why Palestinians in particular and Muslims in general continue to kill Jews—whether in Israel or Paris or Berlin or London, or anywhere.
Recently, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority have gone so far as to audaciously accuse Israel (and the United States) of discarding the two-state solution. When, in fact, the Palestinians not only turned down this option in 1947-48, but also forfeited what would have led to a Palestinian State in 2002 and again in 2008, when they flatly rejected generous (but misguided) offers from Israeli Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert for complete Palestinian autonomy in some 95% of the West Bank including East Jerusalem.
The only way the Palestinians would even remotely agree to a Palestinian State is with their already stated pre-negotiated conditions of East Jerusalem as the capital and return of all aforementioned “refugees.” Also, a reversal to pre-1967 cease-fire boundaries within Israel, including the Golan Heights and all of the Jordan Valley. These demands would leave the Israelis virtually indefensible. Which is exactly what the Palestinians want and would take advantage if granted this kind of state with these conditions.
It would be just a matter of time before a Palestinian State would be embolden to attack Israel with the probable assistance of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the nations of Syria, Iran, Turkey, and perhaps even Russia.
(This Doesn’t Even Include the Golan Heights, the High-Ground Strategic Area North, Near Syria)
At the very least, the current lone-wolf attacks would continue. Ironically, what the Arabs don’t know is that Russia, Iran, Turkey, and smaller Arab nations will, in fact, attack Israel—but not until after the Rapture occurs. Which is of no concern to the Arabs (or sadly of many Jews) because they don’t believe in Messiah Jesus as their only source of salvation and hope for the future when he returns as Prince of Peace and King of kings.
To Negotiate or Not to Negotiate
Shortly after the July 26th killing of the three Israelis, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that there was, “no difference between Palestinian terrorism and radical terrorism targeting sites in Europe and elsewhere. Before talking about any kind of negotiations, the world must demand of the Palestinians to stop its incitement and encouragement of terrorism.”
Regarding any serious negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the following is an excerpt from an Eye of Prophecy article, Let’s Make a Deal, posted 12-14-13. That article was in the context of the November, 2013 meeting between the G5 + 1 nations and Iran, which later would result in the now infamous Iran Nuclear Deal.
At about that same time, the Israelis had just released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners to appease the Palestinian Authority and the United States in preparation for potential negotiations between Israel and the PA which Mahmoud Abbas later reneged on. Here is the excerpt applying to both the pending Iran Nuclear Deal (at that time) and Israeli/Palestinian peace conference that never materialized (in italics):
Would you make a deal with someone whose main purpose in life was to destroy you and members of your family or your best friend? How do you negotiate with those who would lie to you, cheat you, and ultimately kill you to accomplish their warped objectives? Where do you start? What do you say? How sure can you be? Why are you even there in the first place?
Regardless of your view on the right or wisdom of Israel to act independently of the US, or the G5+1, or the entire world, I would again ask: Would you sit down at the table with an enemy who has sworn to do anything and everything they can to terminate your existence on this earth? And keep in mind that Iran has not only threatened to wipe Israel from the global map, it has also avowed to destroy the “Great Satan.” That’s right. Iran refers to America as the Great Satan; Israel is only the “little Satan.” We should be so honored?!
Then towards the end of that article, I wrote:
Never before in history has the entire world been so focused on one little nation inhabited by a mere six million Jews. (Note: It’s now closer to 6.5 million Jews). And yet that’s exactly what the Bible predicted. In addition to several million Arabs in Israel, surrounding Arab countries number in the hundreds of millions, with land space that dwarfs Israel; enough land to accommodate millions more Arabs. But oddly and unfortunately many of these nations fight among themselves (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon).
Even more nonsensically, they blame the Jews for their misfortunes. However, they do have one basic mindset: They detest Israel. I suppose if they ever agree on how best to govern themselves (Sunni or Shi’ite Muslim law), then they might (God forbid) agree on how to best destroy Israel. Or perhaps they think and hope that Iran will do that for them. Personally, I don’t dislike the Arabs or the Persians. I sometimes pray for their salvation, as I often do for the Jews. I will do my best to pray equally for both peoples….
The Real Reason That Palestinians and Muslim Nations Want to Kill Jews and Destroy Israel
All of the aforementioned reasons why the world at large thinks that Palestinians kill Jews are really nothing more than opportunity created excuses.
With the actual motive simply and sadly: Arabs and Muslims hate the Jews and despise the sovereign nation of Israel.
This bitter hostility retroactively goes beyond the Yom Kippur and Six-Day Wars, past the rebirth of Israel in 1948; it reverts further back than the Balfour Declaration and even Muslim persecution of Jews since Mohammed invented Islam. It goes all the way back to Ishmael and Isaac; with the Arab nations descending from Ishmael and the Jewish nation from Isaac, whom God chose instead of Ishmael as the child of promise. Isaac would be the progenitor of the ultimate Child of Promise, Messiah Jesus. (Please see Eye of Prophecy articles, The Child of Promise Part I & II. Posted 8-23 & 8-30-14).
To Hagar, mother of Ishmael and his descendants, the angel said: “…You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’) for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives” (Genesis 16:11-12).
Then, do you remember Abraham’s reaction when God reaffirmed to him that his wife Sarah would, herself, bear the child of promise?
“Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. ‘How could I become a father at the age of 100?’ he thought. ‘And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?’ So Abraham said to God, ‘May Ishmael live under your special blessing!’
“But God replied, ‘No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will be born to you and Sarah about this time next year” (Genesis 17:17-21).
Earlier in this same scene, God reaffirmed the Promised Land portion of the covenant with Abraham. “And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8).
Ishmael hated Isaac because, as the oldest child, he was passed over in favor of Isaac as God’s covenant child. This seething hatred has not dissipated to this very day, despite God keeping his promise to greatly multiply Ishmael’s descendants. Like Isaac’s son Jacob, Ishmael was also the father of twelve sons. Moreover, today’s Arabs far outnumber the Jews (except in Israel) and their land space is roughly equivalent to all of the United States compared to the state of New Jersey (the size of Israel).
Concerning the hostility against all his (Ishmael’s) relatives: History and current events have clearly demonstrated that Arabs not only detest the Jews, but Arabs have fought each other for centuries, including today’s vicious wars between Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims. From time to time some peoples and nations have battled each other over internal issues such as America’s Civil War. Even the Jews divided into two kingdoms for some four hundred years after King Solomon’s reign. However, I know of no other racial group that have been at such odds with other peoples/nations and with each other for so long (nearly 4,000 years) than have the Arabs.
Things to Ponder
This week’s Eye of Prophecy article is posted on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), one of the most important of the seven annual Jewish Festivals. During last’s year’s Jewish fall festivals, I wrote a series of five articles on these seven feasts.
The first article: Messiah and the Jewish Festivals … An Extraordinary Connection! Posted 9-24-16. The fifth article: Sukkot: The Forever Festival! Posted 10-22-16.
We’ll conclude with an excerpt from the final portion of the fourth article in that series: Yom Kippur / With or Without Atonement? Published 10-15-16, very close to Yom Kippur of last year. The summary of that article was directed with love toward the Jews, combined this year with the hope that the Palestinians also will see God’s love expressed through the gift of his Son, Messiah Jesus, to die on the cross for their sins, too.
We who love Israel will continue to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalms 122:6). Praying for peace is the same as praying that all Israel will someday soon be saved (Romans 10:1).
For until and unless Israel comes to a saving knowledge of Messiah Jesus and is made right with God by believing and accepting him as God’s only remedy for sin, individually and as a nation, there will be no peace with God. Unless there is Shalom with God, there cannot be real peace between peoples.
When all of Israel is saved by changing their minds and hearts about Messiah (who he is and what he has done and will do for them), then the Jews will have accomplished the very purpose for God choosing them as his special possession. Which is to be a source of light to the Gentiles: through the Promised Messiah from the tribe of Judah and the genealogy of King David—descended from Isaac, the promised son of Abraham.
Says the Lord about his Messiah: “…You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
While in the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus said: “…I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12).
For a brief, shining moment, Christ Jesus while on this earth brought back the Shekinah glory of God to the Temple. And he will do so again upon his imminent arrival to this war-torn, wicked, and weary world.
Yes, Israel, your Messiah has already come. And he will return soon in great glory and power (Matthew 24:30).
If only you could see that. If only you could somehow realize that the horrible things that men have done to you were not Christian (Christ ones) at all—who misused and abused and distorted the true Christian faith. Also, there are some Christians who have misapplied the Scriptures; who have erred grievously in thinking that the true Church (body of Messiah) has replaced Israel. We have not. Rather, we are a product of and a partner in the fulfillment of Israel’s destiny. We have seen the light that God has shone through the Jewish Messiah.
To believe in Yeshua as your Messiah is the most Jewish thing you could ever do or be.
We, who have truly been born again by the precious blood of Messiah Jesus, love you and long for your Day of Atonement.
But most of all, Hashem, the Lord your God loves you. So much so that he sent his beloved Son, to die for you. (Isaiah 53 & John 3).
And know this: All terrorism and war will cease when Messiah Jesus returns.
eyeofprophecy ... watch and wait 