Et tu, Fox News? From Breitbart:
FOX NEWS LEAVES ISRAEL OFF MIDDLE EAST MAP
“During a segment on the political purge in Syria, Fox News identified nearly every Middle East nation, even a territory labeled “Gaza,” but not Israel.”
Psalm 83:4- “They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more.”” You can rest assured that GOD has not forgotten them as a nation nor has He left Israel off HIS map.
Israel was in havoc last night. So was Lebanon, Iran, Syria (for a different reason), Armenia, Turkey, Georgia, Jordan and other countries. Twitter came alive with panic and wonder. Dozens of phone calls were made to police stations. Youtube videos popped up with blaring headlines and triple question marks. Why? At dusk and into dark luminous lights began appearing in the sky over Lebanon. Many thought they were UFOs, others wondered if they were missiles. Some said they were meteorites, but Israel authorities said they were not. Information was conflicting and as long as the lights remained unidentified, panic rose.
Here is one example from Twitter:
BREAKING: Luminous bodies and meteors appear over North #Lebanon, #Marjaayoun and many areas in the #Bekaa.
Twitter/Yfrog/Instagram came alive with photos, some real,
And some fake,
Syrian State News reported “An aerolite piece flickering over the sky of Damascus was observed yesterday around 8:30 P.M. Chairman of the Syrian Society of Astrology, Dr. Mohamad al-Assiri, asserted that a 20 to 30 centimeter diameter aerolite piece burnt in the troposphere near the Earth sending light flickers for about 30 seconds. Al-Assiri added that the aerolite appeared as a strong light spot observed by the inhabitants of Damascus and the sparkles stretched to Aleppo and to some parts of Lebanon. No damage from the aerolite, none of its components fell on the earth, was reported.” Aerolite is another name for meteorite.
But then they inexplicably used the following graphic to illustrate the news story!!!
Ynet News more soberly reported: “Lebanon: Unidentified objects – meteors
Lebanese media also reported that an unidentified object was observed in the sky. They quoted scientists who claimed the “explanation was scientific” and that the object was most likely a “large meteorite.”The LBCI network reported that: “Luminous objects and meteor bursts appeared over north Lebanon, Marjaayoun, the Bekaa and the Syrian-Turkish border.”
And a short while later reported this:
Israelis nationwide report seeing UFO
“Hundreds flood police with reports of UFO in nation’s skies; Astronomical Association chairman says object isn’t a meteor, flew above Lebanon. Similar sighting in Norway in 2009 turned out to be failed missile test.”
RT’s summary is excellent and is accompanied by good photos.
Today, the Kuwait State News reported this:
“Russian military announced Thursday they have successfully test-fired a new version of the TOPOL-M series, code-named RS-12M. The rocket, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), was test fired from a Russian military base in Southeast Russia, Interfax news quoted military sources as saying. The missile hit its target in Kazakhstan in central Asia precisely…”
Meanwhile, also being Tweeted at the same time the mysterious lights were seen over half the nations in the Middle East, were reports of a white powder drifting down on Syrian citizens. Subsequent reports of people entering emergency rooms with symptoms of burning and choking appeared and it was strongly suspected that Syria officials had used a chemical weapon.
Report: Unidentified gas used in Syria
“Syrian opposition says Assad’s Air Force planes bomb towns with unfamiliar substances he unidentified gas caused suffocation among residents, the activists said.”
The overwhelming feeling as all this chaos was occurring is disorientation. People in the Mid East are living with warfare threats today that will soon be realized. Christians know they will be due to prophecy and the integrity and certainty of God’s Word. For those who do not believe in God’s word, knowing that the multiple threats will likely result in ignition of the Middle East tensions is also a no-brainer. It happened before, and today there are even more threats, more missiles, and less economic stability than ever before. It’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.
When the Mid-East lights up like that, one cannot help but say, “Is it happening now? Is this it?”
After the furor dies down and facts are sorted out, and it becomes apparent that God’s hand has stayed us fallen humans from the brink [for the moment], so the secondary thought turns to man’s hubris. At least it does for me.
As an example, the New York City Municipal Archives were recently opened online and gave access to a gallery of over 870,000 images from the 1880s to the 1980s. One hundred years of municipal photographs include stunning photos of city projects undertaken such as the Manhattan Bridge construction, highways, and subways. As I looked through the NY Municipal Archives and saw photos like this, of the Manhattan bridge under construction in 1909,
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Or this photo of the Holland Tunnel power station in 1925,
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I could not help but think, “Wow! We have accomplished so much! Man can do anything!” I do have a justifiable feeling of pride that human engineering has made our lives more smooth and transportation more feasible. It seems that man has conquered the seas, the sky, the earth. We dig tunnels and drive under rivers, we build bridges and drive over the air. We go where we want to go and we build what we want to build, the earth is being remade to our specifications. It seems as if everything will go on as before, and that man’s accomplishments will last forever.
This, of course, is untrue. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. (Psalm 24:1)
It was real-time events like last nights that really brings home the tension we are all living under, and the fact that one day, soon I think, the events we witness like last night’s will be the last ones we Christians will see on this side of the veil … before we are called home to glory.
ANOTHER major oil find in Israel was announced Sunday. I wrote about it briefly here. Now in this blog entry, I am giving more information.
There is an old joke that Moses took the wrong turn from Egypt, leading Israel to sand and leaving oil for the Arabs. Haven’t you ever wondered why the same geology that yields so much oil in Saudi Arabia and Iran and Iraq yields none in Israel? I have. However, the recent discoveries of oil and gas listed below have made that bad joke outdated. Israel produces 4,000 barrels per day, but has a 250,000 barrel per day demand. Therefore they must import, relying on ever-increasingly hostile neighbors and ever more vulnerable pipelines. It appears that reliance will no longer be necessary. I am sure Israel’s enemies will not be happy to contemplate her ever-growing fuel independence.
For decades, scholars and bible students have wondered what “spoil” could the Gog-Magog alliance possibly want. Israel feeds Europe with her fruit, growing oranges and figs and other fruits that are widely exported. I cannot imagine a war fought over figs, however. The verse in Ezekiel 38 says “A great spoil.” Hmmm.
“Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’ to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?'” (Ez 38:10-13) [emphasis mine.]
What could the great spoil be? Until now, Israel has not shown much yield in anything except what she herself can coax from the ground with hard-won irrigation and sweaty toil. And Russia is the oil monster, with an output that until recently was prodigious. “Was” being the key word.
Jan 2009:
Israel Discovers Gas!
Israel’s Delek fuel company has discovered a huge deposit of natural gas west of Haifa that could change the face of Israel’s economy.
Dec 2009:
Israeli company finds oil beneath Rosh Ha’ayin
Givot Olam Oil Exploration Limited Partnership said that more than 60 percent gas was measured in the drill, indicating the first such find in Israel.
Dec 2010:
Gas Field Confirmed Off Coast of Israel
Exploratory drilling off Israel’s northern coast this week has confirmed the existence of a major natural gas field — one of the world’s largest offshore gas finds of the past decade — leading the country’s infrastructure minister to call it “the most important energy news since the founding of the state.”
Aug 2010:
Leviathan Oil Field Could Sustain Israel For Decades
All big oil and gas fields have geopolitical significance, but we haven’t seen a big oil find in recent years that could matter more than the Leviathan field in the Mediterranean Sea off of Israel. 4.3 bn barrels.
March 2011
Oil shale reserves can turn Israel into major world producer
THE JOKE has been told by generations of Jews, most famously Golda Meir, the former prime minister of Israel: ‘Why did Moses lead us to the one place in the Middle East without oil?’ … According to Dr Vinegar, Israel has the second-biggest oil shale deposits in the world, outside the US: “We estimate that there is the equivalent of 250 billion barrels of oil here. To put that in context, there are proven reserves of 260 billion barrels of oil in Saudi Arabia.”
Nov 2011
Russia output dropping
“Lukoil, which accounts for 15 percent of Russia’s 30-stock Micex index, extended its weekly decline to 6.6 percent after reporting third-quarter results that included a 2 percent drop in gas output and a 21 percent slide in net income. Oil production declined as flows from some wells in Western Siberia abated and falling demand from customers cut gas production, the Moscow-based company said in a Nov. 25 regulatory filing.”
Feb 2012
Another Gas Discovery for Delek, Noble Energy!
Noble Energy and the Delek Group announced on Sunday another significant discovery of a natural gas field off the coast of Haifa.The field, located in the Mediterranean waters 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) northwest of Israel’s northern port city, reportedly totals about 1.2 to 1.3 trillion cubic feet.
May 2012:
Forbes: Is Russian oil output plummeting?
“According to a recent Bloomberg story Saudi Arabia displaced Russia as the world’s largest oil producer, producing just about three thousand barrels a day more in March of 2012”
June 2012:
Israel discovers more offshore oil and gas
An Israeli company announced the discovery of another sizable offshore oil and gas field on Sunday.Israel Opportunity Energy Resources LP estimated the newest field at about 1.4 billion barrels of oil and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.”The quantity of gas discovered in the licenses — and the high probabilities — make it the third largest off-shore discovery to date,” chairman Ronny Halman told Globes.
You see how this is going. You see that the “old joke” about Moses leading the Jews to the one place in the Middle East that doesn’t have oil is actually by this point kind of a blaspheme. God said He would provide for His people and He IS providing for His people. Furthermore, it demonstrates once again how perfect the LORD’S word is, how precise.
I watch with eager wonder and with bated breath as to what will be the tipping point for the Gog Magog prophecy to come true. When will Russia, Iran, Turkey et al get tired of holding back and pounce? At this oil discovery? The next? It can’t be long now…we see prophesies of Egypt in Isaiah 19 coming to pass and the prophesies of Isaiah 17 regarding Syria ready to come to pass. It is like a drawstring purse, the strings pulling the open neck ever closer, a closing which will end up being a noose around the necks of Israel’s enemies. How much more to go until the prophetic foundations are laid? God in His timing knows, but to me, this puny human, it seems ready today.
Ed. Note: I wrote another article exploring the prophetic implications of this discovery here. It also lists the major oil/gas discoveries in the last 3 years.
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Israel has been blessed with gas and oil bounty these last three years. Several large discoveries have been made. Sunday another discovery was made, an oil field under the Red Sea off Israel. Officials say this one may surpass all the other finds in quality and in output.
Israel Discovers New Giant Off-Shore Oil and Gas Field
“An Israel energy company announced Sunday it has discovered an off-shore energy field that may even surpass previous finds in terms of the possibilities of developing commercial grade oil. Israel Opportunity Energy Resources LP announced that its Pelagic licenses indicate 6.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas and 1.4 billion barrels of oil. By comparison, the previously announced Tamar and Leviathan off-shore fields contain an estimated 9 and 17 TCF of natural gas. The amount of commercial oil, if any, has not been finalized, but estimates of possible oil in the Leviathan field have been downsized to 600 million barrels. Discoveries of oil and gas have made outdated the old joke that Moses took the wrong turn from Egypt, leading Israel to sand and leaving oil for the Arabs. … “The quantity of gas discovered in the licenses, and the high probabilities, make it the third largest offshore discovery to date,” according to Israel Opportunity chairman Ronny Halman, quoted by Globes.He added, ”This quantity guarantees Israel’s energy future for decades, and makes it possible to export Israeli gas, and boost the state’s revenues without worrying about gas reserves for domestic consumption.”
They are preparing wells now. It won’t take long to get it up and running with oil pouring out in export, officials say. Will the other exporting oil giant, the Russian Bear, get jealous? The bible has that answer.
In the Gog Magog battle of Ezekiel 38-39, Russia is one of the nations that attack Israel, for the purpose of taking a spoil, of seizing plunder. “Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, ‘Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?’ ” (Ez 38:13)
Things are surely lining up!
When Israeli Prime Minister announced earlier in the week that he planned to call elections for Sept 4, a year early, speculation abounded that he had wanted to form a strong and unified government so that any palnned or alleged upcoming attack against Iran would be backed solidly by the Parliament.
Joel Rosenberg wrote:
“Some key Israeli political analysts speculate Netanyahu wants to consolidate his political power and strengthen his coalition — polls show Likud poised to rise from 27 to possibly 31 seats — in order to launch a preemptive military strike on Iran in September or October, after the Israeli elections but before the American elections…”
The speculation was, that early elections would mean an October strike date against Iran by Israel. However all bets and speculations are now off, or need to be revised. Because now, just as suddenly as the early elections were called for, they are cancelled. Get this headline from just now:
In surprise move, Netanyahu, Mofaz agree to form unity government, cancel early elections
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition chairman MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) reached a surprise agreement early Tuesday morning to form a national unity government. The move came as the Knesset was preparing to disperse for early elections, which were expected to be scheduled for September 4. Under the agreement, Kadima will join Netanyahu’s government and commit to supporting its policies through the end of its term in late 2013. Mofaz is expected to be appointed deputy prime minister, as well as minister without portfolio. In exchange, Netanyahu’s government will support Kadima’s proposal to replace the Tal Law, which enables ultra-Orthodox youth to defer national service. The sides also agreed on instituting changes to Israel’s electoral system. The dramatic announcement, which has yet to receive official confirmation, came as the Knesset was conducting early-morning discussions ahead of an expected vote to disperse in advance of early elections. Earlier in the evening, 119 MKs voted to approve in its first reading a bill to disperse the body, with only one lawmaker opposed.”
That is a LOT of agreements, and for them to come to so suddenly tells me that bigger things are afoot. If they agreed to all that, discussions had obviously been ongoing, and second, the number of the agreements and concessions tell me that they have bigger fish to fry. Perhaps Iranian fish?
Gil Hoffman is the political analyst for the Jerusalem Post. On twitter, he just wrote: “Lead headline of Tuesday’s Yediot: UNITY GOVERNMENT in big letters, with subhead of ‘night of drama’. Not in #Jpost- has MUCH earlier deadline.”
It IS a dramatic move and a night of drama for the Israeli people and the world.
The article continues, “Meretz head Zahava Gal-On expressed outrage over the surprise move, calling it a “mega-stinking maneuver by a prime minister who wants to avoid elections and a desperate opposition chairman facing a crash.””
Or it could indicate a wily and intelligent politician aiming to craft a government that will stand behind him in the tough times to come, perhaps even including first strikes…Stay tuned!!! Things are shifting by the moment in Israel!
I’ve been mentioning repeatedly that Israel holds only two treaties with Arab nations, Egypt and Jordan. Lately I’ve been mentioning on the one between Israel and Egypt because it is slowly but surely being shredded in actions and in fact. The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt bodes ill for the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
The other treaty between Israel and an Arab nation is with Jordan. Though the King of that nation has indicated he is not a fan of the nearly 20 year old treaty no huge news has come out lately about severing ties with Israel or abandoning the treaty. However, because the bible says that every nation eventually comes against Israel in the last days, I’ve mentioned that the Jordanian treaty will at some point come to an end.
It seems that a flame has been ignited whose fuse leads to the prophesied cataclysm in the Middle East which includes abandoning ties with Israel. The fuse aflame was ignited this week came as a direct response to Jordan’s King Abdullah‘s recent nomination of Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh, who served as a key figure in the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace process. Various political and social groups have expressed outrage over comments recently made by Tarawneh indicating that, if given a second chance, he would still support the controversial peace treaty. This caused massive protests in Jordan–
Jordanians Protest, Call to End Peace with Israel
“Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets on Friday demanding an end to the country‘s 18-year-old peace treaty with Israel. According to a report by the dpa news agency, in a series of nationwide protests, demonstrators urged Amman to cut ties with the Jewish State. The protesters burned Israeli flags and chanted “death, death to Israel”, the report said.’
Elsewhere in Jordan, at Amman, the Jordan Times reports-
Muslim Brotherhood conservatives extend dominance as group rounds out leadership posts
“The Muslim Brotherhood selected its executive committee late Thursday, as the group’s conservative wing extended its dominance over the movement’s leadership posts. In a shura council session late Thursday, Islamists voted to approve of a conservative-dominated executive committee, the movement’s highest decision-making body, according to the group.”
“The Muslim Brotherhood unveiled late Thursday an eight-member committee hand-picked by recently re-elected hardliner Overall Leader Hamam Saeed: Zaki Bani Rsheid, Saud Abu Mahfouth, Mohammed Shihadeh, Nawaf Obeidat, Mohammed Aqel, Ahmed Zarqan, Ziyad Khawaldeh and Saadeh Saadat. According to a movement insider, Saeed was forced to fill the posts from the conservative wing after several moderates withdrew their candidacy in protest over what they deemed as a breach of internal regulations.”
“After the shurah council moved to go ahead with the selection of the executive committee despite demands to postpone them, several moderates pulled out of consideration for the posts,” said the source. … The Islamist movement is slated to elect its final vacant leadership post, shurah council president, mid-next week. Observers and insiders say the Kingdom’s largest opposition movement’s conservative shift comes as a direct response to the appointment of Royal Court veteran, Fayez Tarawneh, as prime minister and the abrupt end of a dialogue spearheaded by former premier Awn Khasawneh.”
So what this means is that the catalyst for the coalescing of the Muslim Brotherhood’s hard line, conservative push was the appointment of the King of the Israel-friendly Prime Minister. When that happened, the hard-liners’ immediate and demonstrable response was to vote in a conservative executive committee and the moderates were either shut out or intimidated out. Moderation concerning Israel caused a hard line push-back and overt hatred.
Prophecy is all about movement. It is always moving toward fulfillment. For example, the lineage of Jesus was ordained from the beginning. Each generation of unions resulting in a child was a movement toward Mary’s birth of the Messiah. Sometimes prophecy seems to be fulfilled suddenly, sometimes extremely so by those who have not been following it.
Other times it was impossible to follow, as in the generations that preceded Jesus. Who knew that 1300 or so years prior to the birth of the Messiah that Rahab’s faith would save her and that she would subsequently be included in the line that would produce the Savior? Who could know that the perfect line of generations that came before Him would result in the One who would fulfill all? So sometimes it seems to come out of the blue. But God’s hand is always moving, His Divine Providence is always working in the world.
Divine providence is the means by and through which God governs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. This includes the universe as a whole (Psalm 103:19), the physical world (Matthew 5:45), the affairs of nations (Psalm 66:7), human birth and destiny (Galatians 1:15), human successes and failures (Luke 1:52), and the protection of His people (Psalm 4:8).” (source).
So everything that happens, He is aware of, causes, or allows. And that means everything that happens is on a path toward fulfilled promises, including prophecy.What I, and many others, notice is that the movement is speeding up. And What it is speeding up toward? Remember, the last days of the Tribulation is the end this age. It is the culmination of all of God’s works regarding sin, with the exception of the short rebellion at the end of the 1000 year Millennium Kingdom. Prophecy was running quickly in 2006, it sped up in 2008, and since then each year’s movement toward the final events is like a daily compounded interest. It hasn’t been many months that I’ve been remarking that the Jordan issue would soon come to the fore.
In January of this year I wrote “Looking at Psalm 83’s nearness, remember Obadiah’s prophecy of Jordan destroyed” on the blog. A few months before that I write about Obadiah’s prophecies about Jordan in general, here.
If you are interested in prophecy, good for you. Prophecy is pre-written history. It is a demonstration of the bible’s inspiration by the Holy Spirit and its accuracy as being a book delivered to us outside of time by our sovereign and omnipotent God. He proves Himself over and over by its accuracy and fulfillment. Israel’s re-emergence in 1948, an prophetic fulfillment that occurred in some of our lifetimes, is an example.
The fulfillment of prophecy and its constant movement toward fulfillment is the very word of God, validated. God and God alone accomplishes prophecy:
“Who confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’ To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ And I will raise up her waste places;” (Isaiah 44:26).
Ultimately, we study prophecy because Christ is THE great subject of it, since the beginning. We love prophecy because we trust His word, we love God’s timeless sovereignty, and we want to seek the face of Christ, the great subject of all time.”
“For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.” (Acts 3:22-24).
From Russia Today: “Presidential candidate Vladimir Putin has promised to make the protection of repressed Christians in foreign countries one of his foreign policy priorities if he becomes president again. When Putin met with the representatives of Russia’s traditional confessions in Moscow’s main cathedral on Wednesday, the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church told him that Christians are facing repressions all over the world. The head of External Church Relations, Metropolitan Illarion, said that every five minutes one Christian was dying for his or her faith in some part of the world, specifying that he was talking about such countries as Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan and India. The cleric asked Putin to make the protection of Christians one of the foreign policy directions in future. “This is how it will be, have no doubt,” Putin answered.”
I am reminded of another who is prophesied to come, boasting in flatteries and promises:
“And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.” (Daniel 11:21)
Not that Putin is the antichrist but perhaps a pale imitation of one. A forerunner. Seven months ago, Joel C. Rosenberg wrote “Putin Rising: but is he Gog?” regarding the March 4th election in Russia (which Putin won) and in that essay Rosenberg said,
“But should Putin come back, it will not bode well for Israel, the U.S., or Europe. Putin is a power-hungry, greedy, authoritarian, Czar wannabe. He is determined to expand Russian wealth, power and control over her neighbors. He has worked especially hard to build strategic alliances with Radical Islamic leaders and states in the Middle East. Over the years, people have asked me if Putin might be the Russian dictator referred to as “Gog” in the Biblical prophecies of “Gog and Magog” in Ezekiel 38-39. I suspect as Putin continues to re-emerge, those questions will begin to be asked again. Here’s my quick answer: It’s too soon to draw such a conclusion. There’s much more that would have to happen to indicate that Putin was the “Gog” of Bible prophecy. But there’s no question in my mind that Putin is Gog-esque.”
Putin is back and I think he is looking more ‘Gog-esque’ by the minute.
And a few days ago it was reported that Putin will visit Israel in June, shortly after he is installed as President of Russia. Why? Rosenberg asked the same thing, as many are. We’re all scratching our heads.
“Now comes a curious new development: Vladimir Putin will make a high-profile visit to Israel in June, not long after he is sworn in as Russia’s new president on May 7th. News reports indicate Mr. Putin’s first foreign trip upon reclaiming his power will be to the U.S. for the G8 summit on May 20. That makes sense. The U.S.-Russian relationship has widely been considered the most important bilateral geopolitical relationship on the planet since the end of World War II. But with all the other important countries and leaders in the world Mr. Putin could visit, why is he choosing to make meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu his first objective after his meeting with President Obama? What is the Russian leader’s motive? What does he want to accomplish, and why? Will Putin seek to pressure Israel not to launch a preemptive strike on Iran? Will he visit other countries in the epicenter on the same trip? Will he, for example, visit Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, as well? What about other countries mentioned in the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39? It’s too early to say, but a development well worth watching closely.”
You betcha we’ll be watching.
This time we are living in now is a time of severe deception. We are told that we will all be clamoring for peace, peace, looking for one who will flatter and solve the world’s problems and accepting him when he arrives. But it is all a massive deception. Hitler was a deceptively gentle man who was well regarded by those with whom he met. And they believed him. Here are some of the reactions:
“William Manchester’s biography of Sir Winston Churchill confronts us with the unpleasant and haunting reminders of Hitler, a man who came extremely close to being the Antichrist, yet deceived the world with his promises of peace. Listen to what Manchester wrote, “Thomas Jones who had been in and out of Whitehall for a quarter century wrote in his diary, `All sorts of people who have met Hitler are convinced that he’s a factor for peace. He doesn’t seek war but friendship. Meeting the press after he had been closeted with Hitler for an hour, Lloyd George said he regarded him as the greatest living German. A year later he wrote, “I only wish we had a man of his supreme quality at the head of affairs in our country today.”” He’s talking about Hitler. Nazi goals were even applauded by Anglican clergymen, a group of whom expressed, quote: “Boundless admiration for the moral and ethical side of the Nazi program, its clear stand for religion and Christianity and its ethical principles,” end quote.
(source: The Coming of World Peace)
And Putin will make protection of Christians in the world a priority. Peace! Peace! It is right around the corner!
Yesterday I’d posted a story titled “Is Israel abandoning the Mount of Olives?” I used that title because that is the actual title of the opinion piece as it appeared a few days ago in Israel National News. In the article the author bemoaned the fact that the Mount of Olives cemetery “suffers from desecration of graves and violence against visitors, including stones thrown at mourners and family members.” The author also went on to explain that the UN heritage organization, UNESCO, consistently denies or restricts status and access to Jewish Holy Sites, such as Jericho Synagogue, the Mugrabi Bridge, Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb.
A reader posted a question, a good one: “I wonder why Israel is giving up some of these sites??? Why did they give David’s tomb to the Catholics?” This post is the answer. First, a look at why the sites are slipping out of Israel’s hands. It revolves around UNESCO, an organization of the UN.
UNESCO is an organization of the UN “best known for designating world heritage sites, [and also] is a major global development agency whose missions include promoting literacy, science, clean water and education, including sex education and promoting equal treatment for girls and young women.”
Here is an example of how the UN restricts status and steals Jewish holy sites:
2010: UNESCO steals Holy Site, gives it to Palestinians
“The board of UNESCO (the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has decided that Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs — both of which are ancient Jewish holy places — should be removed from Israel’s list of national sites. And that’s not all. According to UNESCO, Rachel’s Tomb isn’t Jewish after all, despite millenia of history. Its name should accordingly be changed to the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque — a demand the Palestinians manufactured, in the teeth of all historical evidence, in 1996.”
The process is that members of UNESCO list an inventory of their heritage and holy sites each year. Members produce an inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination. Once nominated and accepted by vote, the site gets protected status and financial aid. Non-members cannot nominate any sites, as this next story reports–
May 2011: UNESCO rejects Palestinian nominations
Unesco is considering adding 11 Middle East sites in June for inclusion on its World Heritage List, but the Palestinian nomination will not be among them. The Palestinian proposal of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was rejected for consideration. “The World Heritage Committee will not be able to consider the nomination until, if and when Palestine becomes a state party to the [World Heritage] Convention,” said Louise Haxthausen, the head of Unesco’s office in Ramallah. Only countries recognised by the United Nations as sovereign states and members of the world body can make nominations to Unesco.”
The Palestinians went “HMMMMMM”
On October 31, 2011, the Palestinian Authority, which had applied for membership into UNESCO organization, was voted in.
October 2011: UN accepts Palestinian Authority as members of UNESCO
“Palestine became the 195th full member of Unesco on Monday…Cheers filled the hall at Unesco’s headquarters here after the vote, with one delegate shouting, “Long live Palestine!” in French.”
It didn’t take long for the Palestinians to get in on the current round of nominations. As a matter of fact, two weeks before the UNESCO membership vote at the UN on Oct 31, this story appeared:
“Palestinians to push heritage status at UNESCO for birthplace of Jesus“
“The Palestinians will seek World Heritage status for the birthplace of Jesus once the U.N. cultural agency admits them as a full member, and will then nominate other sites on Israeli-occupied land for the same standing, an official said. … He said that after gaining full UNESCO membership, the Palestinians will revive their bid to secure World Heritage status for Bethlehem and its Church of the Nativity, revered as the birthplace of Jesus. The nomination was rejected this year because the Palestinians were not a full UNESCO member.”
‘Israeli-occupied’ land… [snort]. Well the PA did what the article said they planned to do. After the three month waiting period and the moment their membership became active, the PA came out with their list of nominations and sure enough, the birthplace of Jesus was on their list-
March 2012: Palestinians to submit 20 sites for UNESCO listing
“The Palestinians are poised to submit the names of 20 sites in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza for addition to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites, an official said on Thursday. Palestine was accepted as a full member state of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation last year, over objections from Israel and the United States, and despite not having full United Nations membership. But its tenure as a full UNESCO member came into force on Thursday, and diplomats now plan to move quickly to register Palestinian sites. “From today we are a full party as a state so now we can start all the things that states can do within the rules of the convention, one of them is that we can submit our list to the World Heritage committee,” he said. Until now, the Palestinians could not formally submit any sites in the Palestinian territories for inclusion in the list. The tentative list that will be submitted is the first step in the process of obtaining World Heritage status for the sites, and is intended as an inventory of the locations a member wishes to register, UNESCO says. The list includes sites ranging from Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, revered as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, to Hebron’s walled Old City in the southern West Bank.”
So that is how these sites are slipping from Israel’s hands. Now to the second question, why did the Israelis give the Vatican sovereignty over David’s tomb?
Let’s go back a few months ago, to December 2011:
“The Vatican’s former foreign minister asked to place some Israeli holy places under Vatican authority, alluding to the Cenacle on Mount Zion and the garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. The first site also houses what is referred to as King David’s tomb.”
The Cenacle is the Upper Room where authorities say the Last Supper took place. The article continues:
“The Israeli government and the Vatican are deadlocked in discussions over the status of the religious sites. Vatican officials are now reiterating their demand for control over the religious sites in the ancient and holy city founded by King David as the capital of ancient Israel and now the capital of the reestablished Jewish state. Danny Ayalon, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, declared that Israel might consider giving the Vatican “a greater role” in operating the sites. In the last weeks, the Roman Catholic Church’s authorities increased their political initiatives for Catholic control over some sites in Jerusalem.’
The problem, they allege, is here encapsulated in the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church Fouad Twal’s speech, in which he denounced “the Israeli right wing invading more and more of Jerusalem and trying to transform it into an only Hebrew-Jewish city, excluding the other faiths”.
Sigh.
The truth is that everyone wants a piece of Israel, not just the Palestinians and not just the United Nations, not just Iran and Hamas and Hezbollah, but the Catholics too. They are all like snarling wolves fighting over an increasingly carved up Israel. So that is the story of how they are striking at the heart of Israel, not just through rockets lobbed at Israel towns and cities (summary of rocket events here), not just through the Israel-hating UN, but at a constant and subtle chipping away at Israel through its heart and holy sites.
Job 14:19a, “water wears away stones”… and feet wears away stones too.
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| Canterbury Cathedral: Stairs to the south ambulatory, worn down by pilgrim feet and knees. |
The truth is, even stone gets worn and weary, and constant pressure and treading on it wears it away. With pressure on all sides, I can’t imagine how the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli people (a million of them recently sheltering in underground bunkers due to rocket barrages) withstand the pressure. But the pressure will get more intense as the jackals come for Israel.
The good news is that the promise of God to the People is that their land is actually Israel, Jordan, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and half of Egypt. They will dwell there someday, during the Millennium.
I believe that the Tribulation events will obliterate most of Jerusalem and that the Millennial Kingdom will usher in a time where the land and the buildings will be new and different, but still, wouldn’t it be something if one of the Old Testament Patriarchs said, “Hey, let’s take a walk to the Mount of Olives Tombs to see where I used to be buried!”
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| Greater Israel map Source |
Praise God His promises are true! I long for the day when the world will love Israel because they love God and know that it is HIS land and HIS people. Israel must be punished prior to that glorious time, though, and meanwhile, now and then, we pray. We pray the Israelites of today will have the strength to bear what is coming, and we pray in praises to God that He maintains a remnant
“It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea.” (Isaiah 11:11)
Blessed are the words, ‘It shall come to pass.’
From Israel National News Wednesday March 7:
Is Israel abandoning the Mount of Olives?
“The Mount of Olives is a real Israeli national heritage site, going back thousands of years. The situation there now is intolerable. Under pressure from Unesco, which is trying to “de-Judaize” and “Islamicize” the most holy Jewish sites, the State of Israel seems to be giving up its sovereignty on graves and sacred sites.The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem— the most important Jewish holy sites — have been just omitted from their list of Israel’s national heritage sites. A few days ago, the Palestinian Rehabilitation Committee raised the Unesco flag next to the Palestinian flag in front of Hevron’s Tomb and in all the Unesco official documents, Hevron’s Tomb is already labelled as “a Palestinian site”.
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| The Temple wall can be seen at the right, with the road leading down to the cemetery and then the cemetery below. Source Wikipedia |
“After Unesco condemned the renovation of the Mughrabi Bridge that links the Western Wall to the Temple Mount, Israel’s government closed the structure. Under the Islamic Waqf’s intimidation, Israeli authorities are banning Jews from praying on the Mount and are not even allowed to carry any holy articles with them. Joseph’s Tomb near Nablus, which is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, can be reached by Jewish worshippers only like thieves in the night, escorted by the IDF and only once in a month. But according to the Oslo Accords, the tomb, where Unesco just financed an Arab archaeological park, should have been under Israel’s control. Palestinian policemen remain armed at the tomb, despite the killing of a Jewish pilgrim last year. Today no Jew is permitted to set foot without military escort in the Shalom al Yisrael synagogue of the “city of palms”, Jericho. Jews were denied access to it from 1948 until 1967, when Israel liberated the area and Jews returned to the site.”
“According to Annex II of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement of 1994, “Religious affairs in the ‘Shalom Al Israel’ synagogue in Jericho shall be under the auspices of the Israeli authorities”. But in fact, Israeli authorities gave up the site. A few weeks ago, Israel gave the Vatican sovereignty over David’s tomb, where some believe Jewish kings of Judea are buried. But the most unknown story is about the Mount of Olives cemetery, which has just been discussed at an emergency hearing of the Knesset.”
So let’s summarize,
Cave of the Patriarchs- Arab
Rachel’s Tomb – Arab
Temple Mount – Arab
Joseph’s Tomb – restricted
Jericho synagogue – Arab
David’s Tomb – Catholic
Mt. Olive cemetery – abandoned
The Mount of Olives cemetery is where this happened at the Resurrection: “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:52-53).
The writer of the Israel National News opinion piece wrote at length of the deplorable conditions at the cemetery and of the tombs. He ended with this: “We’re not talking about the Gaza Strip. We’re talking about the most holy Jewish cemetery, overlooking the Temple Mount. Is that area to become “Judenrein” like Joseph’s Tomb? If Israel is abdicating the Mount of Olives, then she is abdicating Jerusalem.”
Here is what will happen: Jesus will descend from heaven and land on the Mount of Olives. He will not need a military escort! He will not need to get paperwork or ask permission! He will RECLAIM WHAT IS HIS!!
“In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!” (Zechariah 14:4-5).
Some news for you this morning.
What is there to say about this first story? Except that God hates when parents pass their child though the fires to Molech, (Leviticus 18:21) and that each child is a gift from God. (Psalm 127:3). The parents say they are receiving death threats over this.
Victory for couple who said they ‘would have aborted daughter if they knew she had Down’s syndrome’ as jury forces hospital to pay $2.9million following botched test
“A couple who sued a hospital for not telling them their unborn child has Down’s syndrome has been awarded a $2.9million payout. Ariel and Deborah Levy, who say they would have had an abortion if they had known the child would be disabled, claimed they needed the money to pay for their daughter Kalanit’s lifelong care. And a jury agreed, deciding on Friday that Oregon’s Legacy Health hospital had been negligent in failing to diagnose the condition in a pre-natal scan. The hospital is considering appealing the verdict, but the Levys’ lawyer urged them to ‘let this case finally come to an end’.”
As we awaken today and prepare for congregational worship, it is a sad reality that a quarter of a million school children in Israel have had school canceled due to the number of rockets that have been shot at the southern end of the country. Worse, officials now fear an escalation that would include targeting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. If the Military officials in Israel have good grounds to fear this, then they have good grounds to fear this. They are not Nervous Nellies over there, and so we need to use our prayer time for Israel today.
Gaza terrorists might target Tel Aviv
“Rocket fire from the Gaza Strip continued Saturday night, and police are expressing concern that the current round of fighting could escalate. Police fear that terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip might use weapons that have not yet been seen – long-range rockets that could reach metropolitan Tel Aviv. The police and the IDF Home Front Command are not taking any chances, and are planning for the worst case scenario. A senior police official told Hebrew daily “Ma’ariv” that there are serious concerns that terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip might use weapons not yet employed.”
One thing I’ve noticed is that churches have become overextended lately because they inadvisably hopped on the Youth culture bandwagon. Suddenly the churches around where I live are renovating or adding on so that their youth can have a space like a darkened loft where The Beat Generation used to hang out and jam to Kerouac poetry. These building additions have fancy lighting, sound stages, concert quality amplifiers, couches to hang out on etc. All some of these places need is a booth and Phil Spector creating a Wall of Sound. Here is an essay/video interview from the Gospel Coalition on “The Idolatry of Youth Culture in Worship”. In the 17 min interview they talk about the current entrapments of youth in America, whether it be fashion or music or celebrity culture etc. and how they get into a hamster wheel of always needing to be fresher or onto the next new thing. Sometimes the next new things means spending a lot of money to satisfy the wants and lusts of Youth in the church space to make it sensuous rather than worshipful.
The Idolatry of Youth Culture in Worship
“Worship leaders often talk about the tension between performance and worship. It’s easy to get drawn into the spectacle of music in the church, with our primary examples and role models being professionals—often young, beautiful, and enormously talented.”
Sunday is the Lord’s Day. He sent us a letter from heaven to read, to fill us with truth, to establish us as His own, to provide spiritual food. Once we believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we understand that He is the Word and that His word is not only authoritative, but inerrant.
“The Eternal Word: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5).
Do you believe the bible is truly God’s word? That everything in it is authoritative and useful for our lives? (2 Timothy 3:16). Or do you pick and choose what you want to believe, saying “Well the flood surely is allegorical…well Jonah surely wasn’t swallowed by a big fish…”?
If you are not sure, here are some resources for you to read and then pray to the Spirit to help you understand that the bible is sure, perfect, and all we need for understanding of God’s ways and His Son.
Christian Research and Apologetics Ministry:
Are the Scriptures Sufficient?
GotQuestions:
Is the bible truly God’s word?
Answers in Genesis:
Is the bible authoritative and inerrant
Tim Challies:
What does inerrant mean?
John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
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