"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105
The next war on Israel has begun
posted Monday, March 10, 2008 :: 8:46 AM
03/10/08 Update: This new war is Iran vs. Israel, since Iranian- made missiles are being used in the attacks, and Hamas members are going to Iran for training. However, the latest Israeli intel says that war will be unlikely in 2008. I take that to mean, OVERT war will be unlikely - Iran will continue to provide training and weapons and the means to attack Israel through terrorism. In the meantime, the Bush administration will continue to push Israel to give up land for "peace" with their Palestinian neighbors - who took to the streets rejoicing at the news of the murdered students last week. I ask again: how can there be peace with people who delight in your violent and horrific murder?
***
03/07/08 Original post: Hamas- run Gaza has not stopped firing missiles at Sderot since the violent coup in 2006. Last week Hamas was firing Iranian- made (and I am assuming, supplied) missiles at Ashkelon. Now comes a Hamas- sponsored terror attack on observant Jews inside Jerusalem itself, where 8 were killed, for the first time since 2005. While the US has condemned the attack, the UN Security Council could not bring itself to do so.
And our Secretary of State is in Jerusalem at the moment, urging Israel to give Israeli territory to Palestinians so they can have their own state.
The Palestinians were the ones who elected Hamas to represent them in Gaza in the first place. Has everyone forgotten that?
If your neighbor is doing his level best to kill you, you do not give him a bigger house, more money, and more weapons so he can accomplish his goal easier! Why is this so hard for the State department to understand?
“For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land.
They have cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink." Joel 3:1-3
This refers to our time, because the prophecy is for when the Lord has brought back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem. That is the house of Judah, the Jews. That did not start happening until the twentieth century, and is still going on today. Also, all nations have not yet gathered against Jerusalem so that the Lord enters into judgment with them there.
"Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city." Zechariah 14:1-2
This is also referring to our time, because it is speaking of the day of the Lord. It may be that Israel will resist dividing its land and giving half of Jerusalem over to the Palestinians, and this will bring all the nations - the United Nations, with the US included this time - to battle against Jerusalem, to force it to abide by man's so- called "peace plan."
The new moon, the first day of the 11th month of the Hebrew calendar (if you count time as God commanded Moses, numbering the first month of the year with the ripening of the barley, and the first day of each successive month on the appearing of the new moon) was yesterday, in Israel. On this day in history, the Scripture records, the Lord said through Moses:
Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them ... "See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them." Deuteronomy 1:3,8
Thus saith the Lord on the first day of the eleventh month: "Possess the land which the Lord swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and their descendants after them." What is even more jaw- dropping is that this year, the year that President Bush wants Israel to divide its land and to divide Jerusalem, is the fortieth year since the Lord restored Jerusalem to Israel as a result of the 1967 war.
Yesterday, the day that President Bush said that Israel must end its "occupation" - and what is occupation but possession of the land - is the anniversary of the day that the Lord said to Moses, recorded in the word of God, which is from everlasting to everlasting, to go in and possess the land that He has given to their fathers and their descendants after them.
The word of God is clearly saying, "Possess!" and the word of man is clearly saying, "Do not possess!" and Israel must choose which word to follow. I am afraid for Olmert, because I do not believe that God will allow the word of man to prevail over His word, I am afraid for President Bush, for placing himself on the wrong side of God in this issue, and I am afraid for us, since he is our President. Israel, I am not afraid for, because God has fought for her and will continue to fight for her, and I do not believe the word of man is going to prevail over the word of God, and the dividing will not ultimately come to pass.
I only have time for a quick note. But I was perusing the front page of the Jerusalem Post online, to see what the President had been up to today. If anyone still thinks that a Palestinian State is what the Muslim world wants, which will stop their hatred of Israel and the Jews, consider this:
On the same day that President Bush called for an end to the "occupation" -- meaning the Israeli "occupation" of the West Bank, their historic homeland which they won fair and square when the Palestinians of the West Bank attacked Israel in the 1967 war, that West Bank that the Lord helped them regain, which He calls the hills of Ephraim and the mountains of Judea -- the same day that the President of the United States used the exact same words to describe Israel in the West Bank as Jimmy Carter does -- the leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon said that the Bush visit to Israel was a "black day" for the Arab world. If someone says the leader of Hezbollah hardly represents the greater Muslim world, I would beg to differ. It is the Hezbollahs of the world that the appeasers are trying to appease by giving land for peace. They will not be satisfied with a Palestinian state; when and if the Palestinians get their own state, they will simply find something else to blame their hatred on and keep right on going.
President Bush is in Israel right now, to encourage both parties to move the "peace process" forward. I am afraid for us, because if we work against Israel, that puts us on the side we do not want to be on, in God's eyes. "He who touches you touches the apple of His eye."
For a better understanding of the lies this two- state solution for peace is founded upon, please visit What Really Happened in the Middle East. This well- made slide show documentary will expose the lies to which the President has succumbed.
In fact, the hurricane predictors are taking heat because they haven't been able to get their predictions right. They didn't see Katrina coming, and Florida experienced nary a hurricane at all this year. But in all fairness, can man predict through science the actions, judgments, interventions, and blessings of God in the affairs of men? Science has been elevated as a god for millions; and YHVH the true God is merely causing it to fall on its face before Him, as has every other idol man has set up in his history.
The greater lesson here is this: If God intervenes in the affairs of men to bring His purposes about in the earth, particularly in regard to Israel, the apple of His eye, then man (Hello Bush administration, Olmert administration, Muslim world, and the Quartet) would be very wise to be hands off in regard to Jerusalem and the deportation of Jews from the West Bank, biblical Judea and Samaria. Katrina will pale in comparison to the damage we will bring on ourselves for daring to touch God's beloved again. That is my new prediction based on the Word of God, and this time I hope I am wrong. But I don't think so. Is anyone listening?
A flare up in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict might be just the excuse the greater Middle East will grab to begin an all out war against Israel. Syria was busy building a nuclear weapons facility (erroneously reported in the media as a nuclear reactor) that the IDF bombed in September; but the UN just reported that Hezbollah is fully rearmed in Southern Lebanon to pre-2006 war levels, this time with more advanced weapons. Of course, Iran continues to mouth its threats. The PLO and Arab members of the Israeli Knesset also announced they will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state. You do not make peace accords with people who refuse to recognize your right to exist; you strengthen your hand so that they are deterred from foolishly trying to force your non- existence. As President Reagan advocated, Peace through Superior Firepower (and I might add, the will to use it if necessary). Well, giving away land does not strengthen you, it weakens you; and it enlarges the base of operations for your enemies. If even I know that, then why don't Bush, Rice, and Olmert?
Hal Lindsey (I don't always agree with his analysis of prophecy) has written a column warning the president and Secretary of State Condi Rice of the consequences prophesied in Zechariah of dividing Jerusalem, something they are insisting on for the Annapolis Mideast peace summit coming up next month. Why, I ask myself, is the Bush administration doing the Palestinian Authority's negotiating for them? I hope the Bush administration heeds Zechariah's warning, for our sakes. But I am not comforted by their wisdom, or lack thereof, which they have demonstrated on the Palestinian question in the past few years. For every word of God proves true, even if the actions of our country places us in the crosshairs of the fulfillment of that word.
Here's an idea: why cannot the Palestinian state be established on the EAST BANK of the Jordan? I know that is Jordanian territory, but Palestinians are ethnically Jordanians, and Jordan has a lot more room with a lot less people than Israel. Why isn't the world community screaming at King Abdullah for his hard- heartedness, in keeping the Palestinians refugees, when he could welcome them as fully- functioning citizens into Jordan?
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, incidentally the official who ordered the Hebron evacuation and destruction, today found himself embroiled in an investigation of illegal government intervention in a recent bank scandal.
On August 23, 2005, the Israeli army, on orders from the Israeli government, under extreme pressure by the US administration, completed its evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza strip, and Gaza was turned over to the Palestinians (and hasn't that proven to be a wise move).
"Jewish homes in the Gaza Strip will be destroyed when Israel pulls out its troops and settlers. ... The view is that there are better land uses for the Palestinians to better address their housing needs ... [the parties would] work towards a plan for destruction and clean-up."
"Everyone has compassion for what the Israelis are going through right now, but it can't stop with the Gaza Strip."
-- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the Jewish evacuation of Gaza, August 2005.
On August 23, 2005, a small and insignificant tropical storm appeared on the weather radar - named Katrina. On August 29, 2005, Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Tens of thousands of homes were destroyed, and New Orleans was completely evacuated. Hundreds of thousands were left homeless.
The connecting theme: evacuation, destruction of homes, homelessness. Coincidence? Maybe.
Over the weekend, Tony Blair arrived in Jerusalem as the representative of the Quartet, a coalition consisting of the US, the UK, the EU, and Russia, whose mission is to implement the Saudi peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians. What is the Saudi peace plan? The Saudis will recognize Israel as a state when Israel returns all the land it captured in victory in the 1967 war. Let us not forget that the "captured" land, the Lord God considers as belonging to Israel, which is why, I suppose, He helped the Israelis capture it in the first place, despite the Arab coalition's superior numbers. Today we know this disputed land as the West Bank, but the Bible calls this same territory "the mountains of Samaria" and "the hill country of Ephraim."
Then this morning, I read in the Jerusalem Post: IDF clears out settlers from Homesh. Why? Because this territory is to be returned to the Palestinians -- Homesh is in the West Bank -- as it is among the disputed territory of the Saudi peace plan. Why, I ask myself, does the army begin evacuating settlers right when Tony Blair arrives to begin his negotiations? Let us hope there is not any extreme pressure being applied to the Israeli government.
Oh, and by the way, the breaking news out of the UK this morning is the devastating flooding, due to a weekend thunderstorm, in which the banks of the Thames rose 3 feet in 12 hours. The flooding is forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.
The connecting theme: evacuation, destruction of homes, homelessness. Coincidence? I think the Creator of heaven and earth is trying to get someone's attention. Let's hope someone is listening.
The Ninth of Av begins this evening at sunset - a fast day in Israel, for on the Ninth day of the Jewish month of Av:
The twelve spies returned from spying out the land of Canaan in 1490 bc; ten spies gave an evil report, resulting in Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years;
The destruction of Solomon's Temple and exile of the Jews at the hands of the Babylonians in 586 bc;
The destruction of Herod's Temple and Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans in 70 ad - yes, both Temples were destroyed on the exact same date in history;
Bar Kochba's revolt against Rome failed when he was killed in 135 ad, and the Jews were expelled from Judea;
King Edward I expelled the Jews from England in 1290;
Hitler ordered the preparations for the Final Solution in 1941;
The first transports filled with Jews reached the Nazi extermination camps in 1942;
The extermination of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto began in 1942.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
And will become a heap of ruins. Isaiah 17:1
A top official from Syrian President Bashar Assad's Baath party said over the weekend that if Israel does not vacate the Golan Heights by September, Syria is prepared to begin a large- scale conflict with Israel over the territory. The Golan Heights, a mountainous area which borders both Israel and Syria, fell into Israeli hands during the 1967 war, when Syria used the territory to launch attacks against the Jewish state.
You know, I was re-reading this weekend the covenant which the Lord made with Abraham as recorded in Genesis chapter 15. The land which YHWH promised to Abraham is from the Nile River to the Euphrates River. In looking on a map, that appears to include what is today Syrian territory, as well as Jordanian. I wonder if the Lord will take advantage of Syria's own foolishness in order to bring His word to pass.
Speaking of what is today Jordanian territory, I was also reading the blessings over Israel which the Lord put in the mouth of Balaam:
I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.
Edom shall be dispossessed;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.
Israel is doing valiantly.
And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion
and destroy the survivors of cities!" Numbers 24:17-19
Moab and Edom were then where Jordan is today. When the Lord Jesus returns, He will rule the nations with a scepter of iron, we sometimes forget - He will enforce His Father's will on the nations, and the nations will not be lawless anymore as they are today.
Last week I was doubtful that Hamas would tolerate the Christians in Gaza, where Hamas is now the sole authority. Over the weekend, Hamas did indeed begin a program of harassment and destruction:
"Christians living in Gaza City have come under attack since Hamas' violent coup for power in Gaza last week, and have appealed to the international community to protect them from increasing attacks by the Islamic terror group. An estimated 2,500 Christians live in Gaza City, according to The Jerusalem Post, and following a series of Hamas attacks on a Christian school and church, many of them are ready to flee the Strip at the first opportunity.
"Father Manuel Musalam, leader of the small Latin community in the Gaza Strip, reported that masked gunmen, apparently from Hamas, had torched and looted the Rosary Sisters School and the Latin Church, destroying almost everything inside. Musalam expressed outrage over the burning of copies of the Bible and the destruction of all the Crosses inside the church and school, estimating the total damages at half-a-million dollars.
"Masked gunmen have targeted several Christian institutions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank over the past few months. Last April, a bookstore run by the Bible Society in the Gaza Strip was bombed, but no one was hurt. Hamas spokespersons have denied responsibility for any such attacks, including the most recent ones." - ICEJ News, Monday June 18 2007
Today Hamas warned the Christians that they must accept Islamic law. Hopefully they will be allowed to leave, unlike the Palestinian Muslims, who are under a fatwa to remain in Gaza and the West Bank. Not even the Muslims want to stay in the Islamic paradise Hamas is making. If they gain control of Israel also (their stated goal), who believes they will rule that larger territory more benevolently and wisely than they are ruling the smaller one?
Nevertheless, some are still calling for an "end [to] the illegal, 40-year occupation of the Palestinian people.” This is the plea of Bishop Younan of Jordan; he is not talking about their occupation by Hamas, but Israel. Let's see, this territory did not belong to Israel until 1967, when the Palestinians used their territory to launch a war against Israel. They lost, and when one power defeats another, their territory is forfeit. If you do not want to lose your territory, nations, then do not use it to attack other nations who are peacefully minding their own business. So how is the occupation illegal?
But 40 years later, the situation in Gaza and the West Bank show that the Palestinians were far better off under Israeli occupation than they have been under their own democratically- elected leaders. Elections were held in the Palestinian territories because Israel withdrew, and allowed it. Hamas is in control of Gaza today because Israel is not. They bowed to world pressure and left the Palestinians to self- rule. I cannot understand what Bishop Younan is unhappy about. Because Israel ended its occupation of Palestinian territory, the Palestinians are enjoying the fruit of the democracy they chose. Unfortunately, they did not choose their leaders wisely, but that is hardly Israel's fault.
David Horowitz has uploaded an excellent video relaying the story of Israel and Palestine in the Middle East.
Gaza has fallen to Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist group whose stated purpose is to erase Israel from the map (even though some blind Westerners state it is not, Egypt -- and Israel -- know better). How can the Palestinians now have their own state, something our administration wants, when we would then have state- sponsored terrorism? I do feel compassion for the Palestinians and all who have died over the past few weeks of fighting. But Hamas gained power by democratically held elections. The Palestinians elected the people who are now murdering them. Thus we see the folly of democray; liberty does not automatically follow democracy, as the administration has been saying, but "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Liberty follows democracy in the United States, because of the great numbers of Christians listening to the Spirit of the Lord who live here. Liberty follows democracy in Israel, because of the Spirit of the Lord who is there. But in Gaza, there is only a small presence of Christians; their church is constantly under threat, and I fear that Hamas will not have mercy on Palestinians who are Christians. See how little mercy they have had on Palestinians who are fellow Muslims.
So to fix the mess in the Middle East, the United States ought to be funding missionaries, Bible schools, Bibles, and native missionary and pastor training, if they want democracy in the Middle East which leads to peace and not terrorism. For only where the Spirit of the Lord is, will there be liberty. Of course, the ACLU, the Supreme Court, Congress, and who knows who else would howl bloodly murder if that course of action, the only one guaranteed to succeed, were followed.
The Israeli prime minister offered the Golan Heights territory to Syria if they promised to break with Iran and Palestinian terror groups. First, this prime minister is hugely unpopular inside Israel, and by this deal he just guaranteed he will never be re- elected. Second, how on earth can anyone believe that Syria, if it promises to play nice, will? The only promise the extremist regimes are intent on keeping is the one to see Israel erased off the map, and by this deal, they have more ammunition to do it.
This just proves Fred Thompson's point, that Israel, even though it has the military might to easily win the war that Islamist extremists are waging against it, bends over backwards in restraint in using it, even to its own detriment -- UNLIKE the extremists, who take every inhumane advantage (like using women and children as shields) and are protected by the media and even groups like the UN and Amnesty International in doing so. In a side note, this deal was approved by the Bush administration. I hope the real truth isn't that this deal was pushed by the Bush administration; if so, hold onto your hats for the next 24 hours, people.
So what is the conclusion? God is on the side of the Jews (and the Church) even when their unpopular prime ministers (and presidents) make decisions like this one. If Syria ends up possessing the Golan, and attacks Israel from there as they have already twice in Israel's post- 1948 history, God will still protect His inheritance, and Damascus is still sitting under a huge sword of Damocles hanging by a very thin thread.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
And will become a heap of ruins. Isaiah 17:1
World Net Daily is reporting today that "Syria, aided by Iran, has deployed a strengthened army along Israel's northern border and is prepared to launch a surprise war against the Jewish state, according to senior Israeli security officials." This follows several weeks of Iran's president making claims that the destruction of Israel would soon begin. I doubt that it is a coincidence that this week Israel is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its victory in the Six Day War, in which Syria was a major player.
Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
And will become a heap of ruins. Isaiah 17:1
Syria hosted an international conference this week, titled "Arab and Islamic Media Support of the Palestinian People." I suppose that means they support attitudes like this one caught on tape last Friday, where the acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (that sounds like an official government body) called for the death of every American and every Jew, down to the "very last one."
Incidently, Syria held its conference at the same time Iran was hosting one of its own: "The Muslim World: Victim of Terrorism." Well, we do have evidence that more Muslims have died at the hands of Islamist terrorists than at the hands of any other power. But, not surprisingly, that is not what Iran meant. The terrorists the Muslim world is the victim of is America and Israel, of course. If only we could get those Americans and Israelis to stop strapping on bombs and blowing up buses, pizza parlors, and skyscrapers in Muslim cities, then all would be well in the Muslim world.
The theme of both conferences was coordinated: promotion of the "culture of resistance," which is code for promote Hezbollah, promote Hamas, promote anyone who would bring about the death of every last American and every last Jew. Now we can see the wisdom and the beneficial fruit which Nancy Pelosi's foreign policy foray with Syria is bearing! They love us now!
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day of atonement
10th day of 7th biblical month
:: sunset, fri 10 oct 2008 ::
(feast days run from sunset to sunset the next day)
this holiday is a sabbath celebrating the day of atonement
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I am researching the holy days which were instituted by God as a celebration of the Messiah, instead of celebrating the holy days which were instituted by man to honor nature in place of nature's God.
:: Israel's Feast - Wooten
:: Annals - Ussher
