Bible Prophecy Seminar Part 2

End Time Bible Prophecy The Coming Fall of Jerusalem & Destruction of Is...

God’s Witnesses

God’s Witnesses

Impartial witnesses can be a crucial source of evidence for situations, like serious accidents, where it is important to establish what actually happened. Nonetheless it is not always easy to get witnesses to come forward, and so it can be difficult to corroborate the claims made by people involved in an incident.

Only One God

The Bible makes very bold claims about God and contains some striking assertions about what He is like.

Here’s one:

"I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:5–6).

Claims are one thing, of course, and proof is another. As no one has ever seen God (John 1:18), many people believe that there is no evidence for His existence.

Such people do not believe in any God, let alone in the unique God who is revealed in the Bible.

Evidence for God

However, the God of the Bible has provided evidence to support His claims and He has witnesses who  testify to both His existence and His purpose. This is what God says to them when He summons them:

"Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one. Those who make an image, all of them are useless, and their precious things shall not profit; they are their own witnesses; they neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed" (Isaiah 44:8–9).

This argument is repeated in more detail in Isaiah 43:9-13. God’s witnesses are the Jews, and God was saying, through His prophet, that their history makes them witnesses to His claims about Himself. For God has both made and kept promises to them and has foretold what is to happen to them in careful detail. Moreover, He stated that no other god has such witnesses and, referring to those who worship idols instead, that such things are not real gods at all.

Unwitting Witness

The Jewish people are very powerful witnesses indeed because they have not volunteered to fill this role and may not even realise that they are carrying it out. Their witness is not directly under their control or their wishes. They are, therefore, most certainly impartial.

There are many prophecies about the Jews, but here we shall concentrate on two. In Deuteronomy chapter 28 God set out His promises to the nation of Israel.

Ø  If they obeyed His commandments then He would care for them and protect them in the land to which He took them from Egypt.

Ø  On the other hand if they disobeyed then disasters would follow. They would be taken into captivity out of their land and eventually would be scattered throughout the world.

The Jews of Old Testament times were captive for some time in Babylon, but did return to the land, but not permanently. The words of Deuteronomy were to come painfully true after A.D.70 when the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world, culminating in the holocaust in the twentieth century. These prophetic words are chilling in their accuracy:

"... And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see." (Deuteronomy 28:65–67).

Not Forever!

The second important prophecy is that despite this scattering the Jews would keep their national identity – they would always be identifiable as Jews.

This was against all the odds and certainly unlike most of the other nations that were important when Isaiah and Jeremiah were prophesying. Where are the Assyrians, the Babylonians or the Philistines? But the Jews have survived as a separate and distinct people, as part of the Jews’ witness to God. As the prophet Jeremiah said:

"Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): “If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever” (Jeremiah 31:35–36).

God was saying that if we want to destroy the Jewish nation then that will be as difficult (or as impossible) as interfering with the systems of nature which are also under His control.  Consequently the very existence of the Jews and now of the Jewish nation is powerful evidence that God is indeed the One and only true God.

Before Our Very Eyes

Prior to 1948 there were few Jews in Israel. Now there are millions of Jews back in their land, just as God promised.

The nation of Israel is constantly in our news. Despite what they may think or believe, the whole of Jewish history is a witness that the God of the Bible exists, that He is in control, and that He is the only God.

So every time you hear about Israel, remember that it is evidence for belief in God and that His gracious purpose is now quickly nearing its conclusion.

Islamic State Babylon, Last Days revival

"With a mighty voice he shouted: 'Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!' " (Rev 18:2).

The whole prophetic narrative of the Bible is in many ways a tale of two cities: Babylon and Jerusalem. There are times when Babylon masquerades as Zion -- a false city of God with a false Messiah leading her. And there are times when Zion in her apostasy has appeared as Babylon. But in the final conflict of the last days, these two cities will be literally pitted against each other. Zion will briefly succumb under the might and pride of Babylon, to rise again in eternal glory. It was in Babylon where Nimrod first built the tower of Babel, the first organized rebellion against God; and it was there that God first entered into open judgment of flesh and humanity en masse. And it is here likewise that His purpose with sin and His true people will likewise be fulfilled. Babylon was also called Su-anna, "the holy city". Yet "the holy city" is Jerusalem, thus making Babylon a fake Zion. Herodotus says the city was square, just as new Jerusalem.

Unfulfilled Prophecies: "Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah" (Isa 13:19). And yet Babylon was never suddenly overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah in their fiery destruction. It was conquered by the Medes and Persians and fell into decline, but it was not violently destroyed. Likewise: "The Lord will have compassion on Jacob; once again he will choose Israel and settle them in their own land... They will make captives of their captors and rule over their oppressors... On the day the Lord gives you relief from suffering and turmoil and cruel bondage, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!... All the lands are at rest and at peace; they break into singing" (Isa 14:1-4,7).

When Babylon is ultimately destroyed, Israel will finally be at Peace and will dwell in safety. Israel has been a nation since 1948, but not for one day has the nation of Israel known real peace or ease. It has never been able to claim all the lands God promised the Israelites, and Israel's Arab neighbors have been a constant threat and danger.

There is the assumption by many that all the OT prophecies about 'Babylon' were fulfilled in the overrunning of Babylon by the Medes. However, there are many details of those prophecies which did not have a total fulfillment, and thus what the Medes did as but a partial, incipient fulfillment of what is going to come in the last days. This also requires that 'Babylon' be understood as literal Babylon -- for it was against her that the prophecies were uttered in the first place. And quite clearly, the prophecies of Revelation against 'Babylon' are extensions of those of the Old Testament. We therefore are encouraged to see the 'Babylon' of Rev as the Babylon of the prophets -- ie literal Babylon.

Unfulfilled details, which require a latter day fulfillment:

• Literal Babylon decayed due to the ravages of time, whereas Babylon was to fall "suddenly" in her prime (Jer 51:8; Rev 18: "one hour"). This must be future in its fulfillment. Rev. 18:22; 14:8 both speak of "Babylon is fallen" as applying to a latter day scenario. And yet these words come directly from Isa 21:9 and Jer 51:8, prophecies about literal Babylon being destroyed suddenly -- a destruction which is clearly future, seeing the city was never so suddenly destroyed in the past. The suddenness of the destruction is a keynote of these prophecies.
• It is not true that Babylon has been uninhabited "forever". "The city of Babylon has never ceased to exist. Although its name was changed on two occasions, it has never been totally unpopulated. Hillah presently has 250,000 citizens and was built almost entirely of bricks from the parts of the old city of Babylon" (Joseph Chambers, A Palace For The Antichrist 146). Note too that the Babylonian Talmud was written by Jews living in Babylon in the 6th century AD. 1 Pet 5:13 implies there was even an ecclesia there in the first century.
• "For the Lord will have mercy upon Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them [the Babylonians], and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors" (Isa 14:1,2). This passage has never been fulfilled yet. It will be in the last days; and at this time, as Is. 14 goes on to detail, Babylon [literal Babylon, in the context] will fall.

Other prophecies about the sudden destruction of literal Babylon -- which can only be latter day in their application -- are also the basis for the words of Rev about latter day Babylon. Consider: (a) "Thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me: I shall not sit a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children" (Isa 47:8), compared with: "How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously...for she hath said in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow" (Rev 18:7). (b) "But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood" (Isa 47:9), compared with: "Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning" (Rev 18:8). (c) "Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up" (Isa 47:13), compared with: "For by thy sorceries..." (Rev 18:23).

The Babylon of Rev is the Babylon of Jeremiah and Isaiah, literal Babylon, which awaits her full punishment. This conclusion is strengthened once it is appreciated how the harlot Babylon of Rev 17, loud, gaudy, decked with jewelry and painted face, is replete with reference to Semiramis, the goddess / mother of Nimrod, and one of the patron gods of literal Babylon.

The antichrist is a mimic of the true Christ; his kingdom is a parody of God's Kingdom. And the King of Babylon claiming "I am and none else beside me" are the very words of Yahweh -- the King of Babylon is clearly to be identified with the man of sin, who sits as God in God's temple (2Th 2). But the similarities run deeper. The Babylonian epic of creation is a parody of the Genesis account; the flood has its counterpart in the epic of Gilgamesh; and the Code of Hammurabi, an early ruler of Babylon, was clearly an anti-law of Moses. And Saddam Hussein's supporters greet him as the Messiah of the Arab world (Chambers 45). Now Saddam may pass off the scene, but the point is that a similar charismatic leader could arise and be the antichrist.

The accounts of the latter day invasion of Israel all feature a single charismatic individual, who will be destroyed personally by the Lord Jesus at His coming. This is Paul's "man of sin", Daniel's aggressive king of fierce countenance, Ezekiel's Gog, the chief prince. It is also the person referred to by Micah: "And this man [Messiah] shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land" (Mic 5:1,2). The Lord Jesus will save His people in the latter days from an "Assyrian". It has been shown that Assyria and Babylon are used almost interchangeably in Scripture. Gog was a Jew who apostatized and went to live in Assyria / Babylonia, according to 1Ch 5. This is why he has the appearance of spirituality; and he may even be an Arab Christian. 2Th 2 describes him as "the son of perdition", exactly the phrase used about Judas, the false disciple of Jesus. Notice how Tariq Aziz [Iraqi foreign minister at the time of writing] and other leading members of the Iraqi cabinet are in fact Arab Christians, not Muslims.

Osama Bin Laden

Compared to the professional analysts, we Christadelphians are completely unqualified as journalistic fact-gatherers on the world news scene. We don't directly interview world leaders or investigate material facts.

But when it comes to analyzing the facts that these people gather, Christadelphians have the distinct advantage of approaching matters from a point of view that is radically different from everyone else in several important ways. This advantage allows us to analyze a situation in ways that others cannot possibly do, and if this advantage is used properly (and that can be a very big "if" !!) then it can help us to better understand the reasons why we are to act the way that God calls us to act.

The following is my own analysis of the situation, particularly relating to the motives of Osama Bin Laden and other militant fundamentalist Muslims.

I start by asking you to think about five dates in history: 586 BC, and 70, 1948, 1967, and 1973 AD.

You already know what I am referring to with regard to each date. The destructions of the Temple in 586 BC and again in 70 AD. The emotional response that we have to these dates is one of sadness and lamentation. Then comes 1948. The establishment of the modern state of Israel, and the miraculous victory of little infant Israel against the combined Arab armies. The hand of God working in the nations. The fig tree budding. What a wonderful prophetic sign. Then comes 1967. The miraculous Six Day War. Again the hand of God working, with Israel regaining control of full Jerusalem including the Temple Mount. And finally 1973. Israel's miraculous recovery after nearly being annihilated in the surprise Yom Kippur War. Again we see the hand of God working.

But how do Muslims feel about these last three dates?

In the early years, and by that I mean roughly from the 1920s to the 1970s, most Muslims were adamantly opposed to the idea of the existence of a modern nation of Israel. They wanted to drive Israel into the sea, and to deny it any recognition of statehood.

But over time the attitude of many average Muslims softened, and they began to accept the notion of a modern nation of Israel in its present location. Militant Muslims therefore had a battle on two fronts. First was the Israelis, and they were certainly willing to attack them and anyone who supported the Israeli "right to exist". Second were these "soft" Muslims. That is, Muslims who were willing to recognize Israel, in deed if not in word. Many of these "soft" Muslims also have had and continue to have a gradual adoption of and toleration for many Western societal mores.

Most Westerners have no appreciation for the amount of "domestic" terrorism that goes on within many Middle Eastern countries, where militant Muslims are adamantly opposed to the current "moderate Muslim" regimes. Egypt and Saudi Arabia in particular are beset with this problem, and it has been an important feature on the political scene of many other countries. For example Iran, which was "moderate" under the Shah, "fundamentalist" under the Ayatollah Khomeini, and is wrestling its way back to being "moderate" despite enormous internal pressure from the fundamentalists.

My point is that all of the politicians and journalists are talking about Bin Laden trying to scare or terrify the Western public, and how that's not going to work because we are a better people than that, and that Bin Laden and his kind of people underestimate our courage, love, and resolve.

In doing so these Western leaders either don't understand or are misrepresenting Bin Laden's motives.

Bin Laden and other militant Muslims have one ultimate goal with two parts, and use the violence of terrorism as a two-sided tool.

The two sides of the tool are (1) to encourage and embolden their fellow Muslims, and (2) to get the United States and others to make a semi-rational determination that the cost of supporting Israel outweighs the benefits. The ultimate goal is to achieve a worldwide Islamic society, but as this is so far off it is far more important to concentrate on the two immediate steps or parts of this goal. They are (1) to replace the "moderate" Muslim leadership currently in place in many Middle Eastern countries, and (2) to eradicate Israel. This second part can be further broken down into two steps. First, get nations such as the United States to stop supporting Israel, because with American backing the eradication of Israel is considerably more difficult, and then the second step of the actual eradication of Israel.

I would like to deal with this issue of Bin Laden's motives by asking: whose thinking is he trying to change and how?

His primary audience is NOT the people that he is attacking, but rather his fellow Muslims, most of whom are spectators. His hope is that these people will be emboldened and encouraged by his actions, and that every Muslim will become more fundamentalist. He knows that he can't start with a big victory against Israel and the United States and others. What he wants right now is a small victory so that others will join his cause, thus making his organization and its allies strong enough to achieve a big victory in the future.

His SECONDARY audience is the "western" nations, and even here he knows that he is not going to scare us to the point that we are afraid to come out of our homes. He knows that we will never become this afraid. BUT he knows that we will demand more security, which costs much in the way of time, money, and sacrifice of the individual liberties that we cherish and have become so accustomed to. He is implicitly using a carrot-and-stick approach against Western society. "Support Israel, and I will attack your civilian population as much as possible. Abandon Israel, and I will leave you alone, which means that you can open up your society again and live a better life for yourselves." I am setting aside the fact here that if we did as a society stop supporting Israel he would in fact not let up on his terrorism. He would simply continue to use terrorism to achieve the next step along towards his ultimate goal. I can set aside this fact because I am dealing here with his implicit approach at this time, and not with what he would actually do if his approach were to become "successful" (that is, help him to achieve his goals).

President Bush and Vice President Cheney and others have been all over television the last few days talking about Bin Laden's hatred for the American way of life. Yes he does find the American way of life objectionable because in many ways it acts contrary to the Muslim ethic, but that has almost no relevance to the question of what fuels Bin Laden's internal fire. He is far more upset about Muslims adopting Western ways than he is about Westerners having Western ways.

This also brings up an important point about what this war against terrorism might hope to accomplish. Bear in mind that just as he will not make "us" afraid but will impede our movements, any war against Bin Laden and other militant Muslims will at best accomplish the same thing. No amount of force will scare these people into rethinking their basic position. But it is possible to constrain their movements, to make it far more difficult for them to operate.

My own speculation that stems from this realization is that this will only delay the inevitable, as the relentless march of technology makes massively deadly weapons easier and easier to obtain. How long until a small group, operating underneath the "radar screens" of the nations, acquires nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons? Such a group need not even be Muslim. Certainly the Japanese sect that released nerve gas in the Tokyo subway system a few years ago was not Muslim. So at best we can eradicate and prevent the formation of large terrorist organizations who have at least some level of state support. But we can never stop the "lone madman" or the very small group.

There are terrorist groups out there that are not Muslim. But the Muslim ones are the ones that perpetrated this attack and that are the greatest near-term threat. And so while in theory we should be thinking about all of the terrorists that are out there, in practice we should concentrate upon understanding the thinking of these militant Muslims.

My note at the beginning regarding our unique perspective needs explaining here. Our world view is neither Ameri-centric or freedom-centric. Therefore, we can consider this situation not as the world does, but from the perspective that considers Bin Laden's motives to be very much like the motives of Cain and his "seed" (that is, those who have persecuted and murdered the prophets of God, and God's Son).

The Apostle Paul wrote that "as to zeal, [I was] a persecutor of the church" (Phi 3:6) and that he was also "a persecutor and violent aggressor" (1Ti 1:13). He was thinking that he was rendering service to God. He didn't hate Christians because he envied their freedom and wealth. He thought that he was doing God a favor by eradicating these blasphemous followers of the blasphemous Nazarene. The motives of militant Muslims are similar.

My point is that when we hear President Bush or ANY commentator talk about this attack on the American way of life, they are avoiding the real issue. The real issue is nothing less than the veracity of Islam, and the question must therefore be asked of us: when we take a stand and say that Islam is false, what do we suggest is true? The American ideals of freedom and democracy? Christianity, as in Christendom? Or True Christianity? This is why we must realize that when we speak against what has recently happened we must be careful to point out that in doing so we are also standing against the false teaching of the world in all its forms. We speak against Islam because it is patently false, and while militant Muslims are certainly worse, this does not change the fact that all Islam is false. And so are the eastern religions, many of which by their fundamental nature do not breed militarism. And so is Christendom, which in the past has bred much militarism and today does so only occasionally. All of these are false regardless of whether they compound their error by adopting violence to promote their viewpoint.

We stand against all systems of thought that are false, including those who are militant as well.

At the same time we must be careful to note that we are not militant. We appeal to people's intelligent reasoning and deliberation, and we never threaten force against anyone as a means of coercing them into adopting our way of thinking. We don't even threaten people with eternal hell-fire torment. This of course is a byproduct of our theology, but nonetheless the fact remains that we do not threaten people at all in any way.

And so IF people start to become suspicious of us as a group because we are relatively small and quite fundamentalist, point this out to them. Being fundamentalist and being militant are two entirely different matters. All or virtually all militants are fundamentalist, but not all fundamentalists are militant.

Standing up for Israel and the Judgement of Nations

Standing up for Israel and the Judgement of Nations

Make no mistake, nations have been and will be yet still be judged on their treatment of the Jewish people.

As we are on the edge of the coming of the Messiah son the David we must say the future of Israel is bright, very bright indeed.  That said, the question we ask is whether the future of the rest of the nations of the world is quite so rosy?

Genesis 12:3 reads as follows:

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Simply, people and nations are judged on how they treat God’s chosen people.  There may be other factors in God’s judgment of a people or a nation such as violence before the flood but the treatment of his people Israel is certainly something that God does not take lightly.  Read the following words from Deuteronomy 32 -

“For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

So the Lord alone did lead him…”

And similar words are mentioned in Zachariah 2:8 but with a little more caution for anyone who thinks to harm his people, it is written “for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”  Simple equasion, you touch Israel, you poke the almighty God in the eye.  Pharaoh in the Old Testament found this out as did many other nations of old some of which would be permanently destroyed for their treatment of Gods people, like Tyre and Zidon for example (Ezekiel 26 & Joel 3).
And what about in these last days?  God has clearly fulfilled his promise in bringing his people back to their land.  The question is, is there any indication of God’s thoughts about Israel’s treatment today?  Joel 3 is clearly speaking of today in the following words from verse 1 & 2:

“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”

The New King James Version puts it this way, “And I will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel”
If that was not enough, these words are from Ezekiel 36:1-10

“Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:

Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:

Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:

Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God; Thus saith the Lord God to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: (“suffered the reproach of the nations” – RSV)

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. (“shall themselves suffer reproach.” – RSV)

But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:”

So what are the nations around doing today?  Well that depends on the nation, but almost across the board they push Israel to give up territory to the boarders of 1967.  Further to that many including the UN today are pushing for Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza.  And have you heard of anything more ridiculous?  First off, Hamas is a recognized terror group, why is anyone pushing Israel to give into their demands? Even with the blockade Hamas managed to smuggle in rockets to target the whole of Israel’s population.  I’ve got an idea…. Lets lift the blockade and see what gets brought in. Even the fact that Israel is pushed into a cease fire is crazy.  No other nation would put up with what Israel does, since Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip over 11,000 rockets have been launched at her.  There is no such thing as land for peace with the so called “Palestinians.”  In fact in 2000 Israel offered 97% of the West Bank and 100% of the Gaza strip to Yasser Arafat, and for the 3% of the West Bank Israel would keep they would enlarge the Gaza Strip and join the two with a highway.  Israel was turned down because it is not peace that the “Palestinian” leadership wants, it’s the annihilation of Israel.
Now on this point of giving up land, it must be said that any land that Israel has gained since 1948 was won in defensive war.  This is very important because territory won defensively is much different than territory won offensively (not that it really matters because I believe that God has given them back their historic homeland and what the world says is tough.)   That said this does show the hypocrisy of the nations.
All Israel has ever wanted is peace, that is the truth.  Unfortunately Israel still finds herself surrounded by those that want her destruction, inside and outside her borders.  As a Haretz article headline read “Hamas: Heavy on the fire, light on the cease.”  I think the words of Psalm 120 are very fitting – “My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.  I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.”  I don’t know if there is a better verse to describe the situation Israel finds herself in.
The Prime minister of Canada is unique in this and his governments support of Israel.  Concerning the current conflict in Gaza he released the following statement:

“The indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel are terrorist acts, for which there is no justification. It is evident that Hamas is deliberately using human shields to further terror in the region.

“Failure by the international community to condemn these reprehensible actions would encourage these terrorists to continue their appalling actions. Canada calls on its allies and partners to recognize that these terrorist acts are unacceptable and that solidarity with Israel is the best way of stopping the conflict.

“Canada is unequivocally behind Israel. We support its right to defend itself, by itself, against these terror attacks, and urge Hamas to immediately cease their indiscriminate attacks on innocent Israeli civilians.

“Canada reiterates its call for the Palestinian government to disarm Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups operating in Gaza, including the Iranian proxy, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”

What we said at the beginning of this program was that simply, people and nations are judged on how they treat God’s chosen people.  What brought this question to a head is unlike the position of Canada most nations are criticizing Israel, and in some cases outright supporting Hamas.  These nations include Britain and even the US under Obama’s lead.  A very interesting opinion piece was written in the English paper the Daily Express by Leo McKinstry titled “We will pay a terrible price for supporting Hamas.”  The following is from that article:

“…all this populist anti-Israeli posturing is dangerous. It shows not the slightest grasp of the reality of Islamist aggression in the Middle East and the depth of the challenge that Israel faces.

In practice denouncing the Jewish state means siding with the malevolent, murderous forces of jihadism, a stance that not only represents a complete inversion of morality but a ­suicidal disdain for the interests of western civilisation.

With their habitual self- righteousness Miliband and Ashdown claim that Israel is losing the propaganda war.

“Israel has lost the support and sympathy of the world,” said Ashdown yesterday, speaking in his self-appointed role as spokesman for the planet’s citizenry.

However, Israel is fighting a real war, not a propaganda war.

It is up against a fanatical enemy – the Hamas ­terror network, dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state.

The idea, sedulously cultivated by western appeasers of radical Islam, that the Palestinian movement is innocent is absurd.

The present conflict was started by Hamas firing rockets at Israeli civilians and since the beginning of July more than 2,800 of these ­missiles have been launched.

Britain would not tolerate an ­aerial assault without striking back so why should Israel?

The fact that Hamas’s rockets have inflicted only a few casualties is a reflection of their poor technology, not of their users’ lethal intent.

Moreover Hamas has constructed a series of tunnels into Israel with the aim of inflicting more deadly attacks. Israel, like any other nation, has a duty to defend itself by destroying this terrorist infrastructure.

In this context the parrot cry for negotiations is fatuous. Hamas, an offshoot of the infamous Muslim Brotherhood, is not interested in a peace settlement, only in the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. Its founding charter, drawn up in 1988, proclaims that “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it.”

Last week an Imam in a Palestinian mosque declared: “Our doctrine in fighting you, the Jews, is that we will totally exterminate you. We will not leave a single one of you alive.”

So on what aspect of anti-Semitic genocide is Israel ­supposed to negotiate with Hamas?

Instead of traducing Israel western politicians and the media should face up to the terrifying global threat of fundamentalist Islam, of which Hamas is a key part.

…

Rather than ­carping from the sidelines ­western politicians should ­support that goal. Israel is a bulwark of ­civilisation against Islamism. Ultimately we will pay a terrible price if we betray this heroic nation.”

The Italian Foreign Affairs Commission President Fabrizio Cicchitto led a delegation to the Knesset and said he was “trying to convince the US and European community that we may be exposed to the threat of terror just like Israel.” This is something that nations should be considering in voicing against Israel, terrorists will not stop at Israel.  In fact as the United States has started bombing the terrorists in Iraq some are starting to worry if they will be able to strike back. Time ran an article on August 10^th entitled “Experts Warn of Terrorism Blowback From Iraq Air Strikes.”
In his book entitled The Islamic Tsunami David Rubin makes the following comment:

“The return to the Land of Israel is an ongoing process that is central in the redemption of the entire world.  Even if all Islamic terrorists united, they would be unable to stop this process.  They may cause death and wounds and great destruction, but in the end they will fail.  As I see it, the bigger question is where the rest of the free world will stand in this process – it, too, is threatened by the monster of Islamic terrorism.  Will the world stand strong with Israel in its noble battle and stop the Koranic terrorists from taking over the free world?”

As we said at the beginning Israel’s future is bright, very bright.  Nations that are hypocritically turning on the Jews however may find a rough road ahead.

Zachariah 8:23 - “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out ofall languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.”

Bible Prophecy Armies Carrying Black Banners from khurasan invade Israel

The world turns against Israel and supports terrorism

Media bias is turning world opinion severely against Israel in the conflict in the Middle East. The Bible has predicted this picture years ago.  The Israeli Ambassador Ron Demer, Prime Minister Netanyahu defend Israel’s actions in a perilous situation. British official defend Israel’s right to defend itself and identify its military as the most moral in the world. 

As war rages on in the Middle East, Israel, and Jews all over the world are finding themselves being demonized by the world media. 

This week saw several disturbing developments where public opinion moved against Israel in the face of the facts. The rise of anti-Semitism in Europe is especially alarming.

Fires of Anti-Semitism Rage in Europe

Uninformed and fuelled by media bias protests have sprung up all over the world. The most violent of these have been in France where riots have broken out, and Jewish stores and synagogues have been targeted.  This isn’t an isolated situation that has been overblown. Even Laurent Fabius, Frances Foreign Minister, reflected that many Jews in France are afraid. Reuters reported Frances Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, confirmed that chants of “Death to the Jews” had been heard during a protested earlier. 

Reuters reported, 

In the first three months of 2014 more Jews left France for Israel than at any other time since the Jewish state was created in 1948, citing economic hardships in the stagnating economy but also rising anti-Semitism as a factor.

The cries of “death to the Jews” erupted into active violence July 13, 2014.  The Jerusalem Post reported:

Palestinian sympathizers outside the Synagogue de la Roquette in central Paris that trapped some 200 terrified people inside the building. A street brawl ensued between the rioters and dozens of Jewish men who arrived to defend the synagogue.

The scene outside Jewish stores in Paris, July 2014 following pro-Palestinian riots.

The Article went on to state:

Since Israel launched its military operation against Hamas in Gaza, Jewish houses of worship in and around Paris have been targets.

On the Friday before the violence at the Synagogue de la Roquette, a firebomb was hurled at the entrance to a synagogue in the Paris suburb of Aulnay-sous-Bois. The next day, a pro-Palestinian crowd gathered outside a synagogue in the Belleville neighbourhood of Paris and chanted about slaughtering Jews. And on the same day as the Roquette synagogue incident, rioters also attacked the nearby Synagogue de la rue des Tournelles.

The riot outside the Synagogue de la Roquette stood out because of the terror it incurred for those inside the shul who had assembled for a gathering in solidarity with Israel….

The police on the scene initially were badly outnumbered by the pro-Palestinian rioters. Azria said the five police officers present focused their efforts on guarding the building’s barricaded entrance while they waited approximately 10 minutes for backup to arrive.

The president of the European Jewish Congress, Moshe Kantor, called the incident an “attempted pogrom.”

Germany, November 1938 after Kristallnacht, the beginning of the holocaust.

Not only this, but Jewish store windows were smashed throughout Paris, reminiscent of Kristallnacht, or the night of broken glass that occurred November 9, 1938 at the incitement of Nazi officials. During this horrific event, Nazi storm troopers along with members of the SS and Hitler Youth beat and murdered Jews, broke into and wrecked Jewish homes, and brutalized Jewish women and children. All over Germany, Austria and other Nazi controlled areas, Jewish shops and department stores had their windows smashed and contents destroyed. Synagogues were especially targeted for vandalism, including desecration of sacred Torah scrolls. Hundreds of synagogues were systematically burned while local fire departments stood by or simply prevented the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings. An estimated 100 Jews were killed on this terrible night, while 30,000 Jewish men were rounded up and sent to concentration camps.

The parallels to Kristallnacht demonstrate that the current crisis in the Middle East, and the backlash to Jews throughout the world, is not merely a localized political struggle but a religious and ethnic one. Jews are being targeted in Israel and all over the world because they are Jews. The world has learned nothing since 1938.  During that time the world stood idle by while Jews were attacked. Martin Niemöller, a German Lutheran pastor and concentration camp survivor wrote the following:

German Pastor Martin Niemoller
Concentration camp survivor.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

The growth of anti-semitism in Europe is to be expected prior to the invasion described in Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah where the nations of Europe and Russia turn “against my people of Israel”. World opinion is turning against Israel at a shocking rate, and at shockingly high levels. 

Tragic Media Bias

Perhaps a perfect example of tragic media bias was highlighted in an interview between Israeli Ambassador Ron Demer and CNN anchor Erin Burnett:

"What happened here is horrific, and we don't yet even know the scale of how many children may have died. Initial reports indicate that at least sixteen are dead and the initial report said that this attack had come from Israeli tanks. As you know the Israeli military said it may have come from Hamas and a rocket which misfired. Do you know at this point with any more certainty?”

"No, I don't know, but I do know who's responsible for it, and that's Hamas, because they're using schools as weapons depots. And I think it would be a disservice to your viewers for a reporter in Gaza not to mention that in the last week, we had two different UNRWA schools, where we had actually rockets found in the schools and handed over to Hamas….”

"These are two different UN schools, you're saying.”

CNN Anchor Erin Burnett and Israeli Ambassador Ron Demer discuss gross media bias

"That's correct, that's publicly available information. It's kind of an important fact for your reporter to mention. And in addition to that, he may have wanted to mention a statement that was made by – not by the Israeli Ambassador, not by the spokesman of the IDF – but by the UN Secretary General, yesterday. Not last year, yesterday. He said this:”

“The Secretary-General is alarmed to hear that rockets were placed in an UNRWA school in Gaza and that subsequently these have gone missing. He expresses his outrage, and regret, at the placing of weapons in a UN-administered school…. By doing so, those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities, and anyone using the UN schools as shelter.”

"This is yesterday. Do you not think that it's relevant to report on CNN that the secretary general of the UN yesterday warned against the use of UN schools and shelter for rocket missile depots of Hamas…..[Ambassador it is relevant but let me ask…]   I've been listening for two hours of reports on CNN. I've seen split screens, horrible pictures  that any decent human being would be horrified by. I have not hear a single person say what I just said to you now. And I think that that does a disservice to your viewers to not give them the context they need to make these judgements. Hamas is placing missile batteries in schools, in hospitals in mosques, and there must be outrage by the world at Hamas to end this.”

And so the interview went on with the ridiculous notion that Israel should have entered hostile territory, sent soldiers into the school where they were being fired on from and checked it out before firing back.

UN Accuses Israel of War Crimes 

While addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has suggested that the Israeli military might have committed war crimes by shelling and launching airstrikes on civilian neighbourhoods in Gaza.

UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Navi Pillay

My are continuing to document several other cases in which family residences were destroyed, with reported loss of civilian life,  and in which preliminary indications suggest, not even a single member of an armed group was  present.  Then just two days ago, on 21st July, shells hit the Al-Aqsa hospital in  Der-Albella, reportedly killing three people, and wounding dozens of others including doctors. 

These are just a few instances where there seems to be a strong possibility that international humanitarian law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes, Every one of these incidents must be properly and independently investigated.”

Israel is charged with war crimes for defending itself from the shower of rockets by trying to take out the network b uilt by the attackers. 

When the investigation was put up to a vote, 29 countries voted in favor, 17 countries abstained and only the U.S. voted against the initiative.

Never in the history of warfare does the attacked supply the enemy with food, water and medical supplies in the heat of the conflict. Maybe after, but never during. Yet Israel has repeatedly done this. 

Israel is under siege as was described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an interview:

We regret any civilian death, but those lay entirely at Hamas’ door. Hamas is deliberately targeting our civilians. They have fired 2000 rockets at Israel’s cities.  75% of our population has to be in bomb shelter alert of 60-90 seconds. They are digging these terror tunnels from Gaza, from homes in Gaza to penetrate Israeli territory. They have emerged there and killed Israeli’s and run back, or tried to run back into their territory. So we’ve had to take action. 

What Hamas is doing, very cynically, is embedding its rocketeers, its rocket caches, it tunnels, terror tunnels in homes, in hospitals, and in schools.  When we take action, as targeted as we can, they then use their civilians as human shields. So Hamas is both targeting civilians and hiding behind civilians. That is a double war crime. Therefore all civilian deaths fall on their shoulders….  

Netanyahu went on to point out that Hamas wants to kill its own citizens:

Beleaguered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
addresses a media conference.

The interesting thing is this, we’ve asked the civilian population in Gaza, the people, who are not our enemy, they are hostages of Hamas, we’ve asked them, “please leave”. We’ve texted messages to them, we’ve called them up with cell phones, we’ve dropped leaflets. Hamas says no, don’t leave stay…  They have plenty of  exit points and they know it, but Hamas is saying, “don’t use them”. Hamas wants to kill civilians on the Israeli side, and the amazing, grotesque and gruesome fact is, they want to have as many civilians killed on the Palestinian side, because it gets you to ask me these questions. Of course our goal is not to hurt a single individual, not to hut a single civilian. What they are doing is a double war crime, and it should be condemned with the most forceful action. These people are like ISIS, they are Al Qaeda,  they are like Hezbollah, and the other Iranian proxies.  They don’t give a whit about the Palestinians, and all they want is more civilian deaths….

The Israeli prime minister also pointed out that Israel has done what the international community has asked and this has created the vacuum for Hamas to thrive: 

We handed over Gaza to the Palestinians. We did what the international community has always been telling us: “Take out the settlements, go back to the 1967 lines, hand back the key to the PA.” We did, to the Palestinian Authority they promptly were booted out by Hamas. Hamas with Iran at its back, as Iran has been financing , equipping them, training them, giving them thousands and thousands of rockets. They have turned Gaza into a terror fortress. I think the goal will be after we have obtained a sustainable quiet, to work with the international community, to demilitarize Gaza from the rockets, and to shut down  these terror attack tunnels…. 

 In response to questions, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel has agreed to 3 separate cease fires, while Hamas as refused them all:

But you are right about one thing, I accepted, I called for a cease fire right away. Then I accepted the Egyptian ceasefire, backed up by the Arab League. Then I accepted a UN humanitarian cease fire, which Hamas rejected as well. Then we did a humanitarian cease fire, which Hamas has rejected too. Hamas doesn’t care. I think the last thing you want to do is reward them….     

The Lengths Which Israel Goes to Protect Civilians 

Retired British Commander Colonel Richard Kemp address the UN
Commission after Cast Lead in 2009

Israel isn’t alone in defending its actions. British Commander Colonel Richard Kemp, former British commander in Afghanistan spoke out during the last Israeli military operation in Gaza, Cast Lead. He addressed the UN Commission:

I am the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan. I served with NATO and the United Nations; commanded troops in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Macedonia; and participated in the Gulf War. I spent considerable time in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, and worked on international terrorism for the UK Government’s Joint Intelligence Committee.

Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.

Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population.

Hamas, like Hezbollah, are expert at driving the media agenda. Both will always have people ready to give interviews condemning Israeli forces for war crimes. They are adept at staging and distorting incidents.

The IDF faces a challenge that we British do not have to face to the same extent. It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights…. 

During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. To deliver aid virtually into your enemy's hands is, to the military tactician, normally quite unthinkable. But the IDF took on those risks.

Despite all of this, of course innocent civilian lives were lost . War is chaos and full of mistakes. There have been mistakes by the British, American and other forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, many of which can be put down to human error. But mistakes are not war crimes. 

More than anything, the civilian casualties were a consequence of Hamas’ way of fighting. Hamas deliberately tried to sacrifice its own civilians.

Colonel Kemp appeared on Israeli
Channel 2 News this week addressing
the same issues.

The world has learned nothing from what happened in Cast Lead and has risen to condemn Israel again. In an interview just the other day, Kemp addressed the same scenario Israel is facing today:

There are war crimes being committed in Gaza, and the death of children, babies, men, and women in Gaza is undoubtedly a war crime. But it is a war crime being committed by Hamas, not by Israel. As far as I can see, and I have watched this campaign very closely, Israel is conducting the campaign in an exemplary fashion. Of course there will be mistakes, and there are errors and difficulties… but Israel as far as I can see is exercising the maximum possible restraint. The only thing they can do, short of what they are doing, is sit back and take it from Hamas. They cannot do that. How can the government of Israel allow its civilian population to be hammered by missiles time and time again and do nothing about it. There is no country in this world, including the United Kingdom who would put up with missiles coming in towards it citizens and sit back and take it.  

When asked about the concept of Israel using disproportionate force, this was his response:

I have heard a number of people such as Ban Ki-Moon, and our own Prime Minister David Cameron, and President Obama, suggesting that Israel should do more, and in some cases saying that Israel should do more,  to protect civilian life. I’d like to hear them explain what it is that Israel should do? As a man of 30 years military experience I cannot think of one single thing that Israel can do more to protect civilian life than what they are doing now. I think they have gone further than other country, any other military, that I’m aware of, or that I’ve seen in taking such steps to stop the death of innocent civilians. But when you are fighting an enemy, Hamas, who wants you to kill their civilians, who sometimes force their civilians to stay on military objectives that you are legitimately attacking, casualties are inevitable….

Colonel Kemp also said Hamas was not alone to blame in the tragedy that has happened in Gaza:

The international community, I think, should bear some culpability, because Israel was subject to month after month, even in this round, of rocket attacks, delivered onto its territory. Despite the Israeli ambassador in the UN, appealing for the UN to something to try and mitigate this and bring pressure down, the UN ignored it, so I think there is culpability outside. 

The reality is the world is drunk with the wine of the media distorting fact and judging the situation by distorted sound-bites and video clips skewed to paint Israel as the “bad guy”. Really, it is a demonstration of an age-old hatred that predates the Nazis, the inquisition, the Romans, Greeks or Babylonians… it goes back to the beginning. It is the enmity that exists between the people God chose to put his name on, and those who are not interested in God’s ways:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) 

The scriptures predict that the world will turn things upside down:

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; That put darkness for light, and light for darkness; That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20) 

This is exactly what we are seeing in the world today. A wicked organization like Hamas is being defended by the Media, while Israel who is trying to defend itself is being condemned throughout the world. 

In fact, a first century Jew, the Apostle Paul wrote the following of the way the world would end up if it rejected the knowledge of God:

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Romans 1:28–32) 

The world does not like to retain God in its knowledge, and gullibly uses media manipulation to frame its morality.  The description in Romans fits what we are seeing today Hamas, the media who support it, and the UN have become “inventors of evil things.” One of the accusations is that they are “without natural affection” which is defined as heartless, or lacking normal human affection. This couldn’t more aptly describe a government that willingly sacrifices its own children to gain media attention. This is like the child worship of Molech performed by the ancient Canaanite nations inhabiting the same regions. Christian governments should not make the mistake of sanctioning child sacrifice and having “pleasure in them that do them”. 

The battle that is really raging is one for truth, as was pointed out by Netanyahu in 2012 when addressing a group of Israeli young people:

If I said what is the greatest battle we face, of course we live in a tough neighborhood, and we have to defend ourselves. We have the bravest soldiers in the world to do that. But the most important battle we have to fight is the battle for the truth, and all of you can become ambassadors for the truth, and ambassadors for Israel. 

Britain Defends Israel

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address
address a press conference during Philips visit to Israel this week.

One of the bright sparks out of this whole conflagration has been Britain’s realization of Israel’s plight. When Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond visited Israel this week, he and Netanyahu held a joint press conference :

I think you as a representative of the UK, of Britain, have a special understanding, at least an historical understanding of what Israel is undergoing. There has only been one other instance where a democracy has been rocketed and pelleted by these projectiles of death, and that is Britain during WWII. Israel is undergoing a similar bombardment now. We are responding in our own way, by targeting the rocketeers and seeking to ferret out these terrorists, who are hiding behind civilians while firing at our civilians. This is a double war crime….

Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond had the following to say:

I am here because the UK, along with the rest of the international community, is determined to do what it can to help to bring this current conflict to a quick end. Britain has been very clear, I have been very clear, Prime Minister Cameron has been very clear, that this current cycle of violence was triggered by Hamas firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli towns and cities indiscriminately, and in breach of international humanitarian law. Britain has also  been very clear that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens…. 

Bible students have been expecting Britain to support Israel eventually, because she is the Merchant of Tarshish who is joined by the young lions of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States in opposing Israel’s invasion in the latter days, for we read: 

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezekiel 38:13) 

Britain at times looses its way, and forgets what direction the prophets have pointed it in, but the angelic hand turns them around the job designated in the scriptures in the end. In America the House of Representatives approved a non-binding resolution backing Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks. 

What can we do. The most powerful weapon is prayer. James tells us, 

“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16) 

So we are instructed in the Psalms:

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, And prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.” (Psalm 122:6–8) 

So the duty of all Bible believers is to fervently make this prayer, continually:

“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, Which shall never hold their peace day nor night: Ye that make mention of the LORD, Keep not silence, And give him no rest, Till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (Isaiah 62:6–7) 

What we look forward to is the day when Moshiach, the Messiah is revealed, described by Isaiah:

“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, And reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, And faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” (Isaiah 11:1–5) 

ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT . . . PRE-CURSOR TO GLOBAL CHAOS !!!

ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT . . . PRE-CURSOR TO GLOBAL CHAOS !!!


After the 9 month US-led ' Peace Process ' collapsed , the outbreak of war took only a matter of weeks. As the Israel-Gaza conflict escalates , we know this begins a series of cascading global events that will forever change this world. Multiple prophecies in the Bible , foretell of a latter-day war between Israel & its neighbours , principally the Palestinians ( ancient Philistines ) , the Syrians & those inLebanon ( Zidonians ). Though Israel will ' prevail ' in this coming war against the Palestinians , Syrians & Lebanese militias afterward Israel will be ' greatly weakened ' & defenceless. Into this power vacuum will sweep the great ' latter-day confederacy ' from the north. Russia with Iran , Turkey , EU nations & Libya will then not only overflow & occupy many Mid-East nations ( incl. Israel & Egypt ) but will also bring ' the final devastating destruction ' of Israel's inveterate enemies , the Philistines ( Palestinians ). The prophet Jeremiah Ch.47 provides clear & unmistakable context of the dramatic events ' soon to come ' in the Middle East.



Jer 47v2-4 - Thus saith the LORD ; Behold waters ( nations ) rise up ' out of the north ' ( RUSSIA , Iran & Euro nations ) & shall be anoverflowing flood & shall overflow the land ( Israel ) & all that is therein ; the city ( Jerusalem ) & them that dwell therein : the men shall cry & all the inhabitants of the land shall howl ... Because of ' the day ' that cometh to spoil all the Philistines ( Palestinians ) & to cut off from Tyrus & Zidon ( Lebanon ) every helper that remaineth : for the LORD will spoil the Philistines ( Palestinians )

ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT . . . BUT ALSO ... ' SURE SIGN ' of CHRIST'S RETURN & GOD'S KINGDOM ( on EARTH )

ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT . . . BUT ALSO ... ' SURE SIGN ' of CHRIST'S RETURN & GOD'S KINGDOM ( on EARTH )

The unfolding Israeli-Palestinian War in Gaza is a major ' latter-day sign ' of momentous events soon to overwhelm mankind. As the current conflict expands to include Syria & Lebanon ( & ultimately , the invading Russian host ) the Bible once again provides absolute certainty about events to follow. Just as Jeremiah 47 clearly spelt out the coming ' final destruction ' of the latter-dayPhilistines ( Palestinians ) at the hands of the Russian confederacy , the prophet Zechariah uses the exact same context to describe the sequence of events that will follow :- 1 ) the Palestinians' destruction ... namely 2 ) the long-awaited return of the Lord Jesus Christ to judge the nations ... before 3 ) the establishment of Christ's rulership of a world-wide ' Kingdom ' characterised by ' peace '. While many other events will fall between these 3 major events , they will most assuredly come as foretold . . . God's Word is certain !!!

Zechariah 9v6-10 - 1 ) I will ' cut off ' the pride of the Philistines ( Palestinians ). I will take away his blood out of his mouth & his abominations from between his teeth . . . 2 ) Rejoice greatly , O ' daughter ' of Zion ; shout , O ' daughter ' of Jerusalem : Behold thy King cometh unto thee : he is just & having salvation ; lowly & riding upon an ass & upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim & the horse from Jerusalem & the battle bow shall be cut off & 3 ) he shall ' speak peace ' unto the heathen ( nations ) & his dominion shall be from sea even to sea & from the river even to the ends of the earth.

The latest news from events in Israel is all about the dramatic conflict with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

At the time of writing Israel's forces have begun a ground invasion into Gaza to stop Hamas from sending rockets into their cities. The hostilities of a people on the "coasts of palestine" is exactly what we would expect to see occurring in "The Latter Days" as Bible prophecy has foretold this long ago. This is Matt Davies joining you.

Hamas rockets that threaten Israeli civilian populations.

Review of recent history
It's been a time of great turmoil in Israel over the last few weeks. The conflict in Gaza has been on the news nearly every day. Rockets from Hamas run Gaza have been a regular thing for years. Despite many peace attempt by Israel who have condescended to the Palestinians on countless occasions, still the rockets keep flying over the border indiscriminately onto Israeli cities. It is reported that since 2001 over 14,000 such rockets have been fired into Israel averaging 3 attacks per day.

The rocket fire, although constantly a problem for Israel, intensified during and after "Operation Brothers Keeper" which we reviewed a few weeks ago on Bible in the News. This operation was conducted to find three Israeli boys who had been kidnapped. Tragically the bodies of these boys were found dead. This caused some extremist Israelis to kidnap and murder a Palestinian boy. Although this incident was widely criticised by Israeli leaders, and the Israelis involved have been arrested and sentenced, (clearly showing this is not the position of the wider Jewish community which is in stark contrast to Hamas' response to the killing of the three Isralies), the incident sparked even more concentrated rocket fire. This in turn led to the Israeli Air Force bombarding terror sites and beginning a new operation, "Operation Protective Edge". The stated objective is to restore a sustainable "quite" and security for the Israeli people by seriously degrading terrorist capabilities in Gaza. The mission was openly discussed by Benjamin Netanyahu the Israeli Prime Minister. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday 13th of July he emphasised 3 points:

1. Israel will do whatever it can to protect its citizens from Hamas and other terrorist groups.

2. The areas targeted in Israel by Hamas is huge. Netenyahu stated:
"I just want your viewers to imagine the United States being bombarded not in one city or two cities, but in every city between New York and Colorado. 80% of your citizens would have to be in bomb shelters or ready to go into bomb shelters within a minute to minute-and-a-half, max. No country can accept that, we can’t accept it, and we’ll take the necessary actions to stop it."

3. That the terrorists make it difficult for Israel to fulfill their mission  Netenyahu stated: "Here’s the difference between us. We’re using missile defence to protect our civilians, and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles."

The president of America, Barrack Obama stated on Thursday "There's no country on earth that can be expected to live under a daily barrage of rockets".

On Tuesday this week Egypt proposed a cease fire which was accepted by Israel but not by Hamas. Other cease fires have been proposed and one tentatively held for a few hours.

At the point of writing this Israel has begun to send in a ground offensive into Gaza and the fighting has intensified. According to recent reports the death toll is now over 230, with only two Israeli deaths. During the first 10 days of the operation, over 1497 rocket were launched at Israel and of these 1093 of those rockets hit Israel. Approximately 301 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system and the IDF targeted over 2,037 terror targets, with both naval and aerial capabilities.

Sadly there have been quite a few civilian deaths - despite the careful attention the IDF give to try and avoid such casualties. The issue seems to be that Hamas are using residential houses and public buildings to store in and fire weapons from. This has led to the ground operation which is, at the point of writing in full swing. According to Netanyahu, because of the way Hamas is operating using it's civilians to shield it's activities, "Hamas are responsible for all the civilian deaths that occur accidentally. We are sorry for any accidental civilian death but its Hamas that bears complete responsibility for such civilian casualties. We need to defeat those people, roll them back or peace is not going to be possible because as far as Hamas is concerned they couldn't care less if you come with a two state solution, a three state solution or a four state solution, they want a no state solution - no Jewish state, and therefore  if you want to have peace you have to fight these people, you have to roll them back, otherwise there is no prospect for peace."

The Latter Days
As Bible students, we the Christadelphian community, with our unique understanding of the coming Kingdom of God, being a greater restoration of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, have looked for the return of the Jews to the land as a prerequisite to this event. The Bible speaks of a time period called "The Latter Days" and one of the features of prophecies relating to this is the return of the Jews to their homeland after a period of dispersion.

As an illustration of this consider the prophecy of Hosea chapter 3:4-5
"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days."

Indeed the Jewish nation did, since the dispersion and scattering of the nation by the Romans, remain without any royalty or priestly functions within their nation. However the "many days" are soon to be up for we have seen them "return". This part of the prophecy has been accomplished. The final fulfilment of the prophecy will be when the Jewish nation turn to truly seek Yahweh their God and David, "the beloved" their king. This is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ of whom God said in Matthew 3:17 "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This requires his return to the earth and for "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David" as is promised in Luke 1:32 which will usher in a period of peace under his righteous rule.

These wonderful events though all happen, as Hosea has said in "The Latter Days" - a time period punctuated with these key episodes.

The coming invasion from the north and how God acts
In Ezekiel chapter 38 we have another prophecy of the same time period, "The Latter Days", mentioned for example in verse 16. Depicted before us in this chapter is a set of invading nations. They are united under the head of a mysterious character called "Gog" who is the "Prince of Rosh" an ancient name for Russia. This group consists of European, North African and Far Eastern territories, all called by their ancient names. They come down from the North against the people of Israel.
The chapter reaches a dramatic climax in verses 18-19 where we read of God acting visibly and openly. How this happens is revealed in a companion prophecy of Zechariah 14, another prophecy about this time when God will "gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle" (v2). We discover here of one bearing God's name of Yahweh who actively fights the nations who have come to attack Israel. With this one are the faithful saints of old (v5) and therefore this is a vision of a time after the resurrection of the dead for judgment, a time which see's those who have been accepted by Gods mercy being employed to assist the one who bears God's name in the work of defending Israel.

It is clear this Yahweh name bearing personage is non-other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He returns to save his people and to claim the throne of his ancestor David - to restore the Kingdom to Israel and be king over the kingdom of God. We can see this by turning a couple of pages back to Zechariah 12 where we read that God acts through "the spirit of grace and of supplications". The prophecy says "and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son..." (Zechariah 12:10). We know this is speaking of the Lord Jesus because in the gospel of John, by inspiration John records that it is because of this prophecy that Jesus' side was pierced by the Roman soldiers after he had completed his great sacrifice on the cross (John 19:37).

A snapshot of the future
Latter day prophecies are fascinating to the Bible student because they paint a picture of how the nations will behave. This gives us a snapshot into the future which we can then see if it marries up to events in our day. If we see the snapshot coming into focus we can be sure that the prophecy is soon to come about. Consider a few key features of Ezekiel 38. For the prophecy to be accomplished the following key conditions need to exist:

1. A restored people - in verse 8 and 12 it is clear the prophecy relates to a time when the land is populated by people who have been regathered. Clearly this is a connection with the prophecy from Hosea 3 mentioned earlier in this broadcast. However consider the fact that for almost 2000 years Israel did not exist as a nation on the territory of the Holy land. It is only in recent times with events in 1948 and 1967 etc. that it can be said Israel have been gathered back to their land. They have to be there for this prophecy to be fulfilled.

2. The mountains - the prophecy is explicit in emphasising the place of the invasion from the north. We are told it is "against the mountains of Israel" verse 8. This is the central area of the land and contains Jerusalem within it. The prophecy indicates that it is this area which the international community of Gog and his bands has a particular issue with, as this is the area they come down upon. Again we find it fascinating that the international community are agasp at Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Disputed territories on the mountains of Israel are what we would expect for the scene to be set for this prophecy to be fulfilled.

3. Spoil - in verse 12 we read Gog is coming to take a spoil. This requires there be something in the land which is valuable. It is amazing to consider the recent oil and gas finds which Israel now have as well as the great advancements Israel has made in technology and computing. These things could well constitute benefits considered as something worth obtaining by any invading force.

4. Peace and safety - before the great attack, Ezekiel, by inspiration, tells us the land is in a state of tranquility. Gog invades a peaceful state. We read the thoughts of Gog, before they are even his own, in verse 11 "And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,". Now we pause and wonder - how is it this will come about as it cannot be said this is in place today?

Clearly something dramatic has to take place to cause Israel to dwell safely and so it is often postulated how it might be accomplished. Israel's Arab neighbours are currently extremely hostile, especially those living in the Palestinian territories as illustrated by the constant rocket fire - what will bring about the peace and a state of rest that the prophecy speaks about?

It seems there are two options. One is that Israel will continue as it is and negotiate a peace deal with the Palestinians. Perhaps for a trade off. Another option is that, by shear militant force, the Palastinans will be weakened by Israel to such a degree that they cannot continue their terrorist warfare, thus causing peace to be enforced and then become a way of life.

Historically the negotiating table has not been something which has been very fruitful - despite Israel offering and making many concessions which were hoped to lead to peace this has not been forthcoming. Unfortunately the Hamas group do not believe Israel should have the privilege of existence and so negotiation really does not look, at this moment like it is by this means the peace and safety will come about.

So perhaps a war of suppression by Israel will cause the Palestinians and Hamas to surrender their aggression in favour of peace. Maybe "Operation Protective Edge" is a stepping stone towards this.

"when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem"
Whatever happens in the conflict though, latter day prophecies do have something to say about a people living on the old territory of the ancient Philistines who will be hostile against Israel at the time just after Gog attacks.

Joel 3 is another "latter day" companion prophecy to those of Zechariah 12-14 and Ezekiel 38. It has some very interesting things to say about the state of some of the territories around the land of Israel at the time just after Gog and his band attacks.

Verse 1 tells us that this is a prophecy about a time just after Israel have been regathered to their land after a period of dispersion:
"For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land."

This clearly connects with the time period of Ezekiel 38 but it gives us a few more details. One of the things which has grieved God is the parting of His land which is interesting thing to consider in the light of the long hoped for two state solution concept which is often held up as something the international community wish for the Palestinians to accept.

"all the coasts of Palestine"
As part of the prophecy the prophet addresses areas of the land which seem to have become embroiled in the conflict, joining the side of the Gogian nations. For example we read in verses 4-8:

"Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it."

Here the prophet is condemning "Tyre and Zidon" and "all the coasts of Palestine". Both Tyre and Zidon are located to the north of Israel in the country of modern Lebanon. It is here where the terrorist organisation Hezbollah live. The peoples of this area and their hatred for Israel answer to this section of the prophecy. The "coasts of Palestine" relates to the coastline of the Gaza strip and the area controlled by Hamas. Hamas who arrange for rockets to be fired into Israel on a daily basis.

These prophecies tell us that there is going to be a people, sitting on the ancient territory of the Philistines who are hostile to Israel after Gog attacks. It is a remarkable thing to be witnessing the way world events have been and are slowly making progress towards the fulfilment of these things foretold of old.

If we piece these prophecies together it seems that what has been revealed to us are certain events which are soon to take place:
1. That Israel will somehow find peace with their neighbours, perhaps by dividing God's land.
2. That this peace will be short lived so that when Gog attack these neighbouring nations will swiftly join against Israel.
3. That at this point they will help to sell the Jews to "the sons of the Grecians" in order to forcibly remove them.
4. For this they will be punished by God through the work of Christ and his saints.

"Roar out of Zion"
The prophecy of Joel 3 foretells that at this great time of crisis Yahweh will cause his "mighty ones" to come down (v11). We read in verse 16 that Yahweh shall "roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." This is clearly the work of Jesus Christ and his faithful saints as recorded in Zechariah. What purpose will this great intervention from God's representatives serve? Verse 17: "So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more."

The kingdom will indeed be established in that day when "Yahweh dwelleth in Zion" (v21). The events we are witnessing in the land today are a precursor to this time so let us watch and wait knowing that God is in control of all things and knowing that soon Zion's king shall reign victorious.