June 5, 2007 marked the 40th anniversary of Israel=
s victory of the Six-Day War against Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, and Algeria. Six days is not very long for a war against
seven strong countries who vowed to destroy Israel, but we can get a
better perspective of the impact of that victory when we remember that the
strongest air force, the Egyptian Air Force, lost their entire air force
on the ground to the three to one outnumbered Israeli Air Force in the
first 45 minutes of the war.
The war was initiated not only by bellicose threats by these seven
countries and other Arabs, but by the Egyptian blockade of the Straits of
Tiran in the Red Sea which cut off Israel=
s maritime link to the south and east and the Egyptian dismissal of UN
A peacekeeping@
troops on the Egyptian/Israeli border. Ten days before Israel=
s attack, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser stated,
A Our basic objective will be to
destroy Israel.@ The Arab
countries had readied 400,000 troops, 2000 tanks, and 800 aircraft.
Israel= s victory resulted in
the retaking of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria (the so-called
A west bank;@
) which Jordan conquered in Israel=
s war of independence. It also included the taking of the Golan Heights
from which the Syrians had been able to fire at Jewish towns on Lake
Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee), and taking the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.
The war was certainly a miracle but is the 40th anniversary
significant? Was there anything in prophesy which would support Israel=
s ability to defeat all these nations?
Let= s look at the 40th
anniversary first. Forty is a scriptural number for probation, times of
change, or trial and testing. There are many scriptural examples of this
but let= s consider two of the
better known examples. One is the forty year delay the Israelites had to
endure in the wilderness before they could enter God=
s promised land. They had to wait forty years until the rebellious older
generation died out before God would motivate the younger generation to
obediently accept circumcision and other teachings by Moses, and
thereafter enter the Holy Land God had promised to the patriarchs and
their descendants.
The other well-recognized 40-year period of trial and testing or
probation occurred between the crucifixion of Christ in 30 AD and the
destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. During this time, the non-Christian
Jews were given a chance to repent of their false charges against Christ
which lead to His crucifixion. They did not repent and, right on time,
forty years later, the Romans expelled the Jews and destroyed the Temple.
Does the past forty years since the Jewish miraculous victories of 1967
have significance.? I believe it does but only time will tell how and
toward whom God will respond. Perhaps the prophetic scriptures we=
ll cover in the rest of this sermon will show us some of the possibilities
we should look for. Ezekiel 35, for instance, states that because God is
with Israel and is angry with Edom over their hatred of the Jews, that
Israel would survive in its long battle with the so-called Palestinians.
Today I want to talk to you about the ownership of the land of Israel
today, the on-going return of the Jews to Israel, and the prophesied
return of the lost ten tribes to Israel.
Our main scripture will be Ezekiel 36. It was written 125 years after
the ten tribes were taken captive by Assyria, and while the Jews,
including Ezekiel, were captives in Babylon. It is written to all the
tribes of Israel including both the Jews and the lost ten tribes. It is
definitely a prophesy for those of us living in the end times. I want to
walk you through the verses, discussing each major point. Let's start with
verse 1.
Ezek 36 (NKJV) "And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of
Israel, and say, 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD!
So here we have God talking through Ezekiel about the mountains of
Israel. As I have said before, some say this is addressing a government.
My impression is that He is talking about the real mountains running north
and south through Israel. These mountains constitute almost all of the
so-called West Bank of today. The Israelis call the northern part of the
West Bank, Samaria, the southern part, Judea, the original home of the
Jews.
{2} 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because the enemy has said of
you, 'Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession,' " '
{3} "therefore prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because they
made <you> desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you
became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are
taken up by the lips of talkers [in other words, negotiated away] and
slandered by the people"; {4} 'therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear
the word of the Lord GOD!
Breaking in in the middle of the verse, let's analyze what God is
saying here. "The ancient heights have become our possession."
These ancient heights were originally assigned to the Jews because they
were the Jews= ancestral
homeland. They were then conquered by Jordan in Israel=
s 1948 war of independence and held by Jordan until Israel recovered them
in the 1967 war, nineteen years later - a chronologically significant
time.
In verse 3 we read, "They made you desolate." Jordan evicted the Jews
and destroyed the Jew's homes, schools, synagogues, businesses, and
facilities, taking for themselves whatever they wanted. Continuing in
verse 4:
...Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains, the hills, the rivers,
the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been
forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations
all around; {5} 'therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I have spoken
in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and
against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession,
with whole-hearted joy <and> spiteful minds, in order to plunder its
open country." '
"You became the possession of the rest of the nations." This term or
its equivalent is used three times in this chapter - in verses 3, 4 and 5.
What does it mean? Could it mean the United Nations? These verses speak of
a group of nations who will band together against Israel and take Israel=
s land. In the book of Psalms, David also describes this situation:
[Please hold your place in Ezekiel 36 and turn to Psalms 83.]
Psa 83:3-8, 12 (NKJV) They have taken crafty counsel against Your
people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. {4} They
have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from <being> a nation, That
the name of Israel may be remembered no more." {5} For they have
consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against
You: {6} The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;
{7} Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
{8} Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of
Lot. Selah..... {12} Who said, "Let us take for ourselves the pastures
of God for a possession."
Who were these people? Six or seven of these peoples (Edom, Ishmaelites,
Amalek, Moab, Ammon, Lot and perhaps Hagrites) are among the Arabic
ancestors. The other peoples mentioned lived in what are now Arab Islamic
nations or areas. Assyria was in Iraq. Tyre and possibly Gebal were in
Lebanon. The Philistines were from Philistia or what is today Gaza. These
peoples were all around the mountains of Israel.
Compare the following statement from Egypt with what we just read in
Psalms: "I announce from here, on behalf of the United Arab Republic
people, that this time we will exterminate Israel."
Or the following statement from Saddam Hussein=
s Iraq: "Our goal is clear - to wipe Israel off the map." Or from Islamic
(but not Arab) Iran: We will destroy Israel.
Back to Ezekiel 36:
{6} "Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the
mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, 'Thus says the Lord
GOD: "Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have
borne the shame of the nations." {7} 'Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
"I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that
<are> around you shall bear their own shame.@
Yes, the small modern country of Israel has defeated and humiliated all
the nations which surround it. Its war of independence was a perfect
example.
Notice in verse 7 that God is making a vow - taking an oath. In verses
8 through 36, notice how many times God says, "I will" do this or that.
God is making promises to Israel to accomplish many things.
{8} "But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your
branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to
come. {9} "For indeed I <am> for you, and I will turn to
you, and you shall be tilled and sown. {10} "I will multiply men
upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be
inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. {11} "I will multiply upon you
man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will
make you inhabited as in former times, and do better <for you> than at
your beginnings. Then you shall know that I <am> the LORD.
The huge exodus of Jews to Israel has been coming now for quite a few
years. Instead of the wasteland that the Arabs created, Israel is now
turning more and more wasteland into farming. Today what had been dry,
rocky hills and valleys have become orchards and wheat fields and truck
crops and olive groves and vineyards.
But do the Israelis give total credit to God? No, not all, but many do.
Most Israelis take on a prideful attitude about their accomplishments.
This is wrong but God's purpose and plan is not detoured by man's vanity.
{12} "Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel;
they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance;
no more shall you bereave them <of children>."
Bereave means to abort or miscarry. The Israeli government has agreed
to put the cities in Samaria and Judea under the control of the
Palestinian Authority, previously known as the terrorist Palestine
Liberation Organization or "PLO". But God says His people Israel
shall inherit these hills.
{13} 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because they say to you, 'You devour
men and bereave your nation <of children>,' {14} "therefore you shall
devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore," says the Lord GOD.
{15} "Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor
bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause
your nation to stumble anymore," [as they have done many times when they
brought in secular and certain religious parties] says the Lord GOD.' "
{16} Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: {17} "Son of man,
when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by
their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness
of a woman in her customary impurity. {18} "Therefore I poured out My
fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their
idols <with which> they had defiled it. {19} "So I scattered them among
the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged
them according to their ways and their deeds. {20} "When they came to
the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name; when they
said of them, 'These <are> the people of the LORD, <and> yet they have
gone out of His land.'
So let's get the picture: Israelis had sinned and God expelled them out
of Israel and into foreign nations. Particularly in the case of the Jews
but actually in the case of all Israelis, the foreign nations said to
themselves, "Here we have God's people but they can no longer live in the
land God gave to them." What an embarrassment. But God did not then give
their land to someone else. No, He held it for them until He would allow
them to return. But at the same time, He allowed the neighboring Arabs to
destroy the land of all productivity and beauty.
{21} "But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of
Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. {22}
"Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do
not do <this> for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My
holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever
you went. {23} "And I will sanctify My great name, which has been
profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and
the nations shall know that I <am> the LORD," says the Lord GOD, "when I
am hallowed in you before their eyes.
So here was God telling the Israelis that He was not terribly concerned
over what happened to them but that He was concerned over what they were
doing to His Holy Name. The same name, His Name, people continue to
profane by carelessly expressing it today. How can the Jews today feel
that they are some kind of special people when God slights them like that?
God is saying here that His first concern is His holy name. His
second concern is for His mountains and lastly, I guess, for the
Israelis. As Isa 54:5 and Jer 31:32 state, God married Israel but Israel
is being a disloyal wife to her Husband.
{24} "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you
out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
We see that happening today. Is this verse talking about our time or
some future time? Some have said this is talking about the events at
Christ's second coming. If this verse is talking about some future event,
what is God= s purpose for these
millions of Jews coming from all over the world to Israel? And what of the
millions of Jews and other Israelites in the United States? Are they also
to return to Israel? If so, why? Are they all going to die in some future
conflagration? What would be God's purpose in allowing or doing that?
Notice all the "I will"s in the following vows by God. Continuing with
verse 25:
{25} "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall
be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from
all your idols. {26} "I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your
flesh and give you a heart of flesh. {27} "I will put My Spirit
within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do <them>. {28} "Then you shall dwell in the land that I
gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your
God. {29} "I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I
will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon
you. {30} "And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the
increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach
of famine among the nations. {31} "Then you will remember your evil ways
and your deeds that <were> not good; and you will loathe yourselves in
your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. {32} "Not
for your sake do I do <this>," says the Lord GOD, "let it be
known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of
Israel!" {33} 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "On the day that I cleanse you
from all your iniquities, I will also enable <you> to dwell in
the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. {34} "The desolate land
shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass
by. {35} "So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like
the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities <are
now> fortified <and> inhabited.' {36} "Then the nations which are left
all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt the ruined
places <and> planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken <it>,
and I will do <it>." {37} 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I will
also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I
will increase their men like a flock. {38} "Like a flock offered as
holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its feast days, so shall
the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know
that I <am> the LORD."
Verses 25 through 38 cannot be describing anything other than the
millennial period after Christ returns. "I will sprinkle clean water on
you" can be nothing other than washing away their sins in baptism. In
verse 27, "I will put a new spirit in you" must surely be the Holy Spirit
which will be given to all men when He establishes His new covenant with
all mankind. Jeremiah spoke of this event:
Jer 31:31-34 (KJV) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah: {32} Not according to the covenant that I made with their
fathers in the day <that> I took them by the hand to bring them out of
the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an
husband unto them, saith the LORD: {33} But this <shall be> the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in
their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. {34}
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his
brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
The lack of any other event being described between verses 24 and 25 of
Ezekiel 36 may suggest that there will be another exodus to Israel just
prior to the time Christ returns. That theory lends itself well to the
theory that most of Israel is still out in the world; that the Jews are
not the only tribe of Israel. A world-wide economic depression or threat
to security might expedite that exodus. Verse 34 proves the new covenant
isn= t here yet.
Another explanation for the seeming gap between verses 24 and 25 is
that Christ's return will occur very soon after the Jews have completed
their exodus to Israel. But this explanation would seem to ignore other
end-time prophesies. Let's review a few of them:
Joel 3:1-3 (KJV) For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I
shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, {2} 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. {3} And they have cast lots for my people; and have
given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might
drink.
We can see this situation beginning to take shape today. The United
Nations and many independent nations are putting pressure on Israel to
give away its God-given land in exchange for more promises of peace with
the so-called Palestinians. At the same time, the so-called Palestinians
are still clamoring for half of Jerusalem, and many nations, thinking that
this would create peace, are supporting them. The goal of all who follow
the Qur= an is not half the
land. It is all the land. Every concession by the Israelis strategically
weakens the Israelis and strengthens the so-called Palestinians. It is not
hard to imagine how Judah and Jerusalem can again be conquered as
predicted in Joel 3:1.
Zec 14:1-3 (KJV) Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil
shall be divided in the midst of thee. {2} For I will gather all
nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken,
and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the
city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall
not be cut off from the city. {3} Then shall the LORD go forth, and
fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
It appears that when the world=
s nations capture half of Jerusalem, probably to give it to the Muslims,
the Eternal shall make war with the nations to prevent this from
happening.
Luke 21:20, 22 (KJV) And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh........{22} For
these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be
fulfilled.
Hosea 3:4-5 (KJV) 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: {5}
Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their
God, and [a resurrected] David their king; and shall fear [fear to
disobey, stand in awe, respect] the LORD and his goodness in the latter
days.
Verse 4 may very well describe the country of Israel today. Verse 5
seems to answer our question as to when the select people of the lost ten
tribes will return but, will these days occur before or after Christ's
return? Zech 14:3, which we just read, seems to say that they will return
at or about the same time Christ returns.
Acts 2:17 (KJV) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith
God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your
old men shall dream dreams:
Again, before Christ's return or after?
I think one of the best scriptures to tie this all together and give us
a picture of the progression of these last day events, particularly of the
Lord= s final battle, is Joel 2.
Let's read this prophesy of God=
s Army of chosen individuals:
Joel 2 (KJV) Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm
in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for
the day of the LORD cometh, for <it is> nigh at hand; {2} A day of
darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as
the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a
strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more
after it, <even> to the years of many generations. {3} A fire devoureth
before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land <is> as the
garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea,
and nothing shall escape them. {4} The appearance of them <is> as the
appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. {5} Like the
noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the
noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people
set in battle array. {6} Before their face the people shall be much
pained: all faces shall gather blackness. {7} They shall run like mighty
men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march
every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: {8} Neither
shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and
<when> they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. {9}
They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall,
they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows
like a thief. {10} The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall
tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall
withdraw their shining: {11} And the LORD shall utter his voice
before his army: for his camp <is> very great: for <he is>
strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD <is> great and
very terrible; and who can abide it? {12} Therefore also now, saith the
LORD, turn ye <even> to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and
with weeping, and with mourning: {13} And rend your heart, and not your
garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he <is> gracious and
merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the
evil. {14} Who knoweth <if> he will return and repent, and leave a
blessing behind him; <even> a meat offering and a drink offering unto
the LORD your God? {15} Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call
a solemn assembly: {16} Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the
breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out
of her closet. {17} Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep
between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O
LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should
rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where <is>
their God? {18} Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and
pity his people. {19} Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his
people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be
satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the
heathen: {20} But I will remove far off from you the northern <army>,
and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face
toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea,
and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because
he hath done great things. {21} Fear not, O land; be glad and
rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. {22} Be not afraid,
ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring,
for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their
strength. {23} Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the
LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he
will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the
latter rain in the first <month> (Abib). {24} And the floors shall be
full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. {25} And I
will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which
I sent among you. {26} And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and
praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with
you: and my people shall never be ashamed. {27} And ye shall know that I
<am> in the midst of Israel, and <that> I <am> the LORD your God, and
none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. {28} And it shall come
to pass afterward, <that> I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: {29}
And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I
pour out my spirit. {30} And I will show wonders in the heavens and in
the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. {31} The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the
terrible day of the LORD come. {32} And it shall come to pass, <that>
whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in
mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said,
and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
The first part of this prophesy is self explanatory. It is God's army
at work destroying invaders from the north. Is this a supernatural army?
Sounds like it. Notice in verse 28 that God will apparently pour out His
spirit on all flesh after destroying the invaders. The events
specified so clearly in the book of Revelation, especially chapter 6,
shall come after the giving of His spirit to mankind. The last verse in
the chapter states that the remnant, the survivors, will be those whom the
LORD has called.
What are we seeing in the country called Israel today? Jews have been
coming back to Israel by the millions. There have been so many
professionals coming to Israel from Russia that they cannot find immediate
jobs in their field. Former Russian engineers and scientists are working
at all kinds of menial jobs while awaiting Israeli businesses to hire
them. In this day of technological development, Israel gains tremendously
from these people. They are products of a very good educational system and
will compete very well. It is a gold mine for Israel.
But on the negative side: The Jews are giving away their country to
their enemy. Trusting their enemy is a fatal characteristic of the tribe
of Judah. They should have learned this during the holocaust. First it was
Arab self-government in Jericho and Gaza. Then they tried moving their
troops out of Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem, Jenin, Tulkarm, Qalqilya,
Hebron, Gaza, plus 450 villages. The Arabs have continually tried to
solicit world pressure for control of Jerusalem. In and around these
mostly Arab towns there are 120 Jewish settlements containing about 12,000
Jews. These are all in the hills, the mountains of Israel. They are people
who believe in Israel and God's promise that the land is their's to use
forever (Gen. 13:15). When the Israeli troops are withdrawn, these
settlers are shot at and often killed. Then Arafat allowed Hamas to finish
the job and the Jew's faced suicide bombers. The patriotic, pro-family
Jews are slaughtered. Do not expect Arafat=
s replacement, Abbas and the warlike Hamas party, to alter their goal of
the removal of Israel and the murder of all Jews and Christians.
The 1967 Six Day War convinced the Arabs that they would not be able to
destroy Israel militarily within its post-1967 boundaries. Thus they
embarked upon a new three-stage strategy for Israel=
s destruction, embodied in the PLO=
s 1974 decision commonly known as the Phased Plan. The Plan in brief was:
1. Through the A armed
struggle@ (i.e. terrorism), to
establish an A independent
combatant national authority@
over any territory that is A
liberated@ from Israeli rule.
(Article 2)
2. To continue the struggle against Israel, using the territory of
the national authority as a base of operations. (Article 4)
3. To provoke an all-out war in which Israel=
s Arab neighbors destroy Israel entirely (A
liberate all Palestinian territory@
). (Article 8)
Today, the Phased Plan remains relevant. Speaking just after the 1993
revelation of the Israel-PLO accord, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat announced
that the historic agreement A
will be a basis for an independent Palestinian state in accordance with
the Palestine National Council resolution issued in 1974.
... The PNC resolution issued in 1974 calls for the establishment of a
national authority on any part of Palestinian soil from which Israel
withdraws or which is liberated.@
(Radio Monte Carlo, 1 September 1993)
Don't forget that it was Arafat speaking at a mosque in South Africa
immediately after the first Washington agreement who compared that
agreement with that made by Mohammed many centuries ago. Mohammed also
signed a peace agreement with the Koreish tribe, which was stronger than
he. But, when the tribe was no longer stronger, Mohammed massacred them
all. The Palestinian Authority and other Muslim groups will have no qualms
about following Mohammed's example if given a chance, no matter what they
have promised regarding peace. The Koran permits, even encourages lying to
promote Islam. Suriah 16:106.
What do we know about the Hamas faction of the Palestinian Authority
which is now in a rulership position in Gaza? Did they ever strive after
peace? Let me read you the Hamas Manifesto.
The ten fundamental principles of faith of Hamas are as follows:
1. Hamas swears to conduct a holy war over Palestine against the Jews
until Allah= s victory is
achieved.
2. The land must be cleansed of the filth and evil of the tyrannical
conquerors.
3. Under the wings of Islam it is possible to have peaceful coexistence
with other religious groups. But without Islamic rule over the Dome of the
Rock, there can only be hatred, controversy, corruption and repression.
4. By command of the Prophet, Muslims must fight the Jews and kill them
wherever they are.
5. Hamas strives to set up an entity wherein Allah is the highest
purpose, the Koran is its law, jihad (holy war waged on behalf of Islam as
a religious duty) is its means, and dying for the sake of Allah is the
noblest wish.
6. Palestine is a holy Islamic entity until the end of time. Therefor,
it is non-negotiable and no one can give up any part of it.
7. It is a personal, religious commandment for every Muslim to engage
in the jihad (holy war) until the land is redeemed.
8. Hamas opposes any kind of international talks or negotiations as
well as any possible peace arrangement. Sovereignty over the land is
strictly a religious matter and conducting negotiation over it means
giving up some measure of control by (Islam=
s) believers.
9. The Jews control the media and the world financial institutions. By
means of revolution and war, and organizations such as the Masons,
Communists, capitalists, Zionists, Rotary, Lions, B=
nai B= rith, and the like, they
undermine human society as a whole in order to destroy it. By their evil
corruption they try to gain domination of the world by such institutions
and the United Nations and its Security Council. More details of their
iniquity can be found in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
10. Hamas opposes any secular state the PLO would seek to create in
Palestine, since by definition it would be anti-Islamic. On the other
hand, if the PLO would adopt Islam and follow its flag, then all of (the
PLO= s) members would become
freedom fighters who would light the fire to consume the enemy.
Hamas stated it would accept the establishment of a Palestinian state
in the West Bank and Gaza as well as a long-term truce with Israel if
Israel would agree to suspend attacks against targets in Palestine. This
appears to be another example of Mohammed=
s peace agreement with the Koreish tribe. It also provides another base
for future terror operations. We just discussed both. But, it makes the
so-called Palestinians look good in the world press and thereby curries
favor with the nations of the world.
But there is more than just Hamas. Here is a partial list of other
Islamic terrorist organizations which have been attacking Israel: Islamic
Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Tanzim, Force 17
(Arafat= s elite guard), the
Fatah Faction of the PLO, Hizballah, and many others. This list doesn=
t even include surrounding hostile countries like Syria, Iraq, Iran,
Libya, Sudan, Egypt and even Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Both Hamas
and Hizballah are presently on the list of terrorist groups which the US
State Department has targeted for cut off of private and public financial
support. American Presidents should read Gen. 12:3 and support Israel
instead of trying to garner favor and support from terrorist Arab
organizations. The US needs blessings, not curses.
Do you think the statement in South Africa was a careless statement
which Arafat really didn't mean? Let me give you a few more of his
statements:
At a University of Al Azhar gathering in Cairo, Arafat said, "We are
going through a critical and decisive stage in which we are commanded to
exert every effort and sweat and our potential in order to reach our
ultimate goal: Jerusalem." He called for the Palestinian flag "to fly
over the walls of Jerusalem, its mosques and its churches. All of us
shall pray in Jerusalem whether anyone likes it or not."
Arafat is dead now but his hate-filled policies are deeply ingrained in
the minds of Palestinians, both adults and children. Because Islam demands
conquest of all lands, there is little hope for peace. Have we forgotten
that only Muslims can now pray on the temple mount? Have we forgotten that
the Jordanians destroyed Jewish synagogues in the west bank and prevented
Jews from accessing even the western wall of the temple mount?
In Gaza, Arafat said, "Bless your struggle and your Jihad on this
land... We are all on the way to dying a hero's death on the way to
Jerusalem, capital of the State of Palestine and no other state."
Also, in a speech read for him by the Palestinian Authority's
minister of justice, Freith Abu Middein, Arafat said, "I say once more
that Israel shall remain the principal enemy of the Palestinian people,
not only now but also in the future."
The truth about Arafat's intentions was not found in the soothing words
he spoke in English for Western media consumption. It is found in what he
said in Arabic to his own people. Arafat didn=
t want peace. He wanted all of the land of Israel and so do his
successors.
Israel has continually attacked the infrastructure of the Palestinian
Authority, but what will happen if they destroy their own settlements as
they have done and may do again? Will Israel be able to continue to
retaliate? Probably, but they are going to have a huge price to pay for
their trust of these, their ancient enemies. And now, almost all the world
is openly favoring the so-called Palestinians over the Jews. Is this the
time for the fulfillment of the prophesies of Daniel 11:40-45? Let=
s read this prophesy of what seems to many to be the final resurrection of
the Roman Empire, perhaps controlled by Islam.
(Dan 11:40-45 NKJV) "At the time of the end the king of the South
shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like
a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he
shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. {41} "He
shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be
overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the
prominent people of Ammon. [These are all people from what is now called
Jordan] {42} "He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and
the land of Egypt shall not escape. {43} "He shall have power over the
treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt;
also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. {44} "But
news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall
go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. {45} "And he
shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious
holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
The prediction of many ships causes me to wonder which countries the
king of the North includes. The US has the world=
s largest navy at this time. My guess is that the Jews will be on the
verge of extinction, without hope, when God steps in and saves them.
Perhaps God is moving Jews from around the world to Israel in order that
the threat of total extinction will be real. What of the Jews in America?
They may move to Israel if the American economy or security fails. The
U.S. Senate= s decision to not
develop off shore oil fields may very well add to the failure of both. Why
would this happen to America? For its manifest sins and its involvement in
the Israeli-Palestinian controversy.
Zec 12:3 (KJV) And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome
stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut
in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together
against it.
Will threats against Israel or by Israel cause this confrontation by
all nations? Will this result in the armies surrounding Jerusalem? -
Actually they are in the valley of Kidron. Will God step in with His
armies, as we just read in Joel 2, to prove to the Jews that they cannot
give away His land as they have done to the so-called Palestinians and to
prove that Christ is their Lord too?
Even with the insistence of a Republican Congress, the U.S. State
Department hesitated to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem as the accepted
capital of Israel. So far our Federal government has buckled under to Arab
pressure and kept its embassy in Tel Aviv. Let's all pray that this
country will finally take the correct course for the benefit of both
countries. But in addition, let's always pray that lasting peace will soon
come to that great city which has been too long without it, too long a
burden on the world.
But now, since the September 11, 2001 destruction of the World Trade
Centers, the US government is differentiating between Islam and terrorist
Islam. Is there a difference? Perhaps you saw the Islamic religious leader
(I think his name was Siddiqi) in the Washington Cathedral ecumenical
service and in a White House conference of Muslim leaders. President Bush
and his people, in order to enlist Muslim nation support in his war
against ben Laden and his organization, erroneously emphasized how the
Koran preaches love, not hate. It was even suggested that Syria and Sudan
be taken off the State Department=
s list of terrorist nations because they condemned the September 11th
attack. But does the Koran preach love? How many Muslims love Israelis?
The Koran includes the following words:
A A rock says, > O
believer, there is a Jew behind me! Come and kill him.=
@ Is this love? The Islamic
religious leader I just mentioned has publically supported the terrorist
organizations I just read. So does a man named Alamoudi who is President
of the American Muslim Council. In fact he has ties to Hamas and
publically expresses support for them. I hate to say so but I=
m afraid the U.S. President is deceived. The Qur=
an proves Islam worships a god of war. That is not to say that every
Moslem supports extremist Islam=
s hatred against the U.S. But we see State Department pressure on Israel
to stop Israeli construction in Jerusalem and retaliating for the
Palestinian murder of Israeli citizens. All this to gather Muslim nation
support in a US-led coalition and to protect the world=
s oil supply. All this to convince Muslim nations that we accept them and
their perceived religion of love in our war against terrorist Islamic
groups.
Neither the US administration nor many political and military leaders
in Israel seem to recognize that we are not at war against the so-called
Palestinians or Iraq or Iran or Syria or Afghanistan but we are at war
against Islamic extremists. It is a worldwide war without state boundaries
where thousands are training hundreds of thousands and whose primary
targets are Christian America and the Jewish State of Israel. We cannot
negotiate our way out of this war because our enemy is committed to the
ultimate victory of Islam and to our destruction. Our only possibility of
success in this war lies in military and economic victories brought about
by the partiality of our Creator God. It is time for all peoples,
especially Americans and Israelis, to study the Blessings and Curses
chapter of Deuteronomy 28 and Psa 33:10-22 and live by its message. I
would also recommend studying the Koran in order to learn of its evil
teachings.
(Psa 33:10-22 NKJV) The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to
nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. {11} The
counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all
generations. {12} Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The
people He has chosen as His own inheritance. {13} The LORD looks from
heaven; He sees all the sons of men. {14} From the place of His dwelling
He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; {15} He fashions
their hearts individually; He considers all their works. {16} No king is
saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by
great strength. {17} A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it
deliver any by its great strength. {18} Behold, the eye of the LORD is
on those who fear Him [those who respect and fear to disobey Him], On
those who hope in His mercy, {19} To deliver their soul from death, And
to keep them alive in famine. {20} Our soul waits for the LORD; He is
our help and our shield. {21} For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name. {22} Let Your mercy, O LORD,
be upon us, Just as we hope [trust] in You.
We read Zech 12:3 in the KJV, but let's read more of Zech 12, this time
from the NKJV:
Zec 12:2-11 (NKJV) "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of
drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against
Judah and Jerusalem. {3} "And it shall happen in that day that I will
make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave
it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth
are gathered against it.
The words of verse 3 vary considerably from translation to translation.
Here is the word by word translation of verse 3 directly from the Hebrew:
And it will be in day that I will make Jerusalem a stone heavy for
all the peoples; all who lift it severely will be lacerated, and will be
gathered against all the nations of the earth.
Continuing with Zech 12:
verse {4} "In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike every horse
with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the
house of Judah (the Jews), and will strike every horse of the
peoples with blindness. {5} "And the governors of Judah shall say
in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem <are> my strength in the
LORD of hosts, their God.' {6} "In that day I will make the governors of
Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in
the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right
hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own
place; Jerusalem. {7} "The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so
that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. {8} "In that day
the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble
among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David
<shall be> like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. {9} "It
shall be in that day <that> I will seek to destroy all the nations that
come against Jerusalem. {10} "And I will pour on the house of David and
on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication;
then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn
for Him as one mourns for <his> only <son>, and grieve for Him as one
grieves for a firstborn. {11} "In that day there shall be a great
mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of
Megiddo.
Notice that these verses describe Judah alone. The Jews are greatly
determined to retain Jerusalem. We hear supporting statements from Jewish
leaders even today.
Are the tumultuous events we see on the horizon for the Jews in the
land of Israel going to be the opportunity for them to turn to God and
accept Jesus Christ and thereby receive God's Holy Spirit? Verse 10 seems
to say so. Israelites are the natural branches to the root of Abraham.
Others have only been grafted into it. Let's read what Paul says about
this in Romans 11:
Rom 11:1 (NKJV) I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly
not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, <of> the tribe
of Benjamin.
verses 11-29 (NKJV) I say then, have they [the Jews] stumbled that
they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them
to jealousy, salvation <has come> to the Gentiles. {12} Now if their
fall <is> riches for the world, and their failure riches for the
Gentiles, how much more their fullness! {13} For I speak to you
Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my
ministry, {14} if by any means I may provoke to jealousy <those who are>
my flesh and save some of them. {15} For if their being cast away <is>
the reconciling of the world, what <will> their acceptance <be> but life
from the dead? {16} For if the firstfruit <is> holy, the lump <is> also
<holy>; and if the root <is> holy, so <are> the branches. {17} And if
some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree,
were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root
and fatness of the olive tree, {18} do not boast against the branches.
But if you do boast, <remember that> you do not support the root, but
the root supports you. {19} You will say then, "Branches were broken off
that I might be grafted in." {20} Well <said>. Because of unbelief they
were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
{21} For if God did not spare the natural branches [the natural branches
were all Israelis, but especially the Jews], He may not spare you
either. {22} Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on
those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in
<His> goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. {23} And they also,
if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able
to graft them in again. {24} For if you were cut out of the olive tree
which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who <are> natural
<branches>, be grafted into their own olive tree? {25} For I do not
desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you
should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened
to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. {26} And so
all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out
of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; {27} For this
<is> My covenant with them, When I take away their sins." {28}
Concerning the gospel <they are> enemies for your sake, but concerning
the election <they are> beloved for the sake of the fathers. {29} For
the gifts and the calling of God <are> irrevocable.
In conclusion, here is another item for your permanent prayer list.
Let's turn to Psalms:
Psa 122:6 (NKJV) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper
who love you.@