Don’t be fooled. Biden and Blinken are coming to Israel not to aid Israel in the war effort. They want to stall it, and try to do everything possible to prevent Israel’s success in war. Much of Israel’s weapon capabilities are dependent on the US. If Israel is not able to function militarily, it will be because of the US.
Let us pray that Israel is able to somehow break free of the US. Or let us pray that the Biden administration is no longer able to intimidate Israel, that Netanyahu will find a way to break free of the US.
As the entire world knows, there is extreme hatred between the Arabs (those who descended from Ishmael) and the Israelis (those who descended from Isaac). And it seems that it is more on the side of the Arabs. Why is that and where does it come from? We will trace it to its source.
From Genesis 16:1-15, we have the account of when Sarah was unable to bare children and what she did.
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
6 “Your servant is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now with child
and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
From what we know of those times, when this problem of infertility occurred, it was acceptable to use a slave girl to bring a child into the world. However, we have to question the faith of Abraham, because, as we see in the previous chapter, God told him that His covenant with him would come through his own offspring (Gen. 15:5). Verse five tells us that Abraham believed the Lord, but apparently his belief was not perfect.
Anyway, as it happened, when the salve girl, Hagar became pregnant, she began to despise Sarah, and then Sarah turned on Abraham. So what happened? What caused this anger and hatred in the family? Well, we can only speculate, but apparently, Hagar felt used and hated the situation she was put in; and Sarah also was probably bitter at Hagar and also angry at Abraham.
Then years later, when Isaac was born, and then at his weaning celebration day (when he was about 3 years old) there was an incident that really caused friction. Sarah saw Ishmael laughing at (or possibly mocking) little Isaac, and she became enraged and demanded that Abraham get rid of Hagar and her son. For Sarah was jealous for her son Isaac—saying that Ishmael will never share in the inheritance with her son Isaac (Gen. 21:9-10).
And so, we see that there was real friction and hatred in that early family. And it wasn’t so much with Ishmael and Isaac; it was more between Hagar and Sarah. But over the years, that same hatred has been passed down. And we see that same contention and hatred today.
This hatred is explained to us in Galatians 4:28-31. The entire family problem is a picture of good and evil, or of the flesh and the Spirit. The slave girl Hagar and Ishmael represents the flesh and Isaac (the promised one) represents the Spirit and freedom in Christ.
Now this is a very hard situation, because we must not think that all Arabs are evil and sinful. No. God loves them the same as anyone. For God so loved the whole world and gave His Son for each of us—if we would only believe in Him. All have an equal chance to be saved and to come into His kingdom.
Some Arabs have believed in Christ and have found freedom. But most have not. And the leaders of some of those countries, such as Hamas, are very evil, like Isis. And they are stirring up hatred against Israel and also against Christians. And Satan in now using them to do his evil work.
And so, we see illustrated for us the two kingdoms: the kingdom of Satan in the Palestinians, and the kingdom of God in Israel. (But this is just an illustration or a picture of the kingdoms; we know that there are saved and unsaved people in both Arab countries as well as in Israel.)
So what should we do in our present situation? Well, as far as the Palestinians go, they need to go! The land was given to Israel alone. Hamas and all the Palestinians as a whole represent evil. They need to go! But if any individuals or families can demonstrate that they want peace, they should be allowed to come and live in Israel (under Israeli law). I hope and pray that this will be possible.
We as believers should pray for all people—Arabs and Israelites, Jews and Gentiles, to be saved and to come into His kingdom of peace and freedom.
It appears that Israel was completely surprised. Hamas really caught Israel off guard. Israel now it appears is getting the worst of it. Here is an article…
Over 200 Israelis confirmed dead as the IDF declared a state of war alert following the shocking infiltration of dozens of terrorists from Gaza into Israeli cities and kibbutzim, as hundreds of rockets were launched into Israeli territory
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) declared a state of war early Saturday morning following an unprecedented attack by terrorist organizations from Gaza against Israel.
The surprise attack caught the Israeli army off guard and involved the infiltration of dozens of terrorists from Gaza into cities and kibbutzim along the Gaza border, known as the Gaza Envelope. At the same time, hundreds of missiles have been launched into Israeli territory, including Be’er Sheva, the Tel Aviv region and Jerusalem. Hamas has taken responsibility for the attack.Rocket sirens were sounded at 6:30 AM in central and southern Israel. There has since been a sustained barrage of more than 4,500 rockets launched from Gaza.
Hours after the attack began, Palestinian terrorists have continued to roam southern Israeli cities and kibbutzim in shocking scenes, engaging in street fights and shooting civilians with assault rifles and submachine guns. Both the army and police have advised residents of Israeli cities and kibbutzim near Gaza to remain indoors, out of fear that terrorists may attempt to break into homes and take hostages.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Israel was at war. “Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack on Israel and its citizens,” he said in his first on-the-record reaction released in a post five hours after the Hamas launched a surprise attack.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas made a grave error when it began its war on Israel. “IDF soldiers are fighting terrorists who infiltrated communities wherever they are. Israel will win this war,” he said in a post, more than three hours after Hamas launched its surprise attack.
Iranian backed Hamas terrorists invaded areas of southern Israel as rocket barrages launched from the Gaza Strip struck the area on Saturday, killing at least 100 Israelis in an attack the Islamist movement Hamas is taking responsibility for.
A senior Hamas military commander, Mohammad Deif, announced the start of the operation in which he called on Palestinians everywhere to attack the Israelis, saying in a broadcast on Hamas media that the group launched 5,000 rockets and calling the attack “the day of the greatest battle to end the last occupation on earth.”
Local Israeli media reported that at least 100 people have been killed in the wide-ranging assault, while Gaza health officials say that 198 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes made in response to the Hamas attack. Hospitals are treating at least 985 wounded people, including 77 who were in critical condition, the Associated Press reported based on public statements and calls to hospitals.
The IDF announced it would mobilize its forces in response to the attacks, confirming that Hamas has taken hostages and held prisoners of war in Gaza. Israeli military forces have moved troops to the Gaza border, where gunfire has already started as the forces move towards each other, Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst reported from Israel.
Netanyahu recently assured Christians and believing Jews that the Gospel would not be banned in Israel as it was feared to be by two Knesset members. I think Netanyahu is very wise and also not antagonistic against Christians as some are. Praise God for that. And because of this leniency, Christians ought to be praying for Israel now while the door of the gospel is open. You can read the following article for the updated news.
American conservative and Christian voices had decried proposed bill targeting “missionaries,” but it was largely much ado about nothing.
By Israel Today Staff, Mar 23, 2023
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday sought to calm Israel’s Christian supporters by reassuring them that neither his government nor any other Israeli government was going to pass a law prohibiting the preaching of the Gospel in the Jewish state.
Some Christian and conservative American media was in an uproar this week after MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) proposed a bill that would expand an existing law that prohibits proselytizing to minors or offering monetary incentive to convert to another religion (the obvious target of the law being Christians and Messianic Jews who regularly share their faith).
Gafni’s proposal would, among other things, ban Hebrew-language online videos that preach about Jesus, since they could be accessed by minors without a parent’s consent. Many local Messianic and Christian ministries have taken to sharing the Gospel online in recent years.
It would also give some teeth to the existing law by mandating jail time for anyone caught proselytizing a minor or offering monetary incentive to become a Christian. Some Christian and Messianic leaders worried that the vague wording of the bill could be used to prohibit preaching about Jesus in general since minors could be present in the church, congregation or gathering place.
Not all Jews are against Christians or the Christian faith. But there are a few liberals who are. Please pray for this situation in Israel that our religious freedom would not be hindered. Israel needs to hear the gospel like all others who are now blinded by the devil. Please read this article by Joel Rosenberg.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – Is it possible that the Israeli government this year could pass legislation making it illegal for people to share the Gospel message in the very land where Jesus was born, raised, preached, died, buried and rose from the dead?
Unfortunately, yes.
As Palm Sunday and Easter approach – the two most sacred days on the calendar for those who follow Jesus as both God and Messiah – two members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) introduced a bill last week that would ban any and all efforts to tell people about Jesus.
This is my third blog on this topic, from Revelation 12:13-17. You can go to my first blog on this topic to get introductory information.
Verses 13-17. And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his…
The nation of Israel and the Israelite people are probably the most important of all in our list of personalities; for the seventh week (the Tribulation) has been decreed for the people of Israel (Dan. 9:24), to prepare them for their Messiah by Tribulation. Here is part 1.
4. Israel flees to the mountains.When the first half of the Tribulation ends, right at the mid-point, the Antichrist will be revealed for who he really is, as his restraints to do evil will be removed. The sign of the beginning of his evil doings is when the Jews see “the abomination of desolation” standing in the Jewish temple. This may be the Antichrist himself displaying himself as being God (2 Thess. 2:4), or it could be his image that the false prophet sets up (Rev. 13:15). Nonetheless, I think they will see this abomination for what it is, and…
There are three great purposes for the Tribulation: 1) to prepare Israel for her Messiah; 2) to bring judgment on all unbelievers and unbelieving nations; and 3) to bring salvation to the repentant lost. In this post we will deal with the first purpose.
To prepare Israel for her Messiah
This is probably the most primary purpose—that God would use His wrath to prepare Israel by tribulation, and thus to cause them to repent of their rebellion against Him. And I suppose the most well-known passage that declares by decree how Israel will come to repentance is Daniel 9:24.
According to this six-point decree and prophecy through the angel Gabriel, “Seven weeks [or 490 years] have been decreed for your people and your holy city…” The first two promises by decree are…”to finish the transgression [and]; to make an end of sin…” we will stop there because, out of the six, these two have most to do with how God brings Israel to repentance.
The first decree, “to finish the transgression,” is focused on some specific transgression. What would that be? Down through the years Israel has committed many sins, as we all have; but the transgression inferred here is obviously their sin of the rejection of Christ as their Messiah. All that will come to an end. Miraculously, God will break them during the Tribulation. They all at once will repent and turn to Him.
We don’t know in detail how it will happen, but we do know that two-thirds of the Jews will die during the horrors of the Tribulation (Zech. 13:8-9); and then, when Jesus comes, and they see Him, they will recognize Him as their Messiah and turn to Him (Zech. 12:10).
The second decree, “to make an end of sin,” will be all on God’s part, but it will nonetheless be the result of the bitterness of the Tribulation. Hence, as Ezekiel 36:25-29 describes it, He will cleanse Israel from all their filthiness and their idols; and He will give them a new heart and a new spirit.
In addition to this decree in Daniel, there are several other Old Testament prophecies of how God will prepare Israel for her Messiah. Here are three of the more prominent ones, with a few comments.
Deuteronomy 4:27-31
And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you shall be left few in number among the nations, where the Lord shall drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
Here we see that Israel’s suffering through trails began quite early (with their dispersion, beginning in 722 B.C.); and so, He was working on them very early, preparing their heart. And then, much later, during the bitter days of the Tribulation, He will cause them to return to the Lord and to listen to Him.
Jeremiah 30:7-11
‘Alas! for that day is great,
There is none like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,
But he will be saved from it.
8 ‘And it shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck, and will tear off their bonds; and strangers shall no longer make them their slaves. 9 ‘But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10 ‘And fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,
‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease,
And no one shall make him afraid.
11 ‘For I am with you,’ declares the Lord,
‘to save you;
For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will not destroy you completely.
But I will chasten you justly,
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’
The day of Tribulation is called the day of Jacob’s distress (or trouble), referring to Israel. In this future time God will bring them through terrible distress in order to discipline them and to save them. In the end they will serve the Lord their God and Jesus Christ their king during His millennial kingdom (the reference of David here is a reference to Christ who is in the line of David).
Zechariah 13:8-9
“And it will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.'”
During the terrible Tribulation, two-thirds of Israel will die, but one-third will survive. And God will bring them through the fire of the Tribulation in order to make them pure just as gold and silver is refined and purified by fire.
I am writing a book now on THE TRIBULATION. I have written the first chapter entitled Leading Up to the Tribulation, and I presented six points: 1) Dealing With, Or Not Dealing With The Aftershocks Of The Rapture; 2) Setting Up A Global Government; 3) Seeing The Beginnings Of A New Global Religion; 4) The Ezekiel Invasion; 5) The Rise Of The Antichrist; and 6) World Peace, Temple Preparation And The Peace Covenant.
I will be blogging these points as I go. Here is point number two.
SETTING UP A GLOBAL GOVERNMENT
As the world tries to deal with the aftershocks of the Rapture, key leaders of many countries will begin to meet together to find global solutions. And we know, according to Scripture, that the world will come to a unified agreement on the establishment of a new global government—as well as a new global religion. It is likely, however, though many ideas will be discussed and agreed upon, that the new government won’t actually begin until the commencement of the signing of the peace accord with Israel, which will mark the beginning of the Tribulation.
There is no way of knowing the details of what will be discussed when the key leaders come together, but the topic of a new global government will probably be the most immediate. Under this major topic they will likely discuss and seek to make decisions on a global currency, the form of government and controls of the government.
It seems that the world has already made huge strides with currencies, or with many new methods of payment, especially with credit cards and also by bank transfers. I don’t see that there will be any problems with converting to a global currency or maybe with on credit card used by all.
As far as the government itself, most bible scholars agree that the new world government will be a revived Roman Empire. Biblical proof of this is taken from three Daniel passages.
Daniel 2:32-40. This passage gives us the familiar story of king Nebuchadnezzars’ dream and Daniel’s interpretation of it. He saw in his dream a huge statue of a man with a head of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron and feet of both iron and clay. Along with Daniel’s recognition of the four different world kingdoms, scholars now recognize these kingdoms as such: the head of gold as Babylon, the silver breast and arms as Medo-Persia, the belly and thigh of bronze as Greece, and the iron legs and feet as Rome.
Our focus in these last days are on that forth empire of Rome, and particularly on the feet which, in the dream, were made of a mixture of iron and clay. The strong legs of iron we reason represents the early historic Rome, and the feet represents the revived future Rome. And we must take note that since the feet are of that mixture, that the coming revived Roman empire will be somewhat weaker than the early Rome.
Daniels 2:41-42. From these verses the writer of Daniel does not say that there are ten toes on the feet of the statute, but we can make that assumption. Hence, we may surmise that the ten toes symbolize the same as the ten horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7:24, which, as we are told, represents ten kings—ten kings that are in our future and which will be a part of the future Roman empire.
Daniel 9:26. In this verse we see a timeline of events from the Messiah’s death to the beginning of the Tribulation. Our focus is now on the phrase “and the people of the prince who is to come.” “The prince” here refers not to Jesus but to the Antichrist, the “he” in verse 27. “The people” of the prince are the Romans, because, according to history, they destroyed “the city and the sanctuary” (Jerusalem and the temple).
So, we see from this passage that the Romans are called “the people of the prince,” which are the people of the Antichrist. Hence, this gives us proof that the Romans will be revived during the days of the Antichrist.
Now besides this evidence of the Revived Roman Empire, there is also evidence that its government headquarters will be located in the European Union. Here are…
Seven Reasons why the European Union will becomeThe Revived Roman Empire
1. The EU has the dimensions of an empire in the same area of the old Roman Empire.The EU presently has 28 countries and it has the goal of enlisting a total of 50 countries, including North Africa, North and South America, and Israel.
2. The EU has a power structure that will work for the Antichrist.They have a federalist ideology that is divided between a strong undemocratic central authority and individual units. Hence, it would be very easy for them to give way to a dictatorship and also to set up ten main divisions of power—which will happen in the Revived Roman Empire under the Antichrist (Dan. 2:41-42; 7:24; Rev. 17:12).
3. The EU is preparing its people for the Antichrist. In the last few years, they have been using devious means to make the nation states less autonomous, less powerful, and more willing to be controlled by a central leader.
4. The EU has a goal to unite the world in peace.This goal fits well with what the Antichrist will accomplish during the first few months of his reign.
5. The EU has peaceful plans for Israel. It is in their plans to offer Israel free trade, protection and peace. This Israeli friendship may be the key element confirming the EU as the Revived Roman Empire.
6. The EU’s conflicts of authority. we are seeing a growing problem in the EU between the central power and the weaker national powers. It seems to me that the conflicts have to do with allowing too many people of different cultures to enter their countries without properly vetting them. In any event, this problem matches well with what we see in Daniel 2:431-43: the problem with the iron and the clay.
7. There are some reports that the EU is moving closer to a ten-nation federation. The ten toes and the ten king’s prophecy are coming into view.
Stephen Nielsen 