Showing posts with label hamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hamas. Show all posts

Wednesday 19 May 2021

Kritiek op Israël wordt verpakt in antisemitisme

Velen hebben het moeilijk wanneer ze mensen kritiek horen geven op Israël en gaan dan makkelijk zeggen dat zij antismitisch zijn. Maar men moet helemaal niet tegen Joden zijn om de Israëlische acties af te keuren.

Langs de andere kant laten ze Arabische betogers wel antisemitische leuzen roepen, zoals de voorgaande dagen in Brussel en Antwerpen gebeurde, maar ook in andere steden in het buitenland.

"Het lijkt erop dat je als moslim tijdens een demonstratie alles over Joden kunt roepen. Het is in het Arabisch dus we snappen er toch niets van", 

merkt Eppo Bruins op in de CIP Podcast. Tijdens een anti-Israël-demonstratie in Amsterdam waren afgelopen weekend verschillende antisemitische leuzen te horen.

 "Dit moet aangepakt worden. Ik hoop dat de Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding hierbij kan helpen",

 aldus het voormalig ChristenUnie-Kamerlid.

Tijdens de demonstratie werd een inmiddels berucht strijdlied gezongen:

 “Khaybar, khaybar yaa yahud, jaisj-e-mohammed saufa ya’ud.” (“Khaybar, khaybar oh Joden. Het leger van Mohammed komt er weer aan”).

 Bruins: 

Khaybar is de plek waar in de zevende eeuw na Christus Joden werden uitgeroeid door moslims. Met deze kreet roepen moslims dus op tot moord en haat. Ik maak me grote zorgen over de onwetendheid hierover. Er wordt van alles geroepen en niet ingegrepen."

Opvallend was dat wij in Antwerpen en Brussel ook bepaalde uitroepen konden horen welke niet passen in een vredelievende samenleving waar elke godsdienst op gelijke voed moet aanvaard worden. Verwensende uitspraken tegen bepaalde gelovigen horen hier in België, Nederland of Engeland niet thuis. Ook al kan men sympathie voor de Palestijnen opbrengen mag daardoor de haat tegen Joden niet gevoed worden. 

Vast en zeker moet kritiek op Israël kunnen, zoals het op eender welk ander land ook moet kunnen. Men moet zo wel positieve als negatieve elementen in een land of van een regering onder ogen durven zien en er op durven reageren. Maar dat reageren moet op een juist wijze gebeuren.

Eppo Bruins schrijft:

Hamas en Islamic Jihad vuurden vanuit Gaza de afgelopen week bijna 2000 raketten af op dichtbevolkte miljoenensteden in Israël. Wanneer Israël in de afgelopen jaren niet een technologisch geavanceerd raketafweersysteem had gebouwd, zouden er duizenden doden gevallen zijn. Op dinsdag constateerde ik dat feitelijk en droog op Twitter: “Het lijkt haast een computerspelletje, maar is bittere ernst. Hamas en Islamic Jihad proberen Iron Dome rondom Tel Aviv uit te schakelen met meer dan 130 raketten tegelijkertijd. Drie gewonden gemeld. Zonder Iron Dome zou het aantal slachtoffers niet te overzien zijn.”

 Men kan zich afvragen of bepaalde christenen wel willen inzien dat ook al zouden terroristische groepen Israël onder vuur zetten dit de aanvallen op pershuizen, ziekenhuizen of verzorgingstehuizen en scholen wel rechtvaardigt. Wat hebben de vele onschuldige kinderen hier mee te maken?!?

Het willekeurig beschieten van burgers is een oorlogsmisdaad, een misdaad tegen de menselijkheid.

 Dat mogen wij niet vergeten. In eenders welke strijd moet men oog hebben voor wat totaal ontoelaatbaar is. In deze strijd tussen Gaza en Israël worden duidelijk bepaalde grenzen overschreden door Israël die men als gelovige of niet-gelovige niet kan negeren.

Bruins schrijft:

Wanneer situaties zo verkeerd zijn en partijen zijn niet meer in staat om zich in te leven in andermans werkelijkheid, dan weet je dat er meer aan de hand is dan geopolitiek. Dan is het een geestelijke strijd. Dan zitten er schellen op de ogen, die alleen de Heilige Geest kan wegnemen. We hebben “verlichte ogen” nodig, zoals in Paulus’ Efeze brief staat beschreven. De Geest van wijsheid en van openbaring.

De situatie lijkt alleen maar ingewikkelder te worden. Menselijkerwijs gesproken is er geen oplossing voor het conflict. Met Hemelvaartsdag net achter de rug mogen we gedenken dat Jezus de Messias aan Gods rechterhand is gezeten in de hemelse gewesten, ver boven alle overheid en macht en kracht en heerschappij en elke naam die genoemd wordt, niet alleen in deze wereld, maar ook in de komende. En Hij heeft alle dingen aan Zijn voeten onderworpen.

We hebben Hem nodig en Hem alleen.

Eppo Bruins is oud-Tweede Kamerlid en werkzaam op het grensvlak van wetenschap, innovatie en politiek. Hij schrijft iedere twee weken een column op CIP.nl.

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Voorgaand

Christen en Joods Zionisme in het mei 2021 conflict

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Conflict Israël-Palestijnen

  1. - SGP-jongeren: escalatie van geweld in Israël en Gaza overschaduwt werkelijke problemen
  2. - Christelijke ambassade plaatst extra schuilkamers in grensgebied Israël met de Gazastrook
  3. - Het Palestijns-Israëlische conflict is een geestelijke strijd
  4. - Gert-Jan Segers stelt vraagtekens bij pro-Palestina demonstraties: "Wanneer zijn vlaggen van China verbrand?"
  5. - Israël-Palestijnse conflict: theoloog Stefan Paas roept op tot nuchterheid
  6. Meer over Conflict Israël-Palestijnen »

Christen en Joods Zionisme in het mei 2021 conflict

Groot probleem bij vele mensen is dat zij vele Joden gelijk schakelen en anti-Palestijns noemen. Zij vergeten dat er heel wat Joden zijn die zich tegen de Zionisten verzetten en totaal niet akkoord gaan met de acties van discriminatie en aanvallen tegen Palestijnen door de Israëlische regering.

Algemeen moet men beseffen dat elke mens een schepping van God is en dusdanig moet erkend en gerespecteerd worden. Enige uitsluiting van een menselijk wezen is ontoelaatbaar. Discriminatie is nooit goed te praten in een God-lievende wereld. Aanbidders van de Enige Ware God moeten tegenover anderen hun liefde betuigen. Ook tegenover hen die hen iets misdaan hebben moeten zij vergevensgezindheid en naastenliefde tonen.

Het verheerlijken van de seculiere Israëlische staat getuigd in zekere zin van het niet door hebben van Gods Wetten. Die seculiere Israëlische staat doet namelijk heel wat zaken die niet in overeenstemming zijn met Gods Wetten. Christenen die Israël op de eerste plaats willen zetten moeten beseffen dat Israël weldegelijk de hoofdstad zal worden van Gods Koninkrijk, maar dat dat volgens het tijdschema of Plan van God zal verlopen, en niet volgens de menselijke forcering.

Er mag gerust een hele ‘speciale band’ gevormd worden of zijn tussen christenen met de Joodse burgers van Israël. 

Theoloog Stefan Paas is het op zijn zachtst gezegd oneens met de bijdrage van Dirk van Genderen die het Palestijns-Israëlische conflict een geestelijke strijd noemde. 

Dirk van Genderen schrijft:

Als je goed luistert naar de media, begint er nu alweer kritiek te ontstaan op Israël. Je weet van tevoren dat dit gebeurt, altijd. Eerst is er begrip voor het feit dat Israël reageert op de raketbeschietingen door de Palestijnen, maar vervolgens kantelt de mening en vindt men de reactie van Israël buiten proportioneel. Omdat Israël militair superieur is en er altijd medelijden ontstaat met ‘onschuldige’ Palestijnse slachtoffers. Vergeten wordt dat de Palestijnse terroristen hun volksgenoten opofferen voor hun strijd tegen Israël.

Volgens Paas leiden dat soort teksten tot "uiterst gevaarlijke demoniseringen",

Paas reageert op Twitter:

“Die mensen hebben recht op veilig bestaan en soevereiniteit. Maar Palestijnen net zo goed. Dit soort afgoderij met naties en politieke solidariteit leidt tot morele blindheid en een verbijsterend gebrek aan mededogen. Ik kan me blijven verbazen hoe liefdeloos en stereotyperend in dit soort kringen vaak wordt gesproken over Palestijnen.”

Als men bepaalde groepen wil gaan steunen moet men deze ernstig onderzoeken en hun handelingen afwegen tegen de waarden en regels door God voorgelegd. Ook al mag Israël het uitverkoren volk van God zijn, geeft hen dat niet het recht om zo maar onschuldige kinderen en volwassenen uit te moorden. Voor het ogenblik ziet men in deze vierde burgeroorlog in enkele jaren weer onschuldige slachtoffers die niet opwegen tegen het te bereiken doel. Want waar streeft de regering van Israël naar? En waarom blijft het akkoord gaan met het onteigenen of zo maar innemen van Palestijnse huizen?

Stefaan Paas zegt ook terecht:

Het dient de vrede wanneer christenen (noch enige andere groep) niet rondlopen met eindtijdscenario's waarin één volk superieur of uitverkoren is, maar met het visioen van Jezus als Heer en de volken die in verzoende verscheidenheid het Lam vereren.

Volgens Van Genderen zou dat laatste wel niet kloppen, hij beweert:

De aanleiding van het huidige conflict wordt helaas niet correct weergegeven door de media. Israëlische kolonisten zouden in Jeruzalem vier huizen willen confisqueren van Arabieren. Dat klopt al niet. Die huizen waren voor de Onafhankelijkheidsoorlog in 1948 al eigendom van Joden. Jordanië veroverde in die strijd een deel van de wijk Sheikh Jarrah, met die huizen en gaf ze vervolgens aan Arabieren. De voormalige eigenaars kregen nooit schadevergoeding en ook geen huur betaald. Nu is er sprake van dat die huizen op grond van oude eigendomsrechten weer worden toegewezen aan Joden.

Dit conflict speelt mee, maar de echte aanleiding is een strijd tussen de Palestijnse Fatah-beweging en Hamas. Fatah blies Palestijnse verkiezingen af en Hamas zag zijn kans schoon om te laten zien dat juist zij opkomen voor de belangen van de Palestijnen. Toen Hamas aanhangers tijdens de Ramadan op de Tempelberg bij hun moskeeën opriepen tot aanvallen op Israël, vlogen de raketten even later vanuit Gaza richting Jeruzalem.

 Paas doet een oproep:

 “Normaliseer de relatie, dat is voor iedereen beter. Het dient de vrede wanneer christenen (noch enige andere groep) niet rondlopen met eindtijdscenario’s waarin één volk superieur of uitverkoren is, maar met het visioen van Jezus als Heer en de volken die in verzoenende verscheidenheid het Lam vereren. En verder is het ook wel praktisch dat politieke kwesties, die nu al zo ongelooflijk complex zijn, niet ook nog ingepast worden in allerlei eindstrijdscenario’s. Dat is in het verleden al vaker gebeurd, en het liep eigenlijk nooit goed af.”


Voorgaand

Onzichtbaren in Trump's Plan voor Israel

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Verwant:

  1. Niet zomaar een sinister spook van antisemitisme

  2. Joodse emigratie niet volgens de tijd van Nederlandse christenen

Monday 6 May 2019

Akkoord tot een staakt-het-vuren tussen Palestijnse leiders in Gaza en Israël

De afgelopen dagen is er heel wat heen en weer geschoten tussen Gaza en Israël.

Volgens het ministerie van Gezondheid in Gaza kwamen negentien Palestijnen om bij Israëlische bombardementen. Onder de doden zijn een zwangere vrouw en een baby van van vier maanden. Zeker zes Palestijnen waren militanten van de islamistische groep Hamas, of bondgenoot Islamitische Jihad, zeggen de twee organisaties.

Aan de Israëlische kant van de grens kwamen vier burgers om door raketbeschietingen. Er was ook zeker één antitankraket bij, zeggen de Israëlische autoriteiten. De secretaris-generaal van de Verenigde Naties, Antonio Guterres, riep zondag op tot 'maximale terughoudendheid' en een 'onmiddelijk de-escalatie'.

Na het ergste geweld in de regio sinds de oorlog van 2014 kwam door bemiddeling van Egypte een staakt-het-vuren van kracht vanaf maandagochtend 6 mei om 4.30 uur. Een Egyptische verantwoordelijke, die anoniem wil blijven, bevestigt het nieuws aan AFP. De woordvoerder van het Israëlische leger gaf geen commentaar.

Een raketaanval vanuit Gaza. In Israël vielen zondag vier doden, in Gaza waren dat er negentien. © Reuters

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Silence of the world about rocket attacks on Israel

Can it be that there is an internal feud with Hamas?
The  jihadist Salafi group, the "Omar Brigades," who sympathizes with Islamic State, claimed responsibility for firing a rocket from Gaza which hit Israel's south on Saturday. It also claimed the previous recent firings at Israel.


At the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he hasn't heard a word of condemnation from the world about three rocket attacks from Gaza over the past two weeks. Netanyahu says it will be "interesting to see if this silence continues when we use all our strength in exercising our right to defend ourselves."
He vowed that the 

"hypocrisy that is spreading around the world will not restrain us from defending the citizens of Israel. That is how we have operated and that is how we will continue to operate."
 > Read: Netanyahu: World is silent in face of rocket attacks on Israel

Thursday 28 May 2015

Safe Distance program entire communities being evacuated to pre-determined locations

In the event of another conflict with Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the National Emergency Authority (NEA) and the local authorities in the South are planning to evacuate all residents within a seven kilometer radius of the strip. 
The intended plan is supposed to protect citizens, give them a more liveable environment for the duration of the conflict, and allow the defense establishment to properly deal with the situation at hand without having to worry about interfering in the day-to-day lives of the citizens. 

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Local community councils will select officers, or “watchmen”, to stay behind and safeguard the area. The local authority will also be responsible for the safety of any families who refuse to leave. 


Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/41515/idf-evacuation-plan-for-gaza-belt/#xW4JtJ6Ew7rRMGHf.99

Thursday 18 December 2014

Israel not building up their weaponry for nothing

Map of Israel, the Palestinian territories (We...
Map of Israel, the Palestinian territories (West Bank and Gaza Strip), the Golan Heights, and portions of neighbouring countries. Also United Nations deployment areas in countries adjoining Israel or Israeli-held territory, as of January 2004. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Is Israel building up their weaponry in preparation of their defence of their nation as part of the stage  set in fulfilment of Psalm 83?

We can see the nations listed are currently the nations being mentioned in the media, Iran working at obtaining a nuclear weapon, Hamas working on plots to terrorize Israel in an attempt to provoke Israel’s hand to do the unthinkable and that is to completely destroy the Gaza strip that would cause the international community to come down hard on the nation.

For the Saudis there is the heat building up as the Sunnis and the Shias fight over who will become the dominant player in the Middle East.

We are told in Scriptures that in the end Israel will become the dominant player when Jesus returns to establish his kingdom on earth.

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Israel is Preparing for war

Monday 7 February 2011

Egypt in the picture

Egypt had also been a mighty power in the Middle East. The period of its greatness was about 1600 BC, when the armies of the conquering Pharaohs pressed southwards into the Sudan, westwards along the north African coast, and northwards through the land of Canaan (later Israel) and into Syria.
The land invaded by Nebuchadnezzar who overran Israel, sacked Jerusalem and burnt its temple, and carried thousands away captive to Babylon is now back in the picture with an opposite wealth. For 2500 years Egypt has remained, as Ezekiel prophesied it would, "a lowly kingdom", always dominated by others. But Egypt and the Egyptians did not disappear. They still exist, and though many claim that they have even recovered a measure of independence in recent times, thanks to massive financial support from the U.S.A. and Saudi Arabia, not many people got something from this economic funding.  Lots of the people have not enough to eat and no work. There were no prospects but now thousands have put their hope in a new peaceful revolution.

Egypt has been one of the United States' closest allies in the region but this governments’ reign now looks increasingly likely to fail.  This crisis follows the toppling of the Tunisian president a few weeks ago who fled the country after widespread protests forced him from office. Surely we see distress of nations and the sea and waves roaring. The sea and waves are symbolic of people raging against each other.

George W. Bush had previously pushed Hosni  Mubarak for democratic reforms but the head of state has perhaps promised a lot to his people and to the outside world, but kept 'his country' good in chains.

The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, with 600,000 members, stands for the re-establishment of the Islamic Empire (Caliphate), the takeover, spiritually or otherwise, of the entire world, and jihad and martyrdom. It has front organizations in the UK, France, and the United States. The danger exist that they are going to exploit the situation and the figure like Mohammed ElBaradei in order to hijack the Egyptian revolution at a later stage. We may not forget that that ever since the Brotherhood was founded over 80 years ago, it has engaged in political terrorism, assassinating Prime Minister Mahmoud al-Nuqrashi Pasha in 1948, trying to kill President Abdul Nasser several years later, supports Hamas, and more.
The Egyptians should well be aware what it could implicate if the Moslim Brotherhood comes into the governement. A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt told the Arabic-language Iranian news network Al-Alam on Monday that he would like to see the Egyptian people prepare for war against Israel.

No casualties yet recorded by our brothers and sisters in Egypt. Our brothers and sisters seek seeing "(God's) righteousness" and find it important to try to develop a love of God's character, which means that we want to be worthy Christians showing our love for God His creation, our neighbours, and our love in God's Kingdom because righteousness will be glorified there.

We know that there is a fascinating prophecy in Isaiah 19 that speaks of God setting Egyptian against Egyptian. (Isaiah 19:2,4) As with all prophecies this has both a latter and future fulfilment. As we see Egyptian being set against Egyptian we see a latter day fulfilment now. In verse 4 of that chapter it speaks of a “fierce king” ruling over them. In fact Daniel 8:23 speaks of this fierce king. He is none other than the king of the north who will invade Egypt.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus describes the nations (multitudes) rising up against nations (multitudes). This month we got reverberations from the mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt to be felt around the Arab world. Is it the woe of the multitude of people? US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the Middle East is facing a "perfect storm" of unrest and nations must embrace democratic change. Democracy (Liberty or freedom of the people from monarchies)  is one of the froglike spirits spoken of in Revelation 16 which gather all nations to battle. Brother Andy Walton agrees with Hilary Clinton:" We can see before our eyes how this spirit of people power will indeed bring war and conflict.... – the status quo is simply not sustainable. There is a day in which God will judge the earth by that man who he has appointed – even Jesus Christ."

Monday 19 July 2010

Two State Solution

A majority of British Jews believe Israel should swap territory for peace, and negotiate with Hamas, a survey suggests. Some 72% agreed Israel's action in Gaza in 2008 and 2009 was "a legitimate act of self-defence".
But 77% favoured a "two-state solution", creating a Palestinian state, as the "only way" to make peace.
The study of 4,000 people was carried by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.
Just over half, 52%, said they would support Israeli government negotiations with Hamas. The study found British Jews strongly identified with and supported Israel, with nine out of 10 having visited it.
BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said although Israel clearly remained a cornerstone of Jewish identity in Britain, the survey suggested a substantial majority of Jews believed that they should be free to criticise Israel.
It is remarkable that so many Jews seem to think that withdrawing from the land that God has given them will bring them peace. It shows an utter contempt for God and his hand in bringing them back to the land (as promised) and establishing them there.

A few years ago a survey was done in Israel which showed 60% of Israelis (living in Israel) supported further unilateral withdrawal from the land in a similar way to how they pulled out of Gaza in 2005.
These percentages are mentioned in the Bible. Zec 13:8. We are told that 66% of those living in Israel will be killed in the coming war. Perhaps those who do not believe they can live in the land will be “removed” from the land – as with the Israelites who did not believe they could take in land when the 10 spies reported back in the days of Moses.

"wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?... And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmur against me? ….Your carcases SHALL fall in this wilderness; " (Numbers 14:3,26,29)

Read more about today's situation > Weekly World Watch 11th - 17th July 2010‏

Thursday 22 April 2010

Boek voor wereld van sjalom ipv hamas

"Zou de Bijbel immers niet juist een soort veilige vluchtheuvel moeten zijn, in onze wereld vol geweld en ellende?" vraagt Prof. dr. H. G. L. Peels, hoogleraar Oude Testament aan de Theologische Universiteit Apeldoorn in een artikel in het Reformatorisch Dagblad. Een boek dat naar een ándere wereld verwijst, de wereld van ”sjalom” en niet de wereld van ”hamas” (het Hebreeuwse woord voor geweld)?

Het Oud Testament van de Bijbel vol met wijsheden en vrome heilsbespiegelingen, waarin wij de grondlijn zien van recht en vrede, wordt onder de loep genomen. Men kan zich de vraag stellen of er een veilgig geweld is. God heeft de wereld goed geschapen, en Hij liet die wereld niet los na de breuk die de zonde in de schepping sloeg. Dwars tegen het kwaad van hebzucht en verderf in werkt Hij heen naar de wereld van sjalom. Maar om tot de wereld van sjalom te komen, moet God in de gebrokenheid van deze wereld van hamas soms onvermijdelijk ook gebruikmaken van geweld volgens de professor. Anti­geweld om het kwaad in te dammen, af te straffen, weg te doen. "De geweldteksten in het Oude Testament openen onze ogen voor wie de God van liefde óók is, en wie wij mensen zijn. De God van de Bijbel kan ontzagwekkende dingen doen, huiveringwekkend voor ons mensen. Maar nooit willekeurig en onberekenbaar. Op een of andere manier heeft zijn ‘geweld’ steeds weer te maken met Zijn afschuw van het kwade, van de zonde, van de opstand. Keer op keer dient Zijn geweld het herstel van recht en vrede."

Lees meer:Geweld in Bijbel opent oog voor wie God óók is

Saturday 24 January 2009

Hamas the modern Philistines

The retaliation of Israel against Hamas in Gaza has opened a "can of worms" as far as the United Nations is concerned, but it has reinforced the expectations of those who understand the Plan and Purpose of God Almighty that we are living in what is scripturally termed "the Last Days." The attention of the world has now centred on that tiny country and, in the near future, that attention will focus on Jerusalem, for God has decreed He will draw all nations against it to battle. The god of the world, Money, has proved powerless to save.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path”. Ps 119:105 SIGNS OF OUR TIMES
Isaiah 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward
the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their
hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

Sings of our Times Vol. 20 No. 2
February 2009

HAMAS - THE MODERN PHILISTINES

The above passage from Isaiah is found in the context of a prophecy which foretells the return of the Jews to Israel.
Isaiah 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

However, the earlier section of the chapter contains the well-known passage
“6 And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them,” so it is difficult to know if the attack on the Philistine territory now known as Gaza refers to the present or the future when Christ (“a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots” [v.1]) is ruling in Jerusalem.

Certainly the Israelis are dwelling together amicably and the old divided nation consisting of two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, has been replaced by “the nation of Israel” in fulfilment of the latter part of v.13 “..... Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.” However, the earlier part of that verse reads: “The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off:”

Perhaps we are witnessing this prophecy in progress, but the following extract from an article from TIME
Magazine, January 19, 2009 itemizes the difficulties.

AS ISRAELI TROOPS ENCIRCLE Gaza City, their commanders are faced with a painful dilemma: How far must they advance into the deadly labyrinth of slums and refugee camps where Hamas militants await with booby trapped houses and snipers? With each passing day, Israel's war against Hamas grows riskier and more punishing, with the gains appearing to diminish compared to the spiralling costs - to Israel's moral stature, to the lives of Palestinian civilians and to the world's hopes that an ancient conflict can ever be resolved. Ideally, in a war shaped by television images, Israelis would like a tableau of surrender: grimy Hamas commanders crawling from underground bunkers with their hands up. Instead, the deaths of at least 40 civilians taking shelter at a United Nations-run school north of Gaza City are more likely to become the dominant image of the war. Israeli politicians and generals know that the total elimination of Hamas' entrenched military command could take weeks; it might be altogether impossible.

The more realistic outcome is an unsatisfactory, brokered truce that leaves Hamas wounded but alive and able to regenerate - and Israel only temporarily safe from attack. Israel's Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, has promised a "war to the bitter end." But after 60 years of struggle to defend their existence against foreign threats and enemies within, many Israelis may be wondering, Where does that end lie?

The threat posed by Hamas is only the most immediate of the many interlocking challenges facing Israel, some of which cast dark shadows over the long-term viability of a democratic Jewish state. The offensive in Gaza may degrade Hamas' ability to menace southern Israel with rocket fire, but, as with Israel's 2006 war against Hizballah, the application of force won't extinguish the militants' ideological fervour. The anti-Israeli anger swelling in the region has made it more difficult for Arab governments to join Israel in its efforts to deal with Iran, the patron of both Hamas and Hizballah and a state whose leaders have sworn to eliminate Israel and appear determined to acquire nuclear weapons. Just as ominous for many Israelis is a ticking demographic time bomb: the likelihood that Arabs will vastly outnumber Jews in the land stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean is a catastrophic prospect for a nation that defines itself by its faith.

Israelis will have to choose between living with an independent Palestinian state or watching Jews become a minority in their own land.

As much as any other nation on earth, Israel is based on a dream: the aspiration to establish a home for the Jews in the birth-place of their ancestors. To a remarkable extent, that dream has been fulfilled, as Israel has grown into the most modern and democratic country in the Middle East. A strong, confident Israel ... is one that can find peace with its neighbours, cooperate with the Arabs to contain common threats and, most important, reach a just and lasting solution with the Palestinians. But how do you make peace with those who don't seem to want it? How do you win a war when the other side believes time is on its side? And what would true security, in a hostile neighbourhood populated with enemies, actually look like? As is always true in the Middle East, there are no easy answers.

How to Deal with Hamas

THE MOST IMMEDIATE CHALLENGE facing Israel is that posed by Hamas. Gaza's tragedy has for days been playing out on the world's TV sets. By Jan. 7, more than 700 Palestinians, many of them non-combatants, had been killed. But there's something tragic, too, in Israel's predicament: in any confrontation with its enemies, it is damned if it does and doomed if it doesn't.

Across Israel's political spectrum there seems to be a consensus that Hamas' provocative rocket barrages could not go unanswered - though whether Israel's response has been proportional to the threat is, at the least, questionable .Perhaps more threatening than the rockets themselves was the doubt they cast over Israel's vaunted power of deterrence, which is key to keeping its hostile neighbours at bay. That power was badly eroded in 2006, when Hizballah was able to withstand the Israeli onslaught, force a cease-fire and claim victory in the process. That surely emboldened Hamas, which intermittently sent rockets into southern Israel and finally prompted Israel to respond in force. As respected Israeli columnist Nahum Barnea wrote in the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth, "A country that is afraid to deal with Hamas won't be able either to  deter Iran or to safeguard its interests in dealing with Syria, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority."

-WITH REPORTING BY TAMIL HAMAD/RAMALLAH, AARON J.
KLEIN/GAZA BORDER AND SCOTT MACLEOD/CAIRO ? (Abridged)


GOD’S ANSWER TO ISRAEL’S DILEMMA

We have seen in Isaiah 11 that God will have an input into what seems to be, in human terms, Israel’s  dilemma.

Surrounded by enemies on every side with the vowed intention of eliminating that tiny State - which, with the
backing of Iran and Russia, seems quite feasible, Israel appears to have a limited existence.
However, God has decreed that Israel will survive after going through “a time of trouble such as never was.”

Below are a number of verses taken from the prophecies of Jeremiah. They are being fulfilled in this generation.

Jeremiah 30:3 [NKJ] ‘For behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the LORD. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’"
4 Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah. 5 "For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, Of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all
faces turned pale?
7 Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.

The present retaliation by Israel against the thousands of rockets fired by Hamas into Israel over the past year has roused the ire of hordes of protesters world-wide.
Throughout Eastern and Western Europe, the UK, and all the Islamic countries down to Indonesia and even in Australia. Synagogues have been torched and antisemitic feelings have manifest themselves in vandalous actions.

The Scriptures indicate a united Arabic conglomerate that will attack Israel prior to the Return of Christ.

Psalm 83 gives the ancient names of all the nations that surround Israel today. The prophecy of Joel 1, 2 &3
describe a huge “locust horde” of nations conducting a “holy war’ (jihad) against Israel. Zechariah 12 & 14
includes “all the nations round about” in a siege against Jerusalem that results in “the city ..... taken ..... and half the city shall go into captivity.”

God’s solution to this event is outlined in the same Scriptures already referred to:

Zechariah 14:3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

Joel 3:16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; 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.

Perhaps the clearest record of Israel’s present and future condition is to be found in Jeremiah 30:
11 For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’12 "For thus says the LORD: ‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe.13 There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines. 14 All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased. 15 Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you. 16 ‘Therefore all those who devour you shall be devoured; And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; 
Those who plunder you shall become plunder, And all who prey upon you I will make a prey. 17 For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the LORD, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: "This is Zion; No one seeks her."’

ISRAEL’S FUTURE

Some time in the near future, Israel will find herself without a friend in the world “All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you” [v.14]. In other SOTs we have shown from Revelation 9 & 16 that
the nations east of the Euphrates will rise against the West. Perhaps this will prevent the US from assisting
Israel; or the economic situation will be too severe; or ecological calamities wreck all communication and
travel - what ever it is - Israel will stand alone!
Israel will cry to God for help - and it will come!

Jeremiah 31:10  "Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’ 11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. 12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the LORD––For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well–watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all. 13 "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
35 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): 36 "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."

Let us turn finally to Daniel 12:1  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people [Israel]: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

“Even so, Come, Lord Jesus.”
 YBIC, Arthur Wright

Sunday 4 January 2009

Gaza in Bible Prophecy

Does Gaza have a significant role to play at the "time of the end"?

As if there were not enough problems in the world to occupy the minds of its inhabitants, such as widespread economic woes, cholera in Zimbabwe, the consequences of climate change and the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, there is now the spectacle of escalating violence in the Middle East.
Israel has been bombarded by thousands of Qassam missiles from Gaza, the first being fired in 2001. However, since the Israeli communities of Gaza were destroyed and the Jews forcibly removed in 2005, the missile fire has become much worse.
...
At this time many may be wondering what kind of role, if any, Gaza may play in Bible prophecy. Gaza or the Philistines is featured in "the word of the Yahweh which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles", starting in Jeremiah in 46. Gaza is mentioned in chapter 47. However, this is not a latter day prophecy.

The Philistines are listed in Psalm 83 as one of the groups that say: "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." The Psalm is very clear that this campaign ends in the destruction and desolation of these nations. They are to become as "dung for the earth", "as stubble before the wind", they are to be filled with shame and the Psalmist says: "Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish". From this Psalm we definitely cannot expect the Gazians to have any great victories over Israel, rather we can expect them to be put to shame. Psalm 83 is a Psalm of Asaph and makes special reference to the "children of Lot". This is strongly connected with 2 Chronicles 20 where the children of Lot - Moab and Ammon - along with Mount Seir attack Judah. The victory is lead by Jahaziel a son of Asaph who with the singers goes before the army and takes up a refrain from a Psalm of Asaph in verse 21 and the battle is fought by Yahweh. The battle in 2 Chronicles 20 is typical of the time of the end.

Another prophecy that speaks about the area of Gaza is Joel chapter 3.  In Joel 3:4, the prophet speaks of "all the coasts of Palestine".

Read more > Bible in the news
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Of interest > 'Prophecies for the Era of Muslim Terror'
Rabbi analyzes the long-standing Arab-Israeli quagmire in light of the Torah
The uneasy six-month truce between Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza ended 22nd December 2008. > Signs of the times