Showing posts with label war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label war. Show all posts

Wednesday 14 September 2016

Iranian preacher creating more hatred between religious groups

 In remembrance of 9/11 an Iranian preachers tries to create more hatred.

Underneath you can find his shouting discours (which we left like he wrote it, with allthe shouting in big capitals)which he placed on his Facebook page.

15 years ago the shape of the whole world got change for ever and War between Islam and Christianity started by Muslims again.
Still after 15 years every day people die because of the teaching of Qur'an and Islam even we all LOVE MUSLIMS and OUR ENEMIES but we need to declare to them and to the whole world that *** ISLAM IS FROM SATAN *** who comes to kill and destroys as JESUS said SATAN COMES TO DESTROY and KILL ( John 10:10 ).
We need to announce WE ARE IN THE WAR , I am telling to every one specially our political leaders.
I recorded below evangelical VIDEO in Persian for today 11 September to let all Muslims and Iranian that we all as CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ISLAM IS FROM SATAN NOT GOD.
And who follow it is a follower a lier prophet and SATANIC RELIGION.
I told in this video most of the pastors or Christian don't dare to say it loud and clearly because of FEAR which some of them call it wisdom which is not but
*** I LOUDLY DECLARE ISLAM HAS BEEN MADE BY SATAN TO STOP MUSLIMS TO BE SAVED AND GO TO HEAVEN BY JESUS CHRIST BLOOD AS LORD AND SAVIOR BECAUSE SATAN WANTS TO LEAD THEM TO HELL *** . But we want MUSLIM BE SAVED.
Jesus said in John 10:28-30
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.
and Muslims can be one of these saved people if they know the TRUTH and REPENT as I did as Ex Muslim if they humble them self before Lord.
Jesus wants to come to your heart my Muslims friend accept him as LORD and SAVIOR of your life NOW , tomorrow is maybe late.

+
Dutch version / Nederlandse versie: Amerikaans-Iraanse voorganger Saeed Abedini plaatst omstreden bericht
+++

Tuesday 19 April 2016

The 17th annual White Privilege Conference a militantly Christophobic conference held in Philadelphia

A simplified chart of historical developments ...
A simplified chart of historical developments of major groups within Christianity. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
From April 15 to 17 the 17th annual White Privilege Conference was held in Philadelphia.

Activist and author Paul Kivel identified three particularly severe problems in the modern world that are caused or worsened by Christianity.

I could agree with his idea about certain people storming for their faith, bringing crusades, like we can see the crusades of the Muslim brothers of today. Though I would not call it Christianity's effort to spread Western ideas and influence but love to ask people to see the big difference between Christianity and Christendom, the first one preaching world peace and equality for all people, leaving everybody to choose for their own God or gods, whilst certain people in Christendom thinking all should be part of their religion and belief in their threeheaded god.
Paul Kivel lecturing in front of his homemade posters explaining Christian hegemony [Blake Neff]
Paul Kivel lecturing in front of his homemade posters explaining Christian hegemony [Blake Neff] On one poster, he showed “Christian hegemony” at the center of a web that included ideas like “racism,” “sexism,” and “ableism.”


Perhaps Kivel had in mind how certain evangelicals tried to bring their faith to the African communities and how Christian groups or Christian nations went to war in the East.

I would agree with the economical aspect brining people at war, but that has nothing to do with Christianity. Most wars are a matter of power and of getting more material wealth, not spiritual wealth.

As third problem was mentioned that
under Christianity mankind has dominion over the Earth, rather than requiring that humans treat the Earth itself as 'sacred.'"
Once again here could be better spoken of Christendom. In Christianity all teaching is directed to respect for the Work of the Divine Creator and as such every creature has to be respected and man has to treat nature as good has he can. In Christianity each lover of God should understand that we as human beings are only here on acceptance and have the world in loan. It does not belong to any one person in particular, except God.
It is by human's wrong doing that we are now facing the problem of "climate change" and not because of those believing in Jehovah God and in Jesus Christ, the son of God.

It is not because it is said in the Bible that man has been given dominion over all other living things, that it would sanction man's abuse of the environment or other creatures.
(Genesis 1:28; Matthew 25:14-30; Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:1-7).

Kivel argued also that
Christianity orients us to distinguish between good and evil, which forces us to adopt a "with us or against us" mentality. "There's nothing inherently good or bad about the weather or about people,"
he insisted.

Good versus bad does not mean with us  or against us, and such mentality has not to be provoked by being a Christian.  Kivel makes an irrational leap that to distinguish between good and evil leads to condemnation of various things as worthy of destruction.There are Christians, who are trinitarians, and cannot cope with people who have an other faith than they, but more often it are non-religious people from certain political groups, who have much more difficulties with believers in God and who are most intolerant toward people and ideas of other religions or secularists.

+

Find also to read:

White Privilege Conference: Almost Everything Bad Is Tied To Christianity



+++


Tuesday 4 June 2013

If You want to start winning the war



You want to start winning the war,
you have to start engaging the enemy.
  The best weapon against hate, Love.
  Don’t attack someone because a lifestyle choice is sinful,
you are probably in sin too.
 Instead why not work together to seek out salvation
just like the scripture tells us to?

The church is not a building, the church is us
– and it reflects, or should reflect the mind of Christ
as we are his hands and feet here.

*



Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday 31 October 2011

New articles for October 2011

While in September war was imminent according to Israeli commander and hundreds of thousands had come on the streets in Israel the Unites States and Europe found also many hundreds of people who were undignified whith todays situation.
In September Israel had attacked and Egypt had entered a severe crisis but the common people showed their anger and dislikes.

This month in the Ecclesia we gave attention on the Name of God and looked at its use in several languages and Bibletranslations.

Also the economic troubles and Bank tribulations could not escape our attention. After the American debacle, the Lehman Brothers brought a lot of Belgian people in a position where they lost all their savings. On top of that the Belgian Banks burned their soup as well.
Dexia-debacle met venijnig staartje.
Politically Belgium saw some light and got somewhere on the good way in the worst political crisis since it short existance. Doorbraak in grootste regeringscrisis van België

We discussed how a Christian has to behave him or herself in such a situation and which responsibility we do have to take about our environment.

We spoke about the many diversions people looked for and what sort of entertainment got him away from our real purpose and essence of life. We could see that also today we still have A god between many gods and that a lot of people still keep choosing for the wrong hero.


We showed that it has become more important today to know the importance of the Creator of heaven and earth and everything aroundיהוה. When we look at the world and see what human beings try to do with the creation we know that no mater what the world may be thinking we should honour always only The Only One Elohim who creates and gives all, but we should also dare to speak to Him using His Name. Though when we do hear many Christians speak, we hear them using strange words for a believer in the Most High and we do not often hear Gods real Name, but often we hear His titles used in a strange way, not really honouring the Elohim Hashem. Lots of Christians are afraid to utter their opinnion when it goes against the general contemporary attitude. they are afraid not going to be accepted by the community and fear to fail. Faal beter
Faal beter #2 Jij en de ander

We can wonder What is your greatest fear? not to use Gods Name?
Some one or something to fear #2 Attitude and Reactions
Some one or something to fear #3 Cases, folks and outing
Some one or something to fear #4 Families and Competition
Some one or something to fear #5 Not afraid
Some one or something to fear #6 Faith in the Most High
Some one or something to fear #7 Not afraid for Gods Name

In Flanders the population of the poor is growing fast and we can find more families where there is no possibility to consume three meals a day:Geen drie maaltijden voor kind. Several parents have no possibility to buy the necessary products for their children anymore. With the growing population some people are afraid that we shall not be able to feed all those mouths. From the several articles you shall be able to find out that God has foreseen in His Plan that we all shall be able to live nicely. So it can be interesting to look at the World Population Watch - see http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ - where a magic figure of 7 Billion  is brining a reality of acute awareness to take care of each other (- purely for interest not a doomsday prediction.)

Britain changes rules to the act of settlement. What does this mean and why is it significant? > CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEKS WWW 23rd - 29th Oct 2011‏

In > Niet winkelend we show how certain evolution in the belief of people made that we do came in a situation which is not worth for a civilised population to live in. In November we shall go deeper into that because professor Verhaeghe does not agree with what I am saying that a lot of what happens today in the financial and work market happens because of the loss of values and morals. We look also on what others think about The origins of Occupy Wall Street and about the Complex Equality. We also looked at the metaphor for the lost generation. >Metafoor over een generatie but also dare to say we to the great indignation question the incident in the university buildings in Brussels > Verontwaardigd over Indignados. (The photographs of the damage say enough about the attitude of certain people today.)
This outrage or outcry we hear today may be understandable, but how should we behave as Christians? To know how we best can react we also should try to understand all the parties and look at the historical and political situation.
Anti-Crisis anger calling out
Op straat voor waardigheid #1 Zieke broertje
Op straat voor waardigheid #2 Grote broer
Op straat voor waardigheid #3 de Rest van de Familie
Op straat voor waardigheid #4 de Erfenis

The economical crisis also showed that there is some division in Europe and questions the position of each individual in the system.Verdeeldheid bijgelegd.

Europe has enjoyed many decades of growth in wealth and well-being, based on intensive use of resources. But today it faces the dual challenge of stimulating the growth needed to provide jobs and well-being to its citizens, and of ensuring that the quality of this growth leads to a sustainable future. Humanity should be aware that it has become high time to take care of our neighbours, humans but also plants and animals around us. If we would like to have something to eat in a few years time, we shall have to do something against the pollution and about the greediness of certain people.

We have come to a position where we have many fragile creatures pushed in a corner of extinction. the stronger ones should come up for the weaker ones we discussed in the European Parliament:Kwetsbare mens in het Europa van morgen #1 Colloquium
Some think Christians may not rise their voice or may not interfere with politics, but we should be aware that we cannot let certain things happen. Also we do have to come up for the Creation of our beloved Most High Elohim. Therefore several believers came together to share their ideas of how to continue as a nation and to discuss which measures we all should take or how we can stand up as one nation to protect mother earth and show the world that it has to respect the Creation of the Most High Creator, though some humans themselves want to play for god creator. >Sense or nonsense of “Human Fragility”

In the mean time several protesters went on to the streets to show their indignation. But in Brussels and Rome some of those los Indignados showed how we as humans really should not behave. Los Indignados occpyed New York and other cities: Van Evere naar Occupy Antwerp. We are reminded of the Anarchy on the streets a few months ago. What can be learned from the August riots?

We did not only see violance against buildings, cars and parcs. Lots of damage is done to those who are very fragile in our community.

Violence against disabled children while we have to find four-in-10 disabled young ‘poor’.
We wonder what the prospects can be for our children and look at the position we as believers do have to take. We also should dare to call on the governments to recognise the urgency of the situation and take immediate steps to reduce child poverty. We should not think it is just an Aziatic, African, South-American and Flemish situation. There is also a Bleak forecasts for children in the UK .

How can we let it happen that in Belgium 1 in 6 children lives in poverty today?
Is there a hungerweapon? >Hongerwapen
Lappendeken als uithangbord? What can we offer those kids? Droevig vooruitzicht voor jonge kinderen. Therefore we looked also at the International Day for 
the Eradication of Poverty
and dared to asked what you would do and think of your life when you would die today >Indien u nu zou sterven. If Today Was Your Last Day On Earth?

would you be settled with what you think today? Would you be scared? > If Today Was Your Last Day On Earth?

Those children who live in poverty have a bleaker forecast because they cannot have a social formation in youth clubs or extra tuition in music, word or movement theatre. they also have more chances to be bullied at at school. this has really become something that happens more and more and we see it spreading in the work units of adults, where several people are already driven to take their own life.
Onbesef van pesten op school

Ecological economics in the stomach #1 Alarmbell
Ecological economics in the stomach #2 Resources
Ecological economics in the stomach #3 Food and Populace

The world had to loose one of those persons who recognised who is behind all the things we see around us. For many years she tried to get some damage undone which humans had caused to the Creation of the Most High. She tried to save humans by saving trees. > Tree Planter Maathai died

The world lost also a dictator and international terrorist. What are the implications for the Middle East now Gaddafi is dead? CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEKS WWW 16th - 22nd Oct 2011‏
His dead brought freedom for many. So also in Israel and Gaza people were happy for newly liberated friends. What is the significance of Israel releasing 270 murderers for one Israeli soldier? Could it be a prelude to conflict? What does the Bible say about this? > CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEKS WWW 9th - 15th Oct 2011‏

Going a little-bit further in the past: The Palestinians had voted at the Security Council and the UN General Assembly.  You can read what brother Andy Walton thought what might happen? > CLICK HERE FOR THIS WEEKS WWW 11th - 17th September 2011‏

In summer the Bible Exhibition at Tewkesbury was blessed with well over 500 visitors in just 4 days! They have also had around 20 people sign up to the seminars. It shows that there are still people interested in hearing about God's word and his plan and purpose - even in these last and very dark days.

Perhaps in our writings we bring not such nice tidings, looking at all this misery, political difficulties, economical and other crimes, but we show also that we can have better prospects as well, but are ourselves also responsible for a lot of things which happen today and shall happen in the near future. Next month, going on about our stance in the Fragile environment I shall dare you to confront with the disastrous figures the scientist brought forwards at the congress in the European Parliament about Fragility. We then shall look with Dr.E. Herr at the relation between the Bible and the Cosmos and with Dr. Le Bichon how we shall be able to work for a better humane community when we try to bring others also over the border of our mysterious feeling and get as many as possible to see how we have to honour our Only One God by giving full honour also to His Creation.

Monday 9 November 2009

What Jesus Did - Misleading around the Messiah and the final assessment

Many false prophets will rise and mislead many. (MHM)

You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. (ERV) 
Key Thought
Life in the end times for Jerusalem will be tumultuous. Wars, famines, earthquakes will be on the earth. But these are merely like the labour pains of a woman in childbirth. They were not to become frightened or disoriented. The Lord who reigns, the Lord who will conquer, is still in control and things will happen at his command. Nothing will be left to chance.
While these events anticipate the downfall of Jerusalem, they are only the beginning of the end of the old age. They were not to be afraid. The Lord, who passed through death, the Lord who triumphed in crucifixion, is Lord of all.
Jesus’ disciples would not go where he hasn't been before. No, they were to go about doing what they were supposed to do. They were to be alert! They were to be ready! They were to be faithful! But, is he talking merely about the fall of Jerusalem or about the end of time? It mattered to those who lived through the destruction of Jerusalem, but the point is basically the same for us whether Jesus is talking about a major disaster or The Major Disaster. We are to be faithful and ready and unafraid. Jesus will not forget, abandon, or leave us. When he comes in glory, we will share in it too! We are to be faithful, ready, and unafraid!
Today's Prayer
O Lord, Master and God of all time, and the One and Only God who dwells above time, give me a sense of hope in Your son, a heart of patience, and an eye of expectancy as I await your deliverance, whether it is from the problems that press around me now or whether it is the ultimate deliverance of Jesus’ return! God, do show me your glory and let the coming of your son also be a sign of liberation be for me. In the powerful name of Jesus, you son and representative on earth, I pray. Amen.
Text in Context:
Jesus left the temple area and was walking away. But his followers came to him to show him the temple's buildings. Jesus asked the followers, "Are you looking at these buildings? I tell you the truth. They will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another." Later, Jesus was sitting at a place on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to be alone with Jesus. They said, "Tell us when these things will happen. And what will happen to show us that it is time for you to come again and time for the world to end?" Jesus answered: "Be careful! Don't let any person fool you. Many people will come and use my name. They will say, 'I am the Christ. ' And they will fool many people. You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don't be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. These things are like the first pains when something new is born. "Then people will treat you badly. People will give you {to the rulers} to be persecuted (hurt) and killed. All people will hate you. All these things will happen to you because you believe in me. At that time, many believers will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. Many false prophets will come. They will cause many people to believe wrong things. There will be more and more evil in the world. So most believers will stop showing love. But the person that continues strong to the end will be saved. The Good News about {God's} kingdom will be told in the whole world. It will be told to every nation. Then the end will come.
Matthew 24:1-14 (ERV)
Dutch version / Nederlandstalige versie > Wat Jezus Deed - Misleiding om de Messias en het laatste oordeel

Friday 27 March 2009

Running the battle

Dutch version / Nederlands > Strijd leveren

“"When you go forth to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (De 20:1 RSV)
“and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s and he will give you into our hand."” (1Sa 17:47 RSV)
“You will not need to fight in this battle; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, and be not dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.’"” (2Ch 20:17 RSV)
“But if you suppose that in this way you will be strong for war, God will cast you down before the enemy; for God has power to help or to cast down."” (2Ch 25:8 RSV)
“He will deliver my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.” (Ps 55:18 RSV)
“O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.” (Ps 140:7 RSV)
“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD.” (Pr 21:31 RSV)
“Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ec 9:11 RSV)
“And I will make for you a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety.” (Ho 2:18 RSV)
“("Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!")” (Re 16:15 RSV)
“and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.” (Re 20:8 RSV)


+++



Enhanced by Zemanta

Saturday 21 March 2009

Living in faith


“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but seeing them afar off and believing [them] and embracing [them] and confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those that say such things declare plainly that they seek their native country.” (Heb 11:13-14 JB2000)

 “And these all, approved by testimony of faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that [they] without us should not be made perfect.” (Heb 11:39-40 JB2000)

 “For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see and have not seen [them] and to hear [those things] which ye hear and have not heard [them].” (Mt 13:17 JB2000)

 “Jesus said unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed [are] those that have not seen and [yet] have believed.” (Joh 20:29 JB2000)

 “For we [are] strangers before thee, and sojourners, as [were] all our fathers; our days on the earth [are] as a shadow, and [there is] no other hope.” (1Ch 29:15 JB2000)

 “Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from the carnal desires which war against the soul” (1Pe 2:11 JB2000)

 “So then, leave all uncleanness and remains of malice and receive with meekness the word ingested within you, which is able to cause your souls to be saved.” (Jas 1:21 JB2000)

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Leven in geloof
Enhanced by Zemanta

Thursday 5 March 2009

Count your blessings

If you have food in the fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, you are richer than three quarters of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, or a few coins lying around, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health than sickness, you are more blessed than the million that will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of war, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation,
you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If your parents are still alive and still married,
you are blessed with a rare gift.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone’s hand, touch them on the shoulder, or even hug them, you are blessed because you can offer a healing touch.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over countless millions in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings,
and remind others how blessed we all are.

Dutch version / Nederlands > Tel uw zegeningen

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