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Pro-Palestinian Protesters Are On A Collision Course With God – By Robert Gottselig - https://harbingersdaily.com/pro-palestinian-protesters-are-on-a-collision-course-with-god/
Last week, a video was posted on X that showed a Palestinian man visiting the Auschwitz Birkenau Holocaust Memorial Museum, where he called on Jews to return to the site where they belong. Just read this man’s demonic hatred for the Jewish people, “From these ‘Ghettos’ [concentration camps] from which the Zionists came, [I say] Allah have mercy on all the Palestinians and our martyrs and free Palestine! Allah willing, we will be free from you, and you will return to the [concentration] camp or to your countries, and any [other] place, as long as you leave our place [Palestine]. Because this is our land, and you belong here [Auschwitz]. This is your place of origin. You left the camps, these Ghettos… Long live Palestine!” “You belong here,” “This is your place of origin,” “Long live Palestine”—How disgusting is that? While he is not among those who deny the Holocaust, he is among those who wish the Jewish people dead. That demonic hatred is growing in our world at an alarming rate. Just this past weekend, I attended a pro-Palestinian encampment. Of course, we’ve been hearing primarily about those in the United States, and I hate to report to you today, but they’re here in Canada as well. I attended an encampment at the University of Toronto’s St. George campus on King’s College Circle. There were signs posted all over saying, “This Is The Intifada,” “End The Genocide,” “Free Palestine,” and a large banner saying, “From The River To The Sea.” Of course, their mantra, “From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free,” speaks of the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Look at a map and ask yourself, where does Israel fit in that? Simply, it doesn’t. They’re calling for the elimination of the State of Israel and, ultimately, the elimination of the Jewish people. They were calling Israel an apartheid state, and there was even a poster that said, “Glory To All Martyrs.” I can’t believe that here in Canada, we would allow people to glorify the killing of Jews and spread evil disinformation about Israel. I thought to myself, “Pinch me! I must be in a bad dream.” I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing with my own eyes. People all over the encampment were proudly wearing masks and keffiyehs—those terrorist neck scarves that Yasser Arafat made popular—as they boldly condemned Israel and called for their further destruction. One of the organizers, a day or two before we were there this past Saturday, shared what their purpose was for the encampments and a list of their demands: Hi, I’m Erin. I am one of the organizers and spokespeople for UT Occupied Palestine. We are currently at King’s College Circle at the University of Toronto, standing in front of our encampment that we’ve set up and we’ve renamed the People’s Circle for Palestine. Question: Can you tell me what your demands are? Yeah, absolutely. So we have three core demands. The first is for the university to disclose all of their investments. The second is for the university to divest from Israeli apartheid. And the third is for the university to terminate all partnerships with Israeli academic institutions. Question: So you deal with other universities that are in Israel? Yes. Question: Do you know, specifically, what sort of business dealings or what universities? Yeah, so the University of Toronto has an active partnership with Hebrew University, which is in occupied Palestine. That partnership is focused on AI technology, which we know AI is being used to target Palestinians. And so that particular relationship is really egregious. But we are asking the university to end all partnerships with Israeli academic institutions, because those ultimately are helping enable the ongoing genocide that’s happening. Question: How long are you prepared to stay here? Yeah, so we are joining students from across North America. As far as I know, there’s been 120 encampments at universities across the US. There’s also one happening at the University of British Columbia, one at McGill, [and] now one here at the University of Toronto. But it’s important to note that these didn’t start now. You know, students have been demanding divestment from Israel since 2006 at the University of Toronto. We ourselves held an occupation of Simcoe Hall, Meric Gertler, our president’s office a few weeks ago, and we were met with a nonanswer, which is why we decided to escalate and be here today. We’ll continue to make these demands until the university divest from Israeli apartheid. We hear the buzzwords “Israel apartheid,” “occupied Palestine,” that Israel is “committing genocide,” and so on. I’ll tell you, it should make us weep that these young people in our country have been brainwashed into believing a lie like that. Sadly, these universities in our country have become nothing more than a cesspool for antisemitism to breed, with very little being done about it. While I was there, I took the time to talk to a few people. Most had no knowledge of the truth about Israel—and most of them didn’t want to know either. I met a journalist who I thought had some common sense, but as I was sharing some of the things about Israel with her, she looked at me and said, “Ah, that’s just a bunch of rhetoric,” and she walked away. There were, however, a few people who stood with Israel. I was grateful for that and had an opportunity to encourage them. At one point, I was able to talk to a police officer. I highlighted to him that if I were to organize something like this calling for the elimination of the LGBT community, I’d wind up in jail within 24 hours. The police officer nodded, but then he shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Well, there’s really nothing that I can do about what’s happening here.” How sad is that? The University of Toronto isn’t the only university in Canada to have these shameful encampments. No, they’re also set up at UCB in Vancouver and McGill in Montreal. Where are our leaders? Where are our Mayors? Why are they not putting an end to all of this? You can call this free speech, as some are saying, but when you are blatantly calling for the elimination of the Jewish people, you’ve gone way too far. I say enough with his demonic hatred. Come on, Canada, you’re better than this! It’s time to wake up. The Jewish people just remembered the horrors of the Holocaust only a couple of days ago. Oftentimes, people wonder, “Where was God in all of that?” Well, I can assure you, friends, that He was there. Just as we read in Isaiah 63:9, “In all their affliction He was afflicted…” I have no doubt in my mind that God must have wept over those atrocities. One day, He’s going to judge those who committed those demonic crimes. For those who persecute His chosen people today thinking that there’s no God taking note and going to come to Israel’s rescue, let me read to you what the king of Kings, Israel’s Messiah, Jesus, has to say when he returns one day at a second coming. This is when He comes back to save the remnant of his brethren, the Jewish people, physically and spiritually. In Matthew 25:31-44, we read, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren [the Jewish People], you did it to Me.’” “Then He will also say to those on the left hand,” the verse continues, and this is a warning to the world, “‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” There you have it. Judgment is coming one day. Woe to those who say that Jews should be returned to the ovens. Woe to those who say the Jews should be eliminated from the river to the sea. God says that those who do such things are on a collision course with Him—and they will lose for all eternity. The Real Reason Hamas and Egypt Oppose Israel's Control of Rafah, the Only Border Out of Gaza - by Bassam Tawil - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/20624/israel-gaza-egypt-border-rafah On May 6, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, drawing condemnations from the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group and Egypt. The IDF said it had "intelligence that terrorists were using the border crossing for terror purposes." A day earlier, Hamas terrorists fired rockets from near the Rafah terminal toward the Kerem Shalom area (near the Israel-Gaza border), killing four Israeli soldiers and wounding several others. In response to the Israeli military operation, Hamas and Egypt were quick to issue statements denouncing the capture of the Rafah border crossing, claiming that the move would "threaten" the lives of the Palestinians and hinder the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip. "Egypt condemns in the strongest terms the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, and the resulting Israeli control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing," read a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "This dangerous escalation threatens the lives of more than a million Palestinians who depend primarily on this crossing as it is the main lifeline of the Gaza Strip, and the safe outlet for the wounded and sick to exit to receive treatment, and for the entry of humanitarian and relief aid to our Palestinian brothers in Gaza." Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip also expressed outrage over the Israeli move and said they would not accept the presence of any non-Palestinian party on the Palestinian side of their terminal. "We will not accept from any party the imposition of any form of guardianship over the Rafah crossing," the terrorist groups cautioned. They urged the Arab and Islamic states "to reject any plans and attempts that affect Palestinian-Egyptian sovereignty over the Rafah crossing." The Egyptians and Hamas have good reason to be angry with the presence of the IDF at the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing. For several years, Palestinians who wanted to exit the Gaza Strip via the terminal have alleged that they had to bribe Hamas and officials. Hamas and Egypt are now afraid of losing the Palestinian milk-cow. In 2015, Egyptian journalist Ahmed Moussa revealed that Hamas received bribes worth $6,000 from Palestinians for passing through the Rafah border crossing. A year later, Palestinian journalist Noha Abu Amr wrote on her Facebook page about the plight of her 50-year-old mother, who was unable to travel through the Rafah crossing, but she did not pay a bribe to Hamas officials. She said that her mother sat on the floor and kissed the hands and legs of the crossing officials in full view of the people and begged them to allow her to travel. "They treated her like animals," Abu Amr recounted. "It is our right to travel without bribes and without corruption. We are living under a [Hamas] dictatorship." Abu Amr was later arrested by Hamas security officers, who confiscated her mobile phone and ordered her to delete the Facebook post. Arab and Western media outlets have reported that since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Palestinians who want to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah terminal are being compelled to bribe Egyptian officials with thousands of dollars. The war erupted after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and massacred, decapitated, raped and dismembered 1,200 Israelis on October 7. Additionally, more than 240 Israelis were abducted by the terrorists and taken to the Gaza Strip; 132 hostages, many of whom are believed to have been killed, are still being held there by the terrorist group. "To leave Gaza, people are paying a $5,000 bribe to Egypt," the Gaza-based Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary wrote on X on November 23, 2023. Palestinians who try to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing have to pay bribes to brokers of up to $10,000, the British newspaper The Guardian reported on January 8, 2024. "Very few Palestinians have been able to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing but those trying to get their names on the list of people permitted to exit daily say they are being asked to pay large 'coordination fees' by a network of brokers and couriers with alleged links to the Egyptian intelligence services." It quoted a Palestinian man in the US as saying he paid $9,000 to get his wife and children on the list. On the day of travel, he was told his children's names were not listed and he would have to pay an extra $3,000. He said the brokers were "trying to trade in the blood of Gazans". "It's very frustrating and saddening," he said. "They are trying to exploit people who are suffering, who are trying to get out of the hell in Gaza." According to The Guardian: "A network of brokers, based in Cairo, helping Palestinians leave Gaza has operated around the Rafah border for years. But prices have surged since the start of the war, from $500 for each person." The Guardian interviewed a number of Palestinians who have been told they would have to pay between $5,000 and $10,000 each to leave the Gaza Strip, with some launching crowdfunding campaigns to raise the money. A Palestinian living in the UK was quoted as saying: "People are making money off the misery of others. They're desperate to get out to save their lives and instead of helping they're trying to make money. If there's a way to get people out, then why not just help?" A company owned by an influential Egyptian businessman and ally of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is making around $2 million a day from Palestinians fleeing the Gaza Strip, according to the Middle East Eye (MEE), a UK-based news website, on May 1, 2024 "Hala Consulting and Tourism Services, a firm owned by Sinai tribal leader and business tycoon Ibrahim al-Organi, has been charging Palestinians crossing from Gaza's Rafah to Egypt at least $5,000 per adult and $2,500 for children under 16. "It has a monopoly on providing transfer services at the Rafah crossing, the only Gaza exit not bordered with Israel and the single route out of the coastal enclave for Palestinians." In the past three months alone, the company is estimated to have made a minimum of $118 million from desperate Palestinians trying to leave the Gaza Strip, according to MEE. "By the end of this year, if the April average continues, the company may earn well over half a billion dollars from the so-called VIP list of people Hala is transferring across the Gaza-Egypt border... "Palestinian and Egyptian sources told MEE that several intermediaries were involved in coordinating the exit of Palestinians in a haphazard, decentralized way. "Before February, Palestinians were charged up to $11,000 per adult to leave Gaza, until Hala monopolized the business and standardized fees. "Prior to the war, Hala charged everyone exiting Gaza via the Rafah crossing $350 per person, but the price has increased 14-fold for Palestinians." According to the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo, Diab Allouh, an estimated 80,000-100,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza via Egypt since the war began. Earlier this year, MEE reported that an international charity with extensive experience in providing emergency aid in wars, famines and earthquakes throughout the Middle East and in Afghanistan is also being forced to pay $5,000 per truck to a company linked to Egypt's General Intelligence Service to get aid into the Gaza Strip. "The charity, which does not want to be named to avoid obstruction to its relief efforts in Gaza, spoke to Middle East Eye in outrage at having to pay what it openly describes as a bribe to a state-linked agent." MEE quoted a spokesman for the charity as saying: "We have worked around the world in times of war, earthquakes and other disasters, but we have never been treated like this by a state that is profiteering from the dispatch of humanitarian goods. It's draining a lot of our resources and the bribe being paid is per truck." According to MEE: "The charity's statement to MEE is the first concrete evidence of Egypt or Egyptian government-linked parties demanding a cut from the humanitarian aid going into Gaza..." MEE said it spoke to five Palestinian families who all confirmed that they had paid fees in the thousands, mostly in US dollars or euros, to mediators who then facilitated their exit from Gaza. Nadia Atawy, an Egyptian woman trapped in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, said in a video that she is unable to pay a $650 bribe to return to her family in Egypt though the Rafah border crossing. "I don't have the money to pay," Atawy complained. "I have children with me and I can't afford to pay [the bribe]. I don't know what to do." The Palestinians actually owe Israel a huge debt of gratitude for finally driving Hamas out of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing. Since the terrorist organization took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, the crossing has been under its control. Hamas used the crossing to collect money for its corrupt officials and their families. In a similar vein, Palestinians are now being forced to pay thousands of dollars to Egyptians to escape the Gaza Strip. One can understand why Egypt and Hamas strongly oppose having the IDF stationed at the border crossing: the millions of dollars they have been receiving may disappear. Egypt and Hamas are, it seems, indifferent to the pain endured by the Palestinians they are effectively imprisoning. All that matters to them is making more money off anyone desperate to leave the Gaza Strip. 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Your Support is Important to this Ministry - We Could Not Do This Without Your Support! Let Us Make the Short Time We have Left, Count for ALL of Eternity! Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift! II Corinthians 9:15 Worthy of Your Support? It has been said, one of the most reliable ways to determine if a ministry is worthy of your financial support is to examine its fruits. If Prophecy Update is keeping you informed and if that information inspires you and causes you to draw closer to the Lord, if Prophecy Update equips you with valuable information and knowledge to share with and encourage other believers and open the eyes of non-believers and if Prophecy Update keeps you connected to current events relating to Bible Prophecy then you are partaking of the fruit produced through this ministry. None of this would be possible without the Lords blessings and your support. I believe where the Lord guides, the Lord provides and most of the time He provides through the willing and generous hearts of believers just like you and me. I genuinely believe that Prophecy Update and many other like-minded ministries, are needed now more than ever! The world is getting darker daily, almost hourly, but never has the light of the Word of God shone so brightly. Never in our history has there been such a thirst for Truth and a need for a Savior! The Prophecy Update website, newsletter, and Video Channels are all dedicated to providing the truth, encouraging and informing believers, and prayerfully opening the eyes and hearts of non-believers with the Gospel, but none of it would be possible without your prayers and support. DONATE HERE Your can also mail your support to: Prophecy Update PO Box 40516 Bakersfield, CA 93384 What Does it Mean to Stand with Israel? (Part 1) - By Paul J. Scharf - https://www.raptureready.com/2024/05/07/what-does-it-mean-to-stand-with-israel-part-1-by-paul-j-scharf/ My previous column challenged Bible-believing Christians—and all Americans—to stand with the people, nation, and land of Israel during these times of unprecedented hatred aimed at Jewish people around the world. During the past week, the animosity and hostility spouted against the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have grown to a level that we might have considered unfathomable, making such pleas all the more necessary. This story is not going away anytime soon. The acrimony is spreading like wildfire. And make no mistake about it: This is not simply an attack on Israel and the Jewish people. It is an attack on America, our Christian worldview, and everything we hold dear—coming from those who identify proudly (even if unwittingly) with the Hamas terrorists. If this is not a struggle between good and evil, then I don’t know what is. [i] But what does it really mean to stand with this “holy people” (Deut. 7:6)? It’s easy enough to say the words, but what actions do they represent? Additionally, the mere mention of the concept seems to draw out every imaginable objection. The dissent ranges from a soft antisemitism—rooted in the worst traditions of Catholic and Protestant Christendom—to the musings of professing dispensationalists who simply cannot be convinced that the Israel now returned to its land is related to Biblical Israel. So, what do I mean when I talk about standing with God’s chosen people? Let’s set up the answer in this installment by thinking about a few things that this does not mean. Standing with Israel does not mean that we believe her to be inherently worthy of God’s blessing. Israelites, like everyone else on this planet, are worthy of God’s judgment, not His favor—and they certainly have received His chastening in heavy doses throughout their history (see Jer. 31:18). The Apostle Paul made it clear in Rom. 3:9 that “both Jews and Greeks … are all under sin.” And God made it plain from the beginning that He never chose Israel because of any intrinsic goodness within them, “but because the LORD loves you” (Deut. 7:8). So, let’s rule this one out right away—and, while we’re at it, let’s hope that none of us ever have to worry about God giving us what we deserve. Standing with Israel also does not mean that we discount the fact that Israel today is a nation in unbelief. Having largely rejected their Messiah, the Jewish people suffer under spiritual “blindness” (Rom. 11:25). They live in spiritual apostasy (see Rev. 11:8). Yet, thank God, this blindness is only “in part” and only for a limited period of time (Rom. 11:25)! One day, their return in faith will be complete and eternal (see Rom. 11:26; cf. Zech. 13:9). But now, Israel is one of “the kingdoms of this world” (Rev. 11:15) which remain “under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19)—just as our own beloved United States does also (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4). Sadly, this is going to get worse before it gets better. In fact, it is going to be so bad that Israel will literally cut a deal with the devil. They will make a seven-year covenant with the antichrist, which will officially begin the seven-year period of tribulation (see Dan. 9:26-27; John 5:43). So, if you think Israel has failed spiritually in the past, just hang on. You haven’t seen anything yet! Israel, as a whole today, is a bit like the northern kingdom following the split that took place under Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12 and 2 Chronicles 10. Those 10 northern tribes chose to go into apostasy. They had no temple, no legitimate king, no hope of bringing the Messiah into their nation, and just a handful of true Biblical prophets. They were a people in rebellion. And yet, God’s concern for them was overwhelming because of His covenant promises to “their forefathers” (Jer. 11:10; cf. Isa. 54:10; Hos. 1:10-11; 14:4). And here is where evangelicals—even some dispensationalists—seem to drive over the metaphorical cliff. If Israel is apostate during this present time, they reason that Christians have no business supporting such a nation—or even that it is sinful to do so! Now, indeed, there is lots of sin in Israel, just as there is in our homeland. Yet, we certainly love our country, do we not? When we stand with Israel, we stand with her in spite of her flaws and in light of God’s promises and plans for her. In fact, shouldn’t we be concerned for all unbelievers? Doesn’t God work in the lives of unbelievers? I hope so—or you and I wouldn’t be here right now! But when we concern ourselves with blessing the Jewish people, even in their unbelief, we have a promise of something much greater. We know that we are part of a chain of events that will one day culminate in their ultimate and complete salvation (see Isa. 4:3-4). One final thought. Standing with the people of Israel does not mean that we endorse everything that the Israeli government or military does. The Israeli government is a complex subject, but I know enough about it to say this: Israel’s leaders do not always agree with one another! So, how could I ever agree with all of them? I am no military expert by any means. I do admire the Israeli military—it is surely one of the greatest fighting forces ever assembled in the history of the world. But is it perfect? By no means. Does it claim to be? Not at all. You see, I do not hold to any of these ideas, yet I still stand solidly with the people, nation, and land of Israel. So, what does that mean in a positive sense? We’ll take up that question in the next installment. Did God Create Evil - Part 2 - Steve Schmutzer - https://www.rev310.net/post/did-god-create-evil-1 An Awkward Truce of Disparate Truths In the first part of this article, we noted that God has created everything. Nothing exists without Him. This position is clearly supported in the Scriptures just as the case for His omnibenevolent, omniscient, and omnipotent nature is also supported. These are matters which are beyond question if one studies and accepts the Scriptures responsibly. All that being so, it’s tempting to feel that if an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God really exists, then evil should not. If God is who the Bible claims He is, then how does evil fit in? This awkward truce of disparate truths is not the only dilemma of this tone in the Word of God. The “free will of man” and the “absolute sovereignty of God” are also Biblical truths that co-exist with some unease. The Triune nature of God is another such matter. Doctrines like these cannot easily be explained in terms that satisfy the natural human spirit. We like things in a box where we can control and understand them. We would do well to properly receive a solemn warning at this point. As humans, we tend to value those things which are most definable and measurable, not necessarily those things which are most important. As earlier noted, strains to our understanding of the ways of God keep us faithful, and they help us to preserve a right relationship with Christ (Heb. 11:6). If everything concerning God is easily explained, readily measured, and effortlessly known, faith becomes unnecessary as Heb. 11:1 reminds us. The contradictions of logic which are inherent in some of the doctrines of Scripture are intended for our own good. They keep us on the right path. It is therefore dangerous to our spiritual well-being to become too partisan about matters which the Scriptures present with built-in tensions. A choice to emphasize one side of a particular truth to the exclusion of the other side may satisfy our desire to have clear structure, but Matthew 7:13-23 underscores the perils of embracing partial truth. It has the same consequences as full deception. So, did God create the universe with evil a part of it the same way He created the universe with the sun in it? Some may feel that’s the point of Isaiah 45:7 which says, "I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. I the LORD do all these things." Personally, I don’t think that’s the right way to see this situation as that notion contends against other Scriptures which clearly encourage a different thought process. Let’s ask that question another way: “Did God create a universe in which it’s possible for evil to find form and flourish?” I think that’s a more accurate way to think about it, and I believe that satisfies the language of Isaiah 45:7 as well. Let’s see if we can make some sense of this as we start with the very basics. Let’s begin by examining the word “evil.” The most common Hebrew term used in the Old Testament appears over 200 times. That Hebrew word is awon which means "perversion," and it seems to be related to the verb awah which means "to bend" or "to twist." Other Biblical words used to describe evil include the sibling-like nouns of awel and awla, and both emerge from a root term which means, "to deviate." They are all principal terms used in the Old Testament to suggest “sin” and “evil.” Inherent within them all is the notion of “moving away” from a prior standard or virtue. A chief intent of these Biblical terms is to denote something contrary to the character of God. Stop. Go back and read that sentence again. Okay - now read it once more, more slowly this time. This is very important; the full implications of this statement should not be regarded casually. As their Biblical contexts show, these Hebrew terms are generally associated with words describing wickedness, rebellion, and violence. This is the opposite of words which denote faithfulness, justice, and honesty, and so the Biblical passages in which these Hebrew terms for evil are used often reveal a corresponding divine response of judgment. You see, evil is not an object like a brick or a tree. You cannot place evil into a container or measure it when you find it. As words like awon, awah, awel, and awla are intended to suggest, evil has no inherent existence of its own. Evil is the absence of something, just like darkness is the absence of light which God called “good” when He created it (Gen. 1:4). It’s most helpful to see evil as a departure from something good or as a perversion of something proper. That also argues that something good and proper was the righteous standard to begin with. For example, God intended men to be in a sexual relationship with women, and so within an appropriate earthly relationship, heterosexuality is good and proper. Conversely, the Bible teaches that under no circumstance is homosexuality to be regarded as good or proper. Homosexuality is a perversion of God’s good standard, and so by Biblical definition, it is therefore evil. Make sense? We’re getting back to where we started. As John 1:3 reminds us, God created everything, and all those things were good. Some of the good things God created were creatures who had the freedom to decide for themselves and to make choices. For real choices to exist, God permitted an alternative to any choice for good. And so, God allowed these creatures - free angels and free humans - to choose what is good or to reject what is good. That’s how Lucifer became Satan. He started out just fine, but he made choices that were wrong. When one rejects good, then that choice becomes evil. With the aforementioned ‘awon’ and its derivatives in view, this makes total sense. Evil - in all its forms - emerges when there is a decision to depart from God’s perfect standard. The conclusion is evil originated with God’s created beings - angels and humans - who had been provided with a free will. They misused this free will to make wrong choices. They disobeyed and denied the truth, and they chose standards which failed to conform to the goodness of God. This is evil, and we call it sin. God did not create sin, but He created beings that could abuse their free will and thus fall into sin. And so it was that “….sin entered the world” (Rom. 5:12) which God had created and which He had called “good.” This is the consequence of self-determination, and this same perverse dynamic still rears its ugly head within our present world in so many ways. So, what does it mean to “create?” This specific question returns to the original query, “Did God create evil?” Are there latitudes here which are permitted to be part of the creatio ex nihilo processes? Let’s consider how you and I might “create” or make something. We take a little of this and a little of that, and we make a batch of chocolate chip cookies for example. As a matter of fact, that’s not unlike how man was made. God took the dust of the earth and He “formed” Adam (Gen. 2:7). He took Adam’s rib, and He made Eve (Gen. 2:22). He took pre-existent elements, and He made something totally different from them. For the larger purposes of this article, I would argue that both Adam and Eve arrived on the scene in conformity to the basic definitions of “make” or “create” as did the rest of God’s creation. It is obvious from the Biblical account that God could have made Adam and Eve through the same creatio ex nihilo process as He made everything else before them, but - - God chose not to. In no manner does that detract from God’s divine abilities. Because God made Adam and Eve using His own pre-existent conditions and materials to do so raises some interesting speculations concerning His “creative” role behind evil. Since nothing exists apart from God, and since God created a world in which He knew that evil could – and would – find expression, then one might argue that His direct sovereign oversight of evil’s emergence was a creative process in its own right. It’s completely true that God actively employs evil in the affairs of mankind. God used a pagan Babylonian empire to bring judgment upon His chosen people. In more recent history, God employed the horrific holocaust as an agent in the birth of Israel. God is now using a very corrupt and fraudulent American administration as part of His greater “wrath that is being revealed from heaven” (Rom. 1:18). The bottom line is God is sovereign over all events, and nothing escapes His full control. The Bible is quite clear about this. Amos 3:6 asks, "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?" Here lays another awkward truce of disparate truths, because God’s Word also declares that God’s character is without flaw, and James 1:13 says “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man...” The whole complexion, once again, lies beyond our ability to easily explain. Some scholars try to settle their anxieties by saying that God “allowed” evil. In their pursuit of an “easy-to-package-and-easy-to-measure” answer, they see a difference here, but I do not. God only “allows” that which is already within His full control to change should He so desire. Nothing has ever eluded Him or caught Him by surprise, nor will it ever. God is not subordinate to any power or processes greater than Himself because no such thing exists. The fact is God is aware of all evil from its inception, and He will deal with it into eternity future. This is not awareness in the sense that evil was introduced from “out there somewhere” and into His sphere against His control as one is aware of crime and so locks their doors each night to cope with it. Rather - and as much as it is challenging to comprehend this - God is aware of evil as part of His own sovereign plan and purpose. The concept that evil fits into God’s sovereign plan and purpose is an apex issue that stands high above all simple chatter and babble about the matter. If God had not allowed for the existence of evil, both mankind and angels would still be serving God out of obligation and not by choice. Scientists today are forging new programmable circuits and robotic technology to act certain ways, but God did not want robots and programmable responses, nor does He still. God allowed for the existence of evil so that you and I could genuinely exercise our free will and choose whether we wanted to serve Him. This comes full circle back to the original claim that God creates only good things. He permitted the introduction of evil to manifest an even greater good, and that greater good is His grace to redeem sinful human beings. If evil (sin) didn’t exist, His grace and redemption would be meaningless. Salvation would be entirely unnecessary. But grace and redemption by a just and holy God, when placed against the backdrop of evil, manifests His unfathomable love and unsearchable ways as nothing else is able to (Rom. 11:33). For this greatest of all good things, God permitted evil a path to existence. This is what it’s all about! This was God’s plan before he ever created the world (Eph. 1:4), and He knew even at that point how it would all turn out. God knew that sin would enter the universe, first through Satan, and then into the entire human race through Adam. God knew evil would be introduced as choices were made against His good and proper standards, and He devised His magnificent plan of grace and redemption based on that divine knowledge. I still have a lot of questions, and you probably do too. But what I most need to be convinced of right now is this: Without evil, there would be no need for a Savior. Without sin, there would be no need for God’s grace. Evil is an element of God’s plan from the very beginning, and so in that light it is a component of a far greater good. God did not create evil the very same way he created the heavenly bodies, but he created human beings capable of evil and therefore in need of a perfect Savior. In the end, you and I are finite and physical beings trying to gain insight into a God who is infinite and supernatural. While in His great grace and mercy He has provided us with the absolute truth of His Word, it remains that in this life there will be questions that we cannot fully settle within the milieu of the human condition. We must humbly accept that on this side of eternity’s door, we will only see shadows of the things that someday we will understand with blazing clarity (1 Cor. 13:12). Meantime, our faith must express itself by setting firm guards against those doors through which human doubt and error can enter. The God we believe in and proclaim does indeed know the answers. In His omniscience, in His omnibenevolence, and in His omnipotence, He absolutely has a wholesome reason and explanation for everything. How small our God would be if we could explain Him fully and know all His ways. May our faith be increased! Steve, Solid Bread Community Daily Jot: Remember history so it’s not repeated - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com In September 2005, less than a month after Israel, in a painful action of good will toward peace, evicted the last settler from Gaza. The darlings of the international peace movement, the Palestinians, used Gaza as a launching pad for a missile attack on Israeli towns. This is no less than what any common sense observer could have predicted because Hamas, the U.S. and European-engineered Palestinian Authority, Islamic Jihad and Fatah are just various shades and colors on the spectrum of terrorism—lipstick on a pig does not change the nature of the swine; nor has Gaza elections, western clothing and coached rhetoric changed the nature of Palestinian terrorists. In the month between August and September 2005, Israel watched its former territory become a hotbed for terrorists. Thousands came across the border from Egypt, bringing with them rockets, rocket launchers, AK-47’s (I wonder where they get those—it couldn’t be the peace-loving trading partners of the US–China and Russia?). This entire Palestinian peace concept is among the biggest scams of the century and billions of dollars of American and European tax monies are supporting it—all in the name of peace. In September 2005, a Palestinian rocket launch came in the wake of an explosion during a Hamas military parade where they were showing off their rockets. Their recklessness blew up 19 Palestinians and wounded 80. The Palestinians promptly blamed Israel and used the incident as an excuse to attack Israeli towns. Sound familiar? On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists, with the support of over 70% of those living in Gaza, attacked Israeli civilians–killing, maiming, sodomizing, raping, torturing them and worse. Then these bold terrorists hid in hospitals, schools, civilian homes and used women and children as shields as they blamed Israel for defending itself. In the ensuing months, Israel conducted a military campaign to end Hamas. During that time, world opinion turned against Israel and somehow the messaging became about Israel being like Nazis committing genocide. This is a repeat of history over and over again. We see it every time Israel defends itself against the terrorists. There is always an incident, usually created by the terrorists. There is always an excuse to attack. And there is always blame put on Israel. Unfortunately, the United States, drunken with a concept that democratizing terrorists will bring peace, is chief among those who pressure Israel to make nice. The Apostle Paul said satan has pulled a veil over the eyes of those who do not believe in 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.” Those who support a free Palestine from the river to the sea are supporting nothing less than evil. The phrase itself is calling for the genocide of the Jewish people and the annihilation of Israel. While they call those who support Israel fascists, they themselves are the fascists—they want a repeat of the holocaust. We must remember history that it is not repeated. Daily Devotion: On the Verge - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near! —Luke 21:28 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/on-the-verge/ - Listen The Bible tells us to be aware of the signs of the times. Things are happening in our world today that are indeed signs of the times, alerting us to the fact that Christ is coming back. The Bible describes these signs as labor pains. We also could compare prophetic events to closely placed dominoes. When the first one falls, the others will go in rapid succession. And we are on the verge of it. In my opinion, the next event on the prophetic calendar is the rapture of the church, that moment when God will call all true believers to meet Him in Heaven. Sometimes, people confuse the Rapture with the Second Coming. However, these are separate events. In the Rapture, Jesus comes for His church. In the Second Coming, He returns with His church. The Rapture comes before the judgment, the Tribulation period. In the Second Coming, Jesus comes with judgment. Following the Rapture, the Antichrist will emerge on the scene. He will be a charismatic, brilliant, politician-type who will have economic and military solutions. Initially he will reveal himself as a man of peace and even help the Jewish people rebuild their temple. But three and a half years into the Tribulation, he will commit the abomination of desolation, erecting an image of himself in the Jewish temple and commanding people to worship it. The Tribulation will culminate with the Battle of Armageddon, which will be fought in the Middle East. Then Jesus Christ will return in the Second Coming, which will be followed by the Millennium, the thousand-year reign of Christ on Earth. Lastly, Heaven and Earth will become one as the New Jerusalem descends from Heaven to Earth. All these events are yet to come. What, then, are some of the signs of the times that we should be aware of? I would say the emergence of China as a military and economic superpower would be a sign of the times. Another is the diminishing of the United States of America, which we don’t find in the last days scenario. Then there is the growing aggression of Russia and the emergence of Islam. As these events come together, they will center around Israel and Jerusalem. The Bible tells us, “On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves” (Zechariah 12:3 NLT). Students of the Bible will pay careful attention to these events, especially any mention of attempting to wipe out Israel. So, what are we supposed to do when we hear about events like these? Jesus said, “So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28 NLT). If we really believe Jesus Christ is returning, then it should affect our conduct. First John 3:3 says, “And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure” (NLT). We should seek to live godly lives. Look up and live purely. PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 5/9/24 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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