 TODAY'S NEWSLETTER...
Israel Is Sending a Message – Hamas Is No More – By Amir Tsarfati - https://harbingersdaily.com/amir-tsarfati-israel-is-sending-a-message-hamas-is-no-more/
Shalom from just up the road from the Ramat David Airbase in Israel’s Northern District! It has been a very noisy month-and-a-half as jet after jet takes off heavily strapped with weapons, then later returns empty. Israel is a nation at war, and we are winning the fight. But despite my nation’s many victories over these last weeks, the fight still rages on. Hezbollah continues to threaten up north. Iran, the terrorist puppet master, has become fairly quiet, at least for them. This is likely because, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, they have recently upped their nuclear enrichment by 22 times. And around the world, pro-Hamas, anti-Israel protests are loudly and violently announcing their support of the Nazi terrorists. Still, there are several visuals I witnessed this past week that brought a quiet joy to my heart. I saw Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops carrying much needed medical equipment into the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. According to the world’s media which get its headlines directly from Hamas, there is nothing that Israelis enjoy more than bombing a hospital filled to capacity with ailing Palestinians and newborn children. What they neglect to mention is that, first, the reason the hospitals are even on the IDF’s radar is because Hamas built all their infrastructure under these human shields. Second, that the IDF gives many warnings before they attack. The Israeli military actually endangers itself by giving away the crucial element of surprise, just so innocent civilians can get to safety. Third, that the IDF attacks with precision so that they are targeting only Hamas terrorists, as much as possible. Fourth, that the Israeli military is bringing with it a massive amount of humanitarian aid, like necessary medical equipment, that the Israeli soldiers are providing to those that Hamas has purposely put in harm’s way. It is quite evident that the Israelis have far more compassion for the average Palestinian than do the terrorists of Hamas. I saw the Hamas parliament building in Gaza exploding into a pile of rubble. Israel is sending a message – Hamas is no more. The IDF has destroyed more than 90 government institutions and buildings, levelling the corrupt leadership infrastructure. Throughout Gaza, in place of the Hamas flag, the blue and white of Israel is now proudly flying. I saw four massive bulldozers with their huge blades brought together to form a makeshift synagogue. Within that sacred location on the beach, soldiers donned their shawls and read from their prayerbooks. In another picture, I witnessed members of the IDF gathered around a large Torah scroll. As they listened, an officer wearing his full kit read the Scriptures using a tactical knife as a yad, or pointer. We are seeing a great return of the Jews to their God. For some atheistic or agnostic Israelis, this is a necessary first step. Before they can accept the true Messiah at the end of the tribulation, they must first acknowledge that there really is a God. We must be praying that the Lord, who began this great work, will carry it on to completion. God is at work in Israel. We can see Him in the miraculously smooth destruction of Hamas in Gaza to the south. His hand is in the hesitation of Hezbollah to open a second front in the north. Undoubtedly, He was in the overwhelming support that most of the world gave to Israel after the atrocities of October 7. And the United States’ tremendous demonstration of military partnership was a beautiful showing of our Lord at work. Deceptive Slogans in the Propaganda War Against Israel - by Dr. David R. Reagan - https://terryjamesprophecyline.com/2023/11/16/deceptive-slogans-in-the-propaganda-war-against-israel-by-dr-david-r-reagan/ The pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have broken out across our nation are full of signs containing slogans that are either blatantly untrue or completely misleading. Consider the following: 1) “Set Palestine Free from the River to the Sea.” Based on the interviews of people chanting this slogan, it appears that many have no idea what it means. In the first place, Americans who have always been geographically challenged, have expressed no knowledge of what river or sea they are talking about! And when they are told that the chant refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, they still don’t get the point that it is talking about the annihilation of the state of Israel. It’s just a nice sounding chant that rhymes. For those who do understand the meaning of the slogan, it is an expression of appalling AntiSemitism. 2) “End Apartheid in Israel!” This is a slogan that garners massive support, but the slogan expresses a total lie. There is no Apartheid in Israel. None! Zilch! Nada! Two million Palestinians live in Israel. They are citizens of Israel, and as such, they have complete freedom to live where they please and to use any hospital or means of transportation. There is no enforced separation of Jews and Arabs of any type that exists in Israel. Arab Israelis have the right to vote and to serve in the Israeli parliament (the Knesset). They also have access to all the welfare services of the state. They have every freedom that the Jews have. In fact, they have been given a freedom Jews do not have! All Jews, except the small percentage of Ultra-Orthodox, are required to serve in the military — both men and women. Palestinian citizens are exempted from this requirement, although some voluntarily serve in non-combat positions. The only Apartheid that exists in the Middle East is in the Arab countries where all their Jewish populations were forcibly evicted after the Suez War in 1956. The fact of the matter is that no Jews are allowed to live in Arab nations. That is true Apartheid! 3) “Free Palestine from Colonial Oppression.” This is sheer nonsense. The Jewish people are not colonialists. They are not outsiders who have taken over someone else’s land. The land they currently occupy (and much more they do not yet occupy) was given to them by God as an eternal possession (Genesis 12:1-3, 7, 14-15; 16:18-21; 26:3; 28:4, 13; 35:10-12; Exodus 6:7-8 and Psalm 105:8-11). The Jews occupied this gift of God 3,500 years ago and lived there for 1,500 years until they were forcibly ejected from the land by the Assyrians and the Romans. After their final ejection in 70AD, the land laid vacant and desolate for 2,000 years. The few Arabs who lived there considered themselves to be Syrians because most of the land was owned by absentee Syrian landlords. During this long time span, the land was never an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. In short, there was never a Palestinian state with a Palestinian government. Nor was there a Palestinian language or culture. When the Jews began to return to their homeland in the late 1890s, they bought the land at exorbitant prices. The land was so desolate that the Arabs could not figure out why the Jews wanted it so badly. For example, by 1900 nearly all the trees in Israel had been cut down. This was due to the fact that the Turkish empire taxed trees. In the 20th century, as the returning Jews began to reclaim the land, they started replacing the forests and ended up planting more than 250 million trees during the century! 4) “End 75 Years of Occupation.” Israel is not an occupying power. The land they are “occupying” was not only given to them by God, it was also legally granted to them by the United Nations. At the end of World War I, the area which was known as Palestine was simply a province of the Ottoman Empire of Turkey. Since the Turks sided with Germany during World War I, the victorious allies decided to dismantle the Ottoman Empire by dividing its pieces between the British and the French. The area called Palestine was assigned to the British and they later began to rule it as a League of Nations Mandate. A year before the end of World War I, the British issued the Balfour Declaration in November of 1917. In it they made it clear that their intention was to make Palestine into a homeland for the Jewish people. At that time, Palestine consisted of the territory that today includes Israel plus Jordan. But in 1921, the British Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill, decided to give two-thirds of Palestine to the Arabs to establish the Mandate of Transjordan. This area received its full freedom in 1946 when it was reconstituted as the state of Jordan. When Churchill made his decision, the Jewish people felt betrayed by the British, but they expected to receive what was left of Palestine as their state. The remainder was a small sliver of land 270 miles long, with a width ranging from 9 to 85 miles. In November of 1947, the United Nations voted to divide this sliver of land even further, dividing it between the Jews and Arabs in order to create a state for each one. Again, the Jews felt betrayed, but they accepted the offer. The Arabs refused. Israel came back into existence as a state on May 14, 1948. On that same day, the Arabs could have taken advantage of the UN resolution and created a Palestinian state for themselves. But they wanted all the land, so they attacked the new Jewish state with the intention of driving the Jews into the sea. Throughout the history of the area since it was cut away from the Ottoman Empire in 1918, there have been five times when the Arabs were given the opportunity to create a state of their own, and each time, they have refused: 1) In 1936, the British government appointed the Peel Commission to recommend a solution to Jewish and Arab conflict in the area. The commission offered the Arabs 80% of the land. The Arabs said, “No!” 2) In 1947, The United Nations approved a partition of the land into two states. The Jews received 56%. Again, the Arabs said, “No!” 3) In 1967, after the Six Day War, the Jews offered to allow the Arabs to create a state that would include Gaza and the West Bank. The Arab League responded with “The Three Nos” — No peace with Israel. No recognition of Israel. No negotiation with Israel. 4) In 2000, the most liberal Prime Minister in Israel’s history, Ehud Barak, offered Yassir Arafat the opportunity to create a state that would include Gaza, 94% of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The moderator of the conference, President Bill Clinton, said that all Arafat could say from the beginning to the end of the negotiations was, “No!” 5) In 2008, Israel’s Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, offered Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the PLO, the opportunity to create a state that included even more of the West Bank. Abbas said, “No!” With this history in mind, you can understand what Israel’s most famous diplomat, Abba Eban, once said: “The Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” 5) “Free Gaza!” This is another nonsensical slogan. Israel granted complete sovereignty to Gaza in 2005 and did so at great social and financial cost. The Israeli army forcibly evicted 9,000 Jews from their homes in 25 settlements and turned the entire area over to the Palestinians. Jews had to blow up their synagogues to keep them from being desecrated by the Arabs. They also had to dig up their cemeteries and move the bodies of their loved ones to keep the graves from being desecrated. The removal cost the Israeli government $900 million. Further loses included $120 million in annual flower production and 15% of Israel’s agricultural exports, including 60% of its tomato and herb exports. Also lost was 70% of Israel’s organic produce. After Israel’s withdrawal, hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid flowed into Gaza from many nations, including the United States. This money was for humanitarian assistance and the rebuilding of the area’s infrastructure, particularly hospitals and schools. But when Hamas took over in 2007, these donations were diverted to the purchase of military weapons and the construction of over 300 miles of concrete tunnels for launching attacks into Israel. The Palestinian people were left to scrape out a living as best they could while Hamas built up its military with the intention of attacking Israel. Also, the Hamas leaders confiscated much of the financial aid for themselves personally, using it to lives extravagant lives of leisure in the Arab Emigrate of Qatar. It is estimated that the top leaders of Hamas have a combined worth of a staggering $11 billion. “Free Gaza” is an appropriate and true slogan only if it is referring to freeing Gaza from Hamas! 6) “Stop the Israeli Genocide!” This would be an appropriate slogan if it were addressed to Hamas because the goal of Hamas is to destroy Israel and kill all its Jewish population. But the slogan is greatly misdirected when aimed at Israel. Israel’s desire is to live at peace with the Arabs. The only war Israel has ever started is the Six Day War in 1967, and it did so because the surrounding Arab nations declared that they were going to attack and annihilate the Jewish state. Israel decided its only hope for survival was a pre-emptive attack. The Israeli military has a long established reputation for being the most humane in the world. When Israel goes to war, it always does everything possible to protect civilians. Israel drops leaflets, makes phone calls and sends emails to announce targets so that civilians will have time to evacuate. Also, Israel focuses its attacks on military targets and not civilians. Yes, mistakes sometimes occur, but mistakes are not war crimes. In stark contrast, Hamas uses its civilians as human shields. Thus, it launches rockets from the roofs of hospital and schools, and when Israel announces targets, Hamas forces civilians to the target areas so that they can use their dead bodies for propaganda purposes. As one expert has put it, “Israel uses its military to protect its citizens whereas Hamas uses its citizens to protect its military.” Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has long summed up the situation in the Middle East with these words: “If the Arabs were to disarm, there would be peace. If Israel were to disarm, we would cease to exist.” 7) “Gas the Jews!” This slogan has actually been used by the Pro-Palestinian protesters. It is nothing but a horrendous expression of naked Anti-Semitism. It is just one indication that the true aim of the Palestinians is not to create another Palestinian state. No! The real aim is the annihilation of Israel. And when I refer to “another Palestinian state,” I mean that a Palestinian state already exists. It is the state of Jordan. The state itself was carved out of the Palestinian province of the Ottoman Empire, and one-half of its population if Palestinian. Conclusion The outbreak of massive, irrational Anti-Semitism worldwide is a supernatural event orchestrated by Satan. He hates the Jewish people with a passion because they are God’s Chosen People through whom God gave the Scriptures and the Messiah, Jesus. Satan also hates God’s promise to bring a great remnant of the Jews to salvation through faith in Jesus (Isaiah 10:21-22, Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 9:27). Satan’s determination to annihilate the Jews is what the Holocaust was all about. It is the reason he will motivate the Antichrist to focus the second half of the Tribulation on picking up where Hitler left off in ridding the world of the Jewish people. But Satan will not succeed: “He who touches Israel, touches the apple of God’s eye” (Zechariah 2:8). “He who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalm 121:4). “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a fiery laver among pieces of wood and a fiery torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its own place — in Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:6). “And it will be in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:9). God has regathered the Jewish people to their homeland for a reason. He is going the bring the whole world against them (Zechariah 12:3), not because He hates them, but because He loves them. They have been a stubborn and stiff-necked people throughout their relationship with Him. When in trouble in Old Testament times, they always turned to Egypt for help. In modern times, they have relied on the United States. God has always wanted them to rely on Him. In these end times, as the whole world turns against them, they will be forced to come to the end of themselves, and in their desperation, they will turn to God for their help, and they will finally accept His Son as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10). What a day that will be! Jesus mentioned it when he rode into Jerusalem at the climax of His life. He said He would not return to this earth until the Jewish people were willing to say, “Baruch Haba B’shem Adonai,” meaning “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Maranatha! (1 Corinthians 16:22) 2023 End of the Year Support Donation Drawing Like most ministries, a large amount of our support comes from people giving during the last couple of months of the year. This year has been challenging for all of, but I believe that Prophecy Update and other like minded ministries are needed now more than ever! Please consider entering our drawing, not only might you win this brand new iMac, but more importantly, you will be helping to support Prophecy Update - thank you so very much!!! A Chance to Win a Brand New 24-inch iMac with Retina 5K display -- most importantly, you will be helping to Support Prophecy Update! With the following configuration: · 3.8GHz 8-core 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz · 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory · Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6 memory · 1TB SSD storage · Gigabit Ethernet · Magic Mouse 2 · Magic Keyboard - US English This system is valued at $2,499, and you might win, for a little as $25!!! It's already that time of the of the year when we have to start budgeting and planning for the coming new year! We pray that the proceeds from this Donation Drawing will greatly offset our End of the Year needs so that we can end the year in the black! 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Your Support is Important to this Ministry - We Could Not Do This Without Your Support! 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 First Hamas, Now Osama Bin Laden Going Viral with U.S. Youth – by PNW Staff - https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=6510 Perhaps it shouldn't shock us that those claiming support for Hamas on social media have found a new hero, Osama Bin Laden. Over the past 24 hours, thousands of TikToks have been posted where people share how they just read Bin Laden's infamous "Letter to America," in which he explained why he attacked the United States. The TikToks are from people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Many of them say that reading the letter has opened their eyes, and they'll never see geopolitical matters the same way again. Many of them say it has made them reevaluate their perspective on how what is often labeled as terrorism can be a legitimate form of resistance to a hostile power. In other words, terrorists are the victims which is the same narrative being pushed on many US college campuses. This is not limited to TikTok; similar videos have been posted on other social media platforms. It was initially the text of a writing by bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 atrocities against America, that was posted by the Guardian, which took it down after the anti-America rants started appearing on TikTok. The New York Post reported lawmakers from both major parties were criticizing the promotion on the China-owned social media site as "terrorist propaganda." Bin Laden claimed he set up the deaths of nearly 3,000 on that day in 2001 because the United States was attacking "us" in Palestine. That theme has been resurrected in many ways following last month's atrocity-filled terror attack by Hamas, from Gaza, on Israeli civilians. An estimated 1,400 were killed within just hours. As is typical with anti-Semitic agendas, bin Laden claimed the creation of Israel was a crime that "must be erased." Large portions of the letter focus on Israel and Jews. The word "Israel" appears 19 times in the document, while "Jews" are mentioned an additional 10 times. The first question bin Laden posed in the document is "Why are we fighting and opposing you?" And one of the first answers is, "You attacked us in Palestine." The al-Qaeda leader also said the idea "that the Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the Torah," is "one of the most fallacious, widely-circulated fabrications in history." He wrote that Muslims superseded Jews as the inheritors of the Torah, and that the land therefore belongs to them. In the second half of the letter, which describes bin Laden's vision of a world governed by Islamic law and condemns American society. Hamas, in fact, has in its founding documents the goal of eliminate Israel, and its population. Among those apparently succumbing to the propaganda, the report said, was Lynette Adkins, a social-media influencer who got 100,000 likes and 5,500 comments ordering people to "stop what they're doing right now and go read a letter to America." A second promoter of the letter said she would "never look at life the same, I will never look at this country the same. Please read it and if you have read it, let me know if you are also going through an existential crisis in this very moment, because in the last 20 minutes, the entire viewpoint on the entire life I have believed and I have lived has changed." "The videos in support of Bin Laden surfaced just days after The Post reported that several Republican lawmakers had renewed their calls for TikTok to be banned for spreading content that critics deemed as anti-Israel during the nation's ongoing war with Hamas," the Post reported. "Critics from both political parties have alleged that TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is effectively a mass surveillance and propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party." Fox reported bin Laden claimed, "Palestine, which has sunk under military occupation for more than 80 years. The British handed over Palestine, with your help and your support, to the Jews, who have occupied it for more than 50 years; years overflowing with oppression, tyranny, crimes, killing, expulsion, destruction and devastation." His rant continued, "The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. And of course there is no need to explain and prove the degree of American support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased. Each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the contribution towards this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily." His call for blood was clear: "The blood pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged. You must know that the Palestinians do not cry alone; their women are not widowed alone; their sons are not orphaned alone. These tragedies and calamities are only a few examples of your oppression and aggression against us. It is commanded by our religion and intellect that the oppressed have a right to return the aggression. Do not await anything from us but Jihad, resistance and revenge. Is it in any way rational to expect that after America has attacked us for more than half a century, that we will then leave her to live in security and peace?!!" And Bin Laden resorted to the tropes that Jews control "policies, media and economy." The report said another TikTok user read the entire letter, currently has over one million views. The Guardian told Fox News Digital, "The transcript published on our website 20 years ago has been widely shared on social media without the full context. Therefore we have decided to take it down and direct readers to the news article that originally contextualized it instead." The Daily Mail reported people were claiming they understand the 9/11 atrocities by reading the "vile letter written by the warlord." "Bin Laden spews anti-American, anti-Semitic and anti-Western viewpoints..." the report said. It said people were confusing "the hateful diatribe for an intellectual think piece." "In other sections of his correspondent, bin Laden blames the U.S. government for spreading AIDS throughout the world and sought to turn America into an oppressive religious state similar to Afghanistan," the report said. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., noted the alarming trend... "Now trending on social media (especially TikTok) people saying that after reading bin Laden's 'Letter to America,' they now understand terrorism is a legitimate method of resistance against 'oppression' and America deserved to be attacked..." Will these same people gushing over the letter on TikTok be celebrating in the streets like the supporters of Hamas when the next 9/11 happens on American soil? Promised Land: The Rabbi Who Sparked Israel’s Quest For The Land – By Jonathan Brentner - https://harbingersdaily.com/promised-land-the-rabbi-who-sparked-israels-quest-for-the-land/ This is the story of how a Rabbi profoundly impacted a nation during the early 1600s and awakened the protestants living there to the necessity of Israel reclaiming the Land God gave to them. It began after Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel (1604-1657) arrived in Holland after fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition. Once there, he began forming relationships with English theologians and leading members of Parliament with the purpose of promoting better relations between the Jews and protestant Christians, which was understandable after witnessing the Catholic Church’s persecution of both Protestants and Jews. Even though Jewish people were not permitted to live in England at the time, the protestant theologians there warmly welcomed him and his insights on what the Old Testament taught regarding the restoration of Israel to the Land. English theologian Isaac La Peyrere (1596-1676) was one of the many who befriended ben Israel. He told him that “many Protestants studied the Hebrew Scriptures, believed the Jews were still God’s people, and looked forward to the Jews returning to their own land.” (Notice the close link between studying the Old Testament and affirming Israel’s right to the Land at this time.) Menasseh ben Israel wrote a book, The Hope of Israel, which the Protestants translated into English so everyone could read it. The book contained the “Hebrew prophets’ references to a return to their own land, bringing about the coming of the Messiah and a thousand years of world peace.” His influence led to a “persistent desire” among English believers “to assist Jews in a return to the Promised Land,” one that lasted for three hundred years. A man named Moses Wall translated The Hope of Israel into English. He wrote this in the book’s preface: For the benefit of my country-men who wait for the Redemption of Israel . . . gathered from their dispersion, and settled in their own Land . . . surely this Jew shall rise up in judgment against unchristian Christians . . . [who] curse them whom God has blessed. [He called for Christians] to remove our sinful hatred from off that people who are the Promises, and who are beloved for their Fathers sakes; and who are Jews . . .. Later in his life, ben Israel lived in England for two years. The famous English statesmen, Oliver Cromwell, granted ben Israel a state pension of one hundred pounds, but Menasseh died before receiving it. That the most well-known politician of that day would honor him in such a way speaks to the lasting legacy of this rabbi. What’s So Important About Menasseh Ben Israel’s Story? My purpose in telling Menasseh ben Israel’s story is to demonstrate how attitudes toward the Jewish people changed dramatically after the Reformation as Premillennialism surged in the Bible-believing churches throughout England. (This is the belief that Jesus will reign over the nations of the earth for a thousand years from a gloriously restored Israel.) Because of this rabbi’s influence and the friendships that he formed, England went from forbidding Jews to live within its borders to publishing ben Israel’s book in English, honoring him late in his life, and opening its doors to the Jewish people. The awareness he brought to believers living there prompted many to donate money for the purpose of Israel someday returning to its Land. Because of the foreboding dark veil of Replacement Theology, the belief that God rejected Israel and replaced the nation with the church, anti-Semitism flourished during the Dark Ages and persisted through the Reformation because of the lingering animosity toward the Jewish people. With the resurgence of Premillennialism in England less than a century after that, love for the Jewish people once again flourished among the saints. God Gave The Land To Israel As the Bible became widespread in the English language, theologians and believers alike read about God’s covenant giving the Land to the nation of Israel. This prepared the way for the warm reception that Menasseh ben Israel received regarding the right of his people to the Land. Genesis 15:7-21 records the covenant that God made with Abram and his descendants, later specified as those only belonging to Jacob. The Lord didn’t just simply give the Land to Abram, He made a covenant, a solemn promise to do so. Not only that, but He also made it totally binding on Himself (Genesis 15:7-21). The recipient of the covenant, Abram, slept through the entire process. This signified that the Land would belong to the recipients of the covenant regardless of their behavior. Peaceful enjoyment of the Land has always depended on the obedience of the Israelites to God’s Word. Israel’s right to it, however, can never change because the Lord obligated Himself to give the Land to the descendants of Abraham through Jacob. It’s a grievous error for people today to refer to the Jewish people as occupiers of a land that belongs to the Palestinians. They err in far too many ways to explore in this article. I’m saddened when those who claim to be Christians do so because such a belief contradicts Scripture. It Is An Everlasting Covenant If the Lord makes a promise that’s dependent upon Him to keep, we can safely assume that it’s permanent in nature. And that’s precisely what Scripture says about the covenant of the Land He made with the Patriarchs. Psalm 105:8-11 KJV – “He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant: Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:” As noted above, Israel’s peaceful enjoyment of the Land depends upon their obedience to God and His Word. On the other hand, God’s gift of the Land to the descendants of Jacob has no such stipulation and no expiration date; it still belongs to them. We have not yet reached the end of “everlasting.” Manasseh’s ben Israel’s book, The Hope of Israel, opened the eyes of many in England to the enduring nature of God’s promises to the descendants of Jacob. Israel Will Possess The Land In Peace Someday As a result of their increased awareness that God would restore a glorious kingdom to Israel, many believers in England began contributing money to the cause of restoring Israel to the Land. The ability of pastors, theologians, and believers to read the Bible in their own language fueled the resurgence of beliefs in Jesus’ thousand-year reign and the restoration of a kingdom to Israel. Though the Reformers did not go there, it was their two principles of Bible interpretation, listed below, that led to the revival in Premillennialism in England and elsewhere four hundred years ago.
With the above understanding and the availability of Scripture, passages such as Ezekiel 36:22-37 and 37:15-28 came alive once again. There the Prophet Ezekiel paints a vivid picture of Israel’s glorious future, one that remains unfulfilled. Perhaps it was passages such as this that led to the awareness in long-ago England that God intended to bring His people back to the Land. Menasseh ben Israel contributed to this awakening among theologians. As Premillennialism surged among the British saints, he helped them understand what it signified for Israel and their return to the Land God promised to them. This, it should be noted, was almost two hundred years before the birth of John Darby. The saints in early seventeenth-century England believed what they read in the Old Testament regarding the restoration of Israel and believed without seeing any evidence that it would happen. Does not the faith of those in the early 1600s in England testify against those today who do not believe what Scripture says about Israel’s right to the Land even after Israel’s miraculous reappearing as a nation? I think so. Daily Jot: The American Chronicles: Plymouth Visit Part 1 - Bill Wilson – www.dailyjot.com When I was 10 years old, Mom and Dad took me out of school for a trip to all the New England states. One of the stops was Plymouth. I didn’t know it then, but they were giving me a history of my family as well as a lesson about what it means to be an American. As seen by the picture of mom and me on the Mayflower, I was very immersed in the experience. We visited the gravesite of William Bradford, governor of the Massachusetts Colony, co-writer of the Mayflower Compact, inventor of the free market system, and what I found much later, my grandfather 13 generations removed. The words translated from Latin etched on his gravestone say: “What our forefathers with so much difficulty secured, do not basely relinquish.” Some 58 years later, my wife Chris, Service Dog Charlie and I retraced some of the footsteps of that early childhood trip. This time, we knew the back story that I had two Mayflower grandfathers—Bradford from my Dad’s side and Richard Warren from my Mom’s side. The visit to Plymouth was emotional and meaningful. As we walked through the good ship Mayflower and listened to the docent speak about the pilgrims’ lives as they crossed the ocean packed into such a small space with animals and supplies, it becomes crystal clear that they were taking a spiritual as well as a physical journey. With all the hardship around them and cramped into such small quarters, they had the spiritual guidance and presence of mind to draft one of the most amazing freedom-binding documents in American history—The Mayflower compact. Grandfather Bradford was credited with drafting the Mayflower Compact, declaring “IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honor of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience.” With these words, 41 men agreed to govern in submission and obedience to God. These courageous souls coveted with God to establish a land for the advancement of the Christian faith. And it was not just for their time on earth, but as is written on Bradford’s grave, the covenant and their sacrifices were not to be basely relinquished. Only 41 men began a nation with their signatures. This impressed me as a child, perhaps not so much with complete understanding at the time, but within my young farm boy spirit I became forever moved and awed by their words and deeds. Today, they serve as an inspiring example to me, woven into the fabric of my spirit, confirmed by my heritage, of overcoming great challenges because as Christ said in Matthew 19:26, “but with God all things are possible.” Daily Devotion: Imitation and Infiltration - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. —2 Timothy 3:8 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/imitation-and-infiltration/ Listen God directed ten plagues against Egypt, and each one of these plagues dealt with one of their deities. The Egyptians worshipped thousands of gods. They worshipped the Nile River as a god. They worshipped the sun. And they worshipped the animals. In fact, they worshipped just about anything we could imagine. Interestingly, the serpent, specifically the cobra, was an important symbol for the Egyptians. And what was the first miracle that God performed through Moses and Aaron? Aaron threw down his staff, and it turned into a serpent, which probably was a cobra. Pharaoh’s magicians said they could do duplicate that, which they did. But Aaron’s staff consumed the magicians’ staffs. From this first miracle, God was saying to Pharaoh, “I am more powerful than you. My power is greater than your gods.” Still, Pharaoh didn’t believe. His heart only became harder. Two of Satan’s most effective strategies are imitation and infiltration. He will try to stop a work altogether, but if that isn’t successful, then he will imitate. In this way, he seeks to minimize the power and glory of God and neutralize the impact of someone’s life and testimony. For example, Jesus told a story about a farmer who sowed a field of wheat, but in the darkness of night, his neighbor came and sowed weeds among the wheat. This type of weed, also known as darnel, is almost identical to wheat in its initial stages of growth. To the undiscerning eye, it’s difficult to detect until later, when the weeds grow up and choke out the wheat. The devil uses cheap imitations in the same way. How many times have people said the reason they aren’t Christians is because there are so many hypocrites in the church? That puts followers of Jesus Christ in the very uncomfortable position of trying to defend people who don’t live what they say they believe. However, maybe they aren’t believers at all. Maybe they’re weeds among the wheat. See how effective that ploy could be? Someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus contradicts it by the way they live. Then a nonbeliever says that person is a hypocrite. Yet who is to say that individual is a hypocrite—or even a Christian? Maybe the devil is using such a person for the very purpose of keeping nonbelievers from coming to faith. The Bible tells us that Pharaoh’s’ magicians, known as Jannes and Jambres (see 2 Timothy 3:8), were imitating what God was doing, thus making it look as though it wasn’t genuine. And it was a very effective strategy. We have to be careful. We’re living in critical times. While we read of many miracles in the Bible, no one ever claimed to have a miracle ministry. Believers in the early church answered God’s call to preach the gospel to nonbelievers and teach the truth of God’s Word. Miracles happened when and where God wanted them to happen. This reminds us that signs and wonders should follow believers. But believers shouldn’t follow signs and wonders. PROPHECY UPDATE NEWS HEADLINES Yesterday's Prophecies - Today's Headlines HEADLINES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKING BIBLE PROPHECY 11/17/23 http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php
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