A WEEK TO REMEMBER

This is a time for an update and report on things I have spoken of previously. This has been such a week as we seldom see as a great number of events all came to focus in a matter of a few days.

1. Last weekend the Palestinian call for a new intifada took place as called for. The Israel Defense Force was ready and stationed on all fronts. There were far fewer demonstrators than the organizers had called for. There was not the rocket attacks that had been urged from Hamas, Hezbollah and West Bank occupants. While Israel responded to the attackers with only tear gas and rubber bullets in most instances there were still fifteen deaths among those who challenged the Israel borders. The strongest push seemed to come from Syria whose residents did breach the Golan Heights border. All in all, we can probably expect these kind of demonstrations to continue. While they do not accomplish much, they do give some means of expressions to those who oppose Israel.

2. I'm still here! Every believer in Jesus I know is still here. But tomorrow is the day Harold Camping announced that today the Rapture of Christians from the world. Jesus said that we were not to set dates as there is no way for us to know when Christ would return; only the Father knows that. So take down the billboards, even though now there is some attention beginning on TV even as I am writing. If Jesus comes for His Bride on Saturday, it will not be because Harold Camping knows anything but because the Father has said to the Son, "Go, this is the day and hour." The important thing is to be doing what Jesus said, "Therefore keep watch...So you also must be ready , because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him" (Matthew 24:42,44). If you want to know what Jesus means when He says to be ready, get a copy of my book, "The Love Letters of Jesus."



3. These weeks are among the worst ever for flooding in mid-America. Whenever we see these catastrophes taking place we need to look around and see what is happening in the world that is especially offensive to God. In the past we can see a clear correlation between times our national leaders have urged the Nation of Israel to take actions that are contrary to God's clear injunctions in Scripture. This is especially true regarding the future of Israel and the land of Israel. God says that those who urge Israel to divide their land with others will certainly see God's wrath. Several writers have studied and reported the truth of this. We need to remember the axiom, "He who touches Israel, touches the apple of God's eye."

4. I just listened to President Obama and Prime Minister of Israel speak after their lengthy meeting today. The PM flatly rejected some of the things which the President said in his speech yesterday about the Middle East. Netanyahu said with blinking that Israel would not consent to a return to the borders that were present prior to 1967 as the country could not be defended from there. He said they would refuse to negotiate with the Palestinians as long as the Hamas idealogy of Israel's right to exist continues as part of the Palestinian framework for discussions. And finally, the PM said that allowing Palestinian refugees and all their descendents be allowed to be resettled in Israel "is not going to happen." So we are still where we have been. There is no real basis for a peace  

MAY 15 PALESTINIAN INTIFADA

There is much conversation all over the internet and especially Facebook about the call for a new intifada against Israel to be launched on May 15. That is the anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel. The promoters are attempting to use the same technique that has been used to foment the demonstrations in other mid-eastern nations. The hope is to have millions of people literally push Israel into the Mediterranean Sea and be rid of the Nation of Israel once and for all.

In an article in ynetnews.com on March 23, Elion Levy wrote about the plans that the organizers are putting forth. He says, "The group's doctrines include a call for simultaneous protests on the Jordanian, Egyptian and Syria borders while Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza will launch attacks on Israeli settlements. Moreover, they ask for 'the help of our brothers in Lebanon' who will assist by raining missiles down on Israel."

This is a loud and clear call for Christians who understand our relationship to Israel to be fervent in prayer. I don't know what will happen on May 15. I only know that God in His Word has said that once His people are back in their land, He will never again allow them to be uprooted. It is foolish even to think that a mass march again the Israelis could be effective. It is even more foolish to believe that we can fight against the clearly stated plan and purpose of El Shaddai. There could be a lot of bloodshed but this plan is doomed to fail because it is diametrically opposed to God's plan.

To link Israel with the brutal dictators of the surrounding nations is a totally misguided action which demonstrates how little the world at large really understands what is taking place in the Middle-East.

If you want to find much more information Google search May 15 Intifada or Third Intifada on Facebook.

Shalalu Shalom Yerushalim

BIN LADEN GONE AT LAST!

I certainly wasn't expecting the news we received last night that Usama Bin Laden had been killed. A nagging question for years had been why he had been able to elude any attempts at capture or his life. It is a wonderful day to know that this personification of evil has at last been brought to his end. As news people catalogued the many attacks he masterminded and the thousands of deaths he was responsible for, the thought came to my mind: how can any person be so filled with evil and hatred?

Like so many events which take place, they are not only significant in themselves, but are foretaste of something else to come. As I reflected on UBL, I got to thinking that he has been a shadow of an even more evil person to come, the antichrist who will come to power during the Tribulation period before Jesus Christ returns in power and glory to establish His earthly kingdom. The Apostle John writes telling us that even in his day, the spirit of antichrist was present in the world. He said, "Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world" (1 John 4:3).

Bin Laden was not the antichrist, but he helps us to catch an idea of what kind of evil will be rampant in the time that antichrist comes. Evil will continue to multiply in these days as we approach the end of this age and will come into the fullness of expression when the Tribulation takes place. Osama and his kind remind us to be constantly watchful that we be not deceived by persons who are under the control of Satan and allow themselves to be used by Him to enact his destructive power and terror in the world. Jesus and the Biblical writers are unanimous in reminding us to "Watch out that no one deceives you" (Matthew 24:4).