This time, I would like to share a little note of interest about the political situation. In our last Wednesday night meeting in Jerusalem, during a discussion about the "Peace Process" I was struck by a thought that opened my eyes to one of the reasons (in the natural) why the United Nations and the 'Quintet' are not able to solve the Israeli-Palestinian land conflict. In reality, the UN could simply declare a Palestinian state and set its borders if it (the UN) so wanted, as resolutions stating that the 1967 borders are the legal boundaries between the two nations have already been passed. So what's the problem?
The State of Israel, although declaredly a Jewish state, nevertheless has a substantial minority made up of approximately 20% Arabs, with their (mostly) own towns, cities, and farms. Similarly, why don't the nations recognize the Jewish settlements in the 'West Bank' as legitimate towns, cities, and farms of the proposed state of Palestine? One of the reasons why they will not do so is that according to international laws the settlements are illegal and must be removed. The UN, however, could rescind those laws and grant legitimacy to the West Bank Jewish communities. But because the Islamic nations (which make up a large number of UN members) do not recognize Israel's right to own what they consider Arab land (all of Israel plus Judea and Samaria), the UN and co. find it necessary to pressure the government of Israel to remove its citizens from these lands (and if they had their way, from the rest of Israel as well). Thus the present political situation in Israel is extremely volatile.
The 26th of September (this coming Sunday) is the date on which our self-imposed building freeze in the settlements is supposed to end. Netanyahu declared this 'moratorium' (as the American officials like to call it) almost a year ago, as a good will gesture toward the Palestinians. This coming Sunday is therefore a critical date. Will Israel's Prime Minister extend the building freeze in Judea and Samaria? Limit the building? Or lift it entirely as he had promised? If he does not make good on his word, his party and other government ministers could try to oust him from power, which might spell new elections (if no one else is able to form a government). If we go to elections, will Bibi be like Ariel Sharon and form a party that will carry out the will of the United States and other nations? On the other hand, if he lifts the building freeze, as he said he would, and will allow the resumption of construction in the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria, Hamas could become the ruling factor in the West Bank and terrorism will increase to levels we have not seen in the past. But as a savvy political acrobat, Benjamin Netanyahu could come up with some 'creative' solutions to the dilemma he is facing, solutions which may be very distasteful and unacceptable to both sides; the settlers and his negotiating 'partners'. Time will tell.
Our friend Nir, who grows vineyards and olive trees in the settlement of Bracha on the Mount of Blessing in Samaria, told me that the BBC and other international news networks have been coming up to interview him and some of his neighbors about the situation. Nir said to them that we, the Israelis, should take an approach similar to that of Abu Mazen's (Mahmud Abbas) and declare Israel an apartheid state, since that is exactly what the PA and the UN are attempting to do in a future state of Palestine, which by its very definition will be Judenrehin ("free of Jews").
24/09/2010
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
fulfilling prophecy
17/09/2010
This time, I would like to share a little note of interest about the political situation. At last Wednesday's night weekly meeting in Jerusalem, during our discussion about the "Peace Process" I was struck by a thought that opened my eyes to one of the reasons (in the natural) why the United Nations and the 'Quintet' are not able to solve the Israeli-Palestinian land conflict. In reality the UN could simply declare a Palestinian State and set its borders if it (the UN) so wanted, as it has already passed resolutions stating that the 1967 borders are the legal boundaries between the two nations. So what's the problem?
The State of Israel, although declaredly a Jewish State, nevertheless has a substantial minority made up of approximately 20% Arabs, with their (mostly) own towns, cities, and farms. By the same token, why don't the nations recognize the Jewish settlements in the 'West Bank' as legitimate towns, cities and, farms of a state of Palestine? One of the reasons as to why they will not do so is that according to international laws the settlements are illegal and must be removed. The UN, however, could rescind those laws and grant legitimacy to the settlements. Since the Islamic nations (which make up a large number of UN members), do not recognize Israel's right to own what they consider Arab land (all of Israel plus Judea and Samaria) the UN and Co. find it necessary to pressure the government of Israel to remove their citizens from the West Bank (and if they had their way, from the rest of Israel as well). Thus the present political situation in Israel is extremely volatile. The 26th of this month is a critical point. Will Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, extend the building freeze in Judea and Samaria? Limit the building? Or lift it entirely as he promised? If he does not make good on his word, his party and other government ministers could try to oust him from power, which might spell new elections (if the Kadima party is not able to form another government). If we go to elections, will Bibi be like Ariel Sharon and form a party that will carry out the will of the United States and other nations? On the other hand, if he lifts the building freeze, as he said he would, and will allow the resumption of building in the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria, Hamas could become the ruling factor in the West Bank and terrorism will increase to levels we have not seen in the past. But as a savvy political acrobat, Benjamin Netanyahu could come up with some 'creative' solutions to the dilemma he is facing, one which may be very distasteful and unacceptable to both sides; the settlers and his negotiating 'partners'. Time will tell.
17/09/2010
This time, I would like to share a little note of interest about the political situation. At last Wednesday's night weekly meeting in Jerusalem, during our discussion about the "Peace Process" I was struck by a thought that opened my eyes to one of the reasons (in the natural) why the United Nations and the 'Quintet' are not able to solve the Israeli-Palestinian land conflict. In reality the UN could simply declare a Palestinian State and set its borders if it (the UN) so wanted, as it has already passed resolutions stating that the 1967 borders are the legal boundaries between the two nations. So what's the problem?
The State of Israel, although declaredly a Jewish State, nevertheless has a substantial minority made up of approximately 20% Arabs, with their (mostly) own towns, cities, and farms. By the same token, why don't the nations recognize the Jewish settlements in the 'West Bank' as legitimate towns, cities and, farms of a state of Palestine? One of the reasons as to why they will not do so is that according to international laws the settlements are illegal and must be removed. The UN, however, could rescind those laws and grant legitimacy to the settlements. Since the Islamic nations (which make up a large number of UN members), do not recognize Israel's right to own what they consider Arab land (all of Israel plus Judea and Samaria) the UN and Co. find it necessary to pressure the government of Israel to remove their citizens from the West Bank (and if they had their way, from the rest of Israel as well). Thus the present political situation in Israel is extremely volatile. The 26th of this month is a critical point. Will Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, extend the building freeze in Judea and Samaria? Limit the building? Or lift it entirely as he promised? If he does not make good on his word, his party and other government ministers could try to oust him from power, which might spell new elections (if the Kadima party is not able to form another government). If we go to elections, will Bibi be like Ariel Sharon and form a party that will carry out the will of the United States and other nations? On the other hand, if he lifts the building freeze, as he said he would, and will allow the resumption of building in the Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria, Hamas could become the ruling factor in the West Bank and terrorism will increase to levels we have not seen in the past. But as a savvy political acrobat, Benjamin Netanyahu could come up with some 'creative' solutions to the dilemma he is facing, one which may be very distasteful and unacceptable to both sides; the settlers and his negotiating 'partners'. Time will tell.
17/09/2010
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
spirit of prophecy
I want to share a thought that came to mind when I read the following scripture: "And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Yeshua. Worship Elohim! For the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10).
Musing and meditating on the phrase "the testimony of Yeshua," I was asking myself (or rather the Ruach), "what is the testimony of Yeshua?" The following statement, of course, says that it is "the spirit of prophecy," but what is that? How is that little phrase to be understood and how is it connected to the "testimony of Yeshua"? I felt the answer come very simply and suddenly, "you are the testimony of Yeshua, as He continues to faithfully fulfill the word of His Father in your life and the life of His redeemed remnant of Israel." So it is not that we all become prophets, but that "we" are the living testimony of the reality of the word of Elohim, spoken through the mouths of the prophets of old.
Below is last year's Yom Teruah message which I believe is still relevant. If so inclined, please feel free to send this to others.
Habakkuk 2:1-2: "I will stand on my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to [literally "in"] me, and what I will answer when I am reproved. Then YHVH answered me and said: 'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets that he who reads it may run".
The watchman comes up with this statement against the backdrop of Chapter One, where we find him observing what is taking place in his own backyard, with hostility, iniquity, wickedness, strife, contention, lawlessness, and perverted justice being commonplace (see vs 1-4). But instead of attending to his task, the bewildered watchman lodges his complaint before YHVH, who apparently is not being moved by this evil. However, YHVH is about to address His messenger's grievance, but will do so in an unexpected manner. Thus He proceeds to declare: "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told" (1:5).
YHVH then goes on to describe in detail the astonishing phenomenon to which He had just alluded, that is, the "Chaldeans" whom He had been raising up. In today's geopolitical terms the land of the Chaldeans is the heartland of Islam. Here is how YHVH depicts this people group: "… fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. They are dreaded and feared. Their justice and authority originate with themselves. All of them come for violence ("hamas"). They collect captives like sand. They mock at kings, and rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress… (1:6-10). Responding to this prediction, the prophet/watchmen intones: "You, O YHVH, have appointed them to judge; and You, O Rock, have established them to correct…" (v. 12b). The watchman is now gaining understanding as to how the Judge of Israel will be dealing with His people who have strayed from His ways.
These "Chaldeans" are portrayed as hunters who are laying nets in order to capture their pray: "They take up all of them with a hook, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice to their net, and burn incense to their dragnet…Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay nations without sparing?" (1:15-17 emphasis added). The Hebrew word for "net" here is "cherem," being the very word that is used in Malachi 4:6: "And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children [Heb. – "sons"], and the hearts of the children [Heb. – "sons"] to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a "cherem" (generally translated "curse").
Interestingly, the watchman, as he is described in Chapter Two verses 1-2 is watching to hear what YHVH would speak ("into him", as mentioned above). How does one watch to hear? Obviously YHVH is putting his messenger through a season of training. To be well prepared for his task he needs to become one with the vision. In fact, he is also being reproved, so that he would become the very "proof" of this vision (similarly, "proof" is also embedded within the Hebrew noun used here for "reproof"). Therefore when time comes for passing on the message, there will be an impartation, or infusion, of the vision. The vision will be so clear, that there will be no guessing as to what is being seen and heard. What's more, in the injunction of making the message "plain on tablets" (2:2) is a hidden reference to the Torah, as if YHVH is responding to the prophet's earlier complaint, "the Torah is ignored" (1:4). "Making plain" is "ba'er," which is used only in Deuteronomy 1:5 and 27:8, in both cases in relationship to Moses expounding on the Torah. The verb b.e.r. shares its root with the noun "be'er," which is a "well". Thus, the elucidated words of the Torah are likened to deep and thirst-quenching water. Additionally, the watchman is told to inscribe these Torah-based words on "lu'chot," tablets, the very same word used for the tablets that Moses brought down from the Mountain, as well as for the "tablets of the heart" (ref. Is. 30:8; Jer.17:1). Could these references to Torah also have something to do with the above-mentioned Malachi 4:4, where YHVH charges His people to remember the Torah of Moses and its commands and warns of the consequences of turning away from them?
Once the watchman is fully prepared to pass on the vision, "the one who reads it may run" (2:2b) with a good cause, because he is to issue a warning to YHVH's people, to turn from their evil and wicked ways. Hence they are described as "… the proud one, his soul is not right within him…Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, so that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations and collects to himself all peoples. Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, even mockery and insinuations against him, and say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his-- For how long-- and makes himself rich with loans?' Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, and those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them. Because you have looted many nations, all the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, to the town and all its inhabitants. Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to put his nest on high to be delivered from the hand of calamity! You have devised a shameful thing for your house by cutting off many peoples; so you are sinning against yourself" (Hab. 2:5-10). This text is quite descriptive of what have been standard practices within the Judeo-Christian nations. The prophet Jeremiah warns that YHVH will first send the fishers, and then the hunters (ref. Jeremiah 16:16), which is once again a reference to Islam, as both Ishmael and Esau were hunters.
Will Ephraim, who has been dubbed "a watchman with my Elohim, a prophet;" (Hosea 9:8), pick up the mantle and follow through? Or will he be "a snare of a fowler in all his ways, [with] hatred in the house of his Elohim" (cont. Hos. 8)? Will he be the watchman/guard on Mount Ephraim who calls out, "let us go to Zion to YHVH our Elohim" (Jer. 31:6)? Or will he be likened to the "blind watchmen" and the "dumb dogs" who are "greedy" and "not satisfied" (Is. 56:10,11), much like those who were described above in Habbakuk 2:6,8,9 and 10?
Perhaps we need to read the following: (Daniel 9: 4-19; Nehemiah 1: 5-11; Nehemiah 9: 5-38)!
Ephraim 10/09/2010
Musing and meditating on the phrase "the testimony of Yeshua," I was asking myself (or rather the Ruach), "what is the testimony of Yeshua?" The following statement, of course, says that it is "the spirit of prophecy," but what is that? How is that little phrase to be understood and how is it connected to the "testimony of Yeshua"? I felt the answer come very simply and suddenly, "you are the testimony of Yeshua, as He continues to faithfully fulfill the word of His Father in your life and the life of His redeemed remnant of Israel." So it is not that we all become prophets, but that "we" are the living testimony of the reality of the word of Elohim, spoken through the mouths of the prophets of old.
Below is last year's Yom Teruah message which I believe is still relevant. If so inclined, please feel free to send this to others.
Habakkuk 2:1-2: "I will stand on my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to [literally "in"] me, and what I will answer when I am reproved. Then YHVH answered me and said: 'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets that he who reads it may run".
The watchman comes up with this statement against the backdrop of Chapter One, where we find him observing what is taking place in his own backyard, with hostility, iniquity, wickedness, strife, contention, lawlessness, and perverted justice being commonplace (see vs 1-4). But instead of attending to his task, the bewildered watchman lodges his complaint before YHVH, who apparently is not being moved by this evil. However, YHVH is about to address His messenger's grievance, but will do so in an unexpected manner. Thus He proceeds to declare: "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days-- You would not believe if you were told" (1:5).
YHVH then goes on to describe in detail the astonishing phenomenon to which He had just alluded, that is, the "Chaldeans" whom He had been raising up. In today's geopolitical terms the land of the Chaldeans is the heartland of Islam. Here is how YHVH depicts this people group: "… fierce and impetuous people who march throughout the earth to seize dwelling places which are not theirs. They are dreaded and feared. Their justice and authority originate with themselves. All of them come for violence ("hamas"). They collect captives like sand. They mock at kings, and rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress… (1:6-10). Responding to this prediction, the prophet/watchmen intones: "You, O YHVH, have appointed them to judge; and You, O Rock, have established them to correct…" (v. 12b). The watchman is now gaining understanding as to how the Judge of Israel will be dealing with His people who have strayed from His ways.
These "Chaldeans" are portrayed as hunters who are laying nets in order to capture their pray: "They take up all of them with a hook, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. Therefore they sacrifice to their net, and burn incense to their dragnet…Will they therefore empty their net and continually slay nations without sparing?" (1:15-17 emphasis added). The Hebrew word for "net" here is "cherem," being the very word that is used in Malachi 4:6: "And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children [Heb. – "sons"], and the hearts of the children [Heb. – "sons"] to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a "cherem" (generally translated "curse").
Interestingly, the watchman, as he is described in Chapter Two verses 1-2 is watching to hear what YHVH would speak ("into him", as mentioned above). How does one watch to hear? Obviously YHVH is putting his messenger through a season of training. To be well prepared for his task he needs to become one with the vision. In fact, he is also being reproved, so that he would become the very "proof" of this vision (similarly, "proof" is also embedded within the Hebrew noun used here for "reproof"). Therefore when time comes for passing on the message, there will be an impartation, or infusion, of the vision. The vision will be so clear, that there will be no guessing as to what is being seen and heard. What's more, in the injunction of making the message "plain on tablets" (2:2) is a hidden reference to the Torah, as if YHVH is responding to the prophet's earlier complaint, "the Torah is ignored" (1:4). "Making plain" is "ba'er," which is used only in Deuteronomy 1:5 and 27:8, in both cases in relationship to Moses expounding on the Torah. The verb b.e.r. shares its root with the noun "be'er," which is a "well". Thus, the elucidated words of the Torah are likened to deep and thirst-quenching water. Additionally, the watchman is told to inscribe these Torah-based words on "lu'chot," tablets, the very same word used for the tablets that Moses brought down from the Mountain, as well as for the "tablets of the heart" (ref. Is. 30:8; Jer.17:1). Could these references to Torah also have something to do with the above-mentioned Malachi 4:4, where YHVH charges His people to remember the Torah of Moses and its commands and warns of the consequences of turning away from them?
Once the watchman is fully prepared to pass on the vision, "the one who reads it may run" (2:2b) with a good cause, because he is to issue a warning to YHVH's people, to turn from their evil and wicked ways. Hence they are described as "… the proud one, his soul is not right within him…Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, so that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations and collects to himself all peoples. Will not all of these take up a taunt-song against him, even mockery and insinuations against him, and say, 'Woe to him who increases what is not his-- For how long-- and makes himself rich with loans?' Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, and those who collect from you awaken? Indeed, you will become plunder for them. Because you have looted many nations, all the remainder of the peoples will loot you-- Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land, to the town and all its inhabitants. Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to put his nest on high to be delivered from the hand of calamity! You have devised a shameful thing for your house by cutting off many peoples; so you are sinning against yourself" (Hab. 2:5-10). This text is quite descriptive of what have been standard practices within the Judeo-Christian nations. The prophet Jeremiah warns that YHVH will first send the fishers, and then the hunters (ref. Jeremiah 16:16), which is once again a reference to Islam, as both Ishmael and Esau were hunters.
Will Ephraim, who has been dubbed "a watchman with my Elohim, a prophet;" (Hosea 9:8), pick up the mantle and follow through? Or will he be "a snare of a fowler in all his ways, [with] hatred in the house of his Elohim" (cont. Hos. 8)? Will he be the watchman/guard on Mount Ephraim who calls out, "let us go to Zion to YHVH our Elohim" (Jer. 31:6)? Or will he be likened to the "blind watchmen" and the "dumb dogs" who are "greedy" and "not satisfied" (Is. 56:10,11), much like those who were described above in Habbakuk 2:6,8,9 and 10?
Perhaps we need to read the following: (Daniel 9: 4-19; Nehemiah 1: 5-11; Nehemiah 9: 5-38)!
Ephraim 10/09/2010
Thursday, February 2, 2012
An observation
"Wars and rumors of war," and "peace, peace when there is no peace," are commonly used biblical phrases these days, especially as we seem to be drawing closer to times of increasing tribulations.
As far as Israel and its national security are concerned, the nation of Iran poses the greatest danger. The Iranian military advancements make the Israeli news daily. This week the Iranians unveiled a version of the cruse missile that can carry, with greater accuracy, its nuclear pay-load to distant locations. As most of the world knows, the Iranian nuclear plant (largest in the world) is now in full operation, and it is predicted that within a year they will have a bomb in spite of the Russian guarantees which the West has swallowed "hook, line and sinker."
The Iranian president is very vocal about his intents to destroy the "little satan" of the Middle East. He has also stood up and defied the leaders of the world in a way similar to the prophet Habakkuk's description, "They all [or he, Ahamedinijad] come for violence; their [his] faces are set like the east wind… They [he] scoff at kings, and princes are scorned by them [him]…" (Habakkuk 1:9-10). Notice the face that is set like the east wind. Which way does the east wind blow other than west? Is this why Iran was at war with Iraq, its westerly neighbor, for some 10 years in the 1980's? Outwardly they were fighting over oil-rich lands, but what was the real reason? The United States and its allies have done Iran a great favor when they did away with the military leadership and power of Iraq. Now that the U.S. has removed its "strike forces" out of that country, it leaves Iraq at the mercy of its former enemy and the rest of the American support troops vulnerable to the Iranian Shiite forces that are already in Iraq. Syria, Lebanon, and Hamas are all controlled by Iran, and the only country that stands in their way of smothering Israel is Iraq. Iran now has a golden opportunity to set up a puppet government in their neighboring country, just like they did in Lebanon ('Le-banana'), using America's democratization of Iraq as the means with which to do so. "A bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves" (Habakkuk 1:6-7).
Some predicted an Israel-Lebanon war to erupt in the wake of the border incident which resulted in the killing of an Israeli officer a few weeks ago, but failed to notice how quickly Syria and the Saudis stepped in. The U.S rewarded the Saudis with a fleet of new F' 15's for their support. At the same time Turkey put down some Kurdish rebels who are fighting for their independence. These Kurds are members of an ethnic group which has a presence also in Iraq. The world refuses to acknowledge the Kurds as a legitimate nation, while the so-called Palestinians are everyone's favorite underdog that must be pacified and coddled.
No doubt we are living in some very precarious times. But we must remember Who is in charge of fulfilling His word amongst the nations.
"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against YHVH and against His anointed [the whole house of Israel], saying, 'Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.' He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; YHVH shall hold them in derision" (Psalm 2:1-4). The Almighty will act, but not without using a people that He has called out (Firstborn nation Israel) in this generation to carry out His will. If you believe yourself to be a "Gentile" grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel, then according to Paul you are no longer to look at yourself that way. You are now an Israelite who belongs to the commonwealth of Israel's kingdom, under the reign of its Messiah. If you do not know what it means to be an Israelite, a firstborn, I would encourage you to drop us a line with your home mailing address. Likewise, you may be Jewish or an Ephraimite, but are not clear as to what it means to be an Israelite grafted back into YHVH's kingdom, or have an understanding regarding the importance of this role. Additionally, the book may hold information that you might need in order to understand your corporate role in the coming days, especially as Scripture predicts an inevitable war with the surrounding nations (see Joel chapter 3).
As far as Israel and its national security are concerned, the nation of Iran poses the greatest danger. The Iranian military advancements make the Israeli news daily. This week the Iranians unveiled a version of the cruse missile that can carry, with greater accuracy, its nuclear pay-load to distant locations. As most of the world knows, the Iranian nuclear plant (largest in the world) is now in full operation, and it is predicted that within a year they will have a bomb in spite of the Russian guarantees which the West has swallowed "hook, line and sinker."
The Iranian president is very vocal about his intents to destroy the "little satan" of the Middle East. He has also stood up and defied the leaders of the world in a way similar to the prophet Habakkuk's description, "They all [or he, Ahamedinijad] come for violence; their [his] faces are set like the east wind… They [he] scoff at kings, and princes are scorned by them [him]…" (Habakkuk 1:9-10). Notice the face that is set like the east wind. Which way does the east wind blow other than west? Is this why Iran was at war with Iraq, its westerly neighbor, for some 10 years in the 1980's? Outwardly they were fighting over oil-rich lands, but what was the real reason? The United States and its allies have done Iran a great favor when they did away with the military leadership and power of Iraq. Now that the U.S. has removed its "strike forces" out of that country, it leaves Iraq at the mercy of its former enemy and the rest of the American support troops vulnerable to the Iranian Shiite forces that are already in Iraq. Syria, Lebanon, and Hamas are all controlled by Iran, and the only country that stands in their way of smothering Israel is Iraq. Iran now has a golden opportunity to set up a puppet government in their neighboring country, just like they did in Lebanon ('Le-banana'), using America's democratization of Iraq as the means with which to do so. "A bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves" (Habakkuk 1:6-7).
Some predicted an Israel-Lebanon war to erupt in the wake of the border incident which resulted in the killing of an Israeli officer a few weeks ago, but failed to notice how quickly Syria and the Saudis stepped in. The U.S rewarded the Saudis with a fleet of new F' 15's for their support. At the same time Turkey put down some Kurdish rebels who are fighting for their independence. These Kurds are members of an ethnic group which has a presence also in Iraq. The world refuses to acknowledge the Kurds as a legitimate nation, while the so-called Palestinians are everyone's favorite underdog that must be pacified and coddled.
No doubt we are living in some very precarious times. But we must remember Who is in charge of fulfilling His word amongst the nations.
"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against YHVH and against His anointed [the whole house of Israel], saying, 'Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us.' He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; YHVH shall hold them in derision" (Psalm 2:1-4). The Almighty will act, but not without using a people that He has called out (Firstborn nation Israel) in this generation to carry out His will. If you believe yourself to be a "Gentile" grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel, then according to Paul you are no longer to look at yourself that way. You are now an Israelite who belongs to the commonwealth of Israel's kingdom, under the reign of its Messiah. If you do not know what it means to be an Israelite, a firstborn, I would encourage you to drop us a line with your home mailing address. Likewise, you may be Jewish or an Ephraimite, but are not clear as to what it means to be an Israelite grafted back into YHVH's kingdom, or have an understanding regarding the importance of this role. Additionally, the book may hold information that you might need in order to understand your corporate role in the coming days, especially as Scripture predicts an inevitable war with the surrounding nations (see Joel chapter 3).
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