Shalom friends,

As Bible believers, it is amazing and frustrating to perceive what is happening in the world today while all the 'wise and mighty' act like fools. We see Satan trying to destroy Israel. We see the ascent of the humanistic spirit, crushing all foes in a post-Christian West, preparing the way for the ultimate Humanist, the Anti-Christ, Mr. '666' = 'Man-Man-Man'. And we see the Spirit of Islam's lies blinding the West into thinking of it as a religion of peace.

As Yeshua once prayed, I thank You, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to children. (Matt. 11:25)

We see also that we are living in the prophesied days of Psalm 2:1-6: Why do nations rage and peoples imagine vain things? Kings of the earth…and rulers plot together, against YHWH and His anointed [Messiah], saying, Let us break their bands in half and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; YHWH shall mock at them. Then He shall speak to them in His anger, and vex them in His wrath. Yes, I have set My king on My holy hill, on Zion.

Geneva - a covenant with death

The P5+1 [US, UK, France, Russia, China, Germany] cut an interim agreement with Iran about its uranium enrichment and nuclear activity. Israeli Prime Minister [PM] Bibi Netanyahu stated, This is a historic mistake.

Israel voiced concerns about what was agreed, chief being that it gives Iran legitimacy to enrich uranium despite the UN Security Council having passed resolutions demanding a complete halt to this activity. While Iran's nuclear program is to be halted for six months, they will get a minimum of $7 billion in sanctions relief.

The US President and Netanyahu have vastly divergent views on this deal, with Obama saying that diplomacy opened up a new path toward a world that is more secure, and Bibi retorting that the opposite is true, because the most dangerous regime in the world has taken a significant step toward attaining the most dangerous weapon in the world.

Stressing that Israel is not bound by this deal, Bibi said, Iran is committed to Israel's destruction, and Israel has the right and the obligation to defend itself, by itself, against any threat…Israel will not allow Iran to develop a military nuclear capability. ("Netanyahu says Iran nuclear deal is 'historic mistake'," JP, 24 Nov. 2013)

Israel's Finance Minister Lapid told Army Radio, You stand and shout out until you're blue in the face, and you try to understand why they're not listening…A diplomatic accord is certainly better than war…just not this agreement.

Foreign Minister [FM] Lieberman says this is Iran's greatest diplomatic triumph since its 1979 Islamic revolution, and predicts an arms race among Sunni Arabs who also feel wary of the Persian [Iranian] Shiites.

Defense Minister [DM] Ya'alon said, The agreement is a historic mistake that allows Iran to join the family of nations despite it being the most active and flourishing terrorist enterprise in the world; that uninhibitedly extends its deadly arms across the globe, primarily against Western nations… ("…Nuclear deal with Iran a 'historic mistake'," Israel Hayom, 24 Nov. 2013)

Boaz Bizmuth agrees. The world wanted a deal and the hell with the ban on uranium enrichment. In Geneva, world powers determined that Iran was en route to becoming a normal country, despite the regime's history of violently crushing protests… despite its habit of hanging people in city squares, and despite the fact that it had threatened a UN member state - Israel - in the midst of [these] negotiations. ("Geneva diary: Let's make a deal, come hell or high water," B. Bizmuth, Israel Hayom, 25 Nov. 2013)

Israel Today reports that Iran hailed the nuclear deal…as a victory over the Zionists… with FM Zarif saying to Iranian media that, All the plots hatched by the Zionist regime to stop the nuclear agreement have failed. ("Iran, West 'Thwart Zionist Plot' With Nuclear Deal," Israel Today, 24 Nov. 2013)

The details of this accord show huge gaps between what the world gave and what Israel deemed acceptable: It will be an interim agreement (Israel wants a permanent deal); sanctions will be eased when Iran provides its signature (Israel wants sanctions in place until a permanent deal is reached); uranium enrichment will be limited to only a certain level (Israel wants all uranium enrichment…to cease); construction will continue on the heavy water reactor at Arak, which produces plutonium (Israel wants [that] reactor…completely dismantled); Iran's nuclear capabilities will be frozen (Israel wants Iran's nuclear capabilities…completely dismantled); Iran will essentially become a threshold nuclear state (Israel does not accept [this]). ("'US capitulated' on Iran deal, Jerusalem says," Israel Hayom, 10 Nov. 2013)

Strategic Affairs and Intelligence Minister Steinitz summed up Israel's concerns concisely. What is being demanded from Iran is a commitment to not produce nuclear weapons, but what should be demanded…is a commitment to give up the ability to produce nuclear weapons. ("Jerusalem scoffs at Kerry's assurances on Iran deal," Israel Hayom, 19 Nov. 2013)

Columnist David Weinberg writes that America views this as a victory since it temporarily freezes Iran's nuclear program, and lays the foundation for a more sweeping deal with Iran…

Israel sees this as a strategic defeat, as it legitimizes Iran's status as a nuclear threshold state. Iran is already boasting of the fact that the West has accepted their 'right' to enrich uranium, as US officials openly say it is not realistic to expect Iran to ever agree to zero enrichment.

Israel also fears that the accord will, bring about complete collapse of the sanctions regime… stripping the West of any ability to effectively pressure Iran when it comes to negotiating a further accord. Therefore, this increases, the likelihood and necessity of military action…

Yet a more serious disagreement between these 'allies' is that the US administration sees the election of Iranian President Rouhani as a historic turning point; a transformative, not-to-be-missed opportunity to strike a grand civilizational deal between America and Iran after more than 30 years of intense hostility.

Israel sees Rouhani's election and the current negotiations as just another round of Iranian deception, and the US olive-branch to Iran as willful self-delusion, and fears that Obama will use his politically invulnerable last three years in office to ram through transformative policies that will yank America's place in the world and Israel's place in the Middle East [ME] from their current foundations, while giving the theologically motivated, revolutionary regime in Iran legitimacy and unprecedented sway in the Persian Gulf and beyond.

Israel is also stunned that none of the talks have focused on Iran's bad behavior…from supporting Hezbollah and Syria's Assad, to its subversive activities in Egypt and Jordan, to its genocidal statements with regard to Israel.

Israel now understands that under Obama, the US will never strike Iran's nuclear military complex; that to Obama war with Iran is not an acceptable option. This leads to a full-blown crisis of confidence in US-Israel relations. The credibility of Obama and Secretary of State Kerry on the Iranian file is shot through so badly in Israeli eyes that, alas, almost nothing either of these American leaders can say will allay Israeli fears (and one gets the sense, the fears of Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, too). ("A tale of two deals," D. Weinberg, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 24 Nov. 2013)

What Churchill said to him after Chamberlain's return from signing the Munich pact with Hitler rings true today: You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war. And as Chuck was in prayer about this situation, Isaiah 28:14-18 came to mind, having the same spiritual principle -- with scornful men who rule having made a covenant with death.

The fools have also made an agreement with the grave to not have to deal with Iran militarily. These leaders think the world is now safer, yet they have made lies…and falsehood their refuge. Just days before the deal was signed, Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei was speaking at a rally. The crowd responded, Death to America! Death to Israel

As in Psalm 2, God's answer is His Messiah. Behold, I place in Zion a Stone for a foundation, a tried Stone, a precious Cornerstone, a sure Foundation; he who believes shall not make haste [alt: be ashamed]. God then warns that all their plans will come to nothing. He will judge according to His righteousness, the refuge of lies, and…hiding place, will be swept away, and your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand… We will wait, watch and pray, to see how He will accomplish this, and we are certain that He will.

The Spirit of Persia is loosed

Iranian-Syrian scholar Majid Rafizadeh writes that Israel will be one of the first nations to experience the severe repercussions of an Islamist nuclear-armed Iran… He agrees with Netanyahu who said, The geographic proximity of Israel and Iran, along with Israel's first-hand knowledge of Iranian and Arab culture in the ME and the risk of a nuclear-armed Iran, has led Israeli leaders to understand, analyze and fully comprehend the politics of the ruling clerics…better than their Western counterparts, European allies, and …US administration. Yet the 'fools' gave Israeli input a slight nod and went ahead with their accord anyway.

Rafizadeh writes that the Shiite-Islamist doctrine of taqiyya, allows Iran's leaders to see lying not only as acceptable, but also as mandatory for…achieving one's own objectives. He agrees with Israel's assessment that a nuclear-armed Iran would be geopolitically and militarily much more dangerous than N. Korea, because then the Ayatollahs will use Jihadist and Islamist ideology when it comes to using these weapons. ("Israel vs. Iran at the UN," M. Rafizadeh, Frontpage Mag, 3 Oct. 2013)

Netanyahu does not believe him when Rouhani says that Iran's nuclear program is only for civilian needs. Anyone who wishes to investigate his remarks should ask why he insists on plutonium plants, on enriching uranium and spinning centrifuges. These are not required for the production of peaceful energy. Seventeen nations produce nuclear energy without these components. Iran's demands are typical only of those who seek a nuclear bomb. ("…Palestinians must recognize Israel as Jewish," Israel Hayom, 7 Oct. 2013)

ME based scholar Ali Salim, a genuine Muslim 'moderate', notes that the recent US-Russia agreement on disarming Syria of its chemical weapons was seen as a moral and operational American failure in the ME, allowing the Syrian regime to kill its civilians, as long as they use conventional weapons. Russia's President Putin came out looking like a great statesman: mature, responsible, trustworthy… He added that the deal strengthens only Iran…

At the UN's annual General Assembly meeting in Sept., Rouhani gave a peace-dripping speech bought and lapped up by the Americans…Surely the millennium is at hand, but what if the lamb turns out to be a nuclear wolf in sheep's clothing?

Salim sees Iran's tactics as a masterpiece of words, marketing a whole series of concepts without changing one single aspect of Iran's nuclear program. It is that taqiyyaprinciple at work, using tranquilizing words, lulling the West into a false sense of security, yet deep in the mountains centrifuges keep spinning, and Iran keeps on completing its bomb. ("Iran: Peace-Dripping Nuclear Lamb," Ali Salim, Gatestone Institute, 8 Oct. 2013)

Yoram Ettinger says that Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states' leaders view the renewed US engagement with Iran as their worst nightmare. These nations see that they - not Israel - will be a nuclear Iran's main target, ravaging the supply and price of oil, thus destroying the world's economy and, according to Iran's theological outlook, ushering in the Islamic Messiah.

What the Saudis fear, that the US is ignoring Iran's past history of dissimulations, deception, concealment and non-compliance, has been proven valid in Geneva. ("The US-related Saudi predicament," Y. Ettinger, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 25 Oct. 2013)

Who is inhuman?

Psalm 83 is so encouraging! For over 3,000 years, God's enemies (v.2) have said, let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name Israel may be remembered no more. (v.4). Yet Israel is still here and most of the nations listed (vv. 6-8) are history!

We thought on that the day before the 2^nd round of Geneva talks began, when Iran's Khamenei, in an exceptionally virulent speech to an Iranian para-military group, said that leaders of the Zionist regime cannot call themselves human beings, they are like animals, and that Israel is the rabid dog of the region, adding, the Zionist regime is doomed to failure and destruction… Yet neither the EU nor the US condemned this, only France. ("Iran flexes muscles as Geneva talks renew," Israel Hayom, 21 Nov. 2013)

Meeting Jewish community leaders in Russia, Netanyahu said, The Iranians deny our past and repeat their commitment to wipe the State of Israel off the map. This reminds us of dark regimes of the past that plotted against us first and then against all of humanity. (see Rom. 2:9!)

As Khamenei called Jews rabid dogs and said they were not human, the audience responded with calls of Death to America! Death to Israel! Bibi: They must not have nuclear weapons. I promise you that they will not have nuclear weapons. ("Netanyahu: Iran wants to wipe Israel off the map," Israel Hayom, 22 Nov. 2013)

Peace pushers

The desire to achieve ME peace is like an addictive drug, and Kerry is the latest addict, aggressively confronting Israel. Yet as Isi Leibler writes, As anticipated, the Arab Spring has devolved into a bloody nightmare…leaving Israel surrounded by a sea of violence and barbarism with no prospect for stability on the horizon. So it is surreal to see Kerry continuing to chant the absurd mantra: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents the principal obstacle to regional stability.

This venom directed against Israel is baffling when one considers that, Palestinian Authority [PA] President Abbas has refused to make a single, meaningful concession…; [PA] media, religious institutions and education systems continue to preach feral anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism;…; and Hamas [ruling Gaza]…remains violently opposed to any peace process.

Yet most vexing was the US pressure to get Israel to release brutal murderers to induce the PA to engage in negotiations. A goodwill gesture, like this just to get them to talk calls into question the entire peace process. ("Obama's appeasement will end in disaster," I. Leibler, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 20 Aug. 2013)

Doing a joint Israeli-PA TV interview (Nov. 7th), Kerry launched an unusually bitter public attack on Israeli policies in the West Bank, warning that if his current peace initiative fails, Israel could see a 3^rd intifada, and be increasingly isolated and delegitimized globally.

Although Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria are Israel's biblical heartland, he said the issue of Jews living there, in the so-called 'settlements' and of the IDF stationed there, must be resolved by removing both. He warned that if we cannot get peace with a [PA] leadership that is committed to non-violence [sic], you may wind up with leadership that is committed to violence. ("Kerry slams Israel's West Bank policies…" Times of Israel, 7 Nov. 2013)

Weinberg writes that, Kerry displayed no appreciation for Israel's positions and concerns…His warnings about the coming isolation of Israel and of a 3^rd intifada, are not just unfriendly pressure, but could lead to ugly self-fulfilling prophecy. There was always a high probability that the Palestinians would use the predictable collapse of the talks as an excuse for more violence and a renewal of their lawfare against Israel in international forums. Now they have Kerry's seal of approval for doing so. ("Kerry's antagonism unmasked," D. Weinberg, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 8 Nov. 2013)

Salim writes, The Arab and Muslim incitement to massacre - and the provision of arms and ideological support for most of the Islamist and Palestinian terrorist organizations - have almost completely disappeared while Arabs are now busy destroying themselves…

Even as we witness the artificial Arab states, created in 1916 by the Sykes-Picot Agreement, disintegrate, the US and the West… insist on creating a new artificial Arab state called Palestine.

The Palestinian people…are not a group at all, but rather Arab immigrants, many of whom settled in the late 19^th-early 20^th century in what was part of the Ottoman Empire, and who fled in 1947, being told to get out of the way by the Arab armies when Israel was to be attacked. Arabs who did not flee, still live in Israel and can freely enter all leading professions…

Salim says any new state in the ME, such as a Palestine, will be taken down by jihadis before its flag is up. ("Straightening the Dog's Tail," A. Salim, Gatestone Institute, 25 Oct. 2013)

Kerry's aim is a final settlement by April 2014. Why then? Is it because the Obama administration is desperate for a 'success' before the 2014 Nov. mid-term elections? Or is this God's timing, since the first of a series of heavenly signs occurs on Passover evening, April 14^th? [Feast day Eclipses, 2014-15: What do they mean? - YouTube Video]

When Friends Betray

Israeli officials were incredulous today that the Obama White House had once again spilled the beans about a discrete Israeli military operation in Syria. The day after a military base on Syria's Mediterranean coast that was housing advanced missile systems designated for Hizbullah, was destroyed in a sudden attack from the sea…an unnamed American official casually revealed to CNN that Israel had indeed been behind the attack. An Israeli news story said the leak came directly from the White House, and that this was not the first time Obama & Co. had exposed secretive Israeli military actions. ("Israel Furious at Obama for Outing Syria Strike," Israel Today, 3 Nov. 2013)

In mid-Nov., as Kerry appeared before the Senate Banking Committee to dissuade Congress from imposing additional sanctions on Iran, senators and aides were shocked that when, anybody would say anything aboutwhat would the Israelis say they'd get cut off and Kerry would say, You have to ignore what they're telling you, stop listening to the Israelis on this. ("Kerry to Congress: Ignore Israel's Concerns on Iran," Israel Today, 14 Nov. 2013)

A recent report from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Obama's Fight with Israel: This Time It's Serious, says cooperation between Israel and the US is taking a hit because of their dispute over Iran… Institute director R. Satloff sees the current dispute as leaving scars in the Israeli-US relationship. He says Kerry is the one who fueled the crisis by among other things, his suggestion that Israel wanted another Palestinian uprising…and his warning to [Bibi] to stop intervening in US efforts to reach a nuclear agreement with Teheran. ("…Obama's Iran policy puts 'America and Israel in uncharted waters'," WorldTribune.com, 19 Nov. 2013)

Today's tower of Babel - the UN

Just before Iran's new 'moderate' President Rouhani spoke at September's UN yearly meeting, he attended his country's military parade, which displayed missiles with signs in Farsi saying, Israel must cease to exist. ("Rouhani at military parade where sign calls for Israel's destruction," Israel Hayom, 25 Sept. 2013)

At the UN, Obama said the US cannot bear the burden alone for maintaining international order, that it desires to act cooperatively with other nations and rely on diplomacy. In other words, he gave up America's ability to shape global affairs… ("Obama waves the white flag," Prof. Abraham Ben-Zvi, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 25 Sept. 2013) Is this God removing America's scepter of authority because of its continued efforts to divide His land (Joel 3:1-2)? And who will fill that gap - the EU? Russia? Or Islam?

Liebler hoped that Obama's mishandling of recent ME crises, would have taught him a few lessons on regional politics. That was not the case, as he still believes that an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord would have a profound and positive impact on the entire ME and North Africa. Does Obama really believe that the struggle between Sunnis and Shiites, the resurgence of al-Qaida, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, the persecution and murder of Christians…the threat of a nuclear Iran, the chaos in Libya and Yemen, the upheavals in Egypt…and Syria, would be positively impacted if Israel cut out its heart to create a 'Palestine'?

He then had the audacity to compliment both Israel and the PA for demonstrating a willingness to take significant political risks. Liebler asks, Does he really believe that Israel releasing mass murderers and the Palestinians consenting to engage in negotiations amount to equivalent political risks? ("Obama & Israel: looming confrontations," I. Leibler, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 30 Sept. 2013)

Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli Arab, wrote that at the UN, the PA's Abbas proved that hatred of Israel is much more important than the well-being of his people. A PA official in Ramallah had just reported that 250,000 out of about 600,000 Palestinians in Syria have been forced to flee their homes since the civil war began. More than 90,000 have fled to Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, where they were living in harsh conditions.

Abbas did not criticize the warring Syrian parties for killing Palestinians and driving them out of their homes… He is more upset about Jews visiting the Temple Mount than thousands of Palestinians …being butchered and expelled from their homes in Arab countries. He only sees evil when Israel acts. And this is the 'moderate' the West demands Israel to make 'peace' with! ("What Abbas Missed in His UN Speech," Khaled Abu Toameh, Gatestone Institute, 2 Oct. 2013)

Truth spoken at the UN

God arranged the lie-infested 2013 UN session to close with truth from Zion by Israel's Prime Minister. Herb Keinon wrote, Few deny that Netanyahu is an effective and powerful speaker. One of the elements that makes him so is his ability to simplify.

At last year's meeting he used a cartoonish poster of a bomb to draw a red line on the Iranian nuclear program everyone could understand. Although he was mocked, Iran never did cross that line. This year, he also simplified things, and with that accord in Geneva signed, his words need to be heard again. Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map… Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself.

This statement was aimed at the leaders of the nations who just made a deal with Iran. He was putting them on notice that if need be, Israel, even if it must act alone, will act. Was he bluffing? Maybe, but Israel has proven in the past…that when it feels its back is against the wall, it will act as it sees fit, even against world opinion.

Netanyahu shies away neither from invoking the Bible to demonstrate the Jewish people's connection to the Land, nor from the Holocaust or the Jews' tragic past to explain what animates the country's security perceptions. Although he gets criticized for these historical reminders, he sees this as essential. I know some in the international community think I'm exaggerating this threat…Last century taught us that when a radical regime with global ambitions gets awesome power, sooner or later its appetite for aggression knows no bounds…The world may have forgotten this lesson. The Jewish people have not.

Keinon writes that Bibi ended his speech in a very politically incorrect way, saying, In our time biblical prophecies are being realized. As the prophet Amos said [9:15], They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine. They shall till gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their soil never to be uprooted again. ("[Bibi] relays a simple message on Iran at UN," H. Keinon, JP Analysis, 2 Oct. 2013)

Netanyahu said, If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. Yet in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many others. Dror Eydar sees this as a moral statement about the responsibility borne by the Jewish people and their state to rouse the world to action - a role it has carried for many years. He sees God calling Israel to be a watchman (Ezek. 33:7), who has now sounded the alarm not to surrender quietly. ("Israel's need to spur the world to action," D. Eydar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 2 Oct. 2013)

Is the Arab Spring chaos opening Islamic eyes?

Ali Salim notes that the elation of the Arab Spring… has now deteriorated into a sense that significant dangers are stalking the Arab-Muslim world. Arabic TV is showing programs asking if bloodshed is the only mission of Islam, and if jihad [holy war] still motivates believers to…indulge in worldwide slaughter.

ME Arab/Muslims are now seriously asking themselves, Who is responsible for the Muslims' catastrophe? What keeps us chained…? As usual, Islamic society blames everyone but itself. In Mohammed's day, the Jews in the Arabian Peninsula were blamed. Today militant Islamic leaders still blame the Jews. The unique prosperity and power of the Jews in Palestine, compared with the slaughter, poverty and backwardness of their Arab neighbors, create antagonism, jealousy, rage and an increasingly murderous desire for revenge…

Yet Islamists also hate Christians. Hatred for the Christian West is founded on a sense of deprivation, of humiliation and inferiority, of being threatened and exploited, all of which cast doubt on the eternal message of Islam as the only up-to-date religion, destined to rule the world…

Islamists attempt to fool the leaders of the Christian West and weaken Israel, telling them that all they need to do is solve the Palestinian problem, then peace will descend on the ME and all will be right with the world.

Salim says that The West's political correctness and refusal to listen to and believe what the political Islamist leadership openly says - and its refusal to defend itself - will lead to catastrophe. For us Arabs… when someone tells you he means to kill you, he means to kill you…

Israelis see the threats of radical Islam and its intentions for their country far better than the [West]…The Jews do not fear to show their determination and willingness to fight a life-and-death battle for their continued existence… ("Begin on Saturday, Finish on Sunday" A. Salim, Gatestone Institute, 21 Aug. 2013)

Israel's possessions

The house of Jacob shall possess its possessions.

Obad. 1:17

Nadia Mater, head of Women in Green, a pro-Zionist group, points out that only the Land of Israel is on the international negotiating table, and this exposes the West's hypocrisy. Syria is awash in rivers of Arab blood, protests in Egypt leave scores dead, the ME is in chaos, yet the West utters a few hypocritical condemnations, and then swiftly returns to the world's main conflict, the territories, a code name for [the Land of] Israel.

Israel's land draws this attention because its children have returned to their God-given Promised Land, and transformed the desert and wasteland into a settled land, with abundant fruits, internationally recognized scientific discoveries, and one of the world's best armies. All this confronts the world with a God who is alive, and doing exactly what He said He would (Num. 11:23; Isa. 55:11; Jer. 1:12; 31:28; Eze. 37:10). ("Continuing the Vision," Nadia Matar, Arutz 7 Op-ed, 14 Aug. 2013)

Dror Eydar appreciated Netanyahu's response to an Israeli-Arab Knesset [Parliament] member's mantra that we were here before you and we will be here after you. Bibi said, The first part of your statement is not true. And the second part will not happen.

This mantra comes from the deception that the Jews have no history in their land, that the Temple never stood on the Temple Mount, that Zionism is a colonialist and racist movement whose goal is to disinherit the real owners of the land. These lies have made inroads internationally because Israel concentrates on security issues when talking about a Palestinian state. While this is crucial, it has not stopped the world from pushing Israel to create another Arab-Islamic state. And by highlighting security, Israel weakens it's just claim to its biblical, historical and legal right to this land. ("Our right to the land," D. Eydar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 4 Aug. 2013)

Israel's Economy Minister N. Bennett, when asked if Israel occupies Judea and Samaria, said: You cannot be an occupier in your own home… ("You Can't be an Occupier in Your Own Home," Arutz 7, 3 Sept. 2013)

The King's Return to Zion

Will Yeshua return if Jerusalem does not invite, or welcome, Him back? Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together… and you would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For…you shall not see Me until you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. (Matt. 23:37-39)

In order for this to happen a significant number of Jews in Israel must acknowledge that Yeshua is indeed Messiah, Savior and Lord. Jews must be in Israel to have the spirit of grace and supplication poured out upon them (Zech. 12:10), then 'all' Israel will be saved, and the Lord will return.

Satan fears Israel's salvation because it is connected to Messiah's return. So he tries to do whatever it takes to prevent this from happening, including: terrorism to scare Jews away from Israel; the peace process to divide the land so that Jews cannot settle in Jerusalem and on Israel's mountains (Zech. 12; Ezek. 36); assimilation so that liberal Jews see themselves as a nation like all other nations as opposed to a people that is to dwell alone (Num. 23:9); deceiving the Church about Israel, resulting in a lack of watchmen on Jerusalem's walls asking God to do that which He desires (Isa. 62:12, 6-7); deceiving the world so that Israel is always the cause for all the ills of the ME and the lack of 'world-peace'; etc.

Yet the Lord is building up Jerusalem and is gathering together the outcasts of Israel (Psa. 147:2). He has restored Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to His people (Zech. 12:2-3; Jer. 31:4-5). And He is saving His people, as current figures indicate that the growth of the Israeli Messianic Body is 10 times as great as the growth of the general population since 1948!

What does this mean in terms of Messiah's return? When YHWH shall build up Zion, He will appear in His glory. (Psa. 102:16) When He first came, He was humble, riding on a donkey as prophesied (Zech. 9:9). So in the days of the building up of Zion physically and spiritually, Yeshua will return in all His and His Father's glory (Matt. 16:27; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31).

We encourage you to do what Yeshua told us to do when we see the sunset of this age:

Watch and pray.

Mark 13:33

Chuck & Karen Cohen