Shalom from Zion,

In these crucial days, the Lord's challenge to the Church is, Do you really believe what the New Testament believes about the Old? Historically, Scripture in the NT refers only to the 'Old Testament' - the Tanach. Therefore, if believers have the NT's opinion of the Tanach, most doctrinal disagreements about Israel could be resolved.

Paul writes, All Scripture [the Tanach] is God-breathed, and profitable for doctrine… (2 Tim. 3:16a). Since all the Tanach is profitable for doctrine, how dare the Church entertain the blasphemous doctrine of replacement or fulfillment theory? Why is the land of Israel's restoration to the Jewish people a problem when God promised it to them over 200 times in Yeshua's bible? Why call Jerusalem, Samaria and Judea 'the occupied territories' when they are specifically named as places to which God restores His people (Ps. 147:2; Zech. 8:7-8; 12:2-3; Jer. 31:5, etc.)?

All Church teachings not in alignment with Tanach theology are not from God. Yes, there are debatable issues, such as when the Rapture occurs, or if a third temple will be built before Messiah's return, but the issues concerning Israel have much more scriptural support. The prophetic pattern is that God settles His unsaved people in His land, and then reveals Messiah to them (Dt. 30:5-6; Jer. 32:37-42; Ezek. 36:24-27; Zech. 12:10, etc.). The problem many Christians have with Israel today is that they do not believe what the NT claims about the Tanach's infallibility!

Yeshua [said]…You err, not knowing the [Tanach] or the power of God.

Mt. 22:29

[Yeshua] said… Fools and slow of heart to believe all things that the prophets spoke! …Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the [Tanach] the things concerning Himself.

Lk. 24:25, 27

These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms about Me.

Lk. 24:44; cp. Jn. 2:22

[The Berean Jews] received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the [Tanach] daily to see if those things were so.

Acts 17:11

We also have a more sure Word of prophecy [in the Tanach], to which you do well to take heed, as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Daystar arises in your hearts,

2 Peter 1:19

So hear what the Spirit is saying to today's Church: To the Law and to the testimony - if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them. (Is. 8:20)

God's Word and Israel's new government

Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's new Deputy Foreign Minister encouraged Israeli diplomats to use the Tanach to back Israel's claim to this land. It is important to say this land is ours, all of it … She also advocates complete Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, Israel's biblical heartland. (Israel's Dep. FM: 'Focus on our God-given biblical right to the land…! United With Israel, 22 May 2015)

Columnist Melanie Phillips wrote that Hotovely caused a sensation, in saying this. Even Israeli diplomats were stunned, as one said, It's the first time anyone has asked us to use verses from Torah for public diplomacy abroad.

Phillips wrote, Well, hallelujah! … [Israel's] foreign service is being told to deliver a message that is correct and also tackles the very core of the Western animus against Israel… driven by the belief, fueled by ignorance and a…propaganda campaign based on a total inversion of history, that Jews are invaders of a land which once belonged to Palestinian Muslims.

Yet only the Jewish people have ever claimed Israel as their homeland. In the 1920s, the pre-UN League of Nations affirmed this, giving the Palestine Mandate to Britain in order to restore the Jewish national homeland by settling Jews in what is now Israel, the West Bank and Gaza (and…Jordan). That legal Jewish right to settle all the land has never been abrogated…

Hotovely has exposed the lie at the core of the West's policy - that Israel's actions are illegitimate and illegal. In fact, Israel stands for law and justice, history and truth. It is the West that stands so shamefully on the other side. Israel is legally, morally, and historically entitled to it all. The Arab aggressors are the real interlopers and entitled to nothing, as historically all claims of the aggressor are considered null and void.

But Hotovely's religious gloss is also crucial to this argument. Judaism comprises an indivisible connection between the religion, the people and the land… [To] deny this unique triple lock is to deny what Judaism inescapably is.

Has the West gone too far in their hatred and irrationality toward Israel to be able to hear arguments from justice, history and truth? R. Kemp, former commander of Britain's forces in Afghanistan, recently said that the West's anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish pandemic is rooted in the undermining of fundamental Western values such as honesty, family, and respect for the state, honor and loyalty. And that says it all. (Israel's Foreign Ministry moves to be right, M. Phillips, JP Op-ed, 28 May 2015)

War vs. Islamic Terrorism

Prime Minister [PM] Bibi Netanyahu said the war against terror will only succeed if it's guided by moral clarity. That means terrorists and their supporters must be condemned, and nations fighting terror supported, adding that the West is going to be tested by these issues of moral confusion versus moral clarity and courage versus cowardice again and again… (War on terror won't succeed if it's based on hypocrisy, Israel Hayom, 15 Jan. 2015)

Turkish Muslim journalist Uzay Bulut says the Vatican's recent treaty with 'Palestine', and other EU nations recognizing 'Palestine' as an independent state, shows how clueless European states are about the conflict in the region and how blind they have become … Europe is proving that today terrorism can create a state.

The EU General Court removed Hamas from its list of terrorist groups late last year. Bulut asked if EU parliaments and courts have even read Hamas' charter, especially…Article 7, which openly calls for genocide against the Jews, not only in Israel, but all over the world? (Hamas, Europe & How to Get a State, U. Bulut, Gatestone Institute, 23 May 2015)

Boycott Israel? Like the Nazis in the 1930s

Mudar Zahran, a Jordanian-Palestinian living in the UK, says haters have not changed their hearts, only their methods and slogans. A good example is anti-Semitism, as today's anti-Semites claim we love Palestinians instead of we hate Jews. This is how the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions movement [BDS] against Israel portrays itself. Yet BDS is dangerous, harmful specifically to the Palestinians.

Most BDS groups don't care for the Palestinians. He has asked several to boycott Arab countries for the way they treat my people, yet never found an iota of interest, proving that BDS aims at demonizing Israel - period.

And boycotting Israel is insane as it is the Palestinians' largest employer. If Israeli businesses shut down, many Palestinians will be without jobs. In fact, in the ME, only Israel and Saudi Arabia permit them to work unhindered.

Zahran writes, I surely do not agree with Israel on a catalogue of issues, but I am wise enough to know it is either Israel, or ISIS/Iran/Hamas/Hezbollah in our region. We must see that Israel is one of the main cornerstones of the ME's security. Whether we like Israel or not… we cannot afford to compromise Israel's interests, not today and not any time in the future. (The dangers of boycotting Israel, M. Zahran, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 5 June 2015)

How successful has BDS been? Elliot Abrams notes that Israel's trade and diplomatic relations with India and China have grown exponentially. Often more attention is directed at critical actions toward Israel by nations such as Ireland, pop. 4.6 million, than to Israel's developing political and economic relations with the world's two most populous countries. One might even wonder who is growing more isolated - Israel or its most hostile critics? (How Isolated is Israel? E. Abrams, Pressure Points, blogs.cfr.org, 1 June 2015)

BDS' website, Bdsmovement.net exposes that this movement is a subsidiary of the PLO, working under the aegis of the [1948 Arab League boycott of Israel… (After Las Vegas conclave: Acting against the masterminds of BDS, David Bedein, JP, 8 June 2015)

Dror Eydar notes that there are many 'occupations' and bloody conflicts elsewhere, yet the world's focus is on the Palestinians because their war is against the Jews who returned home…This gives chilling meaning to the biblical prophecy about a nation that dwells alone. The shifting of the war against us to boycotts is in fact a continuation of the long campaign against our return to Zion. (It's not the 'occupation', D. Eydar, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 16 June 2015)

Genesis 12:3 still applies. All who curse Israel reap God's curse in return - and in this verse, to curse Israel means to disdain, reject, bad-mouth, ignore, see as unimportant, etc.

Obama's dangerous outlook

Walter Russell Mead, writing on Jeffery Goldberg's interview with Obama in May, focused on Obama's response to whether the virulent and frequently expressed Jew hatred that senior Iranian officials spew had him concerned.

Goldberg had said, It's been my belief that it is difficult to negotiate with parties… captive to a conspiratorial anti-Semitic worldview not because they hold offensive views, but because they hold ridiculous views, and do not understand how the world works. Goldberg wants a solid nuclear deal, yet he does not see this Iranian regime as being entirely rational.

Obama's response: Well the fact that you are anti-Semitic, or racist, doesn't preclude you from being interested in survival… from being rational about the need to keep your economy afloat… from making strategic decisions about how you stay in power. So the fact that the supreme leader is anti-Semitic doesn't mean that this overrides all of his other considerations… How pathetic!

So Obama disagrees with Goldberg's point that serious anti-Semites, don't view reality as other people do. Obama agrees that anti-Semitism is bad, that Iran's regime is saturated with it, yet that this is ultimately not that important. (Obama, Anti-Semitism and Iran, W. R. Mead, The American Interest, 25 May 2015)

Annika Hernroth-Rothstein says Obama misjudges the nature of the anti-Semitic worldview. If you believe ‎Jews not only run the world but also are the devil incarnate, it is ‎perfectly rational to use whatever powers and weapons you have at your ‎disposal to try and wipe them off the face of the earth. Using nuclear ‎weapons to kill Jews is not irrational to the Iranian regime … (The strategic American, A. Hernroth-Rothstein, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 27 May 2015)

Yossi Kuperwasser, ex-Israeli general, intelligence expert, and recent director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, sent Goldberg a critique of the Obama interview, stating that Obama's anger toward Netanyahu is misplaced, especially given his… lack of criticism of Palestinians for far more egregious behavior, such as rejecting his formula for extending the peace negotiations, calling for popular resistance, which has resulted in stabbings, stonings, car and Molotov cocktail attacks against Israelis. Also, Hamas openly calls for Israel's demise, yet all Obama can say is the Palestinians are not the easiest of partners.

His struggle with Bibi is likely related to a conflict in the West between two schools of thought… Optimism and realism. Obama is an optimist, as he believes in human decency, therefore in dialogue and engagement as the best way to overcome conflict…

Bibi is a realist. Partly due to Israel's tough locale and Jewish history, he is much more skeptical of Islamists, not seeing them as potential moderates, but recognizes their radicalism and intent to undermine a world order they consider a humiliating insult to Islam… Since Israel would feel the most immediate consequences from Western concessions, Bibi does not have the luxury of optimism. (A Critique of Obama's Understanding of Israel, J. Goldberg, The Atlantic, 1 June 2015)

Former Israeli US Ambassador Oren opens up

Noted historian and current Israeli politican, Michael Oren, has written a new book about his recent stint as Israel's ambassador to the US. Ally: My Journey across the American-Israeli Divide is not complimentary of the US administration.

In a June 16^thWall St. Journal op-ed, How Obama Abandoned Israel, Oren said the President intentionally abandoned the two core principles of Israel's alliance with America: that there be no public daylight between [them], and there be no surprises. While both Netanyahu and Obama have made mistakes in their relationship, Oren said Obama made them deliberately.

He adds that Obama was never anti-Israel, has significantly strengthened US-Israel security ties, and admitted that Israel made its share of blunders during his tenure…

Yet from the start Obama promoted an agenda of championing the Palestinian cause and achieving a nuclear accord with Iran, policies that would put him at odds with any Israeli leader. Still the real challenge was his reneging of the 'two core principles'.

After listing ways Obama did this in the 'peace' negotiations, Oren wrote that the rejection of these principles climaxed over the Iranian nuclear program. During his years in America, Oren shared in intimate and frank discussions with US officials on the Iranian program. But parallel to these talks, administration statements and leaks appeared, intending to deter Israel from striking Iran preemptively. (Oren: Obama intentionally abandoned core principles of Israel's alliance with America, Herb Keinon, JP, 16 June 2015)

The anti-Semitic end-time plague

Isi Leibler says the world's oldest hatred has reached surrealistic levels. While most Western governments ‎openly condemn anti-Semitism, on the street the situation is alarming and even ‎worse than the 1930s, when liberals and the political Left spoke up for the Jews. ‎Today they are often at the vanguard of Jew-baiters.‎

The linking of anti-Semitism with the demonization of the ‎Jewish state, is growing in many nations and college campuses. European polls show that almost half the population regard Israel as a greater threat to world peace ‎than Iran and N. Korea, equate Jews with Nazis, and believe that Israelis are seeking to ‎commit genocide against the Palestinians. Thus a surge of increasingly violent anti-Semitic incidents is not surprising. If you add to that the growing Muslim colonies with inbred anti-Semitism, then the hunting season against Jews is now open (Jer. 16:16).

It is vital for Jews to come home now. Israel was established to receive Zionists, but more importantly, Jews fleeing persecution.

Yet there is also an obligation to combat anti-Semitism, as it is inherently evil and impinges on global foreign ‎policy toward Israel. The UN spends more ‎time condemning human rights violations in Israel than in all the rest of the world ‎combined. We have returned to the Dark Ages, when Jews were accused of blood libels, ‎poisoning wells, bringing about plagues and being responsible for all natural disasters ‎facing mankind. (Global anti-Semitism still escalating, I. Leibler, Israel Hayom Op-ed, 12 May 2015)

An Iranian nuclear weapon - a global problem

Dr. Denis MacEoin, PhD in Persian, Arabic and Islamic studies wonders how Ayatollah Khamenei's call for 'Death to America' is not heard by the US administration. Yet this vindicates the views of Bibi, and the voters who overwhelmingly elected him…

For decades, Iran's threats to destroy Israel… have been direct and unambiguous, and are still proclaimed today. Also, Iran's foreign minister recently said their current diplomacy with the West is a form of jihad.

What's most worrying is that Obama and his allies seem totally blind to the real Iran, its culture, its religion, and its apocalyptic obsessions. They see Iranian leaders as similar to themselves, pragmatic politicians, yet do not see Iran's religiously-defined, faith-inspired culture.

Shia Islam, adhered to by Iran's leaders, differs significantly from Sunni Islam. Regrettably, it seems that neither Obama nor his advisors knows a thing about the theology, history, rituals and mechanisms of Shi'ism, its clerical system, its seminaries, its sects, or its modern manifestations. These issues are critical to know whether once Iran had nuclear weapons, it would use them.

Deeply rooted in Shi'ite belief is an apocalyptic mindset. Add to that raw superstition…religious fanaticism, and a cult of martyrdom, and Iran is the most dangerous country on the planet today. (Iran's Supreme Leader: 'Death to America': Which Word Does America Not Understand? D. MacEoin, Gatestone Institute, 22 May 2015)

As of this writing, there is still no nuclear deal, only rumors of many US concessions. Iranian expert Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, believes the US administration is committed to a deal. Whatever it says about no deal being better than a bad deal, the reality for the administration today is that a bad deal is better than no deal.

He does not know how Netanyahu is able to contain himself, when he sees the US and Europeans making so many fundamental mistakes, which will result in an Iran with massive nuclear capabilities, a powerful economy, strong regional influence and an ICBM program. The costs for Israel and the Jewish people are truly existential, while the US and Europe treat this as a serious but ultimately resolvable, containable arms control agreement.

Today's efforts to boycott and isolate Israel run parallel with the efforts to free Iran of all sanctions. Thus we could see Israel under sanctions and boycotts; UNSC resolutions threatening Israel that if they don't take certain steps it would trigger economic warfare against Israel, and that an Iran, having retained its essential nuclear infrastructure, will be under sanctions relief, its economy growing, and welcomed back into the global community. Israel will be the pariah and Iran will be the partner. (As an Iranian, I would be pleased with the emerging deal, Israel Hayom Interview, 29 June 2015)

'Peace' prowls around seeking to devour Israel

US Secretary of State Kerry complained that Israel's prosperity blocks 'peace'. People in Israel aren't waking up every day and wondering if tomorrow there will be peace because there is a sense of security, a sense of accomplishment and prosperity. That's it. Insanity truly reigns in the White House. (Is US Israel's Ally 'When it Matters'? S. Bryen, Gatestone Institute, 22 Apr. 2015)

Kupperwasser, in his already quoted critique, asked, Does it make sense for Israel, in the face of an aggressive Iran, the rise of Islamic terror organizations across the ME, and the fragmentation of Arab states, to deliver strategic areas to the fragile and corrupt Palestinian Authority [PA], just to see them fall to extremists? Should it help create a state whose leaders believe that, 1) There is no such thing as the Jewish people; 2) Jews have no history of sovereignty in the land of Israel, so the Jewish state's demise is inevitable and justified; 3) The struggle against Israel by all means is legitimate …; 4) Jews in general, and Zionists in particular, are the worst creatures ever created; 5) because Palestinians are victims, they should not be held responsible or accountable for any obstacles they may throw up to peace? (A Critique of Obama's Understanding of Israel, J. Goldberg, The Atlantic, 1 June 2015)

Interviewed on Israeli TV, Obama said the world does not see Israel as serious about a two state solution, and that Netanyahu has placed so many conditions for its establishment it is unrealistic to think it could come into existence in the near future… But these conditions are essential to Israel's security: a demilitarized 'Palestine' State that recognizes Israel as the Jewish national homeland, and accepts an Israeli security presence inside it.

Obama said if peace prospects fade, it becomes more difficult for the US to defend Israel internationally. [This may be God's plan so Israelis look to Him instead of Amercia (Is. 31:1).]

While Obama 'understands' Israel's concern with security, yet he thinks the nation's nature and character must be a preeminent concern. Of course, if Israelis are dead - this concern becomes a moot point. (Obama: World does not believe Israel serious about two-state solution, JP, 2 June 2015)

There are indications of a diplomatic and economic assault targeting Israel by the EU and UN once an Iranian deal is signed, forcing Israel to return to more useless 'peace' talks. Reportedly, the EU has its list ready for sanctions against Israel in the fields of trade, agriculture, science, culture. This economic assault will be applied, unless Israel presents a new set of concessions to entice the PA back to the table. Previous talks ended when the PA joined a unity government with the Hamas terrorist group.

The likely timing of this is around the UN General Assembly annual meetings in September. [Note: there will be a partial solar eclipse on Erev Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 13^th and the fourth and final blood moon occurs on the first day of Succoth, Tabernacles, Sept. 28^th .] (US Diplomats Reveal EU Sanctions Assault after Iran Deal, Arutz 7, 10 June 2015)

The death of Western civilization

Interviewed days before the January terrorist attacks in Paris, Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky said prophetically, the discomfort French Jews feel in their own country should be a strong signal to Europe of the dangers in its midst. Growing hostility toward Israel speaks more about changes in Europe than in Israel. His warning lines up with the old saying that Jews are the world's canary in the coal mine, and what happens to the Jews today, happens to the world tomorrow. [see Rom. 1:16; 2:9-10]

If Europeans are not willing to fight for the traditional values of the liberal national state which they themselves birthed, demanding all citizens to accept the principles of human rights and liberty, and if they are not ready to close mosques when people preach hatred, then Europe is doomed.

Europe's national liberal state, used national identity to unify everyone, and everyone was guaranteed human rights. Then, just before Jerusalem came back under Christian rule (Dec. 1917), two ideologically opposite events took place in one week in Nov. 1917: the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Balfour Declaration.

The Revolution's goal: to eliminate all identities; to create a world of equal people. Zionism, embodied in Balfour, was the opposite, a national movement based on identity. Ironically, though Britain and much of Europe accepted that idea and some 20 states were born, most Jews were anti-Zionists. WWII turned this all upside down - Jews turned to Zionism, and Europeans turned from nationalism to the ideal of the song Imagine, that is, a world without borders, without God, where there is nothing to die for. Europe's goal was a world without borders, and then Israel is reborn and suddenly Jews are seen by Europeans as moving backwards, building a national state…

Ironically, liberal Europe today rejects Jewish nationalism, yet embraces Palestinian nationalism. National identity is 'bad', except for, people who suffered from colonialism, and whose identities help them fight and catch up with the free world.

Today's Europe 'imagines' that there is no absolute value, and that cultures which don't value human rights have the same right to exist as cultures that do. So EU Muslims refuse to integrate. This is a dangerous situation. Liberals who no longer believe there is anything to fight for, face a growing Muslim population which doesn't believe in liberty and human rights, but has a strong identity and is willing to fight for it. (Sooner or later, liberal Europe must fight back, H. Keinon, JP Interview, 10 Jan. 2015)

Prophetic pressure upon Israel

In May, the Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine signing a treaty with it regarding Catholic Church activities under the PA. This is deeply symbolic and makes explicit that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine. The Vatican embraced the 2012 UNGA decision to recognize a 'Palestine', but this treaty is the first legal document negotiated between them, affirming that a 'Palestine' really exists, a Vatican spokesman said.

A PA aide said this 'recognition' is very important, as the Vatican has a very important political status that stems from its spiritual status…We expect more EU countries to follow. (Vatican recognizes Palestinian state in new treaty, Israel Hayom, 14 May 2015)

On June 8, Jerusalem's Mayor Nir Barkat urged Obama to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, hours after the US Supreme Court struck down a law to permit Americans born in Jerusalem to list their birthplace as Israel in their US passports.

Barkat: Just as Washington is the capital of the US, London is the capital of England, and Paris the capital of France - so too Jerusalem was and always will be the capital of Israel…and Israel is the home of the Jewish people. (Ps. 137:5-6)

Jerusalem's status has been among the most vexing issues in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Israel gained back control of the entire city in 1967 and has repeatedly proclaimed a united Jerusalem as its eternal capital. The Palestinians have declared East Jerusalem as their capital. Congress and the White House have clashed for years over support for Israel's position. (Jerusalem mayor urges Obama to recognize Israel's capital, TOI, 8 June 2015)

Bibi: 'Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth…'

On Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day this past April, speaking at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Museum/Memorial, Netanyahu said Iran is today's version of Hitler's Germany, and radical Islam is a variant of Nazi ideology. Comparing attempts to appease Hitler and Iran today, he said the world has not learned of the futility of appeasing a ruthless regime with global ambitions…

Iran poses an even greater challenge than Nazi Germany. Just as the Nazis aspired to crush civilization and establish a master race…while annihilating the Jewish people, Iran with the same goals is obtaining the means to do it, producing nuclear weapons, stockpiling ballistic missiles, and exporting its revolution throughout the ME.

Bibi: Everything is out in the open, and yet the blindness is immense. He then quoted Isaiah, For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples. [60:2a] He said that the light which briefly shone after WW II is now replaced by a fog of darkness and denial on the civilized world, who turn a deaf ear to crowds in Iran who cry, Death to America; Death to Israel. They turn a blind eye to wholesale execution of dissidents and minorities. They are silent in the face of the massive arming of terrorist organizations.

He warned against this destructive path, and added that if Israel needed to stand alone, it will. It is our duty to fight those who wish to destroy us, and to not downplay their threats. The nation of Israel that has arisen from the hellfire [of the Holocaust] is ready for any challenge.

In concluding, he again quoted Isaiah. Shake thyself from the dust; put on thy beautiful garments, my people, [52:2] saying this is what modern Israel has done, having risen from the grave and returned home. ([Bibi]: World's Blindness is Immense, BFP, 16 Apr. 2015)

In June, speaking to US Jewish Agency delegates, Netanyahu said the anti-Israel forces trying to break Israel's lawful sea blockade vs. weapon smuggling into Gaza, are sending another flotilla, but they don't send flotillas to Syria. It's amazing, this travesty of justice, this violation of the truth, this rape of truth.

Bibi said that it used to be said, Don't rock the boat. I say, Rock the boat. Don't accept it. Speak up… expose the lies. Jews have learned it's not enough to resist physical attacks, we also need to resist the slander that precedes the attacks. (Netanyahu: Expose the truth on Gaza flotilla, Israel Hayom, 22 June 2015)

Regarding the rise of anti-Semitism, attempts to delegitimize Israel, or the very dangerous Iranian nuclear deal, Netanyahu gave the delegates this advice: Be clear, confident… speak the simple truth… don't be politically correct - just be correct! ([Bibi]: Anti-Israel bias a 'rape of the truth', TOI, 22 June 2015)

Sanctify them in Your truth. Your Word is truth.

Jn. 17:17

-Chuck & Karen Cohen