Some facts about Israel in the end-times

Some facts about Israel in the end-times

The temple will be rebuilt before or during the tribulation

While it doesn’t state clearly anywhere that the temple will be rebuilt for these end-times, there are end-times prophecies that require a rebuilt temple.

(a) Jesus told the disciples that when they (Israel) saw the abomination (as prophesied by Daniel) stand (or be established) in the holy place, they were to flee for their very lives. The holy place could only refer to the temple in Jerusalem.
Matthew 24:15-1615When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
The abomination (antichrist) needs the temple established for this event to take place.

(b) In 2 Thessalonians, Paul stated that the man of sin, the son of perdition (= the antichrist) would sit himself in the temple requiring that he be worshipped as God by God’s people.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-43Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Once again, this event requires that the temple be established before this event.

(c) Daniel also prophesied that the antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for their final 7-year period, in the middle of which the antichrist will cause their temple worship according to the Law to cease. He will then reveal himself to be the abomination that Jesus warned the disciples about.
Daniel 9:27And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Or that judgment which has been decreed by God shall be poured out upon the desolator (the antichrist), noting that the term for “desolate” is actually a verb.)
This would occur at the mid-point of the tribulation 7-year period. The antichrist would sit himself in the temple to be worshipped half-way through that 7-year period.

Therefore Israel was warned to flee for their lives when they saw this abomination at the midpoint of those 7 years.

All this must assume the existence of the temple before the mid-point of the tribulation, in existence long enough to permit Israel to have established sacrifices by the Law before the midpoint of the tribulation. It is believed that the muslim Dome of the Rock is currently sitting on the very place where the temple used to be. It would have to be removed before construction of the temple could begin. Ezekiel 38 prophesies a war that will draw many countries (including Russia, Turkey, plus many muslim nations from the Middle East and northern Africa) against Israel, a conflict leading to the antichrist signing this covenant with Israel. The armies coming against Israel in Ezekiel 38 will be more or less exterminated (Ezekiel 39:1-7).

It may be assumed that the Dome of the Rock will be destroyed either during this conflict or soon after. Most muslim nations will be largely wiped out in this war and would not be likely to prevent their Dome from being destroyed. While the antichrist is in reality the enemy of Israel, he wants to be seen as their saviour, to be acknowledged as their Christ the Messiah. He’ll fight their enemies, he’ll grant them some relative stability for a few years, and he hopes that this may be sufficient to earn their respect and even their worship. He would like Israel to see that while their God couldn’t save them, he (antichrist) could! But it won’t be enough, for when he sits in the temple to be worshipped as their god, half-way through the tribulation, Israel disappears and remains hidden from the antichrist for 3½ years.

It can also be assumed that the rebuilt temple remains until Christ the Messiah returns. The antichrist allegedly sits in the temple for 3½ years waiting for that worship that never happens. Then with Israel back in Jerusalem, he gathers the greatest ever army and seeks to overcome Jerusalem at Armageddon. He manages to take half the city captive before Christ returns; he probably is planning on forcing them to worship him once he takes the temple. However, even that fails, for Christ returns and destroys his armies and disposes of him before he manages to capture the temple, it seems.

The Church must go first before Israel can come back to being God’s people once more

The Church owes its existence to Israel’s great failure to obey God. Israel was called to be God’s priesthood to the nations.
Exodus 19:5-65Now therefore, if ye (Israel) will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: 6And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
God gave them the Law and basically required Israel to evangelise the other nations. But instead of teaching and preaching God to the other nations, they were tempted to worship the gods of the other nations, something that God had specifically told them not to do, many times! Time after time God patiently judged them and restored them, finally sending them into captivity to other nations; only Judah and Benjamin were to return to their lands; the 10 northern tribes of Israel were scattered from their lands for almost 3000 years.

When Jesus came, they could have received Him as their Messiah but they rejected Him instead. So the Gentile Church (the other non-Israel nations!) now became responsible for Israel’s tasks and to receive their promises for a season.
1 Peter 2:5Ye (the Church) also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Israel had been effectively sidelined (but not cast away though). Romans 11 says that Israel (the natural olive branches) was pruned off its own olive tree and the Church (the wild olive branches) was grafted in in place of Israel.
Romans 11:17And if some of the branches (Israel) be broken off, and thou (the Church), being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree ….
Romans 11:24For if thou (the Church) wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural [branches] (Israel), be graffed into their own olive tree?

When the Church age has been completed ….
Romans 11:25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
… Israel’s blindness will come to an end. That word “fulness” is pleroma (= that which has been filled). pleroma derives from a nautical term meaning “a ship inasmuch as it is filled (i.e. manned) with sailors, rowers, and soldiers“, “of those things which a ship is filled, freight and merchandise, sailors, oarsmen, soldiers“. (Online Bible)
That is, the ship has been rendered full; the ship’s manifest has everything ticked off as being on board; it is ready to sail. When the Church is rendered complete with all on board, then it will sail. This is the Rapture or the snatching away of the Church.

Once the Church has set sail, Israel will be brought back onto God’s timeline. The wild olive branches (the Church) will have been pruned off again, making room for the natural olive branches to be grafted back onto their olive tree. Israel being grafted back on will trigger their salvation process. The Deliverer (Christ their Messiah) will come out of Zion (God’s holy city – Psalm 48:1-2) and shall put them through the furnace of affliction for 7 years after which they shall come forth purified as gold and silver in the furnace.
Romans 11:26-2726And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
This could happen soon if the current war that Israel is fighting leads into the war of Ezekiel 38. (And all current events strongly suggest this to be so.)

Malachi 3:2-62But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in [his] wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger [from his right], and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. 6For I [am] the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Can people still get saved during the tribulation?

Currently people can get saved via Romans 10:13 (For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.). When saved, they become part of the Church, the body of Christ. This is mainly focused upon the Gentiles (non-Israel) because most of Israel has been blinded as a result of rejecting their Messiah when He came.
Romans 11:7-87What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

This blindness was imposed as a consequence of rejecting their Messiah when He came.
John 1:11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Even then, the gospel was first preached to the Jews. (Paul and Barnabas …. said, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you [the Jews]” – Acts 13:46). However, those Jews of Antioch rejected the gospel preached to them; accordingly, Paul and Barnabas turned to the Gentiles and preached the gospel to them instead.

And in this way the Church took over the tasks and promises once promised to Israel.
Acts 13:44-4744And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 45But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. 46Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. 47For so hath the Lord commanded us, [saying], I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

The rejection of the gospel by the Jews of Antioch and the consequent preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles is a watershed event. Israel has now been rejected and the Church accepted instead. The Church has now become the source of the preached gospel, with only a remnant of the Jews hearing and believing, saved by grace into the Church, the body of Christ.
Romans 11:5-65Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6And if by grace, then [is it] no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if [it be] of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
“remnant” represents only a small portion of the whole here.

While it was God who blinded Israel so that they couldn’t see the truth of the gospel, it is satan who continues to blind many of the Gentile world from seeing the light of the gospel. Satan, who is known as “the god of this world”, uses the love of this world to ensnare those who have been tempted to look at the world rather than the gospel.
2 Corinthians 4:3-43But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
As Jesus said to His disciples, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) Those who seek the world will lose their souls!

Currently Jews can be saved and be added to the Church, but one day soon the Church will be taken away (snatched away; raptured) from this world, and from then on it will be Israel who will once again have the gospel. Revelation 7:3-8 states that there will be 144,000 of Israel (12,000 from each tribe) sealed for God’s work. These will be “instant” evangelists, those who will preach the gospel now of Israel. The gospel they preach will be the same as the gospel of the Church. Joel 2:32 (And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.) is a statement of that gospel preached by the 144,000 evangelists of Israel.

All who are saved will then become part of Israel, just as currently all who are saved become part of the Gentile Church. And just as most who are saved now are Gentiles, most of the saved in the coming tribulation will be of Israel. Just as most of Israel is currently blinded from hearing the gospel, then it will be most of the Gentiles who will be blinded from hearing the gospel during the tribulation period.

Therefore, if you are a Gentile (non-Israel) in the tribulation, you will probably have missed the boat. You had your opportunity while the Church still existed on earth. But Paul makes it clear that missed opportunities don’t necessarily come again.
2 Corinthians 6:1-21We then, [as] workers together [with him], beseech [you] also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.)
Now is the day of salvation; there may not be a further day left to you; today may be all the opportunity you have remaining. The tribulation gospel will be primarily for Israel!

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The coming antichrist
The coming antichrist

While Israel will be victorious to the end (in spite of the greatest tribulation they will ever experience), the biggest enemy of Israel in these coming end-times will be the antichrist (although he is never actually referred to as the antichrist in all of the book of Revelation). The antichrist will be satan’s man in Israel’s final 7-year period before Christ their Messiah returns to save His people Israel at Armageddon. Effectively, the antichrist will be the embodiment of satan, who is the ruler of all that is evil in this world.

Jesus said of satan (the devil) that “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44) While God’s every word is truth, all lies are the work of satan.

A passage in 2 Thessalonians gives us a clear understanding of who he really is.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; 7-123Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. ….
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way. 8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9[Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

He will be satan’s man; 2 Thessalonians 2:9 declares the antichrist to be “him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” In that same passage he is called the “man of sin“, “the son of perdition“, the “Wicked“, the one who “opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Satan has always desired to be as God. Note Isaiah 14:12-1512How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Satan (= “Lucifer” here) wished to “be like the most High“. He challenged God and lost. Since then satan has tried to control what he considers his kingdom on earth: its people. 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world lieth in wickedness” or, more correctly, “the whole world lies in the wicked one” or “under the power of the wicked one” (where “the whole world” here represents all the inhabitants of earth). The people of this world are its citizens while God’s people are no longer citizens of this world but of heaven.
Satan already has the worship of much of the world, but that’s just not enough to satisfy him. He desires the worship of all the world, and in the end-times tribulation period he will, through his servant “the beast” (= the antichrist), demand that all worship him or be executed.
Revelation 13:15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

In particular satan (through his antichrist, the beast) desires to be worshipped by God’s people, Israel. He desired to be as God (“like the most High“) and to him that means being declared God by Israel. He would then be their god and they would be his people. This is the rationale behind him wanting to sit in the temple of God such that he would be seen as their God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-43Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

During the tribulation the antichrist will seat himself in the temple as the one to be worshipped, demanding that Israel worship him as their god. This will occur at the midpoint of Israel’s final 7-year period, the tribulation. Jesus alluded to this when He said, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place …” (Matthew 24:15) Daniel spoke of it in Daniel 12:11And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Daniel 9:27 says “And he (the antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many (the nation of Israel) for one week (Israel’s final 7-year period): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (the daily sacrifice will be taken away), and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate (the antichrist will sit in the temple to be worshipped), even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Jesus said that when they saw this “abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place“, they were to urgently flee for their very lives, not even wasting any time to get supplies or clothing etc. Note that in Daniel 9:27 this will occur “in the midst of the week“, that is, in the middle of that 7-year period.
Matthew 24:15-2115When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

The following from Revelation 12 refers to that flight.
Revelation 12:6, 146And the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days.
14And to the woman (Israel) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
God causes Israel to be assisted to flee from the antichrist abomination in the temple, protecting and caring for her for that 2nd half of the tribulation period while the antichrist sits in the temple to be worshipped. This is really ironic in that all satan’s antichrist wants here is to be worshipped by God’s people but when he sets himself up in the temple to be worshipped, Israel up and disappears! It’s certain that God will do everything to avoid His people, Israel, worshipping satan.

Not only does Israel disappear while the antichrist is in the temple, God’s two witnesses (suggested by many to be Elijah and Moses) cause heaps of trouble in Jerusalem at this time. The antichrist cannot get rid of them in a hurry, either.
Revelation 11:3-63And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Finally, after 3½ years, the antichrist manages to have them killed. They lie in the streets of Jerusalem for 3½ days with the world throwing thanksgiving parties celebrating their deaths. Then, in view of everyone, the two dead witnesses come back to life and rise to heaven.
Revelation 11:7-127And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

After this, there’s the build-up to Armageddon. Israel has somehow returned to Jerusalem and the antichrist gathers his armies to attack Jerusalem. Instead of destroying the city with a huge weapons-barrage of some sort, the antichrist commences taking Jerusalem bit by bit. He clearly doesn’t wish to destroy the city too badly for it will still be his intention to sit in the temple and force Israel to worship him. He manages to capture half of the city, taking half of the population captive.  
Zechariah 14:2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

But then, just when the antichrist would be thinking that he’s finally going to get Israel worshipping him as their god, Christ the Messiah returns and destroys the antichrist’s armies.
Zechariah 14:3, 123Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
12And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
(It does sound like the symptoms of nuclear warfare!)

Revelation 19:19-2119And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

But where does the antichrist come from? In fact, Daniel 9:26-27 gives us some of the answer.
and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (Daniel 9:26b-27a)
The people who would destroy the city and sanctuary were the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 70 AD. The antichrist is “the prince that shall come” and he will be from that people, the Romans. The Roman empire was in power during Jesus’ day, and Daniel prophesies (in Daniel 2:40-43) the Roman empire and then a ten-nation revived Roman empire in latter days (represented by the toes of the huge image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream). Therefore the antichrist is likely to come from a revived Roman empire (today most likely represented by Europe).

Revelation 13:1 (And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.) describes the antichrist (the beast) as having 7 heads and 10 horns with 10 crowns, referring to the ten nations that put him into power (Revelation 17:12-13). Also see Daniel 7:7-8 & 19-21 which also refer to this antichrist/beast.

Daniel 9:27 (And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week) does mention one more important fact about the antichrist. The antichrist will make a defence pact with Israel at the beginning of this 7-year tribulation period. It will come as a result of Israel being attacked by a confederation of muslim nations plus Russia from the north (Ezekiel 38). God will cause this huge army to attack Israel (“And I will … put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine armyEzekiel 38:4). This will draw the antichrist (probably a European leader) to Israel to effectively save them, and to be seen as a type of saviour to them. This is what brings the antichrist into part-controlling Israel. We could be heading into that war of Ezekiel 38 right now.

The one thing that the antichrist desires above all is to be worshipped as god by God’s people Israel. And this is the one thing God completely denies him having. If the antichrist cannot be worshipped by Israel, then he will destroy them, but God denies him this also; Israel will be victorious at the end, and they will be God’s people and He will be their God!

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Israel’s coming tribulation

Israel’s coming tribulation

While it is clear that Israel will continue until the end, it is also clear that this will be accompanied by severe tribulation and great oppression. In fact, Jesus promised Israel (via the Jews) that it would be the greatest tribulation that they would ever experience in all their history. (For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.Matthew 24:21) Other nations around them also sinned but God held Israel particularly responsible for their sin because they alone of all nations should have known better. The prophet Amos, speaking God’s words to Israel, said, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” (Amos 3:2)

Back around 740 BC, Isaiah gave God’s message to Judah and Jerusalem, long before they were taken into captivity (607 – 587 BC). Even then God pronounced them rebellious, sinful, iniquitous, corrupters, revolting, sin-sick from head to toe. He refused to accept their sacrifices according to the Law because they were corrupted, unclean from their spiritual adultery with the gods of other nations.

Some excerpts from Isaiah 1 demonstrating their serious problem with mixing the worship of God with the worship of false gods:
Isaiah 12Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
4Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. 5Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6From the sole of the foot even unto the head [there is] no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
11To what purpose [is] the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; [it is] iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them]. 15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
18Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken [it].

Judah thought they could enjoy sin as long as they carried out the temple sacrifices as well. They thought that it was OK as long as they also did what God required. But when you mix unclean with clean, the consequence is that it all becomes unclean. Even the “clean” actions of worshiping God according to the Law were rendered unclean by their worship of the unclean. Clean + unclean = all unclean!
Haggai 2:11-1411Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests [concerning] the law, saying, 12If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13Then said Haggai, If [one that is] unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14Then answered Haggai, and said, So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so [is] every work of their hands; and that which they offer there [is] unclean.
There are many today who believe the lie that it’s OK to do sin as long as you “get right” with God on Sundays!

Israel was warned to not serve other gods to see what happened or else they would be ensnared into worshiping them.
Deuteronomy 12:29-3129When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

They were told, not just once or twice, but many times to not go after other gods.
Deuteronomy 6:14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which [are] round about you;

They were to not to listen to close friends or family members who tried to get them to serve other gods. Instead, God ordered them to put such people to death.
Deuteronomy 13:6-96If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7[Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth; 8Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

Even after they (Judah) came back from captivity at Babylon, they went further in their spiritual adultery. Malachi was the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, writing about 400 years before Christ.
Malachi 2:11Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

And Jesus declared the pharisees (who were effectively the religious leaders of their day, even overruling the Levitical priesthood) to be the children of the devil.
John 8:44Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

So ultimately, Israel (via the Jews) had dug a sinful hole so deep that they couldn’t escape from it. God had sent punishments one after the other, but while they might have temporarily repented and turned back to God, it never lasted; they just went deeper and deeper into spiritual adultery against God.
God had demonstrated His lovingkindness to them as His special people, yet they had abused this privilege. They would not be purged via God’s kindness, but by being refined in “the furnace of affliction“. God sent plague after plague, judgment after judgment, but even today Israel is still under God’s condemnation for their spiritual sin.
Isaiah 48:9-119For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 10Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do [it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

Daniel 9:24 (Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.) makes it clear that one day their sin will be ended and they will be declared righteous for ever. This has never happened yet, in spite of all the affliction God has brought upon them so far. It will take an affliction far greater than they have ever experienced or could ever imagine to bring them to this point, to break them so surely that they will call upon the name of the Lord to be delivered (Joel 2:32). This time of extreme affliction is yet to come, and the fruit of that affliction will be their everlasting righteousness. (For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.Matthew 24:21)

Daniel 9:24 also mentions the 70 weeks determined for Israel, actually 70 x 7 = 490 years remaining on their timeline. When they rejected Jesus (John 1:11) after 483 of those years, Israel (via the Jews) were sidelined with the Church taking over their tasks and promises. They were 7 years short of the end of their timeline.
But one day (very soon, now) Israel will take over again their ministry as God’s people once more. They have one week of years (7 years) remaining, and this 7-year period will involve the most extreme affliction they could ever know, so extreme that Jesus said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22)

At the end of this final 7-year period, Christ their Messiah will return to annihilate their enemies at Armageddon and then set up His thousand-year reign over the earth.
Zechariah 12:9-109And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.
Ezekiel 37:22-2722And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24And David (= Christ the son of David) my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David (= Christ the son of David) [shall be] their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Much of Revelation records the extreme tribulation of that final 7 years before Christ returns to save His people Israel. It is only this extreme affliction that could ever turn the hearts of Israel back to their God. It has to be far more extreme than anything they have ever experienced up until then, for nothing else less than that has ever worked. However, it also has to be limited in time or else even the redeemed ones of Israel would not survive.
Matthew 24:15-2215When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Just one final note here. Any who think that Israel being hit with such suffering will enable their enemies to better defeat Israel, think again. In spite of Israel’s extreme tribulation and suffering, they will be the ones left standing at the end after Armageddon! And God’s everlasting covenant with Abraham long long ago has never been rescinded, never been revoked.
Genesis 12:2-32And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Those who today are seeking the destruction of Israel had best keep this in mind. No matter how much weaponry, nor how many soldiers, nor how many countries try to oppose Israel, at this time they will not ever be destroyed.
Zechariah 12:8In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David [shall be] as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

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God’s people Israel and their end-times victory

God’s people Israel and their end-times victory

In the Bible, end-times refers to those days when God will draw His people Israel back to Himself, causing them to be redeemed according to His promise to them in Daniel 9:24Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. That 70 weeks represented a year for each day; thus 490 years yet remained on their timeline until their eventual redemption. Effectively Israel was promised everlasting righteousness as God’s people after a period of 490 years. This was to be counted from the date of an order given to rebuild Jerusalem (including the temple).

Daniel 9:25-26a (25Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26And after threescore and two weeks (following that initial 7 weeks) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:) sets out a period of 7 weeks of years plus 62 weeks of years, making 69 weeks of years (= 483 years) before their Messiah (Jesus Christ) is cut off (= cut down). This occurred when Jesus was put to death on the cross for the sins of the world. This left but 1 week of years (7 years) to bring in the everlasting righteousness of Israel.

But. after that 69 weeks of years (= 483 years), Israel (via the Jews) rejected their Messiah. (John 1:11He came unto his own, and his own received him not.) Consequently most of Israel was blinded from the truth and separated from God’s will for some time, not cast away but sidelined. God has never cast away His people for ever! Their final 7 years before their everlasting righteousness was effectively put on hold; they were sidelined (but not thrown away as some today try to teach).
Romans 11:1-2a1I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. 2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.

Israel continued to seek after a God whom they considered to be their special property, but most were blinded such that they just couldn’t see that they were blinded.
Romans 11:7-87What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

A remnant of Israel would continue to seek and find God through repentance …..
Romans 11:5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
… according to God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:12-1312Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
But most of Israel would be spiritually blinded, shut off from God until He chose to seek them once more; this would mark the beginning of the end-times.

On 14th May 1948 Israel returned to a part of her ancient lands; this was an act of God to commence the countdown to their becoming once again His people and He would be their God (according to Ezekiel 37:24-28). In fact, Ezekiel 37 talks about the valley of dead bones becoming a living whole house of Israel once again. This is happening in our time; Israel will not ever be sidelined again; no enemy will ever be able to destroy Israel again.

However, the refusal of Israel to accept their Messiah 2000 years ago opened the way for the Gentile Church to take over the tasks and promises given to Israel; this would continue until the Church age was completed according to Romans 11:25 (For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.) But now that time is very near. When the Church age is fulfilled (“when the fulness of the Gentiles be come in“), then Israel will be brought back onto her timeline to complete that final week of years. A Saviour, the Deliverer, their Messiah, will return to Zion (Israel) …..
Romans 11:25-2725For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
…. and all the remnant of Israel would be saved according to Joel 3:31-3231The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 32And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

This is still mostly in the future. Certainly Israel has already returned to some of her ancient lands, and right now it does appear that the war of Ezekiel 38 is approaching fast, that war which will usher in that final 7-year period.

Joel talks a lot about the end times. To begin with, God will return them from where they have been scattered around the world; He will “bring again their captivity” which means that God will restore them back from their captivity. The captivity here could mean restoration back to their lands, but the context does strongly suggest that it includes being restored from their captivity to sin.
Joel 3:1-41For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and [for] my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 4Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly [and] speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
All the nations who oppose Israel’s return to their land and instead desire the destruction of their people, all those who demand pay-back against God and His people, will instead have their demanded recompense paid back to them (Israel’s enemies); it will be upon their own heads. In particular, “Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine” will receive what they have demanded for Israel. Today we can see how relevant this really is!

Over many centuries they have taken from Israel to give to the temples of their gods, and sought to destroy Israel as a nation. They have persecuted and dispossessed God’s people Israel in order that they might steal their lands. But God will raise His people Israel from where they have been banished (Israel became a sovereign state in 1948) and will use Israel to pay back those who have persecuted them over the centuries. Because Tyre, Sidon and the coasts of Palestine have destroyed God’s people Israel and dispossessed them of their lands, behold, God will now do the same to them as Israel’s oppressors. They will receive what they have given to God’s people. Because they have dispossessed and enslaved God’s people Israel, God will sell their sons and daughters into the hands of God’s people, and Israel in turn shall remove them far away from their lands, “for the Lord hath spoken [it].
Joel 3:5-85Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: 6The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 8And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken [it].

Not only will God pay back Israel’s enemies in kind for what they have given to Israel, He demands that they gather all their allegedly mighty men to prepare for war against God who will defend His people Israel.
Joel 3:9-119Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I [am] strong. 11Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
The start of this appears to be a taunt made to those barely-ordinary men of war who think they are champions in battle because perhaps they are so great in number. Let those who are weak (and ordinary) boast of their mighty acts of war; let them beat their chests and proclaim themselves to be the heroes who will win this battle. Barnes Commentary says: So universal shall be the rage of Israel’s foes for invading her, that even the weak among them will fancy themselves strong enough to join the invading forces. Age and infirmity were ordinarily made valid excuses for exemption from service, but so mad shall be the fury of the world against God’s people, that even the feeble will not desire to be exempted.
It does remind one of their “so courageous, such mighty” cowards who do not dare go into battle without the protection of women and children gathered around them! All may feel brave when they are with a lot of other like-minded people or surrounded by women and children!

thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord – This seems to be praying that God would cause His mighty ones (gibbowr) to come down (from heaven) to fight in this battle. Revelation 19:19 (And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.) says that the armies of earth will gather to fight Christ the Messiah and his army (which may be assumed to be angels).
Also note that angels are used to gather people for judgment: Matthew 13:41-4341The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Psalm 2:4He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. God will mock Israel’s enemies for their futility.

This next passage from Joel 3 does appear to jump forward to that greatest of battles opposing Israel: Armageddon. At the end of that final 7-year period of Israel’s timeline, the nations of the world will gather a huge army to oppose Jerusalem itself. Christ the Messiah returns to slaughter Israel’s enemies and then sets up His thousand-year reign over the whole earth.
Joel 3:12-1512Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness [is] great. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord [is] near in the valley of decision. 15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

Judgment comes to all those who oppose God’s people. The sickle cuts down all the enemy armies; it pictures all the dead being placed into a huge wine vat and crushed so that the blood runs freely at a depth of about 1.2 metres for a distance of around 300km.
Revelation 14:16-2016And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast [it] into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand [and] six hundred furlongs.

And, at the end of this final 7-year period of Israel’s timeline, Israel will be the victorious nation who goes into the thousand-year reign of Christ their Messiah. All those of other nations who are yet alive after Armageddon will go every year to worship Christ the King, the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 14:16And it shall come to pass, [that] every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Those who choose to not worship Christ the King at Jerusalem each year will be punished with drought.
Zechariah 14:17And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

Jesus the King will rule forever and there will be no end of His kingdom, ever.
Luke 1:32-3332He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

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Israel cannot and will not lose

Israel cannot and will not lose

Right now Israel is being attacked in the media across the world, with many world leaders trying to outdo each other in condemning Israel. It does seem to be the in-thing to bash Israel these days. Why anyone would want to praise the murderous atrocities committed by those cowardly wimps of terrorists in Gaza I cannot fathom. Like all bullies, they seek control over all around them, even to the extent of using women and children as shields to protect the cowards in case someone actually stands up against them. And in order to reinforce their self-perceived “right’ to be dictators among their people, they use religion to convince their population that only they can be right; all others therefore must be wrong!

Those around the world who support the cowardly terrorists seem to want to focus on Israel’s alleged genocide against Palestine while trying hard to either avoid mention of the atrocities of October 7th 2023, or, in more than a few cases recently, even justifying the murder and mutilation of around 1200 people in Israel as “legitimate acts of resistance“. Adel Salman (president of the Islamic Council of Victoria) said: ” “We denounce any violence and killing of civilians. What we don’t denounce very clearly is legitimate acts of resistance,” Mr Salman said. “And for the Palestinians to rise up on October the 7th, and say, we’re no longer going to tolerate this siege, this occupation, that’s legitimate.” ” (Sky News 29/02/2024)

And that the terrorists of Gaza took around 250 hostages on October 7th seems to be considered more of an inconvenience for the world to explain, rather than the terrorists’ desired use of them as human shields to protect the bullies. What moral cowards! And by resting the rightness of their atrocities on the dictates of their religion, they have also become religious cowards.

The world has tried to negotiate an end to the strife while seemingly attempting to avoid too much condemnation of hamas. However, to use the hostages as bargaining assets in negotiations is also merely using them to protect hamas from consequences as Israel goes after them with a heavy fist to try to destroy them. And after October 7th it is clear that Israel must deal with these attacks on their sovereignty or else their enemies will just wipe them from the map (a goal the cowards have stated many times before and since Oct 7th).

In its efforts to condemn Israel, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has declared Israel’s leaders to be criminals: “The decision by the International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, to request arrest warrants for Israel’s PM and its defence minister subverts justice and finally destroys the court’s reputation.” (The Australian 21/05/24) ….. and the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to stop its “invasion” of Gaza: “The UN’s top court ordered Israel to stop its Rafah invasion, in an emergency measure imposed on Friday.” (ABC 24/05/24) Note that Karim Khan was an appointee of the UN leadership which has regularly demonstrated its biased support for Palestine; thus the ICC and the ICJ are merely pawns used in support of the cowardly terrorists who dared not attack Israel head-on but instead declared war on unarmed civilians including women, children and babies!

Yet what is Israel supposed to do after they were violently attacked on Oct 7th? Are the cowardly terrorists to be permitted to inflict all sorts of perverted atrocities upon around 1200 innocent and unarmed people in Israel, murder, atrocities, gang-rape, and mutilations (such as the beheading of children) of many of those killed, as well as taking around 250 hostages in order to use them as human shields?
The Wall Street Journal found evidence of sexual violence on October 7 through photographs, interviews with first responders, survivors, families of victims and forensic experts. Photos viewed by the Journal taken by first responders on the scene show bodies were mutilated, including sex organs. The bodies of women and girls displayed signs of sexual assault. ….. In addition to sexual violence, the UN report found widespread mutilation of bodies, including “attempted and actual decapitation, numerous gunshot wounds, and various other forms of extensive violence”. The Wall Street Journal viewed photographs of at least four victims whose heads were partially or fully decapitated.” (The Australian 5/03/2024)

Yet some, even with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, openly dismiss this as a hoax.
Sociology professor (Sydney University) Sujatha Fernandes told a class in April that the media was “distorting” the conflict, and the terrorist group’s mass rapes on and after October 7 were a “hoax”.
“Western media has played the role of an ideological state apparatus by suppressing coverage of the atrocities, peddling fake news (promoted hoaxes that Hamas beheaded babies and carried out mass rape, in order to shore up support for Israel), and distorting events,” Professor Fernandes said.
The UN has said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas engaged in mass and gang rape across multiple locations on October 7.” (The Australian 31/05/24)

As many commentators have noted, Israel is currently fighting for her very existence. Since Israel was declared a state on 14 May 1948, they have been involved in ongoing and never-ending skirmishes against the surrounding nations until now. This includes two major wars of 1967 and 1973. The 1967 war occurred when Egypt closed off the Straits of Tiran, blockading Israeli shipping in May 1967 and provoking Israel by depleting its supplies, and then mobilising the Egyptian army in readiness along its border with Israel. Known today as the Six-Day War, Israel took much extra land as a result.

The 1973 war was against a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria who initiated the attack, desiring the return of land taken off them by Israel in the 1967 war. It was called the Yom Kippur war after Israel’s enemies attacked on one of Israel’s holiest sabbaths. Israel’s borders were extended in each of these wars.
Since 1973 Israel has tried to avoid any full-scale war against her neighbours, in spite of its war capabilities being far superior to those of its neighbours.

While Palestine is often referred to as an Arab nation, in actual fact it is not necessarily so. The history of this land goes back to the Philistines (as noted in the Bible) who lived along the coastline much where Gaza is today (although Philistia had maybe double the coastline that Gaza currently has). Philistia was one of the nations of Canaan, the land settled by Israel after their exodus from Egypt around 1500 BC. The Philistines as part of the nations of Canaan, never had any more than the strip of coastline along the Mediterranean, when Israel took the Promised Land of Canaan in around 1450 BC. There were five cities of the Philistines: Ashdod (the northern-most city today, around 29km south of Tel Aviv), Ashkelon (south of Ashdod), Gaza (the southern-most city of the Philistines), Gath (east of Ashkelon) and Ekron (east of Ashdod). “Palestine” is believed to be the Greek form of “Philistia” as noted by Herodotus, a Greek historian of 5th century BC.

Israel commenced as a nation in the land of Canaan in around 1450 BC, continuing until the 2nd century AD when the Romans crushed the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 AD), establishing Jerusalem as a Roman colony (Aelia Capitolina) with the land of Judea being renamed as Syria Palaestina. Jews were banished from Syria Palaestina but many continued to dwell around the area, especially Galilee, southern Hebron Hills and the coastal plain.

If today’s Palestinians claim to have held their land for longer than Israel, then they are also claiming to be descended from the Philistines of Canaan. This people was not Arab but ultimately descended from Ham, the 2nd son of Noah.
Ham, according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was the second son of Noah and the father of Cush (generally associated with Ethiopia), Mizraim (Egypt), Phut (probably ancient Libya) and Canaan (the land between the Mediterranean and the river Jordan). Ham’s descendants are interpreted by Josephus and others as having populated Africa and adjoining parts of Asia.” (Wikipedia) The Philistines were just one of many nations inhabiting the land of Canaan. “The Philistines were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.” (Wikipedia)

If on the other hand, today’s Palestinians claim to be Arab by descent, then they may only go back as far as 636-640 AD when muslims conquered Palestine. As a result, many of the original inhabitants were removed, either by death or displacement, with the muslim Arabs becoming the dominant people of the area. Therefore, it is likely that today’s Palestinians are predominantly Arab and can thus trace their possession (by conquest) of Palestine no further back than 636-640 AD.
Note that if Palestine were settled by muslim Arabs in the 7th century AD, Israel therefore can trace its possession of this land over 2000 years before current Palestinians took possession of their land. And, even if they (as Philistines) claim to have possessed the land from before 1450 BC, then it always ever only included the coastal strip of land next to the Mediterranean.

In 1947 the UN proposed that Israel and Palestine accept a two-state partition. Israel agreed albeit reluctantly, but the Arab states chose to begin a war to exterminate all of the Jewish population in Palestine. Palestine had then refused to accept a two-state solution and has continued to this day to refuse a two-state solution. For them, there can only be one solution: Palestine as the only state in this part of the world, and thus Israel must be exterminated!
When a majority of the UN General Assembly endorsed that (two-state) resolution on November 29, 1947, the major Zionist forces reluctantly accepted the proposed partition, despite it being vastly unfavourable to them. But the Arab states not only rejected the plan, they launched what the Arab League described as “a war of extermination” whose aim was to “erase (Palestine’s Jewish population) from the face of the earth”. Nor did the fighting give any reason to doubt that was the Arabs’ goal.
At least until late May 1948, Jewish prisoners were invariably slaughtered. In one instance, 77 Jewish civilians were burned alive after a medical convey was captured; in another, soldiers who had surrendered were castrated before being shot; in yet another, death came by public decapitation. And even after the Arab armies declared they would abide by the Geneva Convention, Jewish prisoners were regularly murdered on the spot.
While those atrocities continued a longstanding pattern of barbarism, they also reflected the conviction that unrestrained terror would “push the Jews into the sea”, as Izzedin Shawa, who represented the Arab High Committee, put it.
(“Nakba, where Palestinian victim mythology began”, The Australian,  18/05/2024)

The term “a war of extermination” is attributed to “Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam, the Secretary-General of the Arab League from 1945 to 1952, in which he declared in 1947 that, were a war to take place with the proposed establishment of a Jewish state, it would lead to “a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and the Crusades.” (Wikipedia)
Israeli Ben Gurion paraphrased Azzam as saying: “As we fought against the Crusaders, we will fight against you, and we will erase you (Israel) from the earth.

The Bible makes it clear that if these are the end-times leading up to Israel’s final 7-year tribulation period (Daniel 9:24-27), then it can only end with Christ their Messiah returning to slaughter the huge enemy forces gathered against Jerusalem at Armageddon, and with a victorious Israel then entering the millennial rule of Christ.

Ezekiel 37:21-2821And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. 26Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

From the moment when God brought His people Israel back from around the world to dwell in their land of Israel once again in 1947-48, Israel cannot (and will not) be removed ever again. What God has begun will now only end with Israel going into their millennium of peace ruled by Christ their Messiah.

If they are backed into a corner, they will not be defeated, for God will fight for them as He did in the long-distant past. There are so many today who hate Israel and would seek to destroy them but Israel will be standing as a nation long after the armies of their enemies have been utterly destroyed. We are approaching that time when God will say to His people Israel: I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Beware all those who might think it expedient or maybe more politically-correct, to oppose Israel today. Beware all those who think that their religion will triumph over Israel and her God. Beware all those who might think that because they seem to have the numbers to defeat Israel that it is the day of their god. Most bullies think that when they have far superior numbers that they will win. But numbers have little to do with this. As Paul wrote to the Romans: What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us? (Romans 8:31)

Also note that God promised Abraham that he would be the beginning of a great nation (that is, Israel). God would bless all those who blessed Israel, and would curse all those who cursed Israel. This is known as the Abrahamic Covenant.
Genesis 12:2-32And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This covenant has never been revoked and therefore still applies today. To curse Israel is to draw God’s curse upon one’s self, and many are doing just that today.

Israel is fighting an intense religious warfare opposed to their very existence. But God will overcome all their enemies and establish Israel as His people for ever.

Ezekiel 39:7So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

Zechariah 12:3-103And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 4In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 5And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem [shall be] my strength in the Lord of hosts their God. 6In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, [even] in Jerusalem. 7The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify [themselves] against Judah. 8In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David [shall be] as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. 9And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn.

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