Archive for the ‘Middle East War’ Category

God’s Protection of the “Son of Hamas”

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

sonofhamasI recently read the book, “Son of Hamas” by Mosab Hassan Yousef.  It was the exciting autobiography of the son of one of Hamas’ founders.  As a young man he admired his father and was involved in leadership of the youth of the movement.  When he was imprisoned he witnessed the brutality of Hamas members against their own people.  He became disillusioned with the movement.  After he was released from prison he was drawn to a Bible study in Jerusalem where he became a born-again Christian. 

Working with the Shin Bet, Israel’s intelligence agency, he was responsible for saving hundreds or even thousands of lives, helping them stop suicide bombings.

Yousef is only 32, but he has had a lifetime of experiences.  He now lives in the United States.  He just won a major court victory that will allow him to stay in the country.

A little over a year ago, the U.S. Department of Homeland of Security wanted to deport him because he had “engaged in terrorist activity” and was considered a “danger to the security of the United States.”  After obtaining new information, the DHS reversed its position and recommended that the court grant Yousef asylum.

We should pray for his safety and that He will continue to experience God’s direction in his life.

U.S. court grants asylum to ‘Son of Hamas’ – Prophecy Central

Son of Hamas Website

Posted in Middle East War, Peace, Terrorism | 2 Comments »

We Were There!

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

DomeofRockOur tour group enjoyed a thorough pilgrimage of the Holy Land during the last two weeks. The greatest thing about the trip was actually being where Jesus walked, and taught. We could imagine Him teaching the crowds on the shores of the Galilee, or being on a boat with Him there. We pictured His ministry in Jerusalem while we stood on the Temple Steps. And we visited the empty Garden Tomb and saw the Place of the Skull where He was sacrificed for our sins!

But we were also there at a time that reminds us that the prophecies of the last days are being fulfilled. While we listened to our guide at Bethsaida, we could hear the distant explosions of a full-scale military drill involving all the officials of the country and the children in school. Air-raid preparations were practiced and gas masks were passed out in the cities.

Another day we were on the same cable car taking tourists to the top of Masada with President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. This reminded us of the fragile peace process that was going on at the time and of the deteriorating relationship between Israel and the U.S.

And then, on our last full day in Israel, we visited the Temple Mount. We saw the Islamic holy sites built there where the Jewish Temple once stood, and understood the importance of this most valuable piece of real estate in the world. Within minutes of our visit, while we were still on a walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount was suddenly closed to visitors because of the conflict between Israel and a flotilla of ships bringing aid (and hundreds of activists) to Gaza!

Yes, we were there, and the past came alive for us. And we were there as the ancient prophecies continued to unfold!

Posted in Israel, Middle East War | No Comments »

Why America Is Not Mentioned In Prophecy

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Prophecy students often notice that America does not seem to be mentioned in last-days prophecy. Of course Israel and her neighbors are central to the predictions of future events. A renewed form of the Roman Empire is seen in Daniel. In Ezekiel’s war of “Gog and Magog” Russia is prominent, along with an Islamic alliance including Iran and Libya. But where is the mighty superpower of the 21st Century, the United States of America?

Some have thought we are mentioned in Ezekiel 38:13 as one of the “young lions” of what might be the old British Empire. But that is not convincing today since Great Britain is not all that powerful and the United States is obviously no longer a British colony.

Others have thought America could be equated directly with Babylon the Great at the point of her future destruction in Revelation 17 and 18. But that is too great a stretch, and there are far better explanations of Babylon in the last days.

So, what happens to the United States between now and the likely near-future unfolding of the end times scenario?

There are several possibilities. One theory is that the war of Gog and Magog will take place before the rise of Antichrist’s final world empire. It could be the war of the Second Seal of Revelation 6:3-4. That series of events, described in Ezekiel 36 through 39, includes the rebirth of the nation of Israel and an attack against her once she is living in peace and safety. Israel was reborn in 1948 in magnificent fulfillment of this prophecy, but she has not yet enjoyed peace. That peace could be achieved any time now, setting the stage for the attack of Russia and an Islamic force against Israel. Ezekiel’s prophecies about this war say that Israel’s enemies will be destroyed by fire and brimstone. This, of course, could describe a nuclear exchange. What if Iran were to use a nuclear weapon against Israel? Wouldn’t the response also threaten to involve the United States in an unwanted nuclear exchange? If that did happen, it is not likely that the United States would still be a powerful world-player after that war.

Another likely scenario would be that America will have suffered a financial collapse by the time of the last days, and would still exist, but not be a super-power. That is exactly what many political and financial analysts are saying about our current course. The unconscionable spending of recent legislation, with its inevitable tax burden on future citizens could easily be the real reason for the demise of America as anything more than another cog in the European socialistic machinery that Antichrist will use for his economic dictatorship (Revelation 13).

In either of these cases, The United States will not be gone in the last days. We will just not be worth mentioning.

Posted in Israel, Middle East War, Revived Roman Empire, United States of America | 27 Comments »

The Peace Process Is Upsetting the Whole World

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Jerusalem, Dome of the rock, in the background...
Image via Wikipedia
Osama Bin Laden’s latest audio tape praised the attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit on Christmas day. He said that another attack would be “highly likely.” He also directed a warning to President Obama himself that the US must stop supporting Israel. He said, “America will never dream of living in peace unless we live it in Palestine… It is unfair that you enjoy a safe life while our brothers in Gaza suffer greatly.”

Virtually every nation in the world is hoping for some sort of solution to this festering problem that has brought terrorism to their own doorsteps.

Year after year, and plan after plan, the hopes of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has risen and fallen, always coming short of complete satisfaction to both sides.

There are many tangled issues that make it difficult for the two sides to agree. Palestinian leaders demand that all the land lost to Israel in the ’67 war be returned in any peace settlement.

The Israelis have established settlements of Jewish people in these disputed areas over the years. Approximately 300,000 Jewish people live in these outposts. However, Israel has said they would be willing to give up some of these areas in the process and trade Israeli land to the Palestinians in exchange for the others.

Recently, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s peace negotiator said it is impossible to achieve peace unless the parties change their basic assumptions. He explained that the previous method of negotiations established a premise that “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” He said he hoped the process would be changed so that whatever is agreed upon is implemented step-by-step.

The most explosive of all these discussions is the proposal to divide Jerusalem and even the Temple Mount in order to give Palestinians the ability to establish their capital there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu objected to the idea. At a Jerusalem Day ceremony in May he said, “Unified Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem always has been and always will be ours and it will never be divided again.”

The US, Russia, The UN, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and others have all tried their best to restart the peace process. Meanwhile, the whole world is threatened with terrorism until that elusive peace is established.

It is no wonder that God foretold this great struggle that we are witnessing today:
2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. – Zechariah 12:2-3 (NIV)


Osama Bin Laden – US must stop supporting Israel – Chicago Libertarian Examiner
Netanyahu: Settlement blocs are indisputable – Jerusalem Post
Netanyahu: Israel to Keep Parts of West Bank Forever – NewsMax

Posted in Middle East War, Peace, Terrorism | 3 Comments »