Got this in my e-mail today!
HOW TO PRAY FOR ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
By Dr. Michael L. Brown
August 15, 2006
As there is a temporary break in the hostilities in the Middle East, now is a good time to stop and ask: How should we pray for crises such as this? Should we pray for God to protect the Jewish people from terrorist attacks and for Israel’s military efforts to succeed, or should we pray that God will have mercy on everyone involved – Muslim and Jew alike – bringing a permanent end to all bloodshed? Should we pray for lasting peace to come to the region, or should we pray for the Lord’s speedy return, since that is the only way to achieve true and lasting peace? Should we pray only for the salvation of lost souls, or should we pray for God’s prophetic purposes to come to pass?
Since our prayer support is crucial, let me offer some basic and practical guidelines that will help you to pray more effectively.
1) The current crisis is another birth pang, not the end of the world.
It is easy to overreact every time war breaks out in the Middle East, as if we were about to enter the final conflict and Armageddon was only days away. Without a doubt, the current situation is critical: It involves more than Israel and Lebanon, it is part of the larger conflict with militant Islam, and Iran, which could soon be a nuclear threat, is playing a direct role. And the human suffering is certainly great: Many lives have been lost; many families have been devastated; normal life for many will never return.
But this is not the end of the world, and we need to pray accordingly. God is at work, the enemy is raging, and the plan of redemption continues to unfold. This is not the time to panic; this is the time to dig in! “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matt 24:6-8). As the birth pangs increase in speed and intensity and duration, we will know we are getting closer to the end – which will really be the beginning of a whole new world. But, to repeat: This is just another birth pang, with many more still to come.
On the other hand, the devil is trying to bring about greater disaster and war before that final end, attempting to wreak whatever havoc he can and to destroy as many lives as possible. We should therefore pray for God’s restraining hand in the Middle East, not allowing Satan’s work to triumph.
“Father, do not allow the enemy to accomplish his plans and purposes. May Your will, and Your will alone, be done in Israel and the surrounding nations!”
2) Jesus died for the sins of the world, and every soul is precious in His sight.
It is certainly appropriate to pray that God will thwart the attacks of those who seek to destroy His people Israel, but whenever we pray, we must always remember God’s heart for a lost and dying world. Every life is precious to Him, and Jesus died for Jew and Gentile alike. The Scriptures are totally clear on this: He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9), and He wants all people to be saved (1 Tim 2:4). Jesus is not only the propitiation for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
In terms of our salvation and standing in the Lord, “there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (Rom 10:12-13) In light of this, we should pray that God would use the current crisis to open the eyes of both Israelis and Arabs to the good news of the Messiah, and we should ask our Father for a great harvest of souls, for many new births to take place – even among the terrorists. Is anything too hard for the Lord? Jesus is still the one who saves to the uttermost (Heb 7:25).
So, pray for the gospel to go forth in love and power and compassion. Pray for divine opportunities for Jesus to be exalted in the Middle East. Pray that God would open up closed hearts and uncover deaf ears, remembering that it is often during times of crisis that people turn to the Lord. Be sure also to pray for those who are Christian in name only – this is prevalent in Lebanon – that their eyes would be opened to the truth. And pray that God would expose the emptiness of Islam, since many young people around the world are being drawn into it, especially in its most radical forms.
“Father, save a multitude of Jews and Muslims through the mercy of Your Son! In this time of displacement and upheaval and fear, turn people’s hearts to You!”
3) The Lord has special purposes for the Jewish people and the land of Israel.
The Scriptures are totally clear in this regard too. Even though the great majority of the Jewish people still do not believe in Yeshua, the Word declares, “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Rom 11:28-29). The Jewish people are still loved by God, still elect, and His promise still stands: No matter what sins His people may commit, He will not utterly destroy them (see Jer 31:35-37).
The Lord is still working to preserve and keep His ancient, covenant people, and He will still judge those who seek to destroy them or wipe them out. As He said through Jeremiah more than 2,500 years ago, “‘I am with you and will save you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’” (Jer 30:11) This holds true to this very day.
It is the Lord who brought back the Jewish people to the Land of Israel in the 20th century, an event of great prophetic significance (see Ezek 36:22-36; this passage not only applied to the return from the Babylonian exile; it speaks to our day and age as well). Just as Ezekiel prophesied, the Jewish people have returned to their homeland – for the most part, in unbelief, and therefore unworthy of God’s grace – and, just as he prophesied, it is in the Land that God is having mercy on them and changing their hearts. He is doing it in ever-increasing measure, with more and more native-born Israelis coming to faith every year.
The Lord is still in covenant relationship with Israel in a special and unique way, which means that those who seek to wipe out Israel, who launch terrorist attacks against the Jews, who plot for Israel’s destruction, are ultimately fighting against God Himself. Whether they know it or not, they are seeking to make Him into a liar, to prove His Word false, to destroy those whom God promised to preserve.
In light of that, we should pray for God to stand against those who seek to destroy His people, asking Him to frustrate their devices, but we must still never forget that the ultimate need of the people of Israel is a personal relationship with God through the Messiah.
We are mindful of the fact that every life is precious in His sight, and the Lord grieves over the death of a Lebanese child just as He grieves over the death of an Israeli child. He has compassion on all of His creation! But He does have specific plans for Israel, plans that will ultimately affect the entire world.
There is also a difference in the war being waged today when viewed from the perspective of Israel and from the perspective of the terrorists. As Israeli leaders have said on numerous occasions, for them, the death of every Lebanese child or civilian is a terrible tragedy, something to be avoided. For the terrorists, the death of every Israeli child or civilian is a great victory, something to be celebrated. Israel is fighting for survival, longing to live in peace; the terrorists are fighting for Israel’s destruction, longing to triumph in war. Here is a link to an excellent, two-minute video that will help set the record straight, showing you what the media often fails to report: CLICK HERE
So, pray for God to preserve Israel in the midst of the terrorist attacks, praying specially for His protection on all those who know Him and call upon Him in truth.
“Father, frustrate the devices of all who would seek to wipe out Your people Israel, and cause Your purposes for Israel to stand – in the region and the world. Remember Your covenantal promises, and continue to reveal Yeshua as the only Hope of our nation.”
4) Yeshua will return to a Jewish Jerusalem that welcomes Him as King.
Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus spoke to Jerusalem and said, “Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matt 23:38-39) In other words, “Jerusalem, you are about to devastated and destroyed, and you will not see Me again until you welcome Me as your Messianic King.”
Yeshua will return to a Jewish Jerusalem when the Jewish people in Jerusalem welcome Him back. That means that Satan is trying desperately to keep the Jewish people from recognizing Yeshua as Messiah, he is trying to keep Jerusalem out of Jewish hands, and he is trying to wipe out the Jewish people. The devil knows that when a Jewish Jerusalem welcomes back Yeshua, it’s over and done for him.
The Scriptures teach that, at the end of the age, God Himself will cause Jerusalem to be at the center of a great world conflict, out of which He will deliver His people (see Zechariah 12-14). That’s why the battle for Jerusalem is so intense. And so, just as the ultimate reason for anti-Semitism is that the Messiah is a Jew and that God has worked out His salvation purposes for the world through Israel, so also, it is because Jesus will be returning to a Jewish Jerusalem that this city is the ultimate spiritual battleground. That’s why God’s people are called to pray specifically for Jerusalem.
The Scriptures are clear on this point too: “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth” (Isa 62:6-7). We are called to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122) and, more specifically, to give God no rest until “He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” Jerusalem is the chosen city, but it is a city in desperate need of divine visitation.
Pray for God’s purposes for Jerusalem to stand, for all attempts to wrest it out of Jewish hands to fail, for war and disaster to be held back until the appointed times, and for the eyes of the Jewish people – including the leadership! – to be opened to recognize Yeshua as Messiah and King. It’s time!
To sum up, we are to pray for souls, and we are to pray for God’s prophetic purposes to come to pass. We should pray for great mercy to be poured out in the region, for a great ingathering of souls, for the Jewish people to be preserved, for God’s plans for Israel to come to pass, and for the lost sheep of the house of Israel to be reunited with their Shepherd.
“Your kingdom come, Lord! Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Your name be exalted! Preserve Jerusalem, Father! Make this city the praise of the entire earth! And prepare the hearts of Your people there to welcome back Your Son!”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recently, I was on a Christian broadcast that airs live in Israel (broadcast by Daystar TV), and I was asked to say something directly to those watching in the Land. It was my joy to tell them that they are not alone, that in the midst of the bombs falling – bombs that have displaced more than one sixth of the nation’s population – Christians around the world are standing with them in prayer and fasting.
Be assured, fellow-laborers, that you are making a great difference, and keep pressing in and holding God to His promises. He is faithful! And let us believe that the time to favor Zion is at hand, knowing that, as great mercy comes to Israel, extraordinary grace will come to the nations of the world as well. As Paul stated in Rom 11:13-16, “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.”
Israel is still a people of promise, and the loving intercession of Messiah’s people will speed the day when every promise is fulfilled. Hasten it, Lord!
Dr. Michael L. Brown
ICN Ministries
PO Box 1446
Harrisburg, NC 28075
704-782-3760
e-mail: ministry@icnministries.org
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Tuesday, August 15, 2006
How To Pray For Israel And The Middle East
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
To Who Does Jerusalem Belong?
Zechariah 12:2-3 "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 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."
To Who Does Jerusalem Belong?
The Jews say it belongs to Israel. It was the political capital and Temple worship center of the ancient Commonwealth for over 1,000 years, has been the spiritual home of the Jewish people ever since, and is understood to be the future capital of the Messiah.
The Arabs say it belongs to Islam. It is the third most sacred place to Moslem believers, next to Mecca and Medina. The city was under Moslem control from the seventh century until World War I, with the one-century exception during the Crusades.
The Papacy says it belongs to Christendom. Jerusalem is sacred to Christians because of both Old and New Testament associations, and is the site of the death and resurrection of Christ. The holy sites are of great concern, of which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is supreme.
The United Nations says it belongs to the world. Jerusalem is revered by the world’s three great monotheistic religions, and is critical as a hot spot that could well endanger world peace. Therefore, the U.N. wants to “internationalize” the city, so that no one ethnic or religious group would have control.
THE TRUTH IS.... All of the Land of Israel, including Jerusalem, belongs to the Jewish people by divine decree, and we should recognize their rights of ownership.
The Abrahamic covenant was established between God and Israel. God,and God alone, has the right to determine the level of blessing or cursing to be given out to his people. But the Abrahamic covenant does have a component that applies to all the nations. God said, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3). Even when Israel was under God’s judgment, God still held nations accountable for their treatment of the Jewish people. God judged the Assyrians and the Babylonians for mistreating his people (Jeremiah 50:17–19). God also announced he would judge nations based on their treatment of his chosen people (Jeremiah 30:16; Obadiah 15–17). The Abrahamic covenant is still operative, and God still holds nations accountable to seek ways to bless the Jewish people. And one way to do that today is to support Israel’s right to their God-given land.
We should back Israel's possession of the Land in every way. We should suport Israeli believers in Christ. Israel becoming a nation once again was a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It is a priveledge to be living in a time when the stage is being set for the end time events.
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3)
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Monday, August 07, 2006
HAS GOD FORSAKEN HIS PEOPLE?
The following is written by Dr. Michael Brown of ICN Ministries. I encourage you to visit his
website. It is wonderful! Lots of great articles to read. He is a Messianic Jew.
HAS GOD FORSAKEN HIS PEOPLE?
Some things are non-negotiable. God’s covenant with Israel is one of them. How could He have made Himself more clear?
He gave His oath to Abram, and reiterated it six more times to Abraham, to his son Isaac and to his grandson Jacob. On one occasion, “When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself” (Heb. 6:13).
Why did God speak so decisively? It was because He “wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, [so] He confirmed it with an oath’ (Heb. 6:17). God Who cannot lie bound Himself by an oath!
His covenant with Israel was reiterated through Moses, repeated by the prophets and rehearsed by the psalmists. Jesus Himself affirmed it (Matt. 19:28), Paul articulated it (Rom. 9-11) and the gates of the New Jerusalem announce it forever (Rev. 22:11-12). God has chosen Israel as His covenant people.
What if Israel broke the covenant? What would then happen to them? Listen to these unmistakably clear truths: “Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished” (Jer. 30:11). God will completely destroy other nations, but He will not completely destroy Israel! He treats His people differently from other people; they are judged more strictly, but they will never be wiped out.
No matter what Israel does, God will never forsake them as a distinct people. In Jeremiah 31:31-34, the Lord declares that He will make a new covenant with Israel and Judah. But He doesn’t stop there. It’s as if He’s saying, “Now, don’t get me wrong! Don’t think that this new covenant means that I’m abandoning My people. No!”
This is what the LORD says, He who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar – the LORD Almighty is His name: “Only if these decrees vanish from My sight,” declares the LORD, “will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before Me.” This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the LORD (Jer. 31:35-37).
As long as there is a sun, moon, stars, earth, and sea, there will be a distinct people of Israel – no matter what they do. It’s God’s promise! It’s true!
“Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I shall remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him, I have great compassion for him,” declares the Lord (Jer. 31:20)
Look at how relevant God’s prophetic word is to our day and age. For centuries the Church, in arrogance, because of ignorance, claimed that she alone was the true Israel, that she had replaced the ancient covenant people. The Church taught that it was the Christians alone who were the true Jews. (How strange that these Christians were not claiming to be Jewish during the Holocaust!) The Church taught emphatically that the physical people of Israel (those who were ethnically Jewish and those who joined the nation through conversion to Judaism) were eternally rejected.
This is not some worn-out old doctrine. It is on the increase again in our day. Yet the Lord is not surprised. Twenty-five hundred years ago, He already addressed this issue:
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “ Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms He chose?’ So they despise My people and no longer regard them as a nation. This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not established My covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them’ ” (Jer. 33:23-26)
People are still murmuring against Israel and despising the people and the nation.
God’s answer is still the same: “I will never reject them!”
What exactly did God promise Abraham and his descendants? How long are His promises good? Psalm 105 has the answer for us.
He remembers His covenant forever, the word He commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant He made with Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit” (Ps. 105:8-11).
Did God make himself clear? The Scriptures speak of God’s covenant, the word He commanded, His oath which He confirmed as a decree forever, for a thousand generations, as an everlasting covenant. The Lord is trying to make a point!
Not only did He promise to bless Abraham and make him into a great nation; not only did He promise to multiply his seed; not only did He promise to make him the father of many nations; not only did He promise to bless those who blessed him and curse those who cursed him; He also promised Abraham the land of Canaan, with clearly defined borders, as an everlasting inheritance to his natural descendants – until this earth is no more.
Amazingly, some teachers have tried to get out of this perpetual land promise to Israel. They claim that in the New Testament, neither Jesus nor the apostles ever reiterate this particular aspect of the covenant. But why should they reiterate it? When almost all of the New Testament was being written, about one million Jews were living in the Land, Jerusalem was the spiritual and national capitol and the Temple was still standing. And Jesus made it clear that, despite Jerusalem’s soon-coming destruction – a destruction that would last “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” – He would come back to a Jewish Jerusalem (Luke 21:24; Matt. 23:37-39). Obviously Jews would be in the Land!
But there is another reason why Jesus and the apostles did not explicitly stress the land promise to their people. The specifics of God’s covenant with the patriarchs were so clearly stated in the Scriptures that it would have been a waste of words to repeat them all! David Brown, the respected nineteenth century Bible commentator, was correct when he said: “What is permanent in the kingdom of God under the Old Testament is PRESUMED in the New.”
And let all believers who question Israel’s rights to the Land, based on the New Testament, take note of this: The New Testament doesn’t state that Israel would be exiled from the Land either! Both of these Old Testament truths, Israel’s scattering and Israel’s regathering, are presumed in the New.
The covenant God made with Israel is just like the covenant He made with David. The Lord declared to David that He would establish a lasting dynasty for him. He gave this promise to David’s son who would succeed him on the throne:
When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But My love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever (2 Sam. 7:14-16)
What a wonderful word! In spite of David’s terrible sin and Solomon’s tragic backsliding, in spite of the godlessness of Davidic kings like Ahaz and Manasseh, the kingdom would never be taken from his physical descendants.
When the kingdom was divided and God gave Jeroboam the ten northern tribes, He did so to humble David’s descendants, “but not forever” (1 Kin. 11:39). He still left one tribe with the sons of David, “so that David My servant may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name” (1 Kin. 11:36). The King of kings and Lord of lords is a direct descendant of David! God was faithful to keep His word to David, and He is just as faithful to keep His word to Israel.
His covenant with Abraham is just as unconditional and everlasting as His covenant with David. Read Genesis 15 carefully. In ancient days, that is how covenants were made. Sacrificial animals were cut in two and their severed bodies placed in two lines. Both parties entering into the covenant would then walk between the carcasses. By doing so they were symbolically saying, “If I break this binding agreement, if I fail to uphold my side of the pact, then let me suffer the same fate that these animals have suffered.” But something was different in Genesis 15. Only God passed through the pieces! This was a one-way deal (see Gen. 15:17-21)
The Land belonged to other nations. But at the proper time it would be given to Abraham’s seed. If they violated the terms of the covenant – especially as expressed through Moses – then they would be punished and even driven temporarily from the Land. But just as God’s word to David stands firm, His word to Abraham endures, no matter what Israel does. This is what He said through Moses. When the Israelites are
…in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking My covenant with them. I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the LORD (Lev. 26:44-45; see also Deut. 4:27, 30-31)
Even today, when “As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on [our] account; [yet] as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:28-29). Could anything be more plain?
Right now the great majority of the Jewish people are our “enemies” as far as the gospel is concerned. They reject our message (the Orthodox Jews reject it most strongly), and some even actively oppose it. As individuals, they forfeit their covenant blessings when they turn from Jesus the Messiah. But as a people, they are still elect and loved “on account of the patriarchs.” Otherwise, God’s promises have no meaning and election has no significance. “Abraham, I’m swearing by Myself, I’m putting My reputation on the line. I will bless your offspring always – no matter what. (But I may replace them with someone else one day!)” That is not the Lord that we serve.
God’s covenant with Abraham is just as unconditional and everlasting as His covenant with the Church. The Lord “saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy” (Titus 3:5). Praise God, we were chosen by grace! But we are not the only recipients of the Lord’s unmerited favor. To Israel, Moses said:
The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt (Deut. 7:7-8).
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? God’s covenants with Israel and with the Church are based on His promise, not our performance.
Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church both stood, and still stand, by grace. Both received God’s eternal promises. Together we make up the family of God: The faithful ones of Israel and the chosen ones from every nation become one new man out of the two, one body, one people. “For through Him [Jesus!] we both have access to the Father by one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18). Great is the wisdom of God.
This is not what the Muslims believe. It is a fundamental tenet of the Koran that both Israel and the Church failed. Moses was a prophet. Jesus was a prophet. But Muhammad was the seal of the prophets, the messenger of the final revelation. The Jews are not the people of God – they failed! The Christians are not the people of God – they failed! It is Muslims who are the people of God.
Of course, this is preposterous. But, in the event that you are still uncertain about the calling of Israel, consider this simple truth: If God could forsake Israel, in spite of His unconditional, everlasting promises, then He could forsake the Church! If God could replace Israel, in spite of His unconditional, everlasting promises, then He could replace the Church! So, if you hold to a theology that says, “God has forsaken physical Israel,” or “The Church has replaced Israel,” you had better be extremely careful.
Maybe the Koran is right!
*Excerpted from Michael L. Brown, Our Hands Are Stained with Blood, chapter 12.
Dr. Michael L. Brown
ICN Ministries
PO Box 1446
Harrisburg, NC 28075
704-782-3760
e-mail: ministry@icnministries.org
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Monday, July 24, 2006
Israel..."Fear Not For I Am With You"
Isaiah 43:1-21
1 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
6 I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!'
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth--
7 Everyone who is called by My name,
Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him."
8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes,
And the deaf who have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together,
And let the people be assembled.
Who among them can declare this,
And show us former things?
Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified;
Or let them hear and say, "It is truth."
10 "You are My witnesses," says the LORD,
"And My servant whom I have chosen,
That you may know and believe Me,
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
Nor shall there be after Me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD,
And besides Me there is no savior.
12 I have declared and saved,
I have proclaimed,
And there was no foreign god among you;
Therefore you are My witnesses,"
Says the LORD, "that I am God.
13 Indeed before the day was, I am He;
And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand;
I work, and who will reverse it?"
14 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
"For your sake I will send to Babylon,
And bring them all down as fugitives--
The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One,
The Creator of Israel, your King."
16 Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings forth the chariot and horse,
The army and the power
(They shall lie down together, they shall not rise;
They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):
18 "Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.
20 The beast of the field will honor Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I give waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My people, My chosen.
21 This people I have formed for Myself;
They shall declare My praise.
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Friday, July 21, 2006
Israel...Things You Won't Hear On The News!
I wanted to pass along an email I received this morning. It has many interesting facts on the Israel-Lebanon conflict that you will not see on the news. Also, some good insider information on how to specifically pray for Israel. Please pray for Israel!
This e-mail came from Dr. Michael Brown of ICN Ministries.
Dear Friends,
I'm sure that you have been following the daily news coming from Israel, and many of you have received updates and prayer requests from other Jewish ministries. Without a doubt, this is a critical time for Israel, for the Middle East, and for the world as a whole. This is the time for God's people to pray! Many of our friends live and work in Israel, and some of our FIRE School grads are currently serving there, along with in several Arab nations. And every day, we receive prayer requests from our friends in the Land whose children are serving in the military. So, on both a personal and national level, it is time for us to cry out to God.
But how exactly should we pray? My friend Avner Boskey has been sending out detailed news reports and insightful prayer updates, and I feel that he has an excellent grasp on the things that are taking place in Israel today, both from a scriptural and a prophetic viewpoint.
So I pass on to you his latest newsletter, which concludes with a good summary of how to pray. God's purposes shall stand!
Blessings and grace,
Dr. Michael L. Brown
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emergency prayer request for Israel – Day Seven
This is a short report of details of today's fighting, followed by a brief analysis, and then specific prayer requests.
Today (Tuesday July 18) is the seventh day of the "bein hameitzarim" or "dire straits" period (see www.davidstent.org under the "words" section, Feb 21 2005 newsletter, also www.bobjones.org/articles/Basilisk%202002.htm), a period of extreme spiritual danger for Israel. This period lasts up to the 9th of Av (Thursday August 3). It is a time of urgent heightened prayer for Israel and her survival.
Our last prayer request came out at noon Israeli time Sunday July 16. This report sums up the past 60 hours of the war.
- One million Israelis are spending day and night in reinforced concrete safe rooms in the North of the country, a precaution against katyusha rocket attacks. This will probably continue until Hezbollah no longer has the ability to fire katyushas.
- Residents of the coastal plain from Tel Aviv up to Haifa have been told that they need to stay close to buildings and be prepared to take shelter immediately upon hearing a 60-second warning by air raid siren.
- Towns, villages, kibbutzim and moshavim continue to be hit on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. These include major towns like Haifa, Nahariya, Safed, Afula, Carmiel, Kiryat Shmonah, Tiberias, to Arab and Druze villages like Julis, Abu Snaan, Kafr Yasif, Sachnin and Deir al-Assad. On Monday night 70 communities were hit, while on Tuesday 125 katyushas were fired at Israel.
- In Safed the major hospital and a chocolate factory were hit. Power outages occurred in Western Galilee when katyushas destroyed some electric pylons. In Haifa two floors of a residential apartment building were collapsed and 11 people were trapped, requiring IDF combat engineers to dig them out.
- Nazareth and Capernaum, two sites made famous in the Gospels, have both been hit by katyushas.
- 70 families in Carmiel are moving down to Gush Etzion (south of Jerusalem) for shelter while the katyusha attacks continue.
- In the Gaza Strip Kassam rocket attacks fired by Hamas and Fatah (PLO) continue, hitting kibbutzim in the western Negev as well as the Ashkelon industrial park.
- Hezbollah is increasing the deadliness of the type of rockets it is firing, and boosting the distance they are traveling into Israel's heartland. They began with the Iranian 122mm Arash, and have now added the Iranian-Syrian Fajr 5 (220 mm, 52 kg of explosives, plus steel pellets, with a range of 100 km).
- It seems that Hezbollah is still holding some advanced Iranian weapons systems in reserve. It has not fired the Iranian 333 mm Shahin rockets with a range of 160-200 km, or the Zilzal-2 355 mm. rockets weighing 600kg. Nor have they used their SAM-7 anti-aircraft shoulder missiles (similar to the US Stinger) against Israeli jets. Hezbollah has fired its C-802 Chinese missile only once so far (against an Israeli missile boat) with help from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, the Pasdaran.
- The Arabic London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat quotes a senior Iranian army official that the Pasdaran has set up dozens of advanced rocket and missile bases in Lebanon and along the border of Israel. Between 1992 and 2006 Hezbollah received nearly 13,000 of these weapons from Iran, flown to Damascus and trucked into southern Lebanon (see Michael R. Gordon, NY Times, July 16, 2006). At present approximately 100 military advisors from Pasdaran are working with Hezbollah operating these weapons platforms. This is probably what Sheikh Nasrallah meant when he said that his forces will yet surprise Israel. Israeli military Intelligence (AMAN) says that Nasrallah hasn't yet pulled his strategic cards out of the hat yet.
- Israel bombed one C-802 site yesterday. The missile was accidentally triggered and lifted off but exploded in mid-air. Its crash was filmed by the media, and Hezbollah TV inaccurately stated that the film clip showed an Israeli F-16 being shot down. Over the past few days this type of disinformation has surfaced on the Hezbollah and Palestinian side. Other examples include Hezbollah's assertion that only 4 of its fighters have been killed over the past week, and Fatah's declaration yesterday that it has kidnapped an Israeli Border Policeman (also false).
- The Shahin, Zilzal and C-802 rocket systems can hit Tel Aviv. The IAF is continuing to target these Lebanese launch sites, most of which are hidden and camouflaged in Shi'ite residential areas. The IAF has stated that if Hezbollah rockets strike Haifa's petrochemical plants, it will consider bombing Lebanese power plants. In this way pressure is being brought to bear on the sovereign Lebanese government to stop Hezbollah from using Lebanese territory to attack Israel.
- Last week Israel called up one reserve division, and today has issued call-up orders for 3 reserve battalions. This will free up regular troops now engaged in guarding and patrolling in Judea and Samaria, and will allow them to be sent to the North in preparation for possible limited ground incursions.
- Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameinei said on Sunday that "The US says Hezbollah must be disarmed. This will not happen". SKY TV noted on Sunday that Iran has sunk over $100 million into Hezbollah's arsenal. Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said that "any aggression against Syria will have a harsh and direct response not limited in time or means". Both comments indicate that Syria and Iran are afraid of losing their Hezbollah proxy mini-state, and are trying to preserve Nasrallah's regime as a military player in Lebanon.
- Back on Sept. 27, 2002, NY Times journalist Michael R. Gordon stated that there is a fear "that Iran or Syria might encourage Hezbollah to stir up tensions along Israel's northern frontier to divert attention from Iraq and complicate the Bush administration's plans…" This is the same scenario now being played out, with Iran's 2006 nuclear program substituting for the Iraq invasion of 2002.
- Nasrallah pre-recorded a poorly produced TV address on Sunday from his underground bunkers in the dahiya, the Shi'ite suburbs of South Beirut. Gone was the laughing sarcasm. His face was grayish and subdued. He spoke to Israelis, saying that Hezbollah has a faith deeper than that of Israel. He threatened to surprise the IDF "beyond Haifa and on the ground", probably referring to longer range missiles directed at civilian population centers, booby traps along likely Israeli invasion routes, and perhaps even chemical warheads or nuclear suitcase bombs. He stated that Allah has given the Arab and Islamic world a historic opportunity to defeat the USA and Israel, and that the Lebanese people's stand will lead to the salvation of the entire Islamic people. Hezbollah is the spearhead, he said, giving an example to the entire Islamic nation on how to fight the enemy with courage and defeat him. "Where are you, Arabs?" he asked, appealing for help in the jihad.
- It has been reported numerous times today that Nasrallah's forces are firing on Shi'ite villagers trying to flee from Hezbollah-controlled villages northward toward Beirut. They are forcing these villagers to stay and act as human shields and potential casualties in the face of Israeli bombardments of rocket launchers and terrorist command and control centers.
- Pray for God to frustrate the weapons used against Israel (see a similar promise in Isa.54:17 – "No weapon forged against you will prevail").
- Pray for God to frustrate the wicked counsel of evil leaders in Hezbollah, Syria, Iran and world terror ("Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us" – Isa.8:10).
- Protection for Israeli soldiers fighting, and especially for those Messianic Jewish believers presently involved in the war.
- Pray for a revelation of Yeshua as Messiah and atonement to many in Israel right now.
We thank you for your prayers for Israel, for Messianic believers and for our family. Our two oldest sons are soldiers in the IDF. Our oldest son is presently stationed in the Jerusalem area. Our second son will be traveling to the north tomorrow to work as a medic in one of the cities worst hit by katyushas. We ask for your prayers for his safety, protection and for opportunities to be a light in a difficult place.
PLEASE PRAY URGENTLY FOR THESE MATTERS! THANKS SO MUCH FOR CARRYING THIS PRAYER BURDEN WITH US !
We bless you in Yeshua,
Avner Boskey
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Thursday, July 20, 2006
Israel And The Middle East.....The Rest Of The Story
The unrest in the Middle East with Israel and the rest of the Arab and Persian world goes all the way back to the Bible. The rest of this post is an excerpt of a previous post I had concerning the Biblical roots of Islam. I thought it was fitting to post this information again. Please pray for Israel.
Many trace the beginnings of Islam back to Muhammad (born in A.D. 570 in Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia). The roots of Islam actually start with Abraham in Ur of Chaldea (present day Iraq) in about 2000 B.C.The rest of this I am copying and pasting from
This is very interesting because it opens your eyes to the spiritual battle that has gone on for many, many years between Christianity and Islam.
ABRAHAM, THE FATHER OF A MULTITUDE
The story begins with a man named Abram, son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, who lived in the city of Ur (near the Persian Gulf) but migrated to Haran (Gen. 11:10-32). Abram received a call from God to go to the land of Canaan (present-day Israel). God promised Abram the following (in what is sometimes called the Abrahamic Covenant):
· I will make you a great nation
· I will bless you, and make your name great
· You will be a blessing
· I will bless those who bless you, and curse the one who curses you
· In you all families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. 12:2,3)
God told Abram (later his name would be changed to Abraham) that He would give his descendants the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:7; 13:16; 15:18-21; 17:), that Abraham’s descendants would be too numerous to count (Gen. 13:14,15,17;15:5; 22:17), that Abraham would be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:4,5), that in his seed all nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:18), and that the covenant would be an “everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:7). The covenant was reaffirmed to Isaac (Gen. 26:1-5) and Jacob (Gen. 28:3,4, 13-14; 35:10-12). A thousand years later David affirmed God’s covenant with Abraham (Psa. 105:8-11). The promised blessing, of course, came through God’s Messiah, Jesus the Christ (Acts 3:25,26; Gal. 3:14,16).
ISAAC, THE PROMISED SON
God promised Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). The promise was repeated to Isaac (Gen. 26:4) and Jacob (Gen. 28:14). The apostle Paul makes it clear that the seed (singular) was Christ: “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16).
But Abraham had several sons, eight to be exact: Ishmael through Sarah’s Egyptian maid Hagar; Isaac through Sarah; and six others (Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Isbak, & Shuah) through Keturah, whom he married after the death of Sarah (Gen. 15:1-2). Which of the eight was the “son of promise?”
Twice in Genesis 22 God tells Abraham that Isaac is “your son, your only son” (Gen. 22:2,16). God knew that Abraham had two sons at the time, but He reminded Abraham that Isaac, as far as The Promise was concerned, was his only son. Paul connects the dots from the son of promise to Isaac, and from Isaac to us – spiritual “children of promise” (Gal. 4:28).
ISHMAEL, THE SURROGATE SON
Although Abraham had been promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5), Sarah was not able to bear him a child. Sarah felt that God had obstructed her from having children, so she came up with the idea of making her maid, an Egyptian named Hagar, a “sexual surrogate” for her husband. Abraham, inexcusably, heeded his wife’s advice and had sexual relations with Hagar (Gen. 16:1-2). The world has paid dearly for this detour from God’s plan. Herbert Lockyer observes, “Little did Sarah know, when she persuaded Abraham to take Hagar, that she was originating a rivalry which has seen the keenest strife through the ages, and which oceans of blood have not stopped. Moslem Arabs claim descent from Ishmael…Arabian tribes springing from Ishmael are scattered throughout the Arabian peninsula. The wild hearts beat on in the bosoms of those who form the Arab world.”
Once Hagar had conceived, she not only swelled with pregnancy but she also swelled with pride. Sarah, with Abraham’s approval, “dealt harshly” with Hagar, forcing her to flee into the wilderness. But God assured her that He would also multiply her descendants so that they could not be counted (Gen. 16:3-10). She was instructed to call her son Ishmael (“whom God hears”). Then came the prophecy that may have caused Hagar to shiver in spite of the heat in the desert:
“He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him,
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (Gen. 16:12).
The NIV reads, “He will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Thomas Cahill writes, “Her son Yishmael (of Ishmael) shall be another Enkindu, ‘a wild-ass of a man, his hand against all, hand of all against him’ – father of the Arabs” (The Gifts of the Jews Doubleday, 1998). James L. Garlow observes, “The offspring of Abraham is the focal point of the current conflict. The ongoing struggle in the Middle East is a direct result of the animosity between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac. While there is no record of Ishmael and Isaac ever fighting each other, Genesis does record God’s prophecy regarding Ishmael; He will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him (Gen. 16:12 TEV). Today’s struggle is between those who call themselves the descendants of Ishmael and those who call themselves descendants of Isaac. The intense struggle in Israel and the surrounding Arab nations can only be understood historically as a struggle between the descendants of two brothers who lived four thousand years ago: Ishmael (modern-day Arabs) and Isaac (the Jews)” (A Christian’s Response to Islam, RiverOak Publishing, 2002).
THE STAGE IS SET FOR THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
Abraham pleaded Ishmael’s case before God, but was told that the everlasting covenant would be with Isaac and his descendants (Gen. 17:19). However, He promised Abraham that He would bless Ishmael and make him fruitful. Ishmael would beget 12 princes and would be made into a great nation (Gen. 17:20) – the Arab nation. Today there are nearly 300 million Arabs constituting a great nation. The Arab League of Nations consists of 22 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. They literally surround the tiny nation of Israel (8,000 square miles). Three hundred million Arab Muslims surrounding 5 million Jews. They control 99.9 percent of the Middle East whereas Israel represents one-tenth of one percent of the landmass. Arabs occupy 5.3 million square miles of oil rich land but are unable to get along with themselves, let alone others. Witness the conflict Iraq and Iran. The Iranians, though Muslim, are Persians. Note: Not every Muslim is an Arab. The most populous Muslim nation on earth is Indonesia. Indonesians are Malays, not Arabs.
When Ishmael was 16 years old, Sarah caught him mocking Isaac. Once again she made Abraham cast out Hagar and Ishmael, this time for good (Gen. 21:8-14). (Muslims believe they wound up in Mecca where Abraham visited them. He and Ishmael built a shrine, the Ka’bah.) Again God reaffirmed his promise to Hagar that He would make of Ishmael a great nation (Gen. 21:18). Ishmael became a skilled archer and eventually married an Egyptian woman (Gen. 21:20,21). Ishmael became the father of 12 sons (Gen. 25:13-16) and these tribes became known as the Ishmaelites (sometimes called Midianites, Gen. 37:25-28). Isaac had two sons: Jacob (later called Israel) and Esau. Although Esau (like Ishmael) was the first-born, God chose Jacob to receive The Promise (land, name, blessings). Esau, embittered and filled with hatred, linked up with Ishmael, and married Ishmael’s daughter (Gen. 28:9). Jim Gerrish notes, “Like Ishmael, Esau moved into the desert in the area of Mt. Seir, or Edom, to the east of the Dead Sea. There he became the progenitor of multitudes of other Arab peoples. These Arabs were joined by the children of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, in making up many of the inhabitants of today’s Jordan, as well as other parts of the Arab world (Gen. 19:37,38). The bitter rivalry between all these desert peoples and Israel is recorded throughout the Old Testament. Time and time again they came in fury and bitter hatred to destroy Israel. Bible history is replete with the attacks of the Edomites, Ammonites, Ishmaelites, Moabites and hordes of other Arabs against the seed of Isaac and Jacob” (“Islam, Religion of the Other Brother”). The descendants of the six sons of Abraham by Keturah became tribes of people living in what is now Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and other North African nations.
Psalm 83:4-8 spells out the “clear and present danger” to Israel from the Arab coalition: “They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!’ For they conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant – the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites…they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.” The Edomites participated in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., earning themselves God’s eternal wrath (Obadiah 10-14). Arabs strongly resisted the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:19). They harbor a “perpetual hatred” for the people of Israel (Ezek. 35:5).The stated purpose of vengeful Arab nations has not changed to this day. They are still committed to driving the Jews into the Mediterrean Sea and obliterating the very name of Israel (indeed, one cannot find the name “Israel” on maps made by Arabs today). Yasser Arafat continues to call for jihad against Jerusalem. Palestinian terrorists train young Arab children to be “suicide bombers” and to die as “martyrs” for the cause.
Arabs, who claim Ishmael as their father, have laid claim to God’s promises to Isaac, saying Ishmael was the son of promise – the one Abraham sacrificed. (The Koran, which came 600 years after the Bible, says the sacrifice took place in Mecca whereas the Bible has Abraham sacrificing Isaac on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem). Why this deliberate and desperate twisting of the Scripture? Why this outright rebellion against God’s Word? Because Arabs are convinced that they are the true heirs of the land God promised to Abraham’s descendants. But the Bible, as we have seen, clearly indicates otherwise (Gen. 13:15; 15:18; 17:7; 26:3,4; 28:13,14; Jer. 31:35,36 et al). Bob Russell writes, “…the Christian faith and the Islamic faith contradict each other at key points. Remember that there is an axiom from logic called the law of non-contradiction. Two statements that contradict each other can’t both be true. Either one or both must be false” (Christian Standard, Sept. 1, 2002).
Twelve times in Scripture God refers to Himself as “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” – never “the God of Ishmael.” Two hundred and three times God is called “the God of Israel” – never “the God of Ishmael.” The nation of Israel is mentioned 2,565 times in 2,293 verses. The Arabians are mentioned a mere ten times. Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E., 2000 years before the rise of Islam. “Palestine,” a corruption of “Philistine,” the arch-enemies of Israel, is never mentioned in the Bible. (Herodotus in the 5th century B.C. called it “that part of Syria which is called Palaistine.” Hadrian made it official in the 2nd century B.C.)
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Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Pray For The Peace Of Jerusalem
Prayer, in the true biblical sense, is not just a vocalizing of words; it is a condition of being and a call to action. Our first duty, as Christians with a deep-seated belief in a God who hears the cries of His children, is to lift up Israel in our prayers. In the words of the Psalmist:
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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Concerning Israel And Lebanon
The Following was written by Hal Lindsey
The Myth of ''Measured Response''
With illegal attacks across Israel’s internationally recognized borders, hostage taking of soldiers and a relentlessly raining of rockets and missiles upon Israel’s major cities, the Israeli Defense Forces have finally sprung into action. This is after months of “restraint” that world leaders are now calling upon them to use. The time for “restraint” has long passed, as I will demonstrate.
It is because of Israel’s compromise, appeasement and restraint that Hamas, Hizbollah and their true masters, Iran and Syria, have come to believe that “now” is the time to attack and destroy Israel.
Every time Israel unilaterally gave “land for peace”, as in Southern Lebanon and Gaza, the terrorist claimed it as their victory. Hamas used this claim to get elected by popular vote in the West Bank and Gaza. Hezbollah has used the same claim to move in a massive force that is now more powerful than the Lebanon’s army.
Every compromise that Israel has made to make peace with the Palestinians and the surrounding Muslim nations has been rewarded with more terrorism.
The de-facto rulers – Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank and Hizbollah in Lebanon have sworn to destroy the “Zionist Entity” (refusing even to call Israel a State). In fact their founding charter proclaims that their basis for existence is to destroy Israel. They have built up a formidable arsenal of rockets and missiles. They have smuggled in a trained and well-equipped army. Over recent weeks, they have launched ever-increasing numbers of more lethal rockets and missiles with greater range.
Hamas has hit the major fuel port of Ashkelon. Hizbollah has now repeatedly hit the third largest city in Israel, Haifa, killing and wounding many civilians. They have hit another major city, Tiberius, several times and caused serious damage and casualties. The leader of Hizbollah also has warned that he can hit Israel with chemical and biological warheads that can reach Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
The real leaders and suppliers of these terrorists, Iran and Syria, have warned that if Israel hits Syria, they will cause “unimaginable destruction to fall upon the ‘Zionist Entity’.”
As I have repeatedly warned on many occasions, the West, particularly the United States leaders, do not understand Fundamental Islam – which is according to the Koran and Islamic history, the only true expression of Islam. Based on these same founding documents, the so-called “Moderate Muslims” are labeled “apostates” by the Fundamentalists of both the Shi’ite Ayatollahs of Iran and the Sunni followers of Wahhabism.
It is time for the world to wake up. And I pray especially for our President and his cabinet to open their eyes to reality. Muslims only understand one language, “overwhelming power and the will to use it.” Fundamental Islam views kindness, compromise and appeasement as weakness and a failing of will to fight to survive. They see it as a sign that it is time to move in for the kill.
There is an even larger issue here. I believe that God gave Israel a miraculous victory in the Six Day War of June 1967. God gave Israel back the land that He had promised them as an everlasting possession. He did this at just the time He promised – in the “latter days” when He began to bring them back from their Second Dispersion.
Then, rather than believe their own Bible, Israeli leaders began to succumb to world pressure, rather than believe God’s promises. Piece by piece, Israeli leaders gave the Muslim usurpers, who were bent upon destroying them, land that God had miraculously restored to them.
It is important to note that every Israeli leader that was responsible for this met with tragic ends. Menachem Begin, who gave away the Sinai, resigned in disgrace in 1983, dying in seclusion in 1992.
Yitzhak Rabin, who was responsible for setting in motion the most disastrous compromise of faith of all –the Oslo Accord –, was assassinated.
The former great general, Ariel Sharon, betrayed the Jewish settlers in Gaza that he had encouraged to move there and gave Gaza away. He suffered a catastrophic stroke from which he will not recover.
Israel is now in the most dangerous position it has been since the founding of the State. I believe it is because they have tried to make peace with an enemy that openly declares their ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel.
And more importantly, I believe all this disaster is happening because Israelites have not believed and followed their own prophets.
The God of Israel, in sovereign grace, has sworn that this State that has been miraculously restored from the predicted second worldwide dispersion will never be totally destroyed again. But God does warn that Israel will go through terrible tribulation before the Messiah comes and fulfills His unconditional covenants with a believing remnant of Israelites. And this predicted tribulation is to sift out the true believers in Israel from those who don’t believe.
I fear for my country and its leaders. If we continue to push Israel to give away land and accept a two-state solution that any sane person can see will never work, God will judge the United States. We will fall overnight when God’s judgment comes. God has sworn concerning Abraham’s descendents, “I bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.” That Divine oath has never been rescinded. The rise and fall of nations and empires can be traced to God keeping this oath.
United States must not fall in with the other world leaders and demand that Israel give only a “measured and balanced response” to the unprovoked atrocities Iran, Syria and their surrogates, Hamas and Hizbollah, have brought upon Israel. If Israel does not totally destroy these terrorist organizations now, they will face endless violence and suffering.
May the God of Israel and the true Messiah, the Lord Jesus, defend Israel and open the eyes of many – both Christians and Israelites.
You can visit Hal Lindsey's site here.
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Friday, June 16, 2006
Biblical Roots Of Islam
I wanted to post on the Biblical roots of Islam. Many trace the beginnings of Islam back to Muhammad (born in A.D. 570 in Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia). The roots of Islam actually start with Abraham in Ur of Chaldea (present day Iraq) in about 2000 B.C.The rest of this I am copying and pasting from
This is very interesting because it opens your eyes to the spiritual battle that has gone on for many, many years between Christianity and Islam. I believe all the peace talks in the world will not stop this battle. It will be finished when Jesus returns riding on a white horse!
ABRAHAM, THE FATHER OF A MULTITUDE
The story begins with a man named Abram, son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, who lived in the city of Ur (near the Persian Gulf) but migrated to Haran (Gen. 11:10-32). Abram received a call from God to go to the land of Canaan (present-day Israel). God promised Abram the following (in what is sometimes called the Abrahamic Covenant):
· I will make you a great nation
· I will bless you, and make your name great
· You will be a blessing
· I will bless those who bless you, and curse the one who curses you
· In you all families of the earth shall be blessed (Gen. 12:2,3)
God told Abram (later his name would be changed to Abraham) that He would give his descendants the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:7; 13:16; 15:18-21; 17:), that Abraham’s descendants would be too numerous to count (Gen. 13:14,15,17;15:5; 22:17), that Abraham would be the father of many nations (Gen. 17:4,5), that in his seed all nations would be blessed (Gen. 22:18), and that the covenant would be an “everlasting covenant” (Gen. 17:7). The covenant was reaffirmed to Isaac (Gen. 26:1-5) and Jacob (Gen. 28:3,4, 13-14; 35:10-12). A thousand years later David affirmed God’s covenant with Abraham (Psa. 105:8-11). The promised blessing, of course, came through God’s Messiah, Jesus the Christ (Acts 3:25,26; Gal. 3:14,16).
ISAAC, THE PROMISED SON
God promised Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). The promise was repeated to Isaac (Gen. 26:4) and Jacob (Gen. 28:14). The apostle Paul makes it clear that the seed (singular) was Christ: “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ” (Gal. 3:16).
But Abraham had several sons, eight to be exact: Ishmael through Sarah’s Egyptian maid Hagar; Isaac through Sarah; and six others (Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Isbak, & Shuah) through Keturah, whom he married after the death of Sarah (Gen. 15:1-2). Which of the eight was the “son of promise?”
Twice in Genesis 22 God tells Abraham that Isaac is “your son, your only son” (Gen. 22:2,16). God knew that Abraham had two sons at the time, but He reminded Abraham that Isaac, as far as The Promise was concerned, was his only son. Paul connects the dots from the son of promise to Isaac, and from Isaac to us – spiritual “children of promise” (Gal. 4:28).
ISHMAEL, THE SURROGATE SON
Although Abraham had been promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven (Gen. 15:5), Sarah was not able to bear him a child. Sarah felt that God had obstructed her from having children, so she came up with the idea of making her maid, an Egyptian named Hagar, a “sexual surrogate” for her husband. Abraham, inexcusably, heeded his wife’s advice and had sexual relations with Hagar (Gen. 16:1-2). The world has paid dearly for this detour from God’s plan. Herbert Lockyer observes, “Little did Sarah know, when she persuaded Abraham to take Hagar, that she was originating a rivalry which has seen the keenest strife through the ages, and which oceans of blood have not stopped. Moslem Arabs claim descent from Ishmael…Arabian tribes springing from Ishmael are scattered throughout the Arabian peninsula. The wild hearts beat on in the bosoms of those who form the Arab world.”
Once Hagar had conceived, she not only swelled with pregnancy but she also swelled with pride. Sarah, with Abraham’s approval, “dealt harshly” with Hagar, forcing her to flee into the wilderness. But God assured her that He would also multiply her descendants so that they could not be counted (Gen. 16:3-10). She was instructed to call her son Ishmael (“whom God hears”). Then came the prophecy that may have caused Hagar to shiver in spite of the heat in the desert:
“He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him,
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (Gen. 16:12).
The NIV reads, “He will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” Thomas Cahill writes, “Her son Yishmael (of Ishmael) shall be another Enkindu, ‘a wild-ass of a man, his hand against all, hand of all against him’ – father of the Arabs” (The Gifts of the Jews Doubleday, 1998). James L. Garlow observes, “The offspring of Abraham is the focal point of the current conflict. The ongoing struggle in the Middle East is a direct result of the animosity between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac. While there is no record of Ishmael and Isaac ever fighting each other, Genesis does record God’s prophecy regarding Ishmael; He will be against everyone, and everyone will be against him (Gen. 16:12 TEV). Today’s struggle is between those who call themselves the descendants of Ishmael and those who call themselves descendants of Isaac. The intense struggle in Israel and the surrounding Arab nations can only be understood historically as a struggle between the descendants of two brothers who lived four thousand years ago: Ishmael (modern-day Arabs) and Isaac (the Jews)” (A Christian’s Response to Islam, RiverOak Publishing, 2002).
THE STAGE IS SET FOR THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
Abraham pleaded Ishmael’s case before God, but was told that the everlasting covenant would be with Isaac and his descendants (Gen. 17:19). However, He promised Abraham that He would bless Ishmael and make him fruitful. Ishmael would beget 12 princes and would be made into a great nation (Gen. 17:20) – the Arab nation. Today there are nearly 300 million Arabs constituting a great nation. The Arab League of Nations consists of 22 countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. They literally surround the tiny nation of Israel (8,000 square miles). Three hundred million Arab Muslims surrounding 5 million Jews. They control 99.9 percent of the Middle East whereas Israel represents one-tenth of one percent of the landmass. Arabs occupy 5.3 million square miles of oil rich land but are unable to get along with themselves, let alone others. Witness the conflict Iraq and Iran. The Iranians, though Muslim, are Persians. Note: Not every Muslim is an Arab. The most populous Muslim nation on earth is Indonesia. Indonesians are Malays, not Arabs.
When Ishmael was 16 years old, Sarah caught him mocking Isaac. Once again she made Abraham cast out Hagar and Ishmael, this time for good (Gen. 21:8-14). (Muslims believe they wound up in Mecca where Abraham visited them. He and Ishmael built a shrine, the Ka’bah.) Again God reaffirmed his promise to Hagar that He would make of Ishmael a great nation (Gen. 21:18). Ishmael became a skilled archer and eventually married an Egyptian woman (Gen. 21:20,21). Ishmael became the father of 12 sons (Gen. 25:13-16) and these tribes became known as the Ishmaelites (sometimes called Midianites, Gen. 37:25-28). Isaac had two sons: Jacob (later called Israel) and Esau. Although Esau (like Ishmael) was the first-born, God chose Jacob to receive The Promise (land, name, blessings). Esau, embittered and filled with hatred, linked up with Ishmael, and married Ishmael’s daughter (Gen. 28:9). Jim Gerrish notes, “Like Ishmael, Esau moved into the desert in the area of Mt. Seir, or Edom, to the east of the Dead Sea. There he became the progenitor of multitudes of other Arab peoples. These Arabs were joined by the children of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, in making up many of the inhabitants of today’s Jordan, as well as other parts of the Arab world (Gen. 19:37,38). The bitter rivalry between all these desert peoples and Israel is recorded throughout the Old Testament. Time and time again they came in fury and bitter hatred to destroy Israel. Bible history is replete with the attacks of the Edomites, Ammonites, Ishmaelites, Moabites and hordes of other Arabs against the seed of Isaac and Jacob” (“Islam, Religion of the Other Brother”). The descendants of the six sons of Abraham by Keturah became tribes of people living in what is now Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and other North African nations.
Psalm 83:4-8 spells out the “clear and present danger” to Israel from the Arab coalition: “They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!’ For they conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant – the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites…they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.” The Edomites participated in the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., earning themselves God’s eternal wrath (Obadiah 10-14). Arabs strongly resisted the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:19). They harbor a “perpetual hatred” for the people of Israel (Ezek. 35:5).The stated purpose of vengeful Arab nations has not changed to this day. They are still committed to driving the Jews into the Mediterrean Sea and obliterating the very name of Israel (indeed, one cannot find the name “Israel” on maps made by Arabs today). Yasser Arafat continues to call for jihad against Jerusalem. Palestinian terrorists train young Arab children to be “suicide bombers” and to die as “martyrs” for the cause.
Arabs, who claim Ishmael as their father, have laid claim to God’s promises to Isaac, saying Ishmael was the son of promise – the one Abraham sacrificed. (The Koran, which came 600 years after the Bible, says the sacrifice took place in Mecca whereas the Bible has Abraham sacrificing Isaac on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem). Why this deliberate and desperate twisting of the Scripture? Why this outright rebellion against God’s Word? Because Arabs are convinced that they are the true heirs of the land God promised to Abraham’s descendants. But the Bible, as we have seen, clearly indicates otherwise (Gen. 13:15; 15:18; 17:7; 26:3,4; 28:13,14; Jer. 31:35,36 et al). Bob Russell writes, “…the Christian faith and the Islamic faith contradict each other at key points. Remember that there is an axiom from logic called the law of non-contradiction. Two statements that contradict each other can’t both be true. Either one or both must be false” (Christian Standard, Sept. 1, 2002).
Twelve times in Scripture God refers to Himself as “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” – never “the God of Ishmael.” Two hundred and three times God is called “the God of Israel” – never “the God of Ishmael.” The nation of Israel is mentioned 2,565 times in 2,293 verses. The Arabians are mentioned a mere ten times. Israel became a nation in 1312 B.C.E., 2000 years before the rise of Islam. “Palestine,” a corruption of “Philistine,” the arch-enemies of Israel, is never mentioned in the Bible. (Herodotus in the 5th century B.C. called it “that part of Syria which is called Palaistine.” Hadrian made it official in the 2nd century B.C.)
But when Abraham died, Isaac and Ishmael – together – buried their father (Gen. 25:8,9). This little jewel – “Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him” – gives us a glimmer of hope for the future. Can the sons of Abraham be reunited again?
IS THERE HOPE FOR THE SONS OF
ISHMAEL AND ISAAC?
Faced with all this, some would throw up their hands and say, “What’s the use? There’s no hope!” But this is the language and posture of defeat. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for all. It is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. Even though the Cross seems a stumbling block to the Muslim world (and the Jewish world too for that matter) it remains the only hope of the world. Jesus Christ, who is our peace (Eph. 2:14), is the only hope for peace in the Middle East.
God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11). He wants all people to repent. He is not willing that any should perish. Even in the Old Testament, there are glimmers of hope for the sons of Ishmael. Egyptians and Syrians would be delivered by the Savior and would worship together along with Israeli believers (Isa. 19:18-25). People from Kedar and Nebaioth (Ishmaelites) would proclaim the praises of God (Isa. 60:7-9). Israel’s neighbors, who had caused them nothing but grief, would experience the compassion of the Lord (Jer. 12:14-17). In Jesus’ day the Idumeans (Edomites), hearing of Jesus’ fame, came to Him (Mark 3:8). And then there was Pentecost!
Pentecost, A.D. 30. “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). The apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, were speaking to each nation group in their own language. Among them were Egyptians, Libyans, and Arabs (vs. 10,11). They all heard “the wonderful works of God” in their own language. Peter and the apostles preached the message of Christ – crucified, buried and raised up. They were cut to the heart and cried out, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Swift as an arrow shot from the bow came the reply: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38 emphasis added). Then came another promise – a promise not just for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – a promise for all. “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call” (v. 39). About 3,000 souls answered the call that day and were baptized. Now “one in Christ” they worshiped together and lived in love, peace and harmony (vs. 42-47).
Few people foresaw the fall of Communism, which once enslaved millions in the darkness and despair of godless atheism. Let us, by a “faith that works by love,” optimistically preach Christ to the Islamic world!
Case in point #1: Jeremiah Cummings, a former member of Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam, founder and director of WICC-TV (The Worldwide International Campaign for Christ Television Network), Orlando, Florida. Cummings (formerly Jeremiah Fard Muhammad) was baptized into Christ in 1997 after a 13-month study of Christ. His study was precipitated by a historic 1996 debate he had in Dallas with Jack Evans, president of Southwestern Christian College (an a cappella Church of Christ institution), “Islam vs. Christianity” (available on CD for $55 or 4 Cassettes for $35 from www.wicctv.org). Cummings uses teachings from the Koran to establish the divinity of Christ. “Muslims deny the virgin birth of Christ, but in the Koran the virgin birth is seen in Sura 21:91, ‘And as for Mary, who protected her virginity, and we breathed into her of our spirit [Holy Ghost in Luke 1:35] and made her and her son a sign’ [Isaiah 7:14].” He says, “If I can show them thing in their own book – things that they’ve read all their live and didn’t know, Muslims are more likely to respond to Christian teaching.” He has baptized a number of Muslims into ChristHis 10-year plan for WICC-TV is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week Church of Christ teaching network that will be broadcast around the world.
Case in point #2: Lee Turner, founder and director of Key Communications in Portland, Oregon. In 1960 Brother Turner became the first missionary from the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ to go to the Muslim country of Pakistan. For more than a biblical generation he has been reaching out to the Muslim world with the gospel of Christ. Thousands of Muslims have eagerly responded to Key Communication’s radio and literature ministry. The May 2002 issue of Outreach to Muslims he wrote of “Loving Muslims to Christ.” “It is a challenging assignment but one which perceptively captures the greatest difference between Islam and Christianity, between Muhammad and Christ…the message of God’s love shown through Jesus Christ to all men and women really stands out like a great triumphant banner!…Myriads of Muslims can tell the difference between the love of power and the power of love!”
Turner expanded on this significant “difference” a major article entitled “The Difference” (Asian Evangelism, Nov. – Dec. 2001). After delineating the political, ethical, and social differences between Islam and Christianity, he pinpointed the theological differences. “Muslims who reach out to learn of Christ are often responding to one or more of the following three extremely important theological differences between Islam and the message of Christ.
· First of all when the gospel of Jesus is thoughtfully presented, a Muslim often senses the profound difference between God sending down versus God coming down… I certainly don’t have to tell you that the second alternative is the very heart of the gospel. God…personally breaking into human history…’God with us’…In sharp contrast, Islam presents God as one who only sends down. There is no personal encounter. There is no sharing in the human condition…no being tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.
· Another startling contrast a Muslim senses when he hears the gospel of Christ is the difference between God revealing his will rather than God revealing himself…The highest form of revelation is personal revelation. Jesus said, ‘…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father’…The first concept, that is that God only sends down, is a Mt. Sinai-like experience. In such an experience one gets law codes, statutes, enactments, prohibitions, restrictions, commands. But the second experience, that is that the Word became flesh, in other words he became a man, provides the opportunity to commune with God!
· Through listening attentively to the gospel a sincere Muslim soon gains a
third revolutionary understanding. He comes to understand that The Word was not made a book but rather the Word was made flesh…The Son is the eternal Word, which was in the beginning with God, and was then sent down to earth. Islam’s ‘act of salvation’ is not the descent of the Word in human form, but the sending down of the Book itself…As long as the Word remained on ‘equality with God’ (Phil. 2:6) he could not be our sacrifice because he was immortal! Only after the Word became flesh could he fulfill God’s purpose as expressed in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah….”
What do we have to offer the children of Ishmael? Jesus Christ, the Middle East’s most famous son! In “Christianity’s Greatest Challenge” (a tract published by Fellowship of Faith for Muslims), C. George Fry wrote, “There is a five-fold rationale for the Church’s mission to the Middle East: (1) First, we witness because of the command of Christ (Acts 1:8)…The Church must reenter the Middle East with an invitation to discipleship so that our Lord’s Semitic kinsmen after the flesh may become His brethren according to the Spirit. (2) Second, we witness because of the truth of Christ. Truth is universal, and, as Alec Vidler has written of Christianity, ‘either it is true for all men, whether they know it or not; or it is true for no one, not even for those people who are under the illusion that it is true’…(3) Third, we witness to the fullness of Christ. Our mission to the Middle East is our prayer in action that the day will come when the Muslim peoples will know Jesus not simply as Prophet-Teacher but also as Savior-King…(4) Fourth, we witness to the grace of Christ, that in Christ, ‘all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross’ (Col. 1:19,20). (5) Fifth, we witness to the fellowship of Christ, in which there is no east or west, no Jew or Arab, no male or female. This is the community of reconciliation that could mean a new day for the Middle East with a spiritual reunion of Europe and Asia, the end of the estrangement between Abraham’s sons, and an emancipation declaration for the Muslim women. Christ, up to now the barrier between Christian, Jew, and Muslim, can become, by the grace of God, the bridge to oneness in the Gospel.
Islam is Christianity’s greatest challenge – and Christianity’s greatest opportunity. Surely the Spirit, using sanctified reason, will show us a way to find new methods of penetrating the Muslim world with the message of Christ!”
I am haunted by Abraham’s poignant prayer to God:
“Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
But I am made hopeful by Jesus’ fervent prayer to God:
“That they all may be one…that the world may believe”
Jesus Christ did not pray a prayer that cannot be answered! The saving message of Christ, shared in the spirit of Christ, has, can, and will bring the estranged sons of Abraham together again!
-------Compiled by Victor Knowles
Founder/Executive Director, POEM (Peace on Earth Ministries)
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