UPDATE:

The Israel Air Force, working with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), launched two missile attacks against terrorist groups in Gaza Tuesday night,[12/27/11] killing at least three and, according to Palestinian reports, injuring at least 11. Several hours later, Palestinians fired a Kassam rocket from inside Gaza but it exploded inside the Strip.

Israeli army chief Gen. Benny Gantz says there is no alternative to another major military ground operation in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

"From time to time, we face rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and we understand the continuing buildup from the Sinai region," said Gantz. "I believe that the state of Israel cannot continue to live under the active threat of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Sooner or later, there will be no escape from conducting a significant operation.

"No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy...." Psalm 33:16-18

Prayer looms large in the Holy Land. Jew, Christian, Muslim alike understand that the struggle for the Holy Land is a spiritual battle.

The Jewish people ask the God of Israel for His blessings each day and Palestinian Muslims pray five times a day to Allah. Both peoples pray for health, prosperity and protection, interceding for their respective nations. Christians who call on The Name of Yeshua fall somewhere in the middle:

Those who take the promises of the Bible literally stand with Israel; those who do not side with the Palestinians.

"...the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision..." Joel 3

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness... Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!" Isaiah 5:20-21

European members of the Security Council - France, Britain, Germany and Portugal condemned Jewish building in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem and took a very unbalanced view of what is needed to get the peace process back on track.

The Europeans said that recent Israeli plans to build additional apartments in existing Jewish "settlements" or in Jewish neighborhoods on the eastern side of Jerusalem "send a devastating message" and must be reversed.

"All settlement activity, including in east Jerusalem, must cease immediately," insisted France, Britain, Germany and Portugal.

Contradicting the traditional position that all peace negotiations should take place between Israel and the Palestinians, the Europeans demand that both sides instead present proposals to the Middle East Quartet comprised of the European Union, United States, UN and Russia. The Quartet would then mediate those proposals and provide a plan for peace.

Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners late Sunday, the second and final phase of a swap with Gaza Hamas militants that brought home an Israeli soldier after five years in captivity.

Under the Egypt-brokered deal, Israel agreed to exchange a total of 1,027 prisoners for Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Gaza militants in June 2006. Schalit returned home in October when Israel freed the first batch of 477 prisoners. Sunday's release of 550 prisoners completed the swap.

"Hear this now, O foolish people, without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not: Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord. ‘Will you not tremble at My presence... Jeremiah 5

As Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu wishes Christians in Israel and around the world a Merry Christmas - let us remember to:

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem

“Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever.  Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.” Psalm 48

The Muslim world has clearly demonstrated their extremist nature of dealing with conflict by working itself into a frenzy over an Israeli decision to either repair or replace a bridge to Jerusalem's Temple Mount that wasn't even used by Muslims.

While Muslims have several other Temple Mount entrances at their disposal, the Rambam Bridge, also known as the Mughrabi Bridge, adjacent to the Western Wall Plaza was the only entrance to the holy site for both Jews and tourists.

Muslims across the region accused Israel of waging a holy war against Islam. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) asserted that Israel's plans for the bridge "constitute a war crime according to international humanitarian law."

"Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." Psalm 83

In an interview with The Jewish Channel, former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, stated that the entire basis of the Israeli-Arab conflict is off because the Palestinians are an "invented people."

"Remember, there was no Palestine as a state – (it was) part of the Ottoman Empire. I think we have an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places," Gingrich said.

Gingrich did qualify his remarks earlier by explaining that he is in favor of a two-state solution to the current conflict, but stressed that it is the Palestinians who must prove they really want peace and compromise on their demands in order to achieve it.

"And now many nations have been assembled against you who say, 'Let her be polluted, and let our eyes gloat over Zion'. But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, and they do not understand His purpose...He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor." Micah 4

Barack Hussein Obama has disrespected the Jewish high holiday of Hanukkah by lighting all the candles on the menorah, having a Hanukkah party at the White House some 12 days early, and poking fun at the entire event by saying;

"So while it is not yet Hanukkah, let's give thanks for our blessings, for being together to celebrate this wonderful holiday season. And we never need an excuse for a good party."

There has never been a report where this president has mocked the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. In fact, he has always marked that false religion' holiday with serious respect.

As to Christianity, and Judaism, his record speaks for itself.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

Just days after a report indicated that Iran's Revolutionary Guards were preparing for war, air raid sirens blared in Jerusalem and across northern Israel in a test of the warning system.

Soldiers with the Home Front Command continued a week-long exercise in southern Israel simulating long-range missile attacks on hospitals, schools and other public buildings where mass casualties would be expected.

"... the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15

"I trust in You, O Lord.... My times are in Your hand." Psalm 31:14-15

American Defense Secretary Leon Panetta suggested that all of Israel's problems can be traced back to its own behavior.

"Just get to the damn [negotiating] table," Panetta told Israel during a briefing at the Brookings Institute. Panetta insisted that Israel needs to be more flexible in order to "reach out and mend fences" with the Arabs, or risk facing even greater isolation.

"...know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!


"...Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned...." 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 12-14

Thus says the Lord God: "This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her." Ezekiel 5:5

The results of the election in Egypt were an astounding victory for the Muslim Brotherhood. The initial count shows the Muslim Brotherhood taking 45% of the seats in Egypt's parliament and the even more radical Salafist Muslims taking another 20%. The Washington Post reports that "Tunisia and Morocco have both elected Islamist majorities to parliament, while Libya has yet to announce dates for its first elections, Islamist groups have emerged as a strong force there as well.

It would appear our G-D is indeed aligning the nations to come against His Chosen people...

but He who has promised IS faithful:

"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 12:3

Days before Egypt' first general election since the overthrow of former dictator Hosni Mubarak, the Muslim Brotherhood held a rally to mark the 1947 UN partition of the Palestine Mandate and the recognition of a Jewish state.

During the event, speakers and the 5,000-strong mob repeatedly chanted a quote from the Koran that states “one day we will kill all the Jews.”

Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb told those gathered that “The al-Aqsa Mosque [on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount] is currently under an offensive by the Jews…we shall not allow the Zionists to Judaize al-Quds,  Jerusalem.”

Other speakers had equally hateful words for the “Zionist occupiers” and the “treacherous Jews.” The mob of worshippers responded with: “Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, judgment day is coming!”

And indeed, judgment day IS coming ~ but not as the Muslim Brotherhood envision:

"Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes....blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green...the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17:5-10

Pray for those trapped in the deception of Islam, bound by the lies of Mohammad - they too need the Saviour.

A medieval Jewish prophecy regarding the coming of Israel's Messiah appears to correspond to the current situation in the Middle East.

Rabbinic literature known as the Yalkut Shimoni touches on many future scenarios both for the nation of Israel and for the world. In its section on the biblical Book of Isaiah and the prophecies contained therein, a rabbi cited by the Yalkut Shimoni states:

'In the year in which the Messiah-King appears, all the nations of the world are provoking each other'. The document goes on to describe what closely mirrors Iran's defiant nuclear program and the tension it is creating with Arab states.

What does all this mean for Israel, assuming the Yalkut Shimoni is accurate?

"When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 39:27-29

Col. Bob Maginnis writes:

"Neither the U.S. nor Israel will attack Iran’s maturing atomic weapons facilities until the benefits outweigh the costs in spite of the latest unnerving report. However, that cost-benefit line is fast approaching."

"For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it. Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it." Psalm 69:35-36

"...the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." John 3:19-20

The decision by the UN Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) to name Syria as the Arab representative to a committee on implementing human rights at a time when the Syrian regime is massacring its own citizens further demonstrates the total irrelevance of this world body.

Egypt seems determined to eliminate the country's eight million Christian Copts. They have gotten rid of the Christians in Iraq - the Chaldeans, the Assyrians literally wiped out. Now they seem to believe that the time has come to eradicate the last and largest group of Christians in the region: the Copts. There is only one place in the Middle East where Christianity is growing and that is Israel.

"And 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." Zechariah 12:3

"Iran is closer to getting an (atomic) bomb than is thought," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in remarks to cabinet ministers, quoted by an official from his office.

"Only things that could be proven were written (in the U.N. report), but in reality there are many other things that we see," Netanyahu said, according to the official.

The world must see the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report for what it is and stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons before it is too late, Mr.Netanyahu told the cabinet.

In response to reports of a possible Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran is threatening to mount an attack on Israel via the Syrian border. Some 30,000 Syrian and Palestinian men have spent the past three months training to infiltrate Israel in order to carry out suicide missions, the Iranian Fars news agency reported Friday.

"They have asked the Syrian government for authorization to infiltrate occupied Palestinian land and carry out suicide missions against Israeli soldiers."

Please pray for the young men and women who serve in the Israeli military. Just out of high school, they serve with pride and dignity their nation in this very difficult time in its history.

Days after Obama let it slip that he doesn't think much of Netanyahu, Americans say they prefer the Israeli leader over their own president.

"...Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness." Jeremiah 23:6

"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Matthew 12:34

YnetNews reports:

Microphones accidently left on after G20 meeting picked up private conversation between US president Obama and French president Sarkozy. Sarkozy admits he 'can't stand' the Israeli prime minister. Obama said: You're fed up with him - I have to deal with him every day!

The conversation apparently began with President Obama criticizing Sarkozy for not having warned him that France would be voting in favor of the Palestinian membership bid in UNESCO despite Washington's strong objection to the move.

The conversation then drifted to Netanyahu, at which time Sarkozy declared: "I cannot stand him. He is a liar." According to the report, Obama replied: "You're fed up with him, I have to deal with him every day!"

The remark was naturally meant to be said in confidence, but the two leaders' microphones were accidentally left on, making the would-be private comments embarrassingly public.

Baruch haShem.!!.

Thus says the Lord God: "This is Jerusalem; 'I' have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her." Ezekiel 5:5

The UK and U.S. are drawing up plans to attack Iran amid growing tensions in the Middle East. Barack Hussein Obama and David Cameron are preparing for war after reports that Iran now has enough enriched uranium for four nuclear weapons.

But then:  A senior American military official told CNN that the Obama Administration is "absolutely concerned" that Israel may soon strike Iran's nuclear facilities.The official insisted that the US itself has no intention of attacking Iran, and said there is no guarantee Israel will notify Washington before launching its own military operation.

Two conflicting reports - two distinctly different assessments of the same problem -

But G-D' Word brings clarity, shines Light and speaks Truth to those with eyes to see, with ears to hear and with hearts to receive:

"Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.

And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” Mark 13:33-37

Corky Siemaszko,
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS writes:

Millions of Americans harbor an ugly secret — they’re suspicious of the Jews.

A nationwide survey released by the Anti-Defamation League found that 15% of the country holds deeply anti-Semitic views — and as the economy worsens that number appears to be growing.

“It is disturbing that with all of the strides we have made in becoming a more tolerant society, anti-Semitic beliefs continue to hold a vise-grip on a small but not insubstantial segment of the American public,” the ADL’s Abraham Foxman said.

Among other things:

19% answered “probably true” to the statement “Jews have too much control/influence on Wall Street,” a five percentage point increase since 2009.

14% agreed with the statement that "Jews have too much power in the U.S. today," an increase from 13% in 2009.

15% agreed Jews are "more willing to use shady practices."

16% agreed that Jewish "business people are so shrewd, others don't have a chance."

Some 31% believe the Jews were responsible for crucifying Christ. The survey found that the more educated Americans were the least prejudiced they were, while foreign-born Hispanics were more likely to hate Jews than U.S. born Hispanics.  29% of the African-Americans surveyed expressed strong anti-Semitic views.

"Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.… in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." Zechariah 12:2-3, 9-10

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord." Jeremiah 31:27-28

'Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved.' Romans 9:27

Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim

ISRAEL'S FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL
Bruce Thornton - Front Page Magazine writes:

Israel's fight for survival is not only against Hamas, Hizbullah, and their state sponsors Syria and Iran. Equally formidable, if more insidious, are those in the West whose virulent hatred of Israel imperils her existence. This antipathy among Western academics, commentators, and reporters is itself a reflection of the larger moral and intellectual corruption that endangers not just Israel but Western civilization.

But ~ Make no mistake about it - God has a special love for Israel!

Deuteronomy 7:8 speaks about the chosen nation of Israel and says "because the LORD loved you." Isaiah 63:7 says: "I will mention the loving kindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He hath bestowed on them according to His mercies, and according to the multitude of His loving kindnesses." In a classic passage of God's love for Israel in Jeremiah 31:1-3 we read: "At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people. Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee."

Do not let the disobedience of Israel cloud your understanding of the covenant our L-RD has with His people - for if He could so easily forget the Jewish people because of their disobedience - what could be said for those who have been grafted into and are not original to the Root who are also disobedient?

"...in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God...evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." 2 Timothy 3

Israel Today reports:

A Palestinian public opinion poll reveals that Israel's peace partners have had enough of talking, and may be gearing up for more violence.

A majority of all Palestinians said the Western-brokered peace process with Israel is no longer of interest to them, a fact bolstered by last month's unilateral attempt by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to gain recognition of Palestinian independence at the UN.

"For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah, That they may dwell there and possess it. Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it, And those who love His name shall dwell in it." Psalm 69:35-36

Israeli President Shimon Peres, much of whose own family perished in the Holocaust, says he hopes the world has matured beyond hatred for the Jews.

But the six-decade history of the modern State of Israel suggests that is not the case.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord." Jeremiah 31:27-28

It was only a matter of time before economic demonstrators began to blame "the Jews" for America's financial woes.

One activist carried a sign: "Hitler's Bankers - Wall St"

shouting "The Jews control Wall Street!"

The few who dared to heckle the man were told to "go to Israel." When a liberal in the crowd questioned if the man was planted by the hated right-wing Fox News, the man replied forcefully; "A bl**p -bl**p Jew made that up," before resuming his chant of "Freedom of speech, freedom of speech."

While the man was mocked by several passersby, Jewish blogger JoshuaPundit noted that the majority neither said nor did anything to put an end to the anti-Jewish hate speech.

 Democratic congressional leader Nancy Pelosi, who has led an effort to co-opt the Occupy Wall Street movement as part of the Democratic presidential campaign, had this to say of the demonstrators:

"God bless them."

Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad says:

"if crazy action is taken against Damascus, I will within 6 hours transfer hundreds of rockets and missiles to the Golan Heights to fire them at Tel Aviv."

Assad's threats came as the international community threatened action against Syria if it did not stop the presecution of its citizens. Over 3,000 people are reported to have been killed since March in ongoing protests in Syria against Assad's regime.

"...behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. Isaiah 17:1

A senior member of the Fatah Central Committee led by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in an interview referred to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and U.S. President Barack Obama, as “dirtbags,” and explained how causing Israel to leave Judea and Samaria would spell its doom.

Abbas Zaki told the interviewer that any final status agreement between Israel and the PA “should be based upon the borders of June 4, 1967...
'everybody knows that the greater goal cannot be accomplished in one go.'

“If Israel withdraws from Jerusalem, evacuates the 650,000 settlers, and dismantles the wall, what will become of Israel? It will come to an end,” Zaki predicted.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord." Jeremiah 31:27-28

Charles Krauthammer writes:

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas unwaveringly insists on the so-called “right of return,” which would demographically destroy Israel by swamping it with millions of Arabs, thereby turning the world’s only Jewish state into the world’s 23rd Arab state.

He has repeatedly declared, as recently as last week in New York: “We shall not recognize a Jewish state.”

The Palestinians are quite prepared to sign interim agreements, like Oslo. Framework agreements, like Annapolis. Cease-fires, like the 1949 armistice. Anything but a final deal. Anything but a final peace. Anything but a treaty that ends the conflict once and for all —

anything that will leave a Jewish state standing.

"Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah, [which is called the West Bank today]. Zechariah 12:2

May I wish each of you L'Sha'na Tova - A happy and blessed New Year - the year 5772.

Jewish tradition holds that Rosh Hashanah celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the world, a day when “God takes stock of all of His Creation,” which of course includes all of humanity. Translated from the Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” – rosh means head, while hashanah means year. Jews believe that God’s judgment on this day determines the course of the coming year.

Leshana tova tika’teivu vete’chatemu

Translation: May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year

Beneath the revitalized layer of exaggerated hatred for Israel spreading over the Middle East dwell thousands of Arabs who are willing to help and even love the Jewish state.

Thanks to the "Arab Spring" revolutions in surrounding nations, a growing number of Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis...are realizing just how good and decent Israel is compared to their own totalitarian societies, despite the fact that many were raised from childhood to view Israelis as blood-thirsty monsters.

Acting on that realization, and desirous of fleeing new regimes that may actually be worse than the previous rulers, thousands of foreign Arabs have sent requests to Israeli government agencies requesting asylum, visas to visit and even offering to serve the Israeli army and Mossad.

Israel's Foreign Ministry told the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that it is receiving requests even from "members of Arab parliaments, members of political movements and other important political figures." [israeltoday]

Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, [The descendants of Esau, the Edomites made their home in Mount Seir], and prophesy against it and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, Mount Seir, And I will stretch out My hand against you And make you a desolation and a waste. “I will lay waste your cities And you will become a desolation. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Ezekiel 35

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has submitted application to the United Nations Security Council to appeal for recognition as a new country and attain acceptance in the body.

"I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land..." Joel 3

And so it begins ~~

"I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle." Zechariah 14:2

The first tremors of that feared earthquake have begun.

A source in the Samarian Jewish community of Neve Tzuf told Israel Today that on Monday evening, a number of activists affiliated with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction used their vehicles to block the entrance to the village.

Many of the Jewish residents trying to get home simply turned around and decided to try again later. But at least one was reportedly forced to defend himself when several Palestinian thugs approached his vehicle in a menacing way.

"Tension is in the air and I can tell that neither side wants it," said the source. "I'm afraid that the few true Abbas supporters are lighting the fire as I talk to you."

The Jewish man continued by relating his fear that by the end of the week, when Abbas will officially request membership for "Palestine" in the UN, the number of violent incidents between Palestinians and Jewish "settlers" will "be too much for the army to control."

"For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart." Jeremiah 24:6-7

The Palestinians warned the Obama Administration that vetoing their UN Security Council bid for statehood would "destroy" the two-state solution to the conflict.

The warnings comes just hours after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas confirmed in a speech in Ramallah that on Friday, September 23 he will address the UN General Assembly, after which he will submit to the Security Council an official application for UN membership~~  for "Palestine."

"I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land."  Joel 3:2

Religious leaders of all stripes, gowns and headgear gathered in Jerusalem’s Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood  to attend the third annual Interfaith Ethics and Tolerance conference.

Bringing together Jewish and Muslim clerics, as well as clergy from numerous Christian denominations and those of the Bahai and Hindu faiths, the conference this year focused on the role of spiritual leaders in promoting peace and tolerance as well as the challenges of religious leadership in today’s globalized world.

''O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say,

Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!" Luke 13

"O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore." Psalm 131:3

The Jerusalem Post reports:

Israel is evacuating its embassy in Jordan in advance of a demonstration promoted on Facebook under a banner "No Zionist embassy on Jordanian territory".

70 activists burned American and Israeli flags in a noisy protest opposite the embassy in Amman chanting  "The people want the Americans out."

"Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me." Psalm 138

Turkish PM Erdogan seems nearly determined to provoke an armed clash with Israel as he orders warships to eastern Mediterranean to confront Israeli navy vessels enforcing Gaza blockade.

Turkey’s military has installed new technology that will allow warplanes and ships to target Israeli vessels. Previously, Turkish planes, ships and submarines used American technology, which automatically classified Israeli equipment as 'friendly'.

The switch, pioneered by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s regime, was declared ready just days after Erdogan suspended defense trade with Israel and termed Israel a “spoiled child.”

"The mosques are our barracks, says Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."

Erdogan was greeted in Cairo by an enthusiastic crowd chanting, “Allahu Akbar!” and “Egypt, Turkey, one fist!”

‘Son of man, prophesy against Gog of the land of Magog,[Russia] the prince who rules over the nations of Meshech and Tubal. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: Gog,[Antichrist]I am your enemy! I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws to lead you out to your destruction. I will mobilize your troops and cavalry and make you a vast and mighty horde, all fully armed. Persia,[Iran] Ethiopia,[Cush] and Libya [Put] will join you, too, with all their weapons. Gomer [Turkey] and all its hordes will also join you, along with the armies of Beth-togarmah [Turkey, Armenia, and the Turkish-speaking people of Asia Minor] from the distant north and many others.’” Ezekiel 38:1-6

"The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord...." Psalm 33:10-12

The Palestinians have given up on talks with Israel, and within the next two weeks plan to ask the United Nations to grant them membership and statehood recognition within the 1967 lines, including East Jerusalem as a capital.

Yet history shows ~ there has never been a Palestinian culture. There has never been a land called "Palestine" ruled by "Palestinians." There had never been a Palestinian president or Prime Minister [until recently]  no government, no military. The invention of Palestine is based on lies and violence, with NO intention of peaceful co-existence with Israel. In the 1880's, Jewish pioneers began to redeem the land from wilderness. Now Eretz Israel blossoms like a rose. With no historical foundation to support their claims, Arabs soon began coming from other lands to benefit from what Israel had built. If peace were truly the intent of the leadership of the enemies of Israel, they only have to recognize Israel's existence, and Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Professor Philip Hitti, Arab historian to Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, wrote:

"You can't rely on the accounts for history in most Arab nations, because they never accurately teach it, and they have this amazing habit of reinventing it on the spot. This whole notion of there being a Palestine is a recent invention - 1967 to be exact. The homeland of the so-called Palestinians is not Israel. The historical homelands of these nomadic Arabs (Ottomans and Turks) are Jordan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, and approximately 80% of the Jordanian population is made up of Palestinians. They were exiled from these nations, and others, because they were trouble makers and no one wanted them, [and they still don't].

To this day Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and other nations finance the PLO and its terrorists in order to keep them out of their own countries."

'Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.'  Golda Meir, Former Prime Minister of Israel


“O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. “Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolation's, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Daniel 9:16-19

"Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it." Isaiah 36:6

The Egyptian government declared a state of emergency early Saturday, Sept. 10 as thousands of demonstrators using sledgehammers smashed through the wall outside the Israeli embassy, broke into the building and dumped the flag and hundreds of documents through the windows.

Egyptian security forces failed to contain the howling mob led by Muslim Brotherhood adherents, the organization Obama endorsed in a new, post-Mubarak government in Egypt.

"...Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them." Isaiah 19:1

"United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reaffirmed his support for an independent Palestinian state:

"The Palestinian people are "long overdue" in their quest for an independent state."

Israeli officials are preparing for widespread violence emanating from PA and Hamas enclaves after the vote irrespective of the outcome.

"I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle." Zechariah 14:2

As Sweden commits to support a Palestinian statehood effort, with unrest looming large in Egypt and rockets continuing to pelt Israel from Gaza, Turkey is scheduled to sign a military pact with Egypt after cutting trade ties with Israel we must remember that 'He who watches Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps'.

America, promising to veto any resolution for Palestinian statehood, admits  the US will probably be unable to stop the PA from becoming a non-member state. The Palestinians believe they have the votes to pass the resolution in the 193-member General Assembly, which would elevate their status to nonvoting observer state from a simple observer.

Despite US and Israeli efforts to derail the Palestinians' UN strategy, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, was quoted in the Israeli press as saying  efforts have failed.

As the tiny nation of Israel is surrounded by her enemies, those determined to see her destroyed, those committed to her destruction,  let us remember David and Goliath:

"David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." 1 Samuel 17:45

and Jonathan, son of King Saul, and his armor-bearer:

“Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” 1 Samuel 14:6

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah will defend His people and His land.

"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 12:3


     "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." Psalm 122:6

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refusal to accept American demands in the “peace process” is evidence that Israel is ungrateful. Gates refers to the prime minister as an “ungrateful ally.”

Gates told the National Security Council Principals Committee -- “Netanyahu is not only ungrateful, but also endangering his country by refusing to grapple with Israel’s growing isolation and with the demographic challenges it faces if it keeps control of the West Bank.”

Although Prime Minister Netanyahu has offered to surrender most of Judea and Samaria and expel up to 100,000 Jews living outside major population centers...

the Palestinians want more.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has insisted that all large areas of Jerusalem, including the Old City and Western Wall, as well as all of Judea and Samaria be under its sovereignty, [as you read this, remember Gaza].

And the American government heartily agrees.

“At a time when the people of the Middle East and North Africa are casting off the burdens of the past, the drive for a lasting peace that ends the conflict and resolves all claims is more urgent that ever. The international community is tired of an endless process that never produces an outcome.”

"The ultimate goal is two states for two peoples. Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people, and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people; each state enjoying self-determination, mutual recognition, and peace," [again as you read, remember Gaza].

God has given this land, His Land, to Israel, through the Abrahamic covenant. He gave Eretz Israel to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [Israel] and their descendants - forever.

Many ask: "is America in Bible prophecy"?

Yes, indeed. America is mentioned in Joel 3:2 ~~ “I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.”

The Lord is going to judge ALL the nations

"Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Psalm 121:4

September 20, the day the Palestinians make application to the UN for statehood, the vote - a week later.

September 20, the day the UN introduces a resolution to divide Jerusalem.

September 20, the day the US either stands with or against Israel.

September 20, the day the U.S. military's ban on gays ends.

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told." Habakkuk 1:5

"Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Psalms 121:4

Turkey has decided to downgrade its diplomatic ties with Israel to the lowest possible level, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday, following Israel's continued refusal to apologize for a 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla.

Diplomatic relations with Israel have been reduced to a second-secretary level. All personnel above the second-secretary level, primarily the ambassador, have been expelled.

"Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples..." Zechariah 12

An Urgent Call From Gershon Salomon, Chairman of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, to All the Nations and to Everyone in the World:

Sixty plus years after the re-establishment of the State of Israel by the G‑d of Israel to be His end-time eternal kingdom, and after seven wars with Arab-Islamic nations who were backed by many nations worldwide that came to destroy Israel again and again, Israel is again facing pressure from every side with step-by-step preparations of the enemies of the G‑d and people of Israel to destroy the State of Israel through an apocalyptic war with nuclear weapons that were never used in the past. These nations refused to learn through their own previous experiences when the G‑d of Israel defeated them again and again and showed them that He is determined to rebuild His Holy Kingdom Israel in the Promised Land that He gave only to His people Israel.

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the peoples round about, and it shall also be for Judah during the siege against Jerusalem. And on that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples: all that burden themselves with it shall be grievously hurt: and all the peoples of the earth shall be gathered together against it. On that day shall the L-RD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem?.And it shall come to pass on that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Then shall the L-RD go out, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." Zechariah 12:2, 3, 8, 9; 14:3

Dark clouds of the end-time war are beginning to surround Israel from every side, G‑d is going to judge the nations exactly as He promised in His prophetic Word. Barack Hussein Obama, is putting strong pressure on Israel to divide the Land of Israel and to establish a 'Palestinian State' with its capital in Jerusalem, promoting a pro-Arab-Islamic policy. The United Nations and the European Union are backing Arab-Islamic nations and are again and again making anti-Israel resolutions. So many countries and powers all over the world are putting pressure on Israel, blaming Israel, instead of dealing with their own immoral problems.

My call is to all the world and especially to those nations acting against the G‑d of Israel, be aware of the major judgment of G‑d that is soon to come upon all of you exactly as it was prophesized. Maybe it is not too late for you to stop your hatred and eager preparations to destroy Israel. Open the Holy Book, the Bible that Israel presented as a gift to the entire world and immediately pay attention to the Word of G‑d.

"As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." Colossians 2:6-8


"...do not be conformed to this world...." Romans 12:2

"When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favor." Isaiah 27:11

'Like a mighty tree towering over the forest, God raises up a mighty nation from time to time, with a great leader, to accomplish some purpose in the divine plan.

He "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." Acts 17:26

But when that nation and its leaders become proud, and its people become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, it becomes like a tree whose branches wither and whose core becomes riddled with insect-caused decay. Finally, the boughs break, the kingdom will fall, and down will come that nation, its leaders and all!'

Dr. Henry M. Morris

❝I pray you, do have a little patience with us who preach to you, for our time is short, and you will soon be rid of us. Have a little patience with your Bible, it will soon enough be out of your way! Have a little patience with your poor Christian mother who tries to bring you to the Savior, she will be far from you soon! We, who now trouble you by desiring to do you good, will soon be out of your way.

Ah, poor souls! poor souls! for you will then be out of God’s way, and out of Christ’s way, and out of mercy’s way, banished from the Savior’s presence; and that because the kingdom of God came nigh unto you, and ye put it away from you, for ye would have none of the Lord’s reproofs, but ye turned every one to his own way, and rejected the counsels of God against yourselves. Beloved hearers, may none of you stand in that plight. While I breathe the prayer that it may not be so, may I ask you to pray for yourselves that it will not be so. Will you let me whisper in your ear, as though I stood close by each one of you now; and I will softly and lovingly say, — Repent, and believe in Jesus, now, with all thy might. God help thee, 'for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.'❞

Thanks to Sola Sisters for this great pearl by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"...it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.... that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. ...Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds.... The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face.... The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail.... if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God.


But... if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God... all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.... The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.... The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust..." Deuteronomy 28


"Mene, Mene, Tekel...  you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting." Daniel 5

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has begun watching a blog posted by a Christian who was forced to flee Brazil because of the conflict between that nation's pro-homosexual "hate crimes" agenda and his advocacy for traditional marriage.

Exactly why the U.S. government, which several times has linked Christians and conservatives with terrorism, is watching Julio Severo's unabashedly Christian Last Days Watchman blog isn't clear.

A report from the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis defined right-wing extremism in the U.S. as "divided into those groups, movements and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups) and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration."

"If they are keeping surveillance on Christian bloggers, it’s time for us to watch and pray!"

Link to Last Days Watchman website:
http://www.lastdayswatchman.blogspot.com/

'If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing...deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.' 2 Timothy 6

'Someone needs to say this plainly: The faith healers and health-and-wealth preachers who dominate religious television are shameless frauds. Their message is not the true gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nothing spiritual or miraculous about their on-stage chicanery. It is all a devious ruse designed to take advantage of desperate people. They are not godly ministers but greedy impostors who corrupt the Word of God for money's sake. They are not real pastors who shepherd the flock of God but hirelings whose only design is to fleece the sheep. Their love of money is glaringly obvious in what they say as well as how they live. They claim to possess great spiritual power, but in reality they are rank materialists and enemies of everything holy.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies...and in their greed they will exploit you with false words.'  2 Peter 2

There is no reason anyone should be deceived by this age-old con, and there is certainly no justification for treating the hucksters as if they were authentic ministers of the gospel. Religious charlatans who make merchandise of false promises have been around since the apostolic era. They pretend to be messengers of Christ, but they are interlopers and impostors. The apostles condemned them with the harshest possible language. Paul called them "men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain"  Peter called them false prophets with "heart[s] trained in greed" He warned that "in their greed they will exploit you with false words" - He exposed them as scoundrels and dismissed them as "stains and blemishes" on the church...'

and we should do the same.

edited from John MacArthur sermon -- A Colossal Fraud

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand wrote in Tortured For Christ (1967)

“...there are no nominal, halfhearted, lukewarm Christians in Russia or China. The price Christians pay is far too great.... Communist persecution has backfired and produced serious, dedicated Christians such as are rarely seen in free lands.” [free lands such as America]

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac... By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible....

"...the time would fail me to tell of ... David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions... out of weakness were made strong....

"Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy...." Hebrews 11:17-38

Berit Kjos writes; 'Don't expect the battles ahead to be easy. God trains His children through challenges that we can't possibly meet apart from His Word and His strength. Evil will continue to flourish, but God can use it for ultimate good. And as we trust and follow Him, He may even use us as witnesses who demonstrate His grace and strength among broken people who long for His peace.'

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." Hebrews 12:1-2

Prayerfully consider the words of this great man of faith:

"It is impossible to preach Christ, except thou preach against antichrist; that is to say, them which with their false doctrine and violence of sword enforce to quench the true doctrine of Christ."

"Christ is with us until the world’s end. Let His little flock be bold therefore. For if God be on our side, what matter maketh it who be against us, be they bishops, cardinals, popes, or whatsoever names they will?"

"Christ forbiddeth his disciples and that oft... to exalt themselves one above another in the kingdom of God."

William Tyndale  1494 - 1536

''The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; The Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers... But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, a and will pursue his enemies into darkness..." Nahum 1

For the past thirty years God has been raising up prophetic voices in America  calling this country to repentance. We have reacted in the same manner as the ancient Israelites. We have mocked the prophets by arrogantly reminding them that we are a "Christian nation." 

Jim Nelson Black author of When Nations Die  traces the history of civilizations, and catalogued the symptoms present in a culture in crisis.

Black writes: ''in the past 2,000 years, every empire -- even those that seemed invincible at the height of their glory -- collapsed into ruin. Every one of these empires had three factors in common before they fell: civil society devalued human life, forsook religious belief, and celebrated sexual immorality. These three factors took root in the United States in the early 1960s. And the seeds sown over 40 years ago have ripened into bitter fruit."

Our behavior as a nation makes a mockery of Christianity. We lead the world in abortion, alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, divorce, child abuse, violent crime, pornography and child pornography. We have stiffened our necks in our rebellion against God refused to repent while continuing to proclaim we are "One Nation Under God."

"And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God." Ezekiel 14

The current state of our nation is the fault of the Church, not the State. It is the believer, not the unbeliever, who has pushed America to the brink of destruction.

Indeed, "the natural man does not receive the things of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:14

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
But God..." Ephesians 2

We cannot expect dead men to do what is right.

"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land."2 Chronicles 7:14

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him." Nahum 1:11

"God has given us all an inner witness (Romans 1) and even the lost world knows something is coming – yet the truth has been so tainted in the eyes of unbelievers, how can they see God through the haze of churchianity?

Unbelievers are NOT our enemy – they are just the blind following the blind. They can’t hear God through all the noise of the world. They grapple for the truth and the truth escapes them. They call out to God in their distress and look for Him in all the wrong places. Yoga, New Age, the occult are more attractive to them than the Bible. The devil has succeeded in characterizing the Bible as repressive to their lives and the God of the Bible as the big Cosmic Killjoy. Humanism is all they have..." Jackie Alnor, apostasyalert.org

 - in the One Almighty God, who has revealed Himself through His Word as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, said,


"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6-7

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me... out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." John 7:37-38

Jesus is the great teacher of 'humility of heart'. We need daily to learn of Him. See the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples feet! Follower of Christ--will you not humble yourself? See Him as the Servant of servants--and surely you cannot be proud! Is not this sentence the compendium of His biography, "He humbled Himself"? Was He not on earth, always stripping off first one robe of honor and then another--until, naked, He was fastened to the cross; and there did He not empty out His inmost self, pouring out His life-blood, giving up for all of us, until they laid Him penniless in a borrowed grave?

How low was our dear Redeemer brought! How then can we be proud?

Stand at the foot of the cross, and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed. See His thorn-crown; mark His scourged shoulders, still gushing with crimsoned rills; see His hands and feet given up to the rough iron spikes, and His whole self to mockery and scorn; see the bitterness, and the pangs, and the throes of inward grief, showing themselves in His outward frame; hear the horrid cry,

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me!"

If you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross--you have never seen it! If you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus--you do not know Him. You were so lost that nothing could save you--but the sacrifice of God's only begotten Son. Think of that, and as Jesus stooped for you--bow yourself in humility at His feet.

A sense of Christ's amazing love to us--has a greater tendency to humble us, than even a consciousness of our own guilt. May the Lord bring us in contemplation, to Calvary. Then our position will no longer be that of pompous pride--but we shall take the humble place of one who loves much--because much has been forgiven him. Pride cannot live beneath the cross! Let us sit there and learn our lesson--and then rise and carry it into practice!

Charles H. Spurgeon

Carnal Christianity - sounded like an oxymoron to me - and knowing that The Word is, as it should be, our only authority I began my search.

The church of Corinth is commonly cited as proof that even Carnal Christians are saved and on their way to heaven. The primary passages in question are..

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Is Paul talking carnal Christians here?  Ernest C Reisinger of PeaceMakers thinks not:

“A passage of Scripture must never be used as a foundation for a doctrine unless that passage is specifically dealing with that doctrine. Most certainly a non-doctrinal passage cannot be used to contradict a passage where that specific doctrine is the subject of discussion. 1 Corinthians 3 is not a doctrinal passage and by no stretch of the imagination can it be thought of as providing the foundation of the doctrine of sanctification. Yet this is exactly what the Carnal Christian advocates do with these verses. An examination of Romans 8, where security and sanctification are the subjects being dealt with, will show what happens to every person who is dominated by carnality…"

If you have one Scripture only on which to base an important doctrine or teaching you are most likely to find, on close examination, that you have none'. In short, all Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 is that, in some areas of their lives, Christians can and do sometimes act like the unconverted.

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that he will not hear". Isaiah 59:2

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord". Romans 6:23

Hmmm -- Carnal Christians believe that holiness which, although it might be both admirable and commendable, is not essential to salvation, and depends not on the commands of the Lord, but on the spiritual inclinations of the individual. They believe that they can have their cake and eat it too... living as they want in this world, then scrape through by the skin of their teeth. Although they will possibly lose some blessing in their present lives and certainly rewards in the kingdom to come, they will at least be there for all eternity.

Carnal Christianity implies a habitual state of carnality,  "however, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him….for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 5:9, 13-14

As long as we are in our present bodies, sin will continue to be something we  battle daily. As Galatians 5:17 describes it.. "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit". Every Christian is carnal in some area of his life and his growth in Holiness is far from a smooth and easy ride. There are hills and plateaus, obstacles to be overcome and mountains to be scaled. However, through it all, the one thing that Christians do not do is deliberately and habitually sin. The Spirit has become the governing force in the born again Christian.

"Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." Galatians. 5:24

Lest anyone should think that being carnal is a place of safety- remember: 

The history of heresy shows that virtually all ‘other gospels’ have been based on Bible verses... twisted, manipulated and so wrenched from their context, that they can be made to prove almost anything the reader’s heart desires. And why worry about little details like the fact that all too often they flatly contradict other Biblical verses. salvation involves more than simply affirming in one’s mind that Jesus is LORD and Saviour. The modern day perversion of every aspect of the Gospel would lead us to believe a person is saved based solely on the fact that he has made a ‘decision’, walked an aisle, made a profession of faith, or asked Jesus to come into his heart.

Biblical salvation takes genuine repentance, which the Bible presents as being connected to salvation. Over and over again, the Bible divides men into two groups... the saved and the lost, the believer and the unbeliever, the sheep and the goats, the children of darkness and the children of light, etc. It is black and white, without even a suggestion of people having all the characteristics of people in the first group, yet all the benefits and blessings of those in the second.

Of which group are you?

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:6

thanks to inplainsite for the treasure trove of information

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth." 2 Timothy 3

“Be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel.” Colossians 1:23.

Satan summons all his hosts to push men back from the Cross that they may not come to Christ and live. The battle does not end when a man has come to Christ. It assumes a new form —  Do not think that in the moment when you believe in Christ the conflict is over, or you will be bitterly disappointed! It is then that the battle renews itself and every inch of the road swarms with enemies.

Between here and Heaven you will always have to fight, frequently the severest struggle will be at a time when you are least prepared for it.
There is but a short space between one battle and another in this world.

He that would win Heaven must fight for it! He that would take the new Jerusalem must scale it and if he has the wits to take Jacob’s ladder and set it against the wall and climb up that way, he will win the City.

“The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force.”

edited from article by Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon

"...in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons...." 1 Timothy 4:1

"As the time of the manifestation of the Man of Sin draws near, God may be pleased to bestow a fuller and better understanding of those parts of His Word which make known "the things which must shortly come to pass."

Across the varied scenes depicted by prophecy there falls the shadow of a figure at once commanding and ominous. Under many different names like the aliases of a criminal, his character and movements are set before us --this Prince of Darkness, this coming Man of Sin, this Son of Perdition.

For six thousand years Satan has had full opportunity afforded him to study fallen human nature to discover its weakest points and learn how best to make men do his bidding. The Devil knows full well how to dazzle men by the attraction of power, and how to make them quail before its terrors. He knows how to gratify the craving for knowledge and how to satisfy the taste for refinement and culture, he can delight the ear with melodious music and the eye with entrancing beauty.

What God has been pleased to make known concerning the Antichrist and what will be revealed in the future is not in order to gratify carnal curiosity, but is of great importance for our daily lives. A proper apprehension of these things should cause us to seriously search our hearts, and examine carefully the foundation upon which our hopes are built, to discover whether or not they rest on the solid Rock Christ Jesus, or whether they stand upon nothing more stable than the shifting sands of human feelings, human resolutions, human efforts after self-improvement.

Incalculably serious is the issue at stake, and we cannot afford to be uncertain about it. A mere "hope I am saved" is not sufficient." A.W. Pink

"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2: 9-12

"In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire." Jude 1:7

Two days after New York became the sixth and largest state to legalize same-sex marriage, participants in the 42nd annual gay pride parade on Sunday used the occasion to reflect somberly on the gains and losses of the past year.

They came to shout, dance, cheer, strut, hug and shed tears of joy, knowing that on July 24, when the law takes effect, the season for tears will begin in earnest.

The focus of much of the cheering was Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, who made legalization of same-sex marriage part of his election campaign and visibly led the fight for its approval in the Republican-led State Senate.

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6

'Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross; lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory His army shall He lead, till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is LORD indeed.'

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. But why do you call me LORD, LORD and do not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:45-46

Elie Wiesel in The Sunflower wrote:  "In those times there was darkness everywhere. In heaven and on earth, all the gates of compassion seemed to have been closed. The killer killed, the Jews died, and the outside world adopted an attitude either of complicity or of indifference. Only a few had the courage to care.  Those dark times allowed the enemies of men and of God to roam freely, unchecked and unquestioned, dark times that went unchallenged as eyes looked away and heads turned from truth; fear gripped faint hearts and men suffered."

Much like today where the same spirit of complicity and complacency rules and reigns in the heart and mind of too many within the church. Today complicity and complacency join diversity and tolerance and together they embark upon a quest to bring unity and a feeling of oneness into the church overflowing into society and then out to the world.

Yet scripture teaches:   “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:6-8

In the spirit of worldly wisdom, the Word of God has been defiled, modified, maligned, watered down, twisted, perverted and ignored until the undiscerning and unrepentant remain lost in a sea of compromise and distortion while those professing to be Christian stand in muted silence – tolerating, accepting, turning a blind eye, all the while refusing to speak, refusing to sound the alarm, refusing to judge.

Paul’ admonition to Timothy;  "…I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case, you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you...”
I Corinthians 5

In the name of tolerance, we stand as complicit observers as homosexual men and women enter the ministry, we flock to churches with feel good messages and pastors who would be better served to be motivational speakers rather than pastors for they surely are not preachers of the Word, we tolerate the practice of the Hindu religion disguised as “Christian Yoga.” In the name of Word of Faith, we embrace the unbiblical teaching of the 'prosperity gospel' that God wants you healthy, wealthy and prosperous – that the goal of the Christian life is financial prosperity and health, so send them your money and watch for your miracle. Yet our LORD had no place to lay His head and taught that we as His disciples should take up our cross daily and follow Him.

Judge the world - No, that is the responsibility of Almighty God, and He will do it in His time, when it is time, but judge those who are of the household of faith - Yes, for that is our responsibility as children of the Living God.

Do not wink at sin, sitting before your television, feeding your heart and mind on false teachings and unbiblical doctrines, sending your "seed faith" money to support the many televangelist whose agenda is self-gratification rather than self-sacrifice? Do not attend churches where the Truth is not being spoken. Do not compromise on what the Word of God has said.

For if you do, you will "sow the wind and reap the whirlwind." 
[paraphrase of Hosea 8:7]

How many must die, eternally separated from God before the church will have the courage to care?

Revival as defined by Webster is - “the act of bringing or coming back to life, health or activity. The act of bringing or coming back into use or popularity, " a meeting at which there is excited preaching for the purpose of ‘stirring’ up religious feeling.”

The teaching of a coming revival has been circulating in some American churches for years - talk of repentance - noticeably absent from such teaching.

Repentance as defined by Webster is - “to feel sorry for having done wrong, to feel regret over something done and change one’s mind.”

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing [revival] may come from the presence of the LORD. Acts 3:19

The teaching of a ‘coming revival’ is often predicated on the non-Biblical doctrine of Dominion Theology. Dominion Theology holds that the church will continue to get stronger and stronger until it takes over the world and cleans it up in preparation for the Lord’s return. With authority from the King, we are to reclaim the earth for our Saviour; not just spiritually, but socially, economically and politically; with organizations such as Promise Keepers, The Institute for Christian Economics and the Coalition of Revival leading the way. Those who follow Dominion Theology teach that the mission of the church goes beyond the spiritual transformation of individuals into ‘moral patriotism’. For Jesus the Christ to be pleased with Christians, they must become political and social activist.

We cry out for revival to come to the church of the twenty-first century – an apostate church that is lukewarm, poor, blind, naked, motivated by greed and overcome by the teachings of seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. Un-motivated by godly living, based upon the Word of God and the hope we have in His imminent return, the church of today is consumed by the task of reconstructing society, the work of our hands, embracing all faiths as one and having embarked on a quest for enlightenment, found truth apart from scripture.

We continue to cry out; “Let Your fire fall.” Yet, this is in direct opposition to what the Bible says about the responsibilities of the church and the End Times. Jesus Christ tells us over and over our duties as Christians. The Great Commission found in Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19 and in Mark 16:15 tells us to –

“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

We as Christians are to be salt and light to this dark and dying world, not social activist or moral patriots. Jesus Christ said, “I AM the AMEN.” God made a promise; Jesus sealed that promise with His blood. He is the proof that what God said was and is true. Our lives all too often do not reflect holy fear, neither is there reverence nor respect for our LORD. All too often our lives reflect a desire for the gift - not the Giver. While refusing to look at the sin deep inside ourselves, we have chosen to love the pleasures of this world more than we love God.

Far too many attempt to distort and change the Word of God. Teachings are plentiful that absolute unity is more important than absolute truth, feelings and fellowship more important than faith and facts. We desire to be entertained rather than enlightened, tickled rather than tested, stroked rather than submitted.

We have become addicted to the emotional trappings, psychological maneuverings, and sensual seduction taught from pulpits across America. No longer is Jesus enough. There is no fervent teaching of scripture, no mention of sin or the depravity of man and no repentence.

None cry out - “we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled..." Daniel 9

“Instead of sound doctrine, believers are feed “junk food” of contemporary psychotherapy, wrapped in Christian terminology that deceives the unwary as well as the elect.” [The Berean Call]  The Bible teaches the 'true' Church will NOT experience revival, but continue to decline in influence, while the apostate church will grow stronger as the end of the age approaches. As evidenced in our society, many are becoming less tolerant of the Christian worldview while more tolerant of the sins which so easily entangle, keeping those who are unaware far from their God.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:3-4

BUT YOU – be watchful in ALL things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your mission." 2 Timothy 4:5

But, DO NOT wait nor expect revival.!!.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…"
Romans 1:18

"Truth must be spoken, however it be taken."—John Trapp

“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”
Leviticus 10:1-2

In the name of tolerance and diversity, churches across the nation, and around the world, are embracing centering prayer, soaking prayer, contemplative worship, and “Christian” yoga, into their congregations.

Incorporating Buddhist mysticism masquerading as Christian Meditation into their services, using repetitive phrases both in song and prayer; intending to focus the mind on the sacred while bringing one into a deeper spiritual experience, with Hindu Occultism disguising itself as Christian Yoga, and with new-man centered spirituality replacing the need of repentence; we have driven worship from the sacred to the insane.

“Strange Fire, Strange Fire!” Says the LORD.

With lights dimmed and candles lit, regardless of denomination, we are invited to be still and quiet before the LORD. It has been stated that ‘the quiet repetition of a single word can help us to descend with the mind into the heart…This way of simple prayer …opens us to God’s active presence.’ [The Way of the Heart p.62] Should we not recognize that with this divergence in worship styles a deviation from what God ordained in His Holy Scripture to what man has set as the order of worship has occurred?

Do we not hear? Do we not recognize - “Strange Fire, Strange Fire!”

When we make common the holiness of God, refusing to honor Him or His Word, choosing instead to follow the teachings of man rather than the Truths of God, we fall from adoration into ambiguity, no longer honoring or revering the King of Kings and LORD of Lords. Transformed by New Age meditations we become New Spirituality mimes, no longer offering God our petitions and prayers, our intercessions or our thanksgiving.

Sadly, all that remains is ~ ‘Strange Fire.’

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” I John 4:1

“For a time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables. II Timothy 4:3-4

The greatest danger we all face is not being able to see Jesus in our troubles—instead we see dark shadows raining down fear and disillusionment. In that peak moment of fear when the night is the blackest and the storm is the angriest, Jesus always draws near to us, to reveal himself as the Lord of the flood, the Savior in storms.

“The Lord sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever” Psalm 29:10

In Matthew 14, Jesus ordered his disciples into a boat that was headed for a storm. The Bible says he constrained them to get into a ship. It was headed for troubled waters; it would be tossed about like a bobbing cork. Where was Jesus? He was up in the mountains overlooking the sea; he was there, praying for them not to fail in the test he knew they must go through.

You would think that at least one disciple would have recognized what was happening and said, “Look friends, Jesus said he would never leave us or forsake us. He sent us on this mission; we are in the center of his will. He said the steps of a righteous man are order by himself. Look again. That’s our Lord! He is right here! We’ve never once been out of His sight.”

But not one disciple recognized Him. They did not expect Him to be in their storm. Never, ever did they expect Him to be with them, or even near them, in a
storm! But He did come, walking on the water.

There was only one lesson to be learned, only one. It was a simple lesson, not some deep, mystical, earth-shattering one. Jesus simply wanted to be trusted as
their LORD, in every storm of life. He simply wanted them to maintain their faith and confidence in Him, even in the blackest hours of trial.

And that is exactly what He wants each of us to do, day by day, moment by moment.

Only Trust Him.!!.

edited from article by David Wilkerson

We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum.        A.W. Tozer

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people." [whitehouse.gov.]

HOMOSEXUAL FLAG NOW FLYING OVER THE FEDERAL RESERVE. 

Our economy, sin, Sodom[y] and Gomorrah - hmmmm.?!!.

As a nation promotes sin, it sows corruption and its own destruction. God is not mocked and in the end a nation that promotes sin like sodomy will be destroyed. The terribleness of this sin will lead to the nations destruction.

Galatians 6 "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

The root cause is spiritual, and it will take a spiritual revival to put the nation back on the right course with God. It will take millions of people repenting of their sinful lifestyles which are destroying the country and turning to the Lord Jesus and living according to God's word. Without this - 

It is just a matter of time. May the LORD God of Israel bless and protect you.

edited from article by John McTernan

“Men are going to Heaven or to Hell and it is time that we came to close grips with them about this all-important matter. God help us to do so!”

Charles H. Spurgeon —1893

Will it work?

That's the key question as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu finishes his high-profile trip to Washington, meeting with President Obama, addressing 10,000-plus pro-Israel activists at the AIPAC Policy Conference, addressing a Joint Session of Congress, and doing a flurry of major media interviews. Will his passionate case that Israel is America's best friend, the only solid and secure democracy in the Middle East, endangered by Iranian nukes, and in need of unwavering American friendship and support in tumultuous times fully convince the President, the Congress and the American people to stand with Israel through the darkest of times that are steadily approaching?

I would like to believe this will be the case, but Bible prophecy says otherwise.

The Hebrew Prophets such as Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Joel tell us again and again that Israel will be all alone in the last days of history. All the nations will eventually turn against her. All the nations will work to divide the Land of Israel. Jerusalem, too, will be divided. The New Testament reconfirms this. Indeed, the Scriptures indicate that the only hope for Israel is for her to turn fully and completely to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As the "time of Jacob's troubles" approaches - as the Day of the Lord approaches - the Bible tells us that the nations will betray the Jewish people. Only the Lord will be faithful. The question is, when the dark times come will Israelis turn their hearts to the Lord?

The Hebrew Prophet Joel warned us that the Lord is going to judge "all the nations" because "they have divided up My Land." (Joel 3:2) Yet Joel doesn't call Israel to political activism, to international diplomacy, to military adventurism, or any other human endeavor. The Lord says through the Prophet Joel, "'Yet even now, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments'…Now, return to the Lord your God for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil." (Joel 2:12-13) And if Israel does this, Joel tells us: "Then the Lord will be zealous for His land and will have pity on His people." (Joel 2:18, 27)

The Prime Minister's speech to Congress was excellent in many ways. He rightly described the "epic battle" underway in the epicenter. He described a great shaking going on in the Middle East. He rightly warned that Iran and her nuclear program is the greatest threat, that Hamas is the new al Qaeda, and that in all of the Arab world, only Israeli Arabs have true safety, security, and fully protected human and civil rights. I've included some important excerpts from the speech below.

However, it should be noted that Netanyahu never cited the Bible, never called on the name of the Lord, and never called the Jewish people to trust fully and completely in the God of Israel, but rather promised to divide the land of Israel as a concession to the Palestinians, even while promising never to divide Jerusalem. These were mistakes. He wasn't the first Israeli Prime Minister to make them. But he is making them nonetheless. He was right to thank the U.S. for all our help and support of Israel over the years, and he was right to seek continued help and support from the American people and government. But neither he nor Israel should become dependent upon American help because the Bible tells us it won't be there for long.

The Bible is clear: only the Lord will save Israel. It is time for Israelis to consider this very carefully. For time is short. "The Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near." (Joel 2:1)

My thanks to Joel Rosenberg for this very insightful article.