“The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed;
for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before its elders - with great glory.” Isa. 24:23
 

AT LEAST 10 COUNTRIES DISCUSSING EMBASSY MOVE TO JERUSALEM: Since Guatemala’s announcement this week that it will follow the USA and move its embassy to Jerusalem, at least 10 more countries are in talks with the Israelis about doing the same, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told Israel Radio. She declined to say which countries were involved, but “noted that several of the talks are just beginning, while others are further along.” Guatemala’s decision to return its embassy to Jerusalem is “no less than the beginning of Israel’s victory,” a leading analyst and author said on 25 Dec.2017. “I believe many countries will follow, and not only Latin American ones,” said Dr. Gustavo D. Perednik, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina and a well-known commentator on Latin American and Israeli affairs. “A few candidates: Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Togo, Rwanda, Uganda, Canada, and then when one or two Western European countries will dare – dozens will follow.” Asked whether the move to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel had more than symbolic value – Perednik said, “Absolutely! Having foreign embassies in Jerusalem means recognition of Israel as the embodiment of Jewish history and serves to counterbalance the clepto-history perpetrated by the Palestinians over the past decades. (Koenig) 

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations.” Isa.2:2-4

HAMAS FIRES ROCKETS AT ISRAEL, DAMAGES ONLY A UN SCHOOL: Palestinian terrorists operating out of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired four rockets at southern Israel on 13 Dec. 2017, but all they managed to damage was one of their own UN-run schools. Two of the rockets were identified as genuine threats and intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system. A third rocket landed in an open field, and the fourth fell short of clearing the Gaza security fence and instead impacted a United Nations-run public school in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. Despite the lack of casualties or damage on the Israeli side, the IDF launched a fierce retaliation, striking three Hamas military installations. Israeli officials insisted that if there would be no quiet for the residents of southern Israel, then there would be no quiet for the residents of Gaza. (Israel Today) 

It can’t be emphasized enough how much your prayers make the difference between life and death as Israel’s enemies attempt to carry out terror attacks and to fire rockets at her southern border communities. Please continue to intercede against these acts of hatred.

MIKE PENCE ASKS TO BE TAKEN DIRECTLY TO WESTERN WALL: USA Vice President Mike Pence will visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem as his first stop during his upcoming visit to Israel this week. Pence's first official visit to Israel was delayed by several days in order to allow him to participate in the Senate's vote on a Republican tax bill on 17 Dec. 2017. He will arrive in Israel on Wed. afternoon 20 Dec. 2017, and, at his own request, drive straight to Jerusalem and pray at the Western Wall. The next day he will meet with PM Binyamin Netanyahu and then speak at a special session of the Knesset which will be held in his honor. On Friday 22 Dec. 2017 Pence will meet with President Reuven Rivlin and visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem before leaving for Germany. The Palestinian Authority announced that it will boycott Pence during his visit as an act of protest against USA President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Joint Arab List, a Knesset faction representing Israel's Arab population, also pledged to boycott Pence's speech to the Knesset. (Arutz-7) 
   
Pray for the safety and well-being of VP Mike Pence on his travels to Israel and other destinations this month. May he be met with honor and those willing to listen closely, and to take seriously the words he has on his heart.

ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS IN HISTORY’: USA senators and congressmen responded on 6 Dec. 2017,to USA President Trump's recognition of the fact that Jerusalem is Israel's capital city. USA Senator Ted Cruz said, "I enthusiastically commend President Trump for today’s courageous and heroic decision. Roughly 120 years since a pioneer of the Zionist movement, Theodore Herzl, convened the first Zionist Congress in Basel, 50 years since the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War, and nearly 70 years after the United States was the first country to give recognition to the modern State of Israel, the President of the United States has for the first time formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This day will forever be etched in the history books as one of the great moments in history. The strongest and most prosperous country in the world has rectified what has been a historic injustice for far too long, recognizing the ancient and sacred city that has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for over 3,000 years, and the capital of the one and only Jewish State since 1948. This sends a powerful message that rejects all those who wrongly seek to de-legitimize Israel through falsifying and erasing the profound ties that exist between the Jewish people and Jerusalem.” (Autz-7) 

“In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’" Isa 25:9

PALESTINIANS FURIOUS AFTER SAUDI ARABIA DOWNPLAYS IMPORTANCE OF JERUSALEM: Proponents of the Palestinian cause have tried to inflate the position of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in Islam, and thereby paint Israel's sovereignty in this city as an affront to their religion. But, a couple years ago, renowned Egyptian scholar and novelist Youssef Ziedan acknowledged in a series of television interviews that Jerusalem holds no religious significance for Muslims. Today, it is common to hear that Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest city, being the location of the "Al Aqsa Mosque" referred to the in the Koran. Ziedan said the whole thing is nonsense: "The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem did not exist back then, and the city was not called Al-Quds. It was called Aelia, and it had no mosques." He is far from being alone in that position. Saudis have grown increasingly frustrated with what they see as the Palestinian intransigent and treachery. Palestinian rejection of Saudi efforts to bring the Israeli-Arab conflict to an equitable end has incensed many in Riyadh, as has Palestinian support for Iran's nuclear program and collaboration between Palestinian groups and Iran's Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. Like Israel, Saudi Arabia views Iran as an existential threat. Alienating Saudi Arabia in this manner threatens to lose the Palestinians the support of the Arab world's top powers. And yet, we see their hearts continue to harden. (Israel Today)

ISRAEL THWARTS ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE TONS OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL INTO GAZA: An attempt to smuggle tons of explosive material into the Gaza Strip was thwarted by the Israeli Ministry of Defense's Crossing Authority. The attempt was foiled thanks to a new, advanced chemistry laboratory that was set up in recent weeks at Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing with Gaza. The new laboratory is a joint project of the Ministry of Defense's Crossing Authority, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police. Advanced technology permits experts to precisely identify gases, liquids, powders, metals and other substances before they enter the Gaza Strip. The primary focus is to prevent substances which could benefit terror groups in the enclave. Crossing Authority head Brig.-Gen. (res.) Kamil Abu Rukun praised the greatly enhanced abilities granted to the crossing's security apparatus by the addition of the laboratory. “It greatly widens the security forces' toolkit in the daily, relentless battle against smuggling into the Gaza Strip," said Abu Rukun. (J.Post)