On Sunday, August 5, 2012 Islamic militants from the Sinai peninsula attacked Egyptian troops near the Israeli border in the northern Sinai near the Kerem Shalom border point. The militants killed 16 Egyptian soldiers. Some of the Islamic militants continued to the Israeli border in two vehicles where one blew up but the other vehicle a personnel carrier crossed the Israeli border and got 2 kilometres within Israel before an Israeli plane attacked the vehicle and destroyed it including 5 men aboard. 2 other militants were then killed from the vehicle. There were reports that the militants were disguised as the native Bedouin people. Both Israeli and some Egyptian authorities blamed Islamic militants for this action but new Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi blamed the Israeli secret service Mossad as did Ismail Haniya one of the leaders of Hamas. Egypt has responded by sending in more forces and equipment to strengthen their hold on the Sinai and to try to root out the militants and by closing the border between the Sinai and the Gaza Strip. It is thought the other Islamic militants from this attack escaped into Gaza through some of the many tunnels between the Sinai and the Gaza Strip. Also according to the BBC Egypt used armed helicopters to attack some villages in the northern Sinai where it is thought some of the militants might be. This probably indicates that Egypt recognizes the earlier attacks were by Islamic militants not the Israeli Mossad. Under the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt the amount of Egyptian military in the Sinai is limited and must be coordinated with Israel. Israel wants to keep the amount of Egyptian troops in the Sinai as low as possible but also wants to counter the Islamic militant intrusion into the Sinai. The Islamic militants have established a greater presence in the Sinai since the fall of former pro-western Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak who was also more supportive of Israel than the current Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt.
On October 2, Moshe Feiglin Israeli politican dedicated to more Jewish presence on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem ascended the Temple Mount with a couple of other Jews. Moshe Feiglin on the Temple Mount then prostrated himself and started to pray out out to the true God of the Bible. He was then arrested by the Israeli temple police with most likely the assistance of the Waqf Muslim authority on the Temple Mount. Some other Jews and some Muslims including an Arab muslim with a concealed knife were also arrested on the Temple Mount. Although he was pressured to pledge he wouldn't go up on the Temple Mount again or at least not try to pray there I commend Moshe Feiglin for standing his ground and refusing to give in to the lack of Israeli vision for Jewish presence on the Temple Mount and building the Temple again even though this is clearly God's will in His Word the Holy Bible. The following Friday there was a disturbance by Muslims trying to throw rocks including down on the Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall and there was at least another Arab Muslim found with a concealed knife on the Temple Mount. These individuals were also arrested. Now I think things have settled down but the growing impatience of Moshe Feiglin and other Jews for more Jewish presence on the Temple Mount or even the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple there and their Messiah is an indication the end of this age is near although there will be the Antichrist as the false Messiah first that will make an agreement with the Jews to build their temple on the Temple Mount and then betray them before the true Messiah the Lord Jesus Christ comes at His second coming to set up God's Kingdom on earth and judge the world. Before the antichrist comes the Lord Jesus Christ will come to take His Church to heaven so he can work in the tribulation and Messianic Kingdom through His chosen earthly people Israel. I encourage the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour so you will not only have eternal life and a relationship with God but also be spared from earth's darkest hour of the soon-coming tribulation on earth.
In October 2012 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for new Israeli elections in January 2013. This is even though he could have governed in this term until later next year, perhaps until October 2013. There were a number of reasons Prime Minister Netanyahu probably called an elction now. The main reason is his inability to pass the annual budget. A main reason for this is that the Ultra-orthodox parties making up almost 20 seats of his coalition government would not agree to cuts in welfare or some other government payments that benefit particularly ultra- orthodox citizens of Israel as they spend much of their time devoted to God in studying His Word the Holy Bible. Netanyahu could have also declared an election because he and his party have been some time riding high in the polls and stands to gain some seats if election results match current polls. Prime minister Netanyahu might want a new mandate to take military action against Iran especially keeping in mind his statement in the United Nations that Iran would have enough high grade uranium for a nuclear bomb if they are not stopped or slowed down by June 2013 which would be before Netanyahu's current term is supposed to expire. The current Arab spring in Syria could also be a reason for seeking a renewed mandate. This could all mean that the false peace of the antichrist with Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount is very soon and the preceding rapture of the church and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to set up God's Kingdom on earth at the end of the tribulation. I would therefore urge the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to as soon as possible trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour who died on the cross for our sins and rose again so we can have a relationship with God and at this time also be spared from enduring the tribulation on earth.
In November 2012 there was a rise in violence between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This started with Islamic militants shooting at and injuring three Israeli soldiers on patrol with a vehicle on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip. Israel then reacted by shooting into the Gaza Strip I think killing or injuring some Islamic militants. There was then an increase in rockets fired by Arab militants from the Gaza Strip onto southern Israel. Up to November 15 there have been over 100 such rockets fired into Israel. Israel warned Hamas to bring this under control but Hamas refused and then Israel responded by launching an attack on a car with Ahmed Jabiri who was the leader of Hamas' militant wing the Al-Qassam Brigades killing him and another militant in the car and some civilians around them. Jabiri has been near the top of Israel's most wanted list for at least 10 years organizing rocket or other attacks against Israel. This led to Hamas vowing revenge against Israel and condemnation from Arab or other Muslim countries especially including Egypt which is now under a Muslim fundamentalist government led by the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi and calls by the United Nations, the US and the EU and others for both sides to restrain the violence. One of the most recent rocket attacks on Israel killed three Israeli civilians living in an apartment building in Israel near the Gaza STrip. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu has also threatened a more substantial operation in the Gaza STrip especially against the Hamas militants if the rocket fire from there doesn't stop soon including possibly targeting Hamas' leader in the Gaza STrip Ismail Haniya. I am personally not sure either how long this latest violence with last or how serious it will get but I am sure that relatively soon the devil will get the world's acclaim by achieving a false Middle East peace mentioned in Daniel 9:27 that will include allowing the Jews to build their third temple on at least part of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where there previous first (Solomon's) and second (Herod's) temple before stood. This false peace of the Antichrist will start the seven year tribulation which will be earth's most terrible time in history and will be preceded by the rapture or catching up all true Christians who have with our heart trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for all our sins on the cross and rose again from the dead. I would therefore urge the reader to as soon as possible if you haven't done so already to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your (and my) sins so you can not only be spared living through the tribulation on earth but also have eternal life and a relationship with our Creator God.
After a little more than a week of fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas there was a ceasefire achieved by the mediation of Egypt especially their president Mohammed Morsi. This was quite a boost for the international prestige of Egyptian president Morsi as he seems to have succeeded in this effort where few other leaders would have the trust or contacts of both sides in the recent dispute. This ceasefire agreement requires that Hamas cease rocket fire on Israel and stop attacks on Israeli border patrols with the Gaza Strip. On the other hand Israel is required to stop targetting killing of Islamic militants or other attacks in the Gaza STrip. Hamas has also wanted Israel to loosen their blockade of the Gaza STrip but that was not agreed on. However many people in the Gaza STrip still saw this as a victory for their side as they felt it gave them more recognition in the eyes of the international community. Israel was glad about the agreement for the most part in that they gained some support in the international community by restraining themselves from a ground invasion in Gaza and were able to carry out this operation without serious consequences from Egypt such as jeopardizing the peace agreement and hopefully get an end to the rocket attacks from Gaza. This is even though Mr. Morsi is officially associated with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood which is fundamentalist Muslim and has close ties with Hamas. It will be interested to now see how well this ceasefire is held by both sides and how long it lasts. As a Bible believing Christian I believe this is still leading up to the Middle East peace agreement by the Antichrist with Israel mentioned in Daniel 9:27 that will allow Israel to build their third temple on the TEmple Mount in Jerusalem with probably something for the Muslims or Arabs. I would therefore encourage the reader who hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose again from the dead to give us new life so you will not only have eternal life but can be asssured of being caught up to heaven as part of the church and not be left behind on earth to endure the tribulation under the Antichrist.
On November 29, 2012 there was a vote in the General Assembly of the United Nations about upgrading the status of the Palestinian Arab entity. The vote was to upgrade it to non-member observer status at the United Nations. Unlike the vote last year in the Security Council in which the five major powers including the United States have a veto the vote in the General Assembly only requires a simple majority. The observer non-member status means that a nation can participate in United Nations debates and apply for membership in United Nations organizations such as the international criminal court. AS it turns out the vote was 138 votes in favour especially from Muslim and other non-aligned countries but also some nations of Europe and 9 against including United States, Israel and Canada and 41 abstentations including the United Kingdom and Germany. So of course the motion passed. There was great enthusiam for this with the Palestinian Arabs, other ARabs or Muslim people, non-aligned nations and liberal people from the west. However there was also concern from United States, Canada, European nations and Israel that the Palestinian Arabs are trying to get a state without negotiations with Israel and without giving security guarantees or recognizing Israel as a Jewish state which are main things Israel wants. Although this vote raises expectations of Palestinian or other Arabs and Muslims and others facts on the ground in the Holy Land won't change much without progress in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for which there is now added pressure to resume. From a biblical viewpoint this could be another example of the Palestinians and other Arabs or Muslims on one side and Israel on the other getting more entrenched in their differences and making it look less humanly possible for a full peace agreement. This will probably make it more ready for a supernatural peace agreement by the devil's man the Antichrist who will come in the place in Jesus Christ and possibly some aspects of the Islamic Mahdi or other last days religious figures that will involve giving part of the Temple Mount to the Jews to allow them to build their Third Temple as in Daniel 9:27 and something for the Arabs such as more of the West Bank or maybe something else. This is also leading to more anti-semitism in the world. Since these things show that things are very prepared for the tribulation I would encourage the reader to, if you haven't already, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins on the cross and rose again from the dead to give you new life so you can have a relationship with God and also be delivered to heaven at the rapture before the tribulation begins. We who become Christians will come with Jesus again from heaven at the end of the tribulation to set up God's kingdom on earth.
In December 2012 overall leader of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas Khaled Mashall visited the Gaza Strip. This was his first visit in 45 years and the first time he visited since the beginning of Hamas in 1987. The visit of Mr. Mashall was part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of Hamas. Mr. Mashall has been overall leader of Hamas for quite a few years. He usually lived in Damascus in Syria until the unrest there and now he and other overall Hamas leaders are stationed in Cairo, Egypt or Persian gulf states such as Qatar. Among other things he mentioned that Hamas' fight against Israel in the recent conflict was a step towards Hamas and Arab Islamic militants taking over all of Israel. However the true God the God of the Bible and God of Israel promised that when he brought his chosen earthly people the Jews back to the land of Israel he covenanted with them through Abraham and Moses they would never be totally removed from it again until God sets up His kingdom over all the earth centred on Jerusalem and Israel the Jewish people when their Messiah and the saviour of the world the Lord Jesus Christ comes again and sets up God's kingdom on earth and judges the world. I believe the growing opposition to the Jewish people and their claim to the land of Israel is part of the anti-semitism predicted for the last days in God's word but also a sign that the Antichrist or beast out of the sea will soon set up the devil's kingdom on earth through a false Middle East peace that will involve allowing the Jews to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and likely giving something to the Arabs such as possibly some land in the West Bank in return. This is mentioned in Daniel 9:27 as well as to some extent in some other scriptures. Since these things are happening I would encourage the reader if you haven't done so already to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins and rose again to give you new life and a relationship with God and eternal life and so you can also be taken to heaven with Jesus and all true Christians before the Antichrist is revealed and the tribulation starts over all the earth.
There was a national election in Israel on January 22, 2013 that was called early by Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party. Netanyahu probably wanted to increase his lead in the Knesset the Israeli Parliament. However the election results gave him about 10 less seats than he had coming into the election in the 120 seat Israeli Knesset. The two winners who gained the most additional seats were the Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party of Ya'ir Lapid with 19 seats and the Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party of Naftali Bennett with 11 seats. Bennett's party rejects a Palestinian State on all of the West Bank and East Jerusalem while Lapid is centre left but still does not want to divide Jerusalem and give part of it to the Palestinian Arabs. The ultra-Orthodox Shas party received 11 seats and the also ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party won 7 seats, the left wing Labour party received 15 seats and the Hatnua party of Tzipi Livni won six seats, the Meretz party won 6 seats and there were 12 seats won by a couple Arab parties. This all resulted in 60 seats each for the right wing including Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and 60 seats for the left wing. The Arabs and Muslims seem resigned to the vote but aren't pleased with as they think it will not provide them very much land or other gains in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Now Netanyahu has to find partners for a coalition government of at least 61 seats, a majority of the Knesset, in order to govern and he will have to either get the support of some centre-left parties or get most of the right wing parties and at least one of the centre-left parties to join him to give sufficient numbers. This will also determine who are the members of his governing cabinet or committees etc. These results continue to make it unlikely that mere human effort will get a peace agreement with the Israelis and Palestinian or other Arab or Muslim nations and continue to set the stage for the Antichrist the Beast out of the Sea to gain much popularity when he according to the Bible achieves this peace with the help of Satan after the rapture of the church and at the beginning of the tribulation. This peace agreement will allow the Jews to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem although I don't know whether the Muslim mosques there will be allowed to stand at that time. Anyway this is one matter that continues to compel me to urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins on the cross and rose again to give us new life so you can also be brought to heaven at the rapture and be delivered from facing the tribulation on earth. Trusting in Jesus will also ensure you can come back from heaven with him in His second coming and reign with him in the Millennial or Messianic Kingdom and enjoy eternity with Him and God the Father. The alternative could not only put you in jeorpardy of enduring the tribulation but also conscious torment in hell or the lake of fire where all those die not sufficient of God through Jesus will end up.
Although they have denied it and tried to keep it quiet, the Lebanese Islamic terrorist group is coming out in the open now more in their support for besieged Syrian leader Bashar Assad. This is partly because they have been found to be firing from Lebanon into Syria at rebel targets and because there have been increasing deaths of Hezbollah fighters in Syria and clashes with Sunni militants of the rebels against Syrian president Assad in Syria. Hezbollah's involvement in Syria has led to moreof the Syrian fighting starting to cross the border into Lebanon and threaten a wider war. This fighting is because Syria has for a long time given support to Hezbollah and Hezbollah are fellow Shiite Muslims with Bashar Assad and his fellow Alawaite clan who give him his main support and would also stand to lose greatly with his possible defeat in Syria. There is also the danger that some of Syria's chemical or other possible extreme weapons could be brought to Hezbollah's controlled area of Lebanon as Assad loses control more in Syria. There is also the possibility that fighting could threaten to come to Israel as both sides, Assad and Hezbollah and the Islamic faction of the rebels, dislike Israel especially as a Jewish state. So far this hasn't happened and it is very possible that Hezbollah's involvement in Syria could weaken it from being a threat to Israel but the rebels could become more of a threat. There has been a ceasefire pretty well since the Yom Kippur war between Israel and Syria but if the rebels gain control of Syria they could attempt to challenge Israel at the border more but this remains to be seen. Also there are reports that Iran has sent weapons and personnel into Syria to support Assad. So far peace talks between the rebels and Assad's side in Syria don't seem to be going anywhere even though it is becoming clearer that the rebels are making significant gains in Syria. I have heard most of these things from the BBC, Jeruslam Post and the CBC. According to the Jerusalem Post there are immediate plans to transport Hezbollah leader Hassan Nazrallah to Iran for treatment of possible cancer and a severe disagreement over who should replace him as Hezbollah leader should he die or his health severly deteriorate. All this situation is quite unstable and a lot more could happen quite soon so I will try to have another update soon. From a biblical view this all could be further evidence that it might be difficult for mere men to get peace in the Middle East including between Israel and her neighbours and this will be left for Satan's man the antichrist or the beast to start the 7 year tribulation. This could also mean the rapture preceding that is very soon and I would urge the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give us new life so you can take part in the rapture and not be left behind for the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel.
By March 2013 re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had succeeded in confirming his next government and was in the process of assigning cabinet positions among the different parties. The main parties involved in the coalition will be Netanyahu's Likud Beiteinu party 31 seats which is an alliance of his Likud party and the former party of Avigdor Lierberman, the new party of Ya'ir Lapid, Yesh Atid, with 19 seats which is more secular and probably centre-left, the party of Mr. Bennett, Jewish Home, with 12 seats which is a national Zionist party and is right wing and Tzipi Livni's new party, Hatnua with 6 seats which is to the left of centre and the Kadima Party with 2 seats. This gives a total of 70 seats out of the total 120 seats in the Israeli Parliament the Knesset which is sufficient for a majority. There will be more pressure from Mr. Lapid and Ms. Livni to have peace talks with the Palestinian Arabs but this will still be resisted by Mr. Netanyahu and some people in his party and well as perhaps Mr. Bennett and people in his party. On the other hand some people in Mr. Netanyah's party and that of Mr. Bennett might seek more rights for Jews to go up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem or even pray there but this would be resisted by the more left wing parts of his coalition. This all still leaves open the possibility that the false peace in the Middle East that will feature the Antichrist making and agreement with Israel to allow the building of their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jeruslem to begin the tribulation could be quite soon and the preceding rapture of the church so I would still encourage the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and SAviour who died for our sins and rose again to give us new life.
ON Friday, March 8, 2013 there was a major incident on the Temple Mount. This was immediately after some Palestinian Arab Muslims came out of the prayer sessions in some of the mosques there probably hearing some things about Israel refusing to allow the release of more of the Palestinian Arab prisoners they hold. These Palestinian Arab Muslims that came out of the prayer meeting were quite incensed against Israel from the prayer meeting and many especially of the young people below 40 years old threw rocks at the Israeli police on the Temple. There was little effort by Israel to limit access of Muslims below 40 to the Temple Mount like they sometimes do when they foresee trouble even though it was known beforehand this time that there could also be trouble. However some of the Muslims brought the violence to a new level and threw two fire bombs or Molotov coctails at Israeli policemen on the temple Mount and they both ignited with one making the boot of an Israeli policeman catch fire although he wasn't seriously injured fortunately. Several Arab Muslims and a couple of the Israeli policemen received minor injuries from this incident. The Israeli police scattered the rioters with stun grenades. This incident is apparently even more serious on the Temple Mount than anything that happened in the 2000 Intifada or uprising and is a mark of the current high tension between Arab militants in the West Bank and Israeli security officers. This is another event that makes it look like mere human politicians etc cannot achieve a solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict and that it will take a superhuman effort in what the Bible says will be the Satanically inspired and empowered antichrist or man of sin that will accomplish at least a temporary Middle East peace that will allow Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to achieve this. This will start the seven year tribulation or 70th week of Daniel or time of Jacob's trouble. Immediately before this will be the catching up of all true Christians to heaven and so I would urge the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose again from the dead to give us new life so you won't be left behind on earth for earth's most horrendous time. Christians can also look forward to returning with Jesus at the end of the tribulation from heaven to support his judging the world and to rule the world with him.
In late March 2013 United States president Barack Obama conducted his first visit to the holy land. I don't know if he would have gone anyway but he was in large part pressured to go by Jews and evangelical Christians who noted he hadn't gone there in his first term and he started his presidency with a visit to Cairo and an appeal for the Arab world to reconsider the United States as having a more sympathetic policy towards them than former US president George W. Bush. As a result Barack Obama, all things considered, showed a lot of sympathy to Israel and their position in the Middle East conflict with the Palestinian Arabs. Although Obama insisted that Israel stop the settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and that he still wanted Israel to give a lot of that land to the Palestinian Arabs he said or did other things that showed a substantial amount of sympathy for Israel. Two things that especially indicated this is that he insisted I think even in his talks with Palestinian Arab leaders that they could not use a cessation of Israel settlement building as a precondition for restarting Palestinian Arab/Israeli peace talks. Obama at least when he spoke to an Israeli audience acknowledge that the Jews have a history in the holy land going back 3000 years. Although this is better than saying this just came there mostly in the 20th century the history of the Jews in the land of Israel actually goes back about 4000 years to the time of Abraham. Obama, to his credit, also to the Jewish audience said the Palestinian Arabs should recognize Israel itself as a Jewish state which is something that at least their leadership has so far been unwilling to do. Obama also said to the Palestinian Arab leadership that he did not support militant action on the part of the Palestinians to get a larger state of their own which is something that even the Fatah faction of Mahmoud Abbas has been more seriously considering lately. Obama also met a victim of the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel and expressed support for that person and other Israelis that have either had personal injury or property damage or just been terrorized by this rocket fire that continued to a small extent even while he was in Israel. Obama refused to give any support to the Palestinian demand that their people or their descendents who were displaced from Israel proper in some of the wars between Israel and the Arabs such as in 1948 and 1967 should be allowed to return to live in Israel itself. Obama also insisted that both Israel and the Palestinian Arabs should continue to pursue the so-called two state solution that is summarized as two states living side-by-side in peace which is of course not the situation yet. Obama at the end did manage to get Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to call the leader of Turkey and apologize for some of the deaths of activists in the Marmara ship that left from Turkey to try to get through the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. We will see if this leads to any improved relations between Israel and Turkey which lately have been quite icy. There still seems to be some agreement and some disagreement about what should be done by either Israel or United States to counter Iran's nuclear threat especially towards Israel. That with all this effort there was still no committment by either Israel or the Palestinian Arabs to resume peace talks is likely another indication that it will take a super-human effort by Satan's man the Antichrist or Beast out of the sea to not only resume talks but achieve a least a temporary solution to the Middle East conflict including making provision for Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount as according to Daniel 9:27. As this will start the seven year tribulation I would encourage the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose again to give us new life so you can not only have eternal life and a relationship with God but be taken to heaven with the rest of the true church before the tribulation or time of God's wrath begins.
In early May 2013 Israel conducted air strikes on a Syrian convoy bringing advanced missiles from Syria in the direction of Lebanon likely to the terrorist group Hezbollah which controls southern Lebanon and is a declared enemy of Israel. Israel had given abundant advance warning to Syria that it wouldn't allow Bashar Assad's Syrian government to transfer missiles or other dangerous material such as air defence units or chemical weapons to Hezbollah in Syria as they are even more under the orders of Iran and willing to use such weapons especially if Israel carries out its threat of attacking Iranian nuclear facilities to prevent Iran from developing nuclear bombs. Iran has threatened to use these against Israel. Israel also struck a military research facility in the Syrian city of Jamraya near Damascus targeting missiles or other artillery stored there that Israel suspected Syria wanted to ship to Hezbollah in Lebanon for use against Israel. So far Syria has only threatened to strike Israel with missiles but no action has been taken yet but not much time has elapsed since Israel's action so we will still have to see what happens. Iran and Egypt have condemned Israel's action and the United Nations has urged both Syria and Israel not to increase military action in the region. From a biblical Christian view this could also increase tensions in the West Bank and Jerusalem and bring the Arab spring and more Islamic militancy in those places. This would make it even less probably humanly speaking for a peace agreement with Israel and the Palestinians and the wider Arab and Muslim world. This could also mean that soon the Antichrist could come on the scene with a supernatual Satanic plan for a Middle East peace that will involve allowing the Jews to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem but that would be taken over by the antichrist or beast out of the sea or man of sin etc. to cause all people of the world to worship him and the devil through him in the second half of the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel. Since these things might be near I urge the reader if you haven't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for your sins on the cross and rose again to give you new life if you trust in him as your personal Lord and Saviour. Then you will not only have eternal life and a relationship with the Creator God but also be assured that you will be caught up to heaven and be spared experiencing the tribulation if you do this before then.
Recently, probably in May 2013, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised much more extensive involvement of their terrorist group in the fighting in Syria of behalf of the co-Shiite leader of Syria Bashar Assad. This together with more active involvement of Iran and Russia in Syria on behalf of Bashar Assad and his government as well as the reduced support by the west and some Arab countries with Sunni led governments for the rebels because of increasing leadership of their fighting forces by the Al-Nusra front and other factions allied to Al-Qaeda and militant Sunni Islam has meant there has been a turn of events in the fighting in Syria with Bashar Assad and his allies obtaining the upper hand. As far as Hezbollah is concerned this has resulted in significant fatalities for them in Syria and loss of favour with them in the wider Arab and Muslim world and in the west with further pressure on Europe and Arab countries to declare them a terrorist group and cut off remaining funding from their countries which hasn't been done yet. Hezbollah's involvement in Syria has also encouraged Sunni Muslims from Lebanon to get more actively involved in fighting in Syria on behalf of the rebels as well as the fighting spreading to Lebanese territory especially the northern city of Tripoli and and Bekaa valley bordering Syria. There have also been rocket attacks from the rebels in Syria on Hezbollah areas in Lebanon including southern Beirut. Although Syrian leader Bashar Assad has called for an invasion by his forces of Israel's Golan Heights so far there has not been any significant attack against Israel there or in other parts of its northern border although Israel has brought up reinforcements including moved its Iron Dome anti-missile units to its northern frontier and put its northern region on high alert. The fighting inside Syria is getting more brutal including possible use of chemical weapons by Assad's government and maybe also the rebels and lack of respect for the safety or lives of women, children or the sick or elderly. There is also the threat of the conflict speading into a wider conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and attempts to bring the west, Israel and Russia into the conflict which so far hasn't happened but hopefully things will settle down there soon. Anyway from a Biblical Christian viewpoint this all makes peace involving Israel and its Arab neighbours more difficult from a human level and makes it more likely a supernatural effort will be needed which will according to the Bible in Daniel 9:27, Jeremiah 30 and Isaiah 28 happen to begin the tribulation or time of God's wrath or seventieth week of Daniel. I would urge the reader to as soon as possible trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give us new life so you can have a relationship with the Creator God, be spared the tribulation and be able to reign with Jesus after he comes again to end the reign of the antichrist and to set up God's kingdom on earth.
In the beginning of July 2013 the Egyptian army moved against the Moslem Brotherhood including their leader Mohammed Morsi. This was after almost daily protests against his rule in many places in Egypt especially Cairo including Tahrir Square and Alexandria. The army probably also considered a petition against Morsi's rule with over 20,000,000 signatures. It was especially the secular people and Christians that were against Morsi's continued rule but there were also Moslems especially moderate but also some more fundamentalist ones not part of his party. The protesters were against basically two matters concerning the Muslim Brotherhood. One has been Morsi's dictatorial nature of his rule which is seen, probably correctly, as just pushing the interests of his Muslim Brotherhood Party and not the good of Egypt as a whole. This includes limited the supreme court and military compared to his role as president and pushing through a constitution that gave preference to rights of fundamentalist Muslims over other Egyptians and the second thing is that the economy had done quite poorly under Morsi's rule because of the ongoing instability and perception by international tourists that Morsi and his party would limit some of the lifestyle of the western tourists in favour of strict Islamic fundamentalist practices. Now Morsi has been toppled and is still under arrest and some other leaders of the Moslem Brotherhood have been arrested or have been called to be arrested by the army. The army has called for new presidential and parliament elections in I believe six months from now. There are now regular protests by the Moslem Brotherhood for the reinstatement of Morsi as president and some violence including against Christians who his followers blame for the deposing of Morsi. Although Mohammed Morsi was mostly fairly elected, the opposition wasn't nearly as prepared for the elections and there was some intimation by Muslim Brotherhood followers of opposing supporters before the election but the election itself seemed to be fair and free although Morsi and his party haven't governed for all Egyptians since being elected but more just for their Islamic fundamentalist agenda. Although I as a born again Christian disagree with Morsi's Islamic fundamentalist agenda and beliefs I have to give him credit for maintaining the peace agreement with Israel and discouraging the flow of weapons to Hamas in the Gaza Strip as Mubarek before him did. I am not sure however if he broke off dipomatic relations with Israel during his term in office. Anyway now things are quite unsettled and Islamic fundamentalists that are already in the Sinai peninsula could be supplemented by some from the main part of Egypt to give trouble for Israel especially their long border with the Egyptian Sinai as the Egyptian army and police are busy in the main part of Egypt just trying to maintain order between their own people. Even if there is conflict between Egypt and Israel before the Antichrist is reveaed and the tribulation it is likely that he will achieve or reassert peace between Israel and Egypt as part of the peace agreement of Daniel 9:27 that will start the tribulation and 70th week of Daniel. I would in any case urge the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose again to give us new life as soon as possible so you can have not only a relationship with God but be spared from going into the tribulation during God's judgment of the world.
In July 2013 under much pressure from United States as well as Israel and some EU members such as the United Kingdom and Germany and Netherlands the European Union agreed to take sanctions against the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. This action will officially recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization as far as the European Union is concerned at least concerning its military wing. This will result in freezing assets of Hezbollah in the European Union and making it illegal to raise funds for it in Europe. This action was taken because of terrorist actions by Hezbollah of a bus bombing in Bulgaria and an action in Cyprus that is also considered on European territory as well as Hezbollah's extensive involvement in the fighting in Syria in support of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Although some parties denied it I have heard some accounts that the money from Europe was a major source of funds for Hezbollah internationally especially now that some Sunni Muslim countries have put financial and other restrictions on Hezbollah. However some European political commentators and Hezbollah itself have publicly stated that there is no distinction between its military and political wings and there could be some truth in this claim. However the European Union wasn't yet ready to totally take sanctions against Hezbollah. This could lessen the threat of Hezbollah to Israel but currently Hezbollah seems more interested and involved in protecting their interests in Syria by supporting the current Syrian leader Bashar Assad and his government. This could still be one thing to consider as a factor when the Antichrist makes the false peace with Isreal and Arab and world powers mentioned in Daniel 9:27 and Isaiah 28 and Jeremiah 30 etc. that will begin the tribulation and 70th week of Daniel and I would encourage the reader to as soon as possible trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose again to give us new life so you can immediately obtain a relationship with God and his eternal life and be assured you will be taken to heaven with the church of all born again Christians before the revelation on earth of the antichrist or the beast out of the sea as the world dictator.
In the beginning of August 2013, after much diplomatic effort by new United States Secretary of State John Kerry, Middle East Peace Negotiations were resumed. These are supposed to last about 9 months or until an agreement is reached. The first meeting was in Washington DC but further meetings will be in either Israel or a Palestinian location in the Middle East. Everything is supposed to be on the table although there is difference between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs whether there should be any pre-conditions. As a good will gesture Israel released the first of about 100 Palestinian prisoners many of whom had Israeli blood on their hands from acts of terrorism. The main things Israel wants from these negotiations is security including that any future Palestinian state be demilitarized and that Palestinians and other Arabs or other Muslim nations recognize Israel as a Jewish state. The Palestinian Arabs want most or all of the West Bank (Judaea and Samaria) and East Jerusalem including the old city and the Temple Mount, the end of Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and the right of Palestinian Arab refugees and their descendants to return to Israel proper and the release of other Palestinian prisoners. There might have been some other components that will be talked about but these are the main ones. There is much pressure from the world community including the Quartet the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union and the Arab League although the talks will be mediated by Martin Indyk or the United States with a primary role also for John Kerry of the United States. One problem is that the Gaza Strip and its lords the terrorist group Hamas are not represented at the talks or for that matter any Jews from the West Bank or East Jerusalem. Both these groups are also generally not for concessions from there side to the other. I don't know if this will lead to a Middle East peace deal but if it does especially a far reaching one it will probably be the one that the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea or Man of Sin will take over to achieve at the beginning of the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel and will involve permission for the Jews to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem according to Daniel 9:27 after the rapture of the Church and before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to judge the world and set up God's kingdom on earth. Since all these things are likely coming ever closer I urge the reader if he or she has not already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give us new life if we admit we are sinners and trust in Him.
In January 2013 at a meeting to celebrating the beginning of Fatah which is the Palestinian Arab party of Yasser Arafat and Mahmound Abbas, Mahmoud Abbas wholeheartedly praised the World War 2 Mufti (Islamic Leader) of Jerusalem and leader inspiration of Fatah Hajj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini who among other things spent much time in Berlin encouraging the Nazis with the final solution or holocaust against the Jews and sought to do his part against the Jews in the Middle East. He later encouraged one of his nephews, Yasser Arafat, to develop the myth of a Palestinian people instead of acknowledging that they are just Arabs to try to take some of the holy land away from the Jewish people. In early October at a speech at Bar-Ilan university in Israel Benjamin Netanyahu finally responded to Abbas' praise of Mufti Husseini. Netanyahu referred to the protocols of the agreement between the Mufti and Hitler that Hitler would try to kill off the Jews in Europe while the Mufti would try to do that in the Middle East. Netanyahu referred to evidence against the Mufti at the Nuremburg trials after world war 2. Among other things it mentioned that the Mufti was one of the instigators of the holocaust and co-operated and advised Eichmann and Himmler. Netanyahu said the Mufti viewed his role in supporting the holocaust as a good solution of the dilemna of the Jews including those in the holy land. It should also be noted that in Palestinian schools Mahmoud Abbas' views on the holocaust are taught to students that is that the holocaust was not carried out by the Nazis but by the World Zionist Organization. This makes it quite clear to me that Mahmoud Abbas is no partner for peace with Israel and that there is little or no prospect of an agreement or even much progress towards a peace agreement between the Palestinian Arabs and Israel especially when Mahmoud Abbas is still the leader of the Palestinian Authority. From a Bible prophecy viewpoint this gives further basis that humanly speaking things are getting further and more unlikely for peace in the Middle East and that if there is to be peace in the Middle East it will take a superhuman effort. According to the Bible this is leading to the false peace of the Antichrist or Beast out of the Sea or the one who becomes the abomination of desolation with Israel to allow Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount. This will likely also involve the Arabs and world powers and lead to a wider Middle East peace according to Daniel 9:27 but half way through the tribulation the antichrist will remove the Jews from the temple and take it over to force people to worship him and the devil through him in that temple. The Lord Jesus Christ the true Messiah of Israel will then come at the end of the tribulation to defeat the antichrist and set up God's government in the world through the Jews or the nation Israel (as well as a role for the true Church). Since these things are happening I would urge the reader to as soon as possible if you haven't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour so you will not only have eternal life and a relationship with God but be assured of taking part in the rapture (catching up to heaven) of the true church before the tribulation.
In early November 2013 the Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) party proposed a law that would give the force of law to Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. They felt, in my opinion rightly, that without such a law the Israeli Temple police in conjuction with the Islamic Waqf that administers the Temple Mount would continue to often deny the right to pray or carry out other religious demonstation such as wearing prayer shawls or reciting the Israeli national anthem or reading from the Bible or singing religious songs by Jews on the Temple Mount. This is despite the facts that the Temple Mount as well as the rest of the Old City of Jerusalem are claimed to be under control of Israel and that in almost all of the rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court upheld the right of Jews to pray etc. on the Temple Mount. This new law would make specific times during the week when Jews could pray on the Temple Mount or probably carry out other Jewish religious or perhaps nationalistic practices while still allowing considerable time for Muslims to exercise their prayers or other religious practices on the Temple Mount. This law still has to pass in the Israeli parliament the Knesset and be confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the more liberal Justice Minister Tzipi Livni so it is certainly not guaranteed to pass yet. However the many well publicized instances of denial of religious freedom to Jews to pray on the Temple Mount including recently will put a lot of pressure to pass such a law. There is very vocal opposition of this law by the Arab members of the Knesset and fundamentalist Arab Muslim groups such as the Islamic Movement in Israel and the Temple Mount Muslim Waqf (Endowment) as well as Muslim groups outside Israel. If this law does pass it would definitely be a step towards the covenant with the Antichrist and Israel to build the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to start the 70th week of Daniel and the Tribulation but even the fact that a serious effort is being made in the Israeli parliament to introduce such a bill shows how seriously this matter is being considered by a significant part of the Israeli society. Since this is the case I would urge the reader to as soon as possible trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose again to give us new life so you can have a relationship with God and also not be left behind on earth to suffer in the tribulation under the Antichrist's tyranny and God's judgment.
Although there wasn't much hope expressed by most people in the latest round of Middle East peace talks they seem to be even more deadlocked than past rounds of negotiations. This is because the Palestinian Arabs led by Mahmoud Abbas now not only saw that cessation of Jewish settlement building is a pre-condition of peace talks but that there will be no efforts by the Palestinians to continue the peace talks if Israel refuses to stop settlement building in the West Bank or Judaea and Samaria and East Jerusalem. Also the Palestinian Arabs are demanding perhaps more vocally that any peace agreement include the right of return of all Arabs and their descendents that vacated their dwellings in the holy land is some of the Israeli-Arab wars for the holy land such as in 1948 and 1967 even though this would probably mean Israel itself would no longer have a Jewish majority and even though the Palestinian Arabs are still asking for their own state in the west bank where some reports say they don't want any Jews left after a Palestinian state there is established. For its part Israel is being more insistant that the Palestinian Arabs recognize Israel as a Jewish state exactly for this reason and the higher birth rate of Arabs already in Israel than most of the Jews there so that the Jews can still have a state of their own as they remember what happened to them in Europe in the Holocaust and perhaps in Russia when they were only a minority. This demand of the Jews seems therefore quite reasonable. Lately a new demand from the Palestinian Arabs has been that Israel form a new government that has less members such as the Jewish Home Party and some members of the Likud that are not supportive of peace with the Palestinians on a lot of their terms. This doesn't seem very reasonable of the Palestinians to demand especially when they at the same time are saying they would like to take over also Israel itself for a Palestinian state, have a leader that denies the holocaust and that glorifies Mufti Husseini who sought to co-operate with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to execute the Holocaust against the Jews and others in world war 2. I'm sure the Jews in Israel would like a better government from the Palestinians including one that is more reasonable for peace with Israel but understand that that is something the Palestinians decide. Another new demand from the Palestinian Arabs is that Israel's goal of guarantees of security in the event of realization of a Palestinian state on the west bank is unreasonable and shouldn't be part of an Israeli-Arab peace agreement. This is probably especially referring to Israel's stated aim to maintain Israeli armed forces in the west bank especially by the Jordan River in any future peace agreement. Although the Palestinians might not like that either the history of the interaction between the Palestinian Arabs in the Gaza Strip since Israel gave it up to them in 2005 and Israel shows the Palestinians can't be trusted to be peaceful even when Israel is generous in giving up land to them that they request for their future Palestinian state. In summary I don't think these peace talks will go anywhere even with the pressure from world powers especially the United States. This is probably a further indication that it won't be until the rise of the Antichrist for power, that this deadlock is preparing for, that there will be a breakthrough Middle East peace agreement. According to the Bible especially Daniel 9:27 with Matthew 24:15, Isaiah 28, 2 Thessalonians 2 and REvelation 11:1-2 one of the key elements of such a Middle East peace agreement between Israel and the Antichrist and probably the Arabs and world powers will be that the Jews be allowed to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for which there will probably be given something to the Palestinians Arabs in return. Since there are accelerating indications that this could be quite soon I urge the reader to, if you haven't done so already, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for your sins and rose again to give you new life so you can not only have eternal life and a relationship with God but also be assured of being spared being on earth during the tribulation and instead to come back from heaven with Jesus to earth to reign with him with the true Church when Messiah Jesus rules the world through restored Israel from Jerusalem.
One thing that became more notable in December 2013 according to Israel National News and other sources was the increasing pressure from the Americans under John Kerry especially on Israel but also on the Palestinians to make serious concessions in order to get a Middle East peace agreement. This is becoming increasingly unpopular in Israel as more Israelis see the Palestinians and their leader Mahmoud Abbas as not serious about peace with Israel or recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. The three main things that John Kerry was emphasizing were borders, security of both sides and the future of Jerusalem. One area of disagreement was that Israel insists on the right to station some of their troups in the West Bank near the Jordan River even if they withdraw their Jewish population from the West Bank in a future peace agreement. This is to defend against a possible Arab invasion from Iraq and Jordan in the East as happened in the 1948 Israeli War of Independence and in either the 6 day war in 1967 or the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Based on previous experience with military units from the United Nations or the Palestinian Authority Israel is quite realistic in thinking that neither of them would protect Israel's interest in a crisis situation such as an Arab invasion from the East or even one from Iran which the Shiites in Iraq might support. I learned from a report on the web site Debka file that the plans under John Kerry's framework for the temple mount and other holy sites in Jerusalem are that they won't be settled right away but will be transferred for consideration to a committee made of officials from Israel, the United States, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for determination of a more long-term arrangement. According to Bible prophecy especially Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 11:1-2 whatever arrangement is made will have to allow for the Antichrist who will probably come from Europe to make an agreement with Israel and probably others to build the third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for resumption of Jewish worship there and then replaced by forced worship by all people left on earth to worship the Antichrist there in the second half of the tribulation. That these things are being seriously discussed could likely be an indication that the tribulation and preceding rapture of the church is very near and I would encourage the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead as soon as possible so you can have a relationship with God and be assured of being taken to heaven in the rapture and not be left on earth in the tribulation. Also many Israelis resent pressure from America in implying that they will lose some military or other assistance from the United States is they don't go along fully with the peace plan promoted by the United States through John Kerry.
In March 2014 the Israeli Navy intercepted an Iranian ship in the Red Sea with great amounts of weapons on board. Israel had some reason to believe these weapons were bound for Hamas Gaza militants that wanted to use them against Israel. These weapons included medium range missilies, mortars and ammunition for automatic weapons. Israel brought this vessel to Eilat the Israeli port on the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea and then displayed them by the media to the world. Although Iran and Hamas have denied these charges, Egypt has said they were likely weapons from Iran destined to Islamic militants in the Sinai or Gaza Strip. What can't be denied is that there were many weapons on this ship that seemed to be made in Iran that were headed towards neighbouring territories of Israel that are hostile to it. This also supports Israel's claim that Iran is actively carrying out hostilities against it through arming terrorist groups on Israel's borders. It is not a good indication of the world's attitude to Israel that there wasn't much support for Israel's concern about this arms shipment but there are world moves towards better relations with Iran even if it means allowing Iran to get enough enriched Uranium to build a nuclear bomb or the world's substantial concern about addtional Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This is further indication that we are close to the tribulation or time of God's wrath or 70th week of Daniel when there will be much anti-Israel or anti-Semetic sentiment in the world at least in the second half of it and that we are also near the rapture of the church that will precede the tribulation. I would therefore encourage the reader to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose again to give us eternal life and a relationship with God so you can also be taken to heaven in the rapture of the church and not be left behind for God's judgement of the world in the tribulation and the tyrannical rule of the Antichrist on Earth then.
Although this round of peace talks were supposed to continue until the end of April 2014, it has become clear by the beginning of April that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinian Arab sides trust each other with especially the Palestinian side adding more and more preconditions to talks with Israel including many things that would deeply jeopardize Israel's security. The main condition Israel has put is that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state which so far the Palestinians as well as other Arab countries have said publicly they refuse to do. Israel insists on this because they know what happened at different times in Europe or Russia when the Jews didn't have their own country and they were severly persecuted or in the Holocause an attempt was made to annihilate them by the Nazis. The Palestinians are still insisting even as a precondition on the right of return of remaining people alive at Israel's independence in 1948 of the Arabs that left Israel then and their many descendents to return to Israel although quite a few of these Arabs had just moved to the Israel from surrounding Arab countries when more Jews started to return to the land of Israel from around 1900. There are about 5 to 7 million such so called Palestinian refugees that would make Israel hardly majority Jewish if they all moved to Israel which is probably why Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinians want this and refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. One thing that started to make these talks break down is that Israel refused to release more Palestinian prisoners. Although earlier in the talks Israel promised to release these prisoners Israel is right in saying, contrary to what the Palestinians say, that these prisoner releases would be for the purpose of futhering the peace talks which the Palestinians seem to be refusing. The Palestinians are also saying that a halt to new Jewish settlements in the West Bank and EAst Jerusalem should be precondition instead of something to be included in the talks later on. Now the Palestinians, because they are not getting everything their way, are threatening to apply to the United Nations to join 15 United Nations conventions to try to further establish the Palestinian state as a state or country with international recognition including the possibility to blackmail Israel when Israel defends itself against Palestinian uprising. There are some people in the Israel government including more right wing members of Benjamin Netanyahu's own Likud party and many in the Jewish Home party of Naftali Bennett who would like Israel to break off the peace talks with the Palestinians right now or even go back on the Oslo agreement signed with the Palestinians before especially if the Palestinians try to unilaterally try to get more recognition through joining other United Nations or other international bodies. Although there hasn't been much world media coverage on this topic and I have received most of my information from the conservative Israeli news source www.israelnationalnews.com, this is very important from a Bible prophecy viewpoint and could indicate that the deeper inability and increasing differences of the Israelis on one side and the Palestinians and other ARabs or Muslims on the other that it will soon require the superhuman effort of the devil through the Antichrist with God's permission to obtain a Middle East peace with Israel and the Palestinians and other Arabs. The peace agreement mentioned in the Bible is in Daniel 9:27 and Isaiah 28 and includes authority for Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This temple will at first be used for Old Testament Levitical worship of God but half way through the tribulation the Antichrist or Man of Sin will take it over for all people on earth to worship him until the Lord Jesus Christ comes from Heaven with the Church and holy angels to defeat the Antichrist and the world system and set up God's kingdom on earth through Israel although with the true Church having a part as well. Since some of these things seem on the brink of happening I encourage the reader to as soon as possible if you haven't already to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead to give us new life so you can have God's eternal life and forgiveness and a relationship with Him and a home in heaven and also be assured you can be taken to heaven with the Church and Jesus at the rapture or catching up and not be left on earth to face the worldwide tyranny of the Antichrist and God's judgment of this world.
In mid April 2014 at the time of the Jewish feast of Passover Hamas militants occupied the Temple Mount in a threatening way with rocks and more powerful firecrackers. This was supposed to be a major time for Jews and some Christians to visit the Temple Mount to celebrate the Jewish Feast of Passover. Due to the Muslim provocations and the disruption of Jewish and some Christians from Israel and other parts of the world that intended to visit the Temple Mount at the time of Passover the Israeli police banned all Jewish visits to the Temple Mount at this time and took action against Muslim rioters firing rubber bullets or other non-lethal weapons at the Muslims who then took sanctuary in the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount. It is becoming common knowledge that Muslim militants cause a disturbance on the Temple Mount whenever Jews are scheduled to visit the Temple Mount in significant numbers at Jewish feast days or fast days or similiar times as they know the Israeli police usually respond by banning Jews from going up to the Temple Mount after that. The deputy mayor of Jerusalem has responding by demanding that the Israeli police also ban Muslims from going up to the Temple Mount when the Muslims cause a disturbance to try to discourage the Muslims from causing these disturbances on the Temple Mount just to prevent Jews from going up there. The country of Jordan which has been allowed to maintain some control over the Temple Mount has threatened to introduce a motion in the United Nations to blame Jews for this unrest as the Jordanians and some Muslims falsely believe the Temple Mount should be only for Muslims and not for others including not for Jews because the Muslims have a mistaken revisionist history of the Temple Mount in which they deny that it was formerly the site of the Jewish 1st Solomon's and 2nd Herod's Temple. The Muslims also falsely claim Mohammed ascended from the Temple Mount to heaven even though it is well established that he died in Medina in Saudi Arabia and that the Muslim mosques weren't built until about 700 AM several decades after the death of Mohammed. All this dispute and unrest over the Temple Mount even though it is at a high level will probably get worse until the Antichrist comes to establish a false peace with Israel and other countries including probably Muslim ones to allow Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and perhaps give the Muslims some concession like possibly in the West Bank and this is mentioned in Daniel 9:27 and Isaiah 28 and probably 1 Thessalonians 5:3. The Antichrist will then in the second half of the tribulation break his peace agreement with Israel and take over the Temple for the worship of himself and this will continue until the second coming of the Lord Jesus the Messiah (Christ) when Jesus (Y'Shua) will come from heaven with his church to judge the world and set up His and God the Father's Kingdom on earth through the nation of Israel based in Jerusalem and the rebuilt Temple. Before the agreement of the Antichrist with Israel is established will be the rapture or catching up to heaven of the true Church of all people from all nations who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins and rose again to give us new life. I would encourage you the reader to do this as soon as possible if you haven't done so already so you can be taken to heaven at the rapture and not left on earth for the tribulation and so you can also have a relationship with God and Jesus in heaven and the Millennial and new earth.
From Saturday May 24 to Monday May 26, 2014 Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church took his first visit to the Holy Land. He went to Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and Israel. Although this trip was first billed as a religious trip to improve ties with the Orthodox Church through a meeting with the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew 1 but turned into quite a political endeavour. From a biblical Christian viewpoint this trip also has prophetic overtones especially at this time. The pope started his trip in Jordan and featured a trip to a Syrian refugee camp in which the Pope voiced his grief at the suffering there and I think prayed for God giving more grace and solution to that problem. His next move was the first of his more controversial steps in which he flew directly into the Palestinian territories instead of flying to Israel and going to the Palestinian territories through Israel. This implies giving more recognition of the West Bank as a nation state that Israel still considers up for negotiation. The pope then went to Bethlehem and presided over a Roman Catholic mass to encourage some of the professing Christians there but he failed to mention there or anywhere else as far as I know the suffering of the Arab Christians in the Holy Land at the hands of radical Muslims even though the Christians would have appreciated him saying that as a sign of support. From Bethlehem Pope Francis got out of his popemobile and walked over to the separtion barrier where there was some anti-Israel grafitti and prayed against the separation barrier and some of the inconvenience it caused to Palestinian Arabs but I didn't hear that he acknowledged that the same wall was build to reduce terrorists from coming from the West Bank into Israel to conduct terrorist acts and that it has been quite successful in that purpose. Palestinian Arabs are still allowed to go to and fro from Israel but the barrier provides checkpoints that allows Israel to screen out potential terrorists. In the West Bank the Pope also made an invitation to Mahmoud Abbas the leader of the Palestinian government in the West Bank and to Shimon Peres the figurehead President of Israel to meet with the pope at his place in the Vatican to pray for Middle East peace which both of them promptly accepted. Since then it has been stated that this will be mainly a time of prayer for peace in the Middle East not a time for talking. Even so, this is certainly a big step forward to the false Middle East peace the Antichrist will implement that will include permission for the Jews to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and that will start the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel. Although I believe this or any other pope won't be the antichrist I believe the last days pope which could be Pope Francis will be the leader of the last days false Babylon church that could include other religions and that the last days pope will co-operate with the Antichrist to establish the Antichrist's rule.
Later Sunday and Monday the Pope visited Israel including the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and the tomb or Theodore Herzl who was foremost in re-establishing Zionism including re-establishing Hebrew as the language of the Jews and starting a movement of Jews going back to the Holy Land that led to the re-establishment of the nation of Israel. However there were some Jews in the Holy Land all along for centuries as well as some Arabs but not many of either. On Monday the Pope went to the most significant religious sites in Israel with sharing an address with the Islamic leader of the Holy Land the Grand Mufti of the Temple Mount in the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount and then have the Grand Mufti and his team give the Pope a guided tour of the Temple Mount. The Pope also visited in this tour the moslem Dome of the Rock where many devout Jews say the Temples of Solomon and Herod stood before and where they want to build the next Jewish Temple. The Pope then had a time to pray by himself with the western wall Jewish Rabbi looking on at the western wall and inserted a prayer into the cracks between the stones on the wall. There was heavy security throughout the Pope's trip and steps were taken beforehand to prevent fundamentalist Muslims and radical or devout Jews from protesting the Pope's visits. The Pope was also accompanied in most of these travels by one or both of a Jewish rabbi and a Muslim Iman who he had been friends with since his time in Argentina. On Monday the pope also saw Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres and also visited the Hall of the Last Supper near the old city of Jerusalem which site quite a few Jews think is the tomb of King David although according to the Bible in 1 Kings 2 that tomb seems to be in the City of David south of the Temple Mount in a slightly different location. There are rumours that the Israeli government might give control of this site to the Vatican more so they can perform weekly masses which observant Jews which consider idolatry that would make what they think is the Tomb of David unfit for visiting. In another surprise the Pope also visited a tomb dedicated to soldiers of Israel that fought in Israel's various modern wars and it could also be dedicated to Israeli terrorist victims. The Pope when he was in the West Bank also consistently called the Palestinian Territories the State of Palestine instead of the Palestinian Territories which the Palestinian Arabs would like but not the Israelis because it shows the Pope's willingness to recognize the Palestinian territory as a nation state before proper negotiations have been conducted with Israel including to assure Israel of peace and safety and to be recognized as a Jewish state. However most media I heard afterward either gives a slight favour to the Palestinians in the Pope helping their cause although others acknowledge that the Pope made some efforts to be balanced such as being the first pope to visit Mr. Herzl's grave as well as his praying at the separation or security wall.
Due to all these events I would even more encourage the reader to if you haven't done so already to admit you are a sinner before God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give us new life so you can have a relationship with God, forgiveness of all your sins and a home in heaven and access to the Millennial and new Earth and so you can also be brought up to heaven at the rapture of the Church and be spared from experiencing the tribulation and rule of the Antichrist and the devil through him that will start with the false peace with Israel and others to allow the Jews to build their third temple on the Temple Mount. the Antichrist's rule will only be ended when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to judge the world and set up His Kingdom at the end of the tribulation.
A couple months ago the Palestinian faction Fatah led by Mahmound Abbas signed a unity agreement with the terrorist Palestinian group Hamas to form a unity Palestinian Arab government. Although Fatah is itself rather militant and celebrated when Israel released some of its prisoner fighters it has at least recognized Israel's right to exist and renounced violence against it. Hamas on the other hand has neither recognized Israel' right to exist or renounced violence against it and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and others. This unity government is said to be composed of technocrats and not members of Hamas but there are some members of this interim government from the Gaza Strip and some representing Hamas and that can be influenced by Hamas. Although Israel has stated they will therefore not conduct further peace talks with this unity government the United States and the European Union and the United Nations have recognized this unity Palestinian government and encouraged Israel to have peace talks with it despite it partly representing Hamas although they have said they will watch that Hamas and its militant position towards Israel not prevail too much in the unity government's relation with Israel. Mahmoud Abbas has assured the international community that this unity government will continue to be governed by moderates that recognize Israel while Hamas has said they won't continue to participate in it unless they can rule it. Hamas currently rules the Gaza Strip while Fatah rules Palestinian areas in the West Bank. It remains to be seen what way this unity government will go whether it will stay relatively moderate or taken over by the Muslim extremists of Hamas but this unity government is only supposed to be in power for a couple more months until there can be elections over all the Palestinian Arabs in the Hamas ruled Gaza Strip and in the Fatah ruled parts of the West Bank. It also remains to be seen whether both sides Fatah and Hamas will honour any election results especially the side that loses the election as one or the other might have to give up control of their territory to the winning Palestinian ARab faction. Although Israel and the west will not want to recognize any Palestinian government that includes Hamas when it is set against Israel, involving Hamas could include the Gaza Strip in a Middle East peace agreement which would make a more stable region that if a peace agreement only involved the Jews in Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank. From a biblical Christian viewpoint this is still leading to the false peace of the Antichrist that will start the 7 year tribulation or 70th week of Daniel soon after the rapture of the church. Since these things are falling in place now I would urge the reader to as soon as possible if you haven't already to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for your sins and rose again from the dead to give you new life and be taken to heaven with Jesus and the true Church before the tribulation and time of God's judgment of this world and the rule of the Antichrist.
Although I personally think it is good that Israel has allowed or even encouraged Arabs to vote and stand for office or even have some offices in the Israeli parliament the Knesset unfortunately some Arab Knesset members have been quite unloyal to Israel lately. The two that have been especially unloyal to Israel have been the female Member surnamed Zoabi and the man Mr. Tibi who leads one of the Arab parties in the Knesset. Ms Zoabi has said things like it is a good thing that Arabs might have killed the three recently missing and now confirmed to be killed Israeli teenagers. She has also said that there is more or better democracy with the Arab terrorist group Hamas than in Israel despite the fact she is allowed to be part of the Israeli parliament and speak such things there although there have been Jewish calls for her being expelled not only from the Israeli parliament but also from Israeli territory. Mr. Tibi has also I believe said some negative things about the kidnapped Israeli teens but he has definitely recently gone to the Temple Mount and has said that the Jews have no right to go there and that it is just a Muslim site despite the fact that there is abundant evidence that the Temple Mount is the site of the former solomon's Temple the First Temple and the Second Temple Zerubbabels or Herod's Temple despite some effort by Muslims to recently destroy some of the evidence. I hope these Arab members will calm down and that Israel can work it out to have non-extremist Arab members in their parliment for the forseeable future to represent the Arab Israelis but such behaviour by some of the current Arab Knesset members doesn't make things much easier. This is probably a symptom of the wider radicalization of Muslims that really started with the Arab Spring but seems to be coming into Israel and the West Bank in a greater way recently.
In what had been intensifying for some time there is now a full scale Palestinian Israeli conflict. This probably started with the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers who were later found dead mostly likely by Palestinian Arabs and a Palestinian teenager who was killed by upset Jews. Then Hamas started sending many rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel including the vicinity of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and Israel followed that up with air strikes into the Gaza Strip. Although the rockets from the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have not killed any Israelis yet they have injured a couple and caused serious damage and disruption to a couple million Israelis. Israel has made some possible mistakes in hitting civilian targets in the Gaza Strip and hopefully they will be more careful in the future but many of the civilians killed or injured in the Gaza STrip were acting as human shields to protect Hamas or other terrorist homes or rocket launchers or other military targets partly with the idea that if they were killed they falsely think they will go to paradise in dying in a jihad. I have learned there are also considerable number of people that Hamas is using as human shields by forcing them to stay in areas targeted by Israel according to Israel National News. Israel has stated they want to try to neutralize the rocket launching capability of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups in the Gaza STrip but there is already significant international pressure to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza terrorists so Israel's goal might not be realized. There has now begun a ground invasion by Israel and there have been more Arab casualties but also quite a few casualties among Israeli soldiers with Israel saying one of their main objectives in this phase is to find and destroy tunnels Hamas has made from the Gaza Strip going under the border to Israel that could be used for secret invasions of Hamas or other Islamic militant fighters from Gaza to Israel where they could kill Israelies or kidnap them or damage property etc. There is also talk again that the root causes have to be addressed in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis but unless the real root causes which are probably more religious than political including sovereignty over the Temple Mount there won't be any lasting peace. This could be done to some extent for a while through the false peace of the Antichrist with Israel and no doubt the Arabs and probably world powers mentioned in Daniel 9:27 and its collapse mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5 by the mid point of the tribulation and so I would urge the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose again from the dead to give us new life as soon as possible so you will not only have forgiveness of all your sins through Jesus' divine blood of infinite value and a relationship with God but also be assured you can be taken up to heaven at the rapture of the church and not have to endure God's wrath and Satan's tyranny in the 7 year tribulation. You would then if you trust in Jesus now or before the rapture have the promise you can reign with him in his thousand year kingdom through Israel and the true Church on this earth and in the new jerusalem etc in eternity.
In August 2014 a ceasefire was agreed between Israel and the Palestinian Arab terrorist group Hamas. This was after about 1900 fatalities of the Palestinians including 25 to 30 % terrorists although some of the civilians were probably people that were ordered by Hamas to be human shields around Hamas fighters or Hamas military facilities such as tunnels, rocket launchers, storage location of rockets, factories at least partly used for military purposes or residences of Palestinian muslim militants. There were also about 67 fatalities on the Israeli side of whom 3 were civilians. Israel was unable to achieve its objective of stopping Hamas' rocket launching capability into Israel although it hopefully destroyed most of Hamas' capability to launch a surprise attack into Israel through the tunnels going under the border into Israeli territory. Both Israeli and Palestinian civilians are now going back to their homes or businesses but it is not yet certain if this ceasefire will hold beyond the 72 hours although during the ceasefire period both sides seem to be respecting it. There have begun talks brokered by Egypt between Israel and the Gaza militants such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad and so far there is not much agreement with Israel saying they want Gaza demilitarized and a stop to rocket fire into Israel on a long term basis and Hamas saying they definitely won't give up their weapons, and that they want a free movement across the border with Israel and Egypt while not recognizing Israel's right to exist or renouncing violence against it or guaranteeing they wouldn't use a freer border to smuggle more rockets or other weapons into Gaza from Iran etc. There has also been talk by some in Hamas that they would see a ceasefire as just an opportunity to rearm until the next conflict with Israel. However there is now increased willingness in some quarters in both governments and the general population for some concessions to the other side to get a more long term or solid ceasefire. This is compared to earlier in the war when neither side wanted to stop fighting or give any concessions. There is of course much pressure from the world community such as the United Nations, the United States and the European Union for a compromise agreement. A Canadian man named Shabbas has been appointed to look at Israel's war effort for possible charges of war crimes although there were certainly actions of the Palestinian militants that could be considered war crimes especially the use of human shields and it turns out intimidating international reporters in Gaza to report in favour of Hamas according to Israel National News. It remains to be seen if Mr. Shabbas is reasonable and even handed towards Israel with regards to the Palestinian actions but he has said that he thinks Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be locked up through an international court and the former actions of the United Nations human rights bodies doesn't give confidence to Israelis or those who support Israel. The United Nations human rights woman Pillay is an example of someone on the United Nations Human Rights bodies that is very anti-semitic. Anyway it will be interesting to see if any progress is made in these talks in getting some peace between Israel and the Hamas led Gaza Strip as that would certainly make for a more solid Middle East peace possibly including the one mentioned in Daniel 9:27 that the Antichrist will negotiate with Israel to start the 7 year tribulation and that will permit Israel to build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Although it would be some progress to have more peace with Israel and the Gaza Strip what is more important is to have a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs that involves an agreement about Jerusalem and the West Bank (Judaea and Samaria). I would urge the reader if you haven't already done so to as soon as possible trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour who died for our sins on the cross and rose again so you can not only have eternal life but be assured of being taken with and the Church to heaven at the rapture of the church and not be left to face the tyranny of the Antichrist and the judgment of God in the 7 year tribulation or 70th week of Daniel.
In late August 2014 Egypt brokered a longer term, about a month, ceasefire between Israel and Gaza Muslim militants. During this ceasefire talks about a longer term ceasefire or peace between Israel and Gaza Muslim militants such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In this agreement, which seems to be holding so far several days later, Israel was supposed to stop air attacks or ground invasions of Gaza and Islamic terrorists are supposed to stop rocket or mortar fire or building tunnels from Gaza into Israel. In this agreement there is also allowed more open access across the borders between Gaza and Egypt and Israel for citizens and peaceful materials. If this ceasefire holds and talks proceed for a more long term ceasefire or peace agreement there could be less distraction in Gaza to a fuller peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. Items for more long term talks in Gaza include Hamas wanting to open a seaport and an airport and Israel wanting Hamas and other terrorists in Gaza to demilitarize and for Hamas to recognize Israel and renounce violence against it and not use this ceasefire to re-arm itself. If this ceasefire holds it could be a step towards the false peace of the Antichrist with Israel and others mentioned in Daniel 9:27 and probably in Isaiah 28 and I Thessalonians 5. I would therefore urge the reader to as soon as possible if you haven't done so already to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for all your sins and rose again to give you new life so you can have a relationship with the Creator God and also be assured you will be taken to heaven at the rapture or catching up of the church very soon instead of left on earth for the tyranny of the Anti-Christ and judgment of God on the remaining inhabitants of Earth.
Possibly as a result of Israel not getting a more decisive victory in the 2014 Gaza conflict against Hamas there has been ongoing violence called by some the silent intifada against Jews and Israeli police around Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. There have been regular reports about this on Israeli video including www.israelnationalnews.com but this have been ignored by most other international media that I am aware of. Some of this violence around Jerusalem in September and October 2014 has been organized and carried out by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas. Some of this violence on the Temple Mount has been carried out before Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah and Succoth or Feast Of Tabernacles which Hamas and some other terrorists have admitted is done especially to keep Jews off the Temple Mount especially at those times although the Jewish Temple police to their credit made a way for some devout Jews to visit the Temple Mount on Rosh Hashanah but they didn't do much to clear out the roudy Muslims that were still shouting insults to the Jewish visitors when the Jews visited there. Some of the violence by the Muslims on the Temple Mount includes rocks, large firecrackers and molotov cocktails including that are thrown at police or sometimes towards Jewish worshippers. When police try to come against them the Muslim terrorists often retreat to the Al Aqsa mosque on the south end of the Temple Mount where the TEmple police seem afraid to touch them. Even when these terrorists clearly instigate matters including to keep peaceful Jews off the Temple Mount some Muslim authorities including those in the nation of Jordon that believe they have some authority over the Temple Mount complain that Muslims are being arrested and some Israeli authorities are afraid to do anything more against the violent Muslims on the Temple Mount for fear that other radical Muslims like ISIS or ISIL might overthrow the government of Jorden and have a completed dedicated terrorist regime on Israel's east border as well. There are also instances of Muslims throwing rocks or firecrackers etc. at Jews around Jerualem and Muslims damaging some buildings or structures in Jerusaelm such as the vehicles or shelters of the public transit. All this is still going on as I write about the 10th of October 2014 around the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles and partly because of weak Israeli leadership and minimal support to Israel from the United States under President Obama will probably continue. From a Bible prophecy viewpoint all these events will probably make many Jews especially in Israel long for a stronger leader who will stand ground for the Jews against the radical Muslims including in Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and I think they might not get that until very soon the Antichrist or False Messiah and Man of Sin is revealed on earth after the rapture of the Church to make a false Middle East peace that will allow the Jews to build their Third Temple on the TEmple Mount in Jerusalem and who with Satan's help will be able to convice the Muslims to accept this according to Daniel 9:27. However according this same scripture and Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2 the Antichrist will half way throught the tribulation turn his back on the Jews and use this temple to force all people on the world to worship him the ANtichrist and Satan through him then they and the false prophet and everyone who hasn't received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour by then will be defeated and cleared out of the way at the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven to establish God's Kingdom on earth first for a thousand years and then on the new earth forever. I would therefore encourage the reader if he or she hasn't already done so to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose again to give us new life so you can have a relationship with God through Jesus and forgiveness of all your sins and also be taken to heaven in the rapture before the tribulation and God's judgment on the world and the worldwide tyranny of the Antichrist.
In October 2014 some devout Jews continued to seek more Jewish access including the right to pray on the Temple Mount where Solomon's and Herod's Temple once stood and where the Jewish worship of one true God was centred. This has been met by Muslim anger and violence around Jerusalem including on the Temple Mount partly in an effort by Muslims to keep Jews off the Temple Mount entirely. Recently Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas declared and approved another Palestinian Arab intifada (uprising) in order to keep Jews off the Temple Mount. There is also more pressure in Israel among the public and some Jewish political parties to allow more Jewish prayer or other rights on the Temple Mount but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a show of fear and in order to appease the Jordanian leadership and some people in the United States and other parts of the world has affirmed that the status quo of not letting the Jews pray on the Temple Mount will continue to be enforced even though in the Word of God such as in 1 Kings 8 God says the Temple Mount is especially where Jews are to pray to God. One noted campaigner for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount including to pray there is Yehuda Glick and he was recently shot and almost killed by a Muslim terrorist who wanted to discourage progress in Jewish rights on the Temple Mount. This has led to more Jewish demands to pray on the Temple Mount and Mahmoud Abbas saying that Israel has declared war on the Palestinian Arabs if Israel continues to led Jews go up to the Temple Mount and pray there even though the Temple Mount is the holiest place on Earth for the Jews. The leader of Jordan King Abdullah has also threatened now to break the 1994 Israeli-JOrdanian peace agreement if Israel tried to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. Although I don't know the immediate next steps matters might continue to escalate or not not calm down too soon from the current situation and it is quite probably from a biblical Christian basis that these events are the last stage in the current age of grace or Church age before the rapture or catching up to heaven of all true Christians before the manifestation of the Antichrist the devil's counterfeit for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Antichrist will be the world ruler for the 7 year tribulation starting with an agreement he will achieve with Israel and probably the Arabs and Europe and other world powers to let Israel build their third temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem according to Daniel 9:27 and other scriptures. The Antichrist will allow the Jews to have their Old Testament worship of God for the first half of the tribulation and then half way through he will take it over for the worship of himself and at the end of the tribulation the Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven with His church to judge the worship and establish His kingdom through restored Israel and the true Church based in Jerusalem and the Millennial or Messianic Kingdom Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. I would urge the reader if you haven't done so already to admit you are a sinner based on what the Bible says of humans and trust in God's Son the Lord Jesus Christ that he died on the cross for all your sins and rose again from the dead to give you spiritual life and an eternal relationship with God and to do this before the rapture of the church so you can also take part in the rapture of the church and not be left behind on earth for earth's darkest hour in the tribulation under the rule of the Antichrist and God's judgment. My knowledge of current events in Israel was found mostly on Israel National News and somewhat on the BBC and other sources.
In late December 2014 the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas applied to the United Nations International Criminal Court after being turned down to join the United Nations General Assembly. It is no surprise they were turned down at the UN General Assembly as they are using this tactic to avoid negotiations with Israel and to try to get a Palestinian state without security guarantees for Israel. Although part of the reason the last round of Israeli Palestinian talks didn't get anywhere was because Israel didn't make much concessions in West Bank settlements, we can see what happened when Israel took all their settlers out of the Gaza Strip and soon after the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas got control and used it and still uses it to threaten Israel. The Palestinians in the last round of so-called peace talks refused to give security guarantees to Israel or to accept that even if they were granted a Palestinian state in the WEst BAnk and East Jerusalem that Israel could be recognized by them and all nations as a Jewish state. This is because the Palestinian authority wants Arabs especially Muslim ones in Israel to have more children than Jews and for the so-called right of return so there wouldn't be a Jewish majority in Israel itself and then for Israel not to be a Jewish and democratic state. Anyway this latest move to the Palestinian Authority to join the UN INternational Criminal Court has their clear intention of being used to take Israel to court for war crimes including the recent 2008-09 Gaza War. Although there might have been some cases of Israeli war crimes then, Israel put up with ongoing rocket attacks from Hamas and other Muslim terrorist groups into Israeli civilian areas for a considerable time and warned Hamas etc to stop before Israel counter-attacked. Some of the Palestinian ARab casualties that some claim were innocent were in UN schools or residential areas where there were missiles stored that were planned to use in attacks against Israel and/or were used as shields by Arab militants that fired from those places or very nearby making it difficult for Isreal to strike the military targets without killing or injuring ARab civilians. A built up area near the Israeli border that Israel struck and killed some Arab civilians was also the start of many tunnels dug by Hamas etc. that went under the Israeli border into Israeli territory that were planned for a surprise attack on Israel probably on the then upcoming Jewish holidays. The Palestinian Authority has been now accepted membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and will be granted it on April 1, 2015. The United States has threatened to cut funding for the Palestinian Authority as they see this move rightly as provocative for peace in the MIddle East. Israel has threatened to stop passing on tax revenues they collect on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. I don't know if either of these measures has started but they are both quite possible. If Israel is taken to court by the Palestinian Authority and the court takes up the case which is the option whether to do or not Israel could also lay charges against Hamas for its actions in the Gaza War or even some actions of the Palestinian Authority including the recent incitement statements by Mahmoud Abbas that likely inspired recent Muslim attacks on Jews in Jerusalem including the Temple Mount. Perhaps other things like giving heros welcome to Arab terrorists released by Israel into the West Bank could also be grounds for Israel to charge the Palestinian Authority. Also the recent restoration of ties between Hamas the group Fatah that Mahmoud Abbas leads blurs the line between Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. Anyway all these events are reminders that we continue to go further from peace in the Middle East and that mere human efforts at peace there won't succeed but are likely backing all parties into a corner until God allows the Antichrist or he who causes abomination later on to make a false Middle East peace that will allow Israel to build the Third Temple in the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and will likely also give something to the Arabs they will appreciate like perhaps some of the West Bank. These efforts by the Palesinian Authority both their application for the UN General Assembly and the UN Criminal Court and their approval by many nations in different parts of the world show ongoing increasing anti-semitism that will continue to grow according to the Bible in the last days including what is left of the last days of the church as well as through the tribulation the last days of Israel until the Lord Jesus Christ comes at the end of the tribulation to set up God's peace on earth with Israel and Jerusalem as his capital and featuring the Jews that turn to God and the LOrd Jesus in the tribulation as well as people of the nations that do so and the true Church that trust in the Lord Jesus that he died for our sins on the cross and rose again. I believe this also indicates that the rapture of the Church before the Antichrist's false peace is very near and would encourage the reader if you haven't already done so to admit you are a sinner according to the Bible and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for our sins on the cross and rose again to give us new life and a relationship with God and so you can also be taken to heaven before the tribulation on earth and come with Jesus to reign on this earth at the end of the tribulation.
Contact Doug Currie at Spirit and Truth Ministries