Peace Talks? - Part 2

Last week's message centered on the announcement that meetings were taking place in preparation for restarting Middle East Peace Talks. Those attempts are honorable but they raise the question of will they end up as failed attempts as all have in the past? Previous Middle East talks have failed because the Palestinian leadership is not interested in part of Israel for its state, they want to control all of Israel.

The results of these initial meetings between United States representative Jared Kushner and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas were described as "disheartening." The Americans demanded that the salaries paid by the Palestinians to terrorists be reduced in addition to Palestinian Authority incitement to violence also be stopped. The Palestinian Authority called for the curtailment of construction in the Jewish Settlements. Sounds like more of the same to me.

Last weeks message also quoted Joel 3:2 illustrating our Lord God bringing judgment on those who mistreat Israel, we used Great Britain and the United Nations as examples. Would you believe the following two news headlines this week illustrating this Biblical principle clearly?

An anti-Israel approach is still present in Great Britain. Last week a 23 year old Israeli Policewoman was stabbed to death and four others were injured in Jerusalem. The BBC reported, "Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in Jerusalem." This is a TOTAL LIE! Also, the terror organization Hezbollah is allowed to parade in London.

The United Nations continues to be ineffective world wide and I believe this is a result of their continuing anti-Israel bias. Witness the following example - Israel is standing against the hostile United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO]. Last Saturday, Israel denied access to Hebron for a UNESCO delegation. The proposed visit by UNESCO was to support Palestinians who wanted to make Hebron a Palestinian World Heritage Site. Israel took issue with this proposal as Hebron is a cherished Biblical Site.

Our Lord God Will Not Be Mocked!

"I Will Bless Those Who Bless Israel,

   And I Will Curse Those Who Curses Them." 

Genesis 12:3

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Every Day,

Frank    

Peace Talks?

Joel 3:2 says, "I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgement with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land."

Chapter three of Joel is entitled "Judgement On The Gentiles" and verse two illustrates this very clearly. Gentile nations have been judged by our Lord God for scattering His people and some of them do not even exist today. However, for our message this week, we will concentrate on the concept of Gentile nations being judged by our Lord God for dividing up His land.

Has this already happened? Yes, all we have to do is look at current day Great Britain and the United Nations. Both have been involved in partitioning or dividing up Israel. Great Britain was once a world power but today is much less than a world power. The original purpose of the United Nations was honorable but today it is totally ineffective and still trying to divide up Israel.

Are you curious about this week's title? News headlines reveal Jared Kushner, Son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump, is traveling to the Middle East to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to promote peace in the Middle East. I truly appreciate this attempt by President Trump but is this more of the same, an exercise in futility?

Let us look at the history of what has been referred to as Middle East Peace Talks. Virtually every recent United States President has made an attempt to bring about peace in the Middle East. Why have none of them succeeded? It is totally frustrating attempting to negotiate with an entity that has NO interest in  peace.

I am referring to the Palestinian leadership past and present. Their only goal is the total elimination of the Jewish State - Israel. United States Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush offered almost all of Judea and Samaria but their offers were rejected. President Bush even gave control of Gaza to the Palestinians and today it is controlled by Hamas, a terror organization.

Recently, a Jewish policewoman was killed by a Palestinian terrorist and the Palestinian Authority has paid 4 billion dollars to families of terrorist murderers within the past four years. Does this look like the Palestinians are interested in peace? However, please do not be discouraged by this message.

Our Lord God is still on His Throne and is still in control.

Jesus will rule over all nations

during His thousand year reign.

Revelation 20:6. 

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Every Day,

Frank 

The Year Of Jubilee

The question of who owns the land of Israel has been around for a very long time. However, when we study Genesis 15 we see our Lord God establishing His unconditional covenant with Abraham and his descendants. Genesis 15:18 says, "On the same day The Lord made a covenant with Abraham, saying 'to your descendants I have given this land, from the River of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.'"

Our Lord God gave the land from the "River of Egypt to the River Euphrates" to Abraham and his descendants through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or current day Jews. They have never occupied all this land but it is believed they  will during the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ. Here is the question for this weeks message - Could This Happen Sooner? 

The year 2017 is a Jubilee Year for the Jewish people. God instructed His people every 50th year to return land to its original owner. {Leviticus 25:8-10} Jews could mortgage land but on the first day of the 50th year of Jubilee it went back to its original owner.

Well, you might be thinking how could this possibly apply to Israel today? We need to look at some God directed events happening in the past where either the establishment of Israel was planned or the land expanded. In 1917, a Jubilee Year, our Lord God directed the British people through the Balfour Declaration to plan on returning the promised land to the Jewish people. Exactly 50 years later in 1967, a Jubilee Year, our Lord God returned East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to Israel after what is known as the Six Day War.

All of this raises a very intriguing question! Is the year 2017, a Jubilee Year, another one when our Lord God will return portions of the Middle East to its original owners, the Jewish people? After all, large portions of the Middle East are part of the gift of land to God's covenant people in Genesis 15:18.

As Always, Be Prayerful And See What Our Lord Will Do!

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Every Day,

Frank

        

Interceding For Israel

Our message last week centered on the tenuous situation along Israel's border with Syria which has led to some believing we could be very close to the Battle of Gog and Magog. Each day I have made it a priority to pray for our Lord God's hand of protection over Israel. Now I feel led to be even more specific in these prayers and to press in even further. I trust The Lord is touching your heart in a similar way.

Repeating God's Word back to Him and then asking God to act on this Word I have learned is the most effective way to pray. I have been doing this with Psalm 91 for many years on behalf of all that I love and care about. For the remainder of our message this week, we will examine parts of Psalm 91 and then look at possible prayers back to our Lord God on behalf of protection for Israel and its people: 

Psalm 91:2 - "I will say of The Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.'"

Lord, I pray that the people of Israel will proclaim You as their refuge and trust in You totally.

Psalm 91:5-6 - "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday."

Heavenly Father, make your presence known in Israel so there will be no fear.

Psalm 91:9-10 - "Because you have made The Lord, who is my refuge, even the most high, your habitation, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling."

Lord of all, cause the people of Israel to make You their refuge so that no evil will come their way.

Psalm 91:11 - "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."

Our Lord God, place Your angels over the land of Israel to keep its people safe in all their ways. 

Psalm 91:14 - "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him, I will set him on high, because he has known My name."

Most of all, Abba Father deliver the people of Israel out of all trouble because they know Your Name.

Blessings to you as you pray Psalm 91 on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people!

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Every Day,

Frank

Israel's Next War?

For the last  four and a half years these messages each week have encouraged people to pray for God's love and protection for Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. Over and over again we see our Lord God receiving and answering our prayers as we witness Him bringing Israel and the Jewish people through difficult and challenging situations. However, we absolutely must continue these prayers since we know Israel must be involved in at least two more wars and one appears to be very close! 

I am referring to what is known as The Battle of Gog and Magog as explained in Ezekiel 38 and 39. The chapters show Israel being invaded by a number of nations led by the "Land of Magog" that is Russia. The leader of Magog is called Gog, a dictator and we certainly can put Russian President Putin in that category. Russia currently has troops in Syria which is on the doorstep of Israel. 

Who are some of the other countries mentioned in Ezekiel as part of the invading forces? Persia is modern day Iran plus Gomer is believed to be Turkey and both currently have troops in Syria. Do we see a pattern developing?

Let us develop this pattern even further. The invading forces must pass through Lebanon or Syria to reach Israel. There should not be much difficultly passing through current day Syria but what about Lebanon? Hezbollah, a powerful terrorist group bent on destroying Israel, is headquartered in Lebanon. Need I say anymore? 

Most disturbing are the following events that have just taken place in Syria:

May 14, 2017 - United States, Britain and Jordanian troops have

taken up positions in Syria along the border with Israel. 

May 16, 2017 - Hezbollah has also positioned 1,000 troops nearby.

May 18, 2017 - A convoy of Syrian, Iranian and Hezbollah troops

and weapons were attacked by United States jets in the same area. 

May 20, 2017 - The remainder of these same troops advanced

and took over valuable territory.

All of the above illustrations again show the extreme importance of all of our prayers. Praise The Lord we know the end of the story! Our Lord God intervenes and wins this battle for His people Israel. Ezekiel 38:21-23.

Keep Praying, God's People, Keep Praying!

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Every Day,

Frank

 

Glorious Consummation Of History

This has been an important and historical week, President Trump has visited Saudi Arabia and Israel. A sitting United States President has never before visited these two countries back to back. While in Saudi Arabia, President Trump addressed a gathering of leaders from seventy Arab countries. He encouraged them to work with the United States to eradicate Islamic terrorism worldwide.

While in Israel President Trump met with President Rivlin and Prime Minister Netanyahu. He also became the first sitting United States President to visit the Western Wall. Following his visit to Israel, President Trump met with Palestinian leader Abbas. During the visit with Abbas, he exhorted him to stop paying money to the families of terrorist martyrs.

Yes, this was a historical trip by President Trump and we trust it will bring forth positive results in combating terrorism in the Middle East along with stopping the goals of world domination by Iran and ISIS. However, the most important question is what does our Lord God have planned for the Middle East and the whole world?

Possibly you are intrigued by the title of this week's message which is the title of Isaiah 66, the last chapter of Isaiah. The first 39 chapters are filled with God's judgement while the final 27 chapters are a message of hope highlighted by the following: (My comments follow the quoted bible verse)

Isaiah 66:5 - "Hear the word of The Lord, you who tremble at His word; your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name's sake, said, 'let The Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.'  But they shall be ashamed."

There is hope for those who tremble at God's word but the evil ones will be ashamed.

Isaiah 66:10 - "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her, rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her."

We who love Jerusalem should rejoice and be glad with her.

Isaiah 66:15-16 - "For behold, The Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; and the slain of The Lord shall be many."

The Lord will judge all flesh!

Isaiah 66:18 - "For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory."

All the nations will see God's glory. This verse corresponds with Zechariah 14:2,3,16 in which our Lord God comes to rule and reign over the whole earth! Hallelujah!

I am thankful for President Trump and his new administration for working toward peace in the Middle East and the whole world. This is appropriate and important BUT we know who is really in control of all this and we know the future. Keep praying, saints of God, keep praying!

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Each Day,

Frank

The Effects Of God's Word

Zechariah 2:7-9 says, "Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus says The Lord of Hosts: 'He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for He who touches you touches the apple of His Eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that The Lord of Hosts has sent Me.'"

The above verses show our Lord God speaking to the Israelites while they were still in bondage in Babylon. He encourages them to flee from Babylon because He will "Shake His Hand Against Those Who Have Touched The Apple Of His Eye." History reveals The Lord doing just as He said since Babylon does not  exist today.

This type of message is critically important in the world in which we live since anti-Semitism is on the rise and could be the most dangerous in history. The remainder of this message will be historical examples of our Lord God dealing with those countries who have Touched The Apple Of His Eye.

Today in Italy there is a 10% income difference between those living in Northern Italy as opposed to Southern Italy. In 1503, Southern Italy expelled Jews from their country while Northern Italy accepted the financial role of the Jews which provided a line of credit leading to Italy's first banks. Today, Northern Italy has strong banking with credit functions while Southern Italy has a depressed economy.

In 1492 a royal edict by Spain's Catholic rulers said that all Jews must convert to Christianity or leave the country. The majority of the Jews left Spain taking with them the financial base of the country resulting in a decline in prosperity. Looking again at the year of 1492, Christopher Columbus, who was believed to be Jewish, left Spain August 2nd since the deadline for the Jews to leave Spain was August 3rd. We all know the result of this important voyage.

Currently, we hear about a group of countries who on a daily basis experience these consequences. I speak of the plight of most of the Arab world. Most Arabs have an all-consuming hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. An overview of the Arab world shows sub-standard education services, sub-standard health services and sub-standard scientific research. Youth unemployment is high and there is little freedom of thought or speech.

We who love and support Israel and the Jewish people need to pray daily for our Lord God to protect them each day but we also should pray for their enemies asking The Lord to totally change their hearts and minds. Bless His Holy Name!

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Every Day,

Frank