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Terrorism,
Jerusalem, & The God of Israel |
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| The present crisis should come as no surprise to students of the Scriptures since the prophet Zechariah predicted it long ago: “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it” (Zech 12:2,3). | ||||||
| With all the troubles in the world (i.e.,war in Afghanistan, concern over retaliation from terrorists, anthrax outbreaks, etc.) we can easily get our “eye off the ball” and be distracted by the spin of both the media and politicians. Please don't forget to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Why? Because all of these present global issues are tied to the city of Jerusalem. Sound like an overstatement to you? Just yesterday (at press time) Osama bin Laden declared that Americans must live in fear until “all Jews are out of Palestine!” |
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| It is reported today from Israeli news agency Arutz7 (arutz7.net), “The United States has closed its embassy in Damascus, Syria, as well as the school for diplomats' children in the city. A spokesman said that the move was taken for fear of a terrorist attack. A leading Syrian newspaper published an article blaming Israel for the increase in world terrorism.” Whether it's Syria (now a member of the UN Security Council!) blaming the Jews, or Bin Laden wanting to eradicate the Jews, the bottom line is centered on Jerusalem, and the Jewish people. | ||||||
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The Terrorists' Mindset It's hard perhaps for Americans to understand how the terrorist mind ties the US and Israel together. This news item will help make the connection clearer: Terror Groups Met Twice to Plot New Holy War Against U.S., Israel / Sunday, September 16, 2001 / , Fox news, WASHINGTON - The world's most extreme terrorist groups met twice earlier this year in an effort to set aside their philosophical differences and unite in a new holy war against the United States and Israel, law enforcement officials tell Fox News. The gatherings are described as “unprecedented,” and went largely unnoticed in the West. A handful of officials in the White House were briefed. |
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Dubbed the “Jerusalem Conference” by its 400 or so participants, the group drafted a document pledging to unite behind the Palestinians and win total Arab control over Jerusalem. “ The only decisive option to achieve this strategy is the option of Jihad in all its forms,” the document says, according to law enforcement officials who have seen it. “America today is a second Israel.” The group made up of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda, the Palestinians’ Hamas and Islamic Jihad factions, the Lebanese Hezbollah and militants from Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Qatar, Yemen, Sudan & Algeria has named its task “The Jerusalem Project” | |||||
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...led by two men [one of whom is] of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, who has two sons that served in Bin Laden’s Mujahedin unit against the Soviets in Afghanistan.
Jerusalem, O Jerusalem |
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| On top of that (literally), consider the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem, which is planted on the foundation of the Jewish temple. Obviously, in history, the Jewish people were there first. (Imagine the uproar if a Jewish house of worship was built on ‘Muslim holy ground.’) Jews have attempted to co-exist with this situation for centuries. Unfortunately, the facts of history, logic, and clear reason have been set aside, and replaced with emotional rhetoric fueled by media manipulation, and images of ‘Israeli oppression of Palestinians.’ | ||||||
| So, why the unreasonable demand for control of Jerusalem? It can only be spiritual. Satan knows what the Scriptures
say: The Jewish people must be ‘in the land,’ specifically Jerusalem, for Yeshua
(Jesus) to return. Unfortunately for everyone, including the terrorists, the “Bin
Ladens” of the world are Satan's unwitting pawns used to do his dirty work.
Crazy, but not stupid |
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| 1) Jerusalem will be “a cup that causes reeling” (14:2). That is,
attacking Jerusalem will have the effect of drunkenness and irrational behavior on the
attackers. In light of the Scripture, assaulting Jerusalem is as illogical as anything someone drunk, or not in their right mind, would do. However, destroying the WTC towers and killing over 5000 innocent people makes ‘perfect sense’ to terrorists, all in order to derail the US commitment to Israel! Crazy? Yes. Stupid? No. This is the difference we must discern. Remember the chaplain leaving the insane asylum, who had a flat tire? After changing the tire he forgot to put the lug nuts back on. As he was getting into his car, an inmate who had been watching from behind the fence called out, “Hey Chaplain, you forgot your lug nuts!” The chaplain then saw them and responded, “I’m surprised that someone like you would be able to remind me about the lug nuts!” The inmate responded, “You're surprised? |
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| Hey, I’m crazy, not stupid.” It’s easy to think that because the terrorists are crazy, they're also stupid. That would be a tragic misjudgment to make in this case. “There's Two of Them!” Jerusalem will be “a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured” (Zech. 14:3). Not only is it irrational to go against Jerusalem, it is disastrous for the attackers! It seems to the rational, and even to the irrational mind, that conquering Israel and taking Jerusalem would be easy. Israel has been repeatedly attacked by her enemies in overwhelming numbers, and every time Israel's enemies have been defeated (1948, 1956, 1967[Six Day War], 1973[Yom Kippur War], and in the 1982 Lebanon War, in fighter jet dogfights between Israel and Syria, the final tally was 88-0, in favor of Israel). Those are pretty long odds. It shouldn't happen ‘in the real world.’ Further infuriated, Israel’s enemies unfortunately don't see the whole picture. To illustrate this, there’s a humorous story told from the '67 Six Day War. An Arab battalion commander sees one, lone Israeli soldier at the bottom of a hill, and sends a squad of soldiers to “kill the Jew.” They go as ordered and there's fighting, smoke and screaming. The smoke clears, the Arab squad is dead, and the Israeli soldier is standing there. So the Arab commander sends a platoon, and there's smoke, noise and fighting, but with the same result: the platoon is dead, but the Israeli is still standing. So the Arab commander sends a company -- |
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| -- but again when all the fighting is done and the smoke clears, the Israeli soldier is alive and the Arab company dead.Outraged, the Arab Commander sends his whole battalion to “kill that Jew!” The fighting goes on all day, there's bombing, artillery, tumult, etc. When the smoke clears, the lone Israeli is still standing. But this time there’s one Arab soldier who is able to crawl back to the commander with a message, “Don't send anyone else,” he gasps. “It’s a trap: there’s two of them!” |
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| Jerusalem will be a ‘stone of destruction’ to all attackers, even Americans. Because of the promises of God, there are always “two of them.” Likewise for the believer, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). | ||||||
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Ultimately, all of this is leading us to Armageddon and Messiah's second coming (at least 7 years from now) where Jerusalem will be attacked almost to the point of complete destruction. Then the Jewish people will cry out to Messiah Yeshua (Zech. 12:10; see also Rev. 19) and be forgiven (Zech. 13:1) and not forsaken. The Lord will not forsake His people whom He foreknew! The Scripture is clear that when Israel is attacked by a ‘United Nations’ force (representative of “all nations” in Zech. 12:3 & 14:2), |
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“...the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives…” (Zech. 14:3,4). Let the world beware--there are two of them! Oh that Jews and Arabs
both would believe the Word of God. The Lord who wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:23) will one day return to deliver that city, and all who will call upon Him:
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” (Joel 2:32). |
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Related story: Messiah & The Eastern Gate! |
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