Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part Three of Three – Cutting Israel Down To Size

Part Three of Three – Cutting Israel Down To Size

 In the first part of this three-part newsletter, we looked at the Israeli raid deep into Syria to destroy its nuclear capabilities, at a prophetic word about the destruction of Damascus, and at a lesson drawn from the First Gulf War, wherein coalition forces benefited from Israel’s courage and heroism.

In the second part of this three-part newsletter, we skimmed through some biblical perspectives regarding the biblical borders of Israel (from Abraham to the Second Coming), and what God thinks about moving or adjusting those borders. We looked at God’s response to Arab nations (or any nation) who would try to shrink, claim, weaken, divide or control the land of Israel.

In this third part, we will clarify what the USA and the international community are planning and doing regarding dividing up the land; how the Annapolis conference fits into this flow; and why Israel’s main leader is going along for the ride.

An Undivided Heart

One of the psalmist’s most intense prayers is, “Teach me Your way, YHVH, and I will walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name!” (Psa. 86:11).  A heart ardently turned toward God and desiring to do His will – that is a rare and precious commodity in God’s sight.  King Solomon warns his son, “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs (or issues) of life!” (Prov. 4:23).

In Isaiah  40:1-2 God commands the nations to “Comfort, comfort my people …Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.” The Hebrew reads “Speak over the heart of Jerusalem.” To get through to the Jewish people, one must speak tenderly, honestly – and straight to their heart.

The God of Israel is also interested in the hearts of the leaders of the earth. “For the eyes of YHVH run to and fro throughout the earth that He may show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are completely His” (2 Chron. 16:9).

A heart which is completely God’s will bloom with God’s heart for Israel, the apple of God’s eye (Zech. 2:8).  The Bible says that every healthy saint of God will have a tender heart towards Israel – for her people, her stones, and even for the very dust of that land!  ”You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. For her stones are dear to Your servants; her very dust moves them to pity” (Psa. 102:13-14).

Zion and the Heart of America

Where is America’s heart vis-à-vis Israel? Is it pro or anti-Israel? Are American Christians truly friends of Israel? Are American Jews actively committed to Israel’s survival? Are US liberals and secular people for or against Zion? The following is an attempt at a short answer to a long question.

Many people in the USA are for Israel. Most of them are Evangelical Christians. Many in the Jewish community are also highly supportive, both liberal, Orthodox and in between. A large percentage of Americans have a quiet respect for plucky Israel, her courage and heroism in battle, her tenacity in the face of many deadly challenges and her sufferings in the Holocaust.

But there are also other Americans in that pluralistic country who are opposed to Zion. From secular isolationists to anti-Semitic professors, from self-hating Jews to jihadi Islamists, from oil barons to some State Department honchos and CIA movers and shakers – there are significant and influential layers of American society which are positioned against the land and people of Israel. At the upper echelons of politics, business and intelligence there are powerful people pressuring and persuading in ways which could weaken and destroy the apple of God’s eye.

Taking a line from Shakespeare’s The Tempest (“Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows”), it has been said that politics makes for strange bedfellows. Constituencies change, neighborhoods evolve, voters are fickle. And so politicians must do a balancing act – sometimes for, sometimes against. US official positions regarding Israel have occasionally blown in the wind of public opinion, but deep below the surface of the water unfriendly currents have often prevailed. The next few paragraphs deal briefly with some of these deeper currents – events that are not so well known among Evangelicals.

Jerusalem’s Status – A Heavy Stone

In 1948 the US State Department opposed the establishment and recognition of a Jewish state. It had also opposed the rescue and immigration of European Jews from Hitler during WWII.  US Secretaries James Forestall (Navy, Defense), General George Marshall (State, Defense), John Dulles (State) and Allen Dulles (CIA Director), business magnate and later Vice President Nelson Rockefeller – they and many more were opposed to recognizing and aiding the fledgling Jewish state. For more information see The Secret War Against The Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed The Jewish People, by John Loftus & Mark Aarons, St. Martin’s Press, 1994. Truman’s de facto recognition of the Jewish state nearly did not happen, and was actually the result of internal wars between himself and his State Department.

From the beginning, America followed the 1947 UN Partition Plan (General Assembly Resolution 181) which actually called for the dividing up of the land of Israel into two states – one Jewish and one Arab. That plan also proposed that Jerusalem and some suburbs not come under Jewish control, but be turned into a corpus separatum – an internationally administered zone under UN control. Because of Jerusalem’s “association with three world religions . . . (it should be) accorded special and separate treatment” said the UN.  Many people do not realize that the UN document which recognized the principle of a future Jewish state, also called for the land of Israel to be divided.

The US State Department has stuck with this policy through the decades. As a result it refuses to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Of the 184 nations with which America has diplomatic relations, Israel is the only one whose capital is not recognized by the U.S. government.  The US Embassy has always been situated in Tel Aviv, and this American example has influenced all other nations of the world, who have done likewise.

The US State Department does not like using the term “dividing Jerusalem.” That would sound like America is dictating the borders of Israel. Instead it claims that Jerusalem is too important to Moslems and Christians for the city to be governed by Jews. Since “dividing” is evidently a politically incorrect term, the term of choice is “sharing.”

Richard A. Boucher, Spokesman Department of State, nuanced it this way in Washington on October 3 2000: “The (greatest) challenge for the negotiators … (is that Jerusalem is) a city so sacred and special to Jews, yet holy to Christians and Muslims, too. There is no other solution but to share the Holy City. It is not, and cannot be, the exclusive preserve of one religion … (We) never spoke of ‘dividing’ Jerusalem. That is not United States policy.”

Waiving Goodbye To Jerusalem

America’s popular heart towards Jerusalem was expressed by its elected officials in a 1990 Senate Concurent Resolution, in The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and in the Foreign Relations Authorization ACT H.R. 1646, Section 214. According to these, Jerusalem is and should remain the undivided, eternal capital of the State of Israel. These Acts require that the U.S. embassy in Israel be established in Jerusalem no later than May 1999.

Nevertheless, a waiver (“Section 7”) was included in one of the bills which allows the President to waive applying the legislation (for repeatable six month periods) if he deems doing so to be in the best interest of the United States. Every President running for office has promised to enact the bill, and every President in office continues to activate his presidential waiver. The State Department stated in 2003 that from their perspective Section 214 (which deliberately left out any waiver clause) will be ignored and will be considered only as ‘advisory.’

On November 19 1863 not far from the still-fresh battlefields of Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln spoke of “the great task remaining before us” with the hope that those who died “shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”  When Acts of Congress and Senate (the expression of the American people’s will) are legalized and then ignored, it seems that President Lincoln’s great democratic task remains to be fulfilled.

American Pressure Points On Israel’s Borders

Sinai Campaign (1956)

By the end of WWII the United States had become the world’s strongest superpower. As a result America began to flex its political muscle in the Middle East more frequently.  The goals of the USA and the UK often clashed, leading to a weakening of British influence and a strengthening of American power.

For years Egypt had sponsored terror attacks into Israel from the Gaza Strip (then under Egyptian control; www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Terrorism/Fedayeen.html). In1956 Nasser blockaded Israeli shipping in the Straits of Tiran (Red Sea) and nationalized the Suez Canal, both of them international waterways.  Britain, France and Israel jointly invaded the Sinai Peninsula in early November 1956.

On November 5 1956 Soviet Premier Bulganin and President Khrushchev threatened Israel with nuclear attack if it did not withdraw from the Sinai. Not to be outdone, the administration of President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles told Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban that if Israel did not withdraw, all U.S. military and civilian aid to Israel would be cut off, the tax-exempt status of all American organizations that provided aid to Israel would be removed, and that the United States would not oppose the expulsion of Israel from the UN (see inter alia, Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall, 2000, W. W. Norton & Co, p.181).

Israel withdrew from Gaza and Sinai in return for President Eisenhower’s promise to keep the vital Straight of Tiran waterway open to Israeli ships (Aide de Memoire, Freedom of the seas in Aqaba and UN Emergency Force, John Foster Dulles to Abba Eban, February 11, 1957).

When Egypt re-imposed the same blockade ten years later, President Johnson, Secretary of State Rusk and Secretary of Defense McNamara agreed that Egypt’s actions were a casus belli (legal justification for Israel to attack) but they explained that they could not honor the Aide de Memoire (and run the Egyptian blockade) “for constitutional reasons.” This immediately led to the Six Day War (June 1967).

Six Day War (1967)

According to a recent article “U.S. had emergency plan for attacking Israel in 1967” (Amir Oren, Ha’aretz), the Joint Chiefs of Staff had established a battle plan to stop Israel from expanding westward into Sinai or eastward into the West Bank (also not to allow Arab forces to cross the armistice lines of 1948-49). Strike Command (STRICOM – then headed by General Theodore John Conway; the Command was annulled in 1971) was asked in Cable No. 5886 (May 20 1967) by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to refresh emergency plans for US military intervention in an Arab-Israeli war. The Six Day War began and ended so suddenly that U.S. contingency plans could not be carried out.  But it is worth a few moments of quiet reflection to consider how Pentagon plans could have sent American forces into battle against the IDF in 1967.

In a August 2005 Israel TV interview, former Consul General of Israel in New York Alon Pinkas stated that, with the evacuation from Gaza, “the US has seen the victory of its 38 year old policy.” Pinkas, a polished diplomat, was stating that the evacuation of Gaza (and the continuing division of the biblical land of Israel) is an ongoing US strategic goal going back to just after the Six Day War in June 1967.  In that sense the State Department’s response to Israel’s unification of Jerusalem on June 28 1967 says it all:  ”The United States has never recognized such unilateral actions by any of the states in the area as governing the international status of Jerusalem”.

The Lord God of Israel may be restoring Israel to the land He gave to their forefathers (Jer. 16:15). He well may save His people from the countries of the east and the west, and bring them back to live in Jerusalem to be His people (Zech. 8:7-8). But don’t count on the U.S. State Department being pleased about it!

Secret U.S. Policy Regarding Israel’s Borders (1975)

A recently declassified State Department document  quotes from a meeting between Henry Kissinger (Secretary of State) and Sadun Hammadi (Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs) (www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB193/HAK-12-17-75.pdf) which took place in Paris on December 17, 1975. Kissinger communicated a ‘no-nonsense’ US foreign policy regarding Israel in the following selected quotes:

These shocking quotes show where the heart and strategy of the State Department lie.  Israel’s borders must be shrunk in order to weaken its military and political standing in the Middle East. A Palestinian state needs to be established on land which has been pried away from Israeli control. These words can help intercessors to pray for leaders and diplomats in the US and elsewhere, for these talking points are part and parcel of British, European and Russian strategies as well.

The Butcher, the Baker (1989)

Secretary of State James A. Baker 3rd addressed the annual conference of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) on May 22, 1989.  He said, “For Israel, now is the time to lay aside, once and for all, the unrealistic vision of a greater Israel … Forswear annexation. Stop settlement activity. (“Middle East Straight Talk from the U.S”, Christopher Ogden, TIME, June 5 1989 www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,957877,00.html).  Baker’s vision is the same – make Israel retreat from the mountains of Israel and from the heart of Jerusalem, and force her to surrender these territories to her sworn enemies.

Secretary Baker is also well-known in the Jewish community for three remarks he made about Israel.

These comments reveal not only one man’s rough language and cruel spirit. They also reveal something about the heart of some world leaders towards Israel.

The Piece Process (2005)

Just before (and also during) the traumatic disengagement process of August 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it crystal clear that Israel’s borders must shrink – beginning with Gaza. The extent of the shriveling up is not clearly stated, but the State Department is looking at most of the West Bank and a significant portion of Jerusalem. Here are three quotes from Rice which reveal this perspective:

The Road To Annapolis (2007)

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity concerning a possible peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, a city that since American Colonial days has been known as the “Athens of America”.

Tony Blair recently stepped down from his position as Prime Minister and immediately was appointed Middle East Envoy of the Quartet (US, UK, European Union and Russia) on June 27 2007.  He promptly stated that until Israel surrenders more land, there will be no peace in the Middle East.  ”The absolute priority is to try to give effect to what is now the consensus across the international community - that the only way of bringing stability and peace to the Middle East is a two-state solution” (PM Blair’s final press briefing at Downing Street). According to Blair, it seems, Israel holds the key to Middle East and world peace.

While there is a sense where Blair’s words may be biblically true (Israel does hold the key to life from the dead, according to Romans 11:15), Blair’s statement as it stands is grossly inaccurate, ignoring the bloody ongoing inter-Arab conflicts that churn across the Middle East on a daily basis – conflicts that have nothing to do with Israel in even the remotest way! See Dr. Daniel Pipes’ article “Arab-Israeli Fatalities Rank 49th” at  www.danielpipes.org/article/4990.

The UK and the US seem to have come to a remarkable agreement regarding what to do with Israel. Speaking in Ramallah on October 15 2007 Secretary of State Rice said:

One day before Rice’s statement, on October 14 2007 Israeli Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai had met with the Secretary of State in Jerusalem. He told her that the status of Jerusalem must be taken off the agenda of the Annapolis conference. According to Yishai’s office, Rice responded that “the time has come to deal with issues that we were afraid to touch for many years.” (JP Oct 15 2007 p.9 “As Rice arrives …”).  Pray for America’s and Britain’s leaders as they once again attempt to pick up a heavy Jerusalem stone that cannot be lifted (Zech. 12:1-4).

Why Are Israel’s Leaders Going Along With This?

Many people are asking (and with good reason), “Why is Prime Minister Olmert going along with this process? Why did PM Ariel Sharon do the same before him? What madness has taken hold of Israel’s leaders?”

The answers to these questions are few and simple.  PM Olmert is under three criminal investigations at the moment and also the target of a state commission of inquiry regarding the Second Lebanese War.  PM Sharon (during his term in office) was also under many criminal investigations.  Both PMs realized that the left-leaning media would look more kindly on former rightists who push for compromise with the Palestinians. Two senior Israeli reporters (Raviv Drucker of Israel’s Channel Ten and Ofer Shelach of Yediot Aharonot) investigated what really was behind Sharon’s disengagement plan. Their startling conclusion (after speaking with people on the inside): Sharon was desperately trying to avoid indictment for various illegal transactions.

Channel Two correspondent Amnon Abramovitz then said that PM Sharon enjoyed the protection of those pro-disengagement forces, like an etrog (a fragile citron fruit used in ceremonies during the Feast of Tabernacles).  To speak plainly PM Sharon retreated from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, and PM Olmert is pushing for similar retreats from the West Bank and Jerusalem – in order to gain a temporary postponement from being hit with criminal charges.

The second reason that Israel’s leaders are giving in has to do with international pressure.  There are tremendous pressures being exerted behind the scenes by foreign governments, from threats to cajoling, from political seduction to financial inducements.  Only someone who has sat behind a Prime Minister’s desk can even begin to understand the weight that is brought to bear here.

A third reason that Israel’s leaders are giving in has to do with spiritual pressure and witchcraft.  The spiritual forces arrayed against Israel which stand behind countries like Iran (the prince of Persia in the Book of Daniel) or major superpowers are constantly battering down Israeli resistance and steadfastness in the spirit. Pray for Israel’s leaders, that they will receive divine comfort, strength, courage and revelation to stand in the face of these awesome pressures. Pray also for the salvation of Israel’s leaders!

Ultimately, from the eternal perspective, Israel will not be saved by leaning on the USA, the UK, the EU, the UN or on all of the Quartet at once! As Isaiah says, ‘In YHVH alone are righteousness and strength. All who have raged against Him will come to Him and be put to shame. But in YHVH all the descendants of Israel will be found righteous and will exult!”  (Isa. 45:24-25).

In Messiah Yeshua’s love,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES  

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN  37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal) through: www.davidstent.org

Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part Two of Three – Dividing Up the Land of Israel: What Does The Bible Say?

Part Two of Three – Dividing Up the Land of Israel: What Does The Bible Say?

Across the globe the spiritual electronic chatter is picking up right now. Subtle changes are taking place in society, in the spirit and in spiritual warfare. World events are unfolding quickly, revealing wicked plans which target the land of Israel and the Jewish people.

Islamist jihadi goals are many, and they include wiping out all opposition to Islam, weakening and destroying the West and Christianity, and annihilating Israel’s land and people. Multinational power players closely tied to oil are interested in consolidating and increasing their hold on the world’s reserves. They are playing poker with world resources. They are playing chess, using world leaders and recalcitrant countries as pawns. Sometimes even the foreign policies and military forces of major powers are being redirected and manipulated for power and profit.

This is part two of our three part October newsletter. In this newsletter we will quickly run through biblical perspectives regarding the biblical borders of Israel (from Abraham to the Second Coming), and what God thinks about moving or adjusting those borders. In our third newsletter we will focus on what the USA and the international community are planning and doing regarding dividing up the land; how the Annapolis conference fits into this flow; and why Israel’s main leader is going along for the ride.

Borders in the Book

The Scriptures teach that all international borders of all countries are overseen and established by God. These in turn are subservient to God’s heart and plan for the Jewish people:

“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided all mankind, He set up boundaries for the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. For YHVH’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance. In a desert land He found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; He guarded him as the apple of His eye” (Deut. 32:8-10).  It is the nations’ borders that are to be delineated based on the priority of Israel, and not vice versa. From the Bible’s perspective, altering Israel’s borders is an expression of rebellion against the God who established those borders.

YHVH promised a land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – one with specific borders (Gen. 12:1; 13:14-17; 15:7-21; 17:8; 26:4; 35:11-12). At the end of time, God promises the Jewish people that they will return from exile to that very same land and to those very same borders:

“This is what YHVH says: ‘Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded, declares YHVH. They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your future, declares YHVH. Your children will return to their own borders’” (Jer. 31:16-17; see also Num. 33-35; Josh. 13-21).

God informs Israel that He has established borders for other neighboring nations, and that the Jewish people need to honor these borders (Deut. 2:4-12, 19-23). However other warlike tribes who fought against Israel (and who had no promise from God regarding the lands they had squatted on) were fair game, and their land eventually became part of Israel’s inheritance (Deut. 2:24-37).

At the End of Days YHVH clearly delineates the future borders of Israel while promising to return the Jewish people to their own land (Ezek. 47-48).

Bordering on Disaster

The Scriptures declare that God is in favor of just borders. YHVH does not take matters lightly when a neighbor’s boundaries are ignored, or when bullies steal land from weaker elements of society. “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers” (Prov. 22:28). “Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong; He will take up their case against you” (Prov. 23:10-11).

The Scriptures point out that some nations scorn and reject the right of God to delineate the borders of His land of Israel. These nations claim the land of Israel as their own and, in doing so, end up opposing the God of the Bible.

O God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O God, be not still. See how Your enemies are astir, how Your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against Your people; they plot against those You cherish. “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.” With one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against You. . . Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.” (Psa. 83:1-5, 11-12).

But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares YHVH, because you are called an outcast, “Zion for whom no-one cares”. This is what YHVH says: I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. . . Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before Me; I will punish all who oppress them. (Jer. 30:16-20)

Plundering The Land

God gets even more specific and points a finger at the descendants of Esau or Edom (southern Jordan) who invaded Israel in 605 B.C and settled in the Hebron hills south of Jerusalem (part of today’s “West Bank”). Ezekiel says that these Arab attempts to take over the biblical land of Israel create anger and jealousy within the breast of Israel’s God. This prophecy helps us to understand the context of Obadiah 1:9,18 and Malachi 1:2-5.

The word of YHVH came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir; prophesy against it and say: ‘This is what YHVH says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out My hand against you and make you a desolate waste. . .Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity …therefore as surely as I live, declares YHVH, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you . . . Because you have said, “These two nations and countries will be ours and we will take possession of them,” even though I YHVH was there, therefore as surely as I live, declares YHVH, I will treat you in accordance with the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred of them and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. Then you will know that I YHVH have heard all the contemptible things you have said against the mountains of Israel. You said, “They have been laid waste and have been given over to us to devour.” You boasted against Me and spoke against Me without restraint, and I heard it. This is what YHVH says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. Because you rejoiced when the inheritance of the house of Israel became desolate, that is how I will treat you. You will be desolate, O Mount Seir, you and all of Edom. Then they will know that I am YHVH.’” (Ezek. 35:1-15)

In Ezekiel 36 God says that many nations (and not only some Arabs) have designs on the land of Israel. But the Lord’s response to those designs will always be burning anger and scorn.

Son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of YHVH. This is what YHVH says: The enemy said of you, “Aha! The ancient heights have become our possession.”‘ Therefore prophesy and say, This is what YHVH says: Because they ravaged and hounded you from every side so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations and the object of people’s malicious talk and slander, therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of YHVH: This is what YHVH says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and the deserted towns that have been plundered and ridiculed by the rest of the nations around you – this is what YHVH says: In My burning zeal I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against Edom, for with glee and with malice in their hearts they made My land their own possession so that they might plunder its pastureland. Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: ‘This is what YHVH says: I speak in My jealous wrath because you have suffered the scorn of the nations. Therefore this is what YHVH says: I swear with uplifted hand that the nations around you will also suffer scorn. But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home. (Ezek. 36:1-8)

Having a Hernia on the Day of the Lord

The ancient Hebrew prophets describe a future event – an international invasion and conquest of the land of Israel. When the nations of the earth come to divide Israel and Jerusalem, God Himself will cause the Jewish people to become like an immoveable rock. Any nation who tries to move this boundary stone will suffer an instant and painful hernia.

This is the word of YHVH concerning Israel. YHVH, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness, declares YHVH. I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations (Zech. 12:1-4).

When Messiah Yeshua returns, He will judge all nations for the part they will all have had in dividing up the land of Israel. “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My inheritance, My people Israel, for they scattered My people among the nations and divided up My land” (Joel 3:1-2).

The Scriptures actually teach that when the nations invade the land of Israel and divide up Jerusalem, this will be the main trigger that causes Yeshua to return to earth:

A day of YHVH is coming when …I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then YHVH will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south (Zech. 14:1-4)

Dividing up the land of Israel is serious stuff. It is definitely not a neutral issue from God’s perspective.

We live in amazing, awesome days, when biblical issues are daily transformed into screaming headlines. How we need the fear of the Lord to fall on us all in a new and ardent way, as we see these events unfold.

Pray for the leaders of your nation and for the leaders of Israel who do not yet understand God’s heart and strategies as revealed in these abovementioned Scriptures; that God would grant revelation, repentance and divine counter-strategies which honor Him, His word and His people.

Coming soon – the third newsletter in this series, which will clarify what the USA and the international community are planning and doing regarding dividing up the land; how the Annapolis conference fits into this flow; and why Israel’s main leader is going along for the ride.

In Messiah Yeshua’s love,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES  

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN  37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal) through: www.davidstent.org

Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part One - Syria

Part One - Syria

Israel has been in the headlines again – a mysterious Israel Air Force attack delves deep into Syria; an upcoming US-prompted peace conference in Annapolis MD discusses a major dividing up of the land of Israel; a brazen new book accuses the American Jewish community and Israel of acting against the interests of the USA, raising the ante of anti-Semitism in the USA. The sharks smell blood and are circling, while the Jewish David, one arm tied behind his back by world pressure and opinion, finds himself confronting many modern-day Goliaths. We are indeed living in significant days!

Serious stirrings in Syria

Some secret events in Syria have hit the headlines in recent days. Israel’s strict censorship rules on military matters forbid direct reporting of certain military matters, but anonymous leaks to major journalists have somewhat dispersed the mists of war. London’s Sunday Times reported on September 16 2007 that just after midnight on September 6, the 69th Squadron composed of eight Israeli F-15Is, F-16s and a UAV crossed the Mediterranean coastline of Syria and headed to a military target 50 miles from the Iraqi border – Deir ez-Zour. Syrian radar was somehow blocked, and a pre-positioned Israeli special forces Shaldag team (air force commandos) painted the target with laser beams.

The pinpoint accurate bombing destroyed what Israeli intelligence anonymously describe as either nuclear material or a nuclear device from North Korea which could be fitted on North Korean Scud-C missiles (already in Syria’s arsenal). An Israeli source said, “We’ve known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can’t live with a nuclear warhead.”

Over the years the world’s intelligence community has given us some context for this attack. A CIA report from June 2003 stated, “Broader access to foreign expertise provides (Syria) opportunities to expand its indigenous capabilities and we are looking at Syrian nuclear intentions with growing concern.” (https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/archived-reports-1/jan_jun2003.htm#7).

On November 12 2003 John R. Bolton, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the State Department, spoke at a public gathering in Washington DC (www.state.gov/t/us/rm/26129.htm):

“As I have recently testified to Congress, we are concerned about Syria’s nuclear research and development program and continue to watch for any signs of nuclear weapons activity or foreign assistance that could facilitate a Syrian nuclear weapons capability. We are aware of Syrian efforts to acquire dual-use technologies that could be applied to a nuclear weapons program. . . Broader access to Russian expertise could provide opportunities for Syria to expand its indigenous capabilities, should it decide to pursue nuclear weapons. . . Since the 1970s, Syria has pursued what is now one of the most advanced Arab state chemical weapons capabilities. It has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin that can be delivered by aircraft or ballistic missiles, and has engaged in the research and development of more toxic and persistent nerve agents such as VX.”

On April 29, 2004 Bolton told the United Nations that the Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan had “several other” customers for his nuclear bomb factories besides Iran, Libya and North Korea. Western diplomats said then that Bolton was clearly referring to Syria (see the Reform Party of Syria’s article www.aina.org/news/20050104115532.htm).

Whoever Digs a Pit May Fall Into It (Eccles. 10:8)

Exactly six weeks before the Israeli bombing raid, a deadly explosion took place at as-Safir, a secret Syrian missile production laboratory in the Muslemiah area north of the city of Aleppo. According to Jane’s Defense Weekly, Syrian weapons experts (under Iranian supervision) were attempting to mount a mustard gas chemical warhead on a North Korean Scud-C (300 mile range). At that moment, rocket fuel caught alight in the lab, and the explosive blast dispersed mustard gas, VX and Sarin nerve gas across the storage facility and to those standing outside. Jane’s states that 15 Syrian officers and dozens of Iranian missile engineers were killed, while fifty others were seriously injured with chemical burns to exposed body parts.

According to Syrian media sources, “There is a heat wave and temperatures reached close to 50 degrees, which caused an ammunition dump to explode.” However, Jane’s reported that the blast took place at around 4:30 am in the cool morning hours, and also that the Syrian government rejected the possibility of sabotage. Of course, in November 2005 Syria and Iran had signed an agreement wherein Iran agreed to supply Syria with weapons, train Syrian operators, and transfer technology for chemical warfare systems for mass destruction.

Syrian soldiers, Iranian missile engineers and North Korean missiles – that combination tends to make Israeli generals nervous.  On August 14, North Korea’s Minister of Foreign Trade, arrived in Syria to sign a protocol on “cooperation in trade and science and technology”. Though no details were released, Israel’s attention was certainly riveted once again. A Middle East expert, who is connected to Israelis involved in the September 6th raid, told the Washington Post that the raid’s timing was linked to the arrival at the Syrian port of Tartus three days earlier of a North Korean ship carrying a cargo that was officially listed as ‘cement’ but was understood to contain nuclear equipment. Perhaps everyone breathed a sigh of relief to know that on September 18 (12 days after the Israeli raid) Syrian Expatriate Affairs Minister Bussaina Shaaban said that the allegations of nuclear cooperation between Syria and North Korea which led to the reported Israeli overflight were ‘an orchestra of lies.’  In an interview with the Iranian Fars news agency, the minister denied reports in Israeli and American media that suggested Pyongyang was helping Damascus build a nuclear installation in the country.

A Death Wind over Damascus

In 1991 I served in the IDF during the First Gulf War.  After the war ended, I traveled to the USA where I met a prophetic man with a world-recognized reputation for accuracy and humility.  He told me a vision the Lord had once given him, a vision which is yet future. This man saw an accident that would take place in a chemical weapons stockpile near Damascus. The resulting explosion would cause a death wind to sweep over Damascus, destroying much of the population. This prophetic man said that the experience was like a fulfillment of Isaiah.17:1-14. As we consider these two recent events in Syria, as well as this prophetic future aspect, let us pray for God to save many people in Syria, and for His grace to be extended to believers in that country. Let us pray for protection over the Jewish people in Israel as dark clouds gather.

An encouraging biblical story in 2 Kings 6 reminds us of God’s age-old perspective regarding the conflict of Israel and Syria, and can guide us in our prayers:

Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”  The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Syrians are going down there.” So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. This enraged the king of Syria. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so that I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O YHVH, open his eyes so that he may see.” Then YHVH opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha.  (2 Kings 6:8-17).

He who guards Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psa.121:4), and no weapon forged against Israel will prevail (Isa. 54:17). Yet at the same time the Lord Himself bids us pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psa. 122:6). He challenges us to intercede with passion and resolve in the following words: “I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on YHVH, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth (Isa. 62:6-7). With trust and faith in the Guardian of Israel, we press forward in prayer at this strategic and significant time in history.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

The USA is facing deep division among its citizens over whether or not the government and the intelligence community can be trusted regarding the subject of weapons of mass destruction. The unfortunate strategic shading of some intelligence in the pressured atmosphere surrounding 9/11 has tarred all involved in that affair (see The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind, Simon & Schuster, 2007).

But these intelligence sins of omission or commission do not cause the all too real threats of Islamist terrorism to simply fade away. Though these threats may sometimes appear distant from America’s shores, we can take an example from plucky Israel – one country that has been constantly forced to deal with chemical, biological and atomic threats all on its own, in the rather unforgiving neighborhood called the Middle East.

On June 7 1981 the IAF attacked and destroyed Iraq’s atomic bomb plant (Osirak or Tammuz 1) at al-Tuwaitah, 11 miles south-east of Baghdad. Israel had been following the construction of that plant (built with French and Italian help) as well as the chemical warfare installations and bunkers (built with German help) “with growing concern” for many years. The world belittled and dismissed Israel’s concerns until the moment of no return approached, when the reactor was about to go hot. A force of eight Israeli F-16s and six escorting F-15s flew 680 miles across Jordan, Saudi Arabia and into Iraq to bomb the target successfully.

What was the response of the world to this successful attack? For starters, Israel was condemned and censured at the United Nations by the United States, UK, France, etc. On June 19 1981 the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed UN Security Council Resolution 487, which “strongly condemns the military attack by Israel in clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the norms of international conduct.” (S/RES/487; https://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/6c57312cc8bd93ca852560df00653995?OpenDocument).

Wisdom is Proved Right By Her Children (Luke 7:35)

But the God of Israel has a wry sense of humor, and He is very patient! Ten years later, in the prelude to the First Gulf War, the Iraqi government tried to recover components from the Osirak site in August 1990 and then accelerated its nuclear program to create a weapon using radioactive fuel. On January 17 1991 coalition forces targeted the site previously bombed by Israel, halting the weapons program. On January 20 56 F-16s attacked the same site and on January 23 a force of F-117s bombed Osirak. Finally 48 F-16s targeted the facility 7 more times for over a month and, a few weeks later, 17 F-111Fs participated in the raids. After 19 days of strikes the US Defense Intelligence Agency declared the site to be “severely degraded”. This time, it seems, coalition forces were not censured at the UN.

In June 1991, then-Defense Secretary Richard Cheney visited Israel and gave a satellite photograph of the destroyed reactor to the commander of the IAF Major General David Ivry. On the photograph, Cheney wrote, ‘For General David Ivri, with thanks and appreciation for the outstanding job he did on the Iraqi Nuclear Program in 1981, which made our job much easier in Desert Storm.’ (this story is found in Maj. Gen. [res.] David Ivry’s ‘The Attack on the Osiraq Nuclear Reactor – Looking Back 21 Years Later,’ Israel’s Strike Against the Iraqi Nuclear Reactor 7 June, 1981, Jerusalem: Menachem Begin Heritage Center: 2003, p. 35).

Professor of International Law at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana) Louis Rene Beres wrote that, “Israel’s citizens, together with Jews and Arabs, American, and other coalition soldiers who fought in the Gulf War may owe their lives to Israel’s courage, skill, and foresight in June 1981. Had it not been for the brilliant raid at Osiraq, Saddam’s forces might have been equipped with atomic warheads in 1991. Ironically, the Saudis, too, are in Jerusalem’s debt. Had it not been for Prime Minister Begin’s resolve to protect the Israeli people in 1981, Iraq’s SCUDs falling on Saudi Arabia might have spawned immense casualties and lethal irradiation.” (Louis Rene Beres and Tsiddon-Chatto, Col. (res.) Yoash, “Reconsidering Israel’s Destruction of Iraq’s Osiraq Nuclear Reactor,” Temple International and Comparitive Law Journal 9 (2), 1995. Reprinted in Israel’s Strike Against the Iraqi Nuclear Reactor 7 June, 1981, Jerusalem: Menachem Begin Heritage Center: 2003, p.60).

What has just occurred in Syria seems to be on the order of the Osirak raid. Powerful events are taking place behind the scenes at this moment – in the natural and in the world of the spirit. Press on in prayer for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven; for Israel and her allies to be preserved and protected; and for the gospel message to spread in power throughout the Middle East, in Syria, in Iraq, in Iran – and especially and with priority to the Jewish people, “to the Jew first”! (Romans 1:16).

In Messiah Yeshua’s love,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES  

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN  37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal) through: www.davidstent.org

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close