Gird up your loins

US President Obama and UN President Ban Ki Moon, in cooperation with Turkey, Qatar and Hamas, are turning the thumbscrews on Israel, upping the political pressure. They are pushing for an unconditional ceasefire which has been coordinated with jihadi terror group Hamas, a ceasefire which would strengthen its hand in destroying Israel.

So far five separate ceasefires have been honored by Israel and broken by Hamas. American allies in times past (Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Saudi Arabia) would all be weakened by this ceasefire, while Hamas would be strengthened.

As the war against jihad ends its third week, IDF forces are entering the built-up suburbs of central Gaza, engaging in house-to-house combat with Hamas fighters, discovering and destroying terror tunnels leading into Israel, and eliminating Hamas rockets and launchers. They are being greeted with booby-trapped houses, rocket launchers positioned next to hospitals, kindergartens and mosques, and active terror tunnels. IDF casualties to date are 53.

Front line against jihad

Ceasefires are a good thing – unless one is fighting a war to the death with Hitler or Osama bin Laden. At that point ceasefires are a betrayal in the fight against evil. This definition of evil accurately fits Hamas and its bankroller Qatar, all openly committed to Israel’s destruction based on their reading of the Quran and Islamic religious texts.

Turkey is Hamas’ man within NATO, and it continues to influence the West as a ‘Trojan horse.’ And it has somewhat succeeded in this, working with Qatar and Hamas in twisting US policy against long-term ally Israel.

Former Israeli Ambassador to Egypt, Sweden and Romania Zvi Mazel states it rather bluntly: “Kerry is ignoring Egypt while he is talking to Qatar and Turkey, (Egypt’s) enemies and determined supporters of the Muslim Brothers. He is in fact favoring radical Islam. This is unacceptable for Egypt – and for Israel…This approach was met by incredulity by Israel and Egypt, which feel betrayed and insulted by America…Cairo fail(s) to understand why the US are being such ardent supporters of the Muslim Brothers while significantly failing to curb Iran’s atomic program” (www.jpost.com/International/US-and-Egypt-find-themselves-at-odds-once-again-369123).

The American-brokered ceasefire calls for Hamas to be granted freedom to import goods into Gaza. This loophole was used by Hamas since 2006 to import cement for terror tunnels, as well as rockets and launchers. The ceasefire proposal also calls for rivers of gold to be given to the Gazan government of Hamas. This has been used since 2006 to build terror tunnels (“Terror tunnels, embargoes and human rights”; www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4549358,00.html). Hamas is insisting on these conditions, as well as the release of terror prisoners in Israeli jails. Though Mashal claims that he is happy to tolerate Jews living in Palestine, his own Islamist Hamas charter anathematizes such tactics (www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Mashaal-Hamas-is-ready-to-coexist-with-Jews-but-not-the-occupation-369140; www.acpr.org.il/resources/hamascharter.html).

The US State Department for unclear reasons has turned its back on Israeli and Egyptian red lines, and has coordinated a Hamas-positive ceasefire option which it is trying to force down Israel’s throat. President Obama called Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu this Friday to demand that Israel accept this jaundiced ceasefire immediately.

The battle facing the Jewish state, it seems, comes not only from the zombie armies of jihad. It also involves a concerted effort by terrorists and their oil sheikh sugar daddies to turn the hearts of Israel’s allies against the Jewish state.

American support for radical Islam could once again lead to a Muslim Brotherhood triumph in Egypt, a refugee situation like unto that of Syria, the closure of the Suez Canal, a world oil embargo, shock waves for world trade and increased activation of Islamic unrest in Europe and the West.

The Qatar compromise

US Secretary of State John Kerry’s mediation activities have left Israeli leftists and rightists agreeing that his influence on the situation is more like demolition-derby than diplomacy. Sharp criticism has been leveled at him across the board in Israel:

Rather than address the substance of the criticism, the US State Department did a diplomatic sidestep, turning the tables by expressing outrage that their Israeli ally should act so rudely to Kerry (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4551431,00.html).  Though rudeness should not be a part of accepted diplomatic discourse, neither should it be acceptable for an ally to actively campaign against the vital interests of its friends.

Something rotten in the State of Denmark

Unfortunately, a sober appraisal of US State Department positions vis-à-vis Israel over the years leads one to understand that Kerry’s stance is not out of place (see John Loftus and Mark Aarons’ The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People, St. Martin’s Press, 1994).  It is undoubtedly true that the realpolitik interests of the USA are not always the same as those of Israel. What is a matter of concern for those who love the Scriptures and Israel is when those interests clash, or when the fallout from that clash could cause Israel existential harm.

Here are some examples of recent clashes of interest:

The unspoken belief system that guides American policy was voiced behind closed doors by then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in his meeting with Sadun Hammadi, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs. A recently declassified State Department document  quotes from that meeting (www.gwu.edu/%7Ensarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB193/HAK-12-17-75.pdf; Paris, December 17, 1975.

Kissinger communicated a ‘no-nonsense’ US foreign policy regarding Israel in the following selected quotes:

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh noted that, in 1989 when Secretary of State James Baker was being sworn in, one White House aide joked that every Secretary of State left that office hating Israel. Baker reportedly replied, “What if one started that way? (Loftus & Aarons, ibid.).

Volunteering freely in the Day of Your power

King David prophesied about the Last Days army in Israel.

“YHVH says to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’ YHVH will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies.’ Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power. In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew” (Psalm 110:1-3).

The Hebrew phrase ‘volunteer freely’ refers to a troop of soldiers getting into military formation in preparation for battle. It is striking to see the overwhelming support that the Israeli people are giving to their government and their army during these troubling times. The motivation of IDF soldiers to strike a decisive blow against the forces of jihad is high (www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=19021). In a recent survey (www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Poll-865-percent-of-Israelis-oppose-cease-fire-369064) 86.5% of Israelis surveyed were adamantly opposed to a ceasefire with Hamas.

In Bob Dylan’s “Neighborhood Bully,” he comments wryly on Western diplomatic moves vis-à-vis Israel, “Not supposed to fight back, and have a thick skin; Supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in, he’s the neighborhood bully” (Copyright © 1983 by Special Rider Music).

Bob Dylan’s son-in-law Peter Himmelman has just release a sizzling sequel to his father-in-law’s hit, called ‘Maximum Restraint’ (“Bob Dylan’s Son-in-Law Records Hamas War Sequel to Dylan’s Neighborhood Bully” - www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpxywkSeu0g ;www.frontpagemag.com/2014/dgreenfield/bob-dylans-son-in-law-records-hamas-war-sequel-to-dylans-neighborhood-bully/). This video clip is a ‘must watch’!

Gird up your loins

As the battle heightens in intensity, we remember C.S. Lewis’s wisdom, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

As Israel clashes with the world jihadi armies, we know that Zion will need to lean into God even more. Jews scattered throughout the world will need to do the same, as anti-Semitism rears its toxic head from Paris to Frankfurt, from Los Angeles to Rome, and from Toronto to Toulouse.

The prophetic warnings that Steve Lightle and Tom Hess gave in the 1980’s and following (regarding the need for Western Jews to get ready to depart the countries of the Exile and return to Zion) are even more valid today.

As anti-Semitism increases across the face of our planet, read Revelation 12 and pray for the Jewish woman who gave birth to the Messiah (Galatians 4:4-5)

Keep praying!

The following link shows a stunning answer to prayer. A Hamas bullet struck an IDF soldier’s grenade, which was hanging on his shoulder straps. The grenade did not explode, and the bullet simply buried itself into the casing of the grenade (https://mobile.mako.co.il/news-military/security/Article-37532fa9de76741004.htm).

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

Stumbling with the footmen

More than 2,600 years ago, the prophet sadly noted, “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5). Jeremiah was rebuking many of his readers who were simply not prepared for battle, not ready for conflict, unprepared for warfare, out of breath and spiritually out of shape for the struggle at hand.

As war is being waged between the forces of jihad and the armies of the Jewish state, between Hamas and the IDF, some believers are plumb tuckered out. They are confused and panicking under bombardment – bombardment by the world media which overwhelmingly serves up jihadi-prepared platters of propaganda news clips about the battle. One wag has opined, “Would you like a little serving of news along with your propaganda?”

The body of Messiah for the most part has been anesthetized by centuries of anti-Semitism and Replacement theology, and its spiritual anti-virus software – those vital antibodies necessary for blocking a “spiritual DDOS” (distributed denial-of-service computer attack; www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST04-015) – are not in place nor are their weapons oiled and ready to fire.

Hamas’ main sugar daddies and ideological bed-mates Qatar and Turkey are applying pressure on the USA to force a ceasefire agreement on Israel which would bolster the Hamas terror group, preserve its weaponry, rocket launchers and terror tunnels, and throw open the Gazan gates – allowing an unimpeded flow of upgraded weapons into eager jihadi hands.

As the war against jihad enters its third week, IDF forces have been penetrating the built-up suburbs of eastern Gaza, engaging in house-to-house combat with Hamas fighters, discovering and destroying terror tunnels leading into Israel, and eliminating Hamas rockets and launchers. IDF casualties to date are 43.

Tunnel of terror

Over 150 Hamas terrorists have been captured by Israel and are being interrogated. One extremely troubling piece of ‘ticking bomb’ intelligence has come out – plans for a mega-terror attack through these tunnels on or around Erev Rosh Hashana – the Feast of Trumpets, September 24. The links below include the breaking news in Hebrew, a scale map of three of the terror tunnels, and a report by Israeli Special Operations Forces Maglan about the situation on the ground.

The plans involved simultaneous infiltration of 20 groups of ten Hamas commandos each, 200 in total, wearing IDF fatigues and equipped for mass murder and kidnapping. This would have quite possibly been coordinated with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and accompanied by a massive rain of rockets and missiles across Israel.

The continued existence of these tunnels and the unrelenting terror plans of Hamas mean that any ceasefire established at this time would leave a clear and imminent danger (see https://en.alalam.ir/news/1609867 for a comparative American use) to the security of the state of Israel.

Balancing the tragedy of civilian casualties

The construction of the Hamas terror tunnels over the past years caused significant child casualties, according to the journal Palestine Studies. Hamas has had a “cavalier approach to child labor and tunnel fatalities…During a police patrol that the author was permitted to accompany in December 2011, nothing was done to impede the use of children in the tunnels, where, much as in Victorian coal mines, they are prized for their nimble bodies. At least 160 children have been killed in the tunnels, according to Hamas officials. Safety controls on imports appear similarly lax…” (www.palestine-studies.org/journals.aspx?id=11424&jid=1&href=fulltext).

In the past weeks Hamas has been inflating casualty figures, and concealing the amount of terrorists killed, according to analysts of Hamas’ own figures. This was also Hamas’ habit in 2009’s Operation Cast Lead.

“He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him” (Proverbs 26:27)

When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire?

Israel has agreed to five ceasefires since Hamas began firing jihadi rockets at the Jewish state – Egyptian-brokered, U.N.-brokered, and Red Cross initiated. In every case, Hamas broke the ceasefire – either by firing during the ceasefire time or by refusing to hold fire immediately after the cessation of each agreement. The four other smaller Gazan terror groups (Islamic Jihad, the an-Nasr Salah ed-Din of the Popular Resistance Committees, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) all publically announced their refusal to accept any humanitarian ceasefire.

Hamas has insisted that Israel must withdraw totally from Gaza, that all terror prisoners in Israeli jails be set free, and that Hamas be permitted to freely import cement and iron as well as North Korean and Iranian weapons to resupply their own arsenals. These demands sound like Hamas is winning the battle it started. In actuality they are losing it, but are blustering with unholy hutzpah.

On the cutting edge with Qatar

Two pro-jihadi countries are Hamas’ main supporters – Qatar and Turkey. Major players like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are opposed both to Hamas and to its spiritual father the Muslim Brotherhood. The USA, however, considers Qatar a close friend, and has just signed an 11 billion dollar military weapons deal with that country.

Qatar contains the principal overseas headquarters of the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM), the sprawling al-Udeid Airbase near Doha. Qatar was a key staging ground for the invasion of Iraq, and it has played a key role in organizing, financing, and arming the opposition to Bashar al- Assad’s regime in Syria. At the same time, Qatar has been the home-in-exile for Egyptian Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual godfather of the Muslim Brotherhood and an ardent jihadist.

Five years ago after his visit to Qatar in 2009, Senator John Kerry said, “Qatar can’t continue to be an American ally on Monday that sends money to Hamas on Tuesday.” Since then, Hamas’s political leadership relocated from Damascus to Doha, Qatar’s capital city, where they live a luxurious life as they sacrifice their Gazan soldiers and children in waves of suicide attacks against Israel (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4548202,00.html). Qatar still sends money to Hamas on Mondays and Tuesdays. And Qatar is still a gold-edged American ally.

The rest of the news

The Wikileaks cable traffic reveals another side of the Qatari-USA relationship – one that helps us to pray more realistically for the Middle-East.

US diplomatic cable traffic (Senator Kerry’s February 10, 2010 meeting with Qatar’s Amir Hamad bin Khalifa; www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10DOHA70.html) explains:

Senator Kerry’s February 24 2010 meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani (aka HBJ; https://wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10DOHA71.html) reveals:

These are the days of jihad

Robin Mark’s popular “These are the Days of Elijah” has been sung with Celtic gusto in worship meetings across the world. His reference to Elijah’s ministry and the dry bones of Israel becoming as flesh may have been skipped over or misinterpreted by some, but the song does prophesy about YHVH’s holy zeal in establishing the greatest army (Ezekiel 37:10-11; Malachi 4:5-6; 2 Kings 1:12; 2:12) the world has ever seen – the reborn army of Israel!

Many believers feel antsy about imprecatory prayers – prayers which ask God to destroy the Jewish people’s enemies. It is easier for these people to relate to the believing sniper in Saving Private Ryan, or to a military chaplain in the American Civil War or World War II. Yet the Holy Scriptures do contain war psalms and war prayers. Four striking examples include Psalm 18, Psalm 120, Psalm 137 and Psalm 149.

In Psalm 120 the writer sadly states that many of Israel’s neighbors possess lying lips and a deceitful tongue. He knows that YHVH will respond to those enemies with sharp arrows of the warrior, and with burning coals. “Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech, for I dwell among the tents of Kedar! Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war” (Psalm 120:5-7).

In 1991 I was doing IDF reserve duty in Hebron during Gulf War I. Saddam Hussein was firing SCUD missiles at the Tel Aviv area (where my wife and kids were), and the missiles were flying right over my head. The Muslim inhabitants of Hebron were under curfew, but nevertheless they climbed up onto the roofs of their houses and screamed out “Ya Saddam, Ya Habib, udrub udrub Tel Aviv” (Arabic for “O Saddam, O beloved, utterly bomb Tel Aviv!”).

My seminary teachers had not taught me how to respond prayerfully to such situations. But the answer was not long in coming. I asked YHVH the Lord of the armies of Israel to reveal Himself to as many as possible of Hebron’s population. But as far as for those who were calling for the blood of YHVH’s people and for the death of my family, I gave God permission to do whatever He had to do.

YHVH describes the Jewish people in the following terms: “You are My war-club, My weapon of war; and with you I shatter nations, and with you I destroy kingdoms” (Jeremiah 51:20). It is not only in Navy Seals and Delta Force movies that such clear-cut challenges occur. They are occurring right here and right now in Gaza.

In Psalm 83:6-8 various mortal enemies of Israel are described as participating in a Last Days battle against the Jewish people in Israel – Edom, Ishmael, Moab, Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre, Assyria, the children of Lot. Today some of these countries have a quiet peace treaty with Israel (like Jordan and Egypt), while Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are actually in a state of war with Israel.

With these matters in the forefront of our minds, consider the following:

Though YHVH has great love for the peoples of the Middle East and also for the Arab world, However, He transforms into a roaring lion when the apple of His eye, the Jewish people, are threatened or attacked (Zechariah 2:8, 13; Joel 3:16).

Arab voices

It has been said that with two Jews, there are three opinions. Dialogue, debate, discussion – these are certainly part of the Jewish experience. In the Arab world there are also divergences of opinion. This is important to remember as one considers different Arab voices coming out of Israel, the Palestinian Authority region and the broader Middle East.

One interesting voice is that of a Muslim, Tarek S. Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress in Toronto, Canada. In an article “Stop the Jew-Hatred and Build Palestine” (The Toronto Sun, July 22, 2014; www.meforum.org/4758/stop-the-jew-hatred-and-build-palestine) he writes:

“Gaza could have become a showcase of Arab enlightenment and enterprise after Israel withdrew from the territory in 2005. It could have become a tourism haven and a crucible for learning and arts, science and technology. Instead, Gaza has become a one-party Islamic dictatorship under Hamas, dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state of Israel. Thousands of precious lives have been lost in this macabre display of hatred disguised as piety. It’s not just Israeli Jews that have been targeted for death. Palestinians opposed to Hamas have been massacred to consolidate its power. On Nov. 12, 2007 Hamas gunmen fired on a rally organized by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party inside a Gaza stadium, at an event held to commemorate the late Yasser Arafat. Many were killed. To the horror of the world, Hamas gunmen butchered Fatah fighters, throwing wounded men from the roof of a 15-storey building to their deaths…But who will tell the Palestinians to get off the path of self-destruction?  Who will convince the Palestinian Islamists to stop dreaming of destroying Israel and start building the future of their own people?”

In another amazing interview, Dr. Tawfik Hamid (a former follower of Ayman al Zawahiri who was Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader and second in command of al Qa’eda; www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/ayman-al-zawahiri) clearly and succinctly explains why Hamas and the Palestinian jihadi movement is on the path to self-destruction (www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0m3RghOcFo&app=desktop).

Another bracing voice is that of Arab Israeli Pastor Shmuel Aweida, who unflinchingly addresses pro-Hamas and anti-Arab positions in a balanced and biblical interview (www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24779/Default.aspx).

There are also unbalanced and unbiblical voices, one of which is coming out of the Bethlehem Bible College. It is hard to know who exactly drew up the statement, as its authorship is ascribed to “Bethlehem Bible College’s board of directors, president, deans, faculty, staff and students – and the local committee of Christ at the Checkpoint.” That is a fair number of people and it seems in this case that with many Arabs there is only one opinion… (https://bethbc.org/news/statement-bethlehem-bible-college-regarding-current-crisis-gaza).

The statement does not condemn Hamas, does not refer to its Islamist genocidal charter, and does not refer to Hamas’ persecution of Christians in Gaza. But it does condemn Israel. It expresses shock only at “the unproportional (sic.) and inhuman response by the Israeli military.” It describes the Palestinian ‘liberation theology’ position as just, while intimating that those believers who support the restoration of the Jewish people to their state are contributing to “a culture of hatred and division.” They echo the political positions of Qatar, Turkey and Hamas when they state “We also believe that as long as the occupation of Palestinian territory and the siege of Gaza remain, the conflict will continue to escalate. To quote the manifesto again, ‘for Palestinian Christians, the occupation is the core issue of the conflict.’ ”

It is important for readers to understand that there are Arab voices which speak from a biblical framework and have a warm heart for the Jewish people and their restoration. There are also other Arab voices who are the exact opposite. And there are voices in between as well.

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

Who is on the Lord’s side?

The words of U.S. General William Tecumseh Sherman ring out from the pages of history and echo over Gaza’s jihadi terrorists of Hamas:

“You people ... don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people (in) the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed ... You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth – right at your doors. You are bound to fail” (The Civil War: A Narrative (1986), Shelby Foote, p. 58).

As the war against jihad enters its second week, IDF forces are penetrating the built-up suburbs of eastern Gaza, engaging in house-to-house combat with Hamas fighters. The priority focus is still the discovery and destruction of terror tunnels leading into Israel, as well as the elimination of rockets and launchers. IDF casualties to date are 32.

Tunnels – from Viet Cong to Hamas

During the French Indochinese War, the Viet Minh built a huge network of underground tunnels in the Iron Triangle as part of their asymmetrical guerilla warfare against superior military forces (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Triangle_(Vietnam)). These networks were expanded by the Viet Cong in their battles against the Americans and Australians.

Hamas has studied this history. They have also received professional guidance from the Lebanese Shi’ite terror group Hezbollah in constructing their Gazan terror-tunnel networks.

Original Israeli security estimates were that there were 10-12 major terror tunnels. That number is rapidly being adjusted upwards (www.investigativeproject.org/4471/exclusive-us-intelligence-source-claims-hamas-has; www.timesofisrael.com/idf-didnt-follow-up-on-mri-style-below-surface-technology-to-find-tunnels/#ixzz38LFA9mko). So far 31 have been uncovered and, of these, 11 have been destroyed. Guestimates are now hovering at 60 plus. In the hands of a violent jihadi group these tunnels remain a clear and present danger to Israel. A ceasefire under these conditions is not realistic.

Hamas engineers sometimes build two tunnels in the same area, so that if one is discovered, the other in close proximity can still be used for terror attacks. The knowledge of where those tunnels are is a closely guarded secret known to less than a handful of unit leaders – the tunnel squads are organized like communist revolutionary cells.

Dancing on the blood of one’s own people

The cynical and cruel use by Hamas of hospitals, mosques, schools, playgrounds, homes and ambulances to hide rocket launchers, rocket storehouses and terrorists has been thoroughly documented in recent history, and especially during this war.

Hamas has been filmed firing rockets at Israeli civilians  and submachine guns at the IDF from the al Wafaa hospital in Shuja’iya (eastern Gaza). Two days of warnings by leaflets, texts and phone calls were followed by a direct phone call by IDF Military Intelligence to the hospital directors, ascertaining that all patients and medical personnel were evacuated. Only at that point was the hospital destroyed by pinpoint aerial bombardment. Here is the IDF video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=8O9AHzUKYk8&app=desktop

Dr. Michael Oren, CNN Middle East analyst and former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, points out that Hamas’ media strategy relies on mounting “a sophisticated media campaign that can threaten Israel's basic security” using “one of the world's most powerful weapons: the international media.” Deliberating shooting at the IDF from behind the backs of its own civilians, Hamas crows over the casualties and hands the video footage over to the international media, who use those gory shots to demonize Israel. Oren concludes that “journalists must take a hard look at the way they cover this conflict. They must not allow themselves to act as accessories to Hamas's murderous strategy that delegitimizes Israel and prolongs the Palestinians' suffering” (https://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/21/opinion/oren-hamas-media-strategy/index.html).

Former US President Bill Clinton told India’s NDTV last week that Hamas has “a strategy designed to force Israel to kill their own (Palestinian) civilians so that the rest of the world will condemn them” (www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/hamas-is-killing-its-own/story-e6frgd0x-1226997934042?nk=b243bf5b80cbf315b10c70fef388369e).

IDF casualties

So far 32 IDF soldiers have been killed in the fighting. Many have been targeted by RPG or sniper fire and some by booby-trapped buildings. The spontaneous outpouring of national identification and sympathy with three ‘lone soldiers’ – young Jewish men who made aliyah to Israel and joined the IDF, even though their families remained in the Diaspora – deeply moved the whole nation.

Colonel Ghassan Alian, a highly respected warrior in the IDF and Druze head of the Golani Brigade, was wounded in action leading his men into battle and was treated at Soroka Hospital in Beersheva. Ignoring doctors’ suggestions that he recuperate, Colonel Alian returned to the front, battle-scarred, to lead his men on the frontlines (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4548235,00.html). His example stirred many hearts in this country, and incarnates the biblical principles of warfare that the IDF is known for in our day – military leaders who actually lead their troops into war.

The Berlin blockade

In June 1948 the Soviet Union blocked the Allies’ rail and canal access to Berlin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade). The famous Berlin Airlift was the Allied response to these warlike acts. Aircrews from the American USAF, the British RAF, the Canadian RCAF, the Australian RAF,  the New Zealand RNZAF and the South African Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, daily providing up to 4,700 tons of fuel, food and other necessities to thankful Berliners.

On July 22 a Hamas rocket landed in Yehud, a town 9 kilometers away from Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport, damaging a home. By the end of the day, three U.S. airlines decides to suspend flights to Israel for 24 hours. This created a domino effect among European carriers as well (www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Report-US-considering-grounding-flights-to-Israel-amid-rocket-threat-368492).

The effect of this was chilling for many in Israel, reminding us of how national airlines refused to fly into Israel during the 1991 Gulf War. The feeling was that “all the world is against us,” a not-surprising reaction in light of two thousand years of both Gentile anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. For many in Israel, the historical reverberations of this FAA domino-decision were most sobering.

Hamas was quick to crow, once again, that a victory had been won for the forces of jihad: “’The success of Hamas in closing Israeli airspace is a great victory for the resistance, and is the crown of Israel’s failure,’ Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement” (https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/23/World-suspension-of-Israel-flights-a-great-victory-Hamas.html).

Within 28 hours the FAA reversed its position and allowed American flights back into Israel (www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/FAA-lifts-flight-ban-on-US-flights-to-Israel-368705; www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4549146,00.html). But the historical lessons of these events bear earnest consideration.

When pro-Western Berlin was attacked, the Allies stood up to be counted. When the 9/11 terror attack happened, the nations of the world did not call for suspension of flights to the U.S.A. But after two weeks of rocket fire, the American-run FAA effectively throttled Israel’s air connections with the world and gave a stunning shot in the arm to jihadi terror. Playing it safe, not choosing sides, non-committal good business behavior – the same arguments were used by feckless Western businessmen who preached appeasement and accommodationism with Adolf Hitler.

No one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side

In Bob Dylan’s sizzling rock masterpiece about Israel, “Neighborhood Bully,” ((www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/neighborhood-bully#ixzz38Nvvh9vx) he says, “He got no allies to really speak of. What he gets he must pay for, he don’t get it out of love. He buys obsolete weapons and he won’t be denied, but no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side – he’s the neighborhood bully!”

The Scriptures’ perspective on standing with Israel is quite different from some of the internet buzz that is passing for principled philosophical discourse these days.  We have recently been running into the phrase “I don’t take sides” as a kind of Christian mantra.

The gist of the discussion seems to be:

Glib comparisons are occasionally made, shaped unwittingly by jihadi and Islamist perspectives. Israeli behavior is demonized, while emotional appeals are made, pulling on Western sympathy for the ‘underdog.’ As well, anti-Semitic stereotypes are dragged out, ascribing nefarious motives to Jewish people, like world domination and blood-sucking economic lust.

How are believers in Yeshua to respond to this multi-pronged onslaught?

Choosing to stand with the people of God

The prophet Isaiah has given us so many precious prophecies and insights into the heart of God. YHVH’s perspective is made clear in this book on how the nations (and sometimes even believers within those nations) dismiss or downplay the calling and the gifts irrevocably given to Israel (Romans 11:28-29). Here is the God of Israel’s broad historical summation of how the nations relate to the Jewish people:

And He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no one to intercede. Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head. And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay – wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies. To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of YHVH from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun. For He will come like a rushing stream which the wind of YHVH drives. A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob, declares YHVH (Isaiah 59:16-20).

Sometimes it seems that these nations are so very big, and that Israel is so very small, a tiny minority (see Amos 7:2, 5). Why should super-powers kneel before God’s purposes in their international relations with that country? Isaiah could not be more bold or more forthright on this point:

“Who has directed the Spirit of YHVH, or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge and informed Him of the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.  Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him. They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.”

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, scarcely have they been sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth – but He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the storm carries them away like stubble” (Isaiah 40:13-17, 21-24).

Across the Great Divide

Moses knew something about standing up for the God of Israel in threatening and trying times. He knew what it was like to take sides: “Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control – for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies – then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, ‘Whoever is for YHVH, come to me!’”  (Exodus 32:25-26).

Joshua knew what it like to take sides. He had committed his life to following YHVH the Lord of armies, and had been called by YHVH to be His warrior and general. He paced the ground at midnight, his mind occupied by the coming morning battle with Canaanite Jericho. Joshua’s desert tradecraft suddenly picked up an intruder, and he quickly tried to discern if this person was friend or foe:

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of YHVH.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” The captain of YHVH's host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so...YHVH said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days (Joshua 5:13-15; 6:2-3).

Some preachers love to quote Joshua on this point, but they usually miss God’s main point here. Joshua already was on YHVH’s side; he was already “on a mission from God!” It would be foolish to think that God was being evenhanded in this situation. It would be out of touch with reality to suppose that God was trying to be politically correct by weighing Jewish and Canaanite sensibilities equally. The text makes it crystal-clear: YHVH of armies had taken a stand, and Joshua was standing right next to Him. This was all very bad news if you were a Canaanite, but very good news if you were a descendant of Jacob.

Joshua and Moses were not blinded to the spiritual condition of many in Israel (Deuteronomy 31:27-29; Joshua 23:11-16). But that was not the schwerpunkt, the main point that God was emphasizing at that meeting. God was for Israel, would fight their battles alongside of them, and would judge both His enemies and those who remained ‘uninvolved’ or ‘uncommitted’ bystanders (see Obadiah 1:11-14).

Choosing to stand with the people of Israel

When Moses lived in Egypt, he had it made in the shade. He was at the top of Egypt’s “Most Likely to Succeed” list. Yet he chose to link his fate to that of the Jewish people, to get in sync with God’s program.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Messiah greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward (Hebrews 11:24-26).

There are some who are interested in heavenly reward, but do not yet see the connection between the heavenly reward (on one hand) and earthly courage and covenant faithfulness with the Jewish people (on the other hand). When Messiah comes, many will stand with Israel, but our challenge today is more immediate: Will we stand with the Jewish people and with the Jewish state (still in the process of being restored) – not in order to get a spiritual thrill and not primarily for our own spiritual blessing – but because we recognize that God is already standing beside Joshua, and beside the people of Israel?

Thus says YHVH of armies, It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of YHVH, and to seek YHVH of armies; I will also go.” So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek YHVH of armies in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. Thus says YHVH of armies, In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you (Zechariah 8:20-23).

There is, of course, another option available – rather than standing with God and His people. It is the option of standing apart from Him and against His people Israel. That would involve breathing life into Israel's enemies, encouraging their murderous agendas, seeding doubt as to God’s heart and purposes concerning the Jewish people, and acting as the enemy’s mouthpiece. May the Lord God of Israel keep His beloved children from doing that!

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

The prophetic arrow of victory

The war against the jihadi army of Hamas continues. Rockets continue to be fired at Israeli population centers. Israel’s Air Force (IAF), Army and Navy (IDF) are responding by targeting rocket launchers, weapons bunkers, command-and-control centers and top Hamas leadership. Over the past two days Hamas terror tunnels played a significant role in the fighting. Up to this point 27 IDF soldiers have been killed in fighting.

Tunnel warfare

At 06:20 Monday morning ten Hamas fighters equipped with RPGs surfaced out of a terror tunnel at the northeastern corner of the Gaza Strip – 200 meters away from the Israeli Kibbutz Nir Am and barely 400 meters away from the town of Sderot. The IDF Intelligence Corps spotters identified them, but were unsure if they were IDF troops – the terrorists were dressed in IDF military fatigues. IDF Nahal infantry identified them as Hamas from a distance. The terrorists were using Russian-made Kalashnikov sub-machine guns, and not IDF-issue M-16’s or Tavors.

As a firefight ensued, an armored IDF jeep sped to the site to command the assault. In it were three soldiers and Lieutenant-Colonel Dolev Kedar, age 38 from Modi’in (www.timesofisrael.com/seven-more-idf-soldiers-killed-in-battles-with-hamas/). An RPG was fired at the jeep, killing all four. The rest of the Nahal force eliminated the terrorists, in coordination with IAF missile fire.

Another terror tunnel was uncovered beside Kibbutz Netiv Ha’asara, on the north side of the Gaza Strip. Its entrance was in Gaza and its exit mouth was beside the kibbutz. The IDF Samur anti-tunnel Special Operations Forces are closing in on a third mega-tunnel near Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

Clear and present danger

Israel’s Shin Bet (corresponds to FBI) originally surmised that there were a total of 10 to 12 such terror tunnels. So far 23 have been uncovered, and some analysts say that the total amount may be closer to 60. These tunnels are often dug at a depth of 60 feet underground, and are part of Hamas’s strategy to carry out a mega-terror attack. Imagine what would happen were ten Hamas squads of ten terrorists each surfaced simultaneously within Israel, murdering women and children and taking hostages, spiriting them away back into those same tunnels to underground prisons in Gaza.

These tunnels are a threat to Israel’s security that cannot be ignored. Any ceasefire under present conditions would simply be a ticking bomb – as long as these tunnels are functional and undiscovered. The operation to eliminate these tunnels is a vital and necessary stage of this operation (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4546679,00.html).

Rolling thunder

The eastern Gaza City suburb of Shuja’iyeh (Shejaia) is honeycombed with rocket launchers, weapons bunkers, terror tunnels and Hamas forward-command posts. Drone photography reveals that Hamas has strategically placed these terror facilities in mosques, playgrounds, hospitals and cemeteries (www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/IDF-shows-photos-of-alleged-Hamas-rocket-sites-dug-into-hospital-mosques-368307). This same dynamic is repeated countless times across the Gaza Strip area.

The IDF warned Shuja’iyeh’s civilians for two days by leaflets, phone calls and cellphone texts, to immediately vacate the area and move to adjacent suburbs which the IDF would not attack.

“To the residents of Shuja’iyya, Al Trachman and Shuja’yyia Al-Gadida: The IDF does not wish to cause any harm to you or your relatives. For your own safety you are requested to vacate from your residence and head towards central Gaza City. The assembling will be in the central Gaza City within the following borders: west of Salah A- Din, north of Amer Al- Mahtar road, east of Al- Nazzaer road and south of Al- Quds road. This fighting is temporary, and with its conclusion, everybody will be able to return to their homes. Please obey the instructions given by the IDF, which is attempting to avoid causing harm to civilians. IDF Headquarters” (www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/07/17/idf-drops-warning-leaflets-gaza/).

For two days Israeli television showed how Hamas threatened Shuja’iyeh’s inhabitants with dire results if they obeyed the IDF. They challenged them to be brave jihadis and bare their chests to the soon-to-come Israeli bombs, while simultaneously saying that there was no danger, and that the IDF was only engaging in psychological warfare.

Rocket fire continued from Shuja’iyeh, and after two days the IAF began to bomb rocket launchers and bunkers, causing a vast exodus of inhabitants to the areas where the IDF had earlier directed them. Nevertheless, civilian casualties did go up in this phase of the operation.

A similar dynamic is now occurring next to Shuja’iyeh, in the Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun. Here inhabitants are already moving out as per IDF warnings. Though American comedian John Stewart recently remarked that there is no room available in Gaza for these people to move to, his awareness of California’s Interstate network is obviously more developed than his first-hand knowledge of Gazan real estate.

Jihadi spinmeisters

As was the case in the Vietnam War, the enemy has learned that influencing the media is vital to the successful furtherance of its military aims. To that end, Hamas has issued strict guidelines to foreign media in the Gaza Strip, with the clear understanding: if Western media do not follow these rules, they will be thrown out or killed. As a result, all live Western TV reports are operating under these threats, and their story lines follow the Hamas playbook.

Noah Pollack’s article “All the news Hamas sees fit to print” take the New York Times to task for distorting the perspective its readers get as their reporters follow Hamas diktats:

One of the masters of televised sleight-of-hand in this war is the al Jazeera network. This largest of all Arabic-speaking networks is based out of Qatar, which is a Muslim Brotherhood founded state and the main bankroller of Hamas (estimated at $13 billion so far). It is also considered an American strategic ally, and herein lies a significant problem for those intent on thwarting jihadi victories in the world.

Qatar operated as a fifth column within Egypt during the so-called ‘Arab Spring’. Its efforts led to the downfall of President Hosni Mubaraq, and to the rise of Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi. The overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood by Egypt’s traditional military leadership (headed by President al-Sisi) was strenuously opposed at the time by Qatar and al-Jazeera. Egypt imprisoned these reporters for sedition and treason.

Qatar is attempting to rescue its jihadi pet Hamas, by pressuring the USA to support Qatar’s call for a ceasefire – one which would preserve Hamas’ tunnels, rockets and weaponry for another fight on another day. Turkey (another Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer) has joined in with Qatar in this political PR blitz.

The rest of the Arab news

Sunni countries which have been traditionally aligned with the West (like Saudi Arabia and Egypt) are making no bones about their revulsion and disdain for Hamas, Qatar and Turkey. They are using the spiciest and most offensive terminology available in the Arabic-speaking world to make this abundantly clear:

U.N. and U.S. attempts to force through a ceasefire which would preserve jihadi strength and weaken Israel is a scenario reflective of the Hebrew prophets’ ancient warnings:

“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).

“Surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat” (Jeremiah 4:10).

Mowing the grass once and for all?

The unappetizing challenge regarding Hamas and Gaza is this:

Pertinent quotes from the Hamas Charter (plus context and background) can be found at: https://davidstent.com/hurtling-through-the-fog-of-war-a-messianic-perspective-on-the-new-hamastan/.

Most secular Western analysts and strategists are not believers in the reality or influence of the spiritual world or in the existence and reality of God. The Bible is not a strategic sourcebook for them, and its perspectives on Middle-East conflict are summarily dismissed at the outset.

Yet Hamas makes no secret of its own synchronization with Islamist doctrines. Any serious consideration of this Muslim Brotherhood group must take its beliefs seriously as well. We are not simply dealing with “Gazan perspectives” and “Lebanese perspectives” versus Jewish perspectives” and “Israeli perspectives.” This is not a partisan conflict between unreasonable and intractable enemies. What we are dealing with is the clash of the ages, a clash between the “perspectives of the God of Israel and His word” versus “the perspective of all the nations who are in rebellion against Him” (see Psalm 2; Joel 3:1-2, 9-17; Jeremiah 30:16-17).

Some thoughtful analysts in Israel find it hard to believe that Israel will be able to actually crush Hamas and realistically eliminate its weapon-backed threat to Israel. The best example of such reason is the article “Mowing the Grass in Gaza” by Efraim Inbar and Eitan Shamir (www.meforum.org/4755/mowing-the-grass-in-gaza). Their understanding is that Gaza cannot be decisively defeated but must be “mowed” every so often to prevent the “terrorist grass” from taking over the whole yard. According to this perspective, Israel is fated to play counter-terrorist cat-and-mouse with jihadi neighbors for the foreseeable future.

God’s prophetic arrows of victory

In the Bible the Jewish people are described as having a prophetic destiny, part of which involves becoming the world’s most significant army (Ezekiel 37:9-14). As we try to ‘connect the dots’ between today and that soon-coming day, we can learn military wisdom from the Scriptures.

The word of God freely offers divine wisdom to Israel’s leaders: If we prosecute the war against our enemies and strike repeatedly without weakening, our enemies will be brought to full and unconditional surrender. These were the terms under which WWII was concluded. Only under these conditions will Hamas’ Islamist occupation of Gaza and its terror war against the Jewish state come to an end.

Rising from the dead - the zombie army of anti-Semitism

As was the case in the war between Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, the hostilities of the past ten days have been manipulated by Hamas sympathizers to catalyze violent demonstrations against Jewish people and against the Jewish state throughout Europe, the USA and in Islamic countries.  A zombie-like army of anti-Semites is on the rise. Targets this time are Israelis and anything connected to Israel, as well as Jews, synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses. The virulence and savagery demonstrated by recent marches and attacks in Paris, London and Frankfurt show anyone with eyes to see that the spirit of the Nazi beast has morphed. He has put on a keffiyeh but he has not changed his spots. Savagery against Jews is fast becoming accepted street behavior on our planet.

Take the time to skin through the following prophetically-edged articles. They are well worth the read:

“Keep on the alert at all times, praying …”

The battle is intense. The challenges are great. The opportunities are amazing. Yeshua’s call to pray rings in our ears.

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

Tunnel vision in Gaza

On Saturday evening Israel Defense Forces (IDF) directed intense tank and air power against areas in Gaza opposite Kibbutz Nahal Oz. This was a standard military tactic, a ‘preparing of the ground’ prior to sending in a new wave of infantry and armor into the Gaza Strip – to bolster the forces already fighting against jihadi Hamas terrorists. These reinforcements rolled into Gaza in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Five IDF casualties have occurred so far, four of those in the past 24 hours.

Hamas Rules

During the Cold War spies operating under deep cover in Russia were acquainted with intelligence guidelines called “Moscow Rules” (Antonio & Jonna Mendez, Spy Dust: Two Masters of Disguise Reveal the Tools and Operations That Helped Win the Cold War, Simon & Schuster, 2003, p. 36). These rules extended the lives of operatives in a hostile and deadly environment.

Some of the ten rules listed in the International Spy Museum located in Washington D.C.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Spy_Museum) include:

IDF infantry, Special Forces, and Special Operations Forces are presently engaging jihadi commandos of Hamas in cat-and-mouse low-intensity urban conflict

Through our enemy’s eyes

Hamas’ war strategy involves the following points:

Israel’s war strategies

For the past fourteen years over 11,000 jihadi rocket and mortar attacks have been directed by the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Hamas against Israeli farms, kibbutzim, towns and cities (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2014). This development was a direct spin-off of the Oslo Accords, which mandated a staggered Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas increased its terrorist activities over the years, and by 2000 was able to begin active mortar and rocket attacks. Ariel Sharon’s grievous disengagement from Gaza in August 2005 opened the gates of demonic terror to unprecedented proportions.

On Tuesday July 8 Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu twittered, “Operation Protective Edge will continue until it reaches its goal – restoring quiet to Israel’s citizens for a prolonged period, while inflicting a significant blow to the infrastructures of Hamas and the other terrorist organizations.”

Israel’s war strategy involves the following points:

One objective has been left out of the stated operational goals, and this one is much debated in Israel – eliminating the jihadi group Hamas from Gaza’s military, political and social environment. Some in Israel express fear that an ISIS/ISIL or al Qa’eda group would fill such a vacuum. Others declare that Israel has the potential resolve and military ability to fight even the most hardened and murderous of enemies, from Hamas to the ghost of Bin Laden.

Moles and counter-moles

Shakespeare uses the phrase ‘the Old Mole’ to represent the ghost of Hamlet’s father (Hamlet Act 1 Scene 5), while Hegel used the phrase as a metaphor for Spirit (Philosophy of History; Conclusion). In The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, Marx applies the metaphor to Communist revolution. Hamas has re-applied this term, engaging in mole-digging tactics in its war against the Jewish state.

At least 12 major terror tunnels are targeting Israel. Five of these have been discovered by the IDF’s Special Operations Forces Combat Engineers unit Yahalom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahalom_(IDF)) and their sub-unit Samur (‘weasel’; www.timesofisrael.com/the-treacherous-task-of-tunnel-demolition/).

Over the past few days Hamas has attempted two kidnapping/murder raids which were foiled – one beside Kibbutz Kerem Shalom and one near Kibbutz Sufa, both bordering the southern Gaza Strip. On Saturday a nine-man Hamas squad emerged from a tunnel beside Israeli Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha (opposite central Gaza), equipped with sleep-inducing drugs and plastic handcuffs for the kidnapping of Israelis, as well as significant amounts of explosives and weapons. Their goal was a mega-attack on an Israeli kibbutz – many casualties and many hostages.

Two IDF jeeps were passing by the entrance to the tunnel just after the terrorists surfaced. The element of surprise caused the jihadi commandos to change their plans. They fired RPGs at the jeep, killing Reserves Major Amotz Greenberg (Nahal,from Hod Hasharon, three children) and Nahal driver Sergeant Adar Barsano (20 years old, from Nahariya). The second jeep engaged the terrorists, killing one, while the others escaped back into the tunnel back to Gaza.

Our dear believing friends who live on an adjoining kibbutz have told us for two years that the IDF is aware of Hamas attempts to dig a terror tunnel which would surface within the kibbutz. It has not yet been discovered.

Other casualties

Over the past 24 hours Hamas rockets have been launched against many targets in Israel. Security specialists estimate that Hamas had hoped to have caused between 50,000 and 100,000 Israeli casualties, but thanks to God’s protection, the prayers of the saints and the Iron Dome system, there have been next to no casualties. Yesterday, however, a jihadi missile struck near Dimona, murdering an Israeli Beduin 35-year old father Ouda Wafi al-Waj, severely wounding his three-month old daughter, and moderately/lightly wounding three other family members (www.timesofisrael.com/negev-bedouin-defenseless-as-man-killed-4-injured-by-gaza-rocket/).

Two Israeli combat soldiers were killed in close-quarters combat with Hamas in Gaza over the night. They are Combat Engineer Second Lieutenant Bar Rahav (age 21 from Ramat Yishai) and Paratrooper Staff Sergeant Benaya Rubel (age 20 from Holon).

As the IDF moves in to built-up areas in Gaza where rocket storehouses and launchers are situated, more casualties are certain. Some will be Hamas terrorists, and others will be bystanders who have not evacuated the areas as per IDF requests, leaflets, phone calls and text messages.

Yesterday Hamas loaded a donkey with explosives and sent it as an unwitting suicide bomber in the direction of IDF troops, who regretfully shot the animal before it blew up (www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/10977818/Donkey-suicide-bomb-stopped-by-Israeli-troops-in-Gaza.html).

Demonstrating demonic hatred

The Western world has not seen demonstrations against the mass slaughters being carried out by Islamists in Syria, Iraq and Africa. The streets of London or Paris have not witnessed marches against ISIS/ISIL, Boko Haram or the attempts at mass murder caused by shooting of Hamas rockets against Israeli citizens. But when do violent mobs appear on cue, and when are Islamists, Leftists and extreme Right-wingers joined at the hip in attacking Jews and Israelis on the streets of Europe? Wouldn’t you know it – when Israel decisively decides to put an end to jihadi rocket attacks.

Europe is struggling with a significant hostile Islamist population – whether it be in the banlieue riots of France, in the Shari’a zones in England, street riots in Germany, or jihadi murders in broad daylight in Belgium. Jihadis and their fellow-travelers have instigated violent riots where cries of “Death to the Jews” are commonplace. Hatred of Israel and hatred of the Jewish state are being fueled by jihadi sources, and many Gentiles (including lukewarm believers) are being swept up into this maelstrom.

Pray for revival in the Arab and Islamic world

Not all Arabs are blind to the dynamics of Hamas hatred and to the pitfalls of jihadi madness. Not all Muslims support Hamas. Not all Palestinians want to see the destruction of Israel.

But the Jewish people and the Jewish state are a prophetic sign, whether or not the nations and even some believers recognize this. Turning a cold shoulder, having a condescending heart attitude, directing anger against the Jewish people, cursing Israel, teaching that God has jettisoned the Jewish people in favor of Gentile believers – all of this brings the curse of Genesis 12:3 upon these participants. No matter how large the gang, He who watches Israel is even larger still.

A well known Arab commentator and former Editor-in-Chief of London Arabic language newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi is no friend of Israel. Yet in a television interview with Lebanon’s Mayadeen TV on July 14, 2014, he said that many Arab leaders are profoundly praying that Israel will get rid of Hamas through the current war (https://jerusalemchannel.tv/video/breaking-arab-leaders-praying-israel-will-finally-get-rid-hamas/).

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

God of the armies of Israel

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have begun a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

Tunnel of hate

Early Thursday morning 13 Hamas commandos crawled over 2,500 meters through a tunnel from the Gaza Strip and surfaced near Kibbutz Sufa in Israel’s western Negev. They were armed with much “kit” as the British say, as well as with hostage-taking equipment. Their goal was to murder, take hostages and flee with them back to Gaza.

A combination of sharp IDF Intelligence Corps spotters and prior Shin Bet leads had put the IDF on high alert. As the terrorists spread out in the fields, their every move was captured by drones equipped with infra-red capabilities. The jihadi warriors discerned that they were spotted and fled back to the tunnel, with missiles exploding at the entrance to that tunnel barely one second after the last terrorist ducked in.

Over the years Hamas has constructed at least ten of these tunnels from Gaza into Israel with the sole purpose of murdering and kidnapping Israelis. On June 25, 2006 Gilad Shalit, an Israeli tanker, was kidnapped and the rest of his crew murdered by Hamas close to this very spot. Hamas later exchanged Shalit for 1,027 terror prisoners, and sees such activities as highly profitable. Other kibbutzim and farms in the area abutting Gaza are aware of such tunnels but the IDF has not yet discovered and destroyed most of them. Many lie at least 25 meters (70 feet) underground.

Ground invasion

Hamas had intended this terror-tunnel attack to be a game-changer in the hostilities. They continued to fire rockets at Israeli civilians throughout the day and actually increased the number of attacks.

The Israeli security cabinet met Thursday morning and came to a conclusion that they had tried to avoid for ten days – authorizing a ground invasion.

Thursday early evening Israeli artillery began laying down a wall of fire, standard military practice before a ground incursion. At approximately 22:00 hours, IDF tanks, combat engineers, infantry and special operations forces rolled into Gaza on three fronts.

This invasion has various goals. The first one is to neutralize the terror tunnels. The second one is to eliminate Hamas’ extensive reserves of long and short-range rockets. Other operational goals exist, though they would be pulled out of the drawer depending on developments on the ground.

Hamas hides its rocket bunkers in mosques, under hospitals, in schools and in homes (www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-strongly-condemns-placement-rockets-school; www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4545336,00.html) – always smack dab in the middle of civilian areas. Rocket bunkers wedged in beside Gaza’s al-Wafa hospital were hit by IAF UAVs on Thursday night, with huge explosions following, indicating direct strikes on rocket warehouses. It has been an open secret for many years that Hamas has its central command and rocket bunkers buried deep under Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital. It is these targets that the IDF needs to obliterate with as little loss of life as possible.

Waziristan next door

It may help to understand the present war with Hamas in these terms: if England were faced with a Waziristan next door, a jihadi enclave which fired rockets into Birmingham and sent terror squads into Trafalgar Square, how long would it take for COBRA (the Cabinet Office Briefing Room) to stream SAS squads and Harrier jets into action? If the USA were faced with rockets from Ciudad Juarez, or al Qa’eda gangs tunneling into San Diego, would it not respond with Delta Force, Seals and SWAT teams – with overwhelming force?

Even so, Israel has endured 14 years of Hamas rockets without striking a decisive and crushing blow on the jihadi forces responsible.  WWII had a decisive ending because of the unconditional surrenders of the German and Japanese High Commands. Until such an event happens to Hamas, the battle will go on.

YHVH the primitive?

One of the voices which surfaces occasionally in the internet chatter is from people (believers and secularists both) who view the Bible as a compendium of syrupy ethical maxims and proverbs. Jesus is seen as a peaceful shepherd, someone totally opposed to war – like Mahatma Gandhi. These advocates of “peace at any price” are skating on thin ice when it comes to God.

In the 3rd century AD/CE, a theologian named Marcion of Sinope  (in modern Turkey) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcion_of_Sinope) taught that YHVH was a god of hatred, war and anger, closely identified with the Jewish people, while Jesus was a God of love and peace. As a result, he developed a Bible (the Marcionite Canon) which removed anything Jewish and anything YHVH-related from its pages. It was a pretty slim volume! The Church Fathers (bless their hearts) declared Marcion a heretic and his teaching as heretical (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcionism).

Yet today there are many today who see the Hebrew Scriptures as somewhat less than the word of God, and who cannot relate to YHVH as Lord of the battle or as Warrior God (Deuteronomy 20:10; 1 Samuel 18:17;  25:28; Psalm 24:8; Psalm 144:1). And they do not believe that God fights for Israel and publically identifies with her.

The prophet Isaiah wants us to know that YHVH identifies sympathetically and empathetically with the Jewish people, “In all their affliction He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9). They are as close to Him and as tender in His sight as His own eyes, “Behold, he who touches you (Zion) touches the apple/pupil of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8).

God has already taken sides. It is He who, as Captain of YHVH’s armies, sent Joshua into battle against Jericho, and it is He who granted them victory (Joshua 5:13-6:5). It is true that God was not in Joshua’s army, but Joshua was certainly in God’s army, and taking direct orders from Him!

Daisies on the battlefield?

There are some politically correct peaceniks who are attempting to hand out daisies on the battlefield. They exhibit a naïveté which is stunning and which, if followed, would lead to the destruction of good on the face of the planet.

J.R.R. Tolkein’s epic Lord of the Rings was written in the face of Nazi terror. He wanted to warn the world of the danger through his prophetic fairy tales. Let us learn the lessons that Tolkein wanted us to learn. Let’s not get caught up in deception and totally miss out on being ready for today’s battles and trials!

Who exactly is this YHVH of armies? Let’s remember David’s confession:

Some believers may feel more comfortable at this point changing the subject to that of spiritual warfare and praise meetings.

One should remember that C.S. Lewis, in the second book of his science-fiction trilogy Perelandra (a friend of Tolkein’s who wrote this book during the war with Hitler), emphasized that sometimes spiritual warfare in the heavenlies actually has “on earth” consequences, and that fighting physical evil on earth is sometimes the most appropriate spiritual thing to do.

A generation which did not know Joseph

Moses gives us an oversight of developments in ancient Egypt after the death of the patriarch Joseph son of Jacob: “Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). This dynamic does not only apply to the pagan king of antiquity. It may also apply to believers in our day.

Whereas in the 1960’s through the 1990’s many Evangelicals and Charismatics were warmly disposed to Israel and the Jewish people, now at the beginning of the 21st century some of these hearts have grown cold –“ Because wickedness will increase, most/many people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved” (Matthew 24:12-13).

In days past a “summertime soldier and sunshine patriot” warmth toward Israel was easy when there was no cost involved. In our day it turns out that a slight amount of social disapproval or PC pressure melts waxen hearts to reveal the hard edge of good old Jew-hatred and anti-Semitic double standard. The prophetic warning concerning children not walking in the sins of their fathers – or the opposite, children walking in sins that their fathers never walked in (Jeremiah 31:29-20; Ezekiel 18:1-4, 30; Matthew 23:29-32) – is something to which we would well pay attention today.

Scorpion in the tent

There is a well-known Middle-Eastern fable concerning a scorpion and a frog. The scorpion (who cannot swim) asks a frog at the river’s edge if he would allow him to hitch a ride on the frog’s back. The frog adamantly refuses, declaring that everyone knows that scorpion’s sting for the pleasure of it, that there is no way that he is going to risk his life for such a creature, and that if the scorpion stung him they both would die. The scorpion appeals, cajoles, whines – and ultimately the good-natured frog allows him to hop on his back.

As they are mid-point across the river, the scorpion stings the frog. “My friend, why did you do this?” groans the frog as they both sink into the waters. “Because, my friend” says this scorpion, “this is the Middle East.”

Hamas knows it cannot win militarily in the short run, but it is prepared to sacrifice many Gazans on the altar of war in order to turn world opinion against Israel.  In doing this, it is holding true to its Islamist world view and to its own Charter (www.acpr.org.il/resources/hamascharter.html ):

The psalmist in his day challenged YHVH about Middle Eastern enemies who spoke with deceitful tongues and hated peace. “Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war” (Psalm 120:107).

Here is a youtube video produced by an Arab believer in Jesus, presenting footage of something very similar – what Hamas really acts like in Gaza and the West Bank. The grim footage shows Hamas thugs attacking, beating and killing other Muslims because they sang at a wedding – a heretical act according to Hamas’ version of Islam. There is footage of the beating of PLO supporters who were later murdered by Hamas (though not on the video). This may help the reader to get a better idea of the nature of the beast called Hamas (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOJKkLlih94&feature=youtu.be).

Fear, bread and hesitation

The Jewish people have fought their enemies and the Lord’s enemies in Bible days, and the struggle continues today (see Ezekiel 36:1-5; Psalm 83). The generation that saw God’s miracles in the land of Egypt still trembled inside and was afraid at the battle that was set before them over the Promised Land.

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:30 -33).

Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is YHVH bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt” (Numbers 14:1-4).

The challenges involved in warfare resulted in Israel whining, trembling, cursing and rebelling against God and His leaders. The challenge for some in Israel today involves facing committed jihadi warriors. Major TV announcers declare in anguished tones, “But we will never be able to defeat Hamas! What if our army does some action that turns the world against us? The world will never allow us to win against Hamas!”

Just as a previous generation falsely prophesied that the Jewish people would be eaten up by the Canaanites like hot bread, so many journalists and media personalities are falsely prophesying defeatism and self-destruction for the Jewish state. Sadly, they are joined in this by some well-meaning Evangelicals who would prefer to see Israel lose its battles than win them – all in order to fulfil prophecy, of course…

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

The casualties of war

Over the past few days, Egypt has brokered attempts to reach a ceasefire. Israel accepted the terms, while Hamas rejected them and continued (and even boosted) their rocket fire against Israeli civilians. Yesterday one Israeli, Doron Hanin (37-year old father of three) was killed by Hamas mortar fire into Israel as he was distributing chocolates and candy to IDF soldiers near the Erez checkpoint north of Gaza.

World media and even some Christian ministries are increasingly zooming in on Gazan casualties in line with Hamas’s war propaganda hopes.

What are the latest developments? What do the Scriptures say about these events? How can we pray?

The stillborn ceasefire

On Sunday and Monday of this week, various countries tried to be the first to lead a diplomatic charge – which country would get the credit for brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Turkey and Qatar (who have staunchly supported Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood) tried their hand, but were cut off at the pass by Egypt, who holds the cards in any Gazan solution due to its strategic and historical role bordering Gaza.

Egypt sees Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as its mortal enemies. It overthrew MB President Morsi one year ago, re-establishing traditional army control over the Arab world’s most influential country. The USA had unwisely encouraged the Muslim Brotherhood over the years, undermining then-ally President Hosni Mubaraq, and withholding support for Egyptian President Sisi when he overthrew the MB. Because of this, Egypt has a score to settle with the USA, and Egypt’s speed in pushing through a ceasefire proposal (before Secretary of State John Kerry could arrive in Cairo) was its end-run intended to humiliate the American envoy.

Sisi holds the keys to Gaza’s gates and bars. Food, medicine, household goods – all of these can only flow through Egypt. Sisi has no desire to help Hamas since Hamas and the MB are sworn enemies of the current Egyptian government. He would actually prefer for Hamas to twist slowly in the wind on a long rope. Sisi’s Egypt will not allow Hamas to operate arms smuggling tunnels, as did Morsi. These tunnels served to bring in Iranian, Syrian and Chinese rockets now being used in the war, as well as the cement and steel necessary to build rockets locally.

Sisi took a gamble two days ago, assuming that Hamas would have no choice but to accept the Egyptian ceasefire proposal. It was either that or face continued Israeli air raids – because Hamas declared that it will not stop its rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.

Hamas bluntly refused Sisi’s cease-fire even though it knew that this refusal alienates Hamas’ only lifeline to the Arab world. But of course, Hamas is committed to destroying Israel, destroying the Jewish people and destroying Sisi’s government. For them this is clear Islamist teaching which cannot be moderated. See https://davidstent.com/hurtling-through-the-fog-of-war-a-messianic-perspective-on-the-new-hamastan/ .  Their refusal is seen by their constituency as a sign of Muslim machismo.

Hamas troika

Hamas’ leadership is spread between three countries. Khaled Mash’al (the present Hamas Politburo leader) lives in Qatar and holds to the most hardline position. Mousa Abu-Marzuq (www.investigativeproject.org/profile/106), the number two man in Hamas, lives in Cairo and bridges connections between Mash’al and  Egypt. Former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh lives in Gaza and oversees day-to-day Hamas operations. Mohammad Deif (www.idfblog.com/hamas/2012/01/21/mohammad-deif/), commander of the terror operations group Iz ad-Din al Qassam, lives under deep cover in the Gaza Strip. To this mix must also be added the Qatari-based spiritual advisor of both Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_al-Qaradawi).

There is some jockeying for power and disagreement of tactics among these men, and the tentative agreement by one or two of them regarding the ceasefire did not carry the day for the others. So rocket fire from Gaza continues.

“Among the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart” (Judges 5:15)

The body politic in Israel is divided on how to deal with the Hamas menace. The common people – those who do reserve duty, whose sons and daughters serve in the IDF, and those who are on the receiving end of Hamas rockets – have perspectives which are more crystallized and determined than Israel’s ruling party.

The Left side of Israel’s political world advocates a comprehensive peace agreement with the Arab world, one which would involve setting up a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza and the division of Jerusalem. The Israeli Right believes that a Palestinian state would be a clear and present danger to Israel, and promotes instead a limited autonomy in the West Bank under Israeli control, and no division of Jerusalem.

There are two views on the Right regarding a solution to the Gaza quandary. One advocates retaking the area and decisively cleansing the Strip of jihadi gangs, rockets and terror tunnels. The other view is attempting to bring about a short-term ceasefire and a temporary cessation of hostilities. Previous such attempts (2009, 2012) have lasted for up to one year before the drizzle of rockets gradually turned into a torrent.

Recent polls suggest that 93% of Israelis do not want an inconclusive ceasefire, and over 50% are in favor of a land incursion into Gaza. Former National Security Advisor, Head of the Research Department of Israeli Military Intelligence, and Major General Ya’akov Amidror was interviewed on Channel Ten  a few days ago and cleared away a lot of media fog (Israeli TV; www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/182727).

He explained that so far, Israel has never launched a crushing blow on Hamas’ ability to launch rocket attacks. The only way to completely stop jihadi rocket fire from Gaza is for the IDF to retake the Strip. In his estimation it would take 3 to 13 days to retake the Strip, and between six months and a year to eradicate Hamas’ terrorist military infrastructure. The price of such an operation would be dozens of IDF casualties, and so the question that needs to be asked is “How much is Israel willing to pay for quiet in the south.”

Amidror added, "I think eventually there will be no choice. If we cannot force Hamas to ask for a ceasefire by attacking from the air, we may have to go into Gaza.”

Hamas propaganda wars

In a recent article by Ben-Dror Yemini (“‘Human rights activists’ at Hamas’ service”; (www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4542761,00.html) he notes that in October 2013, former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh delivered a thanksgiving address in Gaza: “We put our trust in the support of the liberals in the world…Greetings to all the civil society organizations and human rights organizations.” He set forth the “Palestinian national strategy” which will include “an armed struggle and a PR struggle in all regional and international arenas.”

Western media zooms in on Gazan casualties, repeatedly airing the blood and gore of war without serving their followers by explaining actual context. This is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. A strong response is guaranteed, but the bull is missing out on what is really happening. It is vital that certain basic facts be remembered:

There is a well-known proverb in Arabic, “First he hits me, and then he cries.” This is Hamas’ modus operandi, and they have used it time and again to make marionettes out of a gullible world media. First Hamas fires rockets into Israel from civilian areas, and then it protests when Israel takes out those rocket launchers, calling this a crime against humanity.

Not all wars are only won on the battlefield. Some are won on television screens.

The Bible’s view on disproportionate casualties

The Western world is not as connected to normal processes of living and dying as were believers in Bible days. Rare is the Westerner who has slaughtered and skinned an animal, or who has had to defend his own family from bloodthirsty invaders. Today beef can be purchased wrapped in a sesame-seed bun and boxed in Styrofoam from a fast-food restaurant. Wars take place in movies, or in a universe far away, or on the other side of the world. It is assumed that real enemies play by the rules, and every conflict can be solved by throwing money and humanitarian aid at the combatants.

But in King David’s time perceptions were different. YHVH the God of the Hebrews was not depicted as a Renaissance poet strumming a lute, but as a divine Warrior. “YHVH is a warrior! YHVH is His name!” (Exodus 15:3). His mighty power was recounted as having caused the death of many Egyptian soldiers at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-18). At Messiah’s Second Coming that same warrior spirit will be dramatically manifested (Revelation 19:11-21).

In David’s day the Greek Philistines (from whom today’s Palestinians have unknowingly borrowed their name) had invaded the Land promised by everlasting covenant to the Jewish people and had squatted there. Their military strategy involved attacking and seizing Jewish communities, and then controlling the strategic choke-points of the Via Maris, the Way of the Sea.

YHVH (Israel’s Warrior God) explains to Moses that He will help Israel to win her battles against her Philistine and Arab enemies with disproportionate results:

A cut above average

When the young warrior David was challenged by King Saul to bring him a dowry present worthy of one who wanted to marry the king’s daughter Michal, Saul told David to bring him the foreskins of 100 Philistine warriors. It was assumed in those days that Philistines were not circumcised, that they were the enemies of Israel, and that cutting off their foreskins involved killing them first.

David doubled Saul’s dowry price: “David rose up and went, he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife” (1 Samuel 18:25-27).

Priority in crisis

This double achievement is very much in line with Israel’s calling. According to Apostolic teaching, the Jewish people have gifts and calling which are irrevocable (Romans 11:28-29). These include the divine calling to be the firstborn or oldest son among the nations (Romans 9:4; Exodus 4:22-23, etc.). This firstborn status involves receiving a double portion of discipline and of blessing (Romans 1:16; 2:5-11).

YHVH explains that His dealings with Israel are sovereign and holy, and He reserves the right to give them a priority status over that of all the other nations. The prophet Isaiah explains poetically, “For I am YHVH your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life” (Isaiah 43:3-4).

The ghost of Vietnam

The trauma that the USA experienced in Southeast Asia has left its mark on a whole generation. Scratch the surface of most Westerners and, apart from a brief fling after 9/11, you will discover doubt, cynicism and revulsion about the use of military force, and even willingness to violently express opposition to the thought of armed combat.

Yet in the prophetic scriptures God promises to raise up an army of Jewish men and women in the Last Days – soldiers who will step into military formation on the Day of His power (Psalm 110:1-3). This will be the greatest military force the world has ever seen (Ezekiel 37:9-14).

The world responds to Israel’s valiant attempts to fend off jihadi armies of bloodthirsty terrorists with jaded antagonism. This reveals the hardness of many hearts in this generation to the ways and strategies of the God of Jacob.

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

Make war, not love

The Woodstock Generation had many buzzwords and pet phrases such as “Turn on, tune in, drop out,” “Go with the flow,” and “Make love not war.” At the same time, a simmering spirit of rebellion and violent revolution played at the edges of hippiedom. Jefferson Airplane’s “Volunteers of America”, Neil Young’s “Ohio,” and MC5’s “Kick out the jams” painted a vision of America burning, beset by internal revolution. The Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” and the Beatles’ “Revolution” took a step back from the brink, lowering the rhetoric and letting off steam in more quixotic ways.

Right now the Middle East is going through epileptic convulsions. Sunni jihadi armies are sweeping like a black cloud across Syria, Iraq and Africa, while Shi’ite terror armies are stretching their bony green fingers across Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. Over 200,000 people have died in these recent outbreaks of hostility. Both Saudi Arabia and Jordan have moved their armies to their borders with Iraq and are on hair-trigger alert.

At the same time Hamas (in Arabic, Harakat al-Muqawima al-Islamiyya, or ‘The Islamic Resistance Movement’; https://davidstent.com/hurtling-through-the-fog-of-war-a-messianic-perspective-on-the-new-hamastan/) has kicked off a third military campaign, (2006 - https://davidstent.com/the-coming-war-with-hamas/; 2012 - https://davidstent.com/category/hamas/page/2/), targeting over half of Israel’s residents with short and long-range rockets.

As world media zooms in on the developing war, we need accurate facts, clear context and biblical perspective. And how can we pray for the situation with biblical compassion and wisdom?

The bombs bursting in air

On Saturday Hamas upped the military ante, firing barrages totaling over 100 rockets at major Israeli cities. They threatened to unleash a new type of rocket called the J80, notifying Israeli TV to make sure that cameras were focused on Tel Aviv at 21:00 hours. Six rockets were fired and all were shot down by the Iron Dome system (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4541998,00.html) with no injuries. Saturday night three Katyusha rockets were fired from Lebanon into Western Galilee by Palestinian Lebanese fighters (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4542342,00.html) also with no injuries.

Military intelligence estimates that Hamas still has over 7,000 short-range rockets and over 200 long-range rockets stored in residential homes, hospitals, mosques and schools throughout Gaza (https://proisrael.tumblr.com/image/91548045790) – as was the case in 2006 and 2012. It is impossible to destroy these inventories without causing extensive collateral damage. As a result, last night the IDF began to communicate with residents of northern Gaza by leaflet, phone calls and text messages, warning them to vacate specific areas by noon Sunday or face potential damage or death. Sunday afternoon will see intensive pinpoint bombing of Hamas’ northern Gaza rocket bunkers.

Escalation mostly from the air

As of 23:30 Saturday night The Israel Air Force (IAF)  intensified its bombing of terror command-and-control centers, rocket launchers and rocket bunkers – by jet, helicopter and by IDF artillery from outside the Gaza Strip. A Shayetet 13 (Israeli Navy Seals) team was inserted into the northern Gaza Strip before dawn to take out rocket launchers near Sudaniye (www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Israel-Navy-commandos-raid-long-range-rocket-facility-in-Gaza-362532).

As well, Hamas public and political leaders’ homes are being targeted, though these leaders have long since gone to ground, hiding in a rat’s warren of underground tunnels that would have made the Viet Cong proud. World media have reported that some of Hamas former Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s nephews were killed in a bombing attack, though without giving vital context – that the main target was jihadi Nidal al-Malash (https://mobile.twitter.com/KhaledAbuToameh/status/487949076697083905/photo/1) – leader of a Hamas rocket squad division.

World media is casting an anti-Israel spin on such casualties. They are actually following Hamas’s posted guidelines on how best to inflict maximum propaganda damage on Israel by selective media spin (www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-warns-residents-against-revealing-downtown-gaza-launches/; www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-11/is-hamas-trying-to-get-gazans-killed).

But former Hamas PM Haniyeh blows away the fog of war with unapologetic and fighting words. Describing Hamas’ jihadi warriors (which include his own nephews) he said on January 13, 2014, “Beware of this generation. This is a generation which knows no fear. It is the generation of the missile, the tunnel and suicide attacks” (https://proisrael.tumblr.com/image/91561309470). Hamas is not a peace-seeking group.

“Masters of the bluff and masters of the proposition” (Bob Dylan)

To get the UN Security Council to agree on censures is like pulling teeth. Whether it be Ukraine, Georgia, Sudan, North Korea, Syria, al-Nusra, ISIL/ISIS –  the “world’s moral conscience” slowly lowers its head and slowly mosies on in all the above cases. When Christians are tortured, raped and murdered in Syria, Iraq or Iran, or when similar massacres happen to Shi’ites or Sunnis in Iraq, the U.N. is silent. However, when Israel defends itself from Hamas’ jihadi madness, world censure and Security Council and General Assembly resolutions are passed in a jiffy. Hypocrisy  combined with anti-Semitism is the order of the day in international relations – as prophesied in Psalm 2:1-3).

For an in-your-face challenge regarding world hypocrisy and anti-Semitism, watch the biting British commentary by Pat Condell entitled “Why I support Israel” -

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHC8KC5cLs8&feature=youtube_gdata_player.

Why is Hamas doing this?

Western minds find it difficult to understand why Hamas would provoke a fight with Israel when they are bound to take a whipping militarily. The answers have to do both with political strategy (https://m.nationalreview.com/article/382477/why-does-hamas-want-war-daniel-pipes) and with spiritual dynamics.

From a spiritual point of view, Hamas is committed to endless jihad against Israel. Its Islamist charter (www.acpr.org.il/resources/hamascharter.html) states bluntly that it will never cease from violent jihad against Israel until the Jewish state is destroyed. As a result, there is no peace treaty that can be established with Hamas. It is a fight to the death:

For more insight into the geo-political ramifications of these teachings, see former CIA DCI James Woolsey’s address at the Restoration Weekend conference in 2002 (https://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=21031 ).

A cup of cold water

While Hamas rockets are landing over major sections of Israel, their operators have also accidentally targeted Arab areas – including an Arab village in the Gush Etzion area, the Arab city of Hebron, and Ramallah (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4542242,00.html).

Simultaneously, as rocket fire continues, Israel is supplying its enemies in Gaza with over 200 trucks containing 1,998 tons of food, 9 trucks of medicine, 759,000 liters of fuel, and an uninterrupted supply of electricity (https://proisrael.tumblr.com/image/91548006615). This same electricity also runs Hamas’ weapons factories. This is indeed a Twilight Zone scenario (https://attorneysdefendingisrael.blogspot.co.il/2014/07/no-country-gives-enemy-electricity-in.html).

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. For you will heap burning coals on his head, and YHVH will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22). It is challenging to consider that the Jewish state is acting in a more “turn the other cheek” with Gaza, than many so-called Christian countries do in their international dealings.

Gandhi, Britain, Hitler and Hamas

In 1940 the Indian advocate of non-violence Mahatma Gandhi wrote an open letter “To Every Briton” offering his sage advice to Winston Churchill, the Queen and everyone in between on how to deal with the Nazi menace:

“I hope you do not wish to enter into such an undignified competition with the Nazis. I venture to present you with a nobler and a braver way, worthy of the bravest soldier. I want you to fight Nazism without arms, or, if I am to retain the military terminology, with non-violent arms. I would like you to lay down the arms you have as being useless for saving you or humanity. You will invite Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini to take what they want of the countries you call your possessions. Let them take possession of your beautiful island, with your many beautiful buildings. You will give all these, but neither your souls, nor your minds. If these gentlemen choose to occupy your homes, you will vacate them. If they do not give you free passage out, you will allow yourself, man, woman and child, to be slaughtered, but you will refuse to owe allegiance to them. This process or method, which I have called non-violent non-co-operation, is not without considerable success in its use in India. Your representatives in India may deny my claim. If they do, I shall feel sorry for them” (Open letter, "To Every Briton", New Delhi [2 July 1940]; published in Harijan [6 July 1940]; www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945851/posts).

In many senses, this is the position held by the U.N., the E.U., the Quartet and its smiling envoy Tony Blair, and even some in the State Department. Thankfully, Mahatma Gandhi’s free advice was not followed by the Allies in WWII. Otherwise no Jewish people would have ever survived the Holocaust. Israel is in no mood to repeat colossal foolishness and follow such frivolous and disastrous counsel in our day.

Wisdom from Germany

Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz is the recognized master of military strategists. In his magnum opus Vom Kriege (On War; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_War, Clausewitz stated some salient points worth remembering here:

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

Enemies and friends at a time of war

The unofficial state of war spreads as Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza continue to strike Israeli cities, hitting Jewish civilians (and occasionally Arab citizens of Israel). These jihadi rocket attacks are shot from launchers deliberately positioned by Hamas among Gaza’s civilian population – a war crime by legal and ethical definitions. Yesterday 192 rockets were fired by both Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Some were even co-fired by the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah commandos. Of these, 44 were intercepted by the Iron Dome rocket defenses. This morning three rockets were fired from within Lebanon into Israel by an independent as-yet-unnamed jihadi group there.

How are the hostilities developing? What seem to be the next steps? What guidance can the Scriptures gives us regarding understanding and prayer?

Extending the range, looking for breakthroughs

Hamas continues to fire barrages of longer-range rockets at Israeli cities. Their rockets have for the most part been exploded out of the skies by Israel’s Iron Dome anti-ballistic defense, with debris raining down over cities and towns.

Today (Friday) Hamas rockets targeted Israel’s main Ben-Gurion Airport, causing temporary diversions in flight patterns. In the late 1970’s and 1980’s voices with foresight (including Benjamin Netanyahu) warned that allowing Palestinians their own unsupervised territory would lead to rocket attacks on Ben-Gurion Airport. We are now seeing the fulfilment of those dire warnings.

Two Israeli Beduin town in the Negev (Aro’er and Lakiya) were also struck by Hamas rockets.

A complete list of rocket attacks since hostilities began can be found at the site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2014.

Hamas is attempting to find chinks in the armor of Iron Dome. They are firing multiple barrages of rockets in efforts to overwhelm the system’s technical limitations. In at least two cases yesterday jihadi rockets were able to evade the anti-rocket umbrella and strike targets.

Yesterday Rachel and I were in Jerusalem overlooking the Temple Mount when air-raid sirens went off. Two rockets were intercepted. We watched as Muslims on the Temple Mount immediately began shouting for joy and shooting off fireworks in celebration.

“And the word of YHVH came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them, and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of YHVH God! Thus says YHVH God…Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and rejoiced with all the scorn of your soul against the land of Israel, therefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and I will give you for spoil to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands; I will destroy you. Thus you will know that I am YHVH” (Ezekiel 25).

“All you valiant warriors” (Joshua 1:14)

Preparations intensify for a ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. A 24/7 stream of Pumas (Israeli armored personnel carriers) and Merkava IV tanks flows down the highways from Judean desert bases to staging points directly across from Gaza. The first responsibility of a country is to defend its citizens from murderous enemies, and this is what the IDF is doing. A concise explanation of the military situation by one of Israel’s top military commentators, Ron Ben Yishai, is worth reading: www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4541500,00.html.

Israeli Military Intelligence officers have been calling the homes of Gazans living along the tense ‘border’ with Israel, telling them that it would be wise to move out of the way immediately in order to preserve their lives. Hamas on the other hand has forbidden Gazan Arabs from leaving their homes (www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2014/07/gaza_civilian_casualties_while_hamas_targets_innocent_people_israel_tries.html), even if it is simply to get out of harm’s way during invasion.

Last night Israeli radio announced that the military cabinet has taken two steps which are commonly understood to indicate that war is imminent. Emergency economic regimens and emergency medical frameworks were set in place.

“When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before YHVH your God, and be saved from your enemies” (Numbers 9:10)

Painting the roses green

The world’s media and much of the world’s political leaders tend to place a fogging spin on military conflicts between Israel and her enemies.

The first tool in their arsenal that they reach for is describing the conflict in terms of moral equivalence. According to this viewpoint, one cannot state that Israel is right or that Hamas is wrong. They are both merely excitable and primitive Middle Easterners who resort to violence far too easily. The conflict cannot be solved by supporting Israel, but rather by forcing Israel to cease defensive military measure meant to protect Israeli citizens. And if Gazan casualties end up being greater than Israeli casualties, to them it proves that Israel is actually the aggressor and the one at fault. Therefore (they believe) Israel must be stopped as quickly as possible by threat of diplomatic sanctions or boycott.

This deceptive viewpoint ignores basic facts. Israeli casualties are less because Israel invests huge amounts in developing and operating cutting-edge civilian air defenses, as well as operating the most efficient air force and highly trained army in the Middle East. Gazan casualties are what they are because Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists deliberately use their own population centers as civilian shields as they fire into Israeli population centers.

The Israel Air Force (IAF) takes unusual pains to avoid civilian casualties, more than any other army. Here is a video clip from Gaza (from the Hebrew YNET site, (www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4541597,00.html), which shows how the IAF ‘knocks on the roof’ of a terror home after warning the inhabitants by phone call to vacate the premises immediately. This is followed by a small rocket to one corner of the roof and then, after 60 seconds, the demolishing of the house.

British Colonel Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, has addressed this issue in world media and also at the UN quite lucidly (www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=225172). Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council he stated, “During its operation in Gaza (ed., 2009), the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX6vyT8RzMo).

The world’s charges against Israel are not accurate, not factual and are ethically abhorrent. They are part of the propaganda arsenal being activated by Islamist forces in their ongoing warfare against the existence and survival of the Jewish people and state. Commentator Dennis Prager sums up this dynamic in a short and excellent video clip: www.israelvideonetwork.com/the-most-important-video-about-israel-ever-made.

Biblical points to chew on

Over the years some Christian pseudo-reconciliation groups are attempting to chill heartfelt intercession and support for Israel by categorizing the Biblical teaching about God’s love, covenants, prophetic promises and priorities for Israel as simply one of many man-made narratives. These groups draw a moral equivalence between those who believe in God’s restoration of the Jewish people to Israel, and those who deny and oppose it. See the following articles for more biblical discussion:

A recent prayer letter by one such group describes the conflict in exactly these terms – biblically blasé and morally neutral. There is no right and wrong side. Everyone simply needs to kiss, pray and ask forgiveness – especially Israel! Yet many in these streams reveal their anti-Israel prejudice by continuing to press their churches and political leaders for boycott, divestment and sanctions activities against Israel. They show much in common with Sanballat, the biblical enemy of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:10; 6:1, 14).

Other Christian groups are trying to get Arabs and Jews together while studiously avoiding clear Biblical perspective on what the Bible says about Last Days’ dynamics between Arabs and Jews. How can one sit in the shadow of rocket attacks and sidestep discussing how jihadi Arabs are attempting to destroy Israel? There is only a short distance here to the slippery slope of the ‘moral equivalency dynamic.’ We must all press in more deeply to the word of God, leaving behind simplistic phrases like ‘there is pain on both sides’ or general calls for people ‘simply to get over’ these issues.

The Scriptures are clear that those who attempt to destroy Israel and claim her land for themselves are enemies of God Himself. According to Psalm 83, concerted efforts to weaken, cause damage, sow terror and destroy the Jewish state are simultaneously a cursing of the God of Israel and of His chosen people, the descendants of Jacob.

It is not Arabs per se who are the enemies in this above passage, nor is it Palestinians who are necessarily the enemies. It is those who are attempting to weaken and destroy the Jewish people and state who are God’s enemies.

Ezekiel 36 makes this crystal clear:

And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, “O mountains of Israel, hear the word of YHVH. Thus says YHVH God, Because the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The everlasting heights have become our possession,’ therefore thus says YHVH God, Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with scorn of soul, to drive it out for a prey” (Ezekiel 36:1-2, 5)

Based on Ezekiel’s Spirit-inspired prophecy, the stakes are quite high, and they are definitely not politically correct!

We have many Arab friends who are supporters, advocates, intercessors and even military warriors for the Jewish people and their state. We are honored to call them brothers, sisters and friends. They are our friends, friends of the Jewish people and friends of the Jewish state. May their tribe increase!

God offends the mind to reveal the heart (Luke 2:34-35)

The God of the Bible might actually be unrecognizable to some believers today. Certain historical events and theological blinders have fallen upon the predominantly Gentile body of Messiah, to the point that clear Scriptural teaching regarding God’s nature (especially His warriorhood and vengeance) and His calling and love for Israel are ignored, dismissed, mocked or simply not seen. The events going on in Israel today are one of God’s ways to bring this blindness to the surface, His way of challenging us to recommit to Joshua’s ageless confession:

“Now, therefore, fear YHVH and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve YHVH. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve YHVH, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve YHVH” (Joshua 24:14-15).

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

Terrorizing the Daughter of Zion

Over the past 36 hours Israel has come under increased attack by the Islamist jihadi group Hamas. More than 200 terrorist rockets have been fired into Israeli cities, towns and kibbutzim. Two Hamas commando raids against Israeli civilians were decisively shredded. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has authorized the call up of 40,000 reserve soldiers.

What is developing here? How can we pray? What guidance can the Scriptures give us in understanding this scenario?

Rocket war

Hostilities were initiated by Hamas firing rockets into Israeli civilian neighborhoods. This has been going on intermittently over the past months and years. Up to and including Operation Pillar of Fire in November 2012, over 10,000 Hamas rockets were fired at Israeli population centers. In May 2014, seven rockets were fired, while in June sixty-five rockets were shot against civilians. In the past nine days of July, since the outbreak of war, over 200 rockets have been fired.

Hamas missiles have extended their reach since November 2012, targeting:

Air raid shelters have been opened in all the above areas. Nearly half of the country has had air raid sirens go off, and has had to run for shelter throughout the day and night.

A rocket new to this military theater was used last night – a Chinese-Syrian 302 mm rocket able to reach 130 kilometers. Hamas calls this the R-160, named after Abdul Aziz al-Rantisi, one of Hamas’ founders, killed by Israel in a targeted assassination in 2004. The rocket is part of Syrian President Assad’s arsenal, as well as of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“You will not be afraid of the terror by night” (Psalm 91:5)

Israel’s anti-missile defense Iron Dome has changed much of the military equation in this war. Since Hamas missiles do not have GPS, Israeli mathematicians and physicists have developed  missile software that is able to differentiate between launched missiles which will not fall on civilian areas, and rockets which are on a deadly trajectory. Only 10-20% of Hamas missiles are intercepted and blown out of the skies. The rest fall without causing casualties.

Israelis responding to air raid sirens have between 15 and 45 seconds to take shelter. A dull thud indicates that the Iron Dome anti-missiles have been fired, while a shuddering crump indicates successful interception.

Over 270 attacks against terrorist infrastructure have been carried out by Israeli Navy and Air Force. More specifically, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has targeted over 120 missile launchers (www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4540101,00.html).

There have been a number of targeted assassinations against terror leaders, including Hafez Hamed (Senior Commander, al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad,. Bet Hanoun) and Mohammad Sha’aban (Commander, Naval commando group Hamas; www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/08/israel-assasinates-hamas-naval-commando-chief-in-pinpoint-strike-video/).

Prior to attacks on Hamas leaders’ offices or homes, Israeli Military Intelligence officers engage in what is known as “knocking on the roof”: they actually call the house concerned and advise the inhabitants to leave immediately. After the people have left, the house is bombed with pinpoint precision. In one case, the family left but immediately returned and was killed. In another case, the terrorist refused to leave and was killed. Hamas leadership has publically called on its people to go up to the roofs of their houses and to be killed as jihadi ‘martyrs.’

Jerusalem in the cross-hairs

Hamas missiles targeted Jerusalem on Tuesday early evening. At least three landed in the northern suburbs of Jerusalem, one in a cemetery, one between two houses. Iron Dome booms and missile interceptions were heard across the city of Jerusalem. The areas where the rockets landed happened to be Jewish, but barely one kilometer from each site are Arab communities of significant size. Evidently Hamas is prepared to murder Arabs in pursuit of its primary goal – the murder of Jews.

During the missile attacks on Jerusalem, Muslims were gathered for Ramadan prayers on the Temple Mount beside the Dome of the Rock. Here is an amateur video filmed last night of them cheering the attacks and calling for more bloodshed: www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/08/hundreds-of-arabs-celebrate-atop-temple-mount-after-rocket-attacks-on-jerusalem-video/.

Hamas fired a barrage of over 40 missiles simultaneously at Jerusalem and many sites near Tel Aviv. Their goal was to overwhelm the Iron Dome network, which can only stop a limited number of simultaneously fired missiles. The soldiers manning the Iron Dome had to make life-and-death decisions in split-seconds. Thanks be to God that they were able this time to stop the right missiles without there being human casualties.

“O YHVH God of armies, how long will You be angry with the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and You have made them to drink tears in large measure. You make us an object of contention to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. O God of armies, restore us and cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved” (Psalm 80:4-7).

There is great symbolism in Islamist rockets targeting Jerusalem. Decisive action is needed by Israel’s government to re-establish deterrence in the jungle known as the Middle East.

Five if by land

On Tuesday evening a five-man squad of Hamas terrorists put on wet suits and, armed with grenades, explosives and many weapons, were dropped off by zodiac craft at the popular Zikim Beach just north of the Gaza Strip. An extremely capable female soldier, an Israeli Navy spotter, caught them on her videocam and alerted IDF Givati Brigade and Special Operations forces, as well as the Navy. Within ten minutes the squad was liquidated, barely one mile away from a kibbutz. The terrorists were planning a coordinated mega-attack involving civilian hostages. Such an event would have moved up the starting time for a land incursion by the IDF into Gaza.

At the same time, another Hamas group had been tunneling from Gaza under the border to Kibbutz Kerem Shalom (‘vineyard of peace’ in Hebrew). Their goal was to surface within the kibbutz, murder and take hostages. Israel had discovered the tunnel barely a few days before, and was ready for the attack – which was successfully blocked.

Hamas TV in Gaza claimed decisive victories in each case, describing fantasy Israeli casualties and totaling the Jewish dead. But in reality there were only dead terrorists. Gazans are watching Israeli TV, and saw the clips released by the IDF last night showing the interception of the Hamas squad. Both Hamas’ commander of their naval commandos  and his five-man squad met their end on the same day.

Operation Protective Edge

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared Operation Protective Edge (in Hebrew, Tzuk Eitan, or Stalwart Cliff; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Protective_Edge) on July 8. He authorized the call up of 40,000 reserve soldiers. Some of those being called up are personal friends as well as Messianic Jewish believers in Yeshua.

This military operation is in response to a concerted effort by an Islamist jihadi terror movement to weaken, cause damage, sow terror and destroy the Jewish state. They are attempting (from a biblical point of view) to curse the God of Israel and the Jewish people. Psalm 83 offers some clear definition here:

“O God, do not remain quiet! Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, and conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.’ For they have conspired together with one mind; against You they make a covenant: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them. They have become a help to the children of Lot” (Psalm 83:1-8).

Those who are the enemies of God, who hate Him, have made a covenant against Him. And what does that mean?  How do these enemies carry out their evil intentions? The writer of Psalm 83 tells us plainly – by making terrorist plans against the Jewish people in Israel – to murder them and to take over their land. From a biblical perspective, at this point in time Hamas is only the tip of the spear for a much larger Arab/Islamist confederacy.

The issue here is not a matter of taking sides. God has already decided that question. The real issue is – will we stand with God in His covenantal protection and prophetic promises over Israel? Will we call ‘enemies’ those whom God calls ‘enemies’?

It is the God of Israel who is restoring His sons and daughters of Jacob to their Promised Land. The Islamist forces opposing them believe that God has rejected His people and has transferred their land to Islam as waqf – an everlasting Muslim possession. They believe that jihad – armed Islamist terror and combat – is the only way to recapture those lands.

The Bible has so much to say about this issue. We are truly living in the Last Days. It is important for believers, at the very least, to have these issues straight and clear. The ‘narrative’ (or self-justifying propaganda) of the enemies of God in Psalm 83 is poles apart from the narrative of the God of Israel. And the enemy’s narrative is not a spiritually kosher option for those who follow the God of Israel and His Messiah Yeshua.

“How great are Your works, O YHVH! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man has no knowledge, nor does a stupid man understand this: That when the wicked sprouted up like grass and all who did iniquity flourished, it was only that they might be destroyed forevermore. But You, O YHVH, are on high forever. For, behold, Your enemies, O YHVH – For, behold, Your enemies will perish. All who do iniquity will be scattered. But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox. I have been anointed with fresh oil. And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, my ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me” (Psalm 92:5-11)

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

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

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