Cross-dressing – the One New Man and the Bride of Messiah

In these days of Political Correctness, ancient paths have been abandoned for the confusion of rocky roads. Identity theft has absconded with biblically rooted gender roles, and the distinctive callings of men and women have morphed into muddled manifestations of sexuality and relationship.

Fuzzy perceptions about the callings of men and women often accompany fuzzy perceptions of Jew and Gentile. Many in the Body of Messiah today fit that definition. The anti-Semitic Theology of Contempt (commonly known as Replacement Theology) turns a fog machine on the irrevocable calling of Israel (see Romans 11:28-29), surgically removing the Jewish people from their own prophetic promises. Instead, Gentile Christians insert themselves into Hebrew promises while throwing the Jews off the bus. Like some cheap spaghetti Western movie, Israel is left standing alone, abandoned in a cloud of dust.

What is sobering is that this highway robbery is not only being carried out by the usual suspects – Greek/Russian Orthodox, Catholic and Reformed Christians. Pilfering the promises of Jacob has become standard practice in some charismatic and prophetic circles by who officially espouse positive attitudes to Jacob’s children.

Let’s consider some components of this latest twisting of Scripture.

Vive la différence!

In the Garden of Eden “God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created him. Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). In Genesis 5:1-2 God calls these two the title ‘man’ (or ‘adam’ in Hebrew).

The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So YHVH God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept. Then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. YHVH God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:20-24).

Woman’s origin is from man. The two different sexes are created to join together and become one flesh without losing their God-given identities. This joining was created to be without shame or darkness (“And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed”; Genesis 2:25). Indeed, this union is described by Solomon as embodying the “very flame of Yah” (Song of Songs 8:6; Shalhevet Yah in Hebrew).

The argument for cross-dressing

Paul describes Messiah Yeshua’s relationship to His followers in mystical terms, as that of a Groom to a Bride, drawing on Genesis 2:24 for illustration: “Messiah also … loves, nourishes and cherishes the church [‘church/kirche’ is the Germanic term; ‘ekklesia’ the Greek term; ‘edah’ [congregation of witness[ or ‘kehilah’ [gathering] is the Hebrew term] because we are members of His body. ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Messiah and the church” (Ephesians 5:29-32).

In this sense all believers in Messiah Yeshua are part of the Bride of Messiah:

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready (Revelation 19:7)
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21:2)
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:9)
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost (Revelation 22:17)

If a male believer in Yeshua decides to publicly wear women’s attire, and argues that he should do this because he is ‘the bride of Christ,’ most followers of Yeshua would conclude that this dear brother is sadly off course (at least in his exegesis of Scripture). To be part of the Bride of Messiah does not make men into women. It does not remove beards from the faces of men, or change their Y chromosome count.

Men and women have God-given gifts and callings, God-given differences. Faith in Yeshua does not blur or remove these differences. It does not give men the authority to call themselves women, or vice versa.

The Body of Messiah contains Jews and Gentiles, males and females. Believing men still may have beards. Women don’t. Jews remain Jews and Gentiles remain Gentiles. And there is God-breathed unity in this diversity.

The calling to be Jewish lasts a long time

Is being Jewish a temporary appendix that eventually gets removed when everyone gets spiritual? Some think so. But Paul had a different take on this: “From the standpoint of God’s choosing the Jewish people are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28-29).

Becoming a believer in Yeshua (the Jewish Messiah and the Son of David) does not make Jews into Gentiles. Neither does it make Gentiles into Jews. Paul explains that Gentile who become believers in Yeshua actually enter into new territory – Jewish territory – without becoming Jews.

“You were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God (in Greek, atheists) in the world. But now in Messiah Yeshua you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah” (Ephesians 2:12-13).

Gentiles who believe enter into an estate called the ‘Commonwealth of Israel’ (Ephesians 2:12-13) while still remaining Gentiles. It may be helpful to picture what this means by considering the British Commonwealth (today known as the Commonwealth of Nations – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations).

Today there are 53 nations who are participants in the British-based Commonwealth of Nations. The overwhelming majority of these nations are not genetically Anglo-Saxon in origin. Indeed, the majority are not Caucasians at all. Yet the Headquarters of the Commonwealth is at Marlborough House in London. The working language of the Commonwealth is English. And Queen Elizabeth II is the titular Head of the Commonwealth.

When Gentiles enter into the Commonwealth of Israel through belief in Israel’s Messiah Yeshua, they do not become Jews. Their DNA does not change. But they do enter into a Jewish framework and into a Jewish context. Many of the dynamics here will become increasingly clear in days to come.

What does change (at least what should change, provided that everything is healthy) is that Gentile believers shun any previous arrogant boasting against the Jewish branches. They whole-heartedly embrace God’s abiding love for the Jewish people and His irrevocable calling on them (see Romans 11:18, 20, 25). When they run across prophetic scriptures given to the Jewish people which speak warmly of Jacob’s ongoing and future destiny, these Gentile believers proudly and wholeheartedly affirm those scriptures as applying with priority to Israel – and only then make the application of these same principles regarding God’s heart to themselves as Gentile believers.

Robbing Jacob in the name of Jesus

When Gentile believers take prophetic promises which actually apply to the Jewish people, and instead apply those promises to Christians (never mentioning that these promises have ongoing prophetic validity for the Jewish people), what is happening is what my dear friend Bob Jones once called ‘the abominable snow job.’ It is a new form of Replacement Theology, albeit with charismatic and prophetic glitter. But the identity theft remains the same. Jewish promises are morphed into Church promises, and the Jewish nature of those promises is treated as unimportant.

This dynamic of treating the Jewish nature of these promises as unimportant is the very thing the God of Jacob was homing in on in Genesis 12:3. “The one who scorns/ignores/belittles/laughs at you, him I will curse” said YHVH. The Hebrew verb form used here is meqalelecha, from the root qalal which means ‘to consider as superficial or as of little account, to treat with contempt; to make light of; to view as being a small matter” (Lexicon In Veteris Testamenti Libros, ‘Qalal,’ pp.89-90, ed. L. Kohler, W. Baumgartner, Leiden, E.J. Brill 1958, p. 840).

When Gentile believers take Jewish promises, remove all Jewish reference to them, and then declare that these are promises for the primarily Gentile Body of Christ – that is a living example of VRT – Virtual Replacement Theology. Treating biblical promises to the Jews as a light or bothersome matter does have real consequences.

On your walls, O Jerusalem

Isaiah 62 is one of the most significant passages for prophetic intercession regarding the Jewish people. Over twenty times in verses 1 through 8 the Jewish people are given specific prophecies of physical and spiritual restoration. The land of Israel and its capital city Jerusalem are underscored. The Gentile nations will recognize YHVH’s hand of restoration on Israel. The Land of Israel will receive God’s delight and be called “My delight is in her’ (Heftzibah in Hebrew). In this passage intercessory watchmen are appointed to call out to the God of Jacob day and night until all the Jewish promises and destiny over Jacob’s children are fulfilled. The prophet concludes that neither Jewish grain, Jewish wine nor Jewish promises will be given as food and drink to those who would replace Israel.

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet until her righteousness goes forth like brightness and her salvation like a torch that is burning. The nations will see your righteousness and all kings your glory. And you will be called by a new name which the mouth of YHVH will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of YHVH, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, ‘Forsaken’ (Azuva in Hebrew) nor to your land will it any longer be said, ‘Desolate’ (Sh’mama in Hebrew) But you will be called “My delight is in her” (Heftzibah in Hebrew) and your land, “Married” (Be’ulah in Hebrew) For YHVH delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen. All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind YHVH, take no rest for yourselves, and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. YHVH has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, ‘I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies, nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored’” (Isaiah 62:1-8)

The Bible has hundreds of these Jewish-focused passages. Let’s be artisans who will not be ashamed when our handiwork is tested (see 2 Timothy 2:15). Let’s treat these Jewish prophecies fairly, honestly and with humility. Let’s not steal the children’s bread and leave them starving (Matthew 15:26).

Let’s fix what’s broken

The way to get these things back on track is not that difficult. It only takes:

Receiving revelation from God about this error, through His Spirit and His word
recognition of the serious nature of this new form of Replacement Theology
heartfelt desire to honor God and His ways by honoring Israel according to the Scriptures
taking concrete steps to honor and prioritize Israel even as we delight in God’s love for all nations

How should we then pray?

Pray for your spiritual leaders to receive revelation about God’s heart and strategies here
Pray for concrete steps in these matters to be taken by godly teachers, preachers and pastors across the globe
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s army speedily and in our day

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical 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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Three red cherries and a one-armed bandit

Slot-machines from a previous generation had a large metal handle on their right side. When this lever was pulled down, the one-armed bandit either swallowed your silver dollars or coughed up a trifling jackpot. For the rare winner, victory bells would ring on the machine and three cherries would line up on the glass-covered panel.

Today in the Middle East there are winners and losers. The slot machine’s bells are frantically ringing and three cherries have lined up. Syria is the slot machine in the present scenario, and the three Bing cherries are Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

Why does Russia love warm water?

Tim Marshall in his Prisoners of Geography sheds light on Russia’s intense interest in the Mediterranean ports of Syria: “From the Grand Principality of Muscovy through Peter the Great to Stalin and Putin, every Russian leader has been confronted by the same problem: ports still freeze and the North European Plain is flat …This lack of a warm-water port with direct access to the oceans has always been Russia’s Achilles heel, as strategically important to it as the North European Plain. Russia is at a geographical disadvantage, saved from being a much weaker power only because of its oil and gas. No wonder, in his will of 1725, Peter the Great advised his descendants to ‘approach as near as possible to Constantinople and India. Whoever governs there will be the true sovereign of the world. Consequently excite continual wars, not only in Turkey, but in Persia ... Penetrate as far as the Persian [Arabian] Gulf, advance as far as India'" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoners_of_Geography)

Russia has three main ports open to world trade:

St. Petersburg (often ice-bound)
Vladivostok (ice-locked for several months each year, and accessing only the Pacific theater)
Sevastopol in Crimea on the Black Sea, officially under Ukrainian rule until recently

Vladivostok is seldom in the news. But on February 26, 2014 Russian forces in green unmarked fatigues seized Crimea. Russia officially annexed Sevastopol (the home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Черноморский Флот) on March 18 of that year (www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/putin-was-surprised-at-how-easily-russia-took-control-of-crimea/2015/03/15/94b7c82e-c9c1-11e4-bea5-b893e7ac3fb3_story.html?utm_term=.53654bf4a2df).

Russia’s ‘drang nach Süden’ – its intense search for warm-water ports – has led it to the Syrian port of Tartus – strategically close to the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Suez Canal. There it has constructed major military facilities which will significantly aid Russia in the Mediterranean against a potential clash with NATO forces. Jim Phillips, a senior research fellow for Middle Eastern affairs at the Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, says, “It is a thorn in the side of NATO, and an increased presence of Russian ships based in the Mediterranean will pose a big threat to the alliance on its southern flank” (https://www.ibtimes.com/syrian-civil-war-russian-navy-base-tartus-syria-giving-nato-cause-concern-while-2092371).

In a scholarly article published by ISW (Institute for the Study of War) titled “Russian deployment to Syria: Putin’s Middle East game changer,” the authors conclude: “The Russian deployment to Syria is game-changing. It will alter the nature of international negotiations, compromise and weaken the cohesion and efforts of the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition, strengthen the Assad regime, and initiate direct Russo-Iranian military operations for the first time. The U.S. and its partners must fundamentally reassess their approach to the Syrian conflict in light of this critical inflection. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/193774/Russian%20Deployment%20to%20Syria%2017%20September%202015%20(1).pdf

For an up-to-date analysis of current Russian military thinking vis-à-vis Syria in light of the upcoming evacuation of U.S. forces, see https://iswresearch.blogspot.com/search/label/Syria.

Russia in Syria is the first red cherry

Hammer and sickle meet the Shi’ite Crescent

Over 2,500 years ago ancient Persia (modern Iran) marched its 500,000 strong army up to the shores of the Mediterranean and invaded Greece. The modern dream of Iran’s ayatollahs and its Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps is to conquer the world for its Shi’ite version of Islamist jihad. Its initial goal is an Iranian-controlled superhighway – a Shi’ite (or Shi’a) Crescent (https://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Shia_Crescent_sm.jpg) stretching from Iran through Iraq, into Syria and Lebanon.

From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Shi’ite Islam’s triumphant message must press west and pass through the keyhole of Syria. For that to happen, a Shi’ite war of control must be about crushing the Sunni powers and influence of Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Yemen, as well as the Sunni forces in Iraq, Lebanon and Kurdish enclaves. But the short-term strategic goal is to establish a land route all the way to Syria’s Mediterranean coast. That way, missiles and rockets can be loaded onto trucks in Tehran and driven by land right into Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s storehouses in Damascus or even to Hezbollah bunkers in Beirut.

Iran is funding and arming Lebanese Hezbollah to the hilt, and is doing the same for Islamic Jihad forces in Gaza. Iranian GPS systems are being flown directly to Beirut where Iranian-run factories in Lebanon are feverishly upgrading Shi’ite Hezbollah’s over 150,000 rockets and missiles, currently aimed at Israel’s population centers. Iranian Fajr-5 long-range multiple-launch rocket systems are flown into Damascus and then transshipped to Hezbollah launch sites (https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Report-IDF-destroyed-cach-of-Iranian-Fajr-5-missiles-in-Syria-strike-575443). “Death to Israel” is not just an Iranian slogan. The Iranian secret nuclear program is still being pursued with this strategy in mind.

Iran is striving to establish air and naval bases in Syria as Russia has already done (https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN1BM1P2). This would extend Shi’ite influence into the Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo) and seed European Islamic communities with the ayatollahs’ revolutionary message.

According to Dr. Azeem Ibrahim (Ph.D Cambridge, International Security Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, Adjunct Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College), “Iran now dominates, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, and may also end up doing so in Yemen. It is successfully extending the ‘Shiite crescent’” (https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2018/05/13/How-Iran-is-extending-its-Shiite-crescent-to-Africa.html). See also, “Looking the Wrong Way on Iran”, Shoshana Bryen, June 27, 2017, https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10571/iran-shiite-crescent).

The brilliant commentator Charles Krauthammer spoke prophetically back in June 2017 about the current threat: “For Iran, Syria is the key, the central theater of a Shiite-Sunni war for regional hegemony. Iran (which is non-Arab) leads the Shiite side, attended by its Arab auxiliaries – Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Shiite militias in Iraq and the highly penetrated government of Iraq, and Assad’s Alawite regime (Alawites being a non-Sunni sect, often associated with Shiism.) This alliance operates under the patronage and protection of Russia, which supplies the Iranian-allied side with cash, weapons and, since 2015, air cover from its new bases in Syria” (Charles Krauthammer, “At stake in the Mideast is consolidation of the Shiite Crescent,” June 22, 2017; https://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/22/the-great-muslim-civil-war-and-us/).

In January 2016, a confidant of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman claimed (in desert hyperbole which is not far off the mark) that the Arab world is being confronted not by a Shi’a Crescent (a sliver of moon) but “by a Shia full moon” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shia_crescent).

Iran in Syria is the second red cherry

Turkey but no Thanksgiving – the resuscitation of the Caliphate

Sunni Islam’s dream of world domination through jihadi dictatorship (the Caliphate) crashed and broke into a thousand pieces on March 3, 1924. On that day Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of the Turkish Republic, constitutionally abolished the Caliphate. But some dreams die hard. The vision of a reborn and conquering Caliphate inspires and animates many jihadi Muslims. It is the crown jewels of such organizations as the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qa’eda and ISIS.

The current President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan is actively pursuing a dominant role for Turkey over the entire Muslim world. Erdogan is seen by close associates as the up-and-coming Caliph of a resuscitated Caliphate:

History shows that Turkey’s pursuit of Caliphate glory has left a bloody trail of Christian Armenians and Greeks victims between the 1840's and 1918. Here are some main milestones (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Turkey):

Badr Khan in 1840’s – the slaughter of 10,000 Assyrian Christians by Muslim Kurds on behalf of the Turkish Ottoman authorities (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1843_and_1846_massacres_in_Hakkari)
Hamidian massacres in 1894-96 – 100,000-300,000 Christian Armenians by Turkish Ottoman and Arab soldiers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacres_of_Diyarbak%C4%B1r_(1895); https://www.armenian-genocide.org/hamidian.html)
Adana massacres in 1904 – 15,000-30,000 Christian Armenians by Turkish nationalists
Greek genocide 1913-22 – 500,000-900,000 Christian Greeks by the Young Turk government
Assyrian genocide 1914-18 – 270,000-750,000 Assyrian Christians by the Young Turk government and Kurdish tribes
Armenian genocide 1915-18 – 850,000-1,500,000 Armenian Christians by the Young Turk government and Kurdish tribes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide)

Since 1984, Turkey has destroyed 3,000 Kurdish villages and implemented mass transfer of two million Kurds who became refugees in their own country. Turkish army forces conducted massacres of approximately 30,000 Kurds. And Turkey has clearly stated in the past week that it will shortly move into Syria with plans to slaughter the restive Kurdish independence movement.

Turkey's State-owned Anadolu news agency on Thursday December 20, 2018 quoted Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (speaking of Kurds in Syria) during a visit to a Qatari-Turkish joint military base in Doha. “Right now it is being said that some ditches, tunnels were dug in Manbij and to the east of the Euphrates. They can dig tunnels or ditches if they want, they can go underground if they want, when the time and place comes they will be buried in the ditches they dug. No one should doubt this” (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey/turkey-says-syrian-kurdish-militants-will-be-buried-in-ditches-anadolu-idUSKCN1OJ0N8). For more perspective see “Erdogan is not a benevolent sultan of old, he's a monster that must be stopped” (Ben-Dror Yemini December 24, 2018; https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5432450,00.html; https://ahvalnews.com/ypg-turkey/turkish-military-considers-six-options-new-offensive-syria-hurriyet).

A massacre of Kurds is set to be carried out by Turkish forces in the very near future (https://www.timesofisrael.com/turkey-sends-more-troops-to-syrian-kurdish-area-as-us-pulls-out-monitor/).

The vacuum which will be created by the upcoming U.S. withdrawal of forces from Syria will open up opportunities for Turkey to once again butcher its opponents.

Turkey in Syria is the third red cherry

A recent conference in Beersheva focused on the three “cherry” nations, offering perspective on the threats involved. The following article is helpful: “Iran, Turkey, Russia threaten Israel in Eastern Mediterranean” (Efraim Inbar, December 17, 2018; https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Iran-Turkey-Russia-and-others-threaten-Western-and-Israeli-security-in-this-strategic-zone-574590).

The Middle East abhors a vacuum

On December 19, 2018 U.S. President Trump announced the upcoming withdrawal of approximately 2,000 U.S. troops currently stationed in northeastern Syria (out of a present total of 2,600):

On December 23 a U.S. defense official announced that “the execute order has been signed” and that evacuation is proceeding.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/23/politics/syria-withdrawal-pentagon-signed-order/index.html

How is this withdrawal to be understood in light of all the above history and context?

Getting serious about Syria

Many commentators and analysts have deep concerns concerning Trump’s decision. Here are two examples:

Joost Hiltermann, “The Kurds: Betrayed Again by Washington” (December 22, 2018; https://on.theatln.tc/kir4jrN)
Jean-Marc Mojon, https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-pullout-strengthens-iran-land-bridge-to-the-mediterranean/

Kurdish former Foreign Minister of Iraq Hoshyar Zebari sees the American evacuation as having ramifications far beyond the Kurds. “This sudden change in policy is worrying not only to Syrian Kurds but to all the U.S. allies in the region…The message it sends is that there really is a question of trust. This will cause many governments to rethink their alliances with a superpower that can really just abandon them and leave them in the lurch and throw them under the bus… Russia, Turkey and Iran will be the biggest beneficiaries…These are the new powers in the Middle East” (Liz Sly, “This time, the United States is betraying more than just the Kurds, allies say”; (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/isis-is-not-defeated-and-will-return-if-the-us-pulls-out-says-americas-syrian-allies/2018/12/20/0e0502c2-03d5-11e9-958c-0a601226ff6b_story.html?utm_term=.f9a97161cafd).

On the other hand, some analysts see positive potential here.

Caroline Glick, https://carolineglick.com/pros-and-cons-of-the-us-pullout-from-syria/
Lee Smith, “Trump’s Grand Strategy: Get the United States out of the Middle East, Now” (https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/260390/trump-strategy-middle-east)

For some time U.S. President Trump has expressed his intention to withdraw American forces from Syria On April 3, 2018 he declared, “We were successful against ISIS. We'll be successful against anybody militarily, but sometimes it's time to come back home … So we're going to be making a decision, we've had a tremendous military success” (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-pull-troops-syria/story?id=54208786).

“As far as Syria is concerned, our primary mission in terms of that was getting rid of ISIS. We've almost completed that task, and we'll be making a decision very quickly in coordination with others as to what we'll do … I want to get out. I want to bring our troops home” (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/03/trump-wants-to-get-out-of-syria-but-military-advisors-say-isis-isnt-defeated-yet.html).

On that same day April 3, 2018, a few hours earlier in the same city the American Special Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Brett McGurk said, “We're in Syria to fight ISIS. That is our mission, and that mission isn't over, and we're going to complete that mission.” McGurk added that, while ISIS is on the run, it is not yet defeated.

About-face

On December 13 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu agreed to have Trump and Erdogan discuss the latter's threat to immediately attack and destroy U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in northeast Syria, where American forces are also based. The National Security Council arranged the call, while Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis prepared a list of talking points for Trump, urging Erdogan to back off from hostilities.

On December 14 President Trump spoke with PM Erdogan, but ended up ignoring the script. Erdogan challenged Trump, reminding him that his official reason for U.S. troops to be in Syria was to defeat the Islamic State. “Why are you still there?” Erdogan asked Trump, telling him that ISIS was 99% defeated and that the Turks could easily deal with the remaining terrorists. Trump quickly pledged to withdraw U.S. troops, shocking both National Security Advisor John Bolton and Erdogan (https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-decided-on-syria-pullout-during-phone-call-with-erdogan-report/). The President reportedly wrapped up the discussion with Erdogan, saying, “OK, it’s all yours. We are done” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-said-to-have-told-erdogan-that-syria-is-all-yours-we-are-done/).

On subsequent tweets President Trump posted, “We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency” (December 19, 2018, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1075528854402256896). And on December 23, 2018 Trump tweeted, “President @RT_Erdogan of Turkey has very strongly informed me that he will eradicate whatever is left of ISIS in Syria ... and he is a man who can do it plus, Turkey is right ‘next door.’ Our troops are coming home!” (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1077064829825966081).

Six days after Trump’s decisive conversation with Erdogan, on Wednesday December 19 the President publically announced the coming troop withdrawals. One day later, on Thursday afternoon December 20 Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis went to see President Trump in a last-ditch attempt to change Trump’s mind. For 45 minutes Mattis argued that America needed to stand by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who had taken the lead in ejecting ISIS from its Syrian strongholds. The President refused to budge. At the conclusion of their discussion Mattis handed the President his letter of resignation.

The letter stressed that the issues at stake involved abandoning international allies and not sufficiently blocking hostile moves by authoritarian governments such as Russia (https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2018/12/24/ignoring-history-trump-hands-russia-yet-another-win-in-syria/#12834867115d). “My views on treating allies with respect and also being clear-eyed about both malign actors and strategic competitors are strongly held … Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position” (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/us/politics/letter-jim-mattis-trump.html?module=inline).

Mac Thornberry, top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, scored Trump’s plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan – another surprise move by Trump that leaked in news reports on Thursday. “Reducing the American presence in Afghanistan and removing our presence in Syria will reverse progress, encourage our adversaries, and make America less safe,” he said (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-mattis/in-mattis-resignation-a-singular-challenge-to-trumps-agenda-idUSKCN1OK2CF).

David Phillips (a Professor at Columbia University, a former senior State Department official, and the author of the new book: The Great Betrayal: How America Abandoned the Kurds and Lost the Middle East) commented, “As soon as the U.S. folds its tent and leaves, Turkey will immediately begin an air bombardment followed by a ground attack by the [Turkish-backed] Free Syrian army. Thousands will die, thousands will be displaced and will be given no haven within Syria. They will be turned away at the Turkish border … For more than three and a half years, the [Kurds] have been our boots on the ground and were the point of the spear in retaking [ISIS command center] Raqqa. Who is going to fight for us in the future when we throw our allies under the bus?” (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/21/james-mattis-resignation-trump-erdogan-phone-call).

“It’s a bad day for Israel,” says Ehud Yaari, a veteran Israeli reporter and fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Israeli decision-makers were left in shock by the U.S. decision … Israel is being left alone on its most vulnerable front … The YPG [Kurdish forces] will be eradicated” (https://twitter.com/NTarnopolsky/status/1075452199772274688).

On December 18 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “I spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump and yesterday with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who told me that it was the President’s intention to withdraw their forces from Syria and made it clear that they had other ways to express their influence in the arena … This is, of course, America’s decision. We will study the timetable, the mode of operation, and of course the implications for us. In any case, we will take care to protect Israel’s security and to protect ourselves from that arena” (https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-gives-cautious-backing-to-us-troop-withdrawal-from-syria/).

Outbreak in Lebanon

The coming war between Iran’s Lebanese proxy Hezbollah and Israel is getting closer all the time. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) is interdicting and destroying Iranian, North Korean and Chinese ordinance in Lebanon and Syria on a regular basis (https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-official-says-top-hezbollah-officials-hit-in-alleged-israeli-strikes-in-syria/). Russian fighter jets, radar and anti-aircraft missiles track every IAF sortie, and the Syrians are fast catching up in their ability to operate new Russian systems. The region is a powder keg and one loose spark could trigger a war bringing Russia, Syria, Lebanon and Iran into face-to-face confrontation with the armies of Israel.

The words of the Psalmist prefigure this challenging situation:

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… who said, “Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God” (Psalm 83:1-8, 13).

In verses 13-18 of this psalm, the writer calls out to YHVH in intense intercession. We would do well to heed the direction of his petitions, and add them to our own as we pray about these matters.

Also, in Ezekiel 38:5 Iran/Persia has a future military role against Israel. That is something worth praying about.

How should we then pray?

Pray for your country’s leaders to receive God’s heart and strategies about these matters
Pray for your own spiritual leaders to receive revelation about God’s heart and strategies here
Pray for divine encounters and revelation for Israel’s leadership about these issues
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s army speedily and in our day

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical 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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

What happens when a nation lifts the Jerusalem stone

Over 2,400 years ago the Spirit of prophecy fell on Zechariah as he declared “the burden of the word of YHVH concerning Israel – It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem an overly hard-to-lift stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will be severely injured” (Zechariah 12:3).

Since that day many nations have tried to grab ahold of Jerusalem’s rock. Some conquered it in the name of their gods or their imperial hubris (think Persia, Greece, Rome, Jihad). Other powers schemed to set Jerusalem as a prize jewel in their religio-political crown (think internationalized city or corpus separatum). Still others see Jerusalem as the key to an ultimate deal which will usher in Mid-East peace.

But Jerusalem’s stony mass remains the same, and the spiritual peril involved in lifting it is crushingly real. Zechariah foretells that any nation which weakens or divides Jerusalem will experience the equivalent of a hernia – it will bulge and then explode with painful consequences.

Don’t mess with My bride!

As Abraham wandered in the Negev, the King of Gerar seized Sarah (whom he thought was Abraham’s sister) and brought her into his harem. “But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, ‘Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married’” (Genesis 20:3). To abscond with a married woman, someone else’s wife, is a basic breach of Middle Eastern hospitality. Abimelech was in big trouble.

In a similar way, the God of Jacob sees the Land of Israel as the bride of the Jewish nation. It belongs to no other people. YHVH even gives a prophetic name to the Promised Land – ‘Be’ulah’ (married) – because the Land of Israel is like a virgin bride promised only to Jacob’s seed.

“You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of YHVH, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, ‘Azuvah’ (forsaken) nor to your land will it any longer be said, ‘Shmamah’ (desolate). But you will be called, ‘Heftzi bah’ (My delight is in her) and your land will be called ‘Be’ulah’ (married). For YHVH delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:3-5).

Yesterday’s Abimelech – today’s Hamas

The Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated jihadi terror group Hamas believes that the Land of Israel is exclusively Islamic land, since it was conquered by the jihadi warriors of Mohammed in 637 AD. Hamas is not interested in dividing the land – a two-state solution. Its terror tactics aim to achieve a one-state solution – an Islamic shari’a state. Murder or exile would be the fate of Jewish Israelis. Hamas leader Khaled Mashal recently said:

“A country cannot be liberated and rights cannot be restored without resistance. It is not possible. Without resistance, the occupation cannot be defeated or forced to retreat. Every means of power must be put to use…Today we are being called and preparing to force Israel to retreat from Jerusalem and from the West Bank. Allah willing, this is on the way to its retreat from all of Palestine” (www.memri.org/reports/former-hamas-leader-khaled-mashal-calls-west-bank-guerrilla-warfare-states-i-resist).

According to Isaiah’s words and YHVH’s perspective, Hamas’s goal is to capture the bride and to murder the rightful husband.

How about I’ll take half of the bride?

In May 2018 the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem. It was soon joined by Guatemala’s embassy.

On Saturday December 15, 2018 Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave his first major foreign policy speech at the Sydney Institute (www.dailybulletin.com.au/news/42652-scott-morrison-speech-at-the-sydney-institute). The most noteworthy statement in that speech concerns Jerusalem: “The Government has resolved that Australia’s position is now as follows: Australia now recognizes West Jerusalem, being the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel…Furthermore, recognizing our commitment to a two state solution, the Australian Government has also resolved to acknowledge the aspirations of the Palestinian people for a future state with its capital in East Jerusalem.” Morrison admitted that his declaration “may cause controversy.”

The PM of OZ threw an interesting curve ball into the debate. What if a nation recognizes West Jerusalem as the Jewish capital, but East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital? Best of both worlds? A safe hedging of bets?

Three immediate problems

Less than 40% of Jerusalem is Arab, while 60% is Jewish (www.haaretz.com/israel-news/palestinians-now-make-up-some-40-percent-of-jerusalem-s-population-1.6077642). Will East Jerusalem be a Palestinian capital city with a Jewish majority?
Will Islamist terror groups be content with a so-called secular/democratic Palestinian state? Or will Hamas and Islamic Jihad win West Bank elections and murder all opposition, before turning jihadi eyes toward the destruction of Israel (www.timesofisrael.com/fatah-said-to-beg-abbas-cancel-local-elections-hamas-will-win-west-bank/)?
In his remarks, Australia’s PM Morrison declared: “Jerusalem – the home of the Al Aqsa Mosque, the Wailing Wall and the Via Dolorosa – deserve better than the rancid stalemate and better than the polarization that marks its people.” All three sites mentioned by the PM are in East Jerusalem, as are King’s David’s palace, Isaiah’s wall and Yeshua’s tomb. If those areas are not part of the Jewish capital but instead under Palestinian control, what connection will Jerusalem have to the Jewish people?

The nations of the world are on record

There is no country in the world which cleaves to what God advocates in the Scriptures regarding the final status of the Land of Israel.

Most countries are on record supporting a two-state solution – one Jewish and one Arab. The Arab state would not have any Jews, but the Jewish state would be at least 25% Arab (that is the case in Israel today). www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/73/22

Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades – all are on record committed to the eradication of the Jewish state. If a less radical Palestinian state would be created, these groups would wrest control from it, as Hamas did in Gaza 2005 from the PLO.

Essentially, a two-state solution and a one-jihadi state solution are not good for Israel’s long-term health and survival.

YHVH is on record

God’s perspective on dividing up the Land of Israel into two states is encapsulated in Joel's prophetic declaration:

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat (‘YHVH judges’). Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and they have divided up My land” (Joel 3:1-2)

According to this prophecy, Messiah Yeshua’s judgment of the nations at the Second Coming focuses on each nation’s stance and activities regarding the survival, safety and borders of the Jewish state.

Be careful what you ask for

The Prime Minister of Australia is a strong believer in Yeshua. He needs our prayers as he stands before God, his country and the leaders of the world on this and many other pressing issues (www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-pentecostal-prime-minister-inside-scott-morrison-s-religion-20180825-p4zzos.html; https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2018/august/meet-the-new-prime-minister-of-australia-scott-morrison-is-an-evangelical-christian).

God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), even important persons. When a country’s leader moves to divide the Land of Israel – even if he is a believer and means well, even if his country is a major world player – that leader is attempting to lift an immovable stone that he was never meant to budge.

How should we then pray?

Pray for country’s leaders, that they would handle Jerusalem in the fear of the Lord
Pray for revelation for pastors and congregational leaders about God’s burning zeal for Jerusalem
Pray for divine encounters for Israel’s leadership about this issue
Pray for an outpouring of revelation and salvation upon all the lost sheep of the House of Israel
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s army speedily and in our day

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical 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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

We wish you a Jewish Christmas!

Yuletide is upon us. Dark evergreen trees are bejeweled with winking lights. Manger scenes and crèches (where still legal) remind us of Jesus, Joseph and Mary – as well as of the pot of overflowing presents at the end of the Christmas rainbow.

As we deck the halls with boughs of holly and peppermint sticks, let’s take a brief moment to remember the missing link at Noël – the Jewishness of the Baby, the Jewishness of the Christmas message, and the Hebrew prophets’ vision. The Babe of Bethlehem is getting ready to return, this time as the roaring Lion of Judah, bringing in His Jewish kingdom to a peace-starved world.

A Jewish theater, a Jewish play, a Jewish set

As the Christmas story opens, the Messiah is about to be born. The actors are ready and the stage is set. And all the extras, all the main actors and all the stagehands (with the exception of Herod and the three magi) are Jews.

This ‘movie’ is being filmed, is taking place, in Israel. The opening scene is on the Temple Mount, where Z’charya (Zechariah in English) is “chosen by lot to enter the Temple of YHVH and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering” (Luke 1:9-11).

Approximately one year later, Shim’on (Simeon in English) “came in the Spirit into the Temple” (Luke 2:27), where he pronounced a beracha (a blessing) over the Baby Yeshua, saying, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples – a light of revelation to the nations, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

This Shim’on then spoke a prophetic word over Miriam (Mary in English), “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed – and a sword will pierce even your own soul – to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).

Chana (Anna in English – the Jewish prophetess from the tribe of Asher; Luke 2:36) was a familiar sight on the Temple Mount in those days. She “never left the Temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:37-38).

So far this story feels pretty Jewish.

Angels we have heard on high

No Jewish Christmas story is complete without angels – lots of angels! And in the Nativity narrative, angels play an essential role in heralding the Good News (gōdspel in Anglo-Saxon Old English, the ancient root of the modern word ‘gospel’).

The angel Gavriel (Gabriel in English, meaning ‘God is my mighty hero’) beams down to Zechariah inside the Holy Temple, the Bet Hamikdash, and informs him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news” (Luke 1:19). His was a message which went straight to the heart of the Jewish people and fleshed out a prophetic word about Yohanan Hamatbil (John the Baptist in English) – based on the Hebrew prophecy of Malachi (Malachi 3:1-2; 4:5-6). “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to YHVH their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children” (Luke 1:16-17).

A short time later the angel Gavriel appeared to Miriam with a bold prophetic declaration about how her supernatural Baby would fulfill centuries-old Jewish promises. “Now in the sixth month the angel Gavriel was sent from God to a village in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Yoseph, of the dynasty of David. And the virgin’s name was Miriam. And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! YHVH is with you.’ But she was very perplexed at the statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Miriam; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and YHVH God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end’” (Luke 1:26-33).

The coming of Yeshua leads to the establishment (in the midst of the Jewish people) of a Jewish and Davidic kingdom which lasts forever, centered in Jerusalem and encompassing the world. This message lies at the core of the Christmas story

Rescuing Jews from their enemies

Messiah Yeshua’s coming has some very Jewish goals in mind which are often ignored when the Christmas story is recounted with a Gentile accent.

Miriam’s prophetic song to Elizabeth spotlights Yeshua as the One who gives help to His Jewish people: “He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His covenant faithfulness, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever” (Luke 1: 54-55).

Zechariah prophesies under the powerful unction of the Ruach Hakodesh (the Holy Spirit) that Messiah will break the power of the enemies of Israel: “Blessed be YHVH the God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant – as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old – salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; to show mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to Abraham our father; to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days” (Luke 1:68-75).

One of the chief purposes for Yeshua’s coming in the Christmas story is to crush all powers and terrorist groups who seek to murder the Jewish people and occupy their sovereign homeland. This is a central part of the Yuletide message.

The King of the Jews is coming to reign over the Jewish people

Whereas the theme of ‘peace on earth, good will toward men’ is usually a popular Christmas message, Herod the Edomite king saw things quite differently – he saw Yeshua’s birth as a direct and personal threat. In his mind the unshakeable link between the King of the Jews and the kingdom of the Jewish people was a dangerous menace to be prevented at all costs.

“Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: “And you, Beit Lechem in the Land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel” (Matthew 2:2-6).

When the majority of the nations of the world see Jewish sovereignty, centrality and restoration as a threat to be actively opposed, the ghost of Herod lingers on

How should we then pray?

At this Christmas season, pray for a revelation to many of the Jewish focus of this holiday
Pray that the God of Jacob would bring to naught all plans crafted against the Jewish people
Pray for an outpouring of revelation and salvation upon the lost sheep of the House of Israel
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s army speedily and in our day

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical 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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org