Looking at world events through eagle eyes

As the pace of world events speeds up, values which have stood strong and stalwart for millennia are crashing down like mighty redwoods in a hurricane. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21)

Whereas in the 1980’s and 1990’s the world’s mouth gaped in unbelief as Communism became “commu-‘was’-im” – as the Iron Curtain came crashing down – today it is the West which is collapsing as the East rises phoenix-like out of the ashes. Today it is jihadi Islam which raises its murderous black banners as it terrorizes its way across the heart of the Middle East and North Africa.

The spirit of denial of reality and compromise with evil is dominating the deliberations of Western powers as the modern march of Mordor draws near to the modern ‘gates of Constantinople.’ The West is trapped in moral confusion and deception, while narcissism rules the airwaves and the pubs, the coffee houses and the social media. The termites have gnawn away the foundations of the 21^st century Titanic, and all the positive confession in the world has not succeeded in waking up many in the Western wing of Messiah’s body to the imminent collapse of democracy and a biblical framework of values.

In such a turbulent world, with such turmoil roiling all around us, how can we be “observant” Jews and Gentiles? How can we observe what is going on and understand it from a “God’s eyes” perspective? How can we be pro-active in a world shaken by moral, material and spiritual earthquakes?

Horsing around with the Hebrew prophets

A stunning night vision came to the Hebrew prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 1:8-21). Worldwide in scope, it sums up superpower diplomacy and war into a profound revelation replete with horses, evil horns and muscled blacksmiths and carvers of wood. The proper understanding of this vision holds the key to us assimilating God’s age-to-age perspective on preparation for Last Days’ ministry.

Zechariah had been called to stand before the courts of Israel’s Almighty God and speak YHVH’s heart to His own beloved Jewish people, as well as to bring heavenly oracles to the mostly hostile surrounding nations. Just a few years prior to Zechariah’s call to the prophetic, his Jewish nation had been dragged off to exile by the rivers of Babylon, and their wondrous Temple (where dwelt the presence and fire of YHVH in visible form) had been reduced to ashes and rubble.

Yet this agony of Jewish Exile and the triumph of pagan and satanic forces (who were blaspheming the God of Israel and taunting His people Israel; see 1 Samuel 17:26-28) frankly left the world’s superpowers of Zechariah’s day unmoved. And in our day the agonies that Israel and the Jewish people face from concerted Islamist efforts to destroy it and from the cruel rise of modern anti-Semitism – these leave most of the world and much of the Body of Messiah bored and blasé.

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the (ed. Babylonian) month Shvat, in the second year of Darius, the word of YHVH came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and He was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom YHVH has sent to patrol the earth.” So they answered the Angel of YHVH who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.” Then the Angel of YHVH said, “O YHVH of armies, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?” YHVH answered the Angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. (Zechariah 1:7-13)

The current condition of the Jewish people and the way the nations treat Israel – these are the touchstones of God’s foreign policy. That is how He operated then and that is how He still operates.

Remember the days of old. Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel. For YHVH’s portion is His people, Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:7-8)

Acc.ording to the Apostle Paul, the calling YHVH has given to the Jewish people, and the gifts He has lavished on them, are irrevocable and not subject to change or re-interpretation (Romans 11:28-29).

So this biblical foreign policy vis-à-vis the nations is still in force, still influencing the super-powers and the United Nations. And that means that these abovementioned power groups are in deep yoghurt from God’s perspective. The eagle eyes of the Hebrew prophets cut through the mumbo-jumbo and politically correct verbiage of international relations. They reveal what God thinks about the shenanigans of the so-called “peace process” and the “two-state solution” – even when such foolish and anti-biblical language comes out of the mouths of rock-stars (https://www.algemeiner.com/2015/07/09/u2-frontman-bono-dedicates-song-to-former-israeli-president-peres/)

“What’s the big deal?”

The world powers of Zechariah’s day couldn’t understand what the big fuss was all about. They concluded that the Jews were a touchy and overly zealous people. Somehow the whole Jewish people had fallen under a spell, so thought the pagan ancients, believing that the God of the universe actually has a covenant with this primitive Jewish race, that their God cares about Israel as a priority, that the Jewish people’s welfare and the treatment they receive at the hand of the nations (and of some believers as well) is a fatefully serious issue in His eyes.

When the nations of the world think that “all is quiet on the Western front,” the national interests of those countries are not in sync with YHVH’s heart for Israel. As Balaam prophesied (Numbers 23:8-9) , Israel is the only nation that stands alone on the other side of the equation (as President Obama recently said in reference to his Iran deal) – the nation that stands alone as looks out for its own survival and counteracts the threats to its own existence.

When today’s world and modern Christians ignore God’s priority of Israel, they are repeating the ancient sins of Babylon. But God is not mocked, and He responds quite forcefully to the nations’ blithe dismissal of Israel’s continuing calling and divine protection.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His presence saved them” (Isaiah 63:9)

The Hebrew says that in all of the Jewish people’s dire straits (‘narrowness-es’ or tight spots), so YHVH is put in a tight spot, is subject to pressure, is afflicted and is caused pain. There is a clear and undeniable connection between inflicting agony on the Jewish people and inflicting agony on the God of the Jewish people.

Some believers may think that concern for the Jewish people is simply carnal – a partisan and soulish loyalty. If that were true, then how can one explain the very words of the God who answers by fire, who takes the same ardent stand in His burning love for Israel and in His zealous defense of their existence?

Pouring gasoline on anti-Semitism

There is an evil passivity which has taken root in some corners of the body of Messiah. Because of fear – the fear of standing up and being counted, the fear of standing with the Jewish people as anti-Semitism increases – some leaders and teachers are shrinking back from asking and answering the hard questions. The hard questions include:

What are believers to do when they see the world oppose the restoration of the Jewish people to their land?
What are believers to do when they see their own political leaders attempt to divide the Land of Israel and establish a terrorist Islamist jihadi state on the earth YHVH has pledged exclusively to the sons of Isaac (Genesis 25:1-6)?
What are believers to do when standing with the Jewish people is considered not cool but reactionary, when zeal for Israel’s restoration doesn’t resonate well with Millennials?

Shakespeare may well have prophesied of our day when he had Brutus say the following words: “There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures” (Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–224).

Zechariah gives us words from the very heart of God, and that dynamic is the core of what the prophetic is all about. Instead of jumping into the fray and standing with the Jewish people, the nations were content to sit out the battle – somewhat like how in recent days the Turkish army was sitting out the battle while ISIS slaughtered the Kurdish forces in northern Iraq.

The nations lack compassion for the Jewish people – for their safety and their flourishing. Their hearts are often cold about such matters. As a result, their “passive bystander” approach only furthers the disaster threatening Israel.

So the Angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says YHVH of armies, I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease. For while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster. Therefore thus says YHVH, I will return to Jerusalem with compassion. My house will be built in it, declares YHVH of armies, and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem. Again, proclaim, saying, Thus says YHVH of armies, My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and YHVH will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem” (Zechariah 1:14-17)

Compassion is the key word here. Are we overflowing with compassion for the destiny and present estate of the Jewish people? In times past, would we be the ones clucking our tongues and not much else, as Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, jihadis or Nazis massacred the Jewish people? Would we have shaken our heads and sagely whispered that “Biblically, the Jews had it coming to them”? Do we not see that the nations of the world (and believers as well) are today being weighed in the balances by YHVH the God of Jacob, and are mostly being found wanting? (Daniel 5:17-28)

God is good, all the time, to Israel

God’s heart toward Israel is overflowing with compassion. His plans for them are good (Jeremiah 32:36-42). He is restoring the Jewish people to Israel in compassion (Jeremiah 30:18). Though He will not leave sin unpunished (Amos 9:8-10), He will abundantly pardon the sin of His remnant who turns to Him in repentance (Micah 7:18-20).

Our message needs to be fortified with these spiritual vitamins in order to be considered a message of kosher comfort to Zion.

How shall we then pray?

The nations of this world are hovering on the brink of sealing a deal with the world’s foremost terror regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran. This deal would allow Iran to vastly increase its support of jihadi terrorism against the West, the East and Israel. It would also allow Iran to achieve nuclear capability, while Iran’s leaders repeatedly call for Israel’s total destruction

Pray that God will change the hearts of world leaders concerning Iran and speak to them in the night and at their banquets, even as YHVH spoke to Babylon’s leaders in Daniel the prophet’s day

Pray for a revelatory breakthrough for those spiritual bystanders who are passive-aggressive toward the Jewish people, their survival and their restoration to the Land of Israel. Not all who publically proclaim their right theology about Israel are actually Israel’s faithful friends. As Yeshua said in Luke 7:35, wisdom will be judged by her children. The reality of the confession will be rightly judged by the manifested fruit

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) through: www.davidstent.org

Hansel, Gretel and Cohen

A long time ago, in a German forest very far away, lived a brother, Hansel and a sister, Gretel. Their wicked stepmother decided that there was not enough food to go around, and so she forced her hen-pecked husband into abandoning the two children in the heart of a black forest. Hansel was quick on his feet and overheard the nefarious plot. Arming himself with a loaf of bread, he stealthily left a trail of breadcrumbs on their way into the forest. He counted on eventually leading his sister out of the woods and back home. In the meantime hungry birdies followed behind, pecking and eating up all the crumbs. The two sweet children were lost in the deep, dark forest.

This Teutonic fable parallels a tragic aspect of Jewish history. Stevie Winwood (of the rock super group Blind Faith) said something similar in his ballad “Can’t find my way home.”

Trails of tears and breadcrumbs

When Israel went into Exile – first the ten tribes to Assyria (northern Iraq) and then the remaining two tribes to Babylon (central Iraq) – the Jewish people sat down and wept beside the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. They remembered from whence they had come – Zion (Psalm 137:1). They remembered God’s purposes in irrevocably choosing Israel (see Romans 11:28-29) and treasured that calling and those gifts, even above their chiefest joy (Psalm 137:5-6).

But barely 70 years later, the mighty King Cyrus of Persia proclaimed “YHVH, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the House of YHVH, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:2-3). But barely 50,000 Jewish people returned, leaving millions in Iraq for millennia to come. The Hebrew nation had forgotten the road back home.

The God of Jacob knew this would happen. People do get comfortable, even in exile. His first prophetic word to Israel was COMFORT: “Thus says YHVH, restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded, declares YHVH. And they will return from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, declares YHVH, and your children will return to their own territory” (Jeremiah 31:16-17).

But knowing human nature, the God of Isaac’s next prophetic emphasis was on pro-active PLANNING. Jews would not return to Zion without a ‘Zion’-ist focus: “Set up for yourself road marks! Place for yourself guideposts. Direct your mind to the highway, the way by which you went. Return, O virgin of Israel! Return to these your cities!” (Jeremiah 31:21). Israel needed to lay down a trail of indestructible bread crumbs – etched into the depths of the Jewish soul – remembering two points:

the need to return from Exile
the place to return to (Zion)

Today the majority of the world’s Jewish population is in somewhat of a spiritual fog about these two points.

Interestingly, the term ‘breadcrumb trail’ is used today by computer programmers A breadcrumb or breadcrumb trail is a graphical control element often used as a navigational aid in user interfaces and on web pages, allowing users to keep track and maintain awareness of their locations within programs, documents, or websites.

“Get back to where you once belonged”

The last live performance of the Beatles was on the rooftop of Apple Corps, 3 Savile Row in London. Their closing song was “Get Back” with the chorus of this song echoing “Get back to where you once belonged!”

Today many sons of Jacob would respond to God’s call to ‘get back’ with the words of Thomas (Yeshua’s disciple), “Lord, we do not know where You’re going. How do we know the way?” (John 14:5). But YHVH promises, “I will lead the blind by a way they do not know. In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone” (Isaiah 42:16).

Who cares about identity theft when you lose your memory?

The Exile of the Jewish people began with Assyria and Babylon, and has continued into the 20^th Century. The Jews of Exile (Persia, Rome, Alexandria, Baghdad, Paris, Berlin and London) had all had settled down for a long winter’s nap. They did pray for Messiah to bring the Hebrew nation back to the Promised Land in His time, but there were precious little pro-active moves. Jewish people began to describe themselves as “Germans of the Mosaic faith” or in similar terms. The horror of the Holocaust and the wonder of the rebirth of the Jewish state of Israel were catalysts which shook some of Jacob’s children into remembering the promises of return and restoration.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov once said that “Forgetfulness leads to exile, but remembering is the key to redemption.” When Jewish people forget who they are – forget their calling and their culture, their language and their homeland – they no longer remember the most important things. David Crosby encapsulated this in the name of his 1971 LP “If I could only remember my name.”

Reminding the Jewish people

Gentiles who know the God of Israel have a calling to the Jewish people. Paul calls it ‘the ministry of jealousy’ (Romans 11:13-14). It includes reminding the Jewish people about their God, the God of Jacob, and their Messiah Yeshua, the Son of David.

Unfortunately, the picture of Jesus that is usually presented by the Christian world to the Jewish people is that of a non-Jewish Savior bringing a Gentile message. The religious terms are often based on Greek, Latin or German words (‘Christ’ is Greek for Messiah’; ‘Jesus’ is a Greek reworking of the Hebrew ‘Yeshua;’ ‘church’ is from the Greek kuriakē meaning ‘of the Lord’). The artistic depictions of Jesus and His disciples reflect Italians more than Galileans.

For Jewish people to receive an original and user-friendly gospel (this word comes from the Old English gōdspel, meaning ‘good shpiel or message’), believers in Yeshua need to rediscover and recover the Jewishness of the gospel. And this goes deeper than merely using the word ‘Messiah’ instead of ‘Christ’, or ‘Yeshua’ instead of ‘Jesus.’

Using original Jewish terminology is important, for sure. But the matter goes much deeper than that. It includes other such points:

realizing that Yeshua is not only the Messiah for Jews, but is Himself physically Jewish in His resurrected body (Luke 2:68-77; Revelation 3:7; 5:5; 22:16)
understanding that over 90% of the Scriptures are prophetic words involving the physical and spiritual restoration of the Jewish people (Matthew 2:6; Romans 3:1; 9:4)
meditating on the fact that a Jewish King will reign from a Jewish city surrounded by His Jewish people (Zechariah 2)
grasping that the international language of commerce, politics and religion will be Hebrew (see Zephaniah 3:9)
comprehending that the whole world (including our Arabic-speaking neighbors) will be delighted with these things (Isaiah 19:18, 20; 60:5,7,13-15)

The gospel is not only a message birthed in Israel. It remains a message with a Jewish priority. And it will come into its prophesied zenith when a Jewish King sits down on a Jewish throne in a Jewish city, and all the nations come up to Jerusalem, rejoicing in this prophetic fulfilment and worshipping the King of the Jews.

It is not only Jewish people who need to understand the Jewishness of the gospel. The majority of Gentile believers need to understand it and embrace it as well!

How should we then pray?

Pray for an increased revelation to come to the Jewish people about their own Messiah Yeshua
Pray for Messiah Yeshua to be revealed to and accepted by many hungry Jewish hearts
Pray for followers of Jesus worldwide to receive and embrace the revelation about God’s heart and priority for Israel
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth

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

Israel’s destiny - Two prophetic sons

Over 2,700 years ago Isaiah received an extremely strong prophetic word, “For this is what YHVH said to me according to the great power of His hand” (Isaiah 8:11). This multi-faceted message concerned the agony of defeat and the joy of victory. King Ahaz would refuse to trust in the God of Israel’s prophetic counsel (the ‘quietly moving waters of Shiloah’) and instead turned for military support to the Assyrian superpower (‘the huge and mighty waters of the [Euphrates] River’ (Isaiah 8:6-7). The eventual result would be the invasion of the land of Israel and the Exile of the Jewish people.

Those children of Jacob who trusted in YHVH would find Him to be a holy sanctuary. But Israel’s majority would encounter a different aspect of God’s character – a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, a trap and a snare (8:14).

Part of God’s response to Israel’s cold shoulder was a ‘divine withholding.’ Isaiah is told to tie up his prophetic scrolls and to seal his oracles – because YHVH will now “hide His face from the House of Jacob” (8:16). Nevertheless, Israel is exhorted to walk in the light of God’s teachings which have already been revealed – apart from that there is no spiritual dawn, no future hope (8:20).

Who said that it’s easy being a prophet? YHVH gave Isaiah a hard prophetic message and it fell mostly upon hard hearts. Nevertheless there was hope.

Two sons, two destinies

Part of Isaiah’s calling involved prophetic actions. He was commanded by the God of Israel to give prophetic names to his two children – names which spoke of different aspects of Israel’s destiny. With laser-like precision these names focused on two future streams of the Jewish people’s history. Isaiah proclaimed, “Here am I and the children whom YHVH has given me – for signs and wonders in Israel from YHVH of armies who resides on Mount Zion” (8:18).

Isaiah’s second son was named Maher shalal – Hash baz (‘quickly the war spoil – hasten the war plunder’). His name was a prophetic sign (8:3-4) that Assyria would soon conquer Aram/Syria and exile the Ten Tribes of Israel (in line with Isaiah’s previous prophecy in 7:4-8). Isaiah’s second son was a prophetic sign – shocking judgment would follow Israel’s spiritual disobedience.

Isaiah’s first son was named She’ar Yashuv (‘a remnant will return’). The prophet speaks under the anointing of YHVH, using the phrase four times (10:20-22). His name was a prophetic sign that, even though heavy judgment was on its way, God would spare a believing Jewish remnant who would be totally dedicated to YHVH, the Holy One of Israel (8:20). “A remnant will return (She’ar yashuv), the remnant of Jacob (She’ar Ya’akov) to the Mighty God!” (8:21).

The physical presence of these two sons underscores God’s two streams of holy activity with His Jewish people – there will be judgment, but through it YHVH will purify a shining remnant.

Firstborn gets the double

Moses was sent to Pharaoh in Egypt with a heavy prophetic declaration. “Thus says YHVH, Israel is My son, My firstborn. So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn” (Exodus 4:22-23). But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and his rebellious response to God’s word kicked off Passover events.

Being God’s firstborn nation is part of the Jewish people’s irrevocable calling and gifts (see Romans 11:28-29). It includes receiving more stringent discipline (see Deuteronomy 21:15-17; Isaiah 40:2), as well as a double portion of reward and blessing from the hand of YHVH (Isaiah 61:7). The Jewish people have been granted more light and revelation. YHVH “has exalted the horn of His people … the sons of Israel, a people near to Him” (Psalm 148:14). The benefits include the gift of the Promised Land and the gift of the Holy Scriptures. Salvation itself is from the Jews, as Yeshua explained to the woman who lived in what is today called Jenin (John 4:22).

The Jewish people are a living billboard to the nations. Study our history and you will understand God’s ways, His heart and His strategies.

And even as we remember God’s promise to refine His Jewish people though shakings and judgments, let’s remember that “in all their afflictions He was afflicted” (Isaiah 63:9). Ultimately, YHVH declares, “I will not turn away from doing them good … Yes, I will rejoice of them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul!” (Jeremiah 32:40-41). God is aware of all the sins and disobediences that many in Israel have done. Nevertheless He will never cast away all the seed of Israel, but will be their passionate God and they shall be His passionate people (see Jeremiah 31:33, 37).

Balancing on the see-saw of life

As the Middle East convulses with birth pangs, and as anti-Semitism raises its cobra head above the Western world, let us guard our hearts from growing numb. “Because of the increase of lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). As jihadi forces stretch out their gnarled fingers to press the button on rockets, missiles and fire-bombs aimed at Israel, let us press in to deeper burning intercession: “For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a burning torch” (Isaiah 62:1).

How should we then pray?

Pray for an increased revelation to come to believers in Yeshua about God’s Biblically based heart and strategies for the Jewish people
Pray for Messiah Yeshua to be revealed to many hungry Jewish hearts
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth

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

Boskey newsletter May 6 2019 - The Day After

In 48 hours a total of 690 rockets and mortars were fired against Israeli civilians by the Islamist jihadi terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). At 04:30 local time on Monday May 6 both jihadi groups unilaterally and anonymously announced a cease-fire:

A third terror group (the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine / DFLP) was given permission to present information about the cease-fire to international media.

The mediation was sponsored by the United Nations, Egypt and Qatar though all three sources insisted on anonymity:

Israel has not acknowledged a cease-fire. PM Netanyahu stated that “the campaign is not over. It requires patience and deliberation. We are preparing to continue” (www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-israel-hit-gaza-terror-groups-hard-but-preparing-to-continue-campaign/).

What does this all mean? What is actually happening?

Jihadi perspectives – ‘jihad at any time is good’

Hamas and PIJ reflects the Koranic view that the rough-and-tumble of jihad involves the real possibility of death – either of the non-Muslim or of the mujahid (jihad warrior). Article #15 of the Hamas Covenant explains: “In order to face the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews, we have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad … We must imprint on the minds of generations of Muslims that the Palestinian problem is a religious one, to be dealt with on this premise. ‘I swear by that who holds in His hands the soul of Muhammad! I indeed wish to go to war for the sake of Allah! I will assault and kill, assault and kill, assault and kill’” (https://davidstent.org/hurtling-through-the-fog-of-war-a-messianic-perspective-on-the-new-hamastan/). The Koran says, “They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed (Quran, Surah at-Tawbah 9:111; https://quran.com/9/111; see also Sahih al-Bukhari 51:1)

For these terrorists, dying in battle is honorable – similar to Japanese kamikaze in World War II. What is important is to attack and kill the ‘unbelievers’ in the land of Israel. This religious motivation drives Hamas and PIJ and overwhelms other military considerations.

The recent conflict on Friday, May 3, 2019 began when Islamist snipers shot into Israel from Gaza, wounding two IDF soldiers. Israel’s military response on a nearby Hamas observation post resulted in a pre-planned Hamas/PIJ campaign of rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli farms, kibbutzim, towns and cities (www.timesofisrael.com/idf-nabs-gazan-armed-with-knife-who-breached-border-fence-into-israel/).

A similar ambush/setup occurred on January 22, 2019 when a PIJ sniper fired into Israel and wounded an IDF officer (www.timesofisrael.com/lebanese-tv-airs-footage-of-gaza-sniper-shooting-idf-officer-in-helmet/).

The hair trigger response of PIJ and Hamas on Friday reveals their preparedness and extensive pre-planning. This was a jihadi attack waiting to happen.

Jihadi perspectives – ‘Palestinian rights are not the issue’

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri stated on Monday, “Our message is that this round is over, but the conflict will not end until we regain our rights.” This is a politically correct soundbite, but it actually is deceptive disinformation on Hamas’ part (www.timesofisrael.com/as-ceasefire-goes-into-effect-netanyahu-says-gaza-campaign-not-over/).

According to the Hamas Covenant, separate national identities have no Islamic validity. Only one international Islamic Caliphate is acceptable. This applies regarding Israel and the world: “The Platform of The Islamic Resistance Movement: Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors” (Hamas Charter Introduction).”

The ‘rights’ described by Hamas are not based on Jeffersonian Democracy or the French Revolution, but on jihadi conquest of the whole world.

Jihadi perspectives – cat and mouse

Hamas and PIJ see themselves as the cutting edge of an international Islamist movement. They can afford to initiate and even lose battles because they are convinced that they will ultimately win the final war:

“The Movement(‘s)…time dimension extends back as far as the birth of the Islamic Message and of the Righteous Ancestor. Its ultimate goal is Islam, the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution” (Article #5).
“The reinstitution of the Muslim state” (Article #9 – Motives and Objectives).
“The land of Palestine has been an Islamic Waqf (ed. irrevocably Islamic land, never to be owned again by non-Muslims) throughout the generations and until the Day of Resurrection. No one can renounce it or part of it, or abandon it or part of it. No Arab country nor the aggregate of all Arab countries, and no Arab King or President…has that right … This is the status (of the land) in Islamic Shari’a, and it is similar to all lands conquered by Islam by force … Any demarche in violation of this law of Islam, with regard to Palestine, is baseless” (Article #11).

Hamas and PIJ initiated this round of fighting. They fired many rockets and mortars, caused four Israeli deaths and many wounded. Though Islamist forces also endured casualties (including the removal of some top Hamas leadership), their organizations are intact and most of their tunnels, command-and-control centers, long-range rockets and short-range mortars are safe. Hamas/PIJ see this as a tactical victory. Their spokesman says, “The resistance succeeded in deterring Netanyahu’s army, and dragged its nose through the dirt. Our message is that this round is over but the conflict will not end until we regain our rights” (www.timesofisrael.com/may-6-2019/).

Next round

Hamas/PIJ are planning for the next round of attacks. Probably Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Islamic Republic of Iran are sitting in on some of these meetings. The war is by no means over.

Israel made the decision not to destroy Hamas and PIJ, since that would have caused many Gazan casualties. The terrorists locate their HQ’s and rocket launchers smack dab in the middle of Gaza’s civilians. They aim their rockets directly at Israeli civilians. So for right now the jihadis are still in the Gazan saddle.

The political and military leaders of Israel are doing the best they can in trying circumstances. It is sometimes said that a bad peace is better than a good war. However, faced with the combined Islamist forces of the Middle East who see jihad as a high religious calling, the above proverb needs to be reworked.

As God is raising up His Ezekiel 37 army (see Ezekiel 37:9-14), it is worth meditating on some prophetic Scriptures that have special relevance for days ahead.

The first from Isaiah 11 describes a future Israeli complete takeover of Gaza, as well as triumph against enemies who use Jordan as a base of operations against the Jewish state:

“Then it will happen on that day that YHVH will again recover the second time with His hand, the remnant of His people, who will remain – from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath and from the islands of the sea.And He will lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines on the west. Together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will possess Edom and Moab, and the sons of Ammon will be subject to them” (Isaiah 11:11-14)

The second is from Psalm 83 which describes a future Israeli triumph over its many Middle Eastern enemies:

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. Selah.
Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon, who were destroyed at En-dor, who became as dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna who said, “Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God.” O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like chaff before the wind. Like fire that burns the forest and like a flame that sets the mountains on fire, so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm. Fill their faces with dishonor that they may seek Your name, O YHVH. Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever, and let them be humiliated and perish – that they may know that You alone, whose name is YHVH, are the Most High over all the earth.

The ultimate result of these ‘Wars of the Lord’ will be very different from the halting steps we now see.

How should we then pray?

Pray for God’s strategies to guide Israel’s leaders and military
Pray for the frustration of the enemies’ strategies, planning and communications
Pray for Messiah Yeshua to be revealed to many hungry Jewish hearts
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth

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

Mayday in Gaza

‘Mayday’ is a synonym for an international distress call. A senior radio officer at London’s Croydon Airport came up with the term based on its phonetic similarity to the French m'aider, which means “to come to my aid.”

Over the past few days Gazan Islamist terror groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas have directed substantial rocket attacks against towns and cities of Israeli civilians (both Jews and Arabs). Over 400 mortars and rockets of different trajectories have been fired, hitting kibbutz and moshav farms, small towns (like Sderot, Netivot and Gan Yavne) and cities like Ashkelon, Ashdod, Kiryat Gat and Beer Sheva. So far there are three Israeli deaths, a handful seriously injured, over 80 wounded, all schools in the South are closed,

What’s the difference between these Islamist terrorist groups?
What are their strategic goals here?
What are Israel’s options?
How can we pray?

Islamist jihadi groups – what’s the difference here?

The two major Islamist terror groups in Gaza are Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).

Both groups view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not as a territorial dispute, but as a religious clash between Islam and heretics.
Both believe that the land of Israel is consecrated for Islam as a result of jihadi conquest in 637-9 A.D. and that Israel has usurped Islamic land. Israel’s very existence is an affront to Allah and to Islam, and it is an Islamic religious obligation to destroy Israel and establish the Caliphate there.
Both groups are committed to the destruction of Israel (and Western powers) through violent jihadi terror, completely rejecting negotiations with Israel or a two-state solution. The PIJ “Manifesto of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine” rejects “any peaceful solution to the Palestinian cause” and affirms “the Jihad solution and the martyrdom style as the only choice for liberation.” Hamas declares in its foundational Covenant “The Platform of The Islamic Resistance Movement (ed., Hamas): Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors”
Both are dedicated to establishing a shari’a (Islamic law)-based Islamic dictatorship throughout the world

What are two of the main differences between Hamas and PIJ?

PIJ is supported by and takes its cues from the Islamic Republic of Iran (“Country Reports on Terrorism 2013: Chapter 6. Terrorist Organizations,” U.S. Department of State, April 30, 2014, https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224829.htm; https://www.justice.gov/archive/ag/speeches/2003/02202003pressconference.htm).

Hamas is largely supported by Qatar, long-time US ally and the country where the forward headquarters of the U.S. Central Command [CENTCOM] is (al-Udaid airbase).

Hamas has received direct Iranian support in the recent past.

Regarding Qatar’s support of Muslim Brotherhood jihadi strategies:

* This Iranian link means that Iran is able to stir up major hostilities between Gaza and Israel whenever its ayatollahs choose.

Strategic goals in Gaza

The primary strategic goal of Hamas/PIJ is to wage jihad against Israel and to destroy it.

A secondary goal here – for Hamas to make sure that it receives Qatar’s financial backing for its jihadi terror activities. Those funds were supposed to be used for humanitarian purposes in Gaza, and it was agreed that they would flow through Israeli control. Unfortunately, the funds are being used for rebuilding and strengthening terrorist infrastructure, and Israel has been turning off these taps in recent days.

In the words of Middle East and Islam specialist Daniel Pipes, “the Israeli public cherishes normality and especially since the 1993 Oslo accords, has been ready to pay a price to keep the quiet. Therefore, the Palestinians play a game of chicken, disturbing the quiet in return for an Israeli pay-off. The Palestinian Authority says, give us the money you're holding back that we use to fund attacks on Israelis or our whole structure will come crashing down and you'll have a much bigger mess on your hands. Hamas says, give us access to the money Qatar is sending us or we will make life miserable for you, with rockets raining down during your Memorial Day, Independence Day … Palestinian logic boils down to blackmail: You Israelis are rich, strong, and happy, so we will make you miserable unless you give us or give us access to more money. It's weird, it's sick, but it usually works, especially given an Israeli security establishment for whom quiet is the first priority” (https://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2019/05/making-sense-of-palestinian-logic).

The real laser-like focus here is the Islamist desire to destroy Israel by any means possible.

What are Israel’s options?

This round of rocket attacks is not the first one Israel has experienced:

Usually these jihadi terrorists attack Israeli soldiers or civilians. In this case, a few days ago Islamist snipers wounded an IDF officer/tracker and a female soldier. Israel responded by taking out a Hamas observation post, and PIJ/Hamas started barrages of mortars and rockets.

The Islamist terrorists usually incrementally increase the trajectories of their rockets and ordnance, extending their reach from the areas beside Gaza to smaller surrounding towns and then on to big cities. This has been standard practice:

Right now, we are climbing the ladder toward full military engagement. Israel Air Force (IAF) planes and unmanned drones are scouring Gaza for rocket launchers, terrorist command-and-control structures and agents, and rocket storehouses. Central terror command HQs are being obliterated from the air.

The next steps involve Islamist rockets targeting Tel Aviv and IAF targeting PIJ/Hamas leaders – the ‘head of the snake.’ After this could come IDF artillery barrages and a tank/infantry invasion.

Egypt has been trying to get Hamas and PIJ to step back from the brink. Egypt has much to lose, as Hamas is an avowed Muslim Brotherhood enemy of Egypt, while PIJ and Iran would delight to see Egypt crumble into the sands of time.

How should we then pray?

Pray for God’s strategies to guide Israel’s leaders and military
Pray for the frustration of the enemies’ strategies, planning and communications
Pray for the successful interception and destruction or all rockets and weapons formed against the people of Jacob
Pray for miraculous deliverances and angelic interventions for the armies of the God of Israel
Pray for the least amount of death, destruction and injury possible as this war is prosecuted
Pray for the raising up of Ezekiel’s prophetic Jewish army throughout the earth

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