Why was Jesus born in a manger?

Growing up in French Canada as a young Jewish boy, I found myself enchanted by nativity scenes. Walking home on snow-covered December evenings, I would gaze at winking blue Christmas lights woven around stately pine trees. I smiled to see green, red and golden wreaths hanging on many doors. And especially, my heart was inexplicably warmed by glowing spotlights shining upon elegant wood carvings of a kneeling couple, a baby in a crèche, three wise men and assorted animals. For me, it seemed the very picture of domestic tranquility. Not Jewish, of course, but very sweet. For me, Christmas was not a Jewish holiday. But I was happy for the Gentiles who could enjoy it.

In order for us all to understand the context of that nativity scene, both Jew and Gentile could benefit by unpacking the historical background of what was going on in Jewish Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. Some light will be shed on the Jewish roots of Christmas, as well as illuminate prophetic aspects of a greater fulfilment in days soon to come.

Living in prophetic times - Hanukkah

This current calendar year is one of the rare times when Hanukkah and Christmas coincide – Christmas Eve falls on the seventh candle of the Festival of Lights. In modern Western society Hanukkah emphases dreidls (spinning four-sided tops), latkes (potato pancakes) or sufganiyot (Israeli doughnuts), and nine-branched menorahs (candelabra). But the biblical and historical roots of the Festival of Dedication focus on different things. Here’s an article which goes into greater detail: https://davidstent.org/maccabees-wanna-bes-and-fake-news-the-real-story-of-hanukkah/.

From 721 B.C. and onward the Jewish state would be conquered in succession by Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Egypt and Greece. The Greeks conquered Judea in 332 B.C., basing their rule initially in Ptolemaic Egypt, but later out of Seleucid Syria. The Jewish people were living in prophetic times, walking out Hosea’s prophecy in anguish of soul: “For the sons of Israel will live for many days without a king or leader, without sacrifice” (Hosea 3:4).

But eventually stalwart men and women of faith – the Maccabees – rose up in 167 B.C. against the Greek oppressors and defeated them. The Maccabees were descendants of Aaron and not of David: their biblical calling was to catalyze and lead pure worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, and to teach the Jewish people the Scriptures (see Deuteronomy 17:9-13). The Bible declares that David’s dynasty was established by YHVH to be the royal rulers of the sons of Jacob forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 33:22-26). Nevertheless, the Maccabees were men of faith, fighting the wars of the Lord against the pagan Greeks: “The people who know their God will firmly resist” (Daniel 11:32-35).

Yet within 63 years, according to Josephus [Jewish Antiquities, xiii. 301] in 104 B.C. the Maccabean High Priest Judah Aristobulus the First “was the first to put a diadem on his head, four hundred and eighty-one years and three months after the time when the people were released from the Babylonian captivity and returned to their own country.” Aristobulus became the first non-Davidic ruler to claim both kingship and High Priesthood, violating the divine provisions of the Davidic Covenant.

Those Jewish people who were the remnant of Israel (see Romans 11:4-6) were horrified: the Maccabees (formerly defenders of Israel’s God and Temple) were now profaning the promises of YHVH and establishing a Greek-oriented kingship which ran roughshod over God’s word. No wonder that Josephus noted Aristobulus’ nickname in those days – Philhellene, or ‘lover of things Greek’ (Josephus, Antiquities, xiii. 318).

When Edom sat on David’s throne

The Maccabean kings ruled from 104 until 66 B.C.. But within a short time Julius Caesar appointed an Edomite (a descendant of Edom/Esau; see Genesis 36:6-8) named Antipater to be Roman Procurator of Judea (Josephus, Antiquities, 14.8.5). The Edomites are seen in the Bible as arch-enemies of the Jews – past, present and future (see Ezekiel 25:12-14; 35:14-15; 36:4-5). Antipater’s most famous son Herod the Great did not disappoint in this regard: “Antipater married a wife of an eminent family among the Arabians, whose name was Cypros, and had . . . sons born to him by her – Phasaelus, and Herod who was afterwards king” (Josephus, Wars, 1:8:9).

The son of Antipater, Herod the Great, was Edomite on his father’s side (biblical genealogy is always patrilineal) and Nabatean Arab on his mother’s side. When the Roman Senate crowned Herod the Great ‘King of the Jews’ in 40 B.C., this was now the second time since the Maccabees that a non-Davidic ruler was made king over the Jewish people.

Herod’s Edomite identity was a matter of common knowledge. Josephus quotes Herod’s rival Antigonus as countering Herod’s claim to the throne of the Jews, emphasizing that his bloodline was Edomite and not Jewish: “But Antigonus, by way of reply to what Herod had caused to be proclaimed, and this before the Romans . . . said, that ‘They would not do justly if they gave the Kingdom to Herod, who was no more than a private man, and an Idumean” (Josephus, Antiquities iv:15:2).

When Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, also known as ‘David’s City’ (see 1 Samuel 20:6; Luke 2:4, 11), an Edomite usurper was sitting on the throne promised to David and his seed. The irony of this situation was not lost on many Jews living in the land of Judea in that day. Had not Malachi recently declared YHVH’s words: “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau and I have made his mountains a desolation” (Malachi 1:2-3; see also Romans 9:10-15). Yet the opposite of what Malachi prophesied seemed to be happening in Yeshua’s day: Esau was prospering, while Jacob was languishing.

The condition of David’s royal dynasty was in ruins, both geographically and genealogically. Amos had prophesied about these ruins, but his focus was on restoration of Davidic government and not on modern Charismatic worship. YHVH would restore a ruined Davidic dynasty on the soil of the Land of Israel, replete with palaces and walls: “On that day I will raise up the fallen shelter of David, and wall up its gaps. I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name, declares YHVH who does this” (Amos 9:11-12).

Today, the majority of those who are known as Palestinians are of Edomite origin. The original jihadis on the mid-600’s A.D. added to the ethnic bouillabaisse the transfer of other Saudi Arabian tribes:

For more information, see chapter 18 of ‘Jews, Arabs and the Middle East – a Messianic perspective.’

Esau I have loved, but Jacob I have hated

Yeshua was born in a manger, a Latin-based word meaning ‘a feeding trough.’ No parents in their right mind would have chosen such a scenario. Yosef and Miriam (better known these days as Joseph and Mary) had arrived in Bethlehem to register in the Roman census (Luke 2:1-6a). They probably stayed in that town for a bit of time, but “while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6b). There was no room for them in Bethlehem’s caravanserai, and so they had to make do with a local stable which had a stone feeding trough or manger. It was primitive, unsanitary and humble, and not quite up to the level of the apartments in Buckingham Palace. An Edomite sits on David’s throne, while David’s Greater Son (see Matthew 22:42-45) is laid in a rough stone feeding trough.

Today the majority of the world’s nations vote continually against Israel at the United Nations, casting their ballots in favor of establishing an Edomite state alongside of (or in place of) a Jewish state. On November 30, 2022, ninety nations cast a ‘yea’ vote in favor of holding a commemorative event in honor of the 75th Nakba, the PLO-chosen commemorative name for the fact of Israel’s establishment. Nakba is the Arabic word for ‘catastrophe.’ The nations are once again on record as seeing the restoration of Israel as a catastrophe. “Esau I have loved, but Jacob I have hated” – this spiritual dynamic has captured the hearts and minds of the nations of the world. It surely is time to pray for international repentance and God’s decisive justice.

Once upon a time, the Persians nearly carried out a complete genocide of the Jewish people under Haman. The Greeks made the following of the Jewish covenants a crime punishable by death. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple. forbade circumcision and exiled most remaining Jews to the far corners of the empire. Today the nations of the world refuse to recognize YHVH’s restoration of the Jewish people to their country and their Holy City.  Hatred remains, certainly – but YHVH has the last word.

A Jewish Messiahmas

A handful of months before Yeshua was born, a Jewish woman named Miriam spoke out an astounding prophecy: YHVH will fulfill every good promise spoken over the sons and daughters of Jacob, and will bring down to the ground all nations and superpowers who raise their hand (or their vote) against Israel:

He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty-handed.

He has given help to His servant Israel in remembrance of His covenant faithfulness –

Just as He spoke to our fathers – to Abraham and his descendants forever” (Luke 1:51-55)

On the eighth day after birth, when John the Immerser was to be circumcised, his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied about how YHVH’s salvation would include the crushing of Israel’s enemies and the rescue of the Jewish people:

“Blessed be the Lord 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 His servant David –

just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient times –

salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;

to show covenant faithfulness to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,

the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,

to grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,

would serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days” (Luke 1:67-75)

These emphases are highlighted and underscored by Yeshua’s parents and relatives. May they also be part of the Good News we proclaim at this season!

Let’s remember the prophetic prayer of an elderly Jewish man – one that he proclaimed in the Temple courtyard, for it still echoes down through the ages:

“Now, Lord, You are letting Your bond-servant depart in peace according to Your word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all the peoples – a light for revelation for the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32)

How should we then pray?

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

What’s new? Our latest creative developments

What’s new? Our latest creative developments

Happy Hanukkah!  We've created some encouraging things in 2022:

Here are the up-to-date details:

Israel the Key to World Revival – Polish edition

 
Avner's book Israel the Key to World Revival is now available as a downloadable e-book in Polish. Our prayer is that this will help equip Polish-speaking believers in understanding, revelation and pro-activity in praying for and sharing with the Jewish people. Here is the link to order this new translation: https://davidstent.org/product/israel-the-key-to-world-revival/ 

And also – Israel the Key to World Revival – Spanish edition

 
Avner's book Israel the Key to World Revival is also available as a downloadable e-book in Spanish.  Pray with us that this e-book will be a blessing to many in the Spanish-speaking world, and contribute to helping to spread the biblical perspective on the calling and gifts of Israel! Here is the link to order this new translation: https://davidstent.org/product/israel-the-key-to-world-revival/

Shtetl Dreams – our new recording

 This beautiful new recording is a treasure of light born in a dark time. ‘Shtetl Dreams’ reflects dreams rising out of Jewish villages in the Exile, dreams born out of the historical Scattering of the Hebrew nation. These dreams looked forward to a better time and place – the Promised Land, where promises are fulfilled and dreams come true – both physically and spiritually.  This recording (in Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Russian) is soothing and reflective, taking the listener to another world, to history past and history to come.  You can order it at: https://davidstent.org/product/shtetl-dreams/ 

The Ezekiel 37 Institute – the filming of our prophetic training school in English

 
Over the past five years we have developed the E37 Institute courses in Hebrew – a training for Israeli believers based on the prophetic vision in Ezekiel 37:1-14. We have taught this course in Hebrew three times (Jerusalem twice and once in Beersheva).  Now we are filming it in English. This project will take approximately six months to complete and to come on-line.

There are still financial needs in order to complete the project – camera and lighting equipment, as well as film editing and graphics/production costs. If you have a desire to help see this project to completion, consider contributing at: https://davidstent.org/give/

We encourage you to pray about these projects and to ask the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob what role and part you can play in helping us equip and reach the House of Israel, as well as reaching all those who desire to stand with the Jewish people as the shadows grow longer and the Day grows nearer.

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

Hanukkah – spiritual darkness on earth and in the heavenlies

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:12-13).

The Feast of Hanukkah – also known as the Festival of Lights or Dedication – is close at hand (December 18 eve through December 26 twilight). Some see this holiday as a Jewish parallel to Christmas, with glowing menorahs being a Jewish equivalent to Christmas trees, and traditional Yuletide gifts vying with eight days of Hanukkah presents.  But the Festival of Lights shines lessons of faith upon mankind, bringing strength as we struggle for truth in these days of darkness.

Daniel. Michael and the prince of Greece

“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Revelation 12:7-9).

Spiritual warfare and physical battle are often connected. This is revealed in the scriptural description of the Archangel Michael, who holds the divine portfolio for the Jewish people (Daniel 10:21 “Michael your prince” and Daniel 12:1 12 “Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people”). In the above-quoted future scenario Michael is surrounded by his angelic warriors, locked in hand-to-hand combat with Satan and his fallen angels.

The Book of Daniel reveals a hierarchy among the powers of spiritual wickedness, with lesser devils commanded by higher demonic principalities. The Persian Empire and the Greek Empire were overseen by demonic principalities called ‘the princes of Persia and Greece’ (see Daniel 10:13, 20).   The demonic principality of Persia opposed God’s purposes in freeing the Jewish people and returning them to the land of Israel. That demon tried to use Haman to commit genocide against the entire Jewish nation, as revealed in the Book of Esther. God’s reinforcements (called in and directed by Michael) won the day and preserved Israel.

Daniel the prophet was informed that the angel would soon need to leave and rejoin the battle against Persia. But after the Persian demonic overlord would be defeated, another demonic prince – the prince of Greece – would then arise. Daniel 11:21-35 prophesies that Greek forces in the days of Antiochus IV Epiphanes would attempt to destroy the Jewish people. That is the background to the Feast of Hanukkah.

The defenders of the faith

The Maccabees have been described as Jewish defenders of the faith. In the historical book 2 Maccabees 8:34-36, the Greek-Syrian General Nicanor “proclaimed that the Jews had a Defender” in Judah the Maccabee. Both in the Book of Daniel and in the Letter to the Hebrews, the same testimony rings out about these commandos of God:

Is YHVH a pacifist?

Some Christians and Jews do not know what to make of Moses’ bold declaration that “YHVH is a warrior! YHVH is His name!” (Exodus 15:3). Their pietistic and pacifist upbringing has made them skittish of military issues in general and of warriors in particular. But King David did not hesitate to proclaim: “Blessed be YHVH my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle!” (Psalm 144:1). David’s reputation in Israel was described in rather non-pacifistic terms: “Then one of the young men responded and said, ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a valiant mighty man, a warrior, skillful in speech, and a handsome man; and YHVH is with him’” (1 Samuel 16:18).

David’s top Special Operations Forces soldiers are heartily described in 2 Samuel 23:8-39 – men who won battles when the odds were 800 to one, or 300 to one; men who jumped into snow-filled pits to wrestle lions, etc.  And let’s not forget the last of the Judges and the first of the Prophets – Samuel – who “cut Agag to pieces before YHVH at Gilgal” (1 Samuel 15:33).

In the same way as young men look up to Navy Seals Team VI or to Delta Force warriors, in the same was as Israeli youth admire Sayeret Matkal or Shayetet 13, so the Bible speaks highly of warriors who defend the Jewish people and defeat Israel’s enemies. Zechariah prophecies about the Last Days Jewish army who will do exploits in the Battle of Jerusalem:

The Maccabean warriors are a prophetic foreshadowing of Ezekiel 37:9-10:

The Hebrew Scriptures certainly prophesy about hard times coming to the whole world, to the Middle East and to the Jewish people. But they also speak of Jewish warriors who will stop the enemy dead in his tracks. Both sides of this prophetic message are biblical, and both sides should be part of our Last Days vision and message.

Dragons in Bethlehem

A well-loved Christmas carol proclaims that Bethlehem’s silent night is filled with calm and heavenly peace. Yet the Gospels add context that reveal satanic origins behind Herod’s murderous attempt to slay the infant Messiah (see Matthew 2:1-20):

Spiritual warfare targets the Jewish people, using world empires (like Persian and Greece) and world rulers (like Herod, Hitler and Haman) in a concerted attempt to destroy the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Sleeping dragons in Manhattan

Quite recently, in World War II, Satan used the Nazi empire in similar ways. He also used powerful industrialists and bankers in the USA and across Europe in his genocidal plans.  Here are three books which expose these demonically energized schemes:

There was deep involvement by the cream of American, British and German industries, companies and banks in supporting and enabling the Nazi death machine. These sobering facts are mostly unknown to the majority of citizens in the West. The leaders in question and their followers have not yet repented for being accessories to murder and enablers of genocidal against the Jewish people.

As we consider how the God of Israel has responded throughout Scripture to those who threaten and harm Israel the apple of His eye (see Zechariah 2:8), we are challenged to press in through prayer regarding current international and Islamist efforts to weaken and crush the regathered Jewish people and their state.  

How should we then pray?

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

Strong horses and lion cubs

The world’s largest sports event – FIFA World Cup 2022 (also known as ‘the Mondial’) – is taking place this month in Doha, Qatar. It is the first World Cup to be held in the Arab/Muslim world, with 32 soccer/football teams participating. Over the past 12 years an estimated $220 billion dollars has been invested by Qatar in preparation for these games, fifteen times more than Moscow laid out for its 2018 World Cup.

Only five years previously, on June 5, 2017 Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar, banning Qatar-registered planes and ships from utilizing their airspace and sea routes and, in the case of Saudi Arabia, blocking Qatar’s only land crossing. This was officially due to Qatar’s open support for jihadi terror groups (including hosting the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, funding and arming Hamas, and violating Gulf consensus regarding ties with the Shi’ite revolutionary dictatorship, the Islamic Republic of Iran).

Investigative reporters have uncovered the facts that over 6,500 migrant workers are said to have died building the Olympic facilities in Qatar, subject to cruel and deadly working conditions. To add to this potent mix, strong evidence of corruption and bribery have been published regarding Qatar’s successful bid to host FIFA 2022. Yet just in time, the diplomatic tide turned. Qatar was able to pour oil on troubled waters, making Middle Eastern peace with its four opponents (who also have supported terrorism throughout the years). And the Mondial is now being successfully hosted in Doha.

Mohammad al-Emadi (Qatari envoy to Gaza) flew to the Gaza Strip at the beginning of the Mondial. His job? To convey the message to the Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that they needed to chill any rocket attacks on Israel during the World Cup (that is, until after December 18). Such activities would embarrass Qatar in world media and would certainly spoil the party.

In other news, Israelis attending the Qatari World Cup have been running into hostility and hatred from Islamic and Arab football fans. Some Israelis have been thrown out of restaurants when their national identity became known. Israel (a member in good standing of FIFA) has been removed from the FIFA site travel links, and visitors are directed instead to a site entitled ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories.’ Israelis who had thought that a new era of friendship and brotherhood was opening between the Arab world and the Jewish people (with direct Tel Aviv-Doha flights for the duration of the World Cup) are seeing their hopes dashed by anti-Semitic pails of cold water thrown at them in Doha.

A historic step between Jews and Arabs – or treason?

Right in the middle of the Mondial, on Sunday December 4, Israeli President Isaac Herzog flew to Manama, Bahrain with a message that his trip was “another historic step in the relationship between Israel and Arab states that signed the Abraham Accords, with the hope that more and more countries will be able to join the circle of peace with the State of Israel.”

But a few days before, on Friday December 2, demonstrators in Bahrain chanted “death to Israel” at rallies, gathering in several areas of the tiny country to denounce Herzog’s upcoming Sunday arrival – the first Israeli head of state to ever visit Bahrain. Signs at the demonstrations featured Herzog’s photo with the word ‘criminal’ and ‘you are not welcome in Bahrain.’ Demonstrators burned an Israeli flag and squared off with riot police. One activist Bahraini post stated, “All normalization is an act of treason. Do not come.”

Is peace breaking out in the Middle East? Or are the various Oslo and Abraham Accords bumps in the road on the way to regional war?

The Abrahamic Accords bump up against Arab realities

In a recent Jerusalem Post analysis titled ‘Qatar shows that Abraham Accords did not change Arab-Israeli relations’, Lahav Harkov points out a sobering fact: average people in the Arab world do not view the Abraham Accords positively.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy published a July 2022 poll which revealed by national percentages that the majority of the Arab world’s public does not have a positive view about the Abraham Accords. Positive views of the Abraham Accords were listed as follows:

United Arab Emirates – 25%

Bahrain – 20%

Saudi Arabia – 19%

Kuwait – 14%

Egypt – 13%

Jordan – 12%

Surprisingly, Palestinians lined up as follows:

Palestinian Authority – 25%

Gaza – 34%

East Jerusalem – 48%

Approximately half of Persian Gulf Arabs oppose having any business and sports dealings with Israelis. The populations of the two countries which already have peace treaties with Israel are overwhelmingly opposed to business and sports relations with Israelis – Egypt (85%) and Jordan (87%). Another poll (The Arab Barometer) conducted in 2021-2022 and released in September 2022, found that the only countries with more than 20% in favor of normalization between Israel and Arab states are Sudan (39%) and Morocco (31%). Positive attitudes in Jordan and Egypt hover at around 6% each. 

The Oslo Accords were signed between Israel (PM Yitzhak Rabin) and the PLO (Chairman Yasser Arafat) between 1993 and 1995, but by 1996 a bloody wave of Palestinian terrorism swept across Israel.  Former Israeli PM Yitzhak Shamir wryly declared at the time that “the sea is the same sea and the Arabs are the same Arabs.’ Shamir was implying that, in spite of the Oslo Accords, Arab leaders had changed neither their animosity toward Israel nor their desire to throw the Jews of Israel into the Mediterranean.  Recent opinion polls show that Shamir’s concerns are still anchored in reality, as far as the bulk of the Arab world is concerned.

The longing in the Jewish soul for peace

One of the Songs of Ascent, sung in ancient days as Jewish pilgrims made their way uphill to the House of YHVH in Jerusalem, spoke of the Jewish desire for peace while surrounded by Arab nations seeking our physical destruction: “Rescue my soul, YHVH, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue . . . Woe to me, for I reside in Meshech – for I have settled among the tents of Kedar [Arabian desert areas]! Too long has my soul had its dwelling with those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war” (Psalm 120).

Living with existential tension is not easy. The leaders of the Jewish people continuously face the temptation to offer their electorate tantalizing promises of rapidly approaching peace, even if cold realities are quite different. Over 2.600 years ago the prophet Ezekiel spoke of YHVH’s wrath against “the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see a vision of peace for her when there is no peace” (Ezekiel 13:16). The God of Jacob soberly warned those leaders: “It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash. So tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall”  (Ezekiel 13:10-11).

Just before the destruction of Solomon’s Temple at the hands of Babylon, Jeremiah repeated the same prophetic warning with tears: “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ But there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14).

In these days some believe that peace to be breaking out across the Middle East. Some speak hopefully of a new dynamic supposedly now at play between the Arab world and Israel – an incremental progression toward greater acceptance, and greater military, intelligence and political cooperation between Islamic states and the Jewish state. But such ethereal dynamics have not persuaded the Middle East’s Arab majority. Unfortunately, these pipe-dreams have influenced many in Israel.

The ‘konseptzia’ syndrome

The stunning and earth-shattering victory of the June 1967 Six Day War made many Israelis giddy. The Israel Defense Forces had fought off a concerted invasion by five hostile Arab nation (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia) as well as two minor supporting nations (Lebanon and Kuwait), capturing territories promised in prophecy to the Jewish people from Abraham to Amos. The words of the Psalmist seemed to come alive once again:  “When YHVH restored the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with joyful shouting. Then they said among the nations, ‘YHVH has done great things for them.’ YHVH has done great things for us. We are full of joy!” (Psalm 126).

Yet in a short while giddiness morphed into hubris (chutzpa in Hebrew). Significant amounts of Israelis began to boast of ‘our achievements’ and began to assume that the Jewish state would always emerge triumphant from any battle. The humble prayer of the psalmist was not the focus: “Not to us, YHVH, not to us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your covenant faithfulness, because of Your truth!” (Psalm 115:1).

Six years later, in 1973 the Yom Kippur War (also known in the Arab world as the Ramadan or October War) surprised an unprepared Israel. Eleven hostile Arab invaders (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Kuwait, Sudan) and Cuba, as well as five supporting nations (Soviet Union, East Germany, North Korea, Pakistan and Lebanon) broke through into Sinai and the Golan Heights. Though AMAN (Israeli military intelligence) and the MOSSAD had received the entire Arab order of battle as well as many concrete warnings, the military, intelligence and political shomrei hasaf (Hebrew, watchmen) had let their guard down. The prevailing perspective (konseptzia in Hebrew) was that the Arab world would never dare to attack Israel and if they did, they would be quickly and soundly broken on the battlefield. But in the meantime, Soviet military and intelligence forces analyzed Israeli weaknesses and came up with their own battlefield strategies. These included new battlefield weapons like the anti-tank AT-3 Sagger, the latest SAM 6 anti-aircraft missiles, jamming equipment, etc., as well as strategic military disinformation. Israel’s false assumptions and lack of preparedness cost us dearly in military casualties.

Present military threats against Israel and the new ‘konseptzia’

Existential threats against the Jewish state have incrementally increased over the past 17 years. At this point we are faced with mortal enemies on at least five fronts: Iran; Lebanon (Hezbollah); Syria; Iraqi Shi’ite forces which are Iranian proxies; Houthi Yemenite Shi’ite forces in cooperation with Iran; ISIS/ISIL forces in both Syria and Egyptian Sinai. There are also fungible and internal fronts: Hamas Muslim Brotherhood forces in Gaza/the West Bank/Israel; Palestinian Islamic Jihad forces in Gaza/the West Bank/Israel; PLO/Palestinian Authority terror gangs in the West Bank and Israel; Arab and Bedouin Israeli civilians involved in terror, rioting and civil unrest. A brief description of the nature of some of these threats follows:

Iran – The Islamic Republic of Iran is a Shi’ite Islamic revolutionary movement actively spreading terrorism throughout the world in general and the Middle East in particular. Its strategic goals include the nuclear destruction of Israel, the crushing of Sunni Islam (85-87% of all Muslims) and the establishment of a Shi’ite caliphate over the entire planet, centered in the Middle East (the Shi’ite Crescent).  A recent article in Beirut-based Al Mayadeen (a pan-Arabist satellite news channel) reported that media outlets close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have published a list of sensitive sites that Iran would target by missile in a future war: the Knesset; the Prime Minister’s Office; the Defense Ministry; nuclear sites and facilities; Rafael Advanced Defense Systems site in Haifa; the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot; the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) in Haifa; military and intelligence bases; civilian airports (such as Ben-Gurion Airport and Ramon Airport near Eilat); military airports and bases.

Lebanon (Hezbollah) – Col. Yechiel Kuperstein, head of the IDF’s Physical Protection Department, noted that during the 34-day war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah (July 12 to August 14, 2006), 3,917 rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israel, 23% of which fell in built-up (civilian) areas. A total of 43 Israeli civilians and 121 IDF soldiers were killed. Thirty-three civilians suffered serious physical injuries, 68 suffered moderate physical injuries, and 1,388 civilians suffered light physical injuries. Hospitals treated 2,773 civilians for shock and anxiety. Rockets struck homes, damaging over 9,000 and totally destroying 2,000.  Hospitals in Nahariya, Safed, and Mazra were hit, as was an elementary school in Kiryat Yam, a post office in Haifa, etc.

Throughout the 2006 war, an average of 116 rockets per day were fired by Hezbollah. This effectively paralyzed large areas of northern Israel and 650,000 residents fled south for safety. In 2006 Hezbollah’s arsenal was predominantly composed of short-range Katyushas.  IDF Major-General Noam Tibon comments about that conflict: “A key lesson from the conflict is that when flooded with enemy rockets, the ability of Israel's home front to continue to function is extremely finite.”

Shi’ite Iran has been helping the Shi’ite terror group Hezbollah (Arabic, the party of Allah) develop and improve the accuracy of its current stockpile of more than 150,000 rockets, missiles and mortars – all of which can hit civilian and military targets in Israel. The development of precision-guided rockets has been an ardent Hezbollah goal for many years.

On November 20, 2022, Al-Hadath (a Saudi Arabian media outlet) reported current Hezbollah intentions to transfer chemical warhead-armed rockets (chlorine or possibly sarin nerve gas) from Syria into Lebanon.

In a future war, Hezbollah’s main effort will be to fire massive barrages of rockets and missiles into Israel. The majority will be of high statistical accuracy, with long-range systems such as Syrian M-600s, Iranian Fateh-110 surface-to-surface missiles, Shahab-1 and Shahab-2s (Iran-made Scuds) that can cover most of the Israeli heartland and accurately strike key IDF infrastructure. A recent IDF Home Front Command report forecasts that up to 1,500 rockets and missiles will be launched daily into Israel. Major General Uri Gordin, recent head of the Home Front Command, foresees up to 2,500 Hezbollah rockets per day. The IDF assumes that thousands of homes will be hit, hundreds of Israeli civilians will be injured or killed, and hundreds of thousands will be evacuated from their homes. Herein lies the magnitude of the coming threat.

During a recent military drill, Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi briefed IDF commanders, and some of his words were leaked to the media: “Israel could suffer 300 civilian and military deaths after nine days, and the destruction of 80 sites around the country, including apartment buildings that may take direct fire and collapse . . . But military leaders are uncertain as to how the impact of such a war on the home front, as it emerged from the drill, should be presented to the Israeli civilians. The IDF understands Israelis may suffer under rockets and missiles fire in an intensity never before seen in Israel – but wish to avoid unnecessary panic.”

Dr. Uzi Rubin, 81, the father of Israeli missile defense and the Arrow missile system, was the founder and first director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization in the Defense Ministry. His perspective is helpful regarding IDF predictions that Hezbollah rocket fire could lead to as many as 1,000 dead Israeli civilians. Rubin pointed out “that the total volume – whether it was 100,000, 150,000 or whether it someday reached 200,000 rockets – [is] not the pivotal point. Rather, the two critical points [are] ‘the rate and the precision of the rockets’ . . . Hezbollah [doesn’t have] the ability to unleash its full arsenal at once . . . In that light, the question becomes how many rockets per day an adversary like Hezbollah is capable of actually launching against Israel as compared to how many rockets Israel can shoot down when under attack by a simultaneous hail of rockets.”

Major-General (reserves) Yitzhak Gershon, former IDF Home Front chief in 2006, spoke of the coming war between Israel and Hezbollah in a 2016 Army Radio interview: “It will be a completely different scenario from anything we’ve known . . . We will need mental fortitude more than physical protection.” According to current IDF estimates, Hezbollah today is six times more powerful than it was in 2006.

Syria – The Syrian Arab Army was one of the main threats to Israel in times past. In 1967 and 1973 some of the fiercest battles were fought on the Golan Heights between Syrian and Israeli forces. The rise of ISIS/ISIL, the irredentist goals of Turkey, the military strategies of Iran, the goals of the scattered Kurdish nation, and Russian and American geostrategic moves have certainly weakened the cruel Syrian regime.

Iran’s efforts in Syria involve the establishment of its Shi’ite Crescent; military bases which serve as a bridge of control between Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi Hezbollah and its own Revolutionary Guards; the import and smuggling of precision-guided weapon systems, munitions (regular and chemical), and military/terror trainers into both Syria and Lebanon; missile and drone bases targeting Israel; etc.

Russia’s goals of seeking warm water ports and controlling Middle East geopolitics have come together significantly in our day. Its construction of naval and submarines facilities in Tartus, and fighter aircraft bases in Khmeimim, attenuate the strategic importance and difficulties for Israel in preserving operational freedom of action against Iranian weapons shipments (which shipments have the potential of drastically shifting the military balance in a future war).

Syria’s documented repeated use of chemical weapons against civilians (with Russian oversight) establishes a worrying precedent for Israel in any future conflict. With an eye to the future, the involvement of Syria in coming attacks on Israel cannot be ruled out. Consider the possibility that Egypt and Jordan will turn on Israel as well – think of Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi who temporarily upended Cairo’s apple cart.

Yemenite Houthis – Iran has recently been helping Houthi jihadis in Yemen to develop UAVs (unmanned air vehicles) and military drones which have the ability to hit and destroy both Saudi oil refineries and Israeli airfields and civilian installations. Dr. Uzi Rubin notes that the “growing capabilities and the impressive skill of their operators elevate the threat from Iran’s unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) from a nuisance to a strategic level on par with Iran’s missiles and rockets threat on Israel.” Israel has shot down Iranian UAVs recently which had been launched both from Syria and Iran. The likelihood of Houthi swarming attacks of drones and UAVs must be considered by those watching over Israel’s national security.

An Arab Israeli ‘fifth column’ – In April and May 2021 tensions broke out at symbolic Jerusalem flashpoints (Sheikh Jarrah, Damascus Gate Plaza, Silwan, etc.) between East Jerusalem Arab demonstrators and Israeli security forces. Within a few days a significant minority of Israeli Arabs and Bedouin engaged in violent rioting against Jewish neighbors and Israeli infrastructure (highways, stores, homes, police, etc.). The potentially explosive Ramadan season was a factor, irritated by the Jewish celebration of Jerusalem Day. The catalytic behavior of some extreme right-wing Jewish groups was also a factor. Arabs assaulted Jews travelling on Jerusalem’s light rail network or on streets close to Arab areas. Arab-Israeli riots spread to mixed cities, with life-threatening attacks carried out on Jews in Jaffa, Lod, Akko, Ramle, Haifa, and at major intersections in the north and south of the country. Main highways in our area were shut down as local Bedouin toppled kilometers of electrical poles and towers, even shooting into the back entrance of our home town.

Jewish residents’ sense of security was shaken, and this caused serious damage to the fabric of common life. Police response to the riots was slow. Violent retaliatory Jewish riots then erupted in various hotspots – Arabs were attacked, some of them innocent bystanders.

On May 10, 2021 the jihadi terror group Hamas launched a surprise rocket attack during the Israeli Jerusalem Day Flag March, firing a barrage of rockets into Israel and even at Jerusalem. The IDF responded with the 11-day military Operation Guardians of the Walls, during which time even more violent riots erupted in various parts of the country. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired a total of 4,360 rockets and mortars against Israeli civilians (400 a day, on the average). Of these, approximately 3,600 crossed the border from Gaza into Israel. Around 1,700 were intercepted, and close to 180 fell in populated areas, causing casualties and substantial damage at dozens of sites while disrupting daily life.

The intensity and strength of these Arab-Israeli riots caused many Jewish Israelis to think hard. At this point, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank shelters over 20,000 trained and equipped terrorists armed with sub-machine guns. Were these to rise up in coordination with Hamas, Hezbollah and local Israeli Arabs/Bedouin, they would be able to quickly massacre and destroy a significant amount of Jewish towns and settlements located within the biblical borders of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) – think 1948. IDF forces would be rushed to reinforce Jewish residents of those areas. But if tens of thousands of Arab Israelis were to block the free movement of those Israeli troops, or if thousands of Arab mechanics and Bedouin tank-transporter drivers who do contract work for the IDF refused to show up to move armor into place, Israel would be facing a clear and present danger. Severe measures would need to be taken to keep roads and supply lines open. Herein lies the magnitude of the local and internal threat.

Dr. Eado Hecht, researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, is a defense analyst specializing in military theory and history. He lectures at Bar-Ilan University and at the IDF Command and General Staff College. He challenges his readers to think strategically about possible future scenarios: “What will happen if the IDF needs to fight against more than only Hezbollah? If, for example, a rebuilt Syrian military faces it in the Golan Heights, backed up by Shiite forces from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran? And at the same time, Hamas begins bombarding our home front from the south? Does the IDF have a sufficiently large order of battle to deal with all of these enemies at the same time? We would have to call up reserves against Hamas on its own. Against a smaller Hezbollah in 2006, we had to call up reserves. Since then, we have cut reserves very sharply – entire divisions and brigades have been canceled.”

Strong horses and lion cubs

Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Mordechai Kedar, senior research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, served for 25 years in IDF military intelligence specializing in Syria, Arab political discourse and mass media, Islamic groups and Israeli Arabs. An expert on the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups, his take on these developments is worth reading: “Given Islam’s pervasive entrenchment in Palestinian society (and for that matter in all Middle Eastern societies) – even Yasser Arafat and most of the PLO’s founding generation were Muslim Brotherhood members in their young age – the acceptance of Israel’s existence by Muslims communities, both within Israel and abroad, will only be feasible upon their realization of the Jewish state’s overwhelming strength and invincibility. Only a powerful, well organized, highly determined and militarily invincible Israel can stand a chance of surviving in its violent and merciless neighborhood.”

This can be described as ‘the strong horse’ principle. In mid-November 2001, Osama Bin Laden spoke to a room of supporters, discussing the September 11th terrorist attacks: “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse. This is [the] only goal . . . following the doctrine of Muhammad.” Bin Laden saw Islam as the strong horse, and Christian America as the weak one.

Journalist Lee Smith based the name of his book The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations on Osama bin Laden’s above-mentioned quote. In this work, Smith states that strength or “violence is central to the politics, society, and culture of the Arabic-speaking Middle East, and that Arab politics is driven by the ‘strong horse’ principle.” “Bin Ladenism is not drawn from the extremist fringe but represents the political and social norm [of the Arabic-speaking Middle East].”  According to T. Edward Donselm (writing in the Arab Studies Quarterly), Smith sees a revived modern Islamism as an effort to employ the fourteen-hundred-year old political institution of jihad as a tool to restore Sunni Islam to the supremacism it enjoyed in Islam's first century.

Agreeing with Dr. Kedar’s appraisal, Daniel Pipes (director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University) applies Bin Laden’s ‘strong horse’ principle to Israel’s role in the Middle East. Israel serves as “a proxy strong horse” for both the United States and the Saudi-Egyptian bloc in the latter’s Cold War rivalry with Iran’s bloc. Pipes outlines the policies of non-Arab actors in the Arab world: unless they are forceful and show true staying power, they lose. “Being nice – say, withdrawing unilaterally from southern Lebanon and Gaza – leads to inevitable failure.  More broadly, when the U.S. government flinches, others (e.g., the Iranian leadership) have an opportunity to ‘force their own order on the region.’ Walid Jumblatt, a Lebanese Druze leader, has half-seriously suggested that Washington [should] ‘send car bombs to Damascus’ to get its message across and signal its understanding of Arab ways.”

Pipes concludes that Lee Smith’s ‘strong horse’ paradigm helps us to comprehend the Arabs’ cult of death, honor killings, terrorist attacks, despotism and warfare. Pipes acknowledges that the strong-horse principle may strike Westerners as ineffably crude, but he correctly insists on its being a cold reality that outsiders must recognize, take into account, and respond to.

In the Hebrew Scriptures the God of Jacob uses the poetic figure of a strong war horse to describe His gifts and calling on the Jewish nation: “For YHVH of armies has visited His flock, the House of Judah, and will make them like His majestic horse in battle” (Zechariah 10:3).

But the Jewish people are not only YHVH’s strong horse; they are also His lion cub (Genesis 49:8-9): “As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion’s cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares to stir him up?”

For the present time, the best and most realistic posture for the Jewish people to take in the Middle East is to be both the strong horse and the roaring lion – until the time when the Arab world bows the knee before the God of the armies of Israel.

How should we then pray?

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

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BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

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