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,

Islamist jihadi groups – what’s the difference here?

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

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).

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?

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

Signs of the times – connecting the dots

“The Pharisees and Sadducees came up. Testing Yeshua, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, ‘When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.” And in the morning, “There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.” Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?’” (Matthew 16:1-3).

Yeshua was doing many Messianic miracles throughout Israel. Thousands were getting supernaturally healed and delivered. Some were even resuscitated from the dead. But most power brokers and media influencers would not embrace either the Messenger or His Message: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (John 3:19-20).

You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

The spiritual dynamics of not ‘getting with the plan’ are as old as the hills. In 1965’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” Dylan lets loose with the famous line, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” Yeshua also spoke to the weather channel authorities of his generation, warning them that “something was going on and they didn’t know what it is.”

Today there are certain events going on which seem to pass us by like ships in the night. We do shudder at the explosions of Islamist jihadi terrorism, for sure. But even so, politicians and media bend over backwards to avoid such terms. There’s a lot of mealy-mouthed mumbling going on regarding the Middle East-based ‘emperor and his new clothes.’

But now is the day when we need to wake up and smell the Jägermeister. We are facing sober parallels to the rise of Hitler. Though the Führer had time to instigate and catalyze WWII (involving the bloody ravaging of Europe and North Africa), his compulsion was the mass murder of Jacob’s children. Hitler prioritized sending Jews to gas chambers over sending Wehrmacht troops to the Russian front. Six million dead Jews later, most of the world has not yet come to terms with the satanic roots here – the spiritual sources of Hitler’s hatred of the Hebrew nation (see Genesis 12:3; Ezekiel 35-36).

When anti-Semitism raised its ugly head in Germany of the 1930’s, most nations pooh-poohed the matter. It’s just over-excitable Jews trying to drag us into their paranoid delusions, said many. The Jewish people deserve it, some opined; they are simply too successful in business. Others slyly commented that the Jews are the power behind all thrones, supposedly controlling the banks, the media, the world economy, the arts, etc.

Multiple choice or ‘one size fits all’?

The Jewish community of Germany’s 1930’s Weimar Republic could not allow itself to believe that mass murder of Isaac was coming down the pike. Hitler rose to dictatorial power on a tidal wave of anti-Communist fear. Loyal German Jews would not believe that Germany (Europe’s most technologically advanced and civilized nation) was turning against the Hebrew people. Many German Jews were actually anti-Zionist and anti-religious, hoping that by staying away from strongly Jewish identity they would avoid persecution.

The Jews of France fell into a similar pit during Marshal Pétain’s Régime de Vichy similarly thinking that they would be safe due to their unimpeachable loyalty to the French Revolution. Others (like Theodore Herzl and those who witnessed the Dreyfus Affair riots of 1898) were not so sure. Modern political Zionism was the outstanding response to French anti-Semitic violence:

Today most American Jews prefer to see the murder of Jews as a right-wing and white racist phenomenon. Yet in fact it is international jihadi and Islamist Jew-hatred which is the prime mover in this field. The explosion of European anti-Jewish attacks is largely due to the tidal wave of Muslim immigration, which has brought with it centuries-old anti-Jewish Islamist attitudes and history.

Leftist anti-Semitism is not only widespread in Europe (as the above articles show). It has bounded to its feet with demonized energy in the United States:

Modern anti-Semitism comes in many variegated stripes – Islamist, white power and radical leftist.

These are the present manifestations of Jew-hatred.

All those who love the Jewish people need to be on guard against the cancer of all three signs.

Who said ‘Never again!’?

On the last day of Passover, April 27, 2019, a Chabad synagogue in Poway (San Diego, CA area) was attacked by 19-year old John Earnest. Lori Gilbert-Kaye, a 60-year old Jewish woman was murdered when she jumped in front of her Rabbi Yisrael Goldstein’s son Mendel to protect him. Three other synagogue attenders were wounded including:

After the Holocaust/Shoah, a watchword was created in the Jewish community, “Never again!” The origin of the term might have come from Ukrainian-born Hebrew poet Yitzḥak Lamdan who published a poem in 1926 called “Masada” where he declared, “In the dance’s circling chain, never shall Masada fall again!”

Later on the term was used to proclaim that the Jewish people would never allow a Second Holocaust to occur.  The 1961 documentary Mein Kampf, directed by the Swedish-Jewish filmmaker Erwin Leiser, concluded with an overhead panning shot of Auschwitz and the words “It must never happen again – never again.” In 1972 Meir Kahane of the Jewish Defense League authored a book outlining his vision of Jewish history titled Never Again! A Program for Survival. And finally in 2000 the British-Jewish historian Martin Gilbert authored Never Again: A History of the Holocaust.

When people are forced to confront the murderous evil of anti-Jewish hatred, it is natural and healthy for them to fight back. However, without a biblical perspective about the spiritual roots of Islamist source documents, it is also easy to assume that all terror movements are equal, and that they all can be eradicated by concentrated social action. But we have the wry privilege of living at a critical juncture in history – where there is coming a dénouement of evil. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a dénouement refers to the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

Counting the cost

The eruption of Jew-hatred is a touchstone of Messiah’s soon arrival. Revelation 12 depicts a Last Days desperate satanic attempt to annihilate Jacob’s children. As we head toward such sober challenges, we need to be ready; we need to count the cost (see Luke 14:25-33).

The rise of unbridled anti-Jewish evil will not be easily stuffed back into the genie’s bottle. These are challenging days.

As Gandalf once said, “Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.” “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. We shall be hard put to it” (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, page 19).

Stay on target

There is no panic in Heaven, Corrie ten Boom would say. God has no problems, only plans. Corrie witnessed great anti-Jewish evil and suffered much for standing with the Jewish people during Nazi days. Her words can be of great encouragement to us.

God is raising up an army to counter this foul wave of anti-Semitism. In Ezekiel 37 YHVH describes His purpose in restoring the Jewish people (still without the fullness of the Holy Spirit) to their Promised Land of Israel.

This is what is coming down the pike. Are you ready? Would you like to partner with us in practical ways to make this prophetic vision a reality?

Equipping the army

The prophetic calling that the God of Jacob has given us involves catalyzing this vision, seeding it across the face of the planet, and equipping the remnant of Israel to grow into its destiny as the army of Ezekiel 37.

As we do this, as we spread our wings through media outreach (face-to-face equipping, on-line teaching, music video outreach, etc.) we surely are in need of  significant increase in financial support and prayer undergirding from all who believe in this message. Your ongoing contribution to this ministry will literally allow us to go forward and expand our outreach. When you stand with us, you actually become a co-laborer in what we are accomplishing, and you share in the rewards.

Would you consider standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us in this new and next level of challenge? We appreciate it as your brother and sister in Messiah Yeshua.

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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Rough-riding against the gods of Egypt

Passover is here. Soulful melodies combine with delicious foods to shape the Jewish people’s premier family holiday. A national celebration, it has been commemorated by Israel for over 3,000 years. Its traditions have been gathered over the millennia. Its framework is the Book of Exodus – God’s revolutionary exploits in delivering His chosen people from the pagan anti-Semitism of Egyptian slavery.

Passover (or Pesach, as it is known in Hebrew) has the raw stuff of great drama. It has everything a good movie needs: violent abuse, supernatural curses, bloody murder, high stakes political confrontation, signs and wonders… You name it, Passover’s got it!

But let’s not get lost between the matzah ball soup and the coconut macaroons. There is a Passover Secret hiding behind the horseradish and the lamb bone, and it has HUGE relevance for us in our day. The secret of Pesach is YHVH the Warrior, His burning social justice, and His politically incorrect judgment of the false gods and demons of Egypt.

This present darkness

Belfast bard Van Morrison sings of the time “when that rough God goes riding…riding on in” (“Rough God Goes Riding”; words and music Van Morrison, © BMG Rights Management, 1997). The God of Jacob uses similar language to describe His bringing the Ten Plagues to a climax: “For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments – I am YHVH” (Exodus 12:13).

The plagues are not only great footage for Cecil B. DeMille in his cinematographic epic “The Ten Commandments.” They reveal YHVH’s deep engagement in spiritual warfare “against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Each plague targeted a different Egyptian demon.

* Hapi was the god of the Nile, Egypt’s source of life (Nile turned to blood)

* Heket was the frog goddess of fertility and birth (frogs became a curse)

* Horus, the hawk-headed god of war, was the first-born son of Osiris (even Pharaoh’s first-born was touched)

* Apis was the god of agriculture (cattle disease, locusts, hail and fire touched all agriculture)

* Ra was the god of the sun (the sun was turned to darkness)

Red Sea Rap music

In Exodus 15:1-18 we hear the Song of Moses, his Redemption Song shout at the Reed Sea. The God of Jacob is described in military terms, “YHVH is a warrior. YHVH is His name.”

God is the One who has taken sides on the battlefield and dealt a death-blow to the forces of Pharaoh: “I will sing to YHVH, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.”

Moses does not mince words. God has a powerful one-two punch and He is not afraid of using it on Israel’s enemies: “Your right hand, O YHVH, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O YHVH, shatters the enemy. And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You. You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.”

The enemy of the Jewish people boasts coming destruction on Israel, “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My desire shall be gratified against them. I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.’”

YHVH’s response is to the point: “You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like You among the gods, O YHVH? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? You stretched out Your right hand. The earth swallowed them.”

The Middle Eastern neighbors beheld how the greatest regional superpower was broken, and they drew political and military conclusions, “The peoples have heard, they tremble. Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them. All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them. By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone – until Your people pass over, O YHVH, until the people pass over whom You have purchased.”

The lessons of Passover

Each of these Exodus principles is alive, active and sharper than any two-edged missile. These principles stand guard over the Jewish people as we are confronted with Middle Eastern enemies (both physical and spiritual). As you celebrate the victory of Passover and Messiah Yeshua’s victory through the atoning cross, let’s remember that God is getting ready to lead with His strong fist and stretch out His powerful arm (Jeremiah 32:21) to break the power of Israel’s enemies (Zechariah 12:1-9; 14:3).

The God of the Jewish people has a burning passion to purify His people (Zechariah 13:9) and to bring them close to His own heart once again (Jeremiah 31:33-34). Some of that purification process will be painful for Israel. The God of Jacob even uses Exodus language to describe the intensity of some of those moments (Ezekiel 20:33-34). “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11).

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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Sand or Rock - a challenge to the prophetic and apostolic movements

The 1980’s and 1990’s witnessed the rise of two Christian streams. One was called the prophetic movement and the other was known as the apostolic movement. Though these tributaries were beset by no small measure of controversy, they were eyewitnesses of some amazing stirrings of God as the foundational gifts of Ephesians 4:9-16 found renewed and reformed expression.

 
These young and burgeoning movements occasionally manifested immaturity, overstatement and pride. As with most charismatic movements, their strengths did not always lie in knowledge and careful use of the Scriptures.  Nevertheless, there were some voices of balance within these groups, and they wooed their enthusiastic adherents to more biblically sound and thoughtful expressions of faith.
 
This newsletter offers a challenge to these movements – to their present leaders and also to their many followers.
 
The prophetic declarations and the apostolic pronouncements which sound out from your pulpits – are they being constructed on dunes of sand or is their foundation on the rock of God’s word?
 
The sand and the rock in question refer to how you deal with the Scripture – their solid meaning focuses on the Jewish people, their calling, gifts and destiny. Do your preaching, your pronouncements and your prophesying honor that divine focus? When you adapt Bible promises about the Jewish people, do you let your people know at the get-go that these are priority prophetic promises of life for the Jewish people? Do you make that clear before you apply the principles in those verses to your Christian audience and to the larger family of faith?
 
If you give a wide berth to the Jewish people’s centrality in these promises, then believe it or not – Replacement Theology (the sin of the fathers) will continue to occupy the high ground in your movements; the Bible’s prophetic words about the Jewish people will continue to be twisted and Jacob’s amazing prophetic destiny will continue to be ignored.
 
Building castles made of sand
 
Jimi Hendrix once sang that “castles made of sand fall in the sea eventually.” Two millennia before Jimi, Messiah Yeshua’s words echoed quietly on Galilean hills: “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house. And it fell – and great was its fall” (Matthew 7:26-27).
 
We who hear and understand Yeshua’s words have a responsibility. Unless we act on His words, we are considered foolish people standing on shaky foundations.
 
“From the standpoint of God’s choice/election they (ed. the Jewish people) are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:28-29). If these words are true (and they are!), this means that we must make absolutely certain to convey this rock-solid foundational truth as we apply the Jewish Scriptures to our primarily Gentile congregations and audiences.
 
If a promise pertains to Israel and her future prophetic destiny, then we need to make sure that we also proclaim Israel’s prophetic destiny to our people before we use the principles in that scripture to encourage our own people. But if we leave Israel out of the picture, we stand in violation of Genesis 12:3. The Hebrew in that verse says, meqalelecha a’or (‘the one who ignores/derides, scorns, belittles you [Israel], I will curse’).
 

 
So many of my dear friends in the prophetic and apostolic movements don’t know it, but they are actually trumpeters of a new form of Replacement Theology. Were someone to make a list of how often this happens (to paraphrase John 21:25) “I suppose that even the world itself would not contain” the many and varied illustrations.
 
Here are four examples of the myriads that abound out there:
 

 
 Is it not time to move on, to press onward and upward toward the goal, the prize of the upward calling we have in Messiah Yeshua the Son of David (Philippians 3:14)? Is it not time for the body of Messiah to get with God’s plan and honor His priority choosing of the Jewish people as the key to world revival? Can the prophetic and the apostolic streams get back in step with the Spirit of God here by honoring His heart and priority for Israel?
 
We will rock you
 
Yeshua challenges His listeners to be not only hearers but also doers of His words. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).
 
The night of boasting against the natural Jewish branches is nearly over (Romans 11:18). The daylight is almost here (Romans 13:12). Let those who would prophesy God’s heart and strategies get in step with God’s heart and strategies concerning the Jewish people. Let those who would speak God’s apostolic heart over His body be pleased to honor Israel, for Gentile believers are indebted to the Jewish people and share in Jacob’s spiritual things (Romans 15:27).
 
As the premier Apostle has said, “If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment” (1 Corinthians 14:37).
 
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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Thorns, snares and the fire of judgment

The God of Abraham said to Adam in the Garden of Eden, “… Cursed is the ground because of you. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you…” (Genesis 3:17-18). Since that day, the destiny of mankind has involved dealing with thorns, sweat and trouble.

YHVH spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho (before Israel crossed the chilly Jordan), saying, ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land in which you live” (Numbers 33:55).

Edom in prophecy and the Palestinians today

The God of Jacob has spoken much through the prophets about Esau’s (Edom’s) deep and murderous hatred for Israel. 

In 601 B.C. the Edomites invaded the Land of Israel, cutting across south of the Dead Sea and pushing up into the regions south of Jerusalem including Hebron and Halhul (see Joshua 15:53, 58). That region would later be named Idumea (‘the land of the Edomites’). Herod the Great was the most notorious of the Edomite rulers.

Today’s Palestinians are significantly connected to these ancient Edomites. Their enmity, scorn and joy in murdering the Jewish people and occupying Jacob’s inheritance have made them world-famous. The PLO and the Palestinian Authority are centered in these areas, while the terror jihadi group Hamas draws its spiritual strength from these same sources.

The thorn called ‘Hamas’

For those who would like to understand the history, Islamist origins and vision of Hamas (Gaza’s jihadi terror group), this link from our February 2006 e-letter may be helpful https://davidstent.org/hurtling-through-the-fog-of-war-a-messianic-perspective-on-the-new-hamastan/.

Hamas has been a thorn in Israel’s side since its inception. Their murderous tactics include the kidnapping and murder of hitchhikers/soldiers, suicide bombings of supermarkets, shopping malls and holidaying civilians and school buses, initiating of intensive rocket and mortar bombardments of Israeli farms, kibbutzim and cities/towns within range. Their motive and perspectives are taken directly from the jihadi texts of Hadith and Quran. They are seen by their constituency as ‘lions of jihad’ and defenders of the mujahidin faith.

For nearly one year their newest tactic has been to bring thousands of violent rioters to the edge of Israeli territory and then to attack IDF troops or kibbutzniks with IEDs, deadly slingshots, bunches of children’s balloon with explosives and warheads attached, starting fires on Israeli farms –all the time attempting to breach the Israeli security fences in order to murder or kidnap Jewish civilians and soldiers.

Monday, Monday

Today before dawn a new type of Qassam rocket (J-80, with a range of over 120 kilometers/75miles) was fired from the Gazan city of Rafah toward the municipalities north of Tel Aviv. The rocket struck a civilian community at 05:20 am and destroyed a house with 7 people in it – grandparents, parents and three children. Though a dog was killed in the barrage, the family sustained light and moderate injuries. The Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system was not fired. Evidently the system was not covering this territory at that specific time.

This is the second Islamist rocket fire attempt directed at Israel in the past few weeks. In each case Hamas has turned a blind eye to the firing, sloughing off responsibility while claiming that the rocket attack was a freak accident.

Israel responded to the previous attack with over 100 bombing sorties. Twelve hours after today’s attack, the IDF began to bomb Hamas Intelligence HQs, Naval Commando bases, long range rocket warehouses, etc. These attacks are currently happening, and it is expected that Hamas and Islamic Jihad will respond with concentrated rocket barrages on Israel’s civilian population. This would likely lead to intensified IAF bombings and a possible ground incursion of Israeli Special Forces, tanks and infantry into Gaza.

Thorns meet the divine flame

The Psalmist calls out from the depths to the God of Jacob, asking for His help in smashing the shield and sword – the thorns – of the enemy.

Isaiah prophesied a declaration which in his day applied to Assyria. Today perhaps you would like to apply it to the enemy who is currently raising his head to destroy Jacob: “And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day” (Isaiah 10:17).

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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

“I will be honored through Pharaoh”

It’s not surprising that Jewish holidays often describe attempts to destroy the Jewish people. One example is the upcoming Feast of Purim found in the Book of Esther. Repeated attempts to annihilate Jacob are part and parcel of Hebrew history. It could be Hitler. It could be Haman. It could be Hamas or the even the present anti-Jewish machinations of the Left and Right. All these plots are tailored from the same cloth. Hatred of the Jews and the seeking of their harm? It’s “nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). 

The famous Passover song “V’hi she’amda” paints a graphic picture of this historical flow. “For not only has one nation risen up to annihilate us, but actually in every generation they rise up to destroy us. But the Holy One blessed be He, rescues us from out of their hand!” Some might accuse the Jewish nation of paranoia, but it is nevertheless a verifiable fact that even paranoid people can have real enemies!

As the shadows of anti-Semitism lengthen across the globe, and as nations take counsel together and devise cruel strategies against YHVH, His Anointed and His Jewish people (see Psalm 2:2, Psalm 83:1-5 and Psalm 105:7-15), it’s encouraging for us to remember that the God of Israel is never taken by surprise in these matters. Whether it involves Assyria (Isaiah 10:5-19), Babylon (Psalm 137:7-9) or modern day Iran (Daniel 10:20), God will ultimately cause even the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:8-10; Romans 9:17). YHVH loves it when His plan comes together.

When Israel is cornered

The Passover ‘showdown at the seashore’ found in Exodus 14 is an amazing event, full of sound and fury and bursting with significance. YHVH orchestrates a stunning cliffhanger between the chariots of Egypt (Pharaoh’s crack shock troops – the equivalent of Panzer tanks) and three million panicking Jewish slaves fleeing bondage.

The God of Jacob immaculately sets the stage, briefing Moses as would a five-star general. He orders Moses to bring the entire nation of Israel into a desert cul-de-sac, thus giving Pharaoh’s army the impression that the Jewish people are trapped and cornered.

As far as Pharaoh could see, his own plan was about to be a slam-dunk success. The recent humiliating defeat at the hands of a Jewish desert God would now end up with epic Egyptian glory. Pharaoh’s pride was the door-opener for the judgment of God, as it is written: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). So “YHVH hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel” (Exodus 14:8).

A rat is caught in his own trap

When Israel’s enemies come at her with gaping mouths, breathing out destruction and attempting to swallow Jacob whole (Psalm 124), YHVH responds. He throws a divine fishhook into the mouth of the foe, snaring him and reeling him in for judgment. This biblical principle is also illustrated in a stunning Last Days context:  “I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield” (Ezekiel 38:4).

Pharaoh’s destruction actually brings honor to the God of Jacob

YHVH let Moses in on one of His top-secret strategies vis-à-vis the foes of Israel. Based on God’s foreign policy principle in Genesis 12:3, Pharaoh’s rage and cursing of Jacob was positioning the Egyptian king solidly in the divine crosshairs. And the judgment falling on Pharaoh and his armies would bring great honor to the God of the Hebrews: “I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians will know that I am YHVH, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen” (Exodus 14:17-18).

God knows how to bring glory and honor to Himself in ways that are outside the four walls of a church building. The Scriptures are chock full of how YHVH brings glory and honor to Himself on the frontlines of government, in business and through war. Let’s turn up our biblical radar and recognize that God is once again on the verge of bringing glory and honor to His name through the devastation and ruin of Israel’s enemies.

Revealing the arm of the Lord

Yeshua exhorted His followers not to fear the Accuser and his hosts nor to give undue honor to them. “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known … Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:26-28).

As we see the enemies of God rise up against the Jewish people, let’s remember that God is setting the scene for another battle royal – one He will most decisively win:

This is the God whom we serve. This is the Holy One of Israel. This is our Father in whom we boast (Exodus 15:1-4).

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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Speaking light into darkness

In 852 B.C. a battle royal took place on the Heights of Gilead, east of the Jordan River. King Ahab of Israel and his in-law King Jehoshaphat of Judah jointly attacked the Arameans of Damascus. But their attempt to reclaim the territory of Ramot Gilead failed miserably. Ahab was mortally wounded by a stray arrow. Nevertheless, as his life blood drained out of him, he stood upright in his chariot, hiding his wounds from his soldiers to the very end.

Speaking favorably or speaking truthfully?

Before that military clash, as the two Jewish kings had drawn up their battle plans, Jehoshaphat of David’s lineage had asked Ahab if there was any prophetic word of encouragement for them. “Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them” (1 Kings 22:10). These four hundred royal prophets had hutzpa and were media-savvy in their communication. They declared total success for Ahab’s military operation.

But Jehoshaphat had a sneaking suspicion that he was hearing ‘fake prophetic news.’ He asked if perhaps there was a minority prophetic opinion. Ahab scowled and admitted that there was one prophet who was never invited to these royal press conferences – Micaiah son of Imlah.  Ahab noted with vehemence, “But I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (1 Kings 22:8). So King Ahab’s bodyguards hauled Micaiah into the royal presence and warned him, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably” (1 Kings 22:13). Micaiah answered dourly, knowing that it could cost him his life, “As YHVH lives, what YHVH says to me, that I shall speak” (1 Kings 22:14).

The pull on God’s spokesmen to ‘speak favorably’ was strong, and it remains strong in our day as well.

We live in the days of Isaiah’s  prophecy, “For behold, darkness will cover the earth and gross darkness the peoples” (Isaiah 60:2). Gross darkness is spreading throughout the world. It is praised by Presidents and Kings. Murder of the innocents, the unborn and the barely born is legalized to the fanfare of joyous shouting. Jihadi terror and its advocates spring up like weeds both abroad and at home. Sneering curses of anti-Semitism and chilling moves to thwart the Jewish’s people’s restoration sweep across the Western world. In so many ways light is flickering out in the West. In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI said that the spiritual crisis overtaking the West is the most serious since the fall of the Roman Empire near the end of the fifth century.

People are panicking. They hope with fingers crossed that everything will be alright in the short run – that the world will be turned around morally, economically, spiritually. Some intercessors are declaring that this descent into darkness is only a mild hiccup, and that superpowers will soon witness total and radical reformation.

But here is a challenging question – what if the darkness actually intensifies? What if the forces of evil actually increase their dark beating of wings? What if light not only gets clearer and stronger, but darkness continues to cover the earth and the peoples?

Location, location, location

Let’s look at the context of Isaiah 60. Is the prophet talking about the church or the Jewish people? Whoever the audience is supposed to be – that will prove decisive for us in understanding the prophet’s message.

Paul hands us a great interpretive key when he quotes two preceding verses (Isaiah 59:20-21) in Romans 11:25-27. There the Apostle makes it 100% clear that Isaiah’s focus is the Jewish people, and that their future national history is the subject of the prophecy here. According to Paul, Isaiah 60 is a Last Days prophecy about the Jewish people and the Jewish homeland.

So what does Isaiah 60:1-3 tell us about the Last Days, about the Jewish people and about the nations?

The key to world revival and to the Holy Spirit being poured out is the Jewish people. They are at the strategic ground zero of these events. So let’s stay on target and pray for the Lord to move as He has promised – both for the Jewish people and for the nations!

The key to the highway runs through Jerusalem

Every so often one runs into prophetic proclamations that a major spiritual turning is just around the corner for various countries. The sense is often communicated that with just a little more prayer, a little more effort, downward slides will be halted in their tracks and everything will turn out just fine. These things may indeed happen. A great harvest is undoubtedly coming, and the power of God will again melt hearts, heal broken bodies and bring countless numbers to repentance and salvation.

At the same time, it’s worth remembering that the Bible is crystal clear – the fullness of the New Covenant will come about when Israel repents (Romans 11:11-12), and world revival will result when Jerusalem turns to Yeshua (Romans 11:15; Matthew 23:39).

Getting surprised by surprise attacks

The boiling over of the pot of anti-Semitism – it’s happening in our day. But let’s remember that the pot is boiling over on the left side as well as on the right side. The coming waves of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli attacks are coming from both Leftists and Rightists, as well as from both Islamist jihadis and Christian fascists.

Many times I have heard people ask questions which reveal an underlying anti-Semitic perspective. Some of these even come from believers with a heart for Israel, who pray for her protection and salvation. But these questions still arise, “Why do Jewish people vote Democratic in the USA? Why are Jews so rich? Why do Jews control the banks, the media and the government? Etc., etc.”

Leftist anti-Semitism is often voiced by ‘progressives’ – those people who hate Capitalists, who often hate whites, who are bonded sympathetically or unwittingly to Islamist prejudices against the Jewish people and their state. On the other hand, Rightist anti-Semites hate Jews because they believe that Jewish people have leftist tendencies. Rightists often fear world conspiracies and are easy prey to anti-Jewish and Nazi-like conspiracy theories. Either way, on both sides of the aisle Jews are hated and feared. Anti-Semitism is an equal opportunity employer.

Be prepared

Most believers are not prepared for the raging intensity of the coming war against the sons and daughters of Israel. This list would include pastors, leaders and laymen, prophetic leaders and conference speakers. God’s heart for the Jewish people and His priority dealings with them are still a mystery to so many people.

As Rod Dreher has remarked in another context, “For a long time we have downplayed or ignored the signs. Now the floodwaters are upon us – and we are not prepared. The storm clouds have been gathering for decades, but most of us believers have operated under the illusion that they would blow over.” People “can’t bear the thought that it might be true — because then, they would have to make radical changes in their lives” (https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/the-ben-op-the-flood/).

In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo ruefully declares, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

The Netanyahu charges – character, hypocrisy and a million paper-cuts

Israel’s Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit has just announced his intention to indict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu on three charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His intention to indict kicks off a process which could last for years in the courts. Mandelblit’s announcement is not a declaration that Netanyahu is guilty, though Bibi’s enemies at the Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot (‘Latest News’) crowed with satisfaction in screaming headlines with extra-large fonts declaring  ‘Ne’esham’ (which can mean ‘accused,’  ‘charged’ or ‘defendant’ in Hebrew).

According to Israeli law, anyone accused in a court of law is innocent until proven guilty. However, the overwhelming majority of Israel’s media (which has attacked and castigated Bibi and his family for over two decades) assumes as a given that Netanyahu is already guilty. For them, any trial would only be window dressing on a foregone conclusion.

Mandelblit’s announcement of intent to indict is only a first step in a drawn-out legal procedure. No actual indictment can happen until after the April 9, 2019 Israeli elections. After the elections (according to Israeli law) Bibi’s lawyers will ask for and receive a hearing to respond to the Attorney General’s charges, where they will present Netanyahu’s perspectives and counter-challenges. After that point (which could take up to one full year), the Attorney General may decide drop charges, modify them or formally file an indictment.

In light of all this,

Where’s the beef?

In 1984 the hamburger chain Wendy’s presented a TV ad using a crotchety older woman who constantly asked, “Where’s the beef?” During the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates’ debate of that year, Walter Mondale drilled Gary Hart with the same question. The point behind both soundbites was to question whether or not an event or a person’s agenda has substance.

World-respected and prominent lawyer Alan Dershowitz (Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard University) has stated recently that there is no legal substance to the charges against Netanyahu. He “strongly believes that the appropriate criteria for criminal prosecution have not been met” in these cases, and that the “clear and unambiguous (evidence of) financial corruption” needed for solid conviction here is “well beyond what is alleged in the current cases.”

His arguments and those of other legal minds can be found in the above articles. If Dershowitz’s statement is valid (that there is not sufficient legal evidence to attempt a conviction), why then is the Attorney General moving forward with this very damaging gambit only 40 days before Israel’s next general elections?

Clash of the titans

Power politics is a way of life in most countries of the world, and certainly in Israel. Powerful businessmen attempt to influence political decisions in ways which will be advantageous to their own economic interests. In Israel each major political party is financed and influenced by specific tycoons (www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/which-tycoon-to-vote-for-in-the-election-1.6955379):

Property developer Alfred Akirov supports Benny Gantz and his Israel Resilience Party (Hosen L’Yisrael, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Resilience_Party). In the past he was a main contributor to Prime Ministers Shimon Peres and Ehud Olmert.

Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn and his government monopolies (Israel Electric Corporation, the Ports Authority, the Israel Airports Authority and other powerful unions, all organized under the Histadrut Labor Federation) also support Gantz.

Koby Maimon (natural gas and real estate magnate) backs Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and his Kulanu party.

Business magnate Arnon Mozes backs Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid who worked for years as a journalist at Mozes’ Yediot Achronot. Mozes controls Israel's biggest media conglomerate Yediot Tikshoret; Channel 2, one of the top TV channels; HOT Cable TV company (second largest); Vesti, Israel's largest Russian-language daily; La'Isha, the Israeli women's magazine; Rosh 1, a teenager weekly; the Internet portal Ynet; the men's magazine Blazer; print houses; voice data providers, music distributors, information services and a plethora of real estate properties.

The Labor Party is headed by Avi Gabbay and seconded by Knesset Member Itzik Shmueli. Nochi Dankner the former Chairman of Israel’s biggest conglomerate IDB has contributed handsomely to Shmueli, as has Arnon Mozes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party are heavily supported by casino baron Sheldon Adelson, owner of the freely distributed newspaper Israel Hayom (in active competition with Mozes’ Yediot Achronot).

Adelson is also a major supporter of Naftali Bennett and his Hayamin Hehadash (New Right) party (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Right_(Israel)).

Most of Israel’s political maneuverings, machinations and headlines reflect the jockeying between these ‘Power Rangers.’ Charges and counter-charges against top politicians continue to be the daily bread of Israeli media for the past 20 years, with much of the bile directed against Netanyahu and the Likud Party – who nevertheless seem to continually win in election after election.

Dershowitz notes in the above-mentioned article that “these media companies will seek to influence the political discourse that affects their bottom line, as they simultaneously report on it.”

The Hypocritical oath

Professor Avi Bell (Professor of Law at Bar Ilan University and the University of San Diego, Senior Fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum, and Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Project on the Foundations of Private Law) comments concerning one of the bribery charges – Hollywood magnate Arnon Milchan’s personal gifts of champagne and cigars to Bibi and his wife Sara.

Bell points out that Milchan is on public record as having expressed similar friendship and largesse to Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert, Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres, as well as to Deputy Prime Ministers Tzipi Livni and Silvan Shalom, Defense and Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Liberman, Finance Minister Yair Lapid etc. Yet no charges on these matters have been or will be filed against Lapid, Livni, Olmert, Peres, Shalom or Sharon.

The laser-like focus on bringing down Netanyahu by any means necessary has been the agenda of much of the media (and the power brokers behind them) for decades.

Years ago, just before Ariel Sharon’s pullout from Gaza (the ‘disengagement’ of 2005), one top Israeli commentator Amnon Abramovich called on his colleagues to go easy on Sharon over possible involvement in a questionable Greek land deal – to treat Sharon “like an etrog” – i.e., to treat him ‘with kid gloves’ – so long as Sharon withdrew unilaterally from the Gaza Strip. The left-leaning media in Israel has treated Bibi in the exactly opposite way.

Judicial overreach and black-robe fever

Dershowitz has noted, “No one should be charged with a crime unless he has willfully crossed a bright line and plainly violated a serious criminal statute. To bring down a duly elected prime minister on the basis of an expansive and unprecedented application of a broad and expandable criminal statute endangers democracy.”

Bell notes that Mandelblit has moved beyond issues of evidence to the probing of the motives of the accused: “The danger in the novel legal theories introduced by Mandelblit is stark. The criminal charges against the prime minister lack legal substance, and they threaten both the rule of law in Israel and the health of its democracy… Mandelblit’s announcement heralds a crisis for Israel’s democracy and the public image of its legal system.”

The challenges in this case bear some resemblance to U.S. constitutional issues today. Should the U.S. Constitution be interpreted in light of what the Constitutional Fathers intended the Constitution to mean, or should the Constitution be re-interpreted anew in every generation, even if that does violence to the Constitution’s original meaning and authorial intent.

A lawyer friend of mine once explained a legal concept known as ‘black robe fever’ – sometimes a judge, after putting on his black robe, begins to think that he is God, “able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). 

The present charges against Netanyahu shy away from solid and actionable evidence which is necessary for the case to stand up in court. They focus instead on psychological motives. This is seen by a significant amount of Israelis as a politically motivated partisan vendetta. The Attorney General’s actions have the potential to alienate many Israelis’ trust in their own legal system. They also throw a significant curve at the electorate and at the ruling Likud party immediately preceding a significant Israeli election. Mandelblit’s decision has oversized power to shape the election’s result. His move has the potential to move Israel’s judiciary away from its traditionally understood role into greater authority over the legislative and executive branches of government, simultaneously weakening the democratic power of the state.

Character and kings

Regardless of the outcome of the elections, the judicial hearing and any subsequent legal developments, the Scriptures give us some meat to chew on about such matters.

Solomon warns us all in Proverbs: “When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you and put a knife to your throat if you are a man of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for it is deceptive food” (Proverbs 23:1-3). All of us need to rein in our appetites, especially around people who would manipulate us for their own gain. Wisdom exhorts us to be extra careful in the face of such temptations.

Proverbs also cautions us about the cost of accepting generous gifts when there might be strings attached: “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man or desire his delicacies. For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, ‘Eat and drink!’ but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, and waste your compliments” (Proverbs 23:6-8). Kings and rulers would do well to follow the advice of the wisest king who ever lived.

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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

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

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

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

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

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

Vive la différence!

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

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

The argument for cross-dressing

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

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

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

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

The calling to be Jewish lasts a long time

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

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

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

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

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

Robbing Jacob in the name of Jesus

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

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

On your walls, O Jerusalem

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

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

Let’s fix what’s broken

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

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 or credit card) through: www.davidstent.org

Three red cherries and a one-armed bandit

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

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

Why does Russia love warm water?

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

Russia has three main ports open to world trade:

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

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

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

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

Hammer and sickle meet the Shi’ite Crescent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Turkey but no Thanksgiving – the resuscitation of the Caliphate

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Middle East abhors a vacuum

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

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

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

Getting serious about Syria

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

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

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

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

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

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

About-face

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Outbreak in Lebanon

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

The words of the Psalmist prefigure this challenging situation:

God, do not remain quiet! Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still! For behold, Your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate You have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Your people, and conspire together against Your treasured ones. They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more.” For they have conspired together with one mind. Against You they make a covenant: the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre. Assyria also has joined with them, They have become a help to the children of Lot… who said, “Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God” (Psalm 83:1-8, 13).

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:

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BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

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