Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 11

 Written by Don West  In the previous article we learned from Deut. 7:7 that God “did not set His love on [Israel] nor choose [Israel] because [Israel] was more in number than any other people, for [Israel]wasthe leastof all peoples...”; and from Deut. 9:6 that neither did God give [Israel] the good land because of Israel’s righteousness, for [Israel] wasa stiff-necked people. For us earthlings, and according to our calculations, size and compliance are things that matter; and Israel’s lack thereof and failure on both counts toward God would have been far more than sufficient justification for most of us to terminate the relationship – permanently so. So why does God persist in and continue to use itty bitty, stiff-necked Israel as one of His most important instruments of accomplishment in this world? 

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 10

  The previous nine articles on Israel and the land which it presently occupies as a sovereign, Jewish, and democratic nation-state have attempted to establish that God, in His sovereign will, chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel and their descendants forever to be the beneficiary of His special election, favor, and gift of the land that comprises their territory. But the question arises as to why. Why? What is the reason or reasons for this choice of Israel and largesse of the land by God? 

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 9

 In an attempt to convey the basis of modern Israel’s claim and right to the land that they occupy as a nation, (but which is highly contested by the Palestinians, the Arab world, the Muslim world, and a significant portion of the rest of the world, as represented by the United Nations) I have previously submitted for your consideration numerous biblical writings indicating that Israel was the beneficiary of God’s sovereign will and choice to be the recipient of a region of territory in the Middle East called the land of Canaan;

Prophecy Matters: The ‘Mythic’ Mythic Liberal Media

 One of the most dangerous and under-reported threats to the American people is the stranglehold liberal media have on our lives. Because of technological advances, media have mushroomed, and now include blogs and such. The “old school” outlets—the television networks and institutions like the New York Times—are losing market-share, but that doesn’t mean they have watered-down their liberal ideology.  

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 8

 Written by Don WestMy last effort in attempting to convey the interesting and significant concept that God is the giver of the land to Israel because He is the Owner of the land did not get very far. I was able to quote Leviticus 25:23 where God says: “...the land is Mine...”; and Joel 3:2 where God says, ... “My land”; but that would be the only two scriptures I was able to use in that article regarding what I believe to be is this extremely important aspect of modern Israel’s claim to the land: God’s ownership of the land, and hence His right to convey the land to His Chosen People, Israel.  

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 7

 If you have ever received a gift of real or personal property from someone, then whether we give it any actual consideration or not, we act on the assumption that the donor, grantor, or benefactor of the gift is in fact the owner or legal possessor of the object that constitutes the gift and has the power and legal authority to convey and transfer that gift to us. 

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 – Part 6

 From the previous article we have learned that God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham to be his God and the God of his descendants after him “in their generations,” Gen. 17:7, and would further declare in verse 8 that “…I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan (presently serving as the nation of Israel, but which is claimed by the Palestinians as their homeland) as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” God then, in verse 19, declares that Abraham’s wife, wondrously, (she is now ninety years of age) will bear a son whom Abraham is directed to name Isaac; and additionally states: “I (God) will establish My covenant (the same one He has made with Abraham) with him (Isaac) for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” So the land that is the source of this present conflict now has an additional beneficiary, Isaac, pursuant to the declaration of God.  

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 5

 As I attempt to convey my sense of the importance of the nation of Israel and God’s deep and ongoing involvement with it, the political arena in the United States has been somewhat shaken recently. President Obama made an announcement on May 18, 2011, that Israel should consider the pre-1967 Six Day War borders as the basis of a peace arrangement with the Palestinian Authority. Those borders, established by an armistice between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the newly created State of Israel at the end of the Israeli War of Independence in February, 1949, had left Israel with a very narrow territorial waistline of nine miles between the territory of the Jordanian West Bank (of the Jordan River) and Israel’s Mediterranean coastline. Israel carried a definite sense of insecurity with that strategic vulnerability from its creation in 1949 until June, 1967, when Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Hafez Assad of Syria instigated and provoked the Six Day War. Here is just a sampling of the Arab bombast and invective directed against Israel prior to that war:  

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 4

 Written by Don WestAmid the widespread and general chaos of the Middle East today, there comes a core of constant and consistent roiling and boiling from the Israeli-Arab-Palestinian conflict, and it has afflicted that region and the world for more years than Israel has been a reconstituted state, the sixty-third anniversary of which was May 14, 2011. One could point to the early years of the 1880’s as the beginning of this latest conflict when persecuted Jews in Tsarist Russia made the decision that life there was no longer bearable with its anti-Semitism and the recurring malevolent mayhem and murder of its Jewish pogroms (from the Russian word “pogromit” which means to destroy utterly).  

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 3

 As already mentioned in the previous two articles, God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, whom we collectively know as the Patriarchs; changed Jacob’s name to Israel so that Jacob would bear his Creator’s name, that is God (EL); and then with Jacob/Israel’s twelve sons would begin the process of growing Himself a nation. Through twenty-one centuries( 2000 BC-100 AD) God would develop and use this nation of Israel, through its prophets and apostles, to prepare a record for the world (the Bible) to reveal Himself as the One, Sole, and Only God and the many aspects of His nature: Perfection, Supremacy, Incomparability, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Patience, Longsuffering, Forbearing, Kindness, Tenderness, Compassion, Loving, Merciful, and Gracious, to name just a few; as well as His Triuneness, as Holy Father, Holy Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 2

 Written by Don WestAs previously submitted, Israel is important because it has a special relationship with God; a relationship created by God, and Him alone, pursuant to His sovereign will. And as part of that sovereign will, God would use this special and chosen nation to provide the world with His Written Word, the Bible (remember: of the sixty-six books of the Bible, a minimum of sixty-four of them are Jewish authored); but even more importantly and critically, God would use Israel to provide the world with the ultimate of all gifts, the Living Word: the Savior, Jesus, who is the Christ. As we explore and study this relationship between God and His people, Israel, we should start with a basic, but largely unknown, piece of information that may surprise you.  

Prophecy Matters: Israel 101 - Part 1

 Written by Don WestI’d like to talk to you about a subject that has become the passion of my life over the last seventeen years. The subject’s origins began a little over 4000 years ago, and yet it is considered to be part of one of the most important geopolitical issues confronting the world today. That issue, and the subject of my interest, is the nation of Israel. 

Prophecy Matters: Interview with Pamela Geller

             Written by Jim Fletcher Tuesday, 06 September 2011 01:38   We had a chance recently to visit with Pamela Geller, blogger (“Atlas Shrugs”), and the author of a sensational new book exposing Islam—Stop the Islamization of America. Geller works with the wonderful Robert Spencer (“Jihad Watch”), and we visited with us about her work, and where she sees the fight with the jihadists taking us. PM: How did you arrive at this place of being a sentinel who began to sound the alarm about sharia law? 

Prophecy Matters: Rare Courage

 I went to bed on the night of July 3, 1976 eager with anticipation. Like all Americans, for me the Bicentennial celebration was special; 200 years! All year we had anticipated it.My father was a real patriot and loved the country. He also loved the Bible.So it was that when I woke up on the morning of the 4th, a Sunday, I knew something unusual had happened. I could hear my parents talking and it wasn’t about America’s wonderful holiday and anniversary. We didn’t discuss it the rest of the day. 

Prophecy Matters: Israel is Reality

  It was my privilege last month to speak at a “Flashpoint 2012” conference in New Mexico (www.flashpoint2012.com), with one of my favorite people, Dr. Thomas Sharp of Creation Truth Foundation.“Doc” is one of the most insightful Bible teachers around today; during the course of one of his talks, one realizes that he is saying so many profound things that it isn’t necessary to take notes; his entire talk is a note that is meant to be digested and processed.In particular—and I know this topic is controversial for many of my Christian brothers and sisters—Doc has pierced the mystery of the relationship between “beginnings and endings.” His statement to me last year that in all his years of studying, teaching, and defending Genesis 1-11 from Darwinian philosophers, he had somehow missed the significance of Genesis 12-50! 

America-Israel Friendship League: The Arab Revolt, 2011; A Bush Redux?

By:  Kenneth J. Bialkin, Chairman America-Israel Friendship League     The world is watching the spreading demands for change by Arab citizens to throw off the shackles of autocratic and repressive rulers.  So far, the governments of Tunisia and Egypt have fallen and demonstrations continue in Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan and Morocco, and rumblings of unrest simmer elsewhere.  A brutal and bloody civil war threatens in Libya.  We do not yet know whether these strivings for freedom and democracy and demands for economic reforms, educational opportunities and jobs will produce meaningful change.  At AIFL we respect and admire the strivings for democratic realization and reform by those who are seeking a better life and opportunities.  A true respect for human rights and participatory democracy would bring great benefits to all the peoples in the Middle East.  

Prophecy Matters: The Routine of Evil

 For approximately 20 years, the international community has played a mind-numbing game of diplomacy, attempting to bring “peace” to the Israelis and Palestinians.Although that same community largely blames Israel for the failure of the ridiculously named “peace process,” history will judge fairly. That judgment will show that it has been the surrounding Muslim nations, along with a willing international community, that has blocked peace.That same international community is not naïve, nor is it idealistic. There is a more sinister element at play here. We must resolve to pay attention to the steady drumbeat of terrorism aimed at Israel, even in the face of the inane peace process. 

Prophecy Matters: 'Meat' the Press

 David Gregory, the new host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” is an example of left-wing bias that ultimately harms Western Society. One of my favorite subjects to study is media bias; it is an overlooked subject in the American Church, and among pro Israel Christians, as well. That’s why this week I’d like to talk about David Gregory, the replacement on the iconic political talk show for the late Tim Russert.  During Sunday’s segment with Speaker of the House John Boehner, Gregory went attack-dog, demanding to know why the Speaker does not address the “ignorance” of those who a) believe Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen and b) believe Obama is a Muslim. When Boehner answered that he believes Obama is a U.S. citizen, and he “takes [the president] at his word” that he is a Christian, that wasn’t good enough for Gregory. He repeatedly demanded to know why Boehner doesn’t take on the “ignorance” of Americans who believe Obama isn’t who he claims to be.  

Prophecy Matters: The church is changing face

 What is emerging in the modern Church? In America - historically Israel's greatest friend - there is a growing dislike of the Jewish state among certain Christian groups. This follows a downturn in interest in Bible prophecy teaching in U.S. churches. What are the reasons for that decline? There are many, but a major one is the emergence of the "Emerging Church." Emergents still identify themselves as evangelicals, which is clever since they share many of the same views as radical scholars like Marcus Borg or John Spong (who don't believe any of the fundamentals of the faith). Emergents, though, embrace many views that have always been the domain of left-wing Christians. It is not surprising, then, that Emergent leaders like Brian McLaren really don't like dispensationalists and supporters of Israel. Not that McLaren would put it that way. 

Prophecy Matters: Never mind the human mind

 Many of my Jewish friends wonder, quite justifiably, why they are so disliked. Of particular frustration is the opposition from mainline Christian denominations. Believe me, it is no mystery. The human mind has a great capacity for self-delusion, and nowhere is this more evident than in the twisted scholarship of liberal seminaries. If today's television documentaries cast doubt on the Hebrew scriptures, those "scholarly" presentations had a source. The source for many of them was the polluted academic books of the last century.   

Prophecy Matters: Pro Israel Christians Aren't Crackpots

Written by Jim Fletcher Everywhere today in the evangelical world, there are attacks on Zionism. Many of us share the ideals of Zionism the belief that the Jews have a right to settle in their ancestral land and that sense

Prophecy Matters: Israel - The Heart of Prophecy

 I was talking with a friend recently, and we were discussing questions we get while speaking.One of the most popular is, “How do we know we are in the last days?” A perhaps more popular version of this question is, “How do we know Jesus is coming back soon?”Ninety-nine percent of the time, I hear this question answered with a New Testament verse or verses. That of course is legitimate. However, there is a fascinating reference in the Old Testament, and it has become my favorite answer.  

Prophecy Matters: Eternal Shame

 This is an open letter to apologetics ministries in the United States. Most of us are familiar with the chilling reality that the majority of people today do not know God. Luke 10:
2 states, “Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”  

Prophecy Matters: Friendly enemies

Written by Jim Fletcher Many Christians "love the world" because that's easier in the short term than standing for truth.  A whole lot of people will side with the Palestinians and work to try and push the Jews into another

Prophecy Matters: Impressions From Dallas Prophecy Conference

  We had an opportunity this week to attend the 19th Annual Pre Trib Study Group Conference, in Dallas. It proved to be one of the best conferences we’ve ever attended, with a capacity crowd, lively lectures, and spirited debate.