Trumpet Sounds Blog

Polls hazy as Israeli vote nears: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

2006-03-25T09:46:00.000-08:00

Polls hazy as Israeli vote nears: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Throughout Israel's election campaign, polls have consistently shown the new Kadima party founded by Ariel Sharon far ahead of its rivals. So why are pollsters getting nervous with the vote just days away?"

Interesting analysis. I'm hoping that Kadima's polling numbers are just a mirage, because Olmert has expressed the intention to give away so much of Israel's land.

Egyptian Brotherhood raises funds for Hamas

2006-02-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

Jordan Times: "The Muslim Brotherhood said Monday it is launching a worldwide donation campaign for a Hamas-led Palestinian government in the face of US efforts to stop the flow of money to the hardline group.

The pledge by the Brotherhood, which has branches and affiliated groups in 86 countries, comes as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice started Monday a Middle East shuttle to caution regional powers against giving money to a Hamas-led government. The United States and Europe, the world's two largest donors to the Palestinians, said they will not provide funding directly to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas heads the government."

Hamas was founded as an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. Although they are supposedly distinct organizations now, the distinction is merely formal. They are in essense one and the same. They have the same goals, and the same radical ideology.

Students in Teheran recruited for suicide bombings

2006-02-19T19:42:00.000-08:00

Jerusalem Post : "Israel television news showed images Sunday night of an auditorium filled with well-dressed students at the University of Tehran.

This was no ordinary lecture."

There is a certain madness that pervades the Islamic world. It is their obsession with destroying Israel. For birth, Muslims are universally taught to hate the Jews.

Looking at this from a Biblical perspective, this hatred is demon-inspired. If God has plainly outlined in the Bible that He intends to display His greatness in these last days by restoring Israel to their ancient land, in spite of extreme hostility and opposition from the neighboring Muslims, then it would be expected that demonic-based religion would do everything it can to stop that from happening.

Wait and see what the true God will do to fully carry out His Word. What is going to soon happen will shock the world because of the severity.

Cartoon Protests Leave 15 Dead in Nigeria

2006-02-19T05:16:00.000-08:00

ABC News: Cartoon Protests Leave 15 Dead in Nigeria: "Nigerian Muslims protesting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad attacked Christians and burned churches on Saturday, killing at least 15 people in the deadliest confrontation yet in the whirlwind of Muslim anger over the drawings.

It was the first major protest to erupt over the issue in Africa's most populous nation. An Associated Press reporter saw mobs of Muslim protesters swarm through the city center with machetes, sticks and iron rods. One group threw a tire around a man, poured gas on him and setting him ablaze."

What a horrid, descpicable religion this is, a religion which justifies murder of the innocent. These crazed maniacs who commit atrocities in the name of Allah and Mohammed unveil the true nature of Islam. It is a religion of violent domination, of forceful conquest.

Officials ready sanctions on Hamas gov't

2006-02-16T15:59:00.000-08:00

Jerusalem Post: "Israel is considering labeling the Palestinian Authority an enemy state on the level of Syria, Lebanon and Libya after Hamas takes over the Palestinian Legislative Council on Saturday, according to foreign ministry sources.

The move would be part of efforts to tighten the noose around Hamas, which Israel is seeking to isolate internationally until it renounces violence and recognizes the Jewish state. No deadline has been set for when the PA's designation as a 'terror entity' would be put into effect."

The Palestinian Authority has been a terror entity all along (for example, the Al Aqsa Martyr's Brigade which is a part of Fatah). But now, because of the Palestian's huge strategic blunder, they are in essence saying to the world: 'We really are terrorists!'

When Fatah was in power, the foreign governments could play their little game of pretend, and talk about peace. It was always a big scam, and now it has been busted.

Jordanian PM would welcome visit from Hamas 'brothers'

2006-02-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

Jerusalem Post: "Jordan said Wednesday it would welcome a visit by the leaders of the militant Palestinian Hamas group, a departure from Amman's position that it would not deal with the exiled chiefs.

'We welcome the visit of a delegation of our brothers the leaders of Hamas in their capacity as leaders of a Palestinian faction which we respect and value,' Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit told a parliamentary session.

Al-Bakhit's remarks show a change in the firm position that the government would not deal with the Hamas leaders who live outside the Palestinian territories because of what they refer to as 'standing legal obstacles.'"

This is indicative of the kind of "peace" Jordan expresses towards Israel. The huge majority of Jordanians are fiercely hostile towards Israel. It is only a matter of time before the extremist elements prevail there and make Jordan as just like the rest of that bad neighborhood.

Abbas 'coup' in the PLC outrages Hamas

2006-02-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: "In a move that Hamas officials called 'immoral', the outgoing Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) members passed a series of last-minute laws that strengthen the powers of the chairman and makes it possible to revoke laws and even dissolve the new PLC, which will convene for the first time on Saturday."

This is entertaining stuff, if only for the reason they continue to get what they have earned. The mayhem among the Palestinians continues unabated. At this rate, they will self-destruct in anarchy.

Churches celebrate Darwin`s birthday

2006-02-12T06:27:00.000-08:00

This is sick. These people may have religion, but they don't know God. The Bible frequently talks of God demonstrating His power and intelligence through His works, all He has created.

Churches celebrate Darwin`s birthday: "NEW YORK, NY, United States (UPI) -- Nearly 450 Christian churches in the United States are celebrating the 197th birthday of Charles Darwin Sunday.

The churches say Darwin`s theory of biological evolution is compatible with faith and that Christians have no need to choose between religion and science, the Chicago Tribune reported.

'It`s to demonstrate, by Christian leaders and members of the clergy, that you don`t have to make that choice. You can have both,' said Michael Zimmerman, dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, who organized the 'Evolution Sunday' event.

A variety of denominational and non-denominational churches, including Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Unitarian, Congregationalist, United Church of Christ, Baptist and a host of community churches, are participating in the event, which grew out of Zimmerman`s The Clergy Letter Project, another effort to dispel the perception among many Christians that faith and evolution are mutually exclusive, the newspaper said."

Assad may attack if pressure escalates

2006-02-11T06:46:00.000-08:00

Jerusalem Post: "If Syrian President Bashar Assad continues to feel threatened by the United States and the rest of the international community, he may be pushed into a corner and decide to fire missiles at Israel, senior IDF officers from Northern Command warned this week."

Whenever Israel decides to take action against Iran, we can expect that both Syria and Hezbollah will join in the fray. If any of those are foolish enough to use chemical or biological warheads on their missiles, Israel's response will be necessarily the use of nuclear weapons.

This is not a remote scenario, but a very likely one. We may be on the brink of the biggest military conflict since WWII.

Cartoon

2006-02-08T08:13:00.000-08:00

This illustrates an ironic fact - throughout the Arab/Muslim world, these kinds of vicious depictions of Jews are very commonplace in the press. Where is the outrage over the offense of these?

I received this cartoon in an email, so I do not know who to attribute it to.

The Real Reason

2006-02-07T03:47:00.000-08:00

Want to know the real reason why the Muslims react with such violent intensity when anything negative is said about Mohammed?

It is because they cannot stand the scrutiny of the truth about that man. He was not a real prophet of God, but their whole twisted religion stands on the foundation that Mohammed was the last and greatest prophet.

1.3 billion people have been sadly deceived to believe a lie, to base their entire lives on a lie. But that lie is so desperately crucial to their whole existence that they will not even tolerate the slightest suggestion that Mohammed was a fraud.

That is exactly what he was. Only when they have the honesty and integrity to admit that will they make any progress towards finding the true God.

Devoted and Defiant - How Dangerous is he?

2006-02-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

Devoted and Defiant - Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com: "'We are witnessing the start of a fundamentalist uprising in the region from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to Hamas, Hizbullah in Lebanon and of course Mr. Ahmadinejad in our own country.'"

The radical Islamic uprising throughout the Middle East will lead to a full-scale confrontation with Israel. This is profusely documented (in advance) by the prophets of the Bible. The true God is setting up the adversaries of Israel for the biggest fall imaginable.

How dangerous is Ahmadinejad? Extremely dangerous. The whole world is starting to see that now.

Muslim fury hits Britain

2006-02-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

In some frank comments from British Muslims, we learn what the "religion of peace" is about: peace if we all submit to Islam, jihad if we do not.

globeandmail.com : World: "'This is not a protest, this is a warning,' said Khalid Kelly, 39, an Irish national who converted to Islam five years ago.
'Stop murdering our women and children. We gave the same message before 9/11. We are now saying to insult our Prophet means death. We are being attacked and an attack against our Prophet will mean death.'
Abu Jihad, 43, who was born in Pakistan, added that the cartoonist and the editors of the papers should be killed.
'It is very clear: Anyone who insults the Prophet must be beheaded. Remember van Gogh?' he said, referring to the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh who was murdered in 2004 for his controversial film about Islam.
'Whoever did it, bless him. Islam is peace but you see there will only be peace when Islam is implemented across the world. In the Prophet's time anyone who insulted the Prophet was beheaded. The same should happen now.'"

Congratulations

2006-02-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, Muslims. By doing things like torching the Danish Embassy in Syria, you are proving to all the world what kind of religion you follow.

The "morality" of Islam is such that all kinds of deplorable actions are looked on with favor by their "deity". A harmless cartoon, expressing a legitimate viewpoint (Mohammed was indeed a violent man), is justification for all this mayhem?

We dispose of your notions of a "god" who sanctions this, because the true God is a God of justice and righteousness.

Tension Rises Over Cartoons of Muhammad

2006-02-02T23:34:00.000-08:00

Tension Rises Over Cartoons of Muhammad

The "cartoon jihad" demonstrates how indefensible is the Muslim religion. True faith stands up to scrutiny. But the barbaric, outrageous response to those mild political cartoons is itself a commentary on the nature of Islam.

Mohammed was no prophet

2006-02-02T23:10:00.000-08:00

Mohammed was not a prophet.

He was a deluded and demented man, a mass murderer, a terrorist, a pedophile.

The Quran is a confused, contradictory jumble of nonsense.

Take a look at this comic book, "Mohammed's Believe It Or Else" which proves the lunacy of the Quran and Hadith.

The Muslim religion is based on a fraudulent foundation, but the Muslims are not brave enough to face that. Instead, they riot and issue fatwas and declare jihad against anyone who declares the truth about their "prophet".

Condemnation?:

2005-12-05T03:37:00.000-08:00

This is how the twisted man Palestinian Saeb Erekat condemned today's fatal bombing attack at a Netanya mall. "I believe that this harms Palestinian interests and is another act to sabotage efforts to revive the peace process and to sabotage the Palestinian elections."

This "condemnation" makes no mention of the victims, the dead Jews who are being mourned. It "harms Palestinian interests", he said. No, Saeb, it harmed innocent Israelis.

Erakat has long been a perverse apologist of the Palestinian cause.

Bush's Veteran's Day speech

2005-11-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

I've been rather harsh in my criticism for President Bush's mission to create a Palestinian state. So it's only fair that he be commended when he makes a speech against the dangers of radical Islam:

Bush speech defends Israel against radical Islam, ignores Palestinians

Now if he can only begin to connect the dots and see it is the Islamic extremists he is denouncing who are the primary impetus for a Palestinian state!

Sinister voices

2005-10-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

President Bush is hearing voices telling him to create a Palestinian state. Obviously, those voices are not from God, because God does not contradict Himself. Where are those voices coming from? They must be coming from counterfeit spiritual influences.

It appears that President Bush has opened himself up the spirit of Islam. By "spirit" I don't mean attitude; I mean actual demonic spirits. He frequently gives praise to that false god of Allah, doing it once again this year in his annual Ramadan statement. By dishonoring and betraying the God of the Bible in this way, and acknowledging another "god", which is no god at all, he has made himself susceptible to deceptive spirits.

Remember how that hideous religion got started. Mohammed had a series of supernatural experiences during which he heard voices giving him "revelations". The revelations turned out to be quite revealing in their outcome: soon afterwards he started slaughtering the Jews of Medina. And now Bush is hearing the same voices.

I used to think President Bush was just naive and misguided. But his recent statements and actions have convinced me something much more sinister is at work. The news reports about his hurriedly arranged meeting this week with Palestinian officials to reassure them that he pushing forward for their state were extremely disconcerting.

Karen Hughes is a close Bush confidante. He sent her on recent (pardon my language) ass-kissing excursion through Muslim nations. When she came back complaining to Bush how all the Muslims keep whining about "Palestine", Bush put together this hasty meeting with the Palestinians.

Read the Boston Globe description of the meeting:
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2005/10/12/palestinians_get_rare_bush_meeting/

Bush's statements regarding a Palestinian state are becoming more and more adamant and more and more arrogant. What will it take to stop his mad campaign?

Do What Is Just and Right, Mr. President

2005-10-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Presidents and Prime Ministers and Kings grapple with weighty responsibilities. With their high office comes high accountability. They do not receive their authority from the consent of the governed, but from the assent of the Almighty. To Him they will ultimately give account for the administration He granted them.

These leaders are charged with maintaining justice and equity and righteousness. Such is the Solomonic premise of governance. Yet modern leaders of nations seem to have forgotten those concepts altogether. Operating in perpetual spin mode, they appear to make decisions solely on the consideration of how those will play out politically and economically.

Ahhh, but you, George W. Bush! We had different expectations for you, expectations you encouraged. You presented yourself as a man of integrity, of honesty, of moral rectitude, a man who would do the right thing just because it is the right thing. And we wanted to believe you.

When your predecessor made immoral choices as a matter of course, we were not surprised, for that man acted according to who he is. But you, Mr. President, you are a man who regularly reads the Bible and supposedly asks God for guidance.

Tell us, then, Mr. President, was it divine guidance that caused you last week to waive sanctions against Saudi Arabia in spite of their ongoing grievous injustices of slave trading in prostitutes, child sex workers, and forced laborers? Countless thousands of brutalized foreign women suffer horribly in that country, subjected to what amounts to chattel slavery. Is that trivial to you?

Tell us, Mr. President, why did you direct Condolezza Rice to also issue a waiver of sanctions regarding religious liberty in Saudi Arabia, in spite of their oppressive, absolute restrictions on freedom of worship? The Saudis fund mosques in the US by the billions, but if a Christian walks down the street in Riyadh with a Bible in his hand, he will be subject to beheading. Even your own State Department, hardly a bastion of moral clarity, has issued reports deploring this Saudi malfeasance. Yet you deliberately ignore it.

Tell us, Mr. President, why have you repeatedly, throughout the years you have been in office, broken your promise regarding Jerusalem? During your first campaign, you said upon taking office you would "immediately begin the process" of moving the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Does your word mean nothing? Does God's Word mean nothing? Have you not yet read the part in the Bible which speaks of Jerusalem as Israel's eternal capital? Were you just lying to win Jewish votes, or did you acquiesce to the Saudis on this also?

Tell us, Mr. President, why you gave your hearty approval, and indeed were the one who forced the issue, when Jews were expelled from their homes in Gaza just because they were Jews? A million Israeli Arabs live as full-fledged citizens of Israel, and no one would conceive of expelling them just because they are Arabs. Do you have something against the Chosen People? Does your version of the Bible not mention God's perpetual covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Are you bent on provoking the God of Israel?

Tell us, Mr. President, why are you the first American President to give official sanction to the plan for a Palestinian state on land God explicitly and emphatically promised to Israel? Were you able to use your impressive credentials and clout to induce the Almighty to change His plans for that land during one of your daily chats? You even usurped the word "vision" from Him, a word depicting the declarations of His prophets, to describe your impaired "vision" for a Palestinian state.

Go ahead, persist in your push for that cause the Muslims so cherish: "Palestine", with Jerusalem as its capital, as an Islamic nation on the Biblical "mountains of Israel". Go ahead, honor Allah, that detestable false deity, but know for certain you insult and dishonor the God of the Bible. And know for certain you and all others who share your "vision" will fail fantastically.

We are told you have among your confidantes Christian leaders who advise you. Are they all as misguided as you? Is there not a Nathan among them to tell you what God really says, to fearlessly pronounce to you, "You are the man!", the man who is bringing more trouble on America?

Don't talk to us any more about the justness of any cause you are promoting, when you repeatedly give a pass to those premier perpetrators of cruel injustice, barbaric tyranny, and pervasive corruption, those degenerate Custodians of the Cesspools.

And why, Mr. President? Is it because your family maintains personal friendship with the Saudi royal family? Or are there more nefarious reasons?

It does not matter what the reasons are. For you to shamelessly pander to the likes of the House of Saud is unjustifiable, unthinkable, unconscionable.

Listen now to what God's Holy Word says:

When the venal King Shallum, son of the exemplary King Josiah, was confronted by Jeremiah, that prophet said: '"Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.' (Jeremiah 22:15-16 NIV)

So we ask you, Mr. President, does it make you a President to have more and more oil? Is not doing what is just and right what it means to know the Lord? You think all will go well if you kowtow to the Saudis, abide by their agendas, and ignore their injustices. As long as the oil keeps flowing and the economy keeps chugging, that's all that matters, right?

No, Mr. President, all will not go well for America. You are bringing more great disasters upon this nation, unless you desist from your grievously iniquitous course. Remember that the Lord's compassion is magnificent if we change our ways. But if we do not, His indignation is magnificent.

Beware our fiery wrath, Iran warns foes

2005-09-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

ABC News: "The flames of the nation's wrath are very hot and destructive."

This is exactly why the policy of appeasement that Europe, Russia, China, and others are following in reaction Iran's plans to acquire nuclear weapons is so dangerous. The ayatollahs of Iran are fanatical, irrational, terrorists. Their mentality and ideology are no different than Hezbollah (which acts as their agent in Lebanon).

During their military parade, some of the long-range Shahab 3 missiles were adorned with banners that said "Wipe Israel From the Map!" This was exactly the same as last year's parade, yet still the world powers are ready to appease Iran.

Israel is not. They know very well what it means if Iran gets nuclear weapons -- the high probabilty that some of them would shortly be hurtling their way.

Here's what will inevitably happen: The EU and others will keep on weakly complaining about it, while Iran continues their plans. At a critical point, which is not very far from now, Israel will take action. It will not be merely the bombing of one plant like in Iraq in 1981. It will be much more extensive and destructive, by necessity.

The Iranians will react as they have promised.

And after that, the whole region will likely explode in conflagration. The price for appeasement of the loony ayatollahs will be higher than anyone can imagine. But of course, rather than blaming themselves for inaction, the world will blame Israel.

"Honor Killing" - Acceptable Savagery

2005-09-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Every day we get more evidence of the growing lawlessness and barbarity in Palestinian society. The latest is the so-called "honor killing" of a 30 year old Muslim woman for a love affair with a non-Muslim. Not only did her family force her to drink poison, they then went on an "Allah Akhbar" rampage in the town where her lover lived, torching many homes and terrorizing the residents.

This kind of behavior is acceptable in Arab/Muslim societies. But it has nothing to do with honor or purity. It is about the subjugation of women, treating them as property. If your car gets rusty, get rid of it. If your daughter gets sullied, get rid of her. It's more important to keep your family's "reputatation" (what a sick definition of that word) than to value the life of a young woman. What a sick culture and sick religion sanctions that kind of behavior.

The brutes who committed these unthinkable acts are still free, because Arab/Muslim culture holds them blameless for defending the family's "honor". You will see in the accompanying article the reporter quotes one of the brutes. The AP reporter has no trouble getting a quote from him, but the Palestinian Authority can't be bothered to arrest him!

'Honor Killing' Feud Shows Arab Divide - Los Angeles Times: "'We burned their houses because they dishonored our family, not because they are Christians,' said Khaled Ajaj, a cousin of the dead woman who participated in the raid." Ahh, yes, Khaled, you sick murderer, that makes it right, doesn't it?

The long-time serpent-tongued Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi, who never met a lie she didn't like, actually came close to a statement of truth regarding this horrific crime. She said, "We are witnessing some sort of regression in social norms."

Yes, Hanan. What we are witnessing is the disintegration of Palestinian society. The lawlessness and brutality and hatred and cruelty and savagery that you and so many others have carefully cultivated and excused will be the undoing of your own society. You cannot breed lawlessness and expect lawful behavior. You raise children to be brutes, they will be brutes.

The Arab/Muslim concept of "honor"

2005-08-24T01:38:00.000-07:00

In the Arab/Muslim world, one value is placed above all others. It is "honor".

Do not confuse that with the normal concept of honor, which is achieved by doing honorable deeds. No, the Arab version of honor is a twisted one. It is exemplified in the practice of honor killing, where a brother or father is obligated to kill his daughter if she is suspected of sexual impropriety.

We find that appalling, but to the Arab/Muslim mind, the shame is not in what we would call shameful, immoral behavior, the shame is in humiliation or weakness. Therefore, they can justify even the worst acts, as in honor killing, to keep their "honor".

So you can imagine their glee over the recent spectacle of the Gaza "disengagement". The people they hate and want to drive out of the land, the Jews, appeared weak and humiliated. They retreated while gaining nothing in return; in fact, they retreated at the very same time the Palestinian leaders kept on insisting they would not fight terrorism!

You have to understand their culture to grasp how significant this is. If two Arabs are bartering over a piece of property, neither will let the other see any hint of weakness. To the contrary, they will both sit there and lie to each other's faces, both knowing they are doing so. That is considered to be an "honorable" transaction to them.

So for the Palestinians to see how Israel groveled in Gaza has only convinced them that Israel has no "honor", that they are weak, wavering, nerveless, and will one day totally acquiesce to the Palestinian demands.

Shame on you, Israel, for repeatedly believing the lie that your enemies are interested in peace. Shame on you, Israel, for inflicting such pain on your own citizens for no reason. Shame on you, Israel, for allowing yourself to be bullied by the Palestinians, the US, the EU, and the rest of the world. Shame on you for giving up land that God has granted you in an eternal covenant.

Middle East Peace Process a Farce

2005-08-24T01:26:00.000-07:00

The Middle East peace process is a farce. Abu Mazen keeps on insisting he will not dismantle or disarm the terrorist groups that operate freely in the Palestinian cities. If the Palestinian Authority is unwilling to take any steps against the militias who are against peace, how can he say he is for peace?

This only adds more humiliation to the humiliating debacle that Israel just submitted to in Gaza. Israel looks embarassingly weak and foolish now, making concession after concession while their so-called "peace partners" are laughing in their faces.

Abusing God's Graciousness

2005-08-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Ariel Sharon has confirmed his tragic place in history as one of the most confused, misguided, and yes, even treacherous leaders. He had the extreme privilege of witnessing, and even playing an integral role, in that most rare, most momentous process in history: the rebirth of the state of Israel. From the beginning of the nation in 1948, he more than any other man gripped the hammer that forged the nation.

During numerous conflicts with Israel's enemies, his brilliant tactical moves on Israel's battlefields are legendary. Just as he has typified the greatest successes of the Zionist endeavor, so he has also presided over its greatest failure. Not only has he presided over it, he has directed it, against the wishes of his own party, against the platform that he ran on, and most importantly, against the direction of the God who brought that nation into being.

Though Sharon has viewed the process of Israel's Divinely-driven restoration for decades, he has never really understood what it is all about. This is true of most Israelis as well. If it were not true, they would never agree to surrender one square inch of the land.

That nation is no ordinary nation, and never will be. If the Jews are a chosen people, then they were chosen for a purpose, and the Jewish nation still exists for that purpose.

After centuries of hopeless exile, devoid of any real expectation of ever returning to their land, God accomplished just that. Though their prayers in the diaspora consistently included the phrase, "Next year, in Jerusalem", no one really believed that extremely improbable feat would happen.

But happen it did, just as the prophets foretold. The Scriptures clearly and emphatically declared that Israel would be impossibly restored to the land after a long, torturous sojourn through the nations. Those prophets insistently proclaimed that the God of Israel would accomplish that full recovery of the land of Israel to the people of Israel in the last days.

And now it has happened. But how many in Israel appreciate how it happened, why it happened, and who made it happen? Very few. The settlers, those stalwart pioneers that the world so loves to villainize understand it better than most in Israel. But the large part of Israel's population thinks those settlers are misguided fanatics. They just don't get it.

Ariel Sharon does not get it either. At one time, he seemed like he did. He was even called "the father of the settlements". But his initiatives were always pragmatic, not principled. He wanted settlement for strategic reasons, not spiritual ones. And now that his pragmatism has taken a different turn, he has betrayed everything he once appeared to stand for. He is so supremely confident in what he thinks is his own masterful maneuvering, his own self-important strategy, that he has betrayed the Zionist ideals, dreams, objectives, and principles.

There were those in the past who did likewise. When the people of Israel were once before in bondage in a foreign land, God sent a deliverer to perform fantastic miracles to lead them to freedom. But unappreciative of the gift God had given them -- the good land promised to them -- some of them wanted to return. We are familiar with God's severe response as recorded in the Bible.

And now, God has once again freed the Jewish people from severe bondage in foreign nations, and brought them back to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But unappreciative of the gift God has given them, and unwilling to acknowledge that it is in fact He who has done it, many are willing to relinquish parts of it.

This is a grievous abuse of God's graciousness. Those in Israel are abusing God's graciousness by refusing to admit that the entire Zionist enterprise is His handiwork, from start to finish. Worse yet, those still in the diaspora are abusing God's graciousness by refusing His direction to return out of the lands where they were scattered. Both are a slap at God's intentions.

If Zionism means anything, it means that God has opened the way back to Zion to the Jewish people. The prophets said that it would be because of His fervent compassion and warm tenderness that He would do this. But who likes their generosity to be scorned by the ungrateful recipients?

If I, as an extremely wealthy person, were to open my hands to less fortunate people, only to have them scorn and discard my gracious gifts, how would I feel? This is how God must feel about Israel's easy ability to scorn and discard portions of the land He has given back to them.

The larger problem, larger than anything I have described, is this: Israel does not listen to the prophets. Jeremiah and Micah and Ezekiel and the others still speak. They still speak the authorized, inerrant words of the Almighty. But who is listening?

Israel is so proud of its Torah, boasting "we have the Torah". But they ignore the prophetic books of Scripture. Having the Bible and listening to it are very different. If Israel was listening to the voice of the prophets, they would know what course to follow, and they would know how that course will end. But they still do not listen. Ariel Sharon is merely the symbol of that failure to listen.

The State of Gaza

2005-08-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

I saw what the Gaza mini-state will look like. It will be a state of chaos, lawlessness, brutality, mayhem.

Watching the Israeli IBA TV news on the internet, they showed a rally of Palestinians in Gaza. It consisted of swarming mobs of crazed submachinegun waving youths.

Abu Mazen, take note. You have breeded lawlessness, so lawlessness you will have. There is not a chance in a million that any kind of orderly social fabric will exist in Gaza or any other Palestinian area. The side-effect of the mindless hatred they have so carefully cultivated against Israel for decades is the forfeiture of their cultural soul.

You can be sure that the Palestinians will disintegrate. Not only will they continue on their suicidal course of attacking Israel with renewed vigor, inviting IDF retaliation on a newly amplified scale, the lawlessness they have made the primary value of their society will kill that society. Psychotic Islamic fanaticism is not the basis for a stable, cohesive, coherent society.

"The End of a Dream?" Not in your dreams!

2005-08-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

Aren't we fortunate to have the sages of major media here to inform us that God's program of restoring the Jews to all of Israel has failed? Newsweek calls it "The End of a Dream". The Washington Post has entitled their take on it "Scaling Back Zionists Dreams". The New York Times opins "Why 'Greater Israel' Never Came to Be". (These articles were all published this weekend.)

All three of these mainstream publications are putting the same kind of spin on the impending Gaza "withdrawal". They view the enforced expulsion of Jews from Gaza as indictative of the failure of a larger process: the Zionist plan to take full possession of the land of Israel in its entirety.

These esteemed rags' post-mortems on Zionism notwithstanding, the final chapter has not yet been written on the Zionist dreams of Greater Israel. A publication which has been around much longer, with infinitely more authority and accuracy to assess the subject, says otherwise.

The prophets of God, whose words will still resound brilliantly when those above-mentioned publications are long-forgotten, decomposing lumps of compost, have informed us of the final results of the Zionist dream.

I'm not concerned about whether God is capable of following through on His pronouncements regarding the land of Israel. What I am wondering about is how He will respond to this flagrant challenge to His announced intentions. Though none of the above mentioned publications has said so explicitly, their conclusions amount to a direct challenge to God's honor.

Now this may sound strange to some of you, but I did talk to God about this issue today. (That's what prayer is, remember?) And in our conversation, I urged Him to not ignore this boldfaced affront . And I know He will not.