[Vision2020] Islam, the path to WWIII? In Defense of Israel.

[The Scimitar]

As a nation, and a formidable one, like it or not the Middle East is very much our 
business for several reasons, oil being just one.  Israel is a secular state, and 
indeed wrought with many problems, but what nation is not.  Unless Christ Himself,
is reigning as a beneficent dictator, it seems preferable to have separation of
church and state, as witnessed in most, if not all, Islamic countries.  Saddam
Hussein, that magnanimous person and his sons and loyal followers, who were fond of mincing people in tree shredders, has been alleged on this forum that one
 would have more freedom under him than Israel for evangelizing is pitifully blind.
 Israel is not targeting Christians in Lebanon, but those bastions of people who
 have declared war on it citizens.  Israel warned people aforehand in the areas of
 fighting to evacuate, something which was not afforded to the people in the Twin
 Towers, the Pentagon, or those aboard the ill-fated plane flight, let alone the
 thousands of others that have been killed by such actions.  It was not the 
Israelis who flew into our Towers in the name of Yahweh, but others in the name
of another.  One should be very concerned about the actions of any nation,
Middle Eastern or not, that "declares" war on the nation in which you live.

While Israel is far from perfect, it's the only democracy ver there, though
socialistic, much as our own is becoming.  You will find persecution in varying
degrees everywhere where you have "true" Christianity; indeed true Christians
should expect persecution or you are failing with your message.  II Timothy 3:12
states, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer
persecution."  And John 15:20 states, "Remember the word that I said to you,
'A servant is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.'"  If there is
"frequent" (and one should itemize that frequency when ascribing such)
persecution of Christians in Israel, then be joyful that so many are witnessing,
"...but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His 
glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (I Peter 4:13).  How
fortunate that such instances can be reported in an Israeli free press; let's see
how far such goes in an Islamic press.  Remember, "For we do not wrestle 
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, authorities and cosmic powers
governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm"
(Ephesians 6:12).

It's ironic that Wilsonites are fond of quoting Daniel 2:21, "And he changes the 
times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings;",  and 
Psalm 75:7, "But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another",
but when it comes to the state of Israel being reestablished in 1948, they claim
its cause was by premillennial dispensationalists.  Calvin's all powerful, soverign
God was somehow powerless concerning this event.  If many postmillennialists
had their ways, they'd be the Hezbullah of Christianity, but then they are the
right-hand, elect of God Crusaders who are only doing the will of God, and what
an excellent excuse to use in exacting your own will.  As stated, unfortunately, 
the will of God has little to do with the God of the Scriptures and much to do with
your own coveted theology.  The "be thou not bitter" Wilsonite crowd and others
seem to emit much bitterness from their serrated mouths.  God chose the Jews
because they were a stiff-necked people and for His own glory alone so that no
man may boast.  Deuteronomy 9:4-6 states, "Do not think in your heart, after the
LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, 'Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land'; but it is because of the 
wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you.
It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you
go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that
the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the
word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land
to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people."
"You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears!  You always resist the
Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51).  Never forget and always
be grateful that believing Gentiles were grafted in; it is not the other way around.
"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (Good News) of Christ, since it is God's
powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first
(especially), but equally to the Gentile' (Romans 1:16).  The definition of forever
is just that, and He will be faithful to Israel to restore them, even though they have
failed.  Ezekiel 16:1-14 states God's unending love for Jerusalem, and concerning
God's everlasting covenant with the nation of Israel, Ezekiel 16:60-63 states
just that.  God states therein on Israel's breaking their covenant with Him, 
"Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth,
and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you" (Ezekiel 16:60).  "God is
gracious and always finds a covenant basis on which He can employ His grace.
He has not totally forsaken Israel and will remember the Abrahamic Covenant
(Genesis 12:1).  Restoration is never by merit, but by grace.  The basis of God's
grace will not be the Mosaic Covenant, which the Jews, nor anyone else for that
matter, could never fulfill even with the highest intentions.  Because of God's 
grace, Israel will know that God is the Lord when He establishes His eternal
covenant with them."  He is faithful to His beloved and those of us who are drawn
to Him should be most grateful for that fact, for none of us is deserving from
our own merits.

There are Christians who care much for the concerns of Christians and others
living in Islamic countries.  Taysir Abu Saada and Walid Shoebat are but two of
many, and they have extensive ministries.  If many postmillennialists were not
so mockingly antagonistic toward it seems everything premillennial, they would
see this, though unfortunately, many do see this but choose to berate and cling
to their arrogance.  Serrated mouths are hard to shut.

We are to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you"
(Psalm 122:6), and true peace will only happen when Christ returns, so may
His return come suddenly--which it will be.

Those who are truly interested in an accurate and in depth assessment of the
ongoing Middle Eastern conflict would profit from the book, From Time
Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine by Joan
Peters.

<Scimitar>


 		
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
 Next-gen email? Have it all with the  all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20060716/612da832/attachment.htm