As a nation, and a formidable one, like it or not the Middle East is very much our <br>business for several reasons, oil being just one. Israel is a secular state, and <br>indeed wrought with many problems, but what nation is not. Unless Christ Himself,<br>is reigning as a beneficent dictator, it seems preferable to have separation of<br>church and state, as witnessed in most, if not all, Islamic countries. Saddam<br>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<br> would have more freedom under him than Israel for evangelizing is pitifully blind.<br> Israel is not targeting Christians in Lebanon, but those bastions of people who<br> have declared war on it citizens. Israel warned people aforehand in the areas of<br> fighting to evacuate, something which was not afforded to the people in the Twin<br> Towers, the
Pentagon, or those aboard the ill-fated plane flight, let alone the<br> thousands of others that have been killed by such actions. It was not the <br>Israelis who flew into our Towers in the name of Yahweh, but others in the name<br>of another. One should be very concerned about the actions of any nation,<br>Middle Eastern or not, that "declares" war on the nation in which you live.<br><br>While Israel is far from perfect, it's the only democracy ver there, though<br>socialistic, much as our own is becoming. You will find persecution in varying<br>degrees everywhere where you have "true" Christianity; indeed true Christians<br>should expect persecution or you are failing with your message. II Timothy 3:12<br>states, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer<br>persecution." And John 15:20 states, "Remember the word that I said to you,<br>'A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they
will also<br>persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.'" If there is<br>"frequent" (and one should itemize that frequency when ascribing such)<br>persecution of Christians in Israel, then be joyful that so many are witnessing,<br>"...but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His <br>glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy" (I Peter 4:13). How<br>fortunate that such instances can be reported in an Israeli free press; let's see<br>how far such goes in an Islamic press. Remember, "For we do not wrestle <br>against flesh and blood, but against principalities, authorities and cosmic powers<br>governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm"<br>(Ephesians 6:12).<br><br>It's ironic that Wilsonites are fond of quoting Daniel 2:21, "And he changes the <br>times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings;", and <br>Psalm 75:7, "But
God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another",<br>but when it comes to the state of Israel being reestablished in 1948, they claim<br>its cause was by premillennial dispensationalists. Calvin's all powerful, soverign<br>God was somehow powerless concerning this event. If many postmillennialists<br>had their ways, they'd be the Hezbullah of Christianity, but then they are the<br>right-hand, elect of God Crusaders who are only doing the will of God, and what<br>an excellent excuse to use in exacting your own will. As stated, unfortunately, <br>the will of God has little to do with the God of the Scriptures and much to do with<br>your own coveted theology. The "be thou not bitter" Wilsonite crowd and others<br>seem to emit much bitterness from their serrated mouths. God chose the Jews<br>because they were a stiff-necked people and for His own glory alone so that no<br>man may boast. Deuteronomy 9:4-6 states, "Do not think
in your heart, after the<br>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 <br>wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you.<br>It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you<br>go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that<br>the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the<br>word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.<br>Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land<br>to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people."<br>"You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the<br>Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51). Never forget and always<br>be grateful that believing Gentiles were grafted in;
it is not the other way around.<br>"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (Good News) of Christ, since it is God's<br>powerful means of bringing salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first<br>(especially), but equally to the Gentile' (Romans 1:16). The definition of forever<br>is just that, and He will be faithful to Israel to restore them, even though they have<br>failed. Ezekiel 16:1-14 states God's unending love for Jerusalem, and concerning<br>God's everlasting covenant with the nation of Israel, Ezekiel 16:60-63 states<br>just that. God states therein on Israel's breaking their covenant with Him, <br>"Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth,<br>and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you" (Ezekiel 16:60). "God is<br>gracious and always finds a covenant basis on which He can employ His grace.<br>He has not totally forsaken Israel and will remember the Abrahamic Covenant<br>(Genesis 12:1).
Restoration is never by merit, but by grace. The basis of God's<br>grace will not be the Mosaic Covenant, which the Jews, nor anyone else for that<br>matter, could never fulfill even with the highest intentions. Because of God's <br>grace, Israel will know that God is the Lord when He establishes His eternal<br>covenant with them." He is faithful to His beloved and those of us who are drawn<br>to Him should be most grateful for that fact, for none of us is deserving from<br>our own merits.<br><br>There are Christians who care much for the concerns of Christians and others<br>living in Islamic countries. Taysir Abu Saada and Walid Shoebat are but two of<br>many, and they have extensive ministries. If many postmillennialists were not<br>so mockingly antagonistic toward it seems everything premillennial, they would<br>see this, though unfortunately, many do see this but choose to berate and cling<br>to their arrogance. Serrated mouths are
hard to shut.<br><br>We are to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you"<br>(Psalm 122:6), and true peace will only happen when Christ returns, so may<br>His return come suddenly--which it will be.<br><br>Those who are truly interested in an accurate and in depth assessment of the<br>ongoing Middle Eastern conflict would profit from the book, From Time<br>Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict Over Palestine by Joan<br>Peters.<br><br><Scimitar><br><br><p> 
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