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Major Middle East War after 2007, but before 2013!

May 20, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

My guesstimate of a major Middle East War beginning at some point in time after 2007, but before 2013, is still looking good.

I do not believe Iran will attack Israel until it has a deliverable nuclear warh

ead for its Shihab missile series to employ as a deterrent weapon. Nor do I believe Syria or Iran will start a major Middle East War until American troops are no longer on their borders.

The very earliest I can perceive both of these parameters actually being in place would be mid 2008, and the latest would be 2012.

Sure, I would much prefer that Iran not possess a nuclear warhead, but I am not nearly as concerned about it as the majority of prophecy teachers. I am confident the next Middle East war will be fought by conventional weapons.

The nation of Israel has a superb anti-missile defense and the capability to launch hundreds of Jericho Missiles, carrying a wide variety of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), from the Negev. Iran, along with the rest of the Islamic nations, knows that Israel has the capacity to void their very existence as a people and as nations across the Middle East. And they also know that Israel will not launch WMD’s against them, unless they first launch against Israel. I believe that Israel is perfectly satisfied it can knock down any Shihab-3 Missile before it reaches the eastern border of Israel.

It is far more advantageous for the nations of Islam to fight a war using only conventional weapons. They outnumber the Israelis and it will be to their advantage

to fight a conventional war.

To attempt to fight a nuclear war, in which the United States would be free morally to launch aga

inst the Arab nations in the eyes of the international community, if they launched first against Israel, would be the height

of stupidity. Iran is a fanatical nation of Islamic extremism, but in their cold hatred of Israel, they are coolly cunning, and realize a first strike against Israel would bring about their end as a threat to the world.

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

IDF: Iran will have bomb only in 2010

Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST

May 19, 2007

Despite a recent International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report which revealed that Iran was enriching uranium on an unprecedented scale, a high-ranking IDF officer said over the weekend that Israel still maintained its assessment that Teheran would have a nuclear bomb only by

the end of the decade.

Last week, The New York Times revealed that on a short-notice inspection of Iran’s main nuclear facility at Natanz, IAEA inspectors found evidence to suggest that Iran may have overcome technological challenges and has started enriching uranium on a significantly wider scale.

According to the Times report, Iranian engineers were already using an estimated 1,300 centrifuges and were producing fuel suitable for nuclear reactors.

But according to the senior IDF officer, the defense establishment’s assessment remained the same – that Iran would only obtain nuclear weapons by the end of the decade.

Turning to the Syrian front, the officer said that the IDF had noticed a military buildup within

Syria as well as preparations by Damascus for the possibility of war with Israel. Syria recently decided to move up its annual military exercise and has set June 1 as the cutoff date for the completion of military preparations for war.

The officer stressed, however, that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s “strategic decision” was to try and make peace with Israel, but he was at the same time preparing for a regional escalation over the summer – that could be connected to Iran or Hizbullah – that would also lead to war with Israel.

“There are preparations in Syria but we do not identify them as meaning that they intend to initiate a war with us,” the top officer said. “We are nevertheless taking actions to de-escalate the situation.”

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Hamas and Al Qaeda fighting Fatah – One Day all will Jihad Israel!

May 19, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

The United States and Israel have been providing weapons and training for Fatah, calling them “moderate” terrorists, if there is such a thing. However, even though Fatah greatly outnumbers the Hamas forces, one of the problems is that many of the Fatah favor the stand Hamas takes against Israel, and many are not fighting in the fray, Even now, Israel is considering helping Fatah with air strikes and artillery barrages in areas where it would aid Fatah.

Ironically, all this fighting between the terrorists will eventually end and, at the time of the 10 nation Islamic Jihad against Israel, all terrorist groups will

be united as one,

However, at the final battle of Armageddon, which will occur three and one-half years after the initial Jihad attack against Israel, the Lord will generate mass confusion among the many nations that join Islam for a final destruction of Israel, and countless numbers of friendly fire deaths and wounds will be inflicted among them.

Zechariah 14:13,14 – And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand

shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour. [14] And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

Ezekiel 38:21-23 – And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. [22] And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him,

and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

[23] Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Begin Arutz Sheva Article

Hamas Increasing Terror Capabilities; Al Qaeda Joining Fray

2 Sivan 5767, 19 May 07 07:47

by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) The Hamas terror organization has been increasing the number and efficiency of attacks on Israel, while engaged in its militia war with rival PA terror faction Fatah. New reports suggest that Hamas’ capabilities are improving, particularly with the influence and assistance of Al Qaeda.

IDF Maj.-Gen. Giora Eiland said in an interview with Israel Radio on Friday that the Gaza terrorist group’s military capability and the range of its rockets are improving. He also expressed doubt that Fatah could prevail in the militia war against Hamas for control of the government.

“Gaza is a clear and hostile Hamas state in every sense of the term,” Eiland said. “The Palestinian Authority and [PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas are pathetic and irrelevant,” he added.

Al Qaeda’s Fingerprints Increasing in Gaza

A new report indicates that Al Qaeda has begun active efforts to strengthen the Hamas terror organization in the battle for control of the Palestinian Authority.

As the Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to weaken, the Al Qaeda terrorist network has strengthened ties with Hamas, according to a report written by Army reserve Lt. Col. Jonathan HaLevi for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Following the expulsion of Jewish residents from the Gaza area and the destruction of their communities, Al Qaeda already had begun to fill the vacuum in security, HaLevi wrote.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas last year said, “We have signs of the presence of Al Qaeda in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Further evidence of the al Qaeda presence was produced earlier this month when the terrorist group Army of Islam, identified with Al Qaeda, took responsibility for the March kidnapping of British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) reporter Alan Johnston, whose whereabouts and condition are unknown.

The same group teamed up with two Hamas-sponsored terror groups to carry out last year’s abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in a cross-border attack which killed two other soldiers and wounded a third.

“Even external appearances show Al Qaeda’s growing influence as members of its affiliate movements in the Gaza Strip will often wear the same black head covering that was a trademark of the late Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,” noted HaLevi.

“All the evidence indicates that rather than challenge Al Qaeda’s bid to expand its presence in the Gaza Strip, Hamas prefers to collaborate with these new militant groups,” he added.

Fatah May Pay the Price for Al Qaeda Presence

The Fatah faction led by the PA chairman has been warring with Hamas for control of the government for more than a year. Despite numerous efforts by local and international leaders to end the internecine clashes between the two factions, the fight has continued.

Fresh shootouts and kidnappings resumed in Gaza a week ago; two broken ceasefires attempts, 44 dead civilians and terrorists and more than a hundred other wounded have not yet stemmed the flow of blood in the streets.

For its part, Fatah has spent the past year cultivating cozy relations with Jordan and the United States, which pledged millions of dollars and munitions to help shore up the PA Chairman’ s per

sonal security force.

Fatah, which is seen by most western nations as a moderate force in the terrorist-led PA government, was promised – and received – thousands of weapons from Jordan in a deal approved by the Olmert government.

Hamas has similarly boosted its weapons cache, by smuggling through elaborate tunnels across the Egyptian border. At the moment, Fatah and Hamas guns are being aimed at each other. But longer-range weapons have been reserved for use against Israel.

Hamas Receiving Upgraded Weapons and Training

Hamas has worked hard with other groups to develop and refine the Kassam rockets they use in their attacks on the western Negev, focusing especially on improving their aiming capability and range. The short-range Kassam rockets can be pointed in a general direction, but are incapable of pinpoint targeting.

Improvements in the past year have created what is considered by weapons experts to have been the final product in the Kassam line, a rocket which they say cannot be refined further.

Intelligence reports indicate that Hamas terrorists this year acquired Russian-made 22 kilometer-range Grad missiles, more versatile and lethal than the primitive, short-range Kassams.

In addition, Hamas operatives have been bolstered by advance terror training programs, financial support and gifts of Katyusha rockets from the Iranian-backed Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon.

Hizbullah used several different Iranian and Syrian-made missiles against Israel in last summer’s Second Lebanon War; most were short and medium-range Katyushas.

According to one military source that requested anonymity, PA terrorists used Katyushas in three attacks within the past year, r eaching the outskirts of Ashkelon

each time. A number of strategic installations exist in the Mediterranean coastal city, making it an inviting target.

Police said Friday they are preparing for the possibility th at long-range rockets may be fired

at Ashkelon.

Regardless of who received guns and from where, at the end, a Hamas official commented to a WorldNet Daily reporter, the weapons will eventually all be distributed among the other terrorist groups anyway, and all will ultimately be pointed at Israel.

Al Qaeda Urged Hamas to Escalate Against Israel

While the two factions continue their renewed militia war, the Hamas organization simultaneously launched an intensive attack against the Jewish State on Tuesday, aiming at communities in the western Negev. Sderot, closest to the border, has taken the brunt of the rocket fire, although other communities have been attacked, including the large coastal city of Ashkelon.

The attacks have come less than a month after a senior member of Al Qaeda called on Hamas to show a little more energy in its war against Israel. In a video that appeared on Al Qaeda’s website, Abu Yaha al Libi asked Hamas, “ Where is the revenge

? Where are the bombs? Where is the fire?”

The senior Al Qaeda terrorist urged Hamas to step up its attacks. “Your loyalty will be measured only through your commitment to the path of Jihad,” chided al Libi.

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There is the Only Way to Deal with Hamas and Kassam Launching Terrorist Groups!

Wipe them Out!

May 18, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

Anyone who believes it is possible to train a wild vicious man-eating lion captured in the wild without a whip and gun, after it has lived there for three years from birth, is stark raving mad. So is anyone who actually believes it is possible by human ingenuity to bring a lasting true peace between fanatical Islamic driven terrorists and Israel – A false peace, YES – A true Peace, NO!

I would at least, in a somewhat comparable way, liken Hamas to a lion akin to the Amalekites, who crouched like a lion in wait for his pray, and sprang upon Israel to destroy her as she traveled form Egypt to the Promised Land. I would consider what Saul was supposed to do to the Amalekites as a most appropriate punishment for the fanatical terrorist groups lying wait to destroy Israel today.

I Samuel 15:1-3 – Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. [2] Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. [3] Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

A TRUE peace will not come to the Middle East until Messiah comes to being it at Armageddon. I do not believe Armageddon is an event in the far distant future in the land of never, never!

The two articles which follow, the first from the Jerusalem Post, and the second from DEBKAfile, should make it clear that Hamas is controlled from Iran and must be destroyed.

The Gaza Strip

is a good example of what happens when Israel pulls out and lets them have their own land.

They become a nation with one thing in mind – The destruction of the “Apple of God’s Eye”. There is only one way to deal with them – Try to wipe them out. However, whatever Israel does can lead to a false peace, but never a true one!

Begin Jerusalem Post Article

Peretz orders IDF to keep up strikes

Yaakov Katz and JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST

May 18, 2007

Defense Minister Amir Peretz held a security meeting on Friday afternoon with IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, intelligence officials and Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, on the subject of IDF operations against Kassam fire

in the Gaza Strip.

At the meeting, Peretz ordered the IDF to continue with its current policy of pinpointed airstrikes against Hamas terrorists and Kassam infrastructure.

Peretz also said the infantry force that had taken up positions in Gaza on Thursday would maintain its presence in effort to assist in identifying Kassam squads.

Earlier, a high-ranking IDF officer said Friday that the goal of the current operation in Gaza was to “make Hamas pay” for its continued terror attacks against Israel.

Predicting that Kassam rocket fire

would continue over the next few days, the officer said that the IDF planned to continue its current policy of bombing Kassam manufacturing plants, warehouses, Kassam rocket squads and other Hamas infrastructure involved in terror attacks.

He also hinted that the IDF operations could continue even if Hamas stopped firing rockets.

Israel is not “conducting a dialogue” with Hamas, he said, and added that IDF operations were not necessarily dependent on the continuation of rocket attacks.

“We’re not just attacking real estate. We want to make Hamas pay for the terror,” he said.

Nine Kassams were fired at Israel on Friday. Two scored a direct hit on a home, lightly wounding several people.

Referring to calls by ministers in the government to escalate IDF operations on the ground and to begin striking at Palestinian infrastructure such as power plants, the officer said that at the moment, the army plans to continue with its current policy of pinpointed strikes from the air and on the ground.

On Thursday, IDF tanks and infantry units took up positions in northern Gaza in an effort to minimize Kassam rocket fire.

The officer said the IDF would present plans for the continued operation to the cabinet on Sunday.

The officer also noted that improvements had been made recently to the Kassams’ range, and that while a year ago the homemade rocket had been capable of reaching targets within a five-kilometer range, it could now strike 12 kilometers into Israel.

Regarding the ongoing clashes between Hamas and Fatah, which have killed 69 Palestinians so far, the officer asserted that despite the infighting, kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Schalit’s life was not in danger. Schalit is currently being held by Hamas in Gaza.

The officer also predicted that the infighting between the two rival Palestinian factions would continue. “The leaders are not succeeding in stopping the chaos and the tension is high,” the officer said.

The officer pointed out that Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was pulling the strings and was setting policy for the movement within Gaza.

He added that the crossings into Gaza, both Karni and Erez, were open on the Israeli side, but due to clashes between Fatah and Hamas, the Palestinians were unable to utilize them.

Earlier Friday, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland said that Israel did not have the military capability for a direct assault on Kassam fire.

In an interview with Israel Radio, Eiland predicted that Hamas’s capabilities would only improve, including the range of their rockets.

“Gaza is a clear and hostile Hamas state in every sense of the term,” he said. “The Palestinian Authority and [PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas are pathetic and irrelevant.”

Meanwhile, Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel had not determined what its goals were for the IDF operations in Gaza.

Speaking to Army Radio, Lieberman said that Israel must send ground forces into the Gaza Strip, take control of the Philadelphi corridor, split Gaza in three parts, and after calm was restored, hand over control to a multinational force of NATO troops.

He added that “the target is not the Kassam cells. The state of Israel decided in its time that the goal was to achieve peace with the Palestinians.

This is an illusion. It’s impossible to reach a peace agreement.”

Begin DEBKAfile Article

Hamas Traps Israel between Two Options: War or War of Attrition

May 18, 2007, 12:11 PM (GMT+02:00)

On Day 6 of the brutal Palestinian factional war and Day 4 of the Hamas missile offensive against southern Israel, two ruthless figures have emerged as the dominant factors in both conflicts: Ahmad Jabari, commander of Hamas Executive Forces, and Jamal Jarah, better known as Abu Obeida, spokesman of Hamas’ military wing.

They are jerking the strings which activate the Palestinian Authority, Israel and Egypt.

Jabari has ousted Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh and refuses to defer even to Hamas supreme leader Khaled Meshaal in Damascus. He has taken matters in his own hands, certain he can count on political, military and financial backing from Tehran and Damascus.

It is he and Abu Obeida who have escalated the violence in both sectors to unprecedented levels, to the point that it threatens to spill out of the Gaza Strip to Israel’s other borders.

A senior Israeli officer commented Thursday: “The fire burning in Sderot and Gaza could spread suddenly to Lebanon or Syria.”

DEBKAfile’s sources report that Egypt’s intelligence minister, Gen. Omar Suleiman, has given up on his efforts to broker a ceasefire in the Hamas-Fatah hostilities in Gaza after the collapse of five attempts. He has informed concerned contacts in Washington that he is at his wits’ end since the convoy carrying Palestinian Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and members of the Egyptian mission in Gaza was attacked Sunday, May 13, on its way to supervise a truce.

It turns out now that Egyptian general Aly Sharif, who was injured in the attack, did not just suffer a slight hand wound as reported, but was seriously hurt and hospitalized.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert grasped the full seriousness of the crisis facing the country when he visited missile-battered Sderot Thursday, May 17.

Israel is confronted across the Gazan border by an implacable enemy, who has determined that the only way to win its way to the top is to wage a mortal, suicidal war on two fronts: against Israel and the Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority which he heads.

Jabari and Abu Obeida have said out loud to Israel that their missile offensive will be intensified.

And if Israeli ground forces enter the Gaza Strip, they will face full-scale combat and the unleashing of suicide bombers against civilian populations.

Hamas’ military chiefs are equally blunt with Washington. They have warned President Bush’s Palestinian security coordinator, General Keith Dayton, that his security plan and US assistance to Mahmoud Abbas’ forces in weapons, training and funds will be smashed to smithereens unless they are withdrawn.

They tell Cairo: Don’t interfere.

For Abbas, Jarah and Abu Obeida have a special message: Accept our terms or we will crush you and Palestinian Authority forces in Gaza.

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that Hamas is ready to fight to the last man for its goals, whereas the opposite sides – the IDF and Abbas’ Presidential Guard – are being held back for the moment by the hesitant Olmert and Abbas, even though time is not on their side. If they don’t act soon, it will be too late and Hamas will have prevailed.

These are the terms Hamas has dictated to Abbas:

1. Bring Hani Kawasmeh back into the Palestinian government.

This friend of Hamas resigned as interior minister after being denied authority over a unified Palestinian security forces.

Unification would entail firing the Fatah commander of the Preventive Security Service in Gaza, Rashid Abu Shbak, who is the mainstay of Abbas’ partner Mohammed Dahlan in the territory.

2. Reject the US security plan presented by secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.

3. Force the Americans, the Europeans and the Israelis to lift their economic and diplomatic boycott against the Hamas-led government forthwith. The arrangement whereby overseas and Israeli funds are funneled through a special bank account in which finance minister Salim Fayad is the sole signatory is unacceptable.

Jarah and Abu Obeida don’t need to spell this out, but both are fully capable of embarking on a targeted assassination campaign against the officials involved in this arrangement.

In sum, the two heads of Hamas’ military wing are determined to topple by force of arms and hundreds of Qassam missiles the Palestinian strategies pursued by the US, Europe, Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Quartet and Israel.

The two Hamas hardliners maintain that nothing is achieved in today’s world without spilling blood. Abbas, aka Abu Mazen understands the full scale of the peril. Although Washington is pressing him to let his presidential guard stand up to Hamas, he is holding them back for fear of plunging the Gaza Strip into a full-scale fraternal war.

His refusal confronts Israel with a serious dilemma.

If Abbas’ forces, in which the US has invested hundreds of millions of dollars and high hopes for a Palestinian future, were to go into battle, the IDF could strike Hamas from the rear to halt the missile offensive on its own account, without becoming a party to the factional conflict. But as long as Abu Mazen keeps his men on the sidelines, Israeli leaders are stuck with their second decision in 11 months about whether or not to go to war against an aggressor.

In the hope of luring Abbas’ men into battle against Hamas, the Israeli Air Force was ordered early Friday, May 18, to help the Palestinian Presidential Guard’s 4th Battalion guarding the Karni goods crossing from Israel by striking a Hamas unit poised to seize the border facility.

This was the first time Israel stepped into the Hamas-Fatah conflict. If it fails to draw Abbas’ men into the fray, Israel could risk being forced to challenge the Hamas missile masterminds alone – and be unwillingly drawn into the factional dispute Abu Mazen’s behalf.

That is not the only dilemma facing Olmert.

If he holds the army back from a direct confrontation with Hamas, the missile offensive will develop into a war of attrition on Israel’s southwestern border. Hamas has threatened to expand its offensive to towns which are larger and more distant from Gaza’s borders than Sderot.

If, on the other hand, Israel goes ahead and clobbers Hamas, it faces the multiple threats of renewed suicidal terror in its main cities and of Hizballah and Syria joining in to support Hamas.

It looks therefore as though the widely predicted Summer 2007 War is already upon Israel – and it won’t be an easy one.

End DEBKAfile Article

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The Straight Skinny about Israel’s Problem – Part 1

May 18, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

I stand amazed at the ability of Caroline Glick to correctly analyze, and then articulate the Middle East situation, particularly as it pertains to the path that Israeli politicians should be following. Having lived among, gone to school with, trained, and spied on the sons of Islam, I certainly agree with her conclusions as to the best way to deal with them.

I am acutely aware that I

am in a small minority as to the viewpoint I hold on the best way for Israel to deal with the former occupants of the land upon which they now dwell.

What I believe about th is

is based on the way God indicated he wanted Israel to deal with the first occupants of the same land when Israel went in and possessed it.

God never intended to have the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob living alongside the descendants of Abraham through the 12 sons of Ishmael and the 6 sons of Keturah. It simply will not work.

These were the instructions God gave to Israel when they crossed the Jordan to claim the land he promised to give Abraham’s descendants through Isaac and Jacob. They were to destroy the men, women, and children of the cities living there beginning at Jericho.

Joshua 3:9,10 – And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.

[10] And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

Joshua 6:17 – And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. [21] And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

Joshua 8:1,2 – And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: [2] And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.

If you will read Chapters 10, 11, and 12 in the Book of Joshua, you will find the same instructions given by God as the Israelis under Joshua conquered the land promised to them by Abraham.

If you are an atheist or agnostic, then you are likely to believe what you have just read contains inhuman instructions, which should have never been followed by the Israelites.

If your faith is not in God’s ability to know what is best for the people who follow him, then you will likely believe this is wrong, and God did a cruel and bloody thing. I believe God knows what he is doing, and that what he does is always right – It is man’s judgment of what is right and wrong that is flawed – NOT God’s.

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Even in the future Millennial Reign of God’s Messiah it is quite obvious he does not want the descendants of the people, who were driven out by Joshua,

living as a nation in the land alongside Israel, and worshipping with them in the Millennial Temple. The Canaanites were the nations driven out by Joshua.

But Israel did not drive ALL of them out of the land promised to them by God through Abraham, and they were a huge thorn in Israel’s side during all their days in the land, just as they are now along from Dan to Beersheba expanded

to the Mediterranean Sea to the west of it, and to the Jordan to the east of it. But God will drive them out as Messiah leads them, and the following condition

will last for a thousand years.

Zechariah 14:20,21 – In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. [21] Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

The following promise of a land grant to Israel will be fulfilled, and the Messiah will reign over it and all the nations of the world, whether you do, or do not, believe it.

Genesis 15:18 – In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Ezekiel 47:17 – And the border from the sea

shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.

Ezekiel 47:19 – And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.

This is an outstanding article by Caroline Glick, but it is very long, so I intend to split it into two or three sections. She writes regularly for the Jerusalem Post, so you might consider subscribing to it. It has a lot of good writers.

Begin Jerusalem Post Excerpt 1

Column one: What is Israel’s problem?

Caroline Glick, THE JERUSALEM POST

May 10, 2007

In an interview last Friday with Ma’ariv, former IDF chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe Ya’alon expressed his view that the ongo ing debate

in Israel regarding the solution to the conflict with the Palestinians is an exercise in futility. As he put it, “We argue over what the solution is, but we still haven’t agreed on what the problem is.”

On the face of it, Ya’alon’s statement beggars belief. It doesn’t take a genius to understand what Israel’s problem is. All a person has to do is take a look at Palestinian “educational” television, where Mickey Mouse exhorts kindergarteners to become mass murderers, destroy Israel, and bring about Islamic world domination, to know that Palestinian society seeks Israel’s destruction and Islamic global supremacy.

And the Palestinians are not alone. The Arab and Muslim world supports their goals. The Syrian government threatens war with Israel everyday. Hizbullah and Iran issue daily calls for Israel’s annihilation. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the central clearinghouses for genocidal anti-Semitism, replete with Holocaust denial and Nazi-propaganda characterizing Jews as subhuman filth who the Muslim world must unite to snuff out.

Opposing all this is the State of Israel and its citizens. Since we are not interested in being annihilated and don’t like it when people insult us, it should be fairly clear that Israel must be strong in order to defend itself and to prevent our enemies from acquiring the ability to carry out their evil designs.

But as Ya’alon points out, for the past 15 years, this obvious predicament has rarely been mentioned.

It certainly has not informed the policies of Israel’s governments.

So it would seem that if we wish to solve our problems, the first question that must be addressed is, why are we ignoring reality?

Over the past week, three events exposed the causes of this national flight of fancy. First, last week, B’Tselem and Hamoked published a joint report entitled, “Utterly Forbidden: The Torture And Ill-Treatment Of Palestinian Detainees.”

The report purports to detail 73 testimonies of Palestinian prisoners claiming to have been tortured by IDF soldiers and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) agents.

The report was extensively and dispassionately covered by the Israeli media. The fact of its publication was the first item on Israel Radio’s hourly news updates for several hours running. The impression given by the coverage was that there was no reason to doubt the veracity of the report’s findings.

The press reports made no mention of the fact that B’Tselem and Hamoked are radical leftist organizations with documented histories of falsifying and distorting data. No mention was made of the funding these groups receive from European countries. Representatives of B’Tselem and Hamoked were not asked why their report does not identify any of the alleged victims and so makes it impossible for the Justice Ministry to investigate any of their claims. Moreover, the media made light of the fact that the alleged victims are terrorists who were arrested and interrogated for their role in planning and carrying out terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens.

End Jerusalem Post Excerpt 1

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Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth!

May 17, 2007

http://www.tribulationperiod.com/

This is one gift horse we will, of course, want to carefully examine its teeth. Iran desperately wants to get the American troops out of Iraq. In fact, I expect they are so anxious to see us pull out, this could be genuine on their part and, since Iran has control over their own home-grown variety of terrorists in Iraq, and influence on most bands of terrorists in, and around Iraq.

In any case, as a veteran of Vietnam, I have no desire to see the kind of disorganized evacuation we conducted there during the Tet Offensive. We have made up our minds to pull out – That is a settled issue – Public Opinion Polls leave no doubt of it – That being the case, my concern is that it be an orderly withdrawal with a minimum of death and chaos. It is possible we might be able to get some help from Iran in influencing the terrorist groups to see it as advantageous to them also, because once we are gone, the Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds are going to have their hands full with each other, and all Hell is likely to break loose until one strong supreme leader is able to unite them.

Iran claims it is willing to help us develop an “exit strategy” from Iraq, which is something that might come out of the U.S. – Iran Meeting on Iraq on May 28. In any case, whether it is an orderly or chaotic maze of confusion, once it is completed, Iraq will be quickly formed into one of the ten horns

of the fourth beast in Daniel 7 and Revelation 17. They will follow the Islamic Mahdi (Their version of the Messiah) in a great Jihad against Israel.

My own guesstimate for the initial attack is at a point in time after 2007, but prior to 2013. It is a guess, no more and no less.

Quote from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Begin Quote

The Mahdi, according to Shi’ite tradition, will arise at some point before the day of judgement, institute a kingdom of justice, and will in the last days fight alongside the returned Jesus against the Dajjal, the Antichrist.

However, like most religious concepts, various Muslim traditions have ascribed different characteristics to the Mahdi.

End Quote

Ironically, we look upon Jesus as the Messiah of Jew and Christian, and as the Islamic Mahdi as the beast, Antichrist, or eleventh horn.

Daniel 7:20,22 – And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. [21] I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; [22] Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

What follows is Daniel’s interpretation of verses 20 through 22:

Daniel 7:24-27 – And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

[25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. [26] But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and

to destroy it un

to the end. [27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. (For a thorough exposition of these verses consult Archive Prophecy Update Number 234A)

Revelation 17:12,13,17 – And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. [13] These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. [17] For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. (A thorough exposition of these verses may be found in Archive Prophecy Update Number 236B)

Begin Tehran Times Article

Iran willing to help U.S. develop Iraq ‘exit strategy’: deputy FM

May 10, 2007

Tehran Times

LONDON (AFP) — Iran is willing to help its foe the United States develop an “exit strategy” from Iraq, the country’s deputy foreign minister said in an interview published Wednesday.

Abbas Araghchi, speaking to the Financial Times business daily, also dismissed U.S. allegations that Iran was supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons, and added that no amount of pressure would convince Iran to give up its nuclear program.

“Their invasion was a disaster … let there not be a disastrous withdrawal,” Aragchi told the paper.

“Yes, immediate withdrawal could lead to chaos, civil war.

No one is asking for immediate withdrawal of foreign forces. But there should be a plan.” Aragchi said, however, that the American presence in Iraq was part of the problem, telling the FT that Iraq is “suffering a vicious cycle.”

“There are foreign forces who have occupied Iraq and justify their presence under the pretext of the ‘war on terror’ and there are terrorists who claim they are fighting occupiers,” he said. He said, as well, that American claims that Iran was supplying Iraqi insurgents were without basis: “They should stop blaming others for problems they have themselves created.” “In fact, the number of weapons that have come into Iran from Iraq is high, as you can see by reading the crime pages of (Iranian) newspapers. Terrorist groups as well as criminals see Iraq as an opportunity.”

Aragchi also addressed Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

“There are two options — confrontation and cooperation … what has been the result of three Security Council resolutions, two introducing sanctions

? “Iran has quickened the pace of peaceful activities and reduced its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) … this can go on, but the result is an escalation of the crisis.”

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In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more detailed information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. You may use material originated by this site. However, if you wish to use any quoted copyrighted material from this site, which did not originate at this site, for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner from which we extracted it.