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Gaza is making headline news once again.
Gaza is a rocket launching pad
Praise the Lord for the Iron Dome
According
to Yahoo news of 7/17/2014, Gaza terrorists have fired more than 1,400
rockets at Israel during the month of July so far. The attacks have sent
thousands running into bomb shelters, threatening 3.5 million Israeli
lives.
Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, terrorists from the strip have fired more than 8,000 rockets into Israel.
For an up to date account from IDF on the rocket attacks:
http://www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/06/28/live-updates-gaza-terrorists-fire-rockets-israel/
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Isaiah
31:5 As birds flying, so Jehovah of Hosts will defend Jerusalem; also
defending, He will deliver it; and passing over He will preserve it.
Israel’s
astonishingly effective Iron Dome air defense has prevented Hamas from
killing Israelis and spreading terror in the civilian population.
Ironically, though, the better Iron Dome works, the less sympathy the
rest of the world has for a nation that remains under rocket attack.
Read More:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-11/israels-iron-dome-is-amazing-and-thats-a-problem
Golda
Meir once said that Israel would not have peace until the Arabs loved
their children more than they hated Israel. Truer words have not yet
been spoken concerning the peace of Israel and the Middle East.
Unfortunately generation after generation of children, have been taught
to hate the Jew. The children are being taught to hate and the parents
of these children are so deceived that they encourage their children to
sacrifice their lives to Allah.
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While your children and grandchildren are enjoying summer camp with
all its fun, games and adventure, something entirely different is taking
place at the summer camps for the children of the Gaza Strip...
Watch and pray.
http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/17721/hamas-summer-camps-fun-sun-guns-photos/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=e2
Recent History on the Gaza Strip
Israel gained control of Gaza from Egypt during the 1967 war. It is a
strip of land on the Mediterranean Sea that is only 25 miles long and 7
miles wide at the southwestern border of Israel and Egypt. See Map.
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Gaza
was subject to Israel’s military control until 1994 when Israel gave
Gaza its right to self-govern. Ariel Sharon, in an effort for peace,
evacuated 8,000 Jewish settlers from Gaza and the West Bank in 2005.
Hamas became the elected ruling party of Gaza in 2006 winning the
majority vote over Fatah. However, a short military conflict between the
two parties took place in 2007 and Hamas took control of Gaza removing
Fatah from any political control.
Hamas has its roots in the Muslim Brotherhood which was founded in
Egypt in 1928. The Brotherhood seeks political power to implement its
religion of Islam and Sharia law in the governments of the world, and
aims to overthrow Muslim governments that are secular in nature in order
to put Sharia law in place. Recently the Brotherhood gained a foothold
in the Egypt government and was overthrown by the military and branded
to be a terrorist group by Egypt.
Fatah was founded by Yasser Arafat and was known as the Palestinian
Liberation Organization or the PLO, which controlled the West Bank.
Fatah and Hamas have been rival factions until this year when they
together formed a Unity government joining forces against a common
enemy…Israel, and supposedly forming it for the purposes of peace.
Israel refuses to recognize the new government because Hamas is labeled
by Israel as a terrorist group.
What does the Bible have to say about Gaza?
Will the events of today, be recorded in history as the time that ancient prophecy was fulfillment?
Let’s look at what Zephaniah has to say: chapter 2 verses 1-7.
Gather yourselves together, yea, gather
together, O nation not desired; Before the decree bring forth, before
the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon
you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you. Seek ye the
LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of
the LORD'S anger.
Here
we see a cry from God for repentance before it is too late. The Hebrew
for nation is “goy” it means Gentile in the sense of an unbeliever. The
Lord is calling to the Gentiles or unbelievers to turn to the Lord
before the day of His wrath. In reference to these scriptures it is a
call to “a nation not desired,” which today are the inhabitants of the
Gaza strip and the West Bank. The refugee’s that occupy the Gaza strip
are for the most part refugee’s that the other Arab nations have
rejected. The day of the Lord’s fierce anger refers to the end of days
when the Lord’s wrath will be poured out upon the nations for the
rejection of His Son, Jesus. Those that seek the Lord, even if it is at
the last moment, shall be hid from His anger. Being hid from His anger
is an idiom for “the rapture.”
For
Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out
Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe unto the
inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of
the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will
even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
Much
of scripture has either a duel fulfillment or progressive fulfillment.
Such is the case I believe for the prophecies concerning Gaza. Gaza has
been conquered many times through various wars; however Gaza was never
just handed over to an enemy, that is, not until 2005.
Before
we continue, I would like to remind everyone that the scriptures
promise judgment to the nations that take action to divide the land of
Israel.
The
fulfillment of Gaza being forsaken began with the Oslo Accord in 1993
when Clinton, Arafat, and Rabin negotiated for the withdrawal of the
Israeli military, giving parts of Gaza and the West Bank to the control
of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, (the nation not desired)
Jewish settlers in the area could remain. The signing of the Oslo Accord
took place on September 13th 1993.
From
May to September of 1993, there were intense negotiations led by
President Clinton, to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government
Authority that ended with the signing of the Oslo Accord on the White
House lawn.
Now
hear this: From May to September of 1993, the same amount of time that
the negotiations were going on with the PLO, major flooding took place,
The Great Midwest Flood ranked as one of the greatest natural disasters
to ever hit America to date.
What
a sad time it was when Gaza was totally forsaken; those days are
recorded in history as August 18th - August 22th 2005. Ariel Sharon,
pressured by the US President and Secretary of State, called for the
evacuation of all Jewish settlers from Gaza giving Hamas complete
control of the strip. A total of 1,700 families were forcibly evacuated
at a cost of nearly $900 million, thinking this would bring peace. This
forced evacuation left approximately 8,000 Jews homeless.
Now there are a couple of
things that are “worthy of note” and “thought provoking” to consider
about this action. First I want to make my readers aware of what was in
play that led up to the August date for the evacuation of 8,000 Jews.
1.
Israel’s 21 members Security Council voted 14 to 7 in favor of
uprooting all Jews from Gaza. This meant that 2/3rd of the Council was
ignoring God’s word that Gaza belongs to Judah and 1/3 of the Council
remained faithful to the promise.
2.
Then when the Knesset voted, again 2/3 voted for the removal of their
brethren from the land that God had given to Judah. Leaving a 1/3
minority that had faith in God’s word to them that Gaza belonged to
Judah.
3.
Now when the people of Israel were polled by Ha’aretz remarkably the
people polled, favored the evacuating of their fellow Jews from the land
of Judah now called Gaza by a 2 to 1 margin. Again indicating by a 2/3
majority that the people had lost faith in the promises of God.
This calls to my mind two scriptures, first:
Zechariah
13:8-9 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, (Israel) saith
the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third
shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire,
and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is
tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It
is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
And then,
Deu: 19:15 ...at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
I
cannot help but to ask myself, “Does this 2/3rd vote to uproot fellow
Jews from Gaza stand as a witnesses against those in the land without
faith?” It certainly is thought provoking! One thing is for certain, the
fierce anger of the Lord and Gaza are linked together and Gaza may very
well be the trigger that unleashes that anger.
Now
hear this: It’s the end of August in 2005 and 8,000 homeless Jews in
Israel are wondering where to find housing. They are homeless because
Israel met the demands of American leadership to give up the Gaza Strip.
On
August 29th of that same year, America was hit by the worst natural
disaster to have ever occurred in the United States of America,
exceeding all previous disaster ratings. New Orleans was hit by
Hurricane Katrina, leaving 500,000 people homeless in America.
It
appears to this ministry that the signature of God was all over this
disaster. Why, you may ask? Well, according to Rabbi Menachem Kohen in
his book, Prophecies for the Era of Muslim Terror/A Torah Perspective on
World Events, the exact same percentage of people were homeless in
Israel based on per-capita as there was in the US base on per-capita.
Rabbi Kohen states, “The exact percentage – this cannot be a random
occurrence”. I agree.
For
further information on the relationship between the disasters in
America and the peace negotiations with Israel to divide the land, let
me recommend the following books.
Eye to Eye, by William Koenig
Prophecies for the Era of Muslim Terror, by Rabbi Kohen
The Israel Omen, and The Israel Omen II, by David Brennan
Sound
the
Alarm!!!
"Blow you the trumpet in Zion,
and sound an alarm in my holy mountain:
let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:
for the day of the LORD comes,
for it is near at hand" Joel 2:1
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Moving on with the rest of the prophecy:
...and Ashkelon a desolation:
The Ancient City of Ashkelon and the New City of Ashkelon in the Background
Ashkelon was the oldest and largest seaport in ancient Canaan.
Ashkelon became one of the five Philistine cities that were constantly
warring with the Israelites and the kingdom of Judah.
They shall drive out Ashdod at noon day...
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.
A better translation would be, “they
shall be driven out of Ashdod at noon day.” Being driven out at noon day
is an idiom for “driven out suddenly.” The ancient city of Ashdod lays
just south of the modern city of Ashdod in an excavated tell. The
ancient city was one of the five Philistine cities. It was in Ashdod
that the captured Arc of the Covenant was brought into the temple of
Dagon, and God smote the Philistines with boils.
The city was conquered and destroyed many times. During the Arab and
Israeli War of 1948 the inhabitants of Ashdod also known in Arabic as
Isdud were driven out. The Egyptian forces retreated and most of the
inhabitants of Ashdod left and those few remaining were driven out by
the Israeli military. Will there be further fulfillment of this
prophetic word at the end of days? Hopefully the prophecy has been
totally fulfilled.
Modern Ashdod was re-established in
1956 and was incorporated after the six day war in 1968. It is the sixth
largest city in Israel and boasts of over 240,000 people. The port of
Ashdod is the country’s largest and most important port in Israel,
carrying about 60% of cargoes.
Ekron shall be uprooted...Ekron,
the city of Satan worship, still lies in ruin to this day just as
predicted. The city was originally given to the tribe of Dan and then to
Judah, but was conquered by the Philistines becoming the most Northern
of the five Philistine cities. The captured Ark of the Covenant was
brought first to Ashdod and then to Ekron. Baal-zebub was the worshipped
deity of Ekron, from whom King Ahaziah sought counsel. Along with
Zephaniah, the Hebrew prophets Amos, Zechariah, and Jeremiah prophesied
its doom.
The relatively recent excavations in the temple complex at Tel Miqne
in 1996 have uncovered a significant artifact, the inscription
identifying the 7th century king of Ekron and securing the location of
the city. The city of Ekron is mentioned in the Book of Joshua but the
exact location of the city remained a mystery until the 1996 discovery,
which places it 22 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
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The Ancient City of Ekron
The Hebrew word for uprooted is עקר (aqar). One of the many meanings
for the word is to dig up. Let me suggest to you that since this
prophecy deals with the end times, to consider with me the possibility
that the scriptures are indicating that the city of Ekron will be dug up
or excavated before the day of the Lord’s fierce anger. Perhaps this is
another sign that the “day of the Lord,” is very near. With so many
signs upon us we cannot deny that these are indeed the “end times.”
Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea
coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against
you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee,
that there shall be no inhabitant.
Here is a warning to the inhabitants of the Gaza strip that refuse
to turn to the Lord God of Israel. The Lord calls them the nation of the
Cherethites. The bible dictionary says that the Cherethites were a clan
of the Philistines. In Strong’s concordance, the Hebrew word is כרתי
(krethiy) and the first definition is executioners, so since nation is
the word goy, meaning unbelieving Gentile, the Lord is calling the
inhabitants of Gaza “unbelieving executioners.”
According to this prophecy His intent is to destroy them leaving no
inhabitants. This is yet to be fulfilled before the Gaza strip is
returned to Israel as part of Judah’s inheritance. Moving on we find the
promise.
Zep 2:6-7 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks.
And the coast shall be for the remnant
of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of
Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God
shall visit them, and turn away their captivity.
Once again the remnant of Judah will occupy the Gaza strip. The
houses in Ashkelon will be safe and secure. The people will lie down in
the evening without the fear of rockets being blasted toward them from
Gaza.
The
World pressures and negotiates with Israel for a “Two State” solution
for peace in the Middle East. At best, should peace come to Israel, it
would be short lived. The Lord, however, has a peace plan in place for
Judah and Jerusalem and a plan for those that divide His land, His plan
is the one that will prevail and cannot be negotiated.
Joel, Chapter 3
Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all the nations and take
them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with them
there because of My people, My inheritance Israel. The nations have
scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up My land.
They cast lots for
My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.
And also: Tyre, Sidon, and all the
territories of Philistia--what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or
trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your
heads.
For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures to your temples.
You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks to remove them far from their own territory.
Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; I will bring retribution on your heads.
I will sell your sons and daughters
into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the
Sabeans, to a distant nation, for the LORD has spoken.
Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for holy war; rouse the warriors; let all the men of war advance and attack!
Beat your plows into swords and your pruning knives into spears. Let even the weakling say, "I am a warrior."
Come quickly, all you surrounding nations; gather yourselves. Bring down Your warriors there, LORD.
Let the nations be roused and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the surrounding nations.
Swing the sickle because the harvest is
ripe. Come and trample the grapes because the winepress is full; the
wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is great.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.
The LORD will roar from Zion and raise
His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will shake. But the LORD will
be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the Israelites.
Then you will know that I am Yahweh
your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy,
and foreigners will never overrun it again.
In that day the mountains will drip
with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of
Judah will flow with water, and a spring will issue from the LORD's
house, watering the Valley of Acacias.
Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a
desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah in
whose land they shed innocent blood.
But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
I will pardon their bloodguilt, which I have not pardoned, for the LORD dwells in Zion.
MARANATHA
COME
LORD JESUS!
Pray for America!
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, [and] giving of thanks, be made for all men;
For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peacable life in all godliness and honesty.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (Yeshua)
1 Timothy 2:1-5
If you know of anyone that wants to be on our mailing list. Click Below:
mailinglist@sweetmanna.org
Be Blessed!
Rev. Marjorie
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