Saying that “Palestinians” have a valid claim to any part of Israel is just wrong. There never has been a country called Palestine, and the people who say they are Palestinians are Arabs from surrounding nations. It goes back to Isaac and Ishmael in Abraham’s time. Prior to Israel’s return in 1948, the land the Israelites now occupy was desolate, dry and almost totally uninhabited. This was noted by Samuel Clements – aka Mark Twain – in the 1850’s. Isaac was God’s chosen; Ishmael was the son of the slave woman. (any emphasis is mine)

The land that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12 is theirs forever, and the city where David and Solomon reigned as kings, and the location where the House of God – The Temple – was built, is Jerusalem. The land that God originally gave to Abraham to be his and his descendants was described in Genesis 15:18 and 17:8. “On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt [Nile?] to the Great River; the river Euphrates.’ (17:8) And I will give to you and your offspring after you, the land of your sojourning’s; all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” This is the “Promised Land” the Bible tells us about.

By overlaying the original promised land onto a modern map, the southern border of that land went from about Cairo, Egypt, to Kuwait. It ran at the north from about the southern border of Turkey, and spreads out in a large triangle which covers Beirut, Lebanon, Damascus, Syria, and all the way to the outskirts of Baghdad in Iraq. Needless to say, modern Israel is only a fraction of that land, yet the Arabs wish to totally wipe them off the face of the earth. If Israel was down to just a few acres, that would still be too much for the Radical Palestinians.

Right from the start in May 1948, Israel had to defend itself from vicious attacks from surrounding nations. Looking at its present borders, this would be like New Jersey trying to fight off the rest of the United States, including Alaska. Greatly outnumbered, and with limited weaponry, Israel kept themselves from being annihilated; or rather the Lord God Jehovah did. Over the years, there have been several major attacks, yet Israel remains in place to this day, and presently has control over Jerusalem. Most of it, that is. It’s as the Bible said they would be just prior to the start of the Tribulation.

Looking at Amos 9:14-15, we see that God made a promise to the people of Israel. “I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their own wine; and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them; says the Lord your God.”

Any “I will” statement from the Father is a solid covenant, and if you look at the ‘shall’s,’ all has gone just as the Father said it would.

From the “wasteland” described by Samuel Clements, to modern-day Israel, the difference is impressive. The Lord has provided His people with the ability to change dry wasteland into fertile ground, where they grow grapes and many other produce crops to sustain themselves. In fact, they export a lot of produce to other nations, as well as quality wine from their vineyards. The issue facing the Jews today is, the majority do not accept Jesus as their Messiah. This is the reason there will be a 7-year tribulation/ wrath, so the Father can prove to them just who “Yeshua” is. At the end of this period, all Jews will know and accept Jesus as their Messiah.

In Ezekiel 38:4, God said He would put “hooks” into the jaws of a coalition that would rise up and attack Israel for their wealth. The main actors of this coalition are Russia, Turkey and Iran; along with some other smaller countries. For the first time in the history of this world, that coalition has formed, and the main participants are desperate to gain resources. All three of the major countries are financially strapped to the point of just about going under. Then, there sits tiny Israel, with enough wealth to cover them all. Remember, just recently Israel hit major natural gas and oil deposits, and they are exporting that which they don’t use to Europe. As far as wealth, they rank eighth in the world.

President Trump has shown Israel more honor than any previous president since 1948. Truman was the first to recognize Israel as a sovereign nation, but they pretty much fought off the invaders without any other country coming to their aid. Trump has recognized Jerusalem as the rightful capital of Israel, and acknowledged the Golan belongs to them. As expected, when the peace plan was revealed, the “Palestinians” totally rejected it. The plan gives them four years to implement the proposed changes. The tribulation plan is for 7 years.

With the present “plan for peace,” just outside Jerusalem would be given to the Arabs, or so-called “Palestinians.” While it does not include any major portion of Jerusalem, it does include a small edge of East Jerusalem. The Temple Mount would be under the total sovereignty of Israel, and taken away from Jordan. The Jews have always been willing to allow others to reside within her borders, and that even includes Arabs. The stipulation is that all who live there must do so peacefully.

Jerusalem, also known as “Zion,” is mentioned 660 times in the Old Testament, and 146 times in the New Testament. Zion is mentioned 158 times in the Old Testament, and 7 times in the New Testament. Zion is the Hebrew name for a hill just south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, upon which was built the City of David.

Jerusalem is where our Savior will rule and reign on this earth after He puts down the “rebellion,” better known as the Tribulation. He will be in the Temple and rule for one thousand years. This means a new Third Temple will be built. At the end of that period, Satan will be allowed one more limited evil action, and then he and all his followers will be in the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 19:20; 20:10-15).

The old earth will be destroyed, and a new Jerusalem will come down to a new earth that will be created at the end of the millennial reign of the Savior. Jesus will rule forever from His throne in the New Holy City. This is fully described in Revelation 21 and 22.

There is a positive side to all this for all who truly believe in, and have received Jesus as their Savior already. Prophecy is being played out before our eyes, and the next major event on the prophecy calendar would be the Rapture, or taking up of Jesus’ Church to meet Him in the air. We won’t be here for the Wrath/Tribulation that is soon to come. To be assured you will not be here, call on Him today, and ask Him to save you. Romans 10:9-13 tells of this, and the call could come at any minute. To delay could mean missing this most important event.

One last note: Jesus’ “Church” has nothing to do with organized religion that we see today. In fact, many of the evangelical groups are turning away from the true word of the Bible just as was said by Jesus, Paul, John and others. False prophets have infiltrated many churches, and people are only too willing to follow their “feel-good” “ear-tickling” messages. After the Rapture takes place, many churches, including some “mega-churches,” will not see a decline in attendance. That’s not only sad, but pathetic.

Call on Jesus today, and truly tell Him you are sorry for your sins, and ask His forgiveness. This doesn’t mean you’ll never sin again, but the habitual sin should be worked out of your life. He will refuse no one who calls, and will not force any who won’t. It’s your choice, and the most important decision you’ll ever make. Choose wisely!

Maranatha (Come Lord Jesus)

huebshman46@gmail.com

Two major events happened recently which appear to have significant prophetic implications. In this essay, I want to suggest the possible ramifications flowing from these events. Of course, the caveat applies that the author has no special revelations from God, only the speculative imagination that comes from being a fiction author.

Event Number One is the peace deal which the Trump Administration unveiled to bring a resolution to the issue that has bedeviled the Middle East since Israel came back together as a nation in 1948. From the beginning, the Arab states surrounding Israel attempted to destroy her. In that effort, the “Palestinian” “refugees” became a cause célèbre among those countries that encircle Israel, as well as the United Nations and anyone who hates God.

By the way – “Palestinian” is a word that deserve quotes in the last sentence, as there are no real Palestinians. They are a made-up people group. “Refugees” gets the same quotation-mark treatment because, after three generations of so-called refugees, there should be none. In fact, President Donald Trump declared that the United States would no longer provide funding to UNRWA – the United Nations relief organization that has continued to prop up the Palestinian myth. UNRWA treated these so-called refugees as a permanent class of citizens, which has never happened with any other true refugee group.

Personally, I believe the peace deal is problematic. Regardless of how beneficial it may be to Israel, there is still an aspect to the deal that separates her land. This has repercussions to those simply involved in the planning, as well as to Israel herself. Beyond this, however, it is highly unlikely that the Palestinians will agree to the deal. Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, declared it dead on arrival without even reading the plan. More pertinent is the saying that Arabs have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. This declaration has been refined in recent years to apply to the Palestinians and their futile efforts to gain credibility on the world stage.  They have a history of shooting themselves in the foot in their intransigent stance that Israel must be wiped off the map.

The peace deal basically gives the Palestinians four years to agree to its terms, or Israel receives all the plan’s benefits without giving up anything. Either way, Israel wins and the Palestinians lose. It is this fact that, I believe, will eventually trigger the Psalm 83 War.

I’ve mentioned in essays previously that I agree with Bill Salus’s proposal that Psalm 83 isn’t a completely fulfilled prophecy. Yes, Ezekiel’s War is coming, but the fact that Ezekiel doesn’t include any nations surrounding Israel as those that participate in the attack is problematic to me. There are too many hostile players, including Hamas and Hezbollah, not to mention all the “Palestinian” “refugees,” whom I can’t see staying on the sidelines in any contest that involves Israel.

The Palestinian situation has to come to a head and be resolved. A Psalm 83 War appears to be the best means for that. Additionally, with a resounding defeat, all these surrounding nations to Israel become completely feckless. It will be the first strike against Islam that will provide additional peace and security to Israel, perhaps giving her greater land mass than today in victory, and further setting her up to be attacked by the Big 3 Coalition of Russia, Iran, and Turkey, perhaps not all that long following the Psalm 83 debacle. This will be the 2nd strike against Islam, and its death knell.

Event Number Two is the Trump Impeachment Fail. Speaking of feckless, the Democrat contenders in the presidential race are that, and more. They have shown their true colors and demonstrated to the world how Leftist, socialist, Marxist, communist, radical they are. They hate God, and He is already bringing great delusion upon them. They are Romans 1 on steroids. More than that, I believe, because they have spurned God to the extent they have, many of the progressive Left are likely demon-possessed. If you’ve ever seen any videos of some of these people in their “hate Trump” mode, they are literally spewing foul, demonic vitriol. They cannot help themselves, being in the grip of that which controls them. It’s frightening to see, but incredibly sad that people have moved so far from their Creator.

Trump is surging in popularity, as even old-school Democrats are finally waking up that their party is not what it used to be. It has left them far behind, and many are seeing the good things that President Trump has done. This will result in a landslide victory for Donald Trump in November.

Regrettably, this will cause the Left to lose its collective mind even more. We’ve seen how the Democrats in the House of Representatives cannot help themselves from lying and accusing Trump of more and more outrageous things. This won’t stop. When Trump wins, the cycle will gain greater imperative to somehow remove him from office.

All this prominent hate has the effect of ginning up those who have no idea what the truth is. These people absorb that which is reported in the mainstream media and are useful idiots to those in power.  Notice how some in these ranks initiate unprovoked attacks on anyone they deem unfit, i.e. Christians, conservatives, and Trump supporters. This is extremely dangerous and will become a highly volatile situation following the Trump victory.

We already have those in higher positions calling for the aforementioned groups to be killed or sent to re-education gulags. Perhaps you’ve seen the Bernie Sanders campaign worker in the Project Veritas video where he calls for these very actions. The possibility of civil war will increase in these coming days.  In fact, it could be this very thing that causes the United States to become a useless ally of Israel as we see in Ezekiel 38:13, if indeed we are among the “young lions” that protest the invasion but do nothing:

“Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”

When we talk about the convergence of signs leading to the coming of Jesus, these two events discussed here are certainly among them. The days are indeed evil and will grow progressively more so.  It’s difficult to watch, especially knowing that many of our loved ones will be among those who miss the Rapture because they’ve refused to surrender their lives to the One who can save them. Yet, we know that God is merciful. He has promised to remove us from the terrible Tribulation to come. Perhaps He will convict some of these we pray for, and they will join us as we meet Jesus in the air.

Indeed, Jesus is coming soon!

—————————————

Gary W. Ritter is a lay pastor, Bible teacher, and serves as Missions Director at his church.  He is also a prolific author.  His Whirlwind Series is comprised of three books: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind, and There Is A Time.  These books are contained in the collected volume of the Whirlwind Omnibus.  Gary has been given the Christian Redemptive Fiction award for two novels: The Tattooed Cat and Alien Revelation.  He has recently released Looking Up – Volume 3, a non-fiction work that contains essays and devotions on end-times and prophetic events.  Gary’s intent in all his writings is to bring a strong Christian witness to what people read.  You can reach him at his website: www.GaryRitter.com or his Facebook Author page:  https://www.facebook.com/gritter3390.  You can also see his video Bible teachings on his Gary Ritter YouTube channel – look for the fish symbol.