Middle East update

The Temple Mount

A description of God's plans for Israel in the last days
are found in the book of Ezekiel 36:16, "Moreover the word of the Lord came
unto me, saying, Son of Man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land,
they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as
the uncleanness of a removed woman. Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the
blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had
polluted it: And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed
through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I
judged them."

Verse 24, "For I will take you from among the heathen, and
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land."

Verse 26, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

Verse 32, "Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord
God, be it known unto you, be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house
of Israel.

And then again in Ezekiel 37:14, "And shall put my spirit
in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye
know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."

A careful reading of the prophecies tell us that Israel is
the land that God has planned for his example nation, Israel. When we refer
to Israel we refer to the two tribes of Judah and also to the 10 tribes of
Israel which make up 12 altogether.

As the migrations have continued on to that land since the
year 1900, prophetic students have been fascinated with the various stages that
God has taken them through to the ultimate, when our Lord Jesus Christ shall
return as their Messiah and set up His reign from the city of Jerusalem.

Israel therefore is not so much the problem as is the city
of Jerusalem for this is the city that God has put his love and care upon.

We read in Zechariah 12:3, "And in that day will I make Jerusalem
a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall
be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together
against it."

An email from a J.R Nyquist passes on some interesting
thoughts. We quote herewith in part:

"Arafat's mechanism for generating homicidal rage is
quite simple. By organising violent protest on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, by
getting teen-age children to martyr themselves in front of television cameras,
the Palestinian Authority has gathered a harvest of hate. Israeli soldiers,
outnumbered and threatened with dismemberment by violent Palestinian mobs, have
been provoked into using deadly force to defend themselves. And when these acts
are viewed out of context, the Israelis soldiers can be made to look like "baby
killers."

It is a major propaganda score for Arafat...

After all, murder is something that only crazy people think
about. But a person in the grip of strong emotions is similar to a crazy
person, and might easily be led to violence...

To give readers an idea of the homicidal passions unleashed
by the Palestinian uprising, it is necessary to refer to an interim report
issued last week by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The report begins by quoting an
Arab leaflet currently being distributed in England, which reads, "the
final hour will not come until the Moslems kill the Jews."...

Weitzman also pointed out that the rock-throwing Palestinian
children on the West Bank have been indoctrinated by school textbooks that
demonise Jews. "Hate has to be taught," he added. And it has been taught,
and now it has been dramatised -– acted out -– before television cameras...

It should be remembered that Hitler also began by inciting
hatred against the Jews." End Quote.

It is important to point out at this stage in the
discussion that God has plans also for the Arabs, and this writer must confess
that many times during our trips to Israel, I have asked the question, Why do
they not give the Palestinians some land to live on?

The answer is that I am not God and I do not really have a
knowledge of what God's plans are for the Palestinian folk. I am sad for them,
I am worried about them, but I also know that they need our Lord Jesus Christ
desperately as he taught love for your enemies, forgiveness for those that
despitefully use you and so on. I am sure that when Jesus enters the picture
things will change dramatically.

An interesting article put out by Reuters, on 23 October
2000, Arafat appeals to Pope -– Palestinian Official.

"Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has sent a personal
appeal to Pope John Paul and a senior Palestinian official in Italy said on
Monday the Pontiff should intervene to help resolve the Middle East crisis...

"Palestinians need the intervention of such a prestigious
person who is above politics." Hammad said." End Quote.

It needs to be understood also that at Camp David too
this summer Barak offered the Palestinians 90% of the West Bank and Gaza
Territory and much of Easter Jerusalem. Then, just a day before the rioting,
Barak offered them a two capital solution with Eastern Jerusalem being called
El-kuds, (the Moslem name for the city of Jerusalem) and sovereignty over the
Temple Mount. Many in Israel are asking what more can be offered, since this is
more than any Israeli has ever offered and more than any Western power thought
Israel would give.

I then received a fax from James Bigbee, a friend of mine in
Australia, and I quote.

"We have two gods here, one from the Koran and one from the
Bible... Allah has a Prophet, called Mohamed and Jehovah has a Son called
Yeshuah."

The question is of course, which is the true god.

An article from the Australian newspaper, 21 October 2000,
had a very significant paragraph which I feel to share at this point.

Only Jesus can fix the Jerusalem problem.