Other Items 2018

Energy superpower?

An eTPL29 Analysis

The following article adequately points up the abundant fruition of Israel’s recent oil and gas exploration initiatives ... indicating a windfall of revenues that the earlier émigrés to the new state of Israel could not have comprehended.

 It outlines the vast importance of this new gas supply for Europe, which formerly has been forced to depend upon supplies from Russia ... and to be in danger of being deprived arbitrarily of natural gas by its present supplier, Russia, at Russia’s whim, as has happened in the past.

This condition will no longer be possible for Russia – a disturbing new condition which this development has placed upon the Russian economy. Oil and gas are the chief exports of the former Soviet state; it generates a scant surplus (of exportable, profit-producing commodities) in any other field.

So, since Russia’s entire financial system depends heavily upon its sale of oil and natural gas to Western countries, this new factor will put a crimp in any leverage that Russia will be able to exert upon its clients in the West, especially Germany, France, and Italy.

And it certainly creates a strong new competitor to the Bear and its pack of cubs!

Israel will surely benefit strongly from this maturing opportunity.

Yes, the amortized costs of a pipeline from Israeli holdings to Europe will be steep – and will extend over a relatively long period of time – but the revenues from it, although beginning modestly, have the prospects of steadily increasing in a crescendo of profits that will create untold wealth in the tiny State of Israel.

We are reminded of the final instructions of Moses that he delivered to his people as they stood on the threshold of entering into the land that YHVH had promised them as an eternal inheritance.

The entire text of Deuteronomy 1 – 8 is a magnificent summary of the enormous blessings that the Almighty had heaped upon His people. Some of the final words of the prophet are recorded in Deuteronomy 8:18, where Moses exhorted the People: “But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish his covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”

Note please that this statement presents two facets, the latter of which bears upon the former: It is HE (YHVH) who gives you the power to get wealth ... THAT He may establish His covenant (with thee) which He swore unto thy fathers ... 

The two factors are observed to be intertwined with each other, with the latter case being at least somewhat dependent upon the former condition.

In some measure, Israel’s ability to prosper financially is intimately connected with the future permanent inheritance of her Land.

What is this connection?

Our conjecture is “an educated guess” at best, but it would seem at this point in time that the growth of Israel into the middle stages of enormous wealth creation will be boosted greatly by this new boon in energy-production.

Consider this: In the Elah Basin, just to the southwest of Jerusalem, there lies an additional deposit of petroleum that is unimaginable in scope. The Oil Shales of Israel deposited in this massive geologic formation is equivalent to all the (proven) liquid petroleum reserves of Saudi Arabia – one of the world’s acknowledged richest petrochemical giants. Israel’s Oil Shales contain an estimated 250 billion barrels of high grade crude oil, while Saudi Arabia claims 260 billion barrels of (medium) grade crude oil.

This deposit alone could propel Israel into one of the two greatest oil-producing countries in the world, equivalent or even superior to the USA in its prospects!

But there is yet another, far more stupendous but similar situation in the works for Israel for the near future term ... which is that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan contains an oil shale field which is calculated to be at least six times larger than that of Israel!

That means that Jordan’s potential value implies untold wealth for whoever possesses that region in a future time ... when those fields are able to be developed.

What do we mean by “... whoever possesses that region in future time?”

Would that not be Jordan?

No ... it would not be Jordan.

It would be “Israel!”

Why do we make that assumption?

It is NOT an “assumption,” because, as the Almighty has prophesied long ago, all the territory between the Nile River to the south and the Euphrates River to the north will be acquired by the Christ of the Second Advent as he clears the Promised Land of its interlopers and squatters of the last thousands of years.

The wealth of the Gentiles round about will pass under the rod of the Chief Shepherd of Israel, and be absorbed by the treasury of the nascent Kingdom of God ... see Zechariah 14: 14, and many other references.

Finally ... at that time ... the Land of Promise (to Abram, et al) will finally be subjected to the righteous authority of the King of Kings, Whose Spirit and Power will then control an abundance of physical property that will propel it to the top of the heap of wealthy nations upon the face of the earth!

Our Father does not “do things” in small proportions!

The article is quoted verbatim and follows ...

Israel signs deal to pipe gas to Europe

November 25, 2018

Israel has signed an agreement with Italy, Greece,

and Cyprus to lay the longest gas pipeline in history.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Following two years of negotiations, Israel has signed an agreement with Italy, Greece, and Cyprus to lay the longest gas pipeline in history, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Saturday night.

The pipeline will traverse a distance of 1,242 miles and lie at a depth of between 1.8-to-3 miles (below the Mediterranean Sea). It will provide gas to Europe from Israel’s offshore fields.

The EastMed Pipeline Project is projected to begin in a few months’ time, starting about 170 km off Cyprus’ southern coast and reaching Otranto, Italy via Crete and the Greek mainland.

Up to 20 billion cubic meters of gas is expected to flow to Europe annually, thereby diversifying its supply of this energy source, which is now heavily dependent on Russia.

In 2014 Moscow threatened to cut natural gas deliveries over a dispute with the Ukraine, and actually did stop the flow temporarily in 2009.

The pipeline could be more than a direct boost to Israel’s economy, Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy, and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz told Hadashot TV.

‘A counterweight to Arab power’

“For decades, we have complained about the Arab influence in Europe due to oil and gas. The export of gas to Europe will moderate this influence to a certain extent and be a counterweight to Arab power,” he explained.

The agreement has been some two years in the works, with the four countries’ energy czars signing a memorandum of understanding regarding the pipeline in December 2017. It is considered a technically difficult project to complete not only because of the depth of the undersea route, but also because it will have to pass through a volcanic area in the ocean bottom between Cyprus and Greece.

Other long-term deals for Israeli gas have been signed with Egypt and Jordan to the tune of billions of dollars, with deliveries set to begin next year.

The agreement was made with the approval of the European Union.  ##

(Emphasis ours – Ed.)

<HEL> ~1300 words. An eTPL29 Analysis Published in Other Items, on November 26, 2018.

Attacks Upon Sderot by Hamas

An eTPL29 Analysis

Only a few weeks ago we were privileged  to lead a group of 28 persons on a comprehensive  tour of Israel – a pilgrimage of sorts to visit our certain inheritance of the future (recall the promises made to Abraham and applied to Christ and His brethren: cf., Galatians 3: 14-17).

During that tour we visited the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which is located near Beersheva and the northern border of the Gaza Strip with its Erez Crossing (a commercial gateway into the Strip).

Sderot is a small and beautiful Israeli city of several thousand residents who appeared to be dwelling in relative comfort and safety. But we were aware that it has been attacked several times by rockets and fire balloons launched from the Gaza Strip to its south.

We saw no evidence of damage to the town during our tour, although our guide pointed out numerous bomb shelters along our way. These are concrete bunkers into which citizens go when the street sirens sound, warning of incoming rockets or shells. Clusters of these ominous sirens were also visible on tall poles along our route.

Our guide told us that citizens have only seconds to make their way into a bunker when the sirens warn of incoming missiles or other threats. It was hard for us to visualize, given that Sderot seemed such a serene town, peaceful in all respects to our eyes.

But yesterday we were shocked to see television footage of a fiercely burning building in Sderot. The reporter was telling us that a “Palestinian” rocket from Gaza had just hit this structure in Sderot – a bakery –and had virtually destroyed it.

The site was a mass of flames which, at the time, were being fought by Israeli firefighters.

Tons of precious water was being wasted on needless destruction by Israel’s enemy, Hamas.

Another Israeli company had been dispossessed of its property.

Dozens, perhaps, of innocent Israelis had been instantly deprived of their livelihood.

And the community had lost a vital part of its infrastructure to this insane intrusion on its tranquility.

Only three days prior, a Hamas rocket had struck an Israeli home in Sderot, completely destroying the house in which at least four householders were injured.

Magen David Adom (MDA, the Israeli Red Cross) responded.

According to a news report, “An MDA paramedic who treated the family said the father, 50, suffered shrapnel wounds to his forehead and legs, and the mother, 45, suffered shrapnel wounds to her legs. The family's 15-year-old daughter suffered wounds to her face, and her 14-year-old sister suffered wounds to her legs. All of the victims were transferred to Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital.” Arutz Sheva, November 7, 2018.

The above incidents are examples of the inflexible hatred that the “Palestinians” continually express against all things Israeli.

During our recent visit, we experienced passing through a portal in The Wall, entering the “Palestinian” enclave of Bethlehem for a short visit to the site of Jesus’ Nativity. 

We were able to view close-up the “Palestinian” side of that Wall of Separation. It is desecrated with thousands of vile images expressed in graffiti and obscene pictures and crude drawings – all expressing extreme hatred for the lands and peoples on the other side of that Wall – the Land of Israel and its people – and vowing to persist in resistance to Israel, and promising soon to take over those lands and place them under permanent Arab hegemony.

Such animosity is difficult to imagine ... but there it was in vivid reality!

These vile gestures of extreme hostility remind us of the words of Zephaniah 2:8 in which the LORD says,  I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people and magnified themselves against their border.

We remind readers that the “Palestinian” population of Bethlehem is closely allied to – and are close kinsmen to – the people of Jordan today (Moab and Ammon). Their hatred is identical.

The Prophet Isaiah also addressed this deplorable condition of the end-time in his prophecy against another member of these Tribes of Hate beginning in Ezekiel 35:10 - Because thou hast said, These two nations and these two countries (Israel of today) shall be mine, and we will possess it; whereas the LORD was there: (These words mean that the LORD’s will is being done among the people (Israel) who are now inhabiting the Land at His behest.)

Eze 35:11  Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will even do (to you, enemies) according to thine anger, and according to thine envy which thou hast used out of thy hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them (Israelis), when I have judged thee.

The last phrase means when I have “judged” Esau/Edom for its wickedness against His People. These vivid, overt judgments of YHVH will make it entirely clear to Israel of that future day that the LORD’s Representative – the LORD Jesus Christ Who shall have appeared among them and destroyed these depraved peoples of Edom, Moab, Ammon, etc. – is in reality the LORD Whom they rejected with such suspicion and hatred in 29AD, at His first coming.

Ezekiel35:12  And thou shalt know that I am the LORD, and that I have heard all thy blasphemies which thou hast spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, They are laid desolate, they are given us to consume.

Eze 35:13  Thus with your mouth ye have boasted against Me, and have multiplied your words against Me: I have heard them.

Eze 35:14  Thus saith the Lord GOD; When the whole earth rejoiceth, I will make thee desolate.

Eze 35:15  As thou didst rejoice at the inheritance of the house of Israel, because it was desolate (this probably refers the Land’s former state of desolation – before 1948 – but could also indicate the irrelevance of Israel in the eyes of their god, Allah, for they know nothing of the true will of YHVH, the God of all the earth), so will I do unto thee: thou shalt be desolate, O mount Seir, and all Idumea, even all of it: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Thus YHVH’s retribution upon all the forces of Islam are seen to be divinely “fair and balanced” in its execution ... in His righteous judgment: doing unto them as they have done unto Him ... because, note the specific words of verse 13 – that their blasphemy was against “Me,” i.e., against YHVH Himself!

Why is this true?

Because YHVH’s NAME rests in Israel His People, His Witnesses of the Ages; it is in response to His commandment to “return unto Me” (Malachi 3:7) that the People have come back to their rightful Land. In that sense,  the continuing result being that I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.(the next phrase following the command to ... return).

All events in their order: first they should have to return to His Land (cf., Micah 5:3, where Israel’s re-establishment in the end-time is followed by their return en masse: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the (land of the) children of Israel.

These current events are multiplying exponentially as we excitedly view the coming of the Event of the Ages – the personal Advent of the Christ of the Second Advent – and His personal, decisive, terminal intervention in the affairs of the People of God ... Israel of today!

<HEL> ~1300 words.  An eTPL29 Analysis   Published November 13, 2018, in Other Items Section of eTPL.

 "Only Path to Heaven” According to Billy Graham

An eTPL29 Exposition

The extremely popular and well-liked “evangelist” Billy Graham passed away earlier his year at his home in Montreat, N. C. According to his often-stated claim, he expected at his death to go to heaven to “be with Jesus.”

His organization repeated the claim recently in our local newspaper in a weekly column entitled “The Only Path to Heaven is Through Jesus Christ.”

The article was supposedly based upon a question posed by a reader. That question was, “Most people I know say they will go to Heaven when they die but they cannot tell me why. Are they deceived?”

Oh my! – that’s really a “loaded” question for Billy Graham!

But he seems honestly to address the question with this immediate answer: “Most people want to believe they will go to heaven upon death because they don’t want to consider the alternative.”

 Note the entirely humanistic reasoning in this statement!

Then he offers another personal opinion ... again unsupported by the Bible.

He says, “But they must face the truth. Heaven will be filled with those who belong to Jesus Christ, those who follow him, obey him and love him, and heaven is the place that Jesus is preparing for them. He said, ‘I go and prepare a place for you ... that where I am, there you maybe also’ (John 14:3). This is a marvelous promise.”

Well ... yes, it would be a marvelous promise ... if it were verified by scripture!

But it is not what the Bible says; it is merely what Billy Graham has twisted the Bible to say!

Read the verse for yourself: John 14:3 - And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Jesus is saying in plain Greek that, yes, He is going to His Father and to their Father (John 20: 17) ... but that He would RETURN to them in order for them to be “where I am,”- that “there ye may be also.”

In these words, He was absolutely denying any of His followers the privilege of following Him into the heavens, and confirming the exact opposite event – that He would return to them so that they could be eternally together ON THE EARTH.

To claim any other meaning of the entire body of Bible information on where Jesus was going after He was raised from the dead is to put the lie to what He said!

Jesus had addressed the future abode of His followers in an extended earlier episode recorded beginning at John 8:14.

 Note what he says: Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. ...

V. 21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

V. 22  Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come....  

John 13: 33  Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

John 13: 36  Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither  goest  thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards (this phrase means specifically to follow Him “as a disciple” and not physically to follow Him to heaven).

John 14: 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

So by these statements, did Jesus mean that from this time forward, dying Believers would “follow Him to heaven?”

He never promised that destiny.

We believe that He meant that they would follow in His footsteps toward the kingdom while they were alive; semantically, that is the specific meaning of the phrase as already stated.

And that meaning is consistent with every other statement on the subject in the entire Bible!

It is clear from ALL other declarations of Jesus that no Believer would ever ascend to the heavens, just as it is clear from ALL other scriptural statements that the dying Believers have no such prospect.

 Indeed, truth be told, the eternal reward of the righteous is entirely bound up in the original promises made to Abram beginning in Genesis 12 and repeated often: the Father specifically promised the Land of Israel to Abram (Abraham) for an everlasting possession in Genesis 13: 14-17.

Such a promise was never changed to award the faithful a reward in heaven.

All other references to the reward of the righteous designate the EARTH as such – and never heaven!

Psalm 115: 16 - The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

The exalted language of Isaiah describes the establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth in the latter days, fulfilling those promises to Abraham and to His Seed (who is Christ (cf., Galatians 3: 16). 

This verifies His identity also as “the Seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15!

Isaiah writes of the kingdom promised on the earth – not in heaven: his vivid description is found in ...

Isaiah 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

Isa 2:3  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isa 2:4  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

These eternal words speak of the literal, earth-bound fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to David.

They directly address the solemn promise to David in II Samuel 7 – which was the restoration of David’s Kingdom on the earth.

The Almighty’s direct promise to David is found recorded here:

II Samuel 7:12 - And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee (defined in Galatians 3: 16, as Jesus, the Christ of the Second Advent), which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

Jesus Christ is verified by Matthew’s genealogy found in Matthew 1: 1-16 as being the direct descendant of David, son of Jesse.

That detailed promise is a to-the-letter fulfillment of the previous promises.

None of these have ever been abrogated or changed in any way.

God’s solemn promise cannot be altered in any way!

II Samuel 7: 16 repeats and verifies the earlier promise: And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

These words designate a resurrected and immortalized King David then sitting (forever) in the shadow of his greater Seed, the returned LORD Jesus Christ, Who shall in that day have raised again the throne of David in Mount Zion and be its Occupant!

The Apostle Paul described himself during his last years at Rome as being bound with chains “for the hope of Israel” – a hope distinctly opposed to that of modern Christendom: ... for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain – Acts 28: 20.

The hope of Israel is the same as David’s expectations – the restored Kingdom of Israel – of David, specifically – established in that future day upon the mountains of Israel, with its capital at Jerusalem and its subjects the redeemed of the Lord.

These verified promises of the scriptures give the lie to Billy Graham’s expectation of going up to the heavens to “be with God” forever – a prospect as inane – as unscriptural and irrational – as that of the ancient Nordic peoples of warriors “souls” being harvested from the battlefield by the Valkyries and taken to Valhalla to dwell forever with Odin!

Like the operatic depiction of this fantasy by Richard Wagner (recall “The Ride of the Valkyries”), the prospect is pulse-pounding and immensely exciting, but as futile as every other fleshly wresting of the Word of God.   <HEL> ~1500 words.   Published in Other Items,  October 30, 2018.

Israeli Minister Warns Syria’s Assad

An eTPL28 Circular Letter  

Israeli Minister Yuval Steinitz warned the Syrian president that he is not immune and will be held personally accountable by Israel if Iran attacks.

By: Beth Stern, United with Israel, May 8 2018

Energy minister, member of the security cabinet and Netanyahu confidant Yuval Steinitz took off the gloves Monday in an interview with Ynet news, sending a public warning to Syrian leader Bashar Assad that he better stop the Iranians from attacking Israel from his country.

When asked about the many recent reports in the media about Iran possibly preparing to attack Israel with a missile barrage in revenge for attacks its forces have suffered in Syrian bases allegedly at the hands of the Jewish state, Steinitz answered first by saying that he will not confirm what Israel has or hasn’t done. He also stated categorically that Israel is not interested in war with anyone.

“However,” the minister went on, “we absolutely cannot allow Iran to turn Syria into a base of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, with ballistic missiles, and anti-aircraft missiles that threaten us.”

What happened in Lebanon with Hezbollah was bad enough, he continued, as the terror organization is funded by Iran but is still only a proxy. Allowing the terror state to ensconce itself in Syria would be much, much worse, considering that it’s a regional power that has stated publicly its desire to destroy Israel countless times.

Steinitz then threatened Assad directly and repeatedly, saying that the Syrian leader is responsible for what comes into his country from his allies, and must understand there will be a personal “price tag” for allowing Iran to build up its forces in the country. “If Assad’s regime … allows Iran to attack Israel from Syria, this has to be the end of Assad, the end of his regime,” he stated forcefully and in various ways throughout the interview.

When asked what Russia might think of this, when it has invested so much in propping up the Syrian regime, Steinitz responded that Israel and Russia “have many mutual interests [but] sometimes there are also conflicts of interest,” and the red line that Israel has drawn regarding Iran in Syria is set in stone. His conclusion, therefore, was, “If anyone is interested in maintaining Assad’s survival, they should tell him to prevent missile and drone attacks on Israel.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to Moscow on Wednesday for consultations with President Putin, with this subject unquestionably high on the discussion list. Whether Putin can be convinced once and for all that Israel will not budge from its stance vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic, however, remains to be seen. ##

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The above article naturally drew numerous comments from readers in the space provided for responses. Seldom does the author respond to such invitations, but this was just an opportunity made for presentation of basic Truth ... so we did append the following comments, much abbreviated from what we should like to have stated, but shortened to assure inclusion on the site.

Our Edited Comments, as posted below this article on the Internet ...

“In all the volumes of comments below, we see NO indication that anyone has considered the views of the God of Israel (yes, Israel ... not Islam, or “Allah”) in this dilemma. Through His prophets the God of Israel has outlined exactly what is happening and what SHALL happen there to fulfill His Plan, which is to send His Son back to the earth to establish an everlasting Kingdom in Israel ... in the Land between the Rivers (see Genesis 12, et seq, to learn the promises to Abraham) ... the “rivers” being the Nile and the Euphrates.

“This is the precise Land promised to Abraham as an inheritance, and the Land upon which the nascent Kingdom of God will be established by the returned Christ. For further information, readers of this blog should consider Psalm 83, Isaiah 11, Micah 5, Isaiah 63, Ezekiel 35 and 36, Zechariah 10 through 14, and many other passages of scripture revealed by the only God of the universe, Who obviously has the omniscience accurately to foretell all things that ever will be.

“Some of these words go back to Genesis 12 where the promises to Abraham began to be elaborated in great detail. So, no matter how bleak things look for Israel, the day of its reckoning was significantly fulfilled in 1948, when 660,000 Jewish citizens who were not even trained or equipped as an army defeated over sixty million Arabs in the War of Independence (to be celebrated on May 14, 2018 – the seventieth anniversary of Israel), and ended the conflict having gained control of over 100% MORE territory than had been mandated by the UN Partition Plan of 1947. “A nation born in one day” indeed!

“In all humility, we recommend the following website as a source of much additional information and informed commentary on these vital current events ...”       http://sites.google.com/site/prophecyletters2013/

[End of commentary]

The Enemy Shall Come in 

Like a Flood

An eTPL29 Analysis

What is the present prospect of the Jews’ bloodthirsty enemies flooding into Israel in numbers so great as to be physically overwhelming to the Jewish State ... probably from every border?

 We should answer that the prospect of such an invasion is greater than it has ever been. That specific prediction is made in Isaiah 59: 19, and seems to refer to the present state of affairs in Israel ... and that such a devastating assault is specifically prophesied!

In context, the passage reads: Isaiah 59:18  According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. 19  So shall they (Israel) fear the name of the LORD from the west and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. 20  And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

 But the preliminary verses of the chapter are germane.

They are statements of reality in Judah of old – a condition of being which has persisted in one form or another during all the time since then until modern time. 

The Jews of Israel still refuse to accept the historical Jesus as Messiah; they cling to the convictions of their forefathers of 33AD, who rejected Him out of hand ... and suffered greatly for that decision some 37 years later in the wholesale destruction of the Judean polity and the scattering of ALL its people. The prophet’s words begin...

Isaiah 59:15  Y ea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

The message of this statement is that every man who tried to follow God’s precepts and live righteously, free of idolatry and greed, “maketh himself a prey,” meaning that such brings the retribution of the unrighteous among them upon himself because he is no longer following the herd mentality of his evil peers.

In striving to do righteously, he is “showing up” his compatriots, and proving them unworthy of God’s favor.

In such a case, there was no man to bring about a significant change ... no intercessor between Israel and YHVH; therefore He stated His decided intention to provide an Arm of His own making – which we now can determine would be His righteous Son, whose sacrifice became the means of intercession and rectification, and shall become the means of their physical salvation from their enemies round about.

Isa 59:16  And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

The Savior is described in detail as to the qualifications which He adopted in order to perform the necessary salvation for His people ... their spiritual salvation. But His preparation for, and execution of this goal seems to include the physical accouterments of hot warfare, also.

 Our conclusion is that His actions at that future time are “righteous,” and “salvational,” but also rife with a physical vengeance of great zeal upon their enemies as a reflection of His physical combat with these evil forces. In reality, He shall destroy them without quarter ... to the last man!

Are we reading too much into this statement? We don’t think so ...

Isa 59:17  For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.

These characteristics are His sole prerogative; His sole judgment is all that is required.

SO ... we believe the words that now come forth describe physical salvation for them as well, for the prime narrative is one of physical oppression from their enemies round about.

Not only is the sin nature afflicting His people ... their physical enemies are doing the same. They need deliverance from both.

Isa 59:18  According to their deeds (the deeds of their enemies), accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.

Note that his emphasis here is on HIS enemies, placing the enemies as being enemies of Israel in a secondary position; but the truth is that His enemies are also their enemies in every case (cf., Malachi 5: 1-3) – and His recompense upon them will be effective greatly to increase the stature of both Himself and His People. But it will trigger even deeper and more consummate hatred among enemies further away from the epicenter of the conflict!

Isa 59:19  So shall they (Israel) fear (Hebrew, yare, morally to reverence, but causatively, to make afraid) the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. These directions are east and west, implied as from beginning to end.

ALL their enemies shall be requited in kind. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

The Hebrew word rendered “standard” is nus – to chase, to deliver, to lift up a standard either a banner (a flag, or a Person representing the State), which implies completely effective resistance to those enemies.

These are the reasons for the next action described ... “the Redeemer shall come to Zion...” – to deliver them from their enemies (cf., Luke 1:71 - That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72  To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73  The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, 74  That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75  In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

It is important that we realize that “Israel” per se, has only recently achieved its status AS “Israel” (the nation), and for the first time in over 2000 years, as an entity, could be “delivered out of the hand of our enemies” as a national people. Contrast this with the circumstances of the historical Diaspora (Jews scattered into all nations), who were not so delivered during their deepest persecutions (e.g., the Holocaust).

This imminent action on His part will bring about a change in the sea state of His people, many of whom recognize their physical presence back in the land of Israel as being necessary to salvation in the end time.

This resultant condition of their being saved physically from the hand of their enemies is part of the process of their final redemption, for it brings to their hearts the enlightenment and the deep gratitude that will change their hearts of flint into hearts of flesh, and gives them the deep impetus in great humility to recognize in their Savior of that day (the Redeemer) the Person of the LORD Jesus Christ ... and at the same time to express their deep remorse for having rejected Him when He came the first time to their nation!

The result shall be that all the People shall at that time “turn from transgression in Jacob” as the LORD has said.

Isa 59:20  And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

One of their first benefits will be that He will give to them a new covenant: His confirmation that He has placed His spirit upon them and His words in their mouths – a condition which shall not be relinquished by Him for all their days, “henceforth and forever.”

Isa 59:21  As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

These resultant circumstances bring about the achievement intended in the words of the first verse of this chapter: Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: for in the achievement of these stated goals, it will be clearly seen to have been a fulfillment of this intention.

This consideration shows clearly, we believe, that the perhaps sudden, unexpected, brutal aggression of Hamas, Hezbollah, the PLO and the Islamic nations round about will be the trigger for the personal return of the LORD Jesus Christ, with His immediate intention of settling forever the “Israel-Arab Question,” entirely obviating the “two-state solution” so consistently touted by Israel’s “friends” of today, including the USA.

It is to President Trump’s credit that he stated several months ago that he is not convinced that two states (an Arabic and a Jewish state side by side) are the solution and that he is inclined to accept whatever the opposing sides themselves deem suitable.

Due to the two sides’ intractable differences, for seventy years the “two-state solution” has not worked, even in light of the Arabs being offered 99% of their demands by PM Ehud Barak of Israel several years ago at Shepherdstown and at Camp David; there the Arabs turned the offer down without discussion.

 The reason? They will settle for nothing less than ALL the territory of Israel, with their government supplanting that of Israel, and owning Jerusalem as their sole capital.

At the present date (July 2018) the prospects of “the enemy coming in like a flood” are greater than it ever has been. Considering the possession of Hezbollah (in Lebanon) of 100,000 rockets in place now, and the prospect of 250,000 being in place by next year, the descriptor “like a flood” seems more than apt – and reflective of a surge of Arab aggression that Israel alone cannot fend off. And that at that time, the personal presence of the LORD Jesus Christ will be necessary for their protection and salvation.      

<HEL G28> ~1750 words. Published  July 11 2018 to the website as An eTPL29 Analysis

Israel’s Oil and Gas Bonanza

H E Lafferty

For nearly an hundred years the desolate sands of Arabia and the Middle East have poured forth black gold – petroleum deposits by the millions of tons – and created a trove of wealth previously unknown in human history.

All this is on the verge of change.

The liquid petroleum deposits of the Arab oil cartel are rapidly being depleted. The older wells are much less likely to retain their output. And their heavier, more viscous product is much more costly to refine.

But there is a new development now building – one which was not clearly foreseen even as late as last century. It is the principle of “fracking” petroleum deposits which are not liquid in their natural form. It is a technique in which rock formations containing oil are fractured in some manner so as to remove the oil deposits. The process began in some ways to be developed when the vast tar sands of Canada began to be explored, although the processes of extraction are different. At first the tar sands presented an insoluble problem for engineers – how efficiently to separate the sand from its adherent oil and water.

As time progressed, however, systems were designed which made the process simpler and more workable.

Meanwhile, vast petroleum resources of another kind were being closely considered. These are shale oil deposits. It is now realized that the world-wide deposits of shale oil are far greater than the liquid deposits of oil. But they are more difficult to extract; therefore more costly.

    It has been often said that Moses turned the wrong direction when bringing the Israelites out of Egypt – that he should have gone east rather than west; for it was in the east that the vast oceans of petroleum were later discovered. For years oil explorers drilled in Israeli lands and found almost no oil ... or gas.

The advances in fracking, however, opened a new door to Israel’s fortunes. And new techniques of deep well-drilling have even led to discovery of liquid petroleum and natural gas in great abundance mostly in the coastal waters of Israel, but also to some extent on the country’s land mass as well.

But the most spectacular find to date has been the far-reaching deposits of oil shale in Israel. The largest of these known geologic structures is the Shfela Basin, southwest of Jerusalem. It surrounds the Valley of Elah where David slew Goliath in a war with the Philistines (1Samuel 17:2, 19).

It alone is estimated to contain 250 billion barrels of oil, rivalling the entire estimated liquid oil resources of Saudi Arabia – about 260 billion barrels of crude oil! The difference is that Arabia’s wells are aging and their product deteriorating as to desirability and refinability.

Enter one brilliant scientist, Dr. Harold Vinegar, for many years chief of physical science at Royal Dutch Shell Oil in Texas. Retiring a few years ago, Dr. Vinegar and his family made aliyah to Israel – a long-held dream of his family – and he began to work with Israeli scientists on a “fracking” technique which he had developed during his research at Shell. It involved the new technique of horizontal oil well-drilling and the insertion of heating rods into the holes in order to heat the surrounding rocks to around 700 degrees, to make them yield their absorbed oil. The resultant product is a high-quality crude oil, easily refinable, and costing around $40 per barrel. This cost makes oil from shale attractive as long as

conventional crude prices hover above that price – now around $100 a barrel, and likely to remain at that price or above for a long time. This earlier projection did not sustain; oil prices have since dropped drastically, but the principle still holds.

This diagram shows how fracking is done by the Vinegar Method (heated core rods) ...

Time magazine featured an article in its April 30th issue (2013), “Tapping the Promised Land: Can Israel Be an Energy Giant?” Interviews with executives of Israel Energy Initiatives, Dr. Vinegar’s company, reveals some startling prospects. One opinion quoted in the article is this: “We think that within a decade we can get 50,000 to 100,000 barrels a day,” says Relik Shafir, IEI chief executive officer.

He is referring to “kerogen,” the name given to the crude oil extracted from rocks of any type. This is an effort to differentiate it from “shale oil,” which is entirely different. “Shale oil” is contained in rocks as well but in tiny amounts which must be loosened before being harvested; it is also known as “tight oil.”

Thus “kerogen” is a better term for Israel’s oil – the organic matter embedded in any sort of rock near the earth’s surface. The location is important, for, were it buried much deeper the pressure would express the oil into pools as liquid petroleum.

Oil shales are usually shallow deposits, thus easily recovered by the method of horizontal drilling. In this process a well is sunk vertically to the depth of the oil-bearing shale, then the bit is turned horizontally, allowing drilling of hundreds of channels within even shallow strata, for hundreds of meters in any direction! Thusly, the above ground “footprint” of the operation may be contained in a small area of land.

When these holes are drilled, stainless steel cables are inserted into them, then heated to around 700 degrees. This process heats all the rock surrounding the shafts and the oil content begins to seep out and become pumpable. When brought to the surface the oil is “sweet (low sulphur), very light, super-high quality,” according to Vinegar.

And, incidentally, the product of this process yields other commodities as well; they are two other quite valuable resources: water ... and natural gas!

All This, and Why Now?

We wonder why this development has come about at this particular time. For years other companies have exerted their most diligent efforts to find oil in Israel. Up until 1986, 440 wells had been drilled in Israel, each one essentially a dry hole.

One feature of the Time article is that this dearth of oil reserves drove the Jewish State in other directions – impelling Israelis “to develop alternatives – from miraculous desert agriculture to the armaments industry that spawned the ‘start-up nation,’ including an electric-car enterprise, Better Place, marketed in part as a comeuppance to Arab oil.”

Israeli officials are absolutely ecstatic as they prepare to test the theories and techniques of fracking in the Shfela Basin.

The beginning of the brighter prospects for Israel came in the wake of the discovery of natural gas about 50 miles off Haifa in the Mediterranean Sea in 2009. Named the Tamar Gas Field, it came online in March of this year, causing great acclaim throughout Israel. This gas alone will raise Israel’s Gross Domestic Product by a full percentage point, according to the Bank of Israel. Add to Tamar a second gas find about 80 miles west from Haifa, called Leviathan, Israel can easily convert into an energy exporter without taking anything away from the kerogen discovery! This is a marvellously fortuitous find, says Harold Vinegar, because this newly discovered natural gas will provide the power to heat the subterranean kerogen fields ... until the gas that is released as a by-product of the kerogen harvest is re-purposed for the same task! Then the process will become self-sustaining! Talk about timing! (all Divine, of course!).

The prospects of petroleum wealth then, at last has come to Israel in the terminal end time. The trove of wealth promises to be a mere portion of the “spoil and prey” that will be in the possession of the Jewish state when the Gogian affair of Ezekiel 38 and 39 begins. We have read that a better translation of that phrase ... to take a “spoil and prey,” is better translated “to spoil the despoilers,” which clearly means that Israel at that time shall be extremely wealthy because of “spoils” (booty) captured from its neighbouring Islamic enemies – those between the Rivers Nile and Euphrates, the Abrahamic inheritance which shall be liberated from Israel’s (and God’s) enemies when the Christ of the Second Advent makes his appearance in the near future.      <HEL> An eTPL Exposition. Published June, 2018.

Has ISIS Been Defeated?

An eTPL28 Analysis

Current events in the world, and particularly in the Mid East, are moving so rapidly it’s hard to keep ones self up to date. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) warned last week that Iran is well-placed to replace ISIS across Syria (and presumably Iraq) following the Islamic State’s military defeats over the past year. He pled for the US to intervene in some way to prevent Iran from further establishing its beachhead in particularly Syria, thus forming an Islamic bridge from Tehran to the Mediterranean.

As you may remember, we have voiced he opinion that ISIS could fulfill the role of “Assyria” in the end time prophecies in which such an entity is indicated if its success continued and it became able to pursue its ultimate goal: the destruction of Israel.

Whomever constitutes “Assyria” in the end time will represent the area held by that ancient power, namely Iraq and Syria of today, in our opinion. We reject the notion that when Russia moves southward as the Gogian host, that it adopts the identity of “Assyria” as some claim, as such a procedure is never practiced by invading powers – that is, adopting the name of their conquered enemy after their conquest of the same. The conquering entity has never been known to make such a concession in our knowledge; their pride of conquest would not allow such a thing. The Ros (spelled reish-shin in Hebrew) will never be known by a name other than Gog in that time.

But that is not the only reason we reject the notion of Russia’s becoming “Assyria.”

Our main objection is that when Gog moves southward – at some time in the future near-time frame – that Syria and Iraq will have been overtaken by Israel and therefore be “in Israel” (i.e., within her new boundaries) and therefore not be in existence at that time.

Ezekiel 28: 26 reveals to the diligent student of prophecy, that ... they (Israel) shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

Iraq and Syria are included in that comprehensive list of Israel’s enemies of the end time (those “round about” her) in that remarkably summary psalm, the 83rd, in which “Assur” is listed (another name for the Assyrian Empire of his day, because the Psalmist Asaph would not be able to employ “Iraq and Syria” as the name of that enemy venue because those names would not exist for another 2500 years into the future!).

The remaining members of that comprehensive list is a compilation of ALL the active enemies of Israel at this latter day date, (the possibility of which – their being enemies of a nation known as “Israel”) has existed only since 1948AD! These are exclusively all the active enemies of Israel today for the first time in history. By that means, among others, are we able to determine that Psalm 83 IS an end time prophecy – and that its time has come.

Even though ISIS has been largely defeated militarily in Syria at this date the entity is, in a different sense, perhaps larger than ever. Its tentacles extend into more than twenty other countries at this time, as it extends its influence widely.

However, as we have opined, if ISIS fails to fulfill its role as expected by us, then another entity shall arise to fulfill that role; the prophecy is infallible, in our opinion, and cannot fail. All we can do is wait and watch for future developments in that realm of (for now) speculation.

We are informed that Iran (ancient Persia) will have a key role to play within the Gogian confederacy as a reading of Ezekiel 38 and 39 reveals. But readers will be aware that our conviction is that the Gogian confederacy will come against Israel only after the Master has returned and brought to an abrupt end ALL the entities of Psalm 83, and shall have established His authority over all the lands promised directly to Abram beginning in Genesis 12 – viz., all the lands between the rivers Nile and Euphrates, and between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.

This is the Promised Land of Abram’s Covenant which God made with him – a unilateral covenant made with him by YHVH to which Abram’s agreement was not sought nor given.

In our opinion, that Land is the first to be reclaimed physically by the returned Christ, and made secure for His People. Only in that sense may Israel be certified to be “dwelling safely ... dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.” Ezekiel 38: 8, 11, 14.

Some observers believe that conditions of life in Israel today fulfill that description, and that the Gogian invasion is imminent. We cannot agree with that assessment, for although Ezekiel’s words in verses 8 and 11 are expressive of Israel’s and Gog’s opinion of its security (in Hebrew, betach), it is affirmed as absolutely true by the LORD God Himself, whose words are recorded in verse 14 – that His People ARE dwelling in absolute peace and security in that future time; they cannot be claimed to be so doing in this present time, for not only does Israel have perhaps the longest and strongest protective WALL against its enemies of any modern nation, it is supported by a world-class air force, military, missile defense shield, military intelligence establishment, innumerable checkpoints, military encampments, naval vessels of every description, and a defense budget that is perhaps proportionally larger than any other country in the world, because it is under severe threat of annihilation if it does not so defend itself.

But when the Gogian host descends upon it, we see a markedly different Israel than that of today: it is a nation which is ...

1.      Disarmed completely (no navy, no air force, no army, no ammunition or missiles) as stated in Zechariah 9: 10:  - And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. This disarmament comes after His dominion is extended “from sea to sea” and not before that time.

2.     He shall have conquered all the “nations round about” Israel (those of Psalm 83) and cleansed the land of all these, His foes. Cf., also Obadiah, Ezekiel 35, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 63, et al.

3.     He shall have gathered unto Himself “all the wealth of the Gentiles” round about, and have appropriated it to His own Purpose. Zechariah 14: 14. This fact will make Israel an enormous “spoil” which attracts Gog (see Ezekiel 38: 12).

4.     He shall have appeared finally to His People upon Mt. Olivet and been recognized by all Israelis as their Messiah: Zechariah 12, 13.

5.     He shall have assumed His position as King over Israel, doing away entirely with Israel the democratic republic which we see today. It is termed the “first dominion of the kingdom.” Micah 4: 8.

6.     He shall be involved heavily in the development of the infrastructure of His Kingdom, such as building the Temple of the Millennium. Ezekiel 40 – 48; Ezekiel 37: 26.

7.      He shall have made an Everlasting Covenant with His People, assuring their peace and security for all future time. Jeremiah 32: 40; Ezekiel 37: 26.

8.     He shall have reapportioned the Land for the settlement of each of the Twelve Tribes within its own possession for all future time. Ezekiel 40-48.

9.     He shall have set as ruler over each tribe one of the Twelve Apostles. Luke 22: 28-30.

10.  He shall “speak peace” unto the heathen in accomplishing all this: Zechariah 9: 10. His words shall pacify and keep the peace of that time, but only by complete conquest; the prophets indicate that no quarter shall have been given these enemies and that at the end point, there shall be NONE remaining of the house of Esau in that day: Obadiah 1: 18. Esau here is put for all the aforementioned enemies of Israel but has the primary meaning of those Islamic entities occupying the five distinct areas listed in Obadiah’s prophecy as specific targets of the forces of Christ and the IDF of that day. Cf. Obadiah 1: 19, 20.

In our studied opinion, all these operations of the early Kingdom Age set the stage for the interruption that is intended by the Gogian host against the newly arrived and installed, naïve “king” of Israel, Who they know not ... because their Orthodox and Islamic Theology has not included the True Christ in its teachings!     <HEL> An eTPL28 Analysis  Published in Other Items, February 20, 2018.

Israel’s Most Dangerous May in Years?

From Algemeiner: May 22, 2018

The former head of Israel Defense Force (IDF) Intelligence service, Amos Yadlin, has issued a warning that next month will probably be the “most dangerous May since 1967,” referring to the Six Day War. He was being interviewed by Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

Mr. Yadlin said that “in May 1967, the security situation in the Middle East began to deteriorate as Egypt expelled UN peacekeepers from Sinai and three Arab nations mobilized their forces along Israel’s borders. Israel eventually launched a preemptive strike in early June and decisively defeated Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

He was warning the nation against Israeli complacency ... and perhaps overconfidence.

He referred to the “last Independence Day ceremonies” (of last week) as being extremely similar to the independence ceremonies of ’67. “(In) The Jerusalem parade, everyone was satisfied, but they didn’t pay attention to the beginning of developments that snowballed into the Six Day War.”

He referenced Israel’s overconfidence in the approaching days of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The watchful eyes of Israeli Intelligence on that occasion failed to predict the approaching conflict. As a result, Israel was caught utterly unprepared, and on its holiest day, heavy casualties were inflicted upon the Jewish State before its enemies were demolished by the IDF in a few days. He expressed worry “when the heads of state talk about Israel as “a superpower,” which he said reminds him of “the noises from ’73.” He urged more modesty on Israel’s part, and “a surer understanding of where we’re going.”

His concern was obviously the recently rising tensions and rhetoric between Israel and Iran in Syria. He worried that in February, an Iranian drone infiltrated Israeli airspace from Syria, which was shot down and found to be loaded with explosives, apparently intended for a terrorist attack. Israel’s immediate retaliation was to strike the very control center which dispatched the drone as well as its protective anti-aircraft defenses.

Part of the present concern is the Syrian airfield from which Iranian drones are flown, which Israel (inadmittedly) attacked several days ago. Israel is backing up its concrete declaration that Israel will not permit Iran to entrench itself along Israel’s northern border either with Syria or with Lebanon.

Yadlin related this seeming escalation to a recent boast made by an Iranian official: “The deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards said that his army can erase Israel and destroy our air force, and so the only thing we can all do is escape into the sea,” said Yadlin. “From a military point of view he can’t threaten the existence of the State of Israel; he can’t even harm the air force.”

Nonetheless, he continued, Israel must exercise extreme caution in dealing with Iran.

In considering this approach, he opined that even a preventive strike upon Iran’ s forces by Israel “doesn’t have to involve the danger of a full-scale confrontation ... and I hope the people who sit in the cabinet room and the intelligence and security services know how to differentiate between when to go for the head of the Iranian snake in places (where) we can’t tolerate Iranian entrenchment in Syria, and on the other hand expelling every last Iranian from Syria. That’s an  unrealistic and incorrect goal.” 

Addressing the “Palestinian March of Return” now being conducted along the Gaza border he said it will probably greatly intensify as the mobs mark “Nakba Day” next month (on May 14th – Israel’s Independence Day on the Gentile calendar), on which they grieve over their failure to do away with the emerging State of Israel in 1948.

This “Palestinian” initiative will also be affected by the action of President Trump as he decides whether to cancel and abandon his predecessor’s nuclear deal with Tehran ... a decision which will doubtless “influence Iran’s decision to retaliate against Israel,” according to Mr. Yadlin. Iran has intimated that any change or abandonment of the signed agreement with Iran as to its nuclear activities could result on a strike upon Israel, hoping to place doubt in the US president’s resolve.

All the above uncertainties have converged as Israel and the world enter the month of May, which promises to be filled with trepidation on several fronts ... about five to be exact!

OUR CONCLUSION:

Some observers have claimed that the present Iranian (Persian) interference in the Iraqi/Syrian/Lebanese war zone is evidence that Ezekiel 38 and 39 is now building. And Russia is certainly contracted as a “guard” to Iran, being her chief weapons supplier and financial partner. 

But we respectfully disagree that the Gogian conflict is underway.  

Firstly, the configuration of forces is not aligned as Ezekiel indicates. Turkey (Gomer and Togarmah) is in no way aligned with Russia. Neither are Libya and Ethiopia (Sudan/Kuwsh). Russia placed military forces on one prior occasion in Syria then suddenly backed off and left.

Secondly, the prophets are entirely silent on affairs as they stand at the moment, showing, we believe, its unimportant (or at least non-critical) nature. On the other hand, the prophets’ main subject of discussion at the present time is Israel’s interface with the nations around about her. Several magnitudes of prophecy are more greatly concerned with this current crisis as compared to the Gogian affair – which is covered in two definitive chapters of Ezekiel, little mention of it being given in other writings.

Thirdly, Israel is not dwelling in “peace and security ... without bars or gates ... in unwalled villages,” as Ezekiel says they must be – a fact repeated three times in Ezekiel 38. Israel is protected by a Wall surrounding much of its territory. In addition, its army is one of the world’s most capable. Its air force is superbly equipped and staffed. The entire country is festooned with military outposts and strongholds, airfields, and training grounds for its military.

Zechariah 9:10 states that the returned Christ shall remove their weapons systems: And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.

In order for Israel to possess such accouterments of war, it must have been a solidly-founded society in the advanced stages of development, unlike its third-world neighbors who have purchased any arms systems they have, and not have invented and produced them as has Israel in most cases. 

This information alone (the removal of Israel’s battle gear and war-readiness) contravenes any such move after any cockamamie “dispersal” and “further destruction of Israel” proposed by some folk, because such a People, having been removed and then restored to their land, would not be able to put forward such an advanced state of readiness. Does the reader see how tiny bits of information such as this, point the sure way to the events of the end time; all these must integrate fully with the larger plan which has been outlined.

So if these present developments are not worthy of mention by any of the prophets, we may safely conclude that they are transitory ... and mean absolutely nothing in the long run except to place Israel on its guard to a greater extent. The Proximal Threat is growing markedly in these closing days of Israel’s 70th year of existence, in our estimation "a generation:" (cf., Luke 21: 32; Psalm 90: 10).

No, we don’t know how they will work out to allow the clearly stated Plan to play out – not yet; but we may trust our heavenly Father’s prescience in the matter. Having said that, we must admit that we see a “rockier” road ahead for Israel as the end time draws to its close. Several of the prophets stress that YHVH “will save His people from their enemies and all those who hate us ... delivering them out of the hand of their enemies,” as Zachariah phrases it in Luke 1: 71, 74.

We, therefore, expect the external threats to become so severe and overwhelming to Israel that it may almost despair of its chances of survival ... as occurred in 1973 when Moshe Dayan reported to PM Golda Meir that he felt “the Third Temple is about to fall.” Such an eventuality will force Israel to place its trust in God, to readily accept the assistance of the LORD and His Army of Saints, and to realize the transitory might of its own arm! (cf., Zechariah 11 and 12)

Meanwhile, it is absolutely fascinating to observe, is it not?

   <HEL J28> ~1400 words. An eTPL28  Analysis  Published April 26, 2018, in Other Items.