July - 2001

Sunday - July 1, 2001

By: Rabbi Kalman Packouz

GOOD MORNING!   
   Mazal Tov,  ...and Tova Kohn ...!


We are about to enter the Three Weeks -- the period of time between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av. (Tamuz 17 begins Saturday evening, July 7th.)  It is such an inauspicious period throughout our history that the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law, forbids the performance of weddings.  It is a period of introspection with thoughts to correcting one's mistakes in life.  During this period -- though in different times of history -- both of the Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. 

 
The Second Temple was destroyed because of Sinat Chinam, unwarranted hatred.  People did not treat others with respect or kindness.  The Sages tell us that for the Third Temple to be rebuilt there needs to be Ahavat Chinam, unconditional love. 

Jewish history is Bible history. It is not always interpreted correctly. The Sages are often wrong. Historians more often then not miss the truths behind what God has done for, and against the Jew. The one thing that can't be denied is the link between the God of the Bible, and the Jewish people. A First Jewish Temple is a historical as well as a Biblical fact. A Second Jewish Temple is a historical as well as a Biblical fact. A Third Jewish Temple is only a Biblical fact presently. It is soon to be a historical fact in the Coming Kingdom of Christ!

Ps 122
Psalms 122 

122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.

3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:

4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.

5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

8 For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
KJV

 

Monday - July 2, 2001

(09:05) Six wounded in double car-bombing in Yehud

Two booby-trapped cars blew up at 08:20 in the town of Yehud near Tel Aviv. One car bomb was set in a Fiat Uno parked near a day-care close to the intersection of Marcus and Arlozorff streets. The vehicles was reportedly owned by a resident of the town.
The second vehicle, a small truck, was parked in the same area near the intersection of Weizmann and Sprintzak streets. Six pedestrians in the vicinity were lightly wounded in the explosions, according to first reports.
Two people, suffering from shock, were admitted for treatment at Sheba Hospital at Tel Hashomer. Four others were treated at the scene of the blasts.
Firefighters are dousing the burning vehicles.


(17:15) Palestinian terrorists shoot and kill Israeli
By The Jerusalem Post Internet Staff
An Israeli citizen was shot and mortally wounded by Palestinian terrorists inside the pre-1967 Green Line at approximately 16:30 this afternoon as he drove betwenn Baka al-Gharbiya and adjoining Baka a-Sharkiya.

**************************************************************************

IAF hits Syrian radar after Har Dov attack

By Amos Harel, Daniel Sobelman, Aluf Benn, Yossi Verter and Mazal Mualem, Ha'aretz Correspondents

The Israeli air force attacked and destroyed a Syrian radar position in Lebanon's Beka'a valley in Lebanon in retaliation for a Hezbollah attack on IDF positions in the Har Dov area on Friday, in which two soldiers were injured.

Peace on July 2, 2001 seems not to be. The peace talk is big, but the reality is even bigger. I watched a Palestinian parade on TV yesterday. I missed the focus of what it was all about, but what stuck in my mind was an 8 -10 year old boy standing in the back of a truck with an M-16. Under any other circumstances I would have thought it to be a plastic toy, but in this situation I'm sure it was real. I'm sure that boy had the opportunity arose would have shot to kill, if a Jew (any Jew) would have been pointed out. The news folks who broadcast that boy say nothing. They talk about peace, but say nothing about reality.

God will soon change the reality. He made a promise to the children of Israel that will be kept.

Ps 132:12-18
12 If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.

13 For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.

14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

16 I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

17 There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.

18 His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
KJV

 

Tuesday, Wednesday - July 3, 4, 2001

Happy Birthday USA  click on the headline 

 

Thursday - July 5, 2001

YONI: DEFENDER OF ISRAEL

On July 4, 1976, at the age of thirty, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu led the most daring commando operation in military history: the raid on Entebbe, Uganda, that successfully freed 104 hostages but ended tragically with his death.

The Israelis and other Jewish travelers, together with the crew of Air France Flight 139, were being held by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

 

Sunday - July 8, 2001

Just got out of hospital - tuned up, and doing fine again.  ...Thanks!

TISHA B'AV & THE 3 WEEKS

The 3 Weeks of Jewish national mourning begins on the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz July 8, and continues through Tisha B'Av on Saturday night July 28th, and Sunday July 20, 2001.

* * *

"THE 17TH OF TAMMUZ"

* * *
 
The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day commemorating the fall of Jerusalem, prior to the destruction of the Holy Temple. This also marks the beginning of a 3-week national period of mourning, leading up to Tisha B'Av.

The 17th of Tammuz is the first of four fast days mentioned in the prophets. The purpose of a fast day is to awaken our sense of loss over the destroyed Temple -- and the subsequent Jewish journey into exile.

Agonizing over these events is meant to help us conquer those spiritual deficiencies which brought about these tragic events. Through the process of "Teshuva" -- self-introspection and a commitment to improve - we have the power to transform tragedy... into joy. In fact, the Talmud says that after the future redemption of Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple, these fast days will be re-dedicated as days of rejoicing and festivity. For as the prophet Zechariah says: the 17th of Tammuz will become a day of "joy to the House of Judah, and gladness and cheerful feasts."

* * *

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE 17TH OF TAMMUZ?

Five great catastrophes occurred in Jewish history on the 17th of Tammuz:

1) Moses broke the tablets at Mount Sinai -- in response to the sin of the Golden Calf.

2) The daily offerings in the First Temple were suspended during the siege of Jerusalem, after the Kohanim could no longer obtain animals.

3) Jerusalem's walls were breached, prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

4) Prior to the Great Revolt, the Roman general Apostamos burned a Torah scroll -- setting a precedent for the horrifying burning of Jewish books throughout the centuries.

5) An idolatrous image was placed in the Sanctuary of the Holy Temple -- a brazen act of blasphemy and desecration.

(Originally, the fast was observed on the Ninth of Tammuz since that was the day Jerusalem fell prior to the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. However, after Jerusalem fell on the 17th of Tammuz -- prior to the destruction of the Second Temple - the Sages decided upon a combined observance for both tragedies, the 17th of Tammuz.)

The Jews know from the Bible that the greatest days for Judaism are yet to come! They know the promises God gave them through the prophet Zechariah are yet to be fulfilled! In that day, Jesus Christ will sit on David's throne in Jerusalem as King of the Jews, and King of Kings. He will oversee blood sacrifice in the Third Jewish Temple yet to be built on the Temple Mount where the First and Second Temples of sacrifice stood. It is in this place that the blood of sacrifice will be lawfully and honorably offered in remembrance of the only sacrifice acceptable to God. That sacrifice was made at His First Coming as the Suffering Savior. In the First and Second Temples they looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. In the Third Temple they will look back to His First Coming. His Second Coming will be as the King of Kings who will bring the joy, and gladness of which Zechariah speaks. However, the joy will only be for those who submit to His absolute, puritanical, righteous rule. The rebels will be cast out of the Kingdom into everlasting torment. 

The LORD of hosts shall not be mocked a second time!

Zech 8:18-9:1
18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,

19 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.

20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.

22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.

23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

KJV

 

Monday - July 9, 2001

Peace Process Update:

The IDF Spokesman reported this week that a total of 125 Israelis were killed by the Palestinians between September 29, 2000 and July 2, 2001 in 5,709 attacks. The count does not include rock and firebomb attacks.

Rabbi Aharon Abadian, 41, a father of four from Zikron Yaakov, was murdered Monday afternoon on the old Green Line in northwestern Samaria, between Baka al-Garbiya and Baka al-Sharkiya, Israeli and PA-controlled towns respectively. Abadian was performing his duties as Rabbinical Kashrut supervisor in the local market when he was shot repeatedly at point-blank range, 50 meters from an army roadblock.

While Abadian was being buried, extensive night-long searches were underway for Yair Har-Sinai, 51, of Sussiya, whose flock of sheep returned home without their shepherd. His body was finally found; he had been shot in the head and chest and stabbed repeatedly. Over 2,000 mourners attended the funeral Tuesday, as the community of 80 families in the southern Hebron hills was thrust into the limelight by the shocking murder.

A resident and family friend told reporters that Har-Sinai refused to carry a weapon when he tended his flock - despite the pleas of friends and family - incase he was considered a threat. He and his wife Dalia moved to Sussiya 14 years ago and raised 9 children. ....

Speaking in Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said Thursday that 20 suicide terrorists are ready to carry out attacks against Israel. He said terrorist groups are sending children aged 12 to 14 to bomb soldiers and civilians, and accused a Hamas man of murdering a 12-year-old boy just so he could blame the Israelis for the act. Ben-Eliezer also said that Hizb'Allah in Lebanon has thousands of Katyushas that can reach Netanya and Hadera. ........

Defending Israel's recent elimination of terrorists, Sharon compared Arafat's relationship to Israel to that of Saudi terror suspect Osama bin Laden to the U.S., CNSNEWS.com reported.

Sharon said at his press conference with Schroeder Thursday that, "We are prepared for painful compromises for real peace, peace for generations." At the same time, he added, "There is no compromise on terror. It is one of the biggest threats to the world and the free world must fight it."

A senior Israeli official said in Berlin that Mossad head Ephraim Ha Levy had recently shown European leaders classified intelligence reports which prove Arafat is personally responsible for the violence, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. ....

IVGENIA
On July 7, 1985, Fanya Dorfman gave birth to Ivgenia in Tashkent, and for sixteen years lived for her only child. Together they moved to Israel in 1994, for one reason - "to guarantee Ivgenia's future," her mother told HA'ARETZ. Fanya sacrificed her comfortable life in Uzbekistan for the hard grind of a Russian immigrant in Israel, working as a cleaner to support them both while living in a tiny, one-roomed apartment. She now faces that life alone.

Ivgenia died last week at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, the 21st victim of the Dolphinarium massacre 19 days earlier. Saturday would have been her sixteenth birthday. A day after her daughter's death, Fanya found a note in Ivgenia's handwriting, listing all the friends she wanted to invite to her birthday party.

KOBI AND YOSSI
Members of the U.S. Jewish community dedicated two Torah scrolls that survived the Holocaust to the Tekoa community in memory Kobi Mandell, 13, and Yossi Ish-Ran, 14, who were found murdered on May 9. The boys' names were embroidered on the cloth cover of each scroll.

Kobi and Yossi were hiking near their homes when they were brutally beaten and stabbed to death by Palestinian terrorists. Kobi's family immigrated to  Israel from Maryland.

Kobi's father told friends and visitors at a brief ceremony that his son had loved this particular spot with its vast view of the desert hills. "They were out there because they loved Israel and it cost them. I hope there will come a time when the price has been paid and we can live here in peace," he said.

Peace has a price. At the very beginning God revealed to Moses the price for peace would be the blood of sacrifice.  The above have all shed their blood because there is no peace. The below was yet to come in the days of Moses. His blood would forever be sprinkled on the people who come to Him for eternal peace. Only His blood can bring the peace we need with a righteous God. The peace of having our sins forgiven.

Soon, that same peace will be manifested in a Kingdom of peace. A Kingdom ruled by the Prince of Peace, the King of the Jews, the King of Kings!

Ex 24:5-8
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
KJV

Luke 19:37-48
37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;
46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.
KJV

The thieves are at work today. They control most of Christian music, books, and TV. They control almost everything presented to the public by the media that is Christian. Christ will again clean house when He comes again. All the phony Christianity will be purged by the soon coming King of the Jews!

 

Tuesday - July 10, 2001

A Contemporary View from the Jewish Perspective

RETURN FROM EXILE

 It has been prophesied in the Torah that Jews would be exiled from the land and that they would return to the land:  "And it shall come to pass when these things shall come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have placed before you, you will take it to heart amongst all of the nations where G-d has scattered you; you will return to the Lord your G-d and you will listen to His voice according to all that I am commanding you today, you and your children with all of your heart and with all of your soul.  Then the Almighty will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you; and He will return and gather you from among all of the nations where he has dispersed you.  If your dispersed ones will be even at the ends of the heavens, from there G-d Almighty will gather you and from there He will take you.  And G-d your Lord will bring you to the land that your fathers inherited and you shall inherit it and He will do good for you and make you more numerous than your forefathers." (Deuteronomy 30:1-5) 

 No other people has ever gone into exile and survived for thousands of years to come back to re-establish a national homeland. The return of the Jews from exile to the land of Israel was nothing short of a miracle.


CONCLUSION

 When we look at Jewish history, we see a history where the Jewish people have defied the laws of nature and the laws of history! We have survived and impacted this world though we have been thrown out of our land not once, but twice!  We have impacted the world perhaps more than any other people in history  -- the concepts of the value of human life, universal education, justice and equality, the importance of and goal of world peace (as opposed to glorifying war), the importance of a strong stable family as a basis for a moral foundation for society, individual and national responsibility for the world -- though we were beaten, killed and exiled from one nation to the other. Though few in number and spread to the four corners of the earth, we survived as a people, never assimilating into anonymity.  Even our land, the Land of Israel, defied the laws of nature, only fertile when the Jewish people inhabited it.

 Coincidence?  Good luck?  A roll of the dice?  Perhaps --
except that each and every phenomena was prophesied and predicted in the Torah hundreds and thousands of years before the events. Does it make you think that perhaps something is going on here?  That perhaps there is a special relationship between the Almighty and the Jewish people? 

 The Almighty, the Jewish people and the Torah are intertwined.  In the past 3,300 years there have been effort after effort --from within as well as from without -- to redefine and redirect our people. Each and every one has failed.  If you wonder why, then perhaps the time has come to read the Torah and find out (I highly recommend the Artscroll Stone edition of the Torah) -- and perhaps also Permission to Receive and Permission to Believe by Kelemen (all are available from your local Jewish book store or by calling toll-free 877-758-3242).  The Torah is not only our heritage, it is the game plan for the Jewish people and the world.

It is not really Judaism for Judaism has failed as Christianity has failed today. Both Judaism and Christianity have struggled and lost to being religiousised by man. The Jews took the Torah, and added man's selfish spin to it with the Mishna and Talmud. In Christ's day the Pharisees were laying the ground work for today's Talmud, and were rebuked with the strongest of warnings from Christ as to what they were doing to the Bible. Today's Christianity has also succumbed to the same fate. It has been religiousised by the denominations of man. A new twist has been added in our generation to the religious spin put on the Bible with the Modern Charismatic explosion that is found intertwined throughout all the denominations. 

What it is really about is not religion, but a person! The entire Bible is the story of the Jewish Messiah (the Savior) rejected at His First Coming as the suffering servant. He will not be mocked again at His Second Coming as the King of the Jews and King of Kings! Whatever is preserved of Judaism or Christianity will be centered in Christ not religion once He forcibly establishes His Kingdom. All must submit, or be cast out of His coming Kingdom.

Luke 12:1
12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
KJV

Matt 3:7-10
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
KJV

John 11:44-48
44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.

45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.

46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.

48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
KJV

 

Wednesday - July 11, 2001

West Fears Escalation in Mideast

By Donna Bryson
Associated Press Writer
Sunday, July 8, 2001; 1:52 p.m. EDT

CAIRO, Egypt –– The words are warlike, to be sure – enough to draw quick visits from high-ranking U.S. and European diplomats eager to keep relations between Israel and Syria from deteriorating further.

After two Israeli airstrikes on Syrian military radar sites in Lebanon – launched because Israel blames Syria for Hezbollah guerrilla attacks – Damascus' response so far has not gone beyond angry rhetoric.

But the prospect of Syria and Israel falling into tit-for-tat violence, even if short of outright war, is real enough to worry the United States and Europe.

Syria "is capable of retaliating for any aggression, whatever its magnitude," Al-Baath, the newspaper of Syria's ruling Baath Party, declared in a front-page editorial Sunday.

************************************************

Hamas says it's ready to attack Israel

Hamas says it's ready to attack Israel By SAUD ABU RAMADAN GAZA, July 8 (UPI) -- Islamic resistance movement Hamas leaders said during a funeral Sunday the group is ready to resume attacks into Israel. A masked Hamas militant wearing black and holding a rifle told the mourners that Hamas armed wing "Izel El Dein Al Kassa" is preparing to carry out suicide bombing attack into Israel "to avenge the Israeli killing of civilians."

************************************************

SYRIA: ISRAEL ON WARPATH

By URI DAN and ANDY GELLER

July 8, 2001 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is planning a war in the Middle East, Syria's leader charged yesterday.And while Syria wants peace, President Bashar Assad warned that "we would not shy away from a war, if it is forced upon us."Sharon "came into office promising to smash the Palestinians within a hundred days. When that fell apart, Sharon began to export the problem over Israel's borders," Assad told the German news weekly Der Spiegel. "Today he is planning an even more extensive war because he cannot cope with a crisis in Israel," he said."Sharon and his government aspire to war. They want to push the whole region into conflict."

The conflict between Israel and Syria goes all the way back to King David's rule some 3000 years ago. King David subdued the Syrians, and they brought gifts to him. Soon, another Jewish King who is in the linage of David will also subdue the Syrians as well as all the Gentile Nations. Gifts to honor Him will flow from all the Gentile Nations when His Kingdom comes.

2 Sam 8:5-6
5 And when the Syrians of Damascus came to succour Hadadezer king of Zobah, David slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men.

6 Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.
KJV
 

Isa 66:19-20
19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.
KJV
 

 

Thursday - July 12, 2001

 
Israelis Warned Not to Drink Tap Water

The Associated Press
Monday, July 9, 2001; 11:22 p.m. EDT

JERUSALEM –– Two million Israelis in the Tel Aviv area received a stern warning Monday – don't drink the water.

Breaking into a prime-time TV newscast with the sudden announcement, the Health Ministry said the water had turned murky, and boiling it would not purify it. Therefore, officials said, people should not drink tap water until further notice.

Dr. Alex Leventhal, head of the ministry's public health service, said the ban was a precaution. He told Israel television that the source of the discoloration was unknown, and it was not certain that it was dangerous to health.

Asked if it might have been an attempt by militants to poison the water supply, Leventhal said, "In my humble professional opinion it's impossible to sabotage the water over such a wide area. It's something to do with the water itself and the management of the water."

This comes as Israel faces one of its worst water shortages because of a three-year drought. The Sea of Galilee, Israel's main freshwater reservoir, is far below what scientists regard as the danger level, and the coastal aquifer is fast becoming polluted with sea water.

© Copyright 2001 The Associated Press

Follow-up Report on Water Problem in Tel Aviv

The water was discovered to be suddenly ten times cloudier than usual, with ammonia levels that soared 10 to 30 times above normal. The combined pollution was 10 times the permissible level for drinking. After biochemical testing showed that the level of bacteria in the water was not abnormally high, the only substance found in the water was ammonia.

The all-clear had sounded earlier Tuesday for the region's residents to use tap water - on condition that they boil it. Later last night, all tap water was declared safe again.

Water utility officials suspect that the pollution was caused by an unauthorized "pirate tap" installed into the aqueduct near the Israeli Arab town of Taibe, ISRAEL RADIO reported Wednesday. Officials are now looking for the installer of the tap, and are also trying to pinpoint if this was the source of the ammonia introduced into the system.

Mekorot regularly pumps ammonia into the drinking water system as a secondary disinfectant, enabling the chlorine, the primary disinfectant, to last longer. The addition of ammonia to the water is carried out in more than one location, among them the Rosh Ha'ayin station.

The sudden crisis served as a frightening reminder of the current drought. "This is just an example of the whole water crisis in Israel," one resident told THE JERUSALEM POST.

 

Friday - July 13, 2001

 

Contemporary Christian Music is Boasting

Contemporary Christian music is now the hottest genre in the entire music industry.   Where a preacher uses the pulpit and an organ, CCM uses the stage and a band.  To young Christians, these rock artists are gospel-spreading heroes, forming an unlikely bridge from explosive teenage rebellion to steady, unwavering faith.


Here is another reason why the coming Kingdom must be near. The testimony of preachers dedicated to studying for years, and then teaching the Bible is being replaced by entertainment preformed by artists. Instead of the Church weaning the worldly from sin: the worldly become the heroes who dictate the direction contemporary Christianity is going. Only the Lord Jesus Christ ruling with iron rod righteousness will stop the boasters who are so filled with this false sense of pride.

Amos 5:18-24
18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.

19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.

20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
KJV
 

 

Saturday - July 14, 2001

 

Friday, July 13 1:57 PM SGT

Israeli army enters West Bank, 17 Palestinians injured

HEBRON, West Bank, July 13 (AFP) -

The Israeli army launched a pre-dawn operation in a Palestinian-controlled area of Hebron on Friday, destroying one Palestinian target and leaving 17 wounded, Palestinian security and hospital sources said.

Troops backed by armored vehicles used tank shells to destroy an outpost of Force 17, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's elite bodyguard unit, as well as a Palestinian checkpoint in Hebron, sources said.

Three Force 17 members were wounded in that attack.

Fourteen other Palestinians were hurt in a hail of Israeli artillery and shell fire in several sectors of the flashpoint town in the southern West Bank.

Israeli War Plan Revealed
 
  • Would Involve 30,000 Troops; Israeli Officials Deny Plan Exists
  • Palestinian Attack Prompts Shelling, Seizure Of Land
  • Four Jewish Settlers Wounded, Palestinian Policeman Killed
     
  • (CBS) Israeli generals are planning for a possible massive invasion of Palestinian territories if the current Mideast cease-fire fails, says a published report denied by Israeli officials.

    The report, published by the Jane's Information Group in London, says the goal of the action would be to destroy Palestinian armed forces and the Palestinian Authority, forcing Chairman Yasser Arafat back into exile, as he was for 12 years after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

    The plan calls for air strikes by F-15 and F-16 fighter-bombers, a heavy artillery bombardment, and then an attack by a combined force of 30,000 men, including paratroopers, tank brigades and infantry, reports CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins.

    Israel's Arab neighbors, Syria, Jordan and Egypt are expected to stay out of the fight — but the report considers the possibility that Iraq might try to intervene with troops, who would be destroyed by the Israeli airforce. It also states that Egypt could invade the Sinai peninsula, forcing Israel to call up its reserves.

    The report indicates that Israel expects up to 300 of its troops to die in such an attack, with Palestinian deaths in the thousands.
    The report says the Israeli invasion plan would be launched after another suicide bomb attack which causes a large number of deaths, like the one at a Tel Aviv disco last month.

    "That there is an Israeli contingency plan to re-occupy the Palestinian areas comes as no surprise at all," said Francis Tusa, a defense analyst. "That it is being pushed up the list and that it's a leading option — this is coming as a bit more of a surprise and a worrying one."

    The Jane's report indicates that the plan was presented to the Israeli cabinet on July 9. It reflects a possible change in thinking in the current government; earlier governments rejected a military solution to the Middle East dispute.

    Israel's plan to subdue the Palestinians seems the only practical move Israel can make right now because of all the hate generated by the Palestinians against the Jews. How much better it would be if they could unite in mutual concern for each other. Christ has a principal that will operate when His Kingdom comes when His will be done. It's called being a servant. It manifests itself in the last being allowed to go to the front of the line.  The greater giving service to the least.  It is just the opposite of how the world works today. The greatest in His Kingdom will be the most humble. The exalted ones of His Kingdom will be the meekest of all.

    Matt 20:25-28
    25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

    26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

    27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

    28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
    KJV
     

     

    Sunday - July 15, 2001

    ISRAEL'S FOES GEAR FOR WAR

    By URI DAN

    July 14, 2001 -- JERUSALEM - Palestinian paramilitary groups yesterday issued a chilling call to arms to fend off any Israeli invasion of Palestinian-controlled areas in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, The Post has learned.

    The groups - Fatah and Hamas - have both been involved in terror attacks that have rocked the region for more than nine months, and brought the peace process to a virtual halt.

    "The next days will be fateful and we have to be at the top of our preparedness to face the possibility of the invasion of the Zionist enemy to some parts of our liberated lands," read one directive from Fatah.

    "The task of our competence will be not only to stop the Israeli forces, but to give them a lesson."

    The directive then urges forces to prepare "thousands of Molotov cocktails" to hit back at armored Israeli vehicles, to place explosive devices along the roads and to prepare suicide bombers "who will be ready to die a martyr's death in the battle with the enemy."

    Instructions also accompany the grim directive:

    "Save your ammunition. Don't use light weapons against tanks and armored vehicles. Attack them only with Molotov cocktails. Create roadblocks."

    And, the instructions urge, protect leaders of the Palestinian Authority "because the Israeli military might arrive at their homes and eliminate them."

    The war with the Palestinians seems close at hand. It will be short and decisive. The resistance will never end because the heart of the Palestinians, and the  heart of the Jews are against each other. I keep looking further down the road to the bigger conflict between Israel and Islam. This bigger conflict is the one that has Biblical prophetic notoriety. These events with the Palestinians is rooted in control over the Temple Mount. The larger conflict with all of Islam will have the same root cause. It is here where God will manifest His personal physical power in favor of His children Israel. The time is getting short! Ezekiel 38 & 39 are soon to become reality!

    Ezek 38:1-9
    38:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
    2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
    3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
    4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
    5 Persia, Ethiopia (Cush), and Libya (Put) with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
    6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.
    7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
    8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
    9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.
    KJV


    Read: Mishpat, -  This Place, -  The Second Woe, -  The Last Jihad, -  The Gentile Stranger in a Jewish Dispensation. You will find them Biblical, and eye opening.

     

     

    Monday - July 16, 2001

    Study Shows High Percentage of Abortions Performed on Evangelicals

    Agape Press reports that, according to an affiliate of Planned Parenthood, almost a quarter-million abortions are performed each year in the United States on women who identify themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians.

    Approximately 1.37 million abortions are performed in the United States each year.  According to a startling and little publicized survey by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, 37.4 percent of those abortions are performed on Protestant women - approximately one-half (about 18 percent) of whom profess to be born-again believers.  That 18 percent of the estimated
    annual total accounts for 246,600 aborted babies each year in America.

    (http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/112001b.asp)

    To read the story online, go to:
    http://news.crosswalk.com/religion/item/0,,357011,00.htm

     

    Tuesday - July 17, 2001

    Another premature explosion!

    TERRORISTS STRIKE FOLLOWING PERES-ARAFAT REUNION

    Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres met again with PLO chief Yasser Arafat in Cairo on Sunday to encourage him to speak out more for peace, but the Palestinian war against Israel rages on, as two terrorist bombings on Monday took aim at a train station south of Haifa and this evening's opening of the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem.

    Just as on a number of prior occasions since the renewed intifada began last September, the latest Peres-Arafat appointment has been quickly followed by an escalation in Palestinian attacks. The hottest spots in recent days have been in the Hebron and Tulkarm areas, while the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem and a rail station in the central coastal plain were targeted by bombs today, leaving two Israelis and three terrorists dead.

    The blast in Jerusalem occurred at about 2:00 AM this morning when two terrorists from Bethlehem were killed while carrying an explosive device in a field only one kilometer away from Teddy Stadium, the venue for tonight's Maccabiah opening ceremonies. Jerusalem police said the premature explosion was intended to mar the event, styled as the world Jewish Olympics, which went ahead as planned amid heavy security.
     
    In the suicide bombing this evening, two people were killed and at least ten injured when a terrorist from the Jenin area blew himself up outside the Binyamina train station, halfway between Haifa and Netanya. Three of the victims have been seriously wounded. At press time, police were in hot pursuit of a vehicle that had dropped the bomber off. Hizb'Allah TV reported that Islamic Jihad claimed credit for the attack.

    Clashes also have heated up around Tulkarm after a local Hamas leader died on Friday in a mysterious car explosion the Palestinians claimed was an Israeli assassination. On Israel's most wanted list, Fawwaz Badran was a key link between Hamas' military wing and the groups' leadership in Syria, and was involved in the deadly Netanya mall suicide bombing in May and numerous other attacks.

    Hamas figures spent the weekend vowing revenge in front of every TV camera they could find. Senior Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Abu Shanab warned: "This will not pass without any reaction from the military wing of Hamas. This will not stop our resistance... Revenge is coming soon."
     

    The frustration continues in the terrorist attempts to kill Jews. These are not some backyard garage armatures, but rather the world's best trained assassins in the art of maiming and killing civilian targets. Rusty nails is their favorite choice of shrapmetal to rip apart the bodies of innocent men, woman, and especially children. Their fanatical hate for Jews is frustrated again and again by what I see as supernatural intervention. These premature explosions are far too numerous to be attributed to accidental chance. These terrorists claim it is for the greatness of Allah and the Koran that their cowardly deeds are blessed. Reality keeps saying it is the God of the Bible - the God Who calls the Jews His children, Who really is great!

    Ex 13:15-16
    15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.

    16 And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.
    KJV
     


    Ps 128:4-6
    4 Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.

    5 The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

    6 Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.
    KJV
     


    Ps 148:13-14
    13 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven.

    14 He also exalteth the horn of his people, the praise of all his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the LORD.
    KJV
     


    Ps 149:2-4
    2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

    3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

    4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.
    KJV

    More News from Israel
     

    Then on Monday afternoon, IDF tanks entered Tulkarm and shelled a PA outpost used by Force 17, following more shooting attacks in the area. Last night, snipers shot at a bus full of Jewish children traveling a road near the settlement of Einav, east of Tulkarm, while an Israeli car was riddled with bullets in the same vicinity this morning. At about the same time, two Israeli motorists were wounded by gunfire near an Arab village north of Tulkarm and lying just over the Green Line east of Hadera.

    The emerging pattern of these IDF operations suggests that Sharon has given the army wider freedom to take actions employed prior to his unilateral ceasefire announced on May 22. In the past week or so, the IDF has entered PA-ruled areas on several occasions to destroy structures used as cover by Palestinian terrorists, as well as PA security outposts near the site of attacks, and to capture wanted terror cell members.

     

    Wednesday - July 18, 2001

    SYRIA AND EGYPT ALLYING AGAINST ISRAEL

    Emboldened by backing from Egypt, Syrian dictator Bashar Assad warned Israel on Monday not to risk a war by attacking Syrian targets.

    In an unusually candid interview with the Lebanese newspaper AS-SAFIR, Assad stated: "We know that Israel is superior over us in some military fields. But we have decided to stand fast. and repulse the [Israeli] aggression even if we estimate that the enemy will destroy many of our installations."

    "To start with, we are poor," he continued. "[But] we can stand fast more than they can imagine and rebuild what may be destroyed. Also, we have [weapons] that can severely harm the enemy," he added without elaborating. "Israel has the factors of strength that may entice it, under the leadership of a war maniac like [Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon to embark on a massive military adventure. Sharon knows only the language of strength," Assad was quoted as saying. "Israel may decide the beginning of the war, but it cannot at all decide its end or its consequences. The Arab party, and we are at the vanguard of it, is the one that decides the end of the war," Assad was quoted as saying.

    The strident rhetoric comes after news that Damascus has successfully test fired one of its arsenal of Scud B ballistic missiles with a chemical warhead attached, and words of support from a senior advisor to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
     

    ISRAEL CAPTURES MORE WANTED TERRORISTS

    Slowly, but steadily, Israeli security forces keep catching up to Palestinians involved in terrorist attacks.

    A 29 year-old Palestinian suspected of taking part in the brutal lynching and murder of two IDF reserve soldiers in Ramallah last October was arrested last Wednesday by Israel. The man reportedly admitted to participating in the murder of one of the soldiers, and is the third Palestinian to have been arrested in the last few weeks in connection with the lynching.

    The two reservists, Vadim Norzitch and Yosef Avrahami, entered Ramallah by mistake last October. They were stopped by PA police at the entrance to Ramallah and were taken to the police station. There they fell into the hands of a Palestinian mob which, with the help of some of the policemen, beat the two to death and then mutilated their bodies in the midst of a frenzied crowd.

    Border policemen in Jerusalem have also apprehended a Palestinian thought to be behind an attempted bombing at a Jerusalem pub in May. The suspect was picked up during a routine security check outside the Old City's
    Damascus Gate last month, and has admitted to the suspicions against him.
     

    The Syrians seem bold with their chemical warhead missiles, and verbal backing from Egypt. I doubt they would be so foolish as to fire them at Israel as did Saddam. The retaliation capacity of Israel makes such an independent  move suicidal. The world should agree the use of banned chemical weapons by any nation would justify the most  massive retaliation by whoever the victim may be - even Israel. I'm sure Egypt would steer clear of involvement when it knows Israel could turn the same massive retaliatory vengeance on them.  The universal concept of justice is the key that keeps Syria and Egypt enclosed so they do not commit foolish acts of mass extermination. Justice is about to become very real to the now apprehended terrorists. I doubt the world will put up any objection to whatever justice Israel sees as proper punishment for their crimes. Justice was King David's creed long ago, and justice will be the creed of the soon coming again King of his linage.

    2 Sam 8:12-15
    12 Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

    13 And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men.

    14 And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the LORD preserved David whithersoever he went.

    15 And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.
    KJV
     


    Ps 89:13-18
    13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

    14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

    15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

    16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

    17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

    18 For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.
    KJV
     


    Isa 9:6-7
    6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

    7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
    KJV
     

     

    Thursday - July 19, 2001

     

    Thursday, July 19, 2001          Tanuz 28, 5761        Israel Time 15:50 (GMT+3)

    G-8 urges Israel, Palestinians to accept international monitors

    By Aluf Benn Ha'aretz Correspondent and Agencies

    Big power foreign ministers called on Israel and the Palestinians on Thursday to accept outside monitors to help implement a peace plan amid worries over rising violence in the region.

    The Group of Eight (G8) ministers, ending two days of talks before the industrialized countries' summit in Genoa this weekend, said the Mitchell plan was "the only way forward to break the deadlock, to stop the escalation and to secure the political process.

    "We believe that in these circumstances, third party monitoring, accepted by both parties, would serve their interests in implementing the Mitchell report," the ministers said in a separate statement from their final communique.

    Diplomats described this as a strong sign to both Israelis and Palestinians to end the mounting violence and said that the United States, which earlier described the monitoring idea as premature, was in full agreement with the European proposal.

    Ra'anan Gissin, an adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, rejected an international force. "bservers or monitors are not acceptable to us for the simple reason that when
    there are observers deployed here, there has to be observance of the cease-fire, and unfortunately and regrettably I must say that the Palestinian Authority has not observed the cease-fire," Gissin said.

    The European Union and the Americans are discussing an initiative to set up a "liaison mechanism" to oversee the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and the implementation of the Mitchell Committee's report.
     

    The problem with outside observers is anti-Semitism as Israel so well knows from past experience. The outside peace keepers are notorious for siding against Israel, or having no interest in getting involved where Israel is concerned. There is a basic hate worldwide for the Jew. The concept of fair play  always falters when the world analyses concerns Israel. The latest incident between Israel and outside peace keepers was on the Lebanese boarder where the peacekeepers watched with their hands in their pockets the mass cross boarder crossing of their outpost by Hizballah terrorists as they wounded and took hostage a lone Israelite jeep patrol.

    Here is the account from Golden Calf - In The News:

    October 13, 2000

    UN intervention! What a joke!

    (Excerpted from CNSNews.com) - The meticulously planned Hizballah kidnap of three Israeli soldiers over the weekend was all accomplished in plain view of United Nations peacekeepers who carefully related the details of the operation to a Lebanese newspaper that published the story on Wednesday.

    UN Interim Forces in Lebanon spokesman, Timur Goksel, confirmed in a telephone interview Wednesday that international troops had observed the abduction from a distance of "more than one kilometer away" (6/10ths of a mile).

    Goksel said, even if the UN had been close enough to act, peacekeepers would never have intervened to prevent the abduction. If the people want to kill each other, you don't expect the UNIFIL soldiers to get in the middle of it and get killed too, he said.

    Ps 5:9-12
    9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

    10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

    11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

    12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
    KJV
     

     

    Friday - July 20, 2001

     

     IDF MUSTERS AFTER MORTARS HIT JERUSALEM


     Palestinian terrorism again has taken Israeli leaders to the brink, as a mortar attack on a southern Jerusalem   neighborhood on Tuesday has prompted Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to reinforce IDF troops around  Palestinian towns in Judea/Samaria. The build-up appears to be a show of force just ahead of the G-8 summit in hopes the international community will increase pressure on PLO chief Yasser Arafat to end the violence.
     

    ***********************************************************************************************

    'Drunken Christ' Raises First Amendment Concerns

    The Los Angeles Times reports that the play "Corpus Christi" presents Jesus Christ as a "lusty, hard-drinking, foul-mouthed homosexual." And Indiana state Sen. Michael Young can grudgingly accept that. "It may be vulgar, dirty, vile and everything else, but I guess we do have the First Amendment," he says.

    Well, we may have the First Amendment that allows for such blasphemy, but when Christ establishes His soon coming Kingdom the First Amendment will be abolished if this is what it is protecting. A Kingdom based on righteousness would make this violation a mandatory death sentence. Justice based on God's righteousness is very different from justice American style. America likes to boast about freedom for every man, but in God's Kingdom justice is based on God's holy standards. Justice will be based on the purity of God, not the sin filled standards of fallen mankind. It will take some getting used to, but in the end all men will acknowledge the wisdom of God and His righteousness is best. All blasphemy will end when Christ establishes his Kingdom at the end of the 7 year tribulation!

    Mark 7:21-23
    21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

    22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

    23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
    KJV
     


    Rev 13:4-7
    4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?

    5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

    (last half of Tribulation's 84 months)


    6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

    7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
    KJV



    Rev 17:3-6
    3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

    4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

    5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

    6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
    KJV

     

     

    Saturday - July 21, 2001

     

    CHOOSE YOUR ILLUSION

    "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below."
    Exodus 20:4 (NIV)

    When I was in seminary, I noticed that some of my classmates were afflicted with the common spiritual disease of idolatry. They worshiped theology instead of God.

    Sad to say, I wasn't immune to this idolatry, either. There were a number of times when I sat in the school cafeteria and reduced a classmate to silent anger because I was determined to win an argument at the expense of everything else. As I look back on that time, I know that my zeal for "sound doctrine" cost me some valuable friendships.
     

    I choose this excerpt because it typifies the thinking of main stream Christianity. "Sound Doctrine" is designed by God to separate the truth from the lie. Proper Biblical theology which is sound doctrine has been contradicted today. Zeal for sound doctrine becomes idolatry for today's main stream seminarian. They study theology not to search to know God, but to make divisive arguments in the cafeteria. It typifies the illusion main stream Christianity has for sound doctrine. It has become divisive and idolatress. It becomes the great obstacle to the unity of Christianity as they perceive it in their illusionary thinking!

    Ezekiel spoke to a similar disillusioned generation. They also contradicted his words of sound doctrine! They twisted and spun his words so that they became a contradiction to what God had so clearly revealed to him.

    Ezek 2:6
    6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
    KJV

     

    Excerpt from lesson 9 of Ezekiel Bible study:

    "Though briars and thorns are with you"

    Though briers and thorns. The two words are sarabim and sallonim. The former is found only here in the OT, and is probably an Aramaic loan word; the latter, of unknown etymology, appears also in Ezek 28:24. In Sir 4:2 and in the Aramaic, the root srb means "to contradict." The LXX and the Syriac render, "for they will contradict." 
    (from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

    "for they will contradict"  Ezekiel will speak the truth, but they will spin his words into untruth. It is one of the great difficulties in the ministry. I had a fellow who would record my sermons on Sunday then play them back to me on Monday stopping the recorder to tell me what he untruthfully convinced himself I meant. He was never bashful to tell others about his personal contradictions. I became amazed at some of what I thought were mature Christians who began to echo his distortions. I was crushed by those whom I never expected would be manipulated by such an attack. I have watched Dr. John MacArthur attacked over the issue of the blood of Christ in similar manner. I have watched the Ruckmanite types distort the scholarship of Dean Burgon into a false KJV onlyism theology. I have watched the Covenant Theologians distort the writings of Charles Spurgeon into appearance that he would be in their circles if alive today. Ezekiel was going to face such contradictors, and would have to continue to stand under such distortions of his message.

    2 Cor 12:7
    7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
    KJV

    They will scratch away and tear at his words, yet he must stand without waver. How hard it is to tell the truth then have others distort your message, and make you the blame for their untruthful distortions! How few are the men like Ezekiel today? How few can bear up to the thorns and briars of life.

     

     

    Sunday - July 22, 2001

    Friday, 20 July 2001 18:21 (ET)

     

    US intelligence: Israel will attack
    By RICHARD SALE, UPI Terrorism Correspondent

     The CIA believes Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided to launch a retaliatory full-scale attack on Palestinian-controlled territory if there is another suicide bombing attack, several former Agency and other
    U.S. intelligence officials said.

     Some intelligence sources said they expected the Israeli attack probably within a matter of days.

     
    "There's no question that he's going in," said a former CIA official, referring to Sharon.

     The question for these sources was when. They think the Israelis would wait until after the summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Genoa, Italy. The summit ends Sunday.

     According to these sources, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was already engaged in talks with Syria about relocating Palestinian leaders to that country.

     One former CIA official, still active in the region, said he believed that Sharon would wait for the next in the recent wave of car-bomb attacks before launching "a full-scale assault" designed to drive Arafat into exile and
    destroy the PA.

     "You'll have public outrage, you'll have high morale among the Israeli military -- it's the perfect time," the official said.

     However, senior Israeli officials, including Sharon himself, have insisted that troop movements this week were intended to strengthen Israel's defensive position. Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Melchior made this point in Washington Thursday.

     

    I'm sure the Middle East is about to change. Israel will forcibly take control of the Islamic Palestinian Arabs for it's own protection and security. There is no other way Israel can protect it's people with all the hatred engrained into the Palestinian's heart. I'm sure Israel will do it's best as a hated conqueror, but the world will do it's best to paint the most horrendous picture possible of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.  It does not take much to think of the human rights violations that would take place if the Palestinians could impose their hate on Israel. I expect Islam will proclaim this takeover as if it is the worst genocide ever in human history. It would be if the reverse were to happen, and Islam were to conquer Israel. I watch with expectation as the beginnings of the Last Jihad is taking form. Folks, the rapture is close! The Kingdom of Christ is not far away! Keep your eye on the events taking place in Israel today, and then read your Bible for a comparison.

    Luke 11:2
    2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
    Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
    KJV
     

     

    Saturday - July 28, 2001

    In the hospital again for  more tuning. I'll not be able to do dailies temporarily. Please keep checking back!

    TISHA B'AV -
    THE NINTH OF AV

      This year, Tisha B'Av falls out on Sunday, July 29, 2001. .

    WHAT HAPPENED ON THE NINTH OF AV?

    On Tisha B'Av, five national calamities occurred:

    1. During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 12 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE)

    2. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled. (586 BCE)

    3. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled. (70 CE)

    4. The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar -- the Jews' last stand against the Romans -- was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered. (135 BCE)

    5. The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city -- renamed Aelia Capitolina -- and access was forbidden to Jews.

     

    Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av, including:

     

    1. Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade. Tens of thousands of Jews were killed, and many Jewish communities obliterated.

    2. The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B'Av in 1492.

    3. World War One broke out on Tisha B'Av in 1914 when Russia declared war on Germany. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.

    4. On Tisha B'Av, deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto.

    TISHA B'AV - The 9th of Av

     

    It is significant that both the First, and Second Jewish Temples were destroyed on this day. Soon a Third Jewish Temple will be built on the same place where the first two Temples stood. This Third Temple will stand until the new heavens, and new earth are created. It is when all sin will have been cast into the lake of fire never to arise again for all eternity  future! This soon coming Third Jewish Temple will be the centerpiece of Christ's Kingdom as promised throughout the Bible!

    Jer 23:1-8
    23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
    2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
    3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
    4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
    5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
    6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
    7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
    8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
    KJV

    The Jews from Russia are the largest group from all the countries who have come to Israel in our day. They are those the LORD said here in Jeremiah that He brought up from the "north country!" I believe many of these Russian Jews will be saved during the 7 year Tribulation. Many may even be part of the 144,000 foundational Jews of Revelation 7 & 14. Two may even be the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11. 

    Read: Mishpat, -  This Place, -  The Second Woe, -  The Last Jihad, -  The Gentile Stranger in a Jewish Dispensation. You will find them Biblical, and eye opening.

     

    Edited by DDSrail

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