What you need to know about the anti-Israel Paris Conference - Ron Cantor

What you need to know about the anti-Israel Paris Conference

Ron Cantor —  January 14, 2017 

I have been thinking all day that I should write something about the Paris conference that takes place on Sunday. The goal of the conference is to see a Palestinian State created and for Israel to withdraw to our 1967 suicide borders, including relinquishing the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

As I thought about what to write, I received an email from a dear friend in Beersheva, Israel, detailing the Paris Conference. Avner Boskey is highly regarded leader in the Messianic movement in Israel and has deep insights into the Middle East. He has graciously allowed us to repost his thoughts. Make sure to pray after you read. 

The crumbling of Europa

Is Paris burning? The flames are not visible to the naked eye, but they roar nevertheless in the realm of the spirit.

On Sunday January 15, 2017 more than seventy nations and organizations will gather in the ‘City of Lights’ (named because it was one of the first European cities to have gas-burning street lamps). There the nations will bang nails into a coffin that actually contains the disintegrating remains of what was once Christian Europe. The “Conférence pour la Paix au Proche-Orient” (Conference for Peace in the Near East) will bring together the Quartet (UN, USA, EU and Russia), the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council (USA, Russia, UK, France and China), the G20, the rest of the European Union, Arab partners and assorted well-wishers.

Their goal (speaking from a biblical viewpoint) is to divide the Land of Israel. They phrase it differently – “to facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian state” smack dab in the middle of the Land promised by God to Jacob and his children.

The Conference is offering a carrot to the Palestinians (concrete economic measures and political support). A recalcitrant Jewish state will be threatened with a big stick (warlike measures which include international boycotts, sanctions and treatment as a pariah state).

“Let me make you an offer you can’t refuse!”

Like Mafia dons, Pierre Vimont (French Foreign Minister) and Jean-Marc Ayrault (Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development) called together a meeting of international senior diplomats in Paris on January 6, 2017.  The first draft of the conference’s summary communiqué was presented for feedback and tweaking before its world release on January 15 (www.infoequitable.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Document-Quai-dOrsay.pdf; www.dreuz.info/2017/01/11/dreuz-sest-procure-le-texte-deja-redige-des-conclusions-de-la-conference-pour-la-paix-de-paris-du-15-janvier-2017/).

The document outlines and declares the goals and strategies of the Conference

• Dividing the Land of Israel into two states, Israel and Palestine, as the only way to achieve peace
• Condemning all Jewish construction and settlement activity (including in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City) based on recent UN Security Resolution 2334
• Jewish building of homes across the Green Line is equated as being on par with terrorist violence
• Israelis are called upon to disavow their own official government if it rejects the division of the Land of Israel
• Israel’s government is called upon to stop building in all territory liberated by the IDF in June 1967’s Six-Day War
• The seventy nations do not accept the results of Israel’s June 1967 Six-Day War victory and insist that Israel withdraw from all territory liberated by the IDF

If Israel agrees to these points, they could also possibly expect “the potential for security, stability and prosperity…in the areas of economic incentives.”

The rest of the news

On Monday January 9, 2017 (three days after the release of the draft communiqué) the ‘rest of the news’ came out. Twelve French Ambassadors issued a public letter (similar to another letter they issued on March 2, 2016) – a Cosa Nostra-type threat spelling out the legal warfare (‘lawfare’) which will be directed against Israel if it refuses to sign on the dotted line (only in French – www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2016/02/03/paris-et-bruxelles-doivent-agir-pour-sauver-l-etat-palestinien_4858462_3232.html; www.france-palestine.org/La-France-doit-reconnaitre-l-Etat-palestinien-avant-qu-il-ne-soit-trop-tard).

Here are Israel’s faults, according to the letter:

• Israeli construction is simply colonialization and it must be immediately stopped
• Israel is an apartheid state
• Israel has no right to the Land based on ‘religious messianism’ (Scripture-based religious convictions)
• Israel has too much and disproportionate military strength

Here are the ambassadors’ reasons to apply immediate pressure on Israel:

• Arab public opinion resents the Western world which they accuse of complicity with Israel
• Israel’s refusal to attend the Paris conference shows the necessity for international pressure on Israel
• A Palestinian state cannot arise without international pressure on Israel
• President-Elect Trump’s accession on January 20 2017 will make the possibility of a Palestinian state disappear for years to come

Here are the benefits for France and Europe:

• France must step forward in honor and in service of peace, liberty and the rights of man to create a new dynamic whose political and moral significance is incontestable
• France and the European Union need to move into engagement quickly before it is too late (cut-off date January 20, 2017)
• Forcing Israel to withdraw is to repair a historical injustice. There must be an immediate end of Israel’s June 1967 occupation

Here are the necessary steps against Israel which (the ambassadors advocate) should be taken:

• The immediate recognition of a Palestinian state (a concerted declaration with UK, Spain, Italy and Greece)
• The immediate suspension of association agreements between the European Union and Israel
• The immediate end of economic, scientific and academic cooperation between the EU and Israel
• The immediate labelling and potential boycotting of all products coming from Jerusalem (Jewish Quarter, South, North and East areas), Ma’ale Adumim, Ariel, Jordan Valley, Golan, etc. (this last point is already well under way)

The twelve French ambassadors who signed this public letter have floated a trial balloon, letting those who are listening understand where things are headed as of January 15, 2017. They warn Israel at the conclusion of the letter that the Jewish state is in a perilous and vulnerable situation if it does not cave in to these pressures immediately. Their language puts the lie to the Conference’s bland declaration that the nature of its communiqué “is not intended to impose terms” on Israel.

The PLO/PA Ambassador to France Salman al-Harfi stated that this “initiative will move forward regardless of Jerusalem’s opposition.” Hamas and Islamic Jihad (who control the Gaza Strip and threaten the PLO’s control of the West Bank in many areas) totally reject the Conference’s position of even talking with Israel and of offering it anything at all.

Getting into the express line

Whereas French cuisine is known for its high quality and unrushed service, this conference definitely looks much more like an American fast-food hamburger joint. If France can get this declaration approved by the EU and the Quartet (before Trump takes office on January 20), then it can be brought to a UN Security Council debate on the Israel-Palestine issue scheduled for January 17, 2017. If the US abstains once again, this would hopefully (for France and its partners) create a snowball effect leading toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.

One of the goals here is to create international political momentum which would block any new American initiatives or re-evaluations regarding the Middle East and Israel.

Crocodile tears and kisses

The communiqué declares that all 70 countries or organizations are warmly supportive of Israel’s destiny, that Israel will be the primary beneficiary of having a Palestinian state as its neighbor, and that France is Israel’s friend. Such ‘loving declarations’ have been made in times past to other Middle Eastern nations (like the Free Syrian Army, Mubarak’s Egypt, Lebanon’s Christians, Iran’s and Turkey’s democratic forces). There truly is a credibility gap here between European avowals of love and the harsh reality of Islamist terror.

The ambassadorial letter weeps that Israel must be saved from itself, since its ‘apartheid’ policies will cause the Jewish state to lose its soul.  Just a few lines before that the twelve diplomats challenge Europe, saying that if the EU can unite to oppose Islamic State, they can certainly band together to foil the Jewish state.

The fire of God’s jealousy

As God is watching over His chosen people and bringing them home to their Promised Land, seventy nations are about to go on record as opposing the restoration of the Jewish people to the land of Israel and to the city of Jerusalem. These machinations arouse the burning zeal of the God of Jacob, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem (Isaiah 31:9).]

“Therefore thus says YHVH God, ‘Surely in the fire of My jealousy I have spoken against the rest of the nations, and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with scorn of soul’” (Ezekiel 36:5).

“For behold, in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations and they have divided up My land” (Joel 3:1-2).

Step-by-step Islamist agenda

Bat Ye’or (a pseudonym) is a world-renowned French scholar of Islamic history and its relationship with Jews and Christians. Her book “Eurabia: the Euro-Arab axis” charts how Islamic strategies have focused for decades on turning Europe into a Shari’a-friendly puppet which will push for Islamist policies against the Jewish state. Her recent article (www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9725/security-council-resolution-israel) may help the reader to grasp other aspects currently transpiring here.

As well, world-class scholar on Islam and the Middle East Dr. Daniel Pipes offers helpful suggestions in his recent article “The Way to Peace: Israeli Victory, Palestinian Defeat” (www.danielpipes.org/17110/the-way-to-peace-israeli-victory-palestinian).

How should we then pray?

• Pray for God to speak to the leaders of the nations gathered in Paris and reveal His heart to them 

• Pray for God to protect His Jewish people form the evil plans of evil men and evil nations 

• Pray for a spirit of identificational repentance to sweep through French believers as they intercede for their nation 

• Pray for the protection, strengthening, revelation and salvation of the Jewish people, and that they may lean on Him who can keep them from all evil and all destruction

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the very practical enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES
BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal) through: www.davidstent.org

BLOOD MOONS AND PROPHETIC CONFUSION By Avner Boskey, Israel

BLOOD MOONS AND PROPHETIC CONFUSION

By Avner Boskey, Israel
April 10, 2014

The prophetic significance of the four lunar eclipses occurring on Jewish biblical feast days in 2014-15 has become a recent focus on the internet and even a best seller on Amazon. A few voices are suggesting that the so-called ‘blood moons’ are a portent of earth-shaking prophetic significance regarding the Jewish people.

The first of these ‘tetrads’ (a grouping of four – in this case, four lunar eclipses) kicks off on the first night of Passover next week. Here are some reflections on this subject.

How many tetrads?

Though only four specific eclipses are the main focus of these discussions, there are actually hundreds of examples of these tetrads available, and nearly all of them are passed over in silence by the advocates of the current ‘blood moon’ teaching, since 99% of these do not even come close to any major events in Jewish history.

Which major events in Jewish history are marked by ‘blood moons’?

Jewish history has seen many tragedies and victories. Haman’s potential campaign of Persian genocide, the destructions of the First and Second Temples, the defeat of the Syrian Greeks by the Maccabees, Bogdan Chmelniecki’s massacres of Ukrainian Jews, the Holocaust – these were all events of great magnitude. None had blood moon authentication or warning.

The three events currently being focused on in most of the ‘blood moons’ discussion concern –

– the Jewish aspects of the Inquisition (beginning in 1478 in Spain, and 1536 in Portugal, and continuing until 1821-26) with emphasis on the exile of Spanish Jewry in 1492,

– the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948,

– the liberation of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967.

Why these three events are chosen seems clear: they are the only major Jewish events that fall somewhat close to lunar tetrads.

Are these ‘blood moons’ really connected to any major events in Jewish history?

The lunar tetrads in question actually appeared after the events described – between ten months and sixteen years later! Therefore these ‘blood moons’ were not warnings at all but, as it were, ‘prophecies after the fact.’

The advocates of the current ‘blood moons’ teaching use special pleading in arguing why a lunar eclipse in 1949 is actually connected to 1948, or why a ‘blood moon’ in 1494 is connected to 1492, etc.
This non-professional use of Jewish history reveals a lack of precision and care, as well as a sensationalist and inaccurate ‘proof-texting’ regarding the issues of prophetic fulfilment. There is much smoke but little fire here. It indicates a grievous lack of discernment among some believers.

Mystical misunderstanding concerning the biblical Jewish calendar

The only calendar given by YHVH is what is commonly called the Jewish calendar; “YHVH spoke again to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, YHVH’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations – My appointed times are these’” (Leviticus 23:1-2). The telling of time was based on the lunar calendar (Number 29:6), and one feast (Trumpets) falls on the new moon while Passover and Tabernacles falls on or close to the full moon (“Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob”; Psalm 81:3-4)

So it is not surprising that a full moon might occur on a Jewish feast day. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of lunar eclipses do not fall on Jewish feast days and have nothing to do with significant events in Jewish history. Once one inserts these facts into the discussion, there is nearly no more need for intelligent discussion on the matter.

Are these ‘blood moons’ connected with a fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy?

The prophetic passages dealing with the moon turning to blood are Isaiah 13:9-11; 24:21-23; Ezekiel 32:1-10; Joel 2:10-12, 28-32; 3:12-17; Matthew 24:29-30; Acts 2:12-21; Revelation 6:12-16. One of these is specific to a localized judgment on Egypt, but the rest of the contexts deal with the final events on Planet Earth immediately preceding the return of Messiah Yeshua.

The context in these passages involves:

– An international time of severe judgment known as “The Day of the Lord”

– The darkening of sun, moon and stars – a simultaneous total blackout or gray-out

– The moon turning as red as blood

– A full multinational anti-Jewish military invasion of Israel

– Worldwide earthquakes of unprecedented magnitude

Next week’s miniscule pinkish-orange discoloration of the moon falls way short of the stunning biblical context described in these scriptural texts.

Is this truly a sign to Israel if the ‘blood moons’ are not visible in Israel?

According to NASA the lunar tetrads will not be visible over the skies of Jerusalem. So how then could these possibly be a sign to Israel?

One wag once said, “A specialist is someone fifty miles away from home.”

A fly in the ointment

One of the individuals associated with the ‘blood moon’ theory has had many of his teachings recorded and broadcast on public media. For some years he has denied that Yeshua ever claimed to be the Messiah; therefore the Jewish leadership of Yeshua’s day never rejected His Messiahship (he claimed). He also is on public record as stating that the Jewish people already have a covenant with God, and therefore do not need to accept the Messiah that Christians preach.

“Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink. So a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.” (Ecclesiastes 10:1)

Biblical perspectives on the moon

The Scriptures have some helpful things to say about heavenly signs and even about the moon,

“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth;’ and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19).

“He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down” (Psalm 104:19).

God’s sovereign creative power and order is seen in the created heavens: “Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun. You have established all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.” (Psalm 74:16-17).

The existence and procession of the moon through the skies is a spiritual sign that the nations recognize: “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs. You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy” (Psalm 65:8).

The phases of the moon are a nearly incredible expression of His power and glory: “He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it … How faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” (Job 26:9-14).

The constancy of rhythm of the moon is seen as a prophetic reflection of God’s covenant faithfulness to David and to his dynasty: “I will not take My love from him, nor will I ever betray My faithfulness. I will not violate My covenant or alter what My lips have uttered. Once for all, I have sworn by My holiness – and I will not lie to David – that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun. It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky” (Psalm 89:33-37).

The moon is not only a stopwatch marking out God’s time and His order; it is the basis of the biblical calendar and an expression of God’s majesty. It is a sign in the heavens that causes us all to wonder.

Some in the world are wondering about what the ‘blood moons’ may mean this Passover. They do not mean a fulfilment of Joel, nor do they specifically portend powerful eschatological events concerning the Jewish people. About those the Bible already has a huge amount to say.

Finger-pointing and prophecy

An ancient Chinese sage once spoke a parable concerning the dynamics of apprehending truth. He noted that when someone points at an object with his finger, people tend to focus on the finger before they focus on the object in question. Some even develop an obsessive focus on the finger and do not benefit from learning what the finger itself is pointing at.

In the same way, unbalanced emphasis on the ‘blood moon’ teaching could end up skewing important biblical focuses – for instance, the amazing process of restoration of Israel to their Promised Land and their Messiah; the rising violent opposition of the nations to the Jewish people, their restoration and their God; the final harvest of the nations; the coming judgment of God and the return of David’s Greater Son the King of the Jews.

As we enter into the Passover season, let any fears we may have about cataclysmic blood moons subside, and let us wait on God for Him to reveal His mighty hand and outstretched forearm – even as did Moses and the Sons of Israel on the shores of the Red Sea,

For further background I encourage you to listen to Chris White’s helpful 12 minute link on YouTube athttp://m.youtube.com/watch?v=–kA2-5z2zI&sns=fb

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal) through: www.davidstent.org

Love For His People Editor's Note: There have been many articles, books and TV interviews, from several sources, on the "blood moons" events over the past year. I personally appreciate all the attention given to the signs in the heavens, for they will come, as Jesus prophesied in Luke 21:25, "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves" NASB

Whichever position you believe, the main thing is that you are looking to Jesus, the Savior, for He is the One who must have our attention in these last days. We must trust in His prophetic words and Holy Spirit's guidance into all truth, as the days get closer to His return.

Keep looking up, with your eyes fixed on Him, Yeshua HaMashiach, the Messiah, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He is coming back soon, as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Be ready.

Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People, Inc.

Natan is an artist. He is a Holocaust survivor.

Rachel Boskey

Aug. 23, 2013

Shabbat Shalom dear Facebook friends!

I want to introduce you a dear couple whom Avner Boskey and I have come to love in the last years -- Natan Friedman and his wife Shoshana. Natan and Shoshana live in our town. 

Natan is an artist. He is a Holocaust survivor who escaped death by assuming the identity of a Polish child and living in a monastery. After World War Two, Natan sailed with thousands of others, mostly young people, on the famous “Exodus” ship and he stood on Israel’s shores briefly in August 1947. But all of the Jewish people on the “Exodus” were refused entry to their homeland and were sent back to Europe.

 Natan finally arrived in Israel on May 15, 1948. In Israel, Natan became an accomplished scientist. His wife Shoshana was a schoolteacher with a master’s degree in English literature. They have two children and seven grandchildren. 

Natan has created many amazing works of art over the years, both paintings and sculptures. Some of them reflect the traumas and horrors he experienced as a Jewish child in Poland and many others reflect his life of many years in Israel. Next week Natan and his art will be featured on an Israeli TV program. 

Today I was privileged to photograph some of Natan’s works which will be shown on the TV program. To know Natan and Shoshana is to love them! — with Avner Boskey and ‎נתן פרידמן‎. (16 photos)

When the Middle Eastern pot boils over - Avner Boskey, Final Frontier Ministries

                                                       

Avner & Rachel Boskey - Beersheva, Israel

When the Middle Eastern pot boils over

The Middle East is a violently boiling cauldron. So many changes are happening so quickly, and the media does not grasp the complexity and intractability of the present situation.  What follows is a brief summation of the current state of affairs, and scriptural guidelines on how to pray for each country.

Syria – the history

At present over 100,000 people have been murdered in the civil war raging across Syria, many of these unarmed civilians including women and children. Syria has been a dictatorship since time immemorial. Its population is a mix of Arab Sunni Moslems (60%), Arab Alawite Islam with Shi’ite roots (12%),  Kurdish Sunni Moslems (9%), Arab Greek Orthodox Christian (9%), Armenian Christian (4%), Arab Druze (3%), Arab Isma’eli Moslem (2%), and 1% made up of other minorities like Turkmen, Circassian, Assyrian and Jewish. For background on the biblical and historical perspective in Syria, see “Shakings, Weighings and Divisions: Syria, Annapolis and the Return of YHVH - Part One – Syria”; October 13, 2007 at www.davidstent.org under “words.”

Military dictatorship ruled Syria (and much of the Middle East after WWII), which eventually ended up as Socialist Ba’ath governments (espousing Arab nationalism, socialism and secularism). A military officer named Hafez al-Assad (from the quasi-heretical Alawite Islamic stream) became Commander of the Air Force in 1963, and then after a military coup in 1966 became Minister of Defense. In another coup in 1970 he became Prime Minister, and in 1971 became President. He attacked Israel in 1973’s Yom Kippur War, forced Lebanon into a practical annexation in 1976, supported and trained international terror groups, carried out assassinations of Lebanon’s Prime Ministers in 1982 and 2005, and oversaw the murder of between 25,000 – 40,000 Syrians in 1982 in Hama in an attempt to crush the Muslim Brotherhood. At that time the President’s brother Rifa’at al-Assad declared that the Syrian government was prepared to “sacrifice a million martyrs” (over a tenth of Syria's population at that time) in order to stamp out “the nation's enemies.” For more background on Hama, see “Shattering the gates of Damascus (Amos 1:5)” August 7, 2012 atwww.davidstent.org under “words.”

Assad died of a heart attack in 2000 and was succeeded as President by his son, Bashar al-Assad. Hafez al-Assad was considered by his supporters as a champion of secularism, women's rights and Syrian nationalism. His critics have accused him of being an authoritarian dictator, a leader of a personality cult, a sponsor of terrorism and a perpetrator of multiple human rights abuses both at home and abroad. Christians in Syria (considered a minority group) nevertheless felt a measure of protection from Assad’s government.

Syria – the players

The civil war places Assad’s government forces on one side, and a Islamist green rainbow of warriors on the other side.

The Muslim Brotherhood organization, a jihadi Islamist group whose strategy involves coups and/or election-based takeovers of secular Arab dictatorships, has successfully risen to exercise power in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, and Gaza. One of its main leaders Youssef Qaradawi operates out of Saudi Arabia. Its networks are active in Jordan and Syria. For more background, see “Hurtling Through The Fog of War: A Messianic Perspective On The New Hamastan” February 4, 2006, at www.davidstent.org under “words.” The Muslim Brotherhood has been waiting patiently in Syria since Hama, looking for the right time for a coup, a revolution or an election which would bring them to power. Street demonstrations in 2012 afforded them that opportunity, and it was quickly snatched up.

Yet at the same time, al-Qa’eda proxies, spillovers and franchises stepped into the abyss, attempting to achieve their version of jihad on the backs of the Muslim Brothers. These include Jabhat Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abdullah Azzam Brigades, Fatah al-Islam and Jordanian Salafi-jihadis.(www.understandingwar.org/report/jihad-syria).

The Syrian opposition (or National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_opposition) involves many different streams, including: Syrian National Council, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians, the Damascus Declaration, the Syrian Democratic People's Party, the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution, the Assyrian Democratic Organization, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, the Free Syrian Army and Higher Military Council, the Liwaa al-Umma, the Syrian Liberation Army, the Syrian Liberation Front, the National Salvation Front in Syria, etc.

These groups are not as strictly organized or supplied as the regular Syrian Army. As a result, there is a war of attrition going on, with many civilian casualties caused by Assad’s warplanes bombing cities, Assad’s artillery shelling civilian areas, and limited use of chemical warfare by Assad’s army. Rebel forces are chipping away at resupply routes, and command and control centers. They are being gradually armed with heavier and more advanced weapons. The balance of power tips back and forth with every new day.

At the same time, a state of anarchy is happening among the rebels, with Salafi and jihadi forces massacring Shi’ites and Christians (beheading Orthodox priests, torturing Protestant believers etc.), executing Muslims they suspect of being not fully Salafi and Islamic, etc.

Ø  Syrian believers in Yeshua see the handwriting on the wall, and know that whatever the outcome, their lives will be terrifyingly worse if the rebels come to power.

The stockpiles of chemical weapons in Assad’s warehouses are mostly aimed at Israel, though they could also be targeted at Jordan and Lebanon if need be. Surrounding countries (especially Israel and Jordan (with the US shadow handing over Jordan’s shoulder) – as well as Special Operations Forces from Western countries – have their fingers on the trigger, waiting and watching to see if the tripwire snaps and operations to seize chemical weapons becomes necessary.

Iran openly activated Hezbollah forces recently in order to bolster its influence over the western Middle East.  Hezbollah in Lebanon is a strategic partner of Assad’s Alawite regime, and they have lost over 500 fighters on Syrian soil in an attempt to prop Assad up from collapse.

The Great Game between the West and the Saudi-led block (on the one hand), and Russia, Iran and China (on the other) is heating up.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the preservation of human life

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Syria

Ø  Pray for the destruction of all chemical warfare stockpiles, with minimal loss of life

Egypt

Egypt has been convulsing in birth pangs for at least two years now. For more background, see “Riots on the Highway to Egypt” January 31, 2011; and “You say you want a revolution” - February 12, 2011, atwww.davidstent.org under “words.”

The military dictatorship of President Hosni Mubarak was dislodged by street demonstrations and US State Department pressure. At first the demonstrators became the darlings of the news media, and the moniker “Arab Spring” was coined, replete with visions of sugar-plums and Twitter hash tags. Within a very brief time indeed, the Muslim Brotherhood hijacked the ‘revolution’ and established itself as the new Pharaoh in Egypt. While corruption was a significant factor in Mubarak’s Egypt (and in the rest of the Middle East), the accession of President Morsi’s Brotherhood did not alter the socioeconomic situation. The economy actually got worse, as Islamists moved into offices of power and influence, and Western investors balked at pouring in good money after bad.

Persecution of Coptic and Protestant Christians has increased (riots, arson, murder), and recently Shi’ites were massacred in Cairo while at worship. The safety of women on the streets and in public squares has become highly dangerous. The Muslim Brotherhood has been pushing to ratify an Islamist constitution, one which would disenfranchise secular Egyptians, Christians and women.

In June and July 2013 crowds have taken to the streets in a bizarre parallel to the anti-Mubarak crowds of 2011. Now they are calling for Morsi to step down, accusing him of being an American and Zionist agent. Flags of the USA and Israel are being burned in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, as well as posters of President Morsi. The largest demonstration known to mankind took place on Sunday June 30, with over a million Egyptians protesting the Muslim Brotherhood Islamist reign.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the preservation of human life

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Egypt

Ø  Pray for revelation according to Isaiah 19 regarding the ultimate spiritual result for Egypt and Israel

Jordan

In 1922 the eastern bank of the Jordan river was established as a British puppet state, and then again in 1946 as a fully sovereign Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan (today known as Jordan). King Abdullah (a descendant of the Hashemite dynasty and related to Mohammed) lost out on ruling Mecca to the Ibn Saud family, but the British set him up as king in this territory. For years under British tutelage, Jordan gradually moved to rest under the American umbrella (as did the new country of Saudi Arabia!).

The Hashemite dynasty is not native to the country of Jordan, and a majority of the population is descended from Arabs hailing from west of the Jordan river (commonly known as Palestinians). As a result, a simmering Muslim Brotherhood movement arose, intent on wresting Jordan away from the Hashemites, and on establishing an Islamist Caliphate in that country. Only a strong and wily intelligence service keeps Jordan alive.

The Syrian spillover has resulted in refugees flooding into northern Jordan – approximately 420,000 at latest count. Social and economic instability has resulted, and Jordan’s leadership (as well as those of Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq) are focusing fitfully on developments.

The USA has recently conducted Operation Eager Lion in Jordan, depositing Patriot anti-aircraft missile batteries, F-16 fighter jets, Special Operations Forces and other boots on the ground. Syria, Russia, Iran and China have protested America’s presence. Similar American military groups have established themselves on Turkey’s border with Syria. Jordan’s leadership is concerned at how Syrian developments might lead to unrest and violence on Jordanian soil (as once happened in 1970, when Syria invaded Jordan and the USA asked Israel to threaten Syrian forces with Israeli tanks; www.ndu.edu/press/lib/images/jfq-55/25.pdf ; www.aisisraelstudies.org/papers/Rubinovitz2009b.pdf).

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the strengthening of human life and for spiritual fruit among the Syrian refugees in Jordan

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Jordan

Lebanon

Lebanon was severely weakened after the PLO failed to overthrow King Hussein, and he subsequently drove the PLO out of his country into Syria and Jordan (the Black September season in 1970). The arrival of a substantial Sunni terrorist contingent in Lebanon weakened the tenuous balance between Maronite Christian, Druze, Shi’ite and Sunni, and led to the civil war of 1975-82 wherein over 100,00 Lebanese were killed. Israel’s invasion in 1982 resulted in the PLO been driven out and re-establishing itself in Tunis.

Into this vacuum moved Syria and Iran. The latter strengthened the Shi’ites in Lebanon, and the al-Amal movement gave way to a Khomeini-like jihadi organization known as Hezbollah (the party of Allah). This movement gradually became the main player in Lebanon, taking most of its orders from Iran’s mullahs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran). The attacks on US and French Marines bases in Lebanon were engineered by Hezbollah, as well as similar attacks on the Israeli army, and attacks on Jewish organizations in Argentina, The Hezbollah network is one of the strongest present-day terror networks in the world, with many sleeper cells in Western countries. Most of its armaments come from Iran and through Syria.

Hezbollah has kept its Shi’ite warriors under wraps when it comes to action in Syria, but events there have prompted Iran to “call in the mortgage” and send Sheikh Nasrallah’s fighters into the thick of Syria’s front lines. This has catalyzed a strident negative reaction from Sunni leaders in Saudi Arabia, in Gaza’s Hamastan, in Egypt and among Lebanese Sunnis, Druze and Christians. Fighting has drifted back and forth across the Syrian-Lebanese border.

A fuse has been lit in Lebanon, and Hezbollah’s power base is experiencing tremors. The previous Lebanese civil war (1975-82) might end up being child’s play compared to what may be coming around the bend. And in many instances in the Middle East, the tradition is, “When things get bad, blame Israel!”

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray for the strengthening of human life and for spiritual fruit among the Syrian refugees in Lebanon

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Lebanon

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Lebanese, including among Hezbollah members

Afghanistan

The original American invasion of Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, October 7, 2001) was meant to drive out al-Qa’eda and its minders the Taliban, allowing the country to become a Western-oriented democracy. Though al-Qa’eda was scattered as a result, it went underground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, morphing into a loosely knit diaspora community from Indonesia to Yemen. The British and Russians were not able to crush the Afghanis during their military sojourns in that country, and the US forces have not been able to get more brilliant results. President Hamid Karzai is a leader tainted by typical Afghani corruptions, while US diplomats negotiate with the Taliban behind Karzai’s back as US forces prepare for a staggered retreat from Afghanistan.

The Islamist world sees Afghanistan as the anvil upon which Western “Christian” forces are beaten, while in the West many leaders are running full speed away from defining themselves, their countries and their morality as Christian.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Afghanistan

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Afghanis, including among Taliban members

Iraq

The Kingdom of Iraq was created by British statesmen in 1932, which functioned as a British puppet until 1958, when a Ba’athist coup established the Republic of Iraq. The dictator Saddam Hussein ruled with an iron hand from 1979-2003, when he was deposed by US military forces.

Iraq is made up of a Shi’ite majority (65%), a substantial Sunni minority (34%), and a one percentage point of minorities, including Armenians, Chechens, Circassians, Egyptians, Palestinians, and Shabaks.  The ethnic distribution is as follows: Iraqi Arabs (75%), Kurds (17%), Turkmen (3%), Assyrians (2%) and Persians (2%). This religious and ethnic mix guarantees that Shi’ite, Sunni and Kurd will always be fighting each other for control. The fracturing of Iraq into separate countries does not look like a feasible option in these days of energy-based political decisions.

As the US walks out the Iraqi door and slowly disengages from the country once called Mesopotamia, explosions are accompanying her at every corner. Al-Qa’eda in Iraq has moved delicately into the vacuum, while Sunni and Shi’ite employ IEDs to fragment civilians and worshippers on both sides of the Islamic divide.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will not triumph in Iraq

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Iraqis

Iran

The Western orientation of the Shah of Iran could not paper over his corruption and cruelty. The rise of a bloodthirsty and demonized Shi’ite Islamist Republic under the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 led to the rebirth of ancient Persia as a Middle Eastern force to be reckoned with. The export of Shi’ite jihad to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Emirates, Central Asia, Iraq and Lebanon altered the Islamist jihadi equation in the world. Iran’s persecution of Jews, Bahai’s, Christians, Communists and secular Iranians has led to a dictatorship international recognized for its cruelty and zeal against its own citizens.

Iran’s spread of international terrorism through its Revolutionary Guards Pasdaran movement is the most outstanding example of its kind. Iran’s fanatic fervor in obtaining nuclear weapons, while threatening Israel’s with total destruction, has created deep fear among the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, and any other country within reach of Iran’s cold and bony arm. The world’s attention is fixed on Iran’s race to nuclear holocaust, yet shows callow spinelessness in confronting these ambitions. The parallels between the world’s indifference to Hitler in the 1930’s and the world’s indifference to Iran in our day must be drawn and considered.

Ø  Pray that believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will be removed in Iran

Ø  Pray for much spiritual fruit among all Iranians

Ø  Pray for the removal of nuclear weapons factories in Iran

Hamastan and PA

As a result of Western pressure on Israel, the PLO terror organization was allowed to return to Gaza and the mountains of Israel. More pressure from the US and EU led to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unilaterally disengaging from Gaza. The gap was quickly filled by the local Muslim Brotherhood branch (Hamas) coming to power in January 2006, with President Jimmy Carter as an international observer during the voting. Knee-capping, torture and assassination of PLO/Palestinian Authority personnel was the order of the day, and soon Gaza became an armed camp with missiles aimed at Israel. Two main clashes with Israel have occurred (2009 and 2012), while scores of Qassam rockets and mortars have slammed into Israeli cities, kibbutzim and moshavim before and after each war. Over10,138 rockets have been fired at Israel during this period, as well as 4,890 mortar shells (www.idfblog.com/facts-figures/rocket-attacks-toward-israel/; www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas-qassam.htm; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel).

Gaza has become an Islamist region, with shari’a law in effect. Unaccompanied women and mixed couples displaying any physical affection are in severe danger. Christian workers have been martyred, while foreigners have been kidnapped and held for ransom. Israeli cities, towns and villages are attacked from time to time by rocket and missile fire. Smuggling tunnels bring weapons in and terror teams out. The Sinai peninsula has become a terror hotbed, and rockets have been fired from the south into the Israeli city of Eilat, often overshooting their mark and hitting the Jordanian city of Aqaba. Terrorists attempt to tunnel into Israel on a regular basis.

Gaza’s Hamas leadership oversee an Islamist Palestinian “state.” Yet the Palestinian Authority in what is called the West Bank oversee another quasi-state. Under their watchful eye, terror squads belonging to the PA (Tanzim, al-Aqsa) as well as Islamic Jihad groups and Hamas operatives – all plan and attempt to execute terror attacks and the planting of IED’s against Israeli civilian targets. Only Israel’s Shabak (General Security Services) , the IDF and the anti-terror barriers stand in the way of bloody casualties.

The world would like to see peace break out in this area, yet turns a blind eye to all of the above – active support of terrorism, refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, wanting descendants of Arab refugees to settle in Israel and not in PA areas (thus overrunning and destroying the Jewish state), etc.

Two Palestinian-ruled geographical entities exist. Both are attempting to destroy Israelis. Why exactly is there great fanfare about a peace process?

Israel

The nation of Israel sits like a pontoon bridge on a lake of hungry sharks, surrounded on all sides by the most unfriendly of neighbors. As the pot boils over in one country after another, and as the world turns two blind eyes away from the threats facing this country, we believe that the God-breathed prayers of believers in Yeshua worldwide make all the difference in the world.

Ø  Pray that Israeli believers will be protected and given great opportunity to witness their faith

Ø  Pray that Islamist forces will be weakened in Israel, the PA area and in Hamastan

Ø  Pray for the gospel to go forth in power to the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel, to Gazans and those in the PA areas

Ø  Pray for the destruction of all weapons formed against us (Isaiah 54:17 )

Your prayers and support hold up our arms and are the enablement of God to us in the work He has called us to do!

In Messiah Yeshua,

Avner Boskey

Donations can be sent to:

FINAL FRONTIER MINISTRIES

BOX 121971 NASHVILLE TN 37212-1971 USA

Donations can also be made on-line (by PayPal) through: www.davidstent.org