Showing posts with label Syrian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syrian. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

75-Year-Old Prediction Indicated Russia’s Role in Syrian Conflict, Final War of Gog and Magog - BIN

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, October 20, 2015. (Photo: www.kremlin.ru)

Syrian dictator Bashar Assad meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow, October 20, 2015. (Photo: www.kremlin.ru)


75-Year-Old Prediction Indicated Russia’s Role in Syrian Conflict, Final War of Gog and Magog


“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.…” (Ezekiel 38:2-3)
The late Rabbi Haim Shvili, a Jewish mystic born in the early 1900s, made many predictions about the messianic era in his book, Heshbonot Hageula (Reckonings of Redemption), which he wrote in 1935. Some of the predictions in this obscure and largely unknown text were shockingly accurate, stating specific dates and names. His final terrifying vision, that of a Russian-led coalition as the prophesied Gog, is unfolding on the front pages of newspapers today. Of course, Rabbi Shvili did what the newspapers can’t: he predicted precisely how it would end.
Shvili wrote that the chronology of the Book of Daniel, along with predictions found in Ezekiel 38 and 39, Joel 4 and Zechariah 14, indicated that a great war would break out during the Sukkot holiday of the Jewish year 5751, which began on October 3, 1990. This was reported in the Jerusalem Post and the LA Times of that year, a few weeks before the holidayThough a great war did not break out, massive and unprecedented Arab riots exploded on the Temple Mount on Sukkot of that year, resulting in 23 Arab deaths and more than 150 Arabs being injured. This incident had major implications for Israel and resulted in international condemnation.
While Shvili did not predict how long the war would continue, he wrote that this conflict marked the beginning of the messianic process. Shvili believed that after the war Jerusalem would reign supreme and the city would become a center of tourism, pilgrimage and Jewish religious learning – a prophecy that has fully come to fruition.
Based on chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel, Shvili predicted that the major world power involved in the war of Gog and Magog would be Russia. He specified that it would not be England, though at the time of his predictions, England was the more logical choice for Gog, being much more powerful and more active as a global power. England was also directly involved in the Middle East as part of its mandate. This prediction is even more shocking, since at the time when he wrote his predictions, and even later when they were published, Russia had been replaced by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
The end is near. Are you ready?
Nonetheless, Shvili specified Russia as being the military leader of a coalition during the messianic wars by explaining the the verse in Ezekiel 38:2, which reads, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal”. Shvili interpreted the word “Rosh” through Kabbalistic techniques to mean Russia. He used the same techniques to interpret the words “Meshech” and “Tubal” to be the Balkan states, which are ruled by Russia.
Shvili emphasized that Gog is referred to as the “land of the North”, and Russia is the northernmost country in Europe. He pointed out that the return of the Jews from the north, as prophesied in Isaiah and Jeremiah, will be an enormous miracle. In fact, for a long period of time, the Soviet Union did not allow Jews to emigrate to Israel. In the late 1980s and 90s, around the time when Shvili predicted the messianic period would begin, in an entirely unexpected move, Mikhail Gorbachev opened the borders, allowing Jews to emigrate. More than 1.6 million Jews left, and almost one million came to Israel in what most thought an unlikely, perhaps even miraculous, occurrence.
The verses in Ezekiel explicitly state that Gog is a Nasi (prince) of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, indicating a republic and not a kingdom. There are presently many countries with a military presence in Syria and Iraq, forming several coalitions. The US is certainly one “prince,” or leader, while Russia is clearly the opposing “prince”.
Shvili predicted that the Russian-led coalition would be opposed by its corresponding counterpart, made up of an army composed of soldiers from all 70 nations.  There have already been confrontations with international implications, such as Turkey shooting down a Russian fighter jet, Britain authorizing its air force to shoot down aggressive Russian jets, and face-offs between Russian and Israeli jets. As alliances continue to form, it is becoming clear that the present conflict in Syria will bring many countries into the fray, just as Shvili described.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) holds a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) at Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem on June 25, 2012. Credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO/Flash90.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on June 25, 2012. (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO/Flash90)
Shvili also noted that the War of Gog and Magog would begin in the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which this year began five weeks ago with the holiday of Rosh Hashana, and ended October 12. On September 30th of this year, the 29th of Tishrei, Russia began formal military intervention in Syria, which conforms perfectly with his predictions.
Based on the verses of Ezekiel (39:11), Shvili understood that Russia would come down into Israel via the Golan Heights with the intention of conquering Egypt, but would be vanquished near what is today the Israeli town of Almagor at the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret).
Many people, even those uninclined to Biblical prophecy, are realizing that we live in precarious and unusual times with strong parallels to the messianic process. Though this prospect might be frightening, by witnessing the predictions that have become reality and accepting them as part of a process that has been described, it is possible to take comfort in the end that has been assured. Shvili concludes that after the war of Gog and Magog, the prophecy of world peace, of “beating swords into plowshares” (Isaiah 2:4) will come into effect, centered around Jerusalem as the pinnacle of peace and holiness.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Wounded Syrian Boy Rides Donkey to Israel

Wounded Syrian Boy Rides Donkey to Israel

Tuesday, September 09, 2014 |  Aviel Schneider   ISRAEL TODAY
A badly wounded 12-year-old Syrian boy recently rode a donkey to the safety of neighboring Israel, one of hundreds of his embattled countrymen to make the desperate journey, only to find themselves lovingly embraced by the same Jews they were taught to hate.
The boy and his family suffered serious injuries during bombing of their neighborhood near Damascus as part of Syria’s ongoing civil war.
He was blinded and his arms were badly wounded in the shelling. Doctors at Ziv Medical Center in northern Israel told Israel Today the boy’s harrowing tale.
First, the family made their way from Damascus to Lebanon, where doctors amputated one of his arms, but were able to do little more. The boy was released from the local hospital, but the family was unable to return to Damascus with escalating fighting blocking the roads.
The boy’s brother, desperate and determined, decided to take his sibling to Israel.
As they reached the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon, the older boy loaded his little brother on a donkey and they started the difficult climb to the border, where, to their surprise, they were warmly greeted by Israeli soldiers who immediately transferred them to Ziv Hospital.
Doctors at the hospital told us that their newest Syrian patient has been overwhelmed by the treatment he receives in Israel. While the boy and his brother worry for their family, they constantly express thanks for the Israeli doctors and nurses who have selflessly provided love and care. Given what they were raised to believe about Israel, neither boy could have dreamed of such an outcome to their arduous journey.
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Friday, February 21, 2014

Islam Unveiled - Raymond Ibrahim CBN News Contributor, Middle East and Islam Expert

Raymond Ibrahim
CBN News Contributor, Middle East and Islam Expert

<< US Chose to Stay Silent on Muslim Persecution of Christians |Blog Home


A new video of the 12 Christian nuns kidnapped in Syria recently appeared. In it, the nuns are taped sitting in a room and being questioned by an unseen man, presumably a member of the kidnappers. He asks them how they are, if they’ve been mistreated, etc.

They respond that they are being treated fine, that they very much look forward to being returned to their convent, that they heartily thank the world for its concern, and that they continually pray that God grant peace to all nations.

Their words say one thing, their expressions and demeanor another. Put differently, as female captives of Islamic jihadis, what else could they say but what they were told to say? (See, for example, how the nun in glasses had to be forced to face the camera at 1:46.) Even if one of them dared to say the “wrong thing,” it naturally would have been edited out. Who knows how many takes it took to get the video—which includes a bizarre clip of the nuns having a snowball fight with their abductors—just right?

One thing, however, although minor, speaks volumes concerning the nature of their captivity. Although these same nuns, in pictures before they were kidnapped, often appear wearing the large pectoral crosses that nuns often wear, these are all gone in the recent video.

This is to be expected, considering the “pious” nature of their captors. According to strict Islamic teaching, Christians and other non-Muslims are forbidden to show any signs or expressions of their “polytheism” (shirk in Arabic). Indeed, this is spelled out clearly in the Conditions of Omar, which mainstream Muslim teaching attributes to the second caliph of the same name.

After the seventh century armies of Islam conquered a particular Christian region—possibly and ironically in Syria—Omar stipulated several conditions for Christians to accept, including “Not to display a cross on them [churches], nor raise our voices during prayer or readings in our churches anywhere near Muslims; Not to produce a cross or [Christian] book in the markets of the Muslims” (see Crucified Again, pgs. 24-27 for my new translation of the entire text of theConditions of Omar).

From here we understand the true plight of the captive nuns: to their captors, not only are the Christian women hostages to be used for leverage, but ideologically speaking, they are “infidel” inferiors—near sub-humans who are more akin to animals. Indeed, the same Caliph Omar whom Syria’s jihadis are hearkening to regarding the ban on Christian crosses is also on record saying that the life of a non-Muslim is equal to the life of a dog (Western readers should bear in mind that in Arab/Muslim culture, dogs are among the lowest life forms.)

As such, the plight of the kidnapped nuns remains precarious—all their scripted words aside. (See here for more on the history of Islamic jihad on Christian nuns.)

As for the effects of removing the nuns’ crosses, an Arabic column by one Father George makes an interesting point highlighting the difference between outwardly observant “Salafi” Muslims, presumably like the kidnappers—with their beards and prayer callouses on their foreheads—and inwardly observant Christians like these nuns:


St Paul says “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14). You removed the cross from the nuns’ breasts. Remove it! We do not rely on the visible. But know that the cross is firmly planted in the hearts of each and every one of those nuns.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Yom Kippur Movie Recommendations

Top 5 Yom Kippur War Movies Recommended by Steven Spielberg




Yom Kippur War
A knocked out Israeli M60 tank amongst the debris of other armor after an Israeli counterattack in the Sinai during the Yom Kippur War. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Today at sundown Israel will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. An Arab coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israeli positions on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, which occurred that year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Egyptian and Syrian forces crossed ceasefire lines to enter the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights respectively, which had been captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Both the United States and the Soviet Union initiated massive resupply efforts to their respective allies during the war, and this led to a near-confrontation between the two nuclear superpowers.
In memory of the war, the Steven Spielberg Jewish Film Archive has recommended the Top 5 films showing the war and its aftermath:
5. Letter From The Front (1973)
The war through the eyes of reserve soldiers who were mobilized
4. Will To Do (1974)
The mood and conditions in Israel a year after the Yom Kippur War: rehabilitation of the wounded, care for war widows and general hardships.
 3. A Time Between (1974)
The State of Israel recovers after the Yom Kippur War.
 2. A Message Of Life (1974)
The Yom Kippur War causes hardship but also creates solidarity.
 1. As Always Hadassah (1974)

Hadassah Hospital treats injured soldiers and civilians during the Yom Kippur War.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Israel 'has had enough' of Syrian fire on Golan


Israel 'has had enough' of Syrian fire on Golan

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 |  Israel Today Staff  
Israeli and Syrian forces clashed in the Golan Heights on Tuesday in the most intense border incident since the start of Syria's civil war.
Syrian forces, both those belonging to the regime of Bashar Assad and rebel groups, have fired into the Israeli Golan Heights on a number of occasions over the past year. But until Tuesday, nearly all of those cross-border violations were classified as accidental.
For the first time in decades, Syrian officials on Tuesday confirmed that the Syrian army had purposely engaged Israeli troops on the border. The Syrians claimed to have destroyed an Israeli patrol vehicle, though Israel denied that it had suffered any casualties in the firefight.
Images published by the Hebrew press showed a Syrian force firing into Israel, and then being destroyed by an Israeli missile.
Shortly after the battle, Israeli army chief General Benny Gantz visited the area and stated that Israel "has had enough" of the cross-border attacks, and will make Assad pay.
It is still widely believed that Assad has no desire to provoke a full-scale war with Israel, knowing full well that he cannot fight both the Jewish state and the mounting rebel threat inside his own country. However, Gantz and other Israeli officials expect isolated cross-border incidents to increase significantly in the coming weeks.
PHOTO: IDF chief Gen. Benny Gantz surveys the Golan border region.