Monday, December 16, 2013

ISRAEL TODAY - IDF Soldiers Warned Against Contact with Messianic Jews

IDF Soldiers Warned Against Contact with Messianic Jews

Monday, December 16, 2013 | David Lazarus, Israel Today

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The citizens of Israel woke up this week to a special early morning announcement by the Israeli Army on news broadcasts all across the country: The Ministry of Defense has ordered that all soldiers staying in Jerusalem over the Sabbath are not allowed to have any contact with members of the sect of Jews who preach faith in Yeshua (Jesus).

Is faith in Yeshua such a threat to our national security that one of the most effective military organizations in the world feels the need to “protect” its soldiers from this “sect of Jews”?

It all started when a small group of Messianic Jews visited a hostel for lone soldiers in Jerusalem over the Sabbath. The army provides the hostel for soldiers who have no family in Israel. On the weekends, when they are off base, they can stay at “Beit Hachayal,” or Soldiers’ House. A group of Messianic Israelis were visiting soldiers at this particular Beit Hachayal on the Sabbath and talking about their New Testament faith.

Many soldiers enjoyed these visits, and some began reading the New Testament and other Messianic literature regularly. Soldiers were invited to visit with Messianics in their homes, where they were introduced to Messianic faith during Sabbath meals and Bible teachings.

The Jewish believers had built up many friendships with management and staff of the hostel, who appreciated the positive impact the visits had on the lone soldiers. One of the soldiers even came to faith in the Yeshua. No one at the hostel, or in the IDF, were bothered one bit by this, not until an “anti-missionary” organization stirred up trouble.

The so-called “anti-missionaries” became aware that a soldier had come to faith in Yeshua most likely from reading one of the many Messianic or Christian newsletters and websites they follow. So they reported to the Ministry of Defense and IDF authorities that “the cult of Jews who preach Christianity are running missionary activities at Beit Hachayal.”

The ultra-Orthodox authorities to which the anti-missionaries are attached carry a lot of political weight and can cause a lot of problems. So, without investigating the facts on the ground, the Ministry of Defense and IDF immediately put out the public warning against association with Messianic.

Messianic Jews also received a letter from the Ministry of Defense forbidding them from entering “Beit Hachayal without explicit permission including a description of intended activities.”

Years ago, Messianic Jews were considered something of a security risk by the IDF. Many were not allowed to serve in elite or sensitive units. Today, however, Messianics are highly regarded by military authorities, and are even sought out to serve as commanders and officers in every branch of the Israeli military, including Military Intelligence, which requires the highest security clearance.

One Messianic Jewish Sabra (native-Israeli born), a sergeant in the Israel Air Force, recently asked his commander if he could include the New Testament together with the Hebrew Bible in his pledge of allegiance to the State of Israel. “Yes you may,” returned the officer without blinking an eye. And so this young man joined the growing numbers of hundreds of openly Messianic Jewish soldiers proudly serving in the IDF.

So why is the Ministry of Defense now publicly opposing Messianic activity in Jerusalem? According to one combat soldier, who is not Messianic, it all has to do with politics. “The government passed a law recently to recruit religious (ultra-Orthodox) Jews, but most refuse to serve,” he explained. “The army is trying to appease the Orthodox community in Jerusalem by making this absurd announcement against Messianic faith. We are all here to serve our country and the army should not be involved in telling people which path of faith to follow.”

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CBN News - Hungary Sliding Back to Nazi-Era Anti-Semitism?

Hungary Sliding Back to Nazi-Era Anti-Semitism?

By Dale Hurd, CBN News Sr. Reporter Monday, December 16, 2013

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BUDAPEST, Hungary - The Shoes on the Danube is a memorial to Budapest's Jews who were rounded up during World War II and told to take off their shoes before being shot and pushed into the Danube.

Today, Hungary's Jews are fearful again because of a return of anti-Semitism.

Hungary has been going backwards economically since before the financial crisis of 2008. Old scapegoats have come back to life in a nation that was flattened by globalization: foreigners, bankers, and Jews.

Tapping Into the Psyche

Hungarian political ads are tapping straight into the Hungarian psyche.

One shows ordinary Hungarians saying:

"More and more installments we have to pay. Are banks allowed to do what they want? While we keep working they just steal. Are political criminals allowed to do what they want? I'm already afraid to go into the streets. Are Gypsy criminals allowed to do what they want? There are no Hungarian products on the shelves. Are multis (multinational corporations) allowed to do what they want? We've had enough of parasitism. If you have too, vote for Jobbik on Oct. 3."

Jobbik is now the third largest party in Hungary and some say a possible longshot to rule the country in a coalition government someday.

Far-right racist parties are fairly common in Eastern Europe. But Jobbik is different. It's stronger, better organized and offering solutions to real problems that Hungarians face - even if some are the wrong solutions and their bogeyman is an American-Israeli conspiracy.

Feeling the Anti-Semitism

Budapest Rabbi Schlomo Koves said Jews can now feel the anti-Semitism in the street, although physical attacks on Jews are rare.

"There's a joke in Hungary in which someone comes to a village and he asks, is there anti-Semitism here? And the other guy answers, 'No, but there's a great need for it,'" he told CBN News.

"When society is not in a good state, when people have a hard time making a living, all these extreme ideas can come back," he said.

One Jobbik member of parliament has called for a list to be drawn up of all the Jews in government because he deems them to be a security threat.

"They consider the entire Jewish community as the agents of America and Israel," Pal Steiner, A Hungarian Jew and member of parliament, said.

"They say that through the Hungarian Jewish community, Israel and America are turning Hungary into a colony," he said.

Steiner lost half of his relatives in the Holocaust and now, 70 years later, he is receiving death threats. He says anti-Semitism isn't returning to Hungary - it never left.

"It's clear that Jobbik's basic principles are very similar to the Nazis, especially considering the so-called 'Jewish problem,'" he said. "And I need to stress that there is a part of Hungarian society that has a secret sympathy towards Jobbik."

A Sicker Society?

Miklos Horthy ruled Hungary during World War II when it was a Nazi ally. Last month Horthy returned to a place of honor in Budapest when a bust of him was unveiled at a church. Opponents demonstrated by wearing yellow stars.

Jobbik once started a militia - the Magyar Garda - but it was outlawed. Jobbik claims it was a service organization but it looked like Arrow Cross, a Nazi-era party that killed thousands of Jews.

It's now very dangerous for Hungary's Gypsies, who have higher than average rates of criminal acts and are hated more than Jews.

CBN News asked one of Hungary's leading political consultants, Viktor Szigetvári, if Hungarian society is getting healthier, or getting sicker. He told us,

"Sadly, I have to say sicker because of growing intolerance, because of growing poverty," he said.

Could Jobbik end up in a governing coalition someday as some predict, or is it too politically radioactive for other parties?

"They are radioactive, but it is possible we might have a minority government formed after the 2014 general elections and it will be interesting to see what role Jobbik will play," Szigetvári said. "I believe (Jobbik as part of ruling coalition) is a no-go area; not in Hungary, not in Europe."

Jobbik leaders turned down our request for an interview.

"We do not want to help you on the issue of anti-Semitism," they said in a written statement. "Jobbik is dealing with much more important problems right now: the sellout of soil to foreigners and to oligarchs close to the government, the corruption scandals, the chaos in education and the catastrophic state of public safety."

Poisoning the Population

Jobbik repeatedly denies that it is anti-Semitic. On its English-language website it seems to disavow some of the positions that its leaders have spouted publicly.

They say they do not deny the Holocaust but they also do not like Israel.

CBN News spoke with one former Jobbik member from a rural area who said he never heard talk of anti-Semitism at Jobbik meetings he attended. But we also interviewed a former Jobbik leader who had to leave the party when he discovered he was a Jew.

"The problem is there are clever people in Jobbik," Hungarian Journalist Ferenc Szlazsánszky, with channel ATV, said. "It's a two-faced party - what they say amongst themselves and what they say in front of the public."

"The other problem is they are inciting hatred," he added. "They are poisoning the population in Hungary."

Steiner and others told CBN News that Jobbik should be considered "very dangerous."

And even if Jobbik never rules Hungary, critics say it's a legally elected party spreading dangerous ideas.

But many, Jobbik seems to be only a symptom in a nation that is still clinging to old-fashioned anti-Semitism.

Is Israel the occupier?

Editor's Note: The latest deception going around churches, schools and news is that Israel is the "occupier" and that the Palestinians are the "oppressed" people. Not so. That is like saying the USA still belongs to England or Spain. Wrong.

If you know and believe history, you will know the truth, and not fall to deceptive lies.

Steve Martin

Love For His People, Inc.

Eretz Yisrael

Is Israel an occupier?

It is often stated that Israel is “occupying” Palestinian land, and has no legal basis to exist. This is a lie - let’s learn the truth, and some history while we’re at it!

The State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, by the United Nations and with the legal approval of the British, who governed the land where the modern State of Israel exists on at the time - note there was no Arab or Palestinian state there. These maps will show you a continual Jewish presence in the region, however, for thousands of years.

The United Nations partitioned the land, like so;

A home for the Arabs and a home for the Jews. The Jews accepted. However, the Arabs rejected this plan - thus legally forfeiting their state - and staged a war against Israel in which it was attacked by six Arab armies…and Israel won. That left Israel a sovereign state, but Jordan controlled what is now The West Bank, and Egypt controlled Gaza, as that is where the parties involved decided to draw armistice lines. Once again…where is Palestine?

The map now looked like this;

Fast forward to 1967. Tensions in the region had been high, with troops amassing in Israel’s neighbouring countries preparing for war. In a preemptive strike, Israel rolled out “Operation Focus” - an airstrike on the Sinai peninsula. After only six days, facing armies from all of its surrounding countries, Israel had captured land from Syria, Egypt, and Jordan. Once again…no Palestine.

Our borders now looked like this;

However, Israel wanted to make peace with its neighbours - it didn’t want to have to fight anymore.

On March 26th 1979, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a treaty which gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt, while still letting Israel have control over Gaza, in exchange for peace. And this worked! So, Gaza, an Egyptian territory given legally to Israel? Not occupied.

In 1994, Israel and the Jordanians sat down to discuss peace as well. Jordan gave up control of Judea and Samaria, also known as The West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem, to Israel. Thus, these areas also cannot be considered occupied.

The Golan Heights, also captured by Israel in the 1967 war, were taken from Syria, with whom Israel does not have peace. However, the land was won fairly and under the circumstances of any other country, its annexation would have been an approved one. But understanding bias against Israel is for another post.

So, let’s review.

A sovereign Palestinian state has never been in existence.

East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), the Golan Heights, and Gaza were won in a defensive war. These territories, save for the Golan Heights, were legally given to Israel by the nations sovereign over them.With this history, Israel cannot be considered an occupier. The proper term for Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and The Golan Heights is not “occupied territories” - rather, “disputed territories”, much like Western Sahara or South Ossetia.

This article can tell you more about Israeli history and activity, such as settlement building, in Judea and Samaria.

Website: Eretz Yisrael

Satanists Demand Equal Time With Jesus as Antichrist Spirits Rise - Jennifer Leclaire

Watchman on the Wall, by Jennifer LeClaire

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Satanists Demand Equal Time

With Jesus as Antichrist Spirits Rise

It’s hardly the abomination of desolation that Jesus warned about when He taught about signs of the end times (Matt. 24:15). But it’s nevertheless a disturbing sign of how hard antichrist spirits are pushing to push Jesus out of our minds.

Oklahoma recently decided to allow a Ten Commandments monument on the state Capitol’s lawn. This is the type of thing that typically puts radical atheist activists up in arms, with billboards and lawsuits aimed at removing any reminder of God and His Son from the public square.

But the atheists haven’t launched an attack—at least not yet. Instead, other antichrist spirits are rising up, demanding equal time to celebrate their religions. Indeed, Satanists and Hindus want Oklahoma to erect statues for their false gods.

“A Satanist group has petitioned to have its monument, with an interactive display for children, put up alongside the Ten Commandments. And this week, the Hindu organization applied to have a monkey god statue placed on the Capitol grounds,” Reuters reports. “Socially conservative Christian groups fought for years to have the Ten Commandments displayed at the statehouse, and the monument went up in 2012.”

Oklahoma City lawyer David Slane put it rightly when he told Reuters the legislature essentially opened a Pandora’s box. As it turns out, if the state refuses to allow Satanists, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists—and God knows who else—to erect monuments on the property, they are violating the Equal Protection Clause.

I’d say it’s ironic how Satan is using legalism to push his antichrist agenda in Oklahoma’s government, but it’s more strategic than ironic. Oklahoma’s governing officials argue that they live in a largely Christian state with values and ideals that differ from Satanists. And that’s just why the antichrist spirits are circling. You won’t find antichrist spirits where Christ isn’t being preached, as the goal of the antichrist spirit is to replace Jesus, not merely have a statue next to His.

The antichrist spirit is rapidly rising in this hour, and you can expect to see more manifestations in the months and years ahead. The apostle John warned of this in his first epistle, noting, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).

And again, “Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:3). And again, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist” (2 John 1:7).

Before the Antichrist, Satan, comes on the scene, we will see more and more antichrist spirits rising to push Jesus out of the mainstream. Like John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’ first coming, these demonic forerunners have been voices crying in the wilderness for years, preparing the way for Satan himself with deceiving agendas that target the confused, hurt and lost.

Indeed, the antichrist agenda will become bolder, and it will grow darker in the days again. But like I said last week, despite the doom and gloom, Jesus is still Lord. Our job is to let our light shine, speak the truth of the gospel in love, and keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, so that we can rescue people from the kingdom of darkness and escape the prophesied great falling awayamong the saints.

Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

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A Beautiful Snowfall in Jerusalem - Jerusalem365

A Beautiful Snowfall in Jerusalem

Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red like crimson,

they shall become like wool.

ISAIAH (1:18)

אִם יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים כַּשֶּׁלֶג

יַלְבִּינוּ אִם יַאְדִּימוּ כַתּוֹלָע כַּצֶּמֶר יִהְיוּ

יְשַׁעְיָהוּ א:יח

eem ye-he-YOO kha-ta-ay-KHEM
ka-sha-NEEM ka-she-LEG yal-bee-NOO eem
ya-dee-MOO ka-toe-LA ka-tze-MER ye-hee-YOO

Jerusalem Inspiration

Last Thursday, snow began falling in Jerusalem

in the heaviest December storm since 1953,

shutting down schools and businesses throughout

Israel’s capital. The Maharal of Prague, a great

rabbi of the 16th century, describes the pure, white

snow as an illuminating force and spiritual light, which

reminds us of God's involvement in man's affairs.

To the young children of Jerusalem, however, it's

a once-in-a-lifetime chance for a snowball fight

and school closures!

Benjamin Netanyahu With His Family in the Snow!
Watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to have
a snowball fight with his family at his Jerusalem residence.

Watch Now »

Snow Blankets Jerusalem, Shuts Down City

Roads were closed for the morning and school was

cancelled throughout Jerusalem and the surrounding

areas in response to unusually heavy snow that has fallen

in the city since Thursday morning. Ten snowplows

and ninety tons of salt, along with salt-spreading machines

and tractors, were readied for the occasion.

Jerusalem Snow Globe

It only snows in Jerusalem once every few years,

but with this wonderful hand painted snow globe,

you can make it snow every day! Makes a great

gift for only $8.99.

Check out this Amazing Deal »

Jerusalem Daily Photo

Today's beautiful photo by Zev Rothkoff shows the pure

white snowfall that blanketed Jerusalem.

More Zev Rothkoff Photos »

Thank You

Today's Jerusalem Scenes and Inspiration is sponsored by Virginia Remillard in honor of her husband, Dick Remillard, who loved Israel.

Sponsor a Day »

"Your Site is Such a Joy"

I love it. I love the Scriptures heading the articles.
God bless you & Israel. From you we get our Bible.
Thank you for keeping it through the generations
for us. Sylvia, Essex. England

Hallo all the way from New Zealand, Your site is
such a joy. I love the photos and ... the Entebbe
video brought tears to my eyes. The goodness of
the Lord is wonderful. It was very moving too to see
the street named after Yoni Netanyahu - he made
the ultimate sacrifice but he would have been
prepared for that even before he left for Entebbe
and the street dedication is a lovely tribute.
Thank you for your site.
Sharon D.

Blessing from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Tuly Weisz
RabbiTuly@Israel365.com

Jerusalem365

36 Ein Gedi

Ramat Beit Shemesh 99000

Israel

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Sunday, December 15, 2013

Greetings from Xulon Press - who published my book "Ahava Love Letters"

Some of the staff at Xulon Press in Florida

- Sylvia Burleigh on front right.

It was nice getting an e-mail Christmas greeting today from Sylvia Burleigh at Xulon Press. They published my 2nd book, AHAVA LOVE LETTERS in Sept. 2013. I am grateful. Sylvia was always very helpful in the process.

In the e-mail she asked for prayers requests, so I gave her a few. Always appreciate prayer!

Thanks Xulon Press and the good work you do for the authors who want to share their gift of writing with many.

Shalom my friends, and Merry Christmas!

Steve Martin

Love For His People

P.S. You can get my books either from Xulon Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or directly from us. Please consider this as a gift to share. You can use the links in the side columns fro either THE PROMISE or AHAVA LOVE LETTERS, or the link here.

Order here from Xulon Press: Ahava Love Letters

Relaxing Hymns On Piano - A Whole Hour of Spiritual Music

This music selection is specifically for my good wife Laurie, for she loves instrumental music. (I primarily enjoy songs with words...)

But if you like that genre too, then feel free to listen!

Steve Martin
Love For His People

Amy Grant - How Mercy Looks From Here (Album Preview)

Preview each song from Amy's new album 'How Mercy Looks From Here', now available.

Order on iTunes here: http://smarturl.it/iTunesHowMercyLook...

Category

Music
License

Standard YouTube License

Contents List