Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
"All that I have is a sharpened knife, and it is answering the call of al-Aksa."
A Facebook post written by Omar Al Abed a short time before killing three Israeli citizens in the West Bank settlement of Halamish, 21 July 2017.. (photo credit:ARAB MEDIA)
Less than two hours prior to the terror attack that claimed the lives of three Israeli citizens and seriously wounded one more, 19 year old Omar al Abed from the West Bank village of Khobar wrote what he presumed would be his final words on Facebook.
With these final sentences, and expecting to die, he walked the short distance from his village to the West Bank settlement of Halamish and stabbed four people in their home. Be the first to know - Join our Facebook page.
"I am writing my last testament and these are my last words," wrote al Abed.
"I am young, not even twenty-years old, I had many dreams and many aspirations. But what life is this in which our women and our young are murdered without any justification? They are desecrating the al-Aksa mosque and we are sleeping, it's an embarrassment that we are idly sitting by.
"You, those who have a gun and who are worn out, you who only bring out your gun at weddings and celebrations, are you not ashamed of yourselves? Why are you not declaring war for God? Here they are closing the al-Aksa mosque and your gun is silent.
"All that I have is a sharpened knife, and it is answering the call of al-Aksa. Shame on you, you who preach hatred. God will take revenge on you and will make it count. All of us are the sons of Palestine and the sons of al-Aksa. You, sons of monkeys and pigs, if you do not open the gates of al-Aksa, I am sure that men will follow me and will hit you with an iron fist, I am warning you."
Three of the victims died as a result of their wounds, and one was evacuated to Shaare Tzedek hospital. The assailant, Omar al Abed, was neutralized by the victims' neighbor.
A still photo of the scene of the attack shared by Israeli television showed a kitchen floor completely red with blood. The family had sat down to a traditional Friday evening meal when the attack occurred, according to Israel Radio.
There is nothing better to set the Arab world on fire than false claims that the Jewish state is altering the status quo on the Temple Mount.
"The Temple Mount is in our hands.”
With those famous words, Col. Motta Gur shook the soul of a nation when he announced on June 7, 1967 that his IDF paratroopers had stormed and conquered Judaism’s holiest site during the Six Day War.
“In our hands” could not be farther from reality when visiting the Temple Mount this week. I’ve been there a number of times in the past, but when I went on Wednesday – during a short one-hour window when it was open to Jews – it was eerily different than my previous visits.
For one, the Mount was empty. There were some tourists – one Chinese group, and another from Europe – but almost no Muslims were there. One who was there, wearing a gray jalabiya and holding an umbrella to shield himself from the sun, whizzed by on an electric wheelchair. Another Arab man, a representative of the Wakf identifiable by the walkie-talkie he held in each hand, eyed Jewish visitors suspiciously, but didn’t follow.
He couldn’t – there were too many police officers. Four walked in front, four in the back and three on each side. Two carried cameras, filming the entire visit in case they would need to arrest and charge one of the visitors for violating the long list of rules posted at the entrance. There, Jews and foreigners alike go through metal detectors and have their bags and identity cards inspected before being allowed to ascend the Mount.
One tourist, for example, had come to the Temple Mount after doing some shopping at the nearby Arab shuk. The guard found a wooden cross and a rosary in her bag. Those had to be left in a locker, since religious paraphernalia – at least those that are not Islamic – are not allowed on the compound.
The identity of the Jewish visitors is also carefully scrutinized. Identity cards are collected, names are punched into a computer, and if something suspicious comes up, the visitor is taken aside for further questioning.
While foreigners can visit the compound alone, Jewish visitors are gathered into groups that are escorted at all times by armed policemen. Observant or not makes no difference – all Jews are forced to stay together.
For the police, there is something strange when a random Israeli decides to visit the holy site. Observant Jews are expected. Tourists are expected. But a random non-observant Israeli? That is already something strange.
Police immediately get suspicious. Either the person is a journalist or a nut. “Don’t you know where you are?” was how one police officer greeted me (I was wearing a baseball cap) on Wednesday before I told him that I was a reporter.
So while the Temple Mount is the holiest site for Jews and one of the holiest sites for Muslims, it is also the scene of one of the greatest charades of the last 50 years.
Israel might officially rule the territory that encompasses the Temple Mount, but it does not have it in its hands – that only Jewish and foreign visitors were required until this week to go through metal detectors while Muslim visitors did not, is just one example.
Another is that the Temple Mount is the primary site today in Israel where religious discrimination takes place on a daily basis.
This might be necessary due to diplomatic and religious sensitivities, but the truth needs to be said: 50 years after liberating its holiest site, Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount has declined.
The charade is amplified by the Muslim campaign to erase any Jewish connection to the Temple Mount. Dennis Ross, the former Middle East envoy under president Bill Clinton, told of Yasser Arafat’s position on the Temple Mount during the 2000 Camp David talks.
“The only new idea he raised at Camp David was that the temple didn’t exist in Jerusalem, it existed in Nablus,” Ross told Fox News a year after the peace negotiations broke down. “He was denying the core of the Jewish faith.”
That denial continues today. The attack last Friday when three Israeli Arabs from Umm el-Fahm killed two policemen underscores the need for all visitors to the compound to undergo security inspection.
CCTV footage of the attack, released by police, shows how the terrorists sneaked up on the policemen from within the compound.
They had already entered with weapons, and then came out and attacked the policemen who were looking in the opposite direction toward people coming in.
Gideon Ezra, the late Likud minister and deputy head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), used to tell me that violence on the Temple Mount has the potential to spark a third world war. That is what the terrorists seemed to be trying to achieve.
In the immediate aftermath, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acted responsibly when he put in phone calls to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah. The voices of both those leaders needed to be heard condemning the attack in an effort to prevent further violence.
The installation of the metal detectors – which Israel on Thursday was under international pressure to remove – was justified.
They are needed to ensure that arms will not again be smuggled onto the Mount, and to show that all people are equal. Jews, Christians and Muslims: everybody goes through a metal detector.
As Seth Frantzman showed in Thursday’s paper, almost all religious sites around the world – from Mecca to Rome – come with extensive security measures. At Mecca, for example, there are 5,000 CCTV cameras and more than 100,000 people employed to provide security during the Hajj. At the Temple Mount, there are some cameras on the outside walls but none installed inside the actual compound, despite an agreement reached last year between Jordan, Israel and the United States.
Why? The answer is unfortunately simple and is part of the Temple Mount charade.
The Wakf knows about last Friday’s attack, and understands why metal detectors are needed. Privately, they even admit to police that they know it is in their own interest.
At the same time, the Wakf needs a cause to rally its troops around. It needs to be able to delegitimize Israel, and there is nothing better to set the Arab world on fire than false claims that the Jewish state is altering the status quo on the Temple Mount. It is a charade, and everyone knows it is, but it works every time.
Israel is in a perilous situation, caught between doing what is right and what is smart. What is right is allowing religious freedom on the Temple Mount, and permitting Jews to pray at their holiest site. But then there is what is smart, which in this case means maintaining the status quo and not giving justification for further violence.
Israelis remember violence the Temple Mount has set off in the past. In 1996, the opening of a new exit to the Via Dolorosa from the Western Wall Tunnel led to deadly riots; and in September 2000, Ariel Sharon went to the Temple Mount, a visit the Palestinian Authority later used as an excuse for launching the Second Intifada.
Will this situation ever change? Probably not. But it is time to unmask the Palestinians’ grand charade that perpetuates lies, historical rewrites and hatred for Israel, starting by doing what I did on Wednesday: walking through a metal detector.
Three Palestinians Killed, ‘Over 300 Wounded” in East Jerusalem, West Bank - Haaretz.com, July 21, 2017
Riots in the streets, and on the Temple Mount. Protests in Jordan against Israel, Hezbollah (Lebanon) moving military equipment towards their southern border preparing for the next war, and Hamas (Gaza) ramping up rhetoric with threats against Israel. The Old City has been closed, and only Muslim men over 50 and women are allowed to come for prayers, and metal detectors have been placed on the Temple Mount
Once again, a wave of anti-Semitic hatred crashes throughout the Land. We were in Israel during the war with Hezbollah in 2006, and then during the war with Hamas in 2012. Often, we arrive providing food right after the bombings and rockets fall, or at times, right before these things happen. We are going back again in a couple of days. Your donations have empowered us to provide food for 250 children for approximately 2 months as summer ends and autumn begins. We go to Israel 2 – 4 times each year, spending 2 weeks, up to 2 months at a time there. And, throughout the years your partnership has afforded us to provide over 140,000 meals for children, Holocaust survivors, and families – Thank you!
As hatred for the Jew grows in this fallen world, and as a growing number of churches embraces the dastardly teaching of Replacement Theology*, let us stand tall and be counted amongst those who love, support, and believe in the Abrahamic Covenant*.
Thank you for your prayers as we travel to the Holy Land once again, and bless God’s ancient people. We leave this weekend and will return in a few weeks.
May God, bless you in profound ways as you bless God’s ancient people through Israel Today Ministries!
Shalom, Until He comes, we are Together Under His Wings,
Dr. Jeff
* Replacement Theology teaches that the Church is the “New Israel”, and that all the blessings and promises of the Abrahamic Covenant now belongs to the Church, and not to Israel.
* Abrahamic Covenant can be found in Genesis 12:1-3; 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-21 and 22:15-18. It is a Covenant between God and Abraham where God promises to bless Abraham, and that through Abraham’s seed all the nations will be blessed, namely, because of Messiah. Also, God promised Abraham land for his descendants. God ratified the covenant with Abraham. God never changes His mind; therefore, the Abrahamic Covenant is eternal. It depends on God fulfilling His part, and not on Abraham’s part. It is between God and Abraham – not the Church.
Discover the Holy Land located at the center of the world! “Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers; Consider her ramparts; God through her palaces, that you may tell it to the next generation” (Psalm 48: 12, 13).
Join Us in Israel, January 8 – 18, 2018 for the Best of Israel. You will walk where Jesus walked, and the Prophets walked. And, you will meet the children and Holocaust survivors that Israel Today Ministries help feed.
"God and Donald Trump" has now been officially announced in the market. Writing it has consumed my life for the last month. I am very encouraged by early response from buyers, interview requests from secular media and the enthusiasm of leaders whom we have asked to read and endorse it.
I decided to share the press release (below) that went out to the media this week because it contains a lot of information. However, I also have a very specific request, and I'm hoping you'll want to read the book.
If so, it would really help me if you would go ahead and preorder a copy either on BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.comright away. Early presales, a very good indication that a book will take off, actually influence the retailers who stock it in the brick-and-mortar stores.
If you know you want to read God and Donald Trump, pre-ordering it now will make certain you get one of the first available copies. The release date is Nov. 7. Make sure to give me your comments below and share this exciting news with your friends.
Here is the press release:
'God and Donald Trump' Explores the Spiritual Aspects of His Miracle Victory and What This Means Now for America
New book by Stephen E. Strang, due out in November, provides powerful first-person account of one of the most contentious elections in American history, with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes 'scoops' and insightful commentary.
LAKE MARY, Fla.—Donald Trump is six months into the U.S. presidency, and opinions about his job thus far certainly fall all along the spectrum of approval or disapproval.
One fact that can't be overlooked is that President Trump has embraced the guidance of Christians who helped elect him.
A new book out this fall from Charisma Media CEO Stephen E. Strang, who strongly backed Trump in the election, will consider how the president's faith has perhaps grown and strengthened in office. God and Donald Trump, set to release Nov. 7, seeks to help readers understand who Donald Trump is, what he really believes, where his vision for America will lead us and where God is in all of this.
"With pundits asking, 'How did he win?' my new book explores whether there was a supernatural element involved," Strang said. "Christian leaders prophesied before the election that God had raised up Trump to lead the nation through a time of crisis. But could this billionaire reality-TV star actually convince the voters he was for real? And if so, what is God doing now, not only in Donald's Trump's life, but also in the nation?"
Donald Trump is an enigma—a brash self-promoter, casino owner and man of the world. Yet he is also a devoted husband and father who has surrounded himself with men and women of faith and has made religion a key component of his image. Strang's God and Donald Trump explores:
How family and childhood influences shaped Trump's character and worldview
How openness to evangelical leaders helped build his commitment to religious liberty
How his election as president was predicted years before by charismatic prophets
How he captured the largest evangelical vote in history and won the Electoral College
What he really believes and how those beliefs helped shape his campaign promises
God and Donald Trump is a powerful first-person account of one of the most contentious elections in American history, with exclusive interviews and insightful commentary from the men and women who were there.
After interviewing Trump, Strang, an award-winning journalist and successful businessman, was involved with other Christian leaders who campaigned for his election. He attended Trump's 2017 election-night victory party in New York because he believed the prophetic ministers who said he would win.
Steve Strangis the founder of Charisma Media and President of Christian Life Missions. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to subscribe to the Strang Report podcast, and here to sign up for the Strang Report newsletter.
Readers are Leaders! Subscribe now and get 3 magazines for the price of 1. Get Charisma, Ministry Today and SpiritLed Woman all for $24. YES - Sign me up!
3 Reasons Why you should read Life in the Spirit. 1) Get to know the Holy Spirit. 2) Learn to enter God's presence 3) Hear God's voice clearly! Click here to draw closer to God!
We're at a time right now, where it's the five hundredth year of the reformation happening this year... it's the Hebrew year 5777; I've been saying that is the year of the clashing of swords.
Let me make it even clearer, this is the time when God wants to raise up oracles who will literally have the sword of the word of God in their mouth. Fresh guidance, fresh clarity, and fresh direction... and I'm praying for you right now that the Spirit of God is going to give you the strongest and clearest direction that you've ever had in your life regarding what you're leaving and where He is taking you.
If you're having trouble viewing this video, please click here.
To donate to Elijah List Ministries, we thank you in advance, just click on this link to donate! Bless you! — Steve Shultz
Dr. Lance Wallnau is a catalytic thought leader. An internationally recognized speaker and business consultant, he is one of the premiere speakers on the subject of cultural transformation and the seven mountains. He delivers his message of transformation with relevance, wit, and intensity.
Lance has shared platforms with best-selling authors Ken Blanchard and John Maxwell, and lectured at universities from Harvard and M.I.T. to the London School of Theology. Merging a thirty-year background consulting in business and the non-profit sector, Lance's intuition inspires visions of tomorrow with the clarity of today—connecting ideas to action. His students represent a tapestry spanning nations and spheres: from CEO's and HBO comedians, to professors and pastors, to one of Donald Trump's winners of The Apprentice. Lance is dedicated to the task of meeting with principal leaders in key sectors to bring transformation to nations.
He currently directs the Lance Learning Group, a strategic teaching and consulting company based in Dallas, Texas with affiliate offices opening up in Europe and the Philippines. Lance sees patterns in the chaos and brings strategic focus for maximized outcomes. He believes that unprecedented economic, political, and social shaking will create extraordinary opportunities for leaders willing to climb to the top of their mountain, leverage the platform God has given them, and advance Kingdom interests.
And it shall come to pass in that day that I will make Yerushalayim a stone of burden for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it.
Zechariah prophesies about a future attack against Judah by the nations of the world. In that attack, the nations will besiege Jerusalem only to be miraculously defeated by Judah. God states that Jerusalem will become “a stone of burden,” and “all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded.” In ancient times, the stone of burden was a heavy rock that lay in a field. Farmers who wished to plough the field had to remove the rock with great effort, often cutting themselves futilely. On one level, this means that the nations of the world that try to remove Judah and Jerusalem will fail. Spiritually, Jerusalem and Israel symbolize God and His word. Taking on Jerusalem forces the nations to contend with goodness and prevents them from succeeding. Today, God empowers the Israeli Defense Forces to the protector and defender of the Land of Israel and her inhabitants. While the Israeli army is constantly training and learning new techniques, there is no question that its miraculous victories are the result of the Hand of God.
In their intense training to ensure they can handle any situation that may arise during their service, the IDF Navy carried out a hostage rescue drill at sea this week.
For the first time in Israel’s history, top surgeons throughout Israel and the Israel Defense Force (IDF) gathered to learn a new medical technique which stops bleeding in cases of trauma without an incision.
Roman glass jewelry is a type of jewelry that incorporates both beauty and history. Unlike pottery and stone, glass is not a material commonly associated with ancient societies, but in fact it was highly popular and widely produced in the Roman Empire. These stunning pieces of Roman glass were excavated during archaeological digs across Israel. By wearing these beautiful earrings, you are reviving 2,000 years of Jewish History!
“And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf doth not wither; and in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper.” Psalms 1:3
Israel Air Force fighter jets flying in formation over Tel Aviv. God protects Israel in our generation through the incomparable Israel Air Force ensuring that the Jewish people live in freedom in the land of Zion.
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I'm so honored to be a part of Israel 365. I pray everyday for protection of her and her people. She will triumph! I'm from Conway, Pennsylvania. My name is Nancy . My mom is with the Lord now, she loved him so much and Thanks to her brought me up to love him too . My son was friends with a elderly couple that he helped out , the Josephson's, and when they went back to Israel they planted a date tree in her memory . My son John Michael was taught so much by them when he moved to Kansas and took him under their wing which helped him become a witness to everyone he comes in contact with. I'm so honored to say I'm his mom. She never had children so I shared him and said he could be her spiritual mother and I his earthly mom. She was so happy. They have went home with the Lord now but will always be in our hearts . God Bless you and keep you. Yours Truly --Nancy Knox
