Israeli-Palestine Conflict

 

By Mike Farris

This may be the most informative history of the Israeli-Palestine conflict you will ever read.

On April 5, 1944 a Texas newspaper, The Amarillo News, published two essays on "The Problem of Palestinian Homeland," one from a Jewish rabbi and one from a Palestinian Christian businessman living in Amarillo. This was four years before Israel declared statehood.

First, from Rabbi Arthur Bluhm:

"Let me, as shortly as possible, outline the Palestinian problem for you... During the First World War, Turkey fought on the side of Germany against the Allies. England tried to persuade the Arabs, who were oppressed by the Turks, to revolt against their masters. As a reward, the Arabs were promised independence in Arabia... Two small areas were excluded under the terms of this understanding. The first was Lebanon with its important Christian population. The other was Palestine which was set aside for... a national home for the Jewish people.

"At the peace conference in Versailles [1919], the Jewish and Arab representatives were united and supported one another reciprocally...

"[The Arab argument in 1944] is that the Arab leaders at Versailles were not entitled to give up Palestine [because they did not represent Palestinian Arabs].

"Historically, the Arabs lost their sovereignty over Palestine in 1517... when the Turks conquered it... until 1917 when the English took Palestine away from the Turks.

"At the end of WWI, Palestine was a poor and neglected country. Now, since 450,000 Jews have immigrated to Palestine, 500,000 Arabs from neighboring countries have also settled in Palestine. These Arabs have the highest standard of living amongst all the Arabs...

"The former Grand Mufti of Palestine worked against the English (during WWII). He is now advisor of the German propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels, and is one of the most intimate friends of Mussolini.

"What the Arabs decide is not only against Jews, but against Christians as well."

A.K. Barakat, the Palestinian Christian living in Texas, replied (in summary):

"I... proclaim that my home, my property and my business are in Amarillo, and Amarillo shall continue to be my Jerusalem, and Texas, my Palestine."

"The Jews say that at one time or another, Palestine was their home, and they have legal justification to claim it. The Arabs say, nonsense, we lived in Palestine for 1300 years, and in Spain for 650 years - are we justified to claim it? Or are the Indians justified in claiming America?"

"Palestine is sacred to Jew, Mohammedan and Christian alike. Let us make it a spiritual state, an international state, for all faiths and for all the people of the world."

End of article. My Personal Comments Below.

 

Two wrongs never make a right. I am for peace whenever possible. Both sides of the Israeli-Hamas conflict are dead wrong for not coming to a peaceful resolution a long time ago. Warmongers profit from wars and encourage conflicts at every opportunity.

For over 75 years, the Israeli government has done to the Palestinians exactly what the U.S. and British governments did to the indigenous peoples of North America and Australia. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.

The Israelis have taken not only the land, but the homes and businesses of the Palestinians. They have oppressed a once peaceful people to the point that hatred has boiled over into senseless violence. The Israelis moved the Palestinians to the "reservation" of Gaza and the West Bank and then claims Israel is the victim.

The Palestinians are totally controlled by the Israelis. Palestinians cannot do anything without a permit from Israel. They cannot farm, build a home, start a business, get a passport, or do anything that normal human beings have a right to do. Until each Israel and Hamas respects human life over territory and resources, I will not support either side.

 

What does the Bible say about who owns the land once called Judea and Galilee? After conquering armies sent by God to punish the unbelievers, the land was renamed Palestine and in 1948 renamed again, Israel. According to Joel; 3:2. God owns the land and will give it to His people. When will God give the land to His people? Ezekiel 37:12-14 gives us the timeline: ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”  Not one single Jew or Palestinian has ever been brought up from the grave. 

Neither the Jews nor the Palestinians have legal title to the land. The Jews forfeited all rights to Jerusalem when they rejected Jesus Christ to rule over them in 30 AD. The ten northern tribes of Israel had been deported to the northwest and isles of the sea long before the birth of Jesus. In 70 AD, God removed the three remaining tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.

The people of Edom, a small area just south of Jerusalem, moved into the devastated and abandoned land. They were the descendants of Esau who sold his birthright and had no claim on the land. They adopted Judaism as their religion and falsely claimed to be "God's chosen people." 

 

In Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 Jesus states: I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 

The Truth of the Israeli-Hamas War

The present day State of Israel is a counterfeit of Biblical Israel and false teachers cause God's people to misunderstand what God had recorded by His prophets. The promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 is NOT fulfilled in the State of Israel; it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. ~ Galatians 3:16

The Israel-Palestine conflict is a senseless war brought about by hatred and a total disregard for the plain truth of Scripture. Why are Christians so eager to go to war? Jesus tells Christians to practice "loving your enemies, doing good to those who do evil, and to pray for those who despitefully persecute you."  "Seek peace and pursue it" as the Lord commands.

Satan knows his time is short and is causing as much misery as possible before the return of Jesus Christ. As it is written: Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” ~  Revelation 11:15  Amen, Come quickly Lord.

 

When the time is right, I, the Lord, will come quickly. I will make these things happen. ~ Isaiah 60:22 (ERV)

 

Reminder: Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. ~ Matthew 5:9  

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Peacemakers

 

 

It's time, no, no, it's PAST time for Christians, Jews, and Muslims to learn the truth of their identity.

All the promises of God were made to Abraham, repeated to Isaac, and then to Jacob/Israel and his descendants.

Abraham had two sons. Ishmael by his servant girl, Hagar, and Isaac by his wife Sarah. His second wife, Keturah, bore him six more sons. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. 

 

Abraham's descendants had many children becoming great nations (families grown large). Ishmael's descendants adopted Islam as their religion, Esau chose Judaism, and Jacob/Israel's family, and those who came in contact with his family, converted to Christianity.

Esau married Ishmael's daughter. Isaac married his second cousin, Rebekah. Jacob married two daughters of his uncle Laban, Leah and Rachel.

Christians, Jews, and Muslims are family... brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins. The only thing dividing us is organized religion. When are we going to wake up to that fact and stop hating each other?

The Gospel of the Kingdom is really good news for ALL people because God made a way for all of us to be born into His heavenly family. Someday there will be a huge family reunion. Do we want to face God on judgement day with blood on our hands for the murder of our own family members? 

You say, I have not murdered anyone, but what about Leviticus 19:17: You shall not hate your brother in your heart.

As it is written: Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. ~ Matthew 5:9

The apostle Peter, quoting from Psalm 34:14, wrote: Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. ~ 1 Peter 3:11

 

Flesh and blood is not our real enemy... ~ Ephesians 6:12

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Why?

 

Why was it necessary for Jesus to die to save mankind? If God is our Father why couldn't He just save us without the murder of His only begotten Son?

Short answer: Because God cannot lie. He never breaks His promises or His Law.

Jesus became sin for us and bore our sins in his body on the cross, thus fulfilling the law. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  ~ 2 Corinthians 5:21

When we break man's laws that makes us a criminal. When we break God's Laws that makes us a sinner. Both sets of laws are for our good, but come with consequences for our guilty actions.

Sin is the transgression of the Law and God could rightly destroy us all. Because God loves us He chose that One sinless person to take our place and die in our stead. That kind of love and forgiveness is divine. That gift deserves our respect and we should be ever grateful that God was willing to sacrifice His Son. And on top of that, Jesus was willing to be that sacrifice.

The day Jesus was crucified. there were two thieves on either side of Him. The thief on the right accepted God's will because he knew he was guilty and deserved his punishment. The thief on the left rejected God's will and refused to take responsibility of his crimes. The man in the middle, Jesus Christ, chose God's will even though He had committed no sin.

What kind of person are you, or would like to be? Do you accept, reject, or choose God's will? By choosing God's will you agree that you are the one who deserves the death penalty, but you choose to honor the gift of salvation with obedience to God's way of life.

That means you must also love and forgive others in the same manner Christ loves and forgives you... no easy task since we humans are not divine. However, one of God's promises is to send His Holy Spirit to enable us to overcome the world even as Christ overcame and an example for us to follow.

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Forget Not The Lord

 

By Arthur Pink, 'Forgetting' 1950

What a wonderful thing is the memory — one of the many precious faculties with which the Creator has endowed us. By it we are enabled to live the past over again in our minds, to revive the early experiences of childhood, to recall the words of those who are no longer with us. By it, we may review the Lord's dealings with us in grace and in providence, call back to mind His interventions on our behalf, delivering us when in straits — or rejoicing our hearts while He talked with us along the way. By it, we can turn over the pages of our checkered lives, and read what is recorded both for and against us.

Memory is the power of retention, the storehouse in which all our knowledge is preserved. It is not possible to assess its value in silver and gold. How much poorer would we be — if everything were erased from its tablets! One of the greatest tragedies of life, is for a person to lose his mind and memory. It is indeed hard to part with any faculty, but, if compelled to make the choice, probably most of us would rather be deprived of our limbs, our hearing, or even our sight, than our mentality — yet comparatively few cultivate and use it as they should.

The memory is indeed of vast importance, for it is the treasurer of the soul. What the understanding takes in — the memory stores up. Knowledge, intellectual growth, social fellowship, the spiritual life — all have their roots in this faculty of retention. But this invaluable gift, like all others, entails a corresponding obligation. Each talent that God has bestowed upon us is for use — and if it is not employed, it will deteriorate. As unexercised limbs become stiff, and muscles flabby — so an unused memory becomes enfeebled. The memory may be developed and controlled — though time and trouble are required for this, as for everything else of worth.

Memory is largely a matter of volition. Said the Psalmist, 'I will not forget your word' (119:16). Definiteness of purpose is required, whether we shall recall a thing or dismiss it from our minds. Remembering is a setting of knowledge to work, reviewing the notions and impressions we have received, by exercising our thoughts about and meditating upon them.

The seat of the memory is the heart. Of Mary it is said, that she kept all these things 'in her heart' (Luke 2:19, 51) — things kept there, are never lost.

This leads us to point out that there is both a notional or speculative remembering — and a practical or influential one. The former is where we barely think of things — and receive no profit or benefit from them. The latter is where the mind is so engaged with the object recalled — that the affections are fired and the will moved by it. Thus the faculty of memory is given us by God as a means unto an end — to be a help in promoting piety.

The Scriptures abound with exhortations to remembrance. At the fore of them, we would place that one where those of tender years are bidden, 'Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come' (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Bear in mind that, since He is our Maker, He is therefore our rightful Lord and Owner — so conduct toward Him as such, rendering unto Him the homage and honor that are His due. Meditate much upon His glorious perfections; call Him to mind constantly while your heart is yet impressionable, and habits for good or evil are being formed for life; and thereby you will be fortified against the temptations of youth. All of men's wickedness and misery comes through forgetting God, hence the warning, 'Beware that you forget not the LORD your God!' (Deuteronomy 8:11)

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